Chapter I - The King's Favorite

Twilight Sparkle trotted through the corridors of the palace, deep in thought.

It was quite late to be awake, but that was a common occurrence for the purple mare. She ignored the rare servants she met on her way and they ignored her in turn, not that she cared much. In fact, she didn’t even notice their existence — her mind was wandering to other places. Twilight had been working for the king for a full month now, starting right after graduating from Starswirl’s Academy. Most of that time had been spent doing what she loved most – research.

Bumping her head into somepony made her finally pay attention to her path. Twilight looked at the foolish pony in annoyance — usually, ponies had enough sense to steer clear off her path. However, the older stallion didn’t look like a servant in his blue cape, decorated by fancy weaving. In fact, she recalled seeing the brown-coated unicorn at the formal party, following her appointment as the Court Mage.

“So, you’re the famous Twilight Sparkle,” the pony drawled.

Twilight didn’t like his attitude, but that wasn’t a reason to be impolite.

“Yes, that’s me,” the mare reached out to shake his hoof. “And you are?”

The stallion flared his nostrils, giving Twilight a hard look.

“I’ll let your ignorance slip this one time. But for the future you should remember — I’m Everlight the Mighty, Grandmaster of the Unicorn Union.”

“Ah,” Twilight said, not sure what else to add. “N-nice to meet you.”

She remembered the name as the king hadn’t spoken kindly about its bearer. He had used words like “arrogant fool” to describe the pony the few times that he had mentioned him, warning Twilight to have as little interaction with him as possible. It wasn’t hard when most of her time was spent in the Royal Library.

“You’re pretty,” the stallion flickered a glance at her flanks. “But surely that’s not the only reason why the king has picked you, is it?”

Twilight looked down, her face reddening slightly. She had a suspicion that Everlight was goading her. However Twilight had been quite adept at ignoring the veiled insults and mockery of her peers in the Academy. She had been the only commoner among the noble kids. It was highly unusual, but the mare had managed to receive a scholarship from the king himself.

“I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry,” Twilight said, walking around the stallion. “The king asked me—”

“Wait a minute,” Everlight blocked her way with his foreleg.

Twilight took a step back, flattening her ears and glaring at the pony in front of her with narrowed eyes. A pink servant mare who was sweeping the floor nearby regarded them both with a flat look and returned to her work.

“What do you want?” Twilight asked the stallion curtly.

“I want you to resign while you can, filly,” he said, looking her right in the eyes. “I’m sorry if I seemed improper earlier. What I meant is that you have talent as well as looks. It’s a rare combination, believe me. Come with me and do as I say, and I’ll make sure you’ll be accepted in the Unicorn Union. Not a lot of ponies get this offer, trust me.”

Twilight blinked rapidly, surprised at Everlight’s sudden offer. Although being a part of such an elite order as the Unicorn Union would be a great honor, she didn’t really trust this pony, whereas the king had been a part of her life for years. In fact, they’d often exchanged letters while she’d been studying at the Academy. In the light of those facts, resigning in order to join some fancy order would have felt like betrayal for the mare.

“I have to decline your offer,” Twilight shook her head without hesitation.

“That is your decision,” the stallion said coldly and walked away.

Twilight watched him until he turned around the corner, and then continued on her path thinking about the encounter.

His chambers weren’t far, but she went on a quick canter, since she was getting late for their evening meeting. Twilight was supposed to report on her progress every day.

She was almost there, when she slipped and almost planted her muzzle into the stone floor. She barely held her footing and looked down to see the floor soaking wet. The reason for that was a servant mare, who was washing it like there was no tomorrow.

Twilight frowned slightly — the pink mare looked familiar — until she remembered seeing her while she’d been talking with the annoying stallion. But how had she gotten ahead of her?

“Sorry, the floor is wet,” the mare told her, noticing Twilight’s stare.

“You don’t say,” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I do say!” objected the servant. “But I should get back to work now.”

Shrugging, Twilight resumed her quick pace. Unnoticed by her, the pink mare followed.

***

The king’s chamber entrance was guarded by a group of two armored unicorns, looking ready to vaporize any perpetrator. They knew Twilight, however, so she was let in easily after having to endure a simple check-up spell to eliminate the possibility of any appearance-altering magic.

Opening the large door with her magic, Twilight trotted into the king’s chamber. The place was barely illuminated by a few rare candelabras along the walls. The moon was shining through the two large windows, creating plenty of shadows from the large and imposing furniture that filled the room.

Twilight wouldn’t have decorated it that way if that had been her own room, but she hadn’t come here to criticize the king’s tastes. Throwing that nonsense out of her head, she approached one corner of the large room, finding the king at his usual place — sitting by the table on his favorite old chair and scribbling something into his journal.

The ruler of Equestria was a unicorn just past his middle age. His royal blue coat was well kept and his long golden mane was flowing down freely. He wasn’t wearing his crown at the moment, which was the usual for when he was away from the court’s eyes.

The king didn’t acknowledge the mare’s presence until he had finished his writing. Twilight waited patiently, used to the king’s behavior at this point, and prepared herself mentally for her report. Finally, the king looked up.

“Twilight,” he nodded to her. “How was your progress today?”

Before starting her report, Twilight told the king about her encounter with Everlight and his offer. The ruler frowned as he listened, letting out a sigh when the mare had finished.

“I’ve just had a meeting with the Grandmaster myself,” he said with a cringe in his voice. “He’s quite unpleasant, but even I can’t refuse him lightly. That damn pony has too many powerful connections… Anyway, that’s not your concern for the moment, Twilight. I would like you to get on with the report.”

Twilight nodded. Then she took a deep breath and began.

She had gone through dozens of books today, learning loads of new information. The king had assigned her to make a full and descriptive list of powerful artifacts known to ponykind. Why? He hadn’t shared that yet and Twilight hadn’t pushed him into doing so, being more than happy to dive into the task.

“Good work,” the ruler said as the unicorn finished.

The mare beamed from the inside and the king gave her a warm smile.

“I think you’ve done more than enough for now,” the king said.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“I told you not to call me that in private, Twilight,” the king said, waving his hoof. “Just Hearth will do. As for my words, time is pressing me to act faster. I shall explain it to you, but would you like some tea first?”

“I prefer coffee,” the mare answered and then widened her eyes. “I’m sorry, Your— I mean, Hearth. Tea will be just fine!”

King Hearth chuckled and stood up. He invited Twilight to a sofa and approached a small cupboard from where he levitated two cups and a jar of beans. He set it on the table before Twilight and prepared the beverage, finishing with a simple heating spell.

In a few minutes, the coffee was hot and steaming, spreading the wonderful aroma all over the chamber.

“Care for a cookie?”

Twilight answered with a tiny nod, too nervous to speak. She felt like whatever the king had to say would be important, and was thrilled to find out more.

“I shall be direct with you, Twilight,” Hearth began, sipping from his cup. “Equestria is falling apart.”

The mare almost spit out her coffee at the king’s words. Not that she was that naive — she knew Equestria had been going through tough times lately — but were things really that bad? Twilight watched her king with big eyes, waiting for him to elaborate.

“It may not seem that way at first glance, but I can see the patterns. The Griffon threat, rebels in the country, out-of-hoof nobility...” the king continued. “It’s only a matter of time until something happens and everything goes to Tartarus. However, I believe there is still time for a change.”

“I see,” Twilight nodded, a frown on her face. “But— But why are you telling me this? I’m nopony important...”

“Your abilities are exceptional, Twilight,” Hearth retorted. “I saw that when I first met you as a filly. Anyway, the changes, yes. I’m planning quite a lot of them. And I think you’ll be instrumental in helping me to succeed.”

“Instrumental?” Twilight repeated in a tiny voice. She was a competent student, but helping to change an entire country? That was too big for her to grasp.

“Indeed,” the king nodded. “I can’t do it alone. Even my own son is more interested in partying with his two-bit noble friends than doing something for his country... I need ponies I can really trust to start the changes, and you’re but the first.”

Twilight stayed quiet and listened to the king as he shared the full extent of his plans. He talked for quite some time, delving into ancient history, back when Equestria had been truly united with harmony among the three tribes. After its immortal rulers had left, Equestria had had its ups and downs, but for the last century it had just been going downhill.

“Our House has ruled Equestria since the Sun Goddess stepped down from the throne, passing it on to her loyal friend and adviser—”

“Sunlight Flame,” Twilight finished for him and gasped as she realized that she had interrupted him. “I’m so, so sorry!”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” the king smirked. “In fact, I’m pleased that you know our history. Though it shouldn’t surprise me, I guess.”

The king continued his speech, finally getting to the purpose of Twilight’s recent assignment.

“The changes I want to push would anger a lot of powerful ponies, Twilight,” Hearth told her. “I wanted you to find an ace in the hole, so to speak. Some powerful weapon to guarantee our safety. I thought there’d be more time, but I’m afraid time has run out. The High Council has voted in favor of war today, and I wasn’t able to stop them.”

“A-a war?” Twilight asked, aghast. “Against whom? The griffons?”

“You’re right as usual, Twilight,” the king nodded solemnly. “As much as I want to take back our land, I fear that Equestria can’t handle another war right now. The preparations would take some time though, so we still have a chance to prevent it from happening.”

Hearth glanced at his cup, frowning slightly, and took another sip.

“Anyway, that is a lot to take in, Twilight. You should go get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll be having a meeting with the leader of House Belle, and I want you to join me.”

“Okay,” Twilight accepted, though she had no idea what the king was expecting her to do.

“In ancient times, the Court Mage used to be the ruler’s right-hoof pony,” Hearth explained, noticing Twilight’s confusion. “Now it’s more of a decorative position with no real power. However, for my plan to succeed, we should get it back to the way it used to be, starting with making you part of the High Council.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Twilight said, trying to keep her hooves from shaking. However inadequate she felt for the task, she couldn’t say no to the king.

“Goodnight, Twilight,” Hearth dismissed her.

Twilight wished the king goodnight as well and walked towards the exit, her head spinning from all the revelations. The king followed right behind her, but suddenly she heard a heavy thud. Turning around, Twilight saw the king spread out on the floor. She felt a cold wave washing over her. Panicking, she rushed to the fallen pony.

Hearth was breathing, thankfully, but he was unconscious. Right away, Twilight noticed a small dart that was sticking out of his neck. Twilight began to hyperventilate. Somepony had poisoned the king!

A flicker of movement outside of the window caught her attention. She glanced there in time to see a dark shape flickering out of sight.

“You!” she screamed in rage, catching the figure in her magic before it could disappear.

It was very slippery for some reason, but her anger helped her to hold on. She pulled the figure halfway in, but it suddenly threw something at her, hitting her horn hard. Twilight lost her concentration momentarily, feeling her head ringing, and the figure disappeared into the night.

Twilight took a step towards the window, but stopped — saving the king was the priority. Taking a few deep breaths, she forced herself to calm down. She wouldn’t be able to help the king if she was a panicking mess after all.

First of all, she needed to determine what kind of poison the perpetrator had used. Most poisons had an antidote she could use. Since the king was still alive, this poison wasn’t immediately lethal, giving her some hope.

Levitating the dart into the air, Twilight cast a complicated, high-level spell that not a lot of ponies knew and even fewer could reproduce.

The chemical composition of the dart and everything on it sprung to her inner vision. She ignored everything related to the dart itself, concentrating on a small residue of an alien element.

“Oh no...”

Twilight recognized it, though it didn’t make her feel any better — Deathsong, a common, but extremely dangerous poison. It had a known antidote as she had expected, but it needed to be taken no more than half an hour after getting the poison and even then a positive result was not guaranteed.

I need to hurry!

Twilight rushed to the door, but stopped a few steps away. She wasn’t a fool and she’d read enough mystery stories to realize that she would be the main suspect if the guards saw her alone with the king’s body.

Growling in frustration, Twilight rushed to the open window instead and looked down. She briefly wondered why the window to the king’s chamber wasn’t protected by some kind of spell, but pushed it to the back of her mind to inquire about later. A more pressing matter faced her — getting down safely.

It was the only way to avoid the guards outside.

The room was pretty high above the ground and Twilight would definitely splash herself at the pavement below if she made a mistake, so she searched for an appropriate spell in her mind.

Twilight knew much more than the average unicorn, of course, and her theoretical knowledge was vast, but knowing how to cast a specific spell was a different matter entirely. Each spell needed to be learned and practiced for days or even weeks to get it right, and she had prioritized the ones she had needed for studying.

Unfortunately, none of that would help her to survive the fall.

You don’t have to fall to get there, Twilight, she chided herself. Having come to a decision, Twilight concentrated on a patch of land directly below her and recalled the spell she’d read about in detail, but had never practiced in real life. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Invoking the spell, she charged her horn with an abundance of magic and blinked out of existence in a flash of purple light.

Only for a moment though, as the next second she appeared on the patch of land directly below the window. Not sparing a second thought to her astounding success, she galloped back to the palace.

The guards barely had any time to open the doors for her, as she flashed past them like the wind. However, despite her adrenaline, Twilight couldn’t keep up such a pace for very long; she was already panting heavily halfway before the medical wing.

She slowed down, but trotted with no less determination, until she finally reached her destination. Bursting the doors open, she walked inside, ignoring the startled looks of the doctor and his assistants, who were playing some card game in the lobby.

“Wha—”

“No time to explain!” Twilight raised her hoof with authority. “I’m the Court Mage. The king needs an antidote for the Deathsong poison at once!”

The ponies exchanged confused looks with each other, one of them muttering “what’s a court mage?”, until Twilight stomped her hoof, sending a small wave that made their manes flutter like the wind. “Didn’t you hear me? Now!”

The doctor and his assistants hurried to obey her order without questioning her right to do so, while Twilight fell on her haunches, trying to catch her breath. The extensive use of magic, sprinting through the palace and yelling — not to mention all the emotions involved — were overwhelming for the young unicorn. After all, the most excitement she’d experienced before had been through the pages of her favorite adventure books.

Now that she'd had some time to think, the gravity of the events began to catch up with her. The king had been poisoned! By a weird pony dressed in black, likely a pegasus, judging by how he or she had leaped out of the window. A window that wasn’t supposed to be accessed that easily, if Twilight knew anything about security.

Before she could consider the implications of that, the doctor returned, carrying a tiny bottle. Twilight grasped it in her magic and was gone the next moment, ignoring the questions the doctor shot at her.

She wasn’t sure of her ability to teleport again, so she picked a more traditional route to the king’s chambers. Thanks to the late hour, she didn’t meet a lot of ponies in the corridor. But even if somepony tried to stop her now, they would be thrown aside like an annoying thorn by the panicking mare.

Twilight was keeping track in the back of her mind of exactly how much time had passed since she had left the king’s chamber and if she wanted to save the ruler, she should get back there in ten minutes. It was a rough estimate, as the poison’s effects were different for everypony, so it was likely even less than that.

Speeding up despite her exhaustion, the unicorn raced through the corridor to save her king.

When she finally arrived at the chamber’s doors at the end of the corridor, the guards regarded her with suspicion. From their perspective, she’d never left the room and seeing her again was definitely ringing alarm bells in their heads.

Twilight cursed inside, seeing the guards readying their spears at her. Charging up her magic, she simply threw the two of them aside like ragdolls and blasted the doors wide open, hurrying to the dying ruler.

He was exactly where she’d left him — spread out on the floor. Lifting his head, she poured the whole content of the bottle down his throat, making sure that he swallowed the antidote. Then she simply stepped back and prayed to the Sun for the damn thing to work.

The guards, who had recovered by now, rushed into the room behind her and she turned to face them. They took a few moments to take in the situation — Twilight with an empty bottle and the unconscious king before her — and then one of them stepped forward:

“Twilight Sparkle, you’re under arrest.”

Chapter II - Who Framed Twilight Sparkle?

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The faint light of a torch illuminated the cell from the corridor as Twilight nervously paced inside. After the guards had arrested her yesterday, Twilight had been escorted to the Palace dungeon. She had no idea whether she’d managed to save the king — nopony had said a word to her since. In fact, nopony had even visited.

It was a worrisome sign.

Surely, King Hearth wouldn’t let her be locked up in a dungeon if he had any say in the matter. As much as Twilight feared the thought, there was a high chance the poison had worked as intended — destroying the king’s mind. There had been a few cases of ponies recovering from the poison eventually, but that was extremely rare and the process would take years. More often, the relatives of the victim simply euthanized the pony, as it was considered more merciful.

Twilight sighed and dropped on her haunches, shivering from the cold stone floor. The cell lacked even basic furniture. The mare squirmed uncomfortably, hoping that somepony would at least let her use the toilet — it was getting harder to hold her natural urges.

Twilight swiveled her ears, when the squealing of a rusty door reached her. By the sound of approaching hoofsteps, it seemed that more than one pony had decided to finally pay her a visit. Soon, a group of three stopped by the bars. Their faces were barely visible in the dim light of the dungeon, but Twilight recognized the caped pony in the center.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Everlight greeted her coldly. “Tell us, why have you poisoned our king?”

The mare jumped on her hooves, her heartbeat accelerating.

“I haven’t!” she exclaimed. “There was another pony in his chambers; he or she poisoned the king.”

“A likely story, no doubt,” Everlight smirked. “But I have another one. You assaulted the guards, broke into his chamber and then forced the king to drink the poison. And that’s after everything he’s done for you. How ungrateful.”

Twilight gaped at her accuser for a moment, blood rushing to her face.

“I gave him the antidote!” Twilight glared at Everlight. “Why would I poison him?”

“I’m the Captain of the Guard and it’s my job to find out,” a tall unicorn standing beside Everlight introduced himself. “However, there is no doubt in my mind that you were the one behind the crime. My guards saw you breaking into his chamber with a strange bottle, do you deny it?”

“No, but—”

“Keep your mouth shut and listen,” the unicorn interrupted her. “All the evidence clearly proves your guilt. Save us the trouble and just confess.”

“I have nothing to confess,” Twilight said, clenching her jaw. “All I did was try to save the king, why don’t you believe me?! There was an antidote in the bottle. You can check it. Did you check the windows, by the way? The assassin got away through one, even though it was supposed to have been enchanted against any intruder.”

“Every protection spell in the king’s chamber was in order, including the windows,” the Captain told her. “As for the bottles — we did in fact check them. And found poison.”

Twilight blinked in confusion, while her brain worked furiously. The medical ponies who had given her the antidote couldn’t have messed up so badly, could they? There was only one feasible explanation — the assassin had an accomplice on the inside, somepony who had access to the king’s chamber.

She was being set up.

The mare looked at the unicorn with narrowing eyes. If the pony in charge of the investigation was setting her up… No matter what she would say, she would be blamed for the king’s poisoning. Twilight sagged to the floor and sighed heavily, tears welling up in her eyes.

It was hopeless.

“Let me speak with her alone for a moment,” Everlight asked his companions.

Twilight’s ears perked up.

“I know you didn’t poison the king, little filly,” the Grandmaster said, and Twilight raised her reddish eyes to look at him in surprise. “I know that because I was the one who did it.”

Twilight’s eyebrows shot up. Of course! Everlight had had the perfect opportunity to remove the spells, as he’d had a meeting with the king just before the poisoning. And being the Grandmaster of an ancient magical order, he certainly had the means to hire a professional to do the deed itself.

“Why?” Twilight simply asked, even though her rage was boiling up inside. If not for the inhibitor ring on her horn, she would blast the pony in front of her with her magic.

“That is really none of your concern”, Everlight shook his head. “I’m telling you this so you’ll understand that there is no hope for you, unless you do as I say. Your trial will be held a few days from now and I want you to publicly confess.”

“Have you gone mad?” Twilight asked incredulously.

“I have not,” Everlight chuckled humorlessly. “It’s in your best interests, after all. I recognize your talent. I wasn’t kidding when I offered you a place in my Unicorn Union. This is your last chance. Do what I’m asking for, and you’ll get it. I’ll change your appearance and name, obviously, but it’s a preferable alternative to being executed for treason.”

Despite her emotions, Twilight didn’t reject the Grandmaster’s offer out of hoof. She didn’t want to die, and as much as she would hate to help the pony who’d poisoned the king, it was the only way for her to survive. That is if Everlight was to be believed. He could be simply trying to fool her to make his goal easier.

“Can— Can I think about it?” Twilight asked in the end, hating herself even for contemplating such an idea.

“No,” Everlight answered flatly. “You no longer have the luxury of time. I need the answer right now.”

Twilight thought rapidly, weighing her options. Did she trust Everlight enough to confess a crime she hadn’t committed, based on promises that could very well be empty? The obvious answer was no.

Everlight shrugged. “A pity. Well, I would like your confession anyway, so I’m going to get it the hard way.”

Having said that, Everlight trotted away without saying another word. A pegasus mare, one of his companions, entered Twilight’s cell in his place. Twilight didn’t like the ominous grin on her muzzle. Before she knew it, the mare had prickled her with something sharp through the bars and Twilight felt her head spinning. She fought the nauseous feeling, but her hooves had given up and she fell on the stone floor as the darkness engulfed her.

***

Twilight screamed in agony as a burning red rod touched the frog of her hoof. Her vision was blurry from the pain and she was barely hanging on, on the edge of losing consciousness. She would love nothing more than to fall into a blissful abyss, but the potion the pegasus mare made her drink kept her from it. The same potion also began healing her burned frog as soon as the rod was removed, quickly dulling the pain.

The brutal torture had already been lasting for hours and only this potion was keeping Twilight alive. During this horrible session, Twilight had learned more about a pony’s weak spots than from any anatomy book she had read before.

The pegasus mare had a manic smile that grew wider the more pain Twilight experienced. When Twilight got a glimpse of her cutie mark — a pair of tongs — she shuddered, imagining what the crazy pony would do with that particular instrument.

Twilight breathed in and out heavily, using the time that the pegasus was going through her tools to recover. The purple unicorn’s coat was all sweaty and covered in blood, while her body was stretched on the table, leaving her helpless against her torturer.

“Will you confess?” the pegasus asked her hopefully.

Gripping her jaw, Twilight shook her head, but she didn’t have the same resolve as before. Lighting up with glee, the pegasus picked up a pair of tongs. Another scream escaped Twilight’s dry throat as she pinched a sensitive spot on the unicorn’s soft belly.

***

Twilight was thrown back into her cell hours later. She landed on her side and didn’t bother getting up. The potion had worked perfectly, so she had no physical scars on her body. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about her mind.

Twilight had failed horribly. In the end, she’d agreed to do anything they wanted just to make the torture stop. Her ear twitched as the mare remembered the pain from it being almost cut off at some point.

That was quite an expensive potion, Twilight thought as she took a more comfortable position on the cold floor. I guess Everlight doesn’t want me to look bad for the trial.

She closed her eyes, forcing her limbs to stop shaking. She knew it was likely the potion’s side effect, as it used up the pony’s magic to heal any minor wounds. It wasn’t quite as good against serious injuries, but it had its uses on a field of battle. A simple soldier couldn’t afford it, since it cost hundreds of bits for a tiny bottle, but rich nobles who had to go to war always took a few of them along.

Twilight kept thinking about the potion to avoid thinking about her failure. Eventually, she slipped into a slumber.

***

“Wake up, for Sun’s sake!”

Twilight jerked her head and lifted her ears at the sound, cracking her eyes open. She had no idea how much time had passed, but it couldn’t have been too long, since she was still feeling exhausted. She couldn’t quite see the pony’s features in the dim light of the dungeon, but it certainly wasn’t Everlight.

“Finally,” the young stallion said, stepping from hoof to hoof. “How can you even sleep in such a dreadful place?”

“Blueblood?” Twilight raised her eyebrows, assuming a sitting posture.

“Prince Blueblood,” the pony corrected her, causing Twilight to roll her eyes. “But that’s not important right now. I’m not really supposed to be here, but I just had to know for sure — did you really poison my father?”

“Of course not,” Twilight assured him and then told Blueblood everything she knew. Her voice was shaking slightly when she went through the torture part, but she forced herself to ignore her feelings about that and continued.

“That bastard!” Blueblood spit on the floor. “I knew he was behind it as soon as he’d appointed himself as regent.”

“Regent? But aren’t you the legitimate heir?”

Blueblood hit the bars of Twilight’s cell in rage, making the mare recoil.

“Sorry,” the prince threw at her. “I am the heir, but technically my father is still alive, if braindead. Everlight used that fact to convince the damn High Council to let him rule the kingdom until the king recovers, instead of letting me ascend the throne, as is my right.”

“He planned for everything…” Twilight drew back her ears.

“Not everything,” Blueblood chuckled. “I bet he didn’t think I would be able to help you escape.”

Having said that, Blueblood opened the cell with a key he produced out of his saddlebag. Twilight didn’t move at first, slightly surprised, but then she stood up and gingerly walked out.

“I’ve got a plan,” the stallion said. “But we shouldn’t be talking here. I’ve rented a house in the city for—doesn’t matter what for, but it’s the perfect place for you to hide. Follow me.”

The prince grabbed her hoof without waiting for a response, and practically dragged her through the dark corridor. It wasn’t illuminated, except for a lone torch outside of Twilight’s cell, so the unicorn lit up his horn in a dim light, which was just enough to see the shapes.

Twilight allowed him to lead her, though she freed her hoof from his grip, preferring to walk of her own accord. She didn’t really know Blueblood — and his father had often referred to him as a party fool — but she had no other choice but to trust him. Besides, whatever Blueblood had in mind couldn’t be worse than the execution that was awaiting her otherwise.

Soon, the two ponies stopped at a dead end. Twilight examined the brick wall in front of her, looking for any indication of a hidden path. It was the only logical conclusion for why he’d led her here. While she looked, the prince approached the wall and touched one particular stone with the tip of his horn.

It produced immediate results. The whole wall shuddered and moved out of the way, revealing the hidden passage behind it. Blueblood trotted inside and Twilight followed, suppressing the urge to stay for a moment to examine the fascinating magic behind the process.

The passage continued in a long, straight line forward. The mare counted her steps and according to her calculations, they were outside the Palace’s borders already. Their hoofsteps were the only sound in the quiet corridor, but Twilight didn’t feel the need to fill the silence. Blueblood had promised to explain everything pretty soon, so she simply waited.

When they reached a staircase, Blueblood stopped.

“We’re going to move through the city now, so wear this,” the unicorn said, picking up two dark capes off the floor with his magic.

He offered one to Twilight and the two stared at each other in confusion, until Twilight remembered the inhibitor ring still on her horn. Blushing, she took the cape in her teeth and put it over her back clumsily, being out of practice with using anything but her horn.

After both of them had hidden their features, Blueblood led Twilight upstairs. They climbed out from a hatch in some tiny closet. It was too small for both of them, especially since the large stallion was taking up most of the limited space. Twilight crawled back down until her companion started working on opening their way out.

Glancing up, Twilight saw something that drew her attention like a magnet. She didn’t usually look at stallions from such a low angle, but she couldn’t deny that the view was quite… magnetizing. Blushing heavily, she broke her stare and cast her eyes down. Finally, there was a click and a rush of fresh air waved over her heated body.

“Let’s go,” Blueblood called her from above, oblivious to Twilight’s discomfort.

Trying to force the lingering image out of her mind, Twilight climbed up again and followed the prince outside. She found herself in a dark alley between two buildings. Twilight looked back, but the way they’d come from was already closed and didn’t look any different from the wall around it. Very fascinating, indeed.

Blueblood extinguished his hornlight, since the stars and the moon were glowing brightly above. Twilight looked at the sky — it had been quite some time since she’d been outside at night. She narrowed her eyes, when her attention fell on the moon. She could swear it had looked different the last time she had seen it. There used to be that pony shape on it, but now it’s gone, Twilight mulled inside. When did that happen?

“There’s no time to enjoy the view, filly,” Blueblood interrupted her thoughts. “Follow me.”

“I’m older than you,” Twilight murmured, but otherwise complied.

As the two trotted through the night city, Twilight darted her glance around, soaking in every bit of information. She hadn’t really had the time for strolls around the city since she’d arrived here a month ago. Starswirl Academy was far away in Canterlot and that was where she’d been born and raised, but since the capital was here, in Birminghoof, she’d had to move here to work as the Court Mage.

That city was much bigger than her home one, but as Twilight walked through the street, she realized that that didn’t necessarily mean it was better. Plenty of houses she saw could use a renovation, not to mention the occasional garbage lying right on the street. Such a thing was unimaginable in Canterlot. The few rare ponies they met were trotting fast and didn’t pay any attention to their surroundings. Ponies were rarely rushing anywhere in Canterlot, preferring to enjoy the sights of the small city, but here it was quite the opposite.

Thankfully, the house that Blueblood had rented turned out to be near the tunnel exit. The place didn’t look any better than its neighbors and Twilight wondered why the prince had it in the first place. Inside, however, it was much fancier. As Blueblood turned on the light in the corridor, Twilight was greeted with a rich interior completely at odds with its outer image.

“Here we are,” Blueblood said, throwing his cape at the rack in the corner.

Twilight did the same, though it was hard using just her mouth. The stallion looked at her struggle with raised eyebrows, until a realization dawned in his eyes.

“Oh, I forgot about that.” Having said that, he lowered his head, touching the inhibitor ring with the tip of his horn. It cracked open and thumped on the floor.

“Thanks,” Twilight said, rubbing her horn gingerly. She levitated the cape to make sure her magic was in order and hung it on the rack. “Why didn’t you do that before?”

“I told you I forgot, don’t question me now,” the prince cut in, waving his hoof.

Twilight frowned at his small outburst and then shrugged, putting it down to him having had a stressful night.

“Okay, so you were talking about some plan you had,” Twilight tackled the issue directly.

“I remember,” Blueblood nodded. “It’s really great, believe me.”

After that, Blueblood led Twilight to a large guest room, where both ponies sat on a soft couch. Blueblood levitated a bottle of wine to a small coffee table before them and prepared the two glasses. Before taking the offered beverage, Twilight cast an elemental spell on it to make sure there was nothing but wine in the glass.

“What are you doing?” Blueblood asked, staring at Twilight with wide eyes.

“Checking for poison,” the mare simply answered.

“Do you really think I would poison you after I’ve just risked my life getting you out of the dungeon?” Blueblood smirked. “That wouldn’t be very smart of me, don’t you think?”

“Somepony else could have poisoned it while you were gone,” Twilight explained.

“Oh.” Blueblood’s smirk had disappeared, a worried expression taking its place. “Do you think Everlight would poison me as well? But he doesn’t know about this place. Nopony does.”

Twilight ignored the stallion, concentrating on her spell. After a while, she was satisfied with the wine being safe. Blueblood yelped as her horn flashed in a bright light, illuminating every shadowy corner in the room, while she examined it for any signs of a potential assassin, but none were present.

“What in Tartarus are you doing?” the prince asked in annoyance, covering his eyes.

“Making sure we’re safe here,” Twilight said apologetically and extinguished the light. “Everything is fine now.”

“If you say so,” he shrugged, frowning at the mare, and took a sip of wine. “Anyway, I brought you here so we could talk. I need to take down Everlight and I require your help.”

“I want him to face justice for what he’s done to the king, of course, but what can I do?” Twilight shrugged, wilting her ears. “You, the prince, can’t do anything and I’m a simple lowborn unicorn…”

“Don’t sell yourself short, my father has been bugging me about how great you are for years,” Blueblood retorted bitterly. “Besides, you’re the only one I can really trust with this.”

Twilight nodded, waving for him to continue. Just as she was the only pony he could trust, he was her only ally in this situation.

“What do you have in mind?” Twilight asked reluctantly.

***

After Blueblood had explained his “great” plan, Twilight didn’t know whether to feel excited or devastated. The whole plan was nothing more than making her find some long-lost artifact of great power, so Blueblood could deal with his enemies. As if it was that easy.

“Do you really expect me to do it?” Twilight asked, bulging her eyes at the prince. “Ponies better than me have searched for them and failed. Those artifacts have been lost for generations, for Sun’s sake!”

“But my father clearly thought it was possible. Why else would he make you research them? Everlight has every advantage. Finding one of those artifacts is our only option to even the odds.”

“I guess,” Twilight mumbled. “Though the king would have given me the resources for the search, not to mention full access to the Library. But I’m basically a fugitive now, so that’s out of the question.”

Blueblood shrugged.

“Even though I don’t have the throne, I still have some power,” he said, waving his hoof dismissively. “I can provide you with enough bits to fund your search.”

“It’s not that simple, Blueblood,” Twilight objected, raising a hoof to stall his reply. “Everlight will be looking for me as soon as he finds out I’ve escaped. The artifacts would be difficult to search for even with the king’s support, but right now it’s next to impossible.”

“My father has done so much for you and that’s how you repay him?” Blueblood stood up angrily, almost spilling his wine.

Twilight recoiled, surprised at his sudden outburst and then felt ashamed. The king was his father, for Sun’s sake. Twilight’s heart was clenching thinking about poor Hearth and she could only imagine what his own son must be feeling, despite his outside nonchalance.

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant,” Twilight murmured. “I do want to help, I’m just pointing out the flaws in your strategy.”

Blueblood sat back on the couch, relaxing slightly. Another sip of wine helped to put his nerves at ease even more. Both ponies fell silent for a little while, thinking of what to say next. Twilight was the first to break the silence.

“Can I get my journal please?”

The prince nodded and passed her a small leathered book where Twilight had written everything she’d learned during the past month. The unicorn perused it page by page, her eyes flickering through the text as she contemplated Blueblood’s plan.

All the artifacts the king had made her research had one thing in common — they were extremely powerful and had been hopelessly lost ages ago. Some of them were even considered a mere legend by ponykind, but Twilight had found enough evidence to dismiss such claims. Each powerful item was enough to overthrow a kingdom, defeat a whole army, go one-on-one with a dragon — the power they gave to their owner was tremendous. Blueblood was right — with that, he could easily outmatch Everlight, even with his whole order backing him up.

Trusting the prince with such incredible power was a matter for another time however, Twilight thought.

To achieve success, they needed to concentrate their attention on one artifact. When Twilight searched her journal, she stopped on the two that she calculated had the best chances of being found.

The Alicorn Amulet and the Elements of Harmony.

“I’ll do my best, Blueblood,” Twilight finally said.

Chapter III - Noble Intentions

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It’s nice to get out of the big city once in a while and simply enjoy the nature.

At least that was how her mother had consoled Rarity while she’d been waiting for her carriage to get ready. She reminded herself of those words a couple of hours later, in a futile attempt to lift her mood.

What a waste, the mare thought, her hoof under her chin, watching the view outside the window. She grunted when the carriage stumbled on an especially deep pothole, correcting her mane. I could have been at the ball right now. Or, at the very worst, be doing some sewing…

But when her father, patriarch of House Belle, had suggested Rarity visit one of the numerous farm villages in their House’s possession, Rarity couldn’t refuse. She understood his reasoning, obviously — he wanted his daughter to see the life of the ponies under their care from up close — but still.

A month! I have to spend a month in some mudhole! Rarity pursed her lips and glanced over her snowy white coat with concern. I certainly hope they have a bath out there…

The unicorn put a great deal of effort into her grooming. Daily spa sessions, hoof polishing… Mud masks. Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle at the last bit, recognizing the irony. She’d had to pay some good bits to get the special mud to rejuvenate her coat, and now she was going to get all the mud for free.

I wonder how long until the village, the mare thought. The scenery outside looked promising — a cultivated field with rows upon rows of something growing. It certainly meant that a village was nearby. Hopefully, it was the one she needed to go to.

Rarity flickered her gaze at her sleeping maid. The poor dear had been up late, making sure Rarity’s luggage was packed with everything she could possibly need, so Rarity was reluctant to wake her up. On the other hoof, the maid would need to get up soon anyway and Rarity was tired of brooding in silence.

Making a decision, Rarity reached out and poked the mare at her side. The blue-coated earth pony stirred on the bench and cracked her eyes open. She rubbed them and looked around in sleepy confusion, which was quickly replaced by terror.

“Oh, Lady Rarity, I’m terribly sorry!” she blabbed rapidly, her thick accent making her words hard to understand. “I was supposed to keep you company.”

“Calm down, Lotus, dear,” Rarity smiled at the mare’s silly concern. “It’s absolutely fine. I needed some time to think anyway.”

That wasn’t strictly true — Rarity could use some company to save her from brooding — but poor Lotus was feeling bad as it was, and it wouldn’t be polite of Rarity to make her feel even worse.

Lotus had been serving as her maid for just a few months, but the unicorn had already gained a deep respect for that pony. She was a groomer worthy of the Goddess. Lotus had an equally good sister, Aloe, who watched over little Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s own sister, back at home.

Not that that silly filly appreciates that, Rarity thought grudgingly. It would be nice to have her maid for herself.

“Are we close to the village?” Lotus asked, slowing down her rapid breathing.

Rarity threw a glance outside. “We’re close to some village. Though I’d rather be nearing Birminghoof, to be honest.”

“Don’t worry, Lady Rarity, I’m sure the farm village is not that bad. I grew up in one myself.”

“Oh?” the mare raised her eyebrow.

Rarity couldn’t imagine an elegant mare doing farm work, though her cutie mark depicted some flower. To be honest, Rarity knew next to nothing about farming to be the judge of that.

“Exactly that,” Lotus answered, flashing an amused smile. “Me and my sister were born and raised in a small village on the border,—” her smile disappeared, “—our family had to flee when the griffons invaded.”

“Oh,” Rarity folded her ears. For all the time the mare had been working for her, she hadn’t once thought to ask about her old life and now Rarity felt bad. “I’m sorry to hear that, darling.”

“It’s okay, Lady Rarity,” Lotus sighed, forcing a smile back on her face. “It all took a turn for the better, thanks to your House.”

Rarity beamed back. “Thank you, darling. Our House prides itself on treating its servants fairly.”

The two spent the rest of the journey with Lotus telling her about her village life. As Rarity had expected, life in a village was hard, but she actually felt better knowing what was awaiting her. Besides, it wasn’t like she had to do any actual farm work herself.

Twenty minutes later, the carriage finally pulled over. Rarity looked through the window in surprise — she didn’t even notice when they’d entered the village. The door opened a moment later and a powerfully built unicorn stallion wearing some light armor helped her and her maid climb out.
His name was Silver Armor. He and his partner, Blazing Shield, were the bodyguards who had been hired a week ago by her father to accompany Rarity, specifically for the upcoming trip. Their cutie marks, which were very similar to their names, suggested their prowess in fighting— at least that's what they had told her father. Both of them were stoic stallions who only dropped some words here and there out of pure necessity, despite Rarity’s unyielding efforts to warm them up. They were even immune to her charms!

“Thank you, dear,” Rarity granted the pony a smile, but the stallion kept a stoic expression, acknowledging her words only with a small nod.

The lady pursed her lips.

One thing about Rarity was that she loved having fun with stallions, especially ones as handsome as these two unicorns. When her father had introduced them to her, Rarity had been thrilled. However, when she had hinted at the possibility of it to them, she’d been flat out denied. “It’s against our contract,” they dared to claim.

The mare was livid. She’d put too much effort into her appearance and moves for it to fail so spectacularly with two simple guards. Rarity had some plans to get back at them and being here in the village would give her the perfect opportunity to do so.

They would regret not taking the chance when they could.

Rarity struggled to keep a frown off her face when her pristine white hoof stepped into dirt. It wasn’t as pristine afterward, which was exactly what she had been afraid of. However, by the looks of it the whole village had come to greet her, and she didn’t want a frown to be the first thing her subjects saw.

“Hello, everypony!” she smiled, waving to the villagers. “I’m Rarity of House Belle, as you probably know. I’m here to make sure your harvest goes as smoothly as possible.”

A small cheer erupted through the crowd, but it wasn’t very enthusiastic. Rarity understood their lack of excitement. Who would like an outsider to meddle in your own business? Rarity certainly wouldn’t, but she, just like the villagers, had no choice on the matter.

Only her father did.

Most of the villagers were earth ponies as Rarity noted, but there were a few rare unicorns among them. No pegasi, though. She would have been surprised to see one of them, as that tribe rarely visited the ground, living in their cloud cities in the sky.

“Howdy there, Lady Rarity,” a wrinkled old mare said, stepping forward from the crowd. “Name’s Apple Smith, but ev’rypony jus’ calls me Granny Smith. Anyway, it’s really nice seein’ ya down here…”

When the elder pony, the representative of the villagers as it turned out, had finished her little greeting speech, the crowd quickly dissolved as everypony returned to their own business. Everypony but that one — the old mare approached Rarity instead, giving her a clumsy curtsey.

Rarity appreciated the effort, if not the quality of the move. She gave the representative one of her own in return, the move practiced in countless social gatherings, and it was practically flawless.

The old mare flickered her eyebrows up in surprise, but quickly flattened her expression.

“Once agin, happy to see ya in our village, Lady Rarity,” the elder pony said. “We got a place bein’ set up for ya, but you’d hafta stay in the inn for a couple ‘a days, if that’s okay with ya that is. It woulda been done sooner, but we jus’ learned ‘bout yer arrival yesterday…”

“It’s perfectly fine, Granny Smith,” Rarity assured her, smiling politely.

“Well then, follow me ya’ll.”

Having said that, Granny Smith led the group to the inn she’d mentioned. It wasn’t far, since the village was rather small, but it took some time getting there because the elder pony moved at a snail’s pace. Even worse, she kept telling Rarity everything about her countless relatives the entire way.

“…Now there’s Apple Tart, the old crook, lives two villages south from here. She visits pretty often, Celly help us. I can’t find half of my things after her visits, dagnabbit…”

Rarity only pretended to listen out of pure politeness, observing the village around her instead. It was better than she’d expected. The houses were unlike anything Rarity had seen in Birminghoof. While the capital was mostly built out of stone, in this village the ponies used wood for their houses. It wasn’t nearly as fancy and large as her family’s manor, but at least they looked well cared for — the same couldn’t be said about poorer districts of her home city.

“And here we are, filly, eh, I mean, Lady Rarity,” Granny stumbled and nodded at the two-storey building. A large sign over the door said Gloomy Horse. "Them fancy travelers stay in here, so it should be to yer likin’, I reckon.”

Even though Rarity had doubts about the place living up to her standards, she gave Granny Smith a resolved smile and a thank-you nod.

“I’m glad to hear that, Granny. I’d like to take until tomorrow to recover from my journey, but I would appreciate a tour of the village in the morning.”

The old mare thought for a moment and then sighed. “I s’pose I can spare my granddaughter for that. Wait for her at sunrise.”

“I think at sunrise would be a tad early,” Rarity shook her head. “I won’t be ready until after breakfast.”

“We have breakfast at sunrise,” deadpanned Granny.

Rarity blinked a couple of times and then corrected herself: “Well, then let’s make it after 10 o’clock.”

“Gotcha,” the old mare spit at her hoof and reached out to the frozen Rarity but stopped midway, putting it back to the ground. “I’ll be goin’ then. Enjoy your stay.”

Rarity nodded and the old mare slowly walked away. The next moment Rarity and her entourage entered the inn.

***

She’d been heartedly assured by the innkeeper that this room was the best one available, but Rarity opened the door with a shaking hoof, half-expecting the place to be a total pigpen.

The mare gingerly took the first step inside and regarded it with her critical eye. She sighed in relief. Although the room was pretty simple, the limited furniture had been kept in a good condition. A firm wooden bed with fresh linens, a nightstand and a writing table with a chair to sit on didn’t compare to her own room back at the manor, but it was tolerable for spending a few nights in. It was still positively drab, but it wasn’t the dirthole she’d imagined it to be.

In fact, not having hoped to find even something like that here, Rarity’s expectations had even been exceeded.

“Shall I order dinner, Lady Rarity?” Lotus’s voice sounded from behind.

“If you please, darling,” answered Rarity, giving her a grateful nod.

After the maid had left, Rarity closed the door and approached the bed. She carefully climbed on it, laying her soft belly on its surface. Glancing down, Rarity widened her eyes in horror. Her hooves were dirty! Getting off the bed so fast that she almost landed on her muzzle, Rarity faced the bed and looked at the muddied sheet with raised eyebrows.

I need a bath, she realized a bit too late, If there is one, anyway…

A quick look around confirmed the lack of any doors but the one leading into the corridor, so definitely no bathroom here. Sadly, she hadn’t inquired about such basic accommodations.

Leaving the room, Rarity headed downstairs with Silver Armor accompanying her. A buzz of voices greeted her there, as a few ponies were chatting with each other in the dining hall. Their horns and garments were a telltale sign that they weren’t locals. Since the village was near the main road, travelers often stopped at the inn for the night.

After Rarity had found out what she needed from the innkeeper – a pleasant peachy-coated stallion – she was disheartened to learn about the lack of a proper bath at the inn, but at least he promised her a decent shower. Returning upstairs, Rarity slowly walked to the opposite end of the corridor, swaying her hips more than usual.

That caused the mare’s tail to swish widely. She knew perfectly well what view she was revealing to Silver Armor behind her, but that had been exactly Rarity’s intention. Once she had reached the bathroom, she stopped and turned around quickly.

The stallion snapped his eyes upward, but there was no doubt where his attention had been a mere moment ago. While his expression remained flat, Rarity noticed that his face had reddened. She smirked — the guard was into mares after all.

“I’m going to take a shower, darling,” Rarity said. “Make sure nopony disturbs me… unless you want to join yourself.”

Rarity winked.

“I will guard the door, milady,” Silver Armor assured her, turning around to the opposite side.

“Suit yourself.”

While her guard was struggling with his arousal outside, Rarity did her best to remove the dirt off her coat. It took her some time to get used to the shower head, but when she did the whole procedure went smoothly.

By the time she was almost done, Lotus announced through the door that dinner was ready. With her coat and mane still wet, Rarity hurried downstairs — she was starving. Silver Armor followed her, relieved that the mare had stopped her teasing for the time being.

“My visit may not be as bad as I feared,” Rarity told Lotus as they sat down at one of the tables. The maid grinned.

“I knew you would like it, Lady Rarity!”

“Well, perhaps liking it would be a bit of a stretch,” Rarity sighed, glancing at the rough design — or a lack thereof — of the hall, “But under these circumstances, I find the place acceptable. It may even be fun.”

Having said that, she flickered her gaze at the poor guard standing by the table. The stallion gulped.

***

The next morning Rarity got up without much enthusiasm.

The inn’s bed wasn’t what she had been used to in her manor and she had hardly been able to sleep through the night. It was so rough! Her body felt stiff and aching, and her mind didn’t fare any better.

Father, what have I done to you? Rarity sighed as she trotted around the room to get the blood pumping.

After that little exercise was over, Rarity made the bed and left her room. Another guard, Blazing Shield, had been guarding her door while she’d been sleeping. Rarity ignored him for the moment, though. She wasn’t in the mood to play with him.

The mare was hoping to have a refreshing shower and she got her wish because for some reason the water turned out to be as cold as ice. The mare pushed through it anyway because it did wonders to truly wake her up.

Lotus was already downstairs when Rarity was finished, having a chat with an unfamiliar earth pony. They stopped when the maid noticed Rarity, with Lotus hurrying to meet her, while the other mare stayed at her table.

“Good morning, Lady Rarity,” smiled Lotus. “Have you slept well?”

“I haven’t, sadly,” she answered, drooping her ears. “The bed was simply terrible!”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Lady Rarity,” Lotus frowned. “Perhaps a nice breakfast would lift your mood.”

“Perhaps,” Rarity shrugged. “Who is the pony you were speaking with, by the way?”

“Ah, I was just about to introduce you. Lady Rarity, meet Applejack! She’s the pony Granny Smith had promised to send here to show you around. Well, you two talk while I make sure breakfast is ready.”

Rarity approached the table with a polite smile while examining the pony in front of her; an orange-coated earth pony regarded her in turn. She didn’t bother with a smile, however, as a hard expression was set on her face instead. Rarity didn’t let it affect her own — she’d faced worse mannered ponies without showing her true feelings.

“Glad to meet you, Applejack,” Rarity said. “I presume you already know who I am.”

“I do.”

Rarity waited her to continue, but the mare stared down on the table without saying another word. Unperturbed, Rarity took a seat opposite of her and both waited in heavy silence for Lotus to return.

“Breakfast should be ready soon,” she announced, joining the table. “Now, Applejack, tell us where you would take us first for your tour.”

“The barn, I guess,” the earth pony shrugged. “If that’s fine with the lady here.”

“And what’s so interesting about the barn?” Rarity asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Well, I dunno if you’d find it to yer likin’,” Applejack answered. “We do actual work in there.”

Rarity kept her face set on the same pleasant expression, though she didn’t like Applejack’s implications. Lotus felt the increasing tension, so she took the initiative. Rarity simply listened to the other mares talk, while consuming the simple breakfast that had been served for them.

“...my sister and I didn’t actually work in the field,” Lotus explained to Applejack. “We used to gather rare plants in the forest nearby and sell it in the town. The mages paid quite a lot of bits for them.”

“My sister loves collectin’ plants,” Applejack said, flickering her first smile. “Silly filly wants to be an alchemist when she grows up.”

“Oh, I have a little sister too,” Rarity pinched in and Applejack frowned immediately.

“Good for you.”

After that the conversation died down.

The rest of the breakfast was finished in silence.

The day had just begun.

***

Rarity was already tired and they’d only covered the barn.

Her poor legs simply weren’t used to prolonged walks. She fought back the desire to order her guards to pull a carriage for her. She was going to show Applejack that she wasn’t just some whiny noble — she was Rarity of House Belle!

Rarity forced herself to trot behind the farm pony with an easy smile, ignoring her aching hooves.

“Here’s the field where we grow our crops,” Applejack said. “Everypony is gettin’ ready for harvest week startin’ tomorrow. I’d be doin’ that too if I didn’t have the honor of showin’ ya ‘round.”

Rarity accepted the “compliment” with a graceful nod and a pleasant fake smile, but she was on the verge of losing her patience.

I swear, if she utters another word like that...

Applejack didn’t, however. Maybe it was the constant, silent presence of the two guards behind Rarity, but Applejack had finally realized it was unwise to provoke somepony whose House owned your whole village, restraining herself from making any more questionable remarks.

After they passed the fields, Applejack led the procession into the forest. At least that was what Rarity had initially thought, until she realized that it was in fact an orchard with rows upon rows of apple trees as far as the eye could see.

“Now this here’s the pride of our Apple family,” Applejack announced with a grin. “The biggest and finest orchard in this country, with the best quality apples too!”

Having said that, the mare turned her back to one of the trees and gave it a careful buck with a single hoof. The tree shook slightly and an apple landed on Applejack’s outstretched hoof. Rarity blinked in surprise at her precision and even more so when the earth pony offered her the fruit.

“Try this and say it isn’t the best darn apple you’ve ever tasted.”

Reluctantly, Rarity picked up the green apple in her magic. Never before had she simply eaten an apple just like that. It would be used as one of the ingredients in some dish, of course, but never as the main course.

Well, no harm in taking a ladylike bite...

She did so and delicious taste filled her mouth. The apple was very juicy and some of it dripped down her muzzle, but she was enjoying it too much to care for the moment. Closing her eyes in delight, Rarity took another bite and then another.

“This is divine!” Rarity exclaimed, gazing at the fruit in wonder.

Who knew a simple apple could be that good? She’d always considered it a commoner’s food — and maybe it was — but Rarity loved it anyway. She made a mental note to get a batch of those apples for herself to enjoy, once she got back to her manor.

“Can’t argue with that,” Applejack said, quickly devouring her own apple.

***

Applejack warmed up to the city mare a bit after showing her the orchard. Rarity wasn’t quite the spoiled brat that she’d expected. In fact, Applejack felt rotten now for giving her a hard time in the beginning.

It was well past midday when the tour was finally finished. The evening was looming close and Rarity was starving, despite having had a few more apples along the way. She was looking forward to the shower awaiting her at the inn; hopefully, it would be warm this time.

“I’ve shown you all there is, Lady Rarity,” Applejack said as they approached the inn. “Hope you liked it.”

Rarity nodded. “I did. It was quite lovely, in its own rustic way.”

Applejack chuckled at that.

“Would you join us for supper?” Rarity asked. “I’d like to learn more about life in the village.”

“I would if I could,” Applejack drooped her ears. “But we’re having our own meal with the whole family, so...”

“I wouldn’t dare keep you then, darling, don’t worry,” Rarity smiled at the mare. “Farewell then.”

Applejack nodded and trotted in the direction she had come from as Rarity and her entourage continued to the inn. The unicorn was silent, reflecting on the events of the day. Overall, it had been successful, despite a rough start with Applejack.

“She’s a lovely pony, isn’t she, Lady Rarity?” Lotus broke the silence when they were approaching the inn.

“I believe she is,” Rarity answered absently, opening the door and trotting inside.

She stopped and regarded the scene before her in surprise.

For some reason the dining hall was brimming with ponies. At first Rarity thought it was because of her, but soon she realized that she wasn’t the reason for the commotion. Instead, it was a couple of traveler ponies that had grabbed everypony’s attention.

Rarity walked through the crowd — the two bulky guards in front of her clearing the way — and stopped before the travelers.

“...the city is on a lockdown; nopony gets in and out!”

“Excuse me, sir. What’s going on?” Rarity inquired.

The stallion gave her a lustful stare, but toned it down upon noticing her guards.

“King Hearth was poisoned yesterday,” he simply answered.

“W-what?” Rarity asked, dropping her jaw. “Is he alright?”

The pony looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not. He was poisoned, for Moon’s sake. By his own assistant, no less. The bitch has managed to escape, unfortunately. Last I heard she was hiding somewhere in the city. My friend and I were lucky to leave before the roads were blocked. They’re searching everything.”

“I see,” Rarity nodded, collecting herself. “Thank you, sir.”

Without listening to his response, Rarity went upstairs, forgetting all her earlier desires for supper. It didn’t look like she would be getting one right now in any case, with all the tables being stuffed by curious ponies listening to the news.

“Lady Rarity, are you okay?” Lotus asked, trotting right behind.

“No,” the unicorn answered flatly.

Rarity didn’t care much about politics, but she was the heir to her House, so her father had made sure she knew at least the basics and met some important ponies. Rarity had met the king himself on a couple occasions and he had left her the impression of being a good pony.

In fact, the king and her father had been longtime allies. The old monarch’s poisoning was quite worrisome for her House. Rarity shuddered at the thought of that oaf Blueblood assuming the throne. She’d had a personal encounter with the heir when her father and the king had arranged a date between them on one dreadful occasion.

If the prince were to rule the country as badly as he had behaved at the date — Equestria was doomed.

Rarity dismissed Lotus to her room and went to the shower. As luck had it, the door to the bathroom was locked. Rarity sighed in frustration. She hoped that pony inside wouldn’t take long because she wasn’t in the mood to wait.

Unfortunately, after five minutes of mulling by the door, Rarity had to assume the worst. With her patience on the brink of collapse, she rapped at the door. Somepony yelped and she heard a thud. Rarity felt bad — she didn’t wish for somepony to be hurt just because she was too impatient to wait a few more minutes.

The next moment the door opened, hitting her muzzle. Rarity stumbled back, almost falling on her haunches. Her bodyguards stepped forward, glaring at the startled purple unicorn, but Rarity stopped them with a gesture.

“It was my own fault, darling,” Rarity said to the mare, rubbing her aching nose. “I shouldn’t have hurried you. It’s just... I didn’t have the best day.”

“Tell me about it,” the unicorn in front of her chuckled nervously, turning off her glowing horn. “I’m simply exhausted. I almost fell asleep in the shower.”

“Once again, I apologize for startling you,” Rarity said, examining the unicorn. She didn’t look like she was a local and her Canterlot accent only confirmed it. “But where are my manners? My name is Rarity of House Belle. What is yours?”

The mare drooped her ears, flickering a panicked stare at Rarity and the two of her guards. Rarity looked at her in bemusement. It certainly wasn’t the reaction she’d expected from her introduction

“My name is Twilight—” the mare halted, her eyes going wide. “Twilight Blossom,” she finished with a strained grin.

“Well, Twilight Blossom, it is a pleasure making your acquaintance,” Rarity smiled back, wondering why the pony in front of her looked familiar. “Well, if you’re finished with the shower, I would like to take one myself.”

“Of course,” Twilight nodded curtly and walked past Rarity.

The guards parted to let her pass, following her with their eyes as she walked past. As soon as she had disappeared into her room, Rarity snorted.

“Can’t miss a tail, can you?”

Both stallions snapped their attention back to Rarity, only to see her turn her back on them. She flickered her own tail, brushing it against her guards’ muzzles. Their senses were hit with the sweet aroma of her perfume, which still lingered even after spending most of the day on the fields.

“Not that I mind, of course.”

Having said that, Rarity entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

***

Rarity spent the evening pondering on whether to stay in the village or return to the city. The events there were much more important than overseeing the harvest. A lot of political shuffling would be happening in the city once the new king assumed the throne; her father might want to keep his daughter close.

In the end, Rarity decided to stay. Her father didn’t take well to disobeying orders. Since the capital was half a day away, he would have no trouble sending a message to Rarity, but until then she would do what she had been told. Having finally come to a decision, the mare got to sleep.

It seemed like no time had passed when she was abruptly awoken by a loud banging on her door.

“Lady Rarity, you need to wake up!” Lotus’ scared voice called from the other side.

Slipping off the bed and landing on all fours, Rarity grudgingly approached the door and opened it. Lotus was waiting there with two of the bodyguards; the maid was wearing a frown, while the stallions remained impassive.

“What?” Rarity asked, cranky from her harsh awakening.

“There are some soldiers in the village; they’re gathering everypony outside,” Lotus babbled. Her accent was hard to understand at the moment, but Rarity got the gist of it.

She was about to walk past her, but Silver Armor stopped her.

“It may be wise to stay inside, Lady Rarity.”

“Don’t be silly,” she dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hoof, “I need to see what’s going on.”

“Spoiled brat,” Silver Armor muttered under his muzzle, but Rarity was already trotting down the corridor, so thankfully she’d missed that.

Nopony was minding the store downstairs — the whole place looked abandoned. Rarity and her escort exited the inn and quickly discovered where everypony was — a big crowd had gathered at the edge of the village.

Rarity walked there determinedly, furrowing her eyebrows. The village belonged to her House, so it was her direct responsibility to handle any serious issues. Her father would have approved of that line of thinking.

The ponies at the back of the crowd had noticed Rarity approaching, letting her pass through.

A group of soldiers were standing there. There weren’t a lot of them — about a dozen — and only three of them were unicorns. The green-coated unicorn with sergeant stripes on his armored foreleg was the highest ranked one, so Rarity assumed he was in charge.

“Who in Tartarus are you?” the pony barked instead of a proper greeting.

“My name is Rarity of House Belle,” the mare introduced herself, ignoring the sergeant’s rude tone. “Actually, it is I who should be asking that question.”

“Eh... I’m Sergeant Sharp,” the pony said. “Are you in charge of this village?”

Rarity nodded curtly.

“Well, lucky me then,” the sergeant grinned. “I’m here to conscript for the army and I could use some help.”

“Excuse me, what?” Rarity asked in shock. “You have no right to conscript ponies in our villages. Our House has already delivered our share of new recruits for this year.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, lady,” Sergeant Sharp said, levitating a scroll out of his saddlebag. “Here’s a conscription permit, signed by the head of House Belle. Every noble house in Equestria is required to provide a number of additional conscripts, by decree of the regent.”

Rarity blinked, trying to digest this new piece of information. Why hadn’t her father warned her about additional conscription? It was a mystery, but examining the sergeant’s papers, Rarity discovered that she actually had no reason to interfere.

She still felt that it was unfair.

House Belle had already conscripted this year and doing it for a second time, especially right before harvest, seemed like a bad move. The villagers would be angered, and for good reason.

Who is that regent, by the way? I thought Blueblood was the rightful heir.

Rarity didn’t ask that question to the sergeant, however. Instead, she sighed heavily and returned the scroll to him. She braced herself, turning to address the crowd.

“Everypony, I’m afraid Sergeant Sharp is allowed to conscript here,” she said, cringing from the outraged cries of the villagers. “I’m sorry, but this is out of my hooves!”

The ponies didn’t hear her now, yelling insults to the soldiers, House Belle and even Rarity herself. Her guards stepped in front of her in case an angry villager decided to take a more direct approach.

“You can’t avoid it, so let’s get it over with!” the sergeant yelled back at them, his voice carrying above the noise of the crowd.

“Buck you!” was the response he got.

Sergeant Sharp scowled and lit up his horn, aiming it at the pony who’d yelled that. A spell shot from its tip, striking the stallion on his chest. He flew backwards as if bucked by a giant pony and landed on his back, gasping for air.

Silence hung over the crowd, interrupted only by the poor stallion coughing and cursing as he tried to stand up.

“What in Equestria are you doing, you brute?” Rarity glared at the sergeant, flattening her ears.

“They need some discipline,” the pony answered flatly. “Now, you! I want everypony to line up here right now. You can hate me however much you want, but I won’t tolerate any disobedience. Is that clear?”

The crowd mumbled incomprehensibly and a few heads bobbed up and down.

“Then move up!”

Everypony began to comply, hanging their heads low. Rarity watched them with her heart clenching, feeling guilty for some reason. How could her House do that? It was a point of pride for her father to treat the ponies under their care fairly, and this decision had gone completely against that.

Rarity noticed Applejack and her big brother among the crowd. The farm mare met her eyes and Rarity gave her a nod, but Applejack broke eye contact without acknowledging seeing her at all. Rarity felt her heart sink. She had grown to like the candid mare after spending the day with her.

Shaking her head in frustration, Rarity dragged herself back to the inn. Once inside, she sat at the closest table and weighed her options. She couldn’t prevent this unfair conscription, but she could damn well tell her father what she thought of his decision to allow it. At the back of her mind, she knew that he likely had his own reasons, but Rarity was too upset to care.

“Get the carriage ready,” she snapped at her bodyguards, who had been shadowing her all the time. “I’m returning to Birminghoof. I need to have a serious talk with my father.”

Chapter IV - Soldiering On

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The rooster crowed with the first rays of sun, its voice loud enough to raise the dead. It would surely have woken up Applejack, if she hadn’t done so on her own a couple of minutes ago. She was simply enjoying the last moments of rest before the day started.

The mare sighed — the hay bed was so soft and warm — and climbed down to the floor. After some hearty stretching to get the morning stiffness out of her body, Applejack looked out of the window. The sky was clear so far, though it wasn’t guaranteed it would remain that way for the whole day.

Good weather was especially important today — it was the first day of harvest.

A slight frown touched the pony’s face. Applejack hadn’t had time to prepare her tools yesterday. Granny had thought it would be a darn good idea to send her to entertain the prissy unicorn from the capital. Though considering whose daughter the pony was, Granny had been right to send somepony she could trust. Besides, the unicorn lad wasn’t quite as bad as Applejack had feared.

Given the chance, they might even become friends…

“Don’t be silly, Applejack,” she told herself sternly. “She may seem decent, but she’s still one of them.”

Throwing Rarity out of her mind, Applejack walked into the corridor. She knocked on the door opposite to her own room and put her ear to the surface, waiting. Her filly sister always needed some encouragement in the morning. After Applejack had heard her sister’s little hooves hit the floor, she left her be.

Going downstairs, Applejack found Granny Smith already busy in the kitchen.

“Howdy, Granny,” she nodded to the older mare. “Need some help?”

Granny shook her head, grumbling something without stopping her work.

Applejack shrugged, trotting past her to the outside. The mare took a lungful of fresh autumn air, feeling a breeze blowing through her coat. She could have stood like that for a while simply enjoying the morning, but there was work for her to do.

Walking around her house, Applejack approached a large door at the back. Half of the first floor had been made into a workshop where the Apples kept their instruments and did some necessary repairs from time to time. She frowned when she heard a sound coming from inside. Suspecting who she’d find in there, Applejack entered.

She found her big brother — Big Macintosh — there, just as she’d expected. He was sharpening her sickle, something she was supposed to have done yesterday. He stopped for a moment to give Applejack a greeting nod and resumed his work.

“Howdy, Big Mac,” Applejack nodded back.

Her brother continued working in silence.

“I appreciate ya doin’ my work for me and all, but I can do it myself,” she said, approaching the red stallion.

“Eeyup.”

Applejack raised her eyebrows and waited for half a minute, but Big Mac didn’t stop.

“Well, I owe you one then,” Applejack sighed. There was no arguing with her stubborn brother; she’d better settle on repaying him the favor later.

She kept him company while he was working. He mostly listened while she talked about stuff, adding his eeyups and nopes when appropriate. Soon, however, Big Mac was done. The siblings went outside, where Applejack waited for her brother to take a quick shower that they’d set up a few years back. It was a simple one — just a barrel on wooden legs with some holes in the bottom.

Apple Bloom, the youngest member of the family, was already sitting at the table when Applejack and Big Mac finally entered the kitchen. She had started on her breakfast — fried hay with boiled eggs — without waiting for her siblings to show up. Granny put their own portions on the table, mumbling something about lazy youngsters.

“So, Applejack, ya still haven’t told me how the yesterday went,” Granny said after everypony was seated. “How’d that lady like this here little village?”

“Fine, I guess,” Applejack shrugged, chewing slowly. “She liked our apples, at least.”

“Well, it ain’t no surprise!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, grinning widely. “Everypony likes our apples.”

“Yep,” Big Mac confirmed.

The orchard had been planted by Granny’s own parents and had been the Apple family’s pride ever since, being one of the largest orchards around these parts.

“Hadn’t she ever tasted them before?” Granny Smith frowned. “Seeing as half our produce goes to her House!”

Granny was exaggerating, as only one forth of their produce would go to House Belle, who owned their whole village, including the orchard. Nopony liked to give up the fruits of their labor, but at least House Belle actually did help the village whenever they needed it, unlike some other Houses.

“It ain’t fair,” Apple Bloom said. “Why don’t we own our land? We work on it, so it should be ours. That’s what I think.”

“Now, Apple Bloom, that’s how it’s always b—”

“Doesn’t mean it’s right,” the filly interrupted, pouting her lips. “Sorry, Granny.”

“It’s okay, young’un,” Granny Smith waved her hoof.

Applejack shared her little sister’s opinion, though she usually kept it to herself. It wasn’t like she was able to change the current state of affairs yet, so what was the point in complaining?

“We’re gonna buy the land for ourselves soon, Apple Bloom,” Applejack consoled the filly.

Soon the meal was finished and it was time for harvest day to start.

***

Everypony was out in the field today. Being chosen as the harvest leader for this year — and the two years before that — Applejack was responsible for organizing the work. She had split the ponies into teams, giving each one a part of the field to harvest.

“Don’t overwork yourself again, Green Beans,” Applejack patted the older stallion on his back before he left with his team. “You’re not a young colt anymore.”

The pony chuckled. “I’m not a slacker, but I’ll do my best.”

They exchanged grins.

Harvest had began.

It would usually take a full week to go through all their fields and Applejack was determined to keep them on schedule. Even be ahead of it if possible. After all, the sooner they finished, the faster she and her brother would begin applebuck season.

Applejack led her own team to their designated area where they started immediately. It was hard, monotonous work. After the first hour, everypony was a little tired, but nopony dared to complain when their leader pushed herself even harder, so they had no choice but to follow her example.

Only her horse of a brother could keep up with her.

With two such powerful workers in their midst, the team had advanced much further through the field than all the others. However, after another hour of hard work, something had happened to interrupt their smooth progress.

“You all must go to the village right away,” a winded mare told them, stopping after a full gallop.

“What?” Applejack frowned, giving the mare a stare. “What for?”

“Some soldiers have arrived,” the mare shrugged. “They have some important announcement to make and they ordered everypony to be there.”

Applejack frown deepened. No soldiers had ever come to their little village. As much as she hated delaying their work, ignoring them would be unwise. As the mare ran off to get the other, Applejack faced the rest of her team who were all looking at her with a question in their eyes.

“Well, let’s go then.”

The walk back to the village was a short one. Applejack noticed the gathering at once. It was hard to miss a crowd at the edge of the village — pretty much every elder or younger pony who couldn’t work on the fields was already there.

She hadn’t been able to see the soldiers behind the crowd until she got close. A group of a dozen armored soldiers was standing at some distance. They had their helmets off and were chatting with each other, sometimes casting their looks at the villagers.

While her teammates joined the gathering, Applejack approached the green-coated armored unicorn she had guessed was in charge, while being backed by her brother. The stallion was standing slightly away from the others, watching the crowd. He turned his head to the siblings as they got near, his gaze lingering on Applejack’s flanks a little longer than was polite.

“Howdy there, sir,” Applejack began, unperturbed by such attention. “I wanna ask why you’re here.”

“I’ll explain it once everypony gets here, farm girl,” the soldier said, flickering a glance at her flank once more. “Go wait with the others.”

Applejack gritted her teeth at the dismissive tone of the soldier. She exchanged a look with her brother and turned around, making sure her tail was close to her body — she didn’t want to give that soldier a good view. The mare relaxed only when she was among the crowd.

The ponies were talking around her, each one having their own theory as to why the soldiers were here. Applejack was silent and simply waited for the workers to return from the fields. Soon, it looked like the whole village — about two hundreds ponies — had gathered before the soldiers.

At that moment, the leader of the soldiers stepped forward and stomped his hoof on the ground until he had gotten everypony’s attention.

“Listen up here, villagers, I’ve got some news for you!” he announced in a loud voice. “The High Council has ordered us to expand our army, which means that we need new recruits. I’ll welcome any volunteers, but if I don’t get enough, I can conscript whoever I need.”

The crowd erupted in protest. Nopony had ever been conscripted from their village as long as Applejack could remember. Unlike most of the other noble houses, House Belle usually allowed the villages under their rule to pick their own ponies for the army.

Why would House Belle suddenly change their approach?

Applejack had heard about a war with the griffons a couple of years back, but that couldn’t have been the reason, since the war had long since been over. Whatever the reason was, the mare was infuriated along with everypony else. Conscription right on the first day of harvest — it was outrageous!

It was at that moment that Lady Rarity arrived.

Applejack moved aside with the rest to let the elegant mare pass, watching her talk with the soldiers with some hope. The crowd went silent, so that they could hear every word that was being exchanged. Lady Rarity told the soldier’s leader that he had no right to conscript here. Unfortunately, he then presented some paper that made the mare change her opinion.

“Everypony, I’m afraid Sergeant Sharp is allowed to conscript here,” Lady Rarity said, flattening her ears from the villagers’ enraged response. “I’m sorry, but this is out of my hooves!”

“Boo,” Applejack joined the others as she glared at the white unicorn.

Lady Rarity’s guards stepped in front of her, but it didn’t stop the villagers from throwing their insults at both her and the soldiers behind her.

“You can’t avoid it, so let’s get it over with!” the sergeant yelled.

“Buck you!” Applejack’s neighbor yelled back at him.

Sergeant Sharp snapped his gaze at the pony and lit up his horn. As Applejack opened her mouth to warn her comrade, a beam of magic shot from his horn, throwing the poor pony backwards. He hit the ground hard and groaned in pain.

Everything was still then. The crowd was stunned — nopony had ever seen a unicorn’s magic being used with such ease. The dozen or so of the village’s native unicorns could barely move objects with levitation, but to see a full-grown pony being sent flying...

The sergeant ordered everypony to form a line and the crowd moved in compliance. Applejack glanced at Rarity, who looked sullen after having exchanged a few heated words with the sergeant. The lady didn’t approve of the soldier’s harsh actions and Applejack appreciated it, but she was still mad at the mare for her House’s broken promise. For a brief moment their eyes met, but Applejack quickly broke contact.

“What now, Applejack?” her brother asked.

The mare shrugged, watching Lady Rarity retreating along with her bodyguards. “Nothin’.”

Big Mac dropped his ears, but nodded resignedly. As soon as they had formed the line, Sergeant Sharp quickly dismissed the elderly and those who were too young and began walking back and forth, examining the ponies like items on a market. Applejack’s heart froze when he reached Big Mac.

“You’re quite a big guy, aren’t you?” he said, sizing him up. “We can use your type in the army.”

The stallion sighed and nodded. Applejack saw where this was going and she couldn’t allow it. She moved herself between her brother and the sergeant, looking directly in the latter’s eyes. The soldier recoiled, reaching for his sword, but Applejack made no further moves.

“Is he your coltfriend or something?” Sergeant Sharp smirked, regaining his posture.

Applejack’s face grew red.

“He’s my brother, ya dolt,” she explained, keeping her voice even. “And he won’t go to your darn army.”

“It’s fine. I’ll go.”

“No, you won’t!” Applejack stared back at her brother. “Who’s gonna harvest all those apples? I certainly can’t do that alone.”

The sergeant, getting annoyed at the interruption, put his hoof on Applejack’s chest to get her attention, having to weather a hard stare from both the mare and her brother in return. He put his hoof down but didn’t back down.

“It’s my decision, girl,” Sergeant Sharp stated firmly and then winked. “Unless you have something else to offer.”

“I don’t,” Applejack shook her head. “But he can’t go. Our family needs him at home.”

“I couldn’t care less, farm girl. He looks like good soldier material, so I’m taking him.”

“No, you won’t,” Applejack furrowed her brows and stomped the ground with her hoof.

The sergeant took a step back in surprise. The girl was acting foolishly stubborn, but he liked her attitude anyway. It would be a challenge to drill her into a good soldier, but he would certainly enjoy doing that. Besides, she looked prettier than her mountain of a brother.

Reconsidering his earlier decision, Sergeant Sharp smiled.

“Okay, I won’t take him,” he said, relishing her shocked look. “I think I’ll take you instead.”

Everypony around her gasped. Applejack opened her mouth, but no sound came out, as she was dumbfounded by the sudden change.

“I won’t take no for an answer, girl,” Sergeant Sharp continued. “If you care about your family so much, you’d better stop being so stubborn.”

Applejack flattened her ears.

The mare saw steel in the sergeant’s eyes and realized that he wasn’t fooling around. Well, at least she had gotten what she had wanted — Big Mac wasn’t being conscripted anymore. Applejack could see in her brother’s eyes that he didn’t like that unexpected turn, but he stayed silent.

Hanging her head low, Applejack joined a growing group of conscripts. There were about two dozen of them when Sergeant Sharp was done, with most of them being stallions. In fact, only she and two other ponies were mares among the group. Applejack didn’t know anypony close, but she would have been able to recall each conscript’s name if she’d tried.

The crowd was dismissed, but some ponies whose relatives had been conscripted lingered behind. Big Mac looked at his sister and Applejack could see despair in his eyes. Her own heart clenched with worry, but she put on a brave face for his sake.

“Go tell Granny what happened here,” she told him.

The stallion nodded and galloped to do just that.

***

The sergeant had been kind enough to allow conscripts to say a proper goodbye to their families, though he gave just three hours to do that. That short time had flown by fast, since Applejack knew she wouldn’t be seeing her family again for five years — that was how much a pony was required to serve once they had joined.

The whole Apple family had gathered in the kitchen. Nopony was talking, as everything had been said already. Apple Bloom was sobbing quietly, with tears streaming down her face, while Granny Smith and Big Mac held stoic expressions.

“C’mon, ponies, I don’t want my last day here to be like that,” Applejack finally said, raising her head and giving each member of her family a long look. “It’s not like I’m dying, for apple’s sake! I’ll be back eventually.”

“But I don’t want you to go at all,” Apple Bloom uttered through her sobbing, looking at her sister with big, wet eyes.

Applejack’s heart clenched, but she tried to keep her voice steady as she answered:

“I don’t want to go either, sugarcube. But I have to.”

“I… I don’t want you to go…”

A gloomy silence hung over them once more, until Granny Smith decided to interrupt it.

“We’ll take good care of the orchard, dontcha you worry ‘bout that, dearie.”

“Eeyup.”

“I appreciate that,” Applejack nodded, forcing a smile. She glanced at the sun outside. “Well, I guess it’s time.”

Applejack stood up and the rest did the same. She gave her little sister a tight hug, whispering assurances into her ear. Apple Bloom didn’t want to let go, but Applejack gently removed her hooves from around her neck and nuzzled her cheek.

She gave Granny Smith a hug too and then it was finally Big Mac’s turn. They exchanged a hug that would crush a lesser pony and kept it up for a while, until Applejack disengaged from his grip.

“No point in dragging it out, folks,” she said. “Goodbye.”

Giving them one last glance, Applejack turned around and walked out of the door.

***

She was the last pony to return.

A small crowd of ponies had gathered there to say goodbye to their friends and relatives. Applejack had asked her own family to stay back at the farm — she didn’t want to burst into tears in front of everypony.

The sergeant frowned at her, but Applejack couldn’t care less at the moment. Her thoughts were still with her family. She had no idea if she would even see them again. A lot could happen in five years. Applejack was no fool and realized that the army had to be building up was for a reason.

It was no good asking the sergeant about it. She knew he would likely refuse to talk, even if he knew anything about it at all. The simple soldiers that had come along with him might be more approachable, but they were keeping their distance from the conscripts.

“Let’s move up, fillies and colts,” Sergeant Sharp announced with false cheerfulness. “I want to be at the camp by nightfall.”

Applejack frowned. She didn’t know of any military camps except the big one near Birminghoof. If that was the one the sergeant had meant, they would have to really push themselves to get there this fast. It wasn’t a problem for Applejack, of course, but she was worried about some of her comrades.

The sergeant cantered in the lead, with the conscripts following him. The regular soldiers — mostly earth ponies — were moving separately from the rest. Nopony was inclined to chat, as everypony was concentrating on the actual running, so the only sound Applejack heard was a steady clop of dozens of hooves on the dirt road.

A couple of hours later, Applejack’s fears had been confirmed. One of the stallions who had been running close to her was panting heavily. Despite that, the stubborn pony tried to keep up with the rest for another half-hour until he finally began to fall back. Soon, the sergeant noticed it and stopped the whole group.

“I thought you earth ponies were supposed to be strong,” the unicorn raised a lone eyebrow as he approached the exhausted pony. “I guess I was wrong.”

“I…just need… some rest,” the pony managed to push through his teeth, trying to catch his breath.

“We need a break,” another conscript said.

“Be an equine!” somepony else screamed.

Sergeant Sharp stomped his hoof hard on the ground, making everypony shut up. He gave them a look, lingering his eyes on Applejack for a brief moment, and returned his full attention to the tired stallion.

“You’re expected to run three times as much in heavy armor in the army,” he told him flatly. The pony gulped. “But I realize that you, you worthless piece of dirt, are not up to our standards yet. All of you must get to the camp in one piece, so I’ll give you a half-hour break.”

The ponies practically dropped on the road right where they were standing. Applejack settled on some grass to the side too, though she wasn’t really tired. Not after her hour-long running she would do almost every morning. She’d had to skip one today because of the harvest, unfortunately.

The regular soldiers kept themselves at some distance from the conscripts as usual, chatting with each other. They didn’t seem out of breath, either.

Applejack never took her eyes off the sergeant, however. She didn’t like his lustful looks, so she kept an eye on him. He seemed to be ignorant of her close attention, as he was talking about something with his soldiers. Applejack swiveled her ears in their direction but couldn’t quite distinguish their words.

“What do you think happened, Applejack? I thought House Belle didn’t do conscription in their villages,” one of the conscripted mares said, coming closer.

“Your guess is as good as mine, eh… Grassy Hills,” Applejack answered, hoping that she’d remembered the name right.

She pretended to listen as the chatty mare was sharing her theories, but her thoughts had actually wandered to her family again. How would they go through the applebuck season without her? Little Apple Bloom would have to step up. Poor filly.

Then Applejack’s thoughts went to Lady Rarity.

Even though she was still angry at her, she knew that the young unicorn wasn’t in charge of House Belle and had appeared to be just as surprised as everypony else when the soldiers had arrived. It was unfair of Applejack to blame her after she’d tried to help, even though she had failed.

Soon, break time was up. They continued on their way, but this time the sergeant was moving a little bit slower. As the hours went by, Applejack couldn’t help but be impressed with Sergeant Sharp’s stamina. Even the soldiers were winded after a long run, but this pony kept going. The farm mare hadn’t expected this from a unicorn.

The group stopped for a few more breaks along the way. The sun was about to set when Sergeant Sharp finally announced they were close. Applejack could see a city on the horizon, but the camp was apparently much closer.

The sergeant led them off the main road onto a smaller one and after ten more minutes of calm trotting they had arrived at a slightly rusty iron gate. Applejack read the words East Tail above it. She guessed it was what the camp was called.

Two guards were standing at both sides of the gate. The sergeant gave them a nod and turned turned to address the conscripts.

“East Tail is the best training camp in the country, fillies and colts,” Sergeant Sharp said, though most of the conscripts were too exhausted to pay any attention. “You’re going to be assigned to your barracks and tomorrow morning I’ll start shaping you into proper soldiers. Is that clear?”

The ponies mumbled something in return and the sergeant frowned.

“First rule — you’re supposed to answer “Yes, sir!” when your superior asks you something. I repeat, is that clear?!”

“Yes, sir,” most of the ponies joined in a chorus of voices, but he the sergeant wasn’t satisfied.

“Better. But still not good enough. I’ll ask one more time and you’d better answer — Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!” this time everypony, including Applejack, roared as one. Sergeant Sharp nodded with a tiny smile on his lips.

“Good.”

***

The camp was spread out over a big area. Dozens of rectangular, wooden barracks built on its ground would have fit hundreds of soldiers, but most of them looked vacant. In fact, Applejack got the impression that most of the camp was empty.

After dismissing the soldiers, who quickly disappeared into one of the closest barracks, Sergeant Sharp led the conscripts down the main street. Soon, they had stopped in front of a building that looked no different from its neighbors. Ordering the conscripts to wait outside, the sergeant entered it alone.

Applejack glanced at the sign over the door — Administration, it said. The mare raised her eyebrows in surprise. She would have expected whoever was in charge of the whole camp to have a nicer place for themselves than this shack. Even their simple homes back at the village looked like an architectural marvel compared to these utilitarian structures.

Sergeant Sharp returned about ten minutes later, holding a scroll in his magic. He narrowed his eyes at the conscripts.

“Do any of you fools know how to read?”

The ponies muttered, shaking their heads. It was a rare pony at the village who had such a skill. The government considered it a waste funding a school for simple ponies. Whoever wanted to learn how to read, had to do it on their own. Or pay a lot of bits for a private tutor, which wasn’t really an option for most.

“I thought so,” the sergeant sighed, flickering his tail.

“Well, I know how to read,” Applejack answered after some hesitation.

The soldier turned his head towards her, frowning. He cleared his throat, glaring at the mare silently, until she’d realized her slip.

“I know how to read, sir,” Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Good girl,” he nodded, giving her the scroll. Applejack barely caught it in her teeth. “You’ll find the number of your barracks in them. I also want you to write down everypony’s names and such. You do that while I take care of some other business.”

Having said that, the sergeant trotted away, leaving a befuddled Applejack and a bunch of conscripts in the middle of the unfamiliar camp. Everypony looked at Applejack for directions.

“Okay then,” Applejack shrugged, putting the scroll on the ground and holding it with her hoof. “Hmm, lemme see…”

She slowly read the address at the top of the scroll, memorizing it. The rest of it was empty. Applejack frowned — Granny Smith had taught her how to read pretty well, but writing stuff… That was a different matter. She picked the scroll up, deciding to think about it later.

“Damn, I’m hungry,” somepony murmured. Applejack fully shared that sentiment.

Unfortunately, Sergeant Sharp had forgotten to mention anything about chow, so it was reasonable to assume they wouldn’t get one today. Applejack glanced around in search — most of the camp territory was flat, thumped by hundreds of hooves — but she found a nice patch of grass along the side of the barracks nearby.

“Here’s our dinner, ponies,” Applejack pointed at it.

The mare set an example by going over there and grabbing a mouthful of grass. She chewed on it slowly, wishing it was one of her apples instead. Raw grass was pretty bland. It wasn’t unheard of to eat to it, but it was considered to be a last resort when no other food was available.

Now was one of those situations.

The rest followed Applejack’s example reluctantly. When everypony had satisfied their hunger a bit, the mare led them on a search for their barracks. Thankfully, each building was numbered, so it wasn’t difficult to find the one they had been assigned to.

Applejack entered the building first, finding herself in a small lobby. A lone soldier was napping by the door. He blinked at her sleepily and jumped to his hooves in panic, leveling his spear at the mare.

“Who goes there!?” he yelled, rolling his eyes crazily.

“Calm down there, partner,” Applejack backed out, hitting her the pony behind her with her backside. “We were told to go here. We’re the new conscripts.”

“Ah, sorry then,” the armored pony said, lowering his spear. “Should have guessed. Come on in, there’s nopony else inside.”

Applejack nodded and called for the others. She counted the heads of her fellow conscripts to make sure nopony had been lost on their trip through the camp. Thankfully, everypony was there. Satisfied, Applejack glanced at the guard.

“Say, where I could find some feathers and ink?”

***

It had taken her a full hour, but she had finished what the sergeant had ordered her to do. Everypony else was already snoring on their bunks, while she had to lie on the cold, wooden floor since there was no table around.

Luckily, Applejack had managed to remember most of the names, though she’d had to make up a few of her own. If the sergeant found out, he wouldn’t like it, but that was his own damn problem. It was his job she was doing anyway.

The mare stood up, stretching her tired muscles. Putting the scroll on the floor by her cot, Applejack lay down herself. It was nice to finally relax after such a long day. It had started out pretty well, but had somehow ended up with Applejack having to leave her family.

What rotten luck she had.

Applejack chuckled humorlessly and forced herself to stop thinking about it. There was no use in worrying pointlessly. The mare was past her usual bedtime as it was, so she simply closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

***

“Hey, you, where is my damn scroll?”

Applejack folded her ears, but it was too late — she was awake. She felt like no time had passed at all. Opening one eye, she saw a familiar figure above her in the dim light from a window. Grunting, Applejack pointed her hoof at the scroll beside her cot.

“Ah, here it is, hehe,” Sergeant Sharp picked up the scroll in his magic, floating it in the air. “Have you done what I told you?”

Applejack growled in response and rolled to the other side to continue sleeping. She was too tired to deal with that fool. He didn’t go away, however. Suddenly, she felt a hoof caressing her belly, sending goosebumps all over the mare’s body.

“What?!” Applejack jerked, falling off the bed. She quickly got back on her hooves when the smell of alcohol hit her senses.

The sergeant was drunk!

He wasn’t wearing most of his armor anymore, leaving only the piece with sergeant stripes on his foreleg.

“You owe me a favor, missy,” the stallion said with a chuckle. “I could have taken your brother, but I didn’t. I think I deserve some damn gratitude for that.”

Applejack glared at the pony incredulously, drooping her ears. First, he had separated her from her family, and now he had the gall to demand gratitude for it! She took a deep breath to avoid saying something she would regret later.

“Well, I’m plumb grateful, sir. Thank ya kindly.”

The sergeant narrowed his eyes.

“If so, then follow me. That’s an order.”

Applejack had a bad feeling about this, but he was her superior and she would probably get in trouble for refusing his orders — rightful orders, that is. She would have no qualms about refusing any sexual advances on his part, whatever the consequences might be. There were lines she wouldn’t allow anypony to cross.

Suppressing a scowl, Applejack nodded. The sergeant gave her a smirk and went for the door as Applejack followed behind. The sentry in the lobby saluted to the sergeant and gave Applejack an understanding glance as they went past him.

Once outside, the unicorn lit up his horn since it was night already, leading her somewhere. Applejack was tense all the way until they finally stopped in front of a barracks. Its windows were dark, so there was likely nopony inside. The sergeant pointed at the door.

“Go in, conscript,” he grinned, swaying a little. “The place is empty; nopony will disturb us there.”

Applejack furrowed her brows and entering the barracks, kicking the door with her front hoof so hard that one of the hinges broke off. Sergeant Sharp had had too much cider to care about something like that, however. His mind was set on the task in front of him.

The camp’s commander wouldn’t look kindly on him taking advantage of ponies in his charge, but he wasn’t taking advantage of Applejack. She owed him a favor, didn’t she? Nodding to himself, he walked inside, closing the door behind him. It hadn’t closed properly, but Sharp didn’t even notice.

Glancing at the ceiling, he cast a spell at the crystal stone there and it glowed, illuminating the room better than any torch. Such luxuries were installed in every barracks, but you needed magic to activate it. With most of the conscripts being earth ponies, they were almost useless.

Applejack was standing in the center of the room, facing the sergeant as he got inside. He approached her slowly, ogling her body. If his intentions hadn’t been obvious before, they were completely transparent now.

“Stop right there, sir,” the mare raised her hoof.

The sergeant bumped his muzzle into it. He took a step back, staring at the mare in front of him in annoyance.

“You owe me, remember?” he reminded her. “So turn around and raise your tail.”

“I’ll do no such thing, sir,” Applejack shook her head. She was fuming inside. “I’ll do whatever chores ya want me too, even fill out your darn scrolls, but ya can forget about this.”

Sergeant Sharp growled, charging up his horn. He batted her hoof to the side and stepped towards the mare.

Applejack decided that she’d had enough of this.

First, she hit his horn, disrupting whatever spell he’d been about to cast. The unicorn cringed and recoiled, rubbing it with one hoof. Applejack briefly considered whether to stop, but she was too enraged to control herself at this point.

Striking his chin with a right hook, Applejack added another hit to his front leg. The sergeant lost his balance and fell hard on his face. Jumping behind him, Applejack carefully aimed a single hoof at his raised hindquarters and bucked.

Obviously, she didn’t use even half of her considerable strength — she didn’t want to kill the stallion after all — but after her hoof connected with his dangling balls, he likely wished he was dead. His eyes bulging out, the stallion wailed, gripping his hurting jewels with his hooves.

Applejack cringed. Even though the sergeant had deserved it, she’d had no pleasure in hurting him like that. She hoped that she hadn’t gone too far. Sitting on her haunches, Applejack breathed heavily as she calmed her boiling rage.

Eventually, the stallion had recovered enough to stop wailing, simply lying on his side with his front hooves between his hind legs.

Applejack had now cooled down enough to realize what she had just done. Even if it had been completely justified in her eyes, she was certain that whoever was in charge wouldn’t take that lightly. She would be facing severe punishment for her actions.

She glanced at the sergeant’s cutie mark — a whip. It didn’t exactly look reassuring.

“Can you hear me, sir?” Applejack asked, trying to sound polite.

The pony grumbled something. Applejack took it as a “yes”.

“That’s nice,” she nodded, planning her next words carefully. She decided on a direct approach. “How ‘bout we keep this here situation between us?”

“H-have you gone mad, bitch?” the officer growled. “I’ll destroy you for this.”

Applejack frowned. She wasn’t surprised at his answer. The mare looked at his saddlebag, where he had the scroll she’d filled out before. The camp’s commander didn’t know her name and where she was from yet. If she killed him right now, she and her fellow villagers might just have a chance to escape…

Nah, that was a foolish plan. The soldiers who were with the sergeant knew the village they were from and would certainly give it away. If Applejack were to hide somewhere else, they could target her family instead.

“Don’t be a fool, Sergeant,” Applejack told the pony. “D’ya want everypony here to know that a mare wiped the floor with ya? I don’t think so. Ya leave me alone and I’ll keep quiet, but if ya try any funny business, I swear I’ll find ya even if that’s the last thing I do, ya hear me?”

The sergeant was silent for a while. Applejack was already psyching herself up to do what was necessary, until he finally sighed.

“Fine, whatever,” he spat out. “You keep your trap shut and I won’t report it. But I’ll make your life here a living nightmare. Remember that, filly.”

“We have a deal then,” Applejack nodded, her knees almost buckling under her from relief.

She paid no mind to the drunken fool’s threat. As long as he kept his part of the deal, Applejack was ready to take on everything he would throw at her. It wasn’t like she had expected an army life to be peachy.

“Now get the buck out before I change my mind,” Sergeant Sharp said, slowly taking a sitting position.

Without saying another word, Applejack left. As she made her way back to her barracks, she decided that she wasn’t going to sleep tonight, in case the stallion changed his mind after all. In that case, she wouldn’t hold back on him.

Chapter V - On the Road

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It was still dawn when Twilight climbed down the stairs. She hadn’t gotten nearly enough rest after yesterday’s trip, but she hadn’t wanted to interrupt her sleeping schedule.

Twilight was hoping to get some breakfast before she continued on her journey to Canterlot, but as she stopped in the empty hall downstairs, that hope began to slip. The innkeeper was likely still in bed, thus making her meal impossible.

Tapping her hoof on the floor, Twilight thought about skipping it, but upon further consideration she decided that it wasn’t worth it. The road to Canterlot would take at least a week at trotting speed, so saving one to two hours wouldn’t make any difference. Besides, she had zero intentions of munching on some withering autumn grass on the side of a road.

I really need to buy some food for the way, Twilight thought to herself, returning to her room. Once there, the mare laid on her bed, summoning her saddlebag from the floor. She quickly found the journal with her notes about the artifacts inside, diving right in.

The reason why she was going to Canterlot was its library. The library in Starswirl Academy — from which she had graduated — was the largest one in Equestria, unrivaled even by the Royal Library in Birminghoof.

It was the most logical place to begin her hunt for ancient artifacts. She would have preferred to go through some books in the Royal Library first, of course, but with Twilight being the most wanted pony there, it just wasn’t possible. She had barely escaped the city as it was.

After a couple of hours of weighing her choices, Twilight had finally come to an important decision — she was going to search for the Alicorn Amulet. It was a better choice compared to the Elements of Harmony on every account.

The books she’d read attributed almost unlimited power to the Elements, but the biggest problem was that it wasn’t just one artifact, it was all six of them. Even if she were to find them eventually, there was a risk that one of them would be missing. Not to mention that there were some murky requirements on how to wield them properly.

Using the Alicorn Amulet, on the other hoof, was as easy as pie. It was just a necklace for a unicorn to wear that would magnify their power to the level of an alicorn. If Blueblood wore it, he could easily take on Everlight, while being directly backed by his whole order. That was the artifact Twilight would concentrate her main efforts on.

Putting the journal back into her bag, the mare swiveled her ear towards a sound coming from the first floor. It seemed like the innkeeper was finally awake. Her stomach growled in anticipation of a meal.

Getting off the bed without even bothering to make it, Twilight hurried downstairs once again. She froze with her hoof above the last step of the stairs.

Soldiers!

Before becoming completely enveloped in a wave of panic, the mare realized that the soldiers were simply having some food, chatting with each other relaxedly. Twilight sighed in relief — they weren’t here to get her.

Twilight quickly backed up until she was out of their sight anyway. What were the soldiers doing in some backwater village? It seemed like an awfully suspicious coincidence that a random group of them would just pop up in the same inn that she was staying.

Carefully peeking at them from behind the corner, Twilight examined the soldiers. It was about half a dozen ponies, all of them of earth tribe, and none of them was higher in rank than a private.

Twilight could say so for sure, having written a large dissertation on army designations in her academy days. That was if the insignia on the armors were to be trusted.

It could be just a rich group of mercenaries who had laid their hooves on some military equipment. In fact, Twilight was hoping that was the case — it would spare her a lot of nerves.

Twilight inhaled sharply, pulling her head back behind the cover, but she knew that it was too late. One of the soldiers had glanced at her! She had been discovered!

The mare galloped back into her room in panic, locking the door behind her. Rushing to the window, Twilight tried to open it, but it was stuck for some reason. Damn it!

Somepony tapped on the door, causing Twilight to twitch nervously. The unicorn faced the door wide-eyed, barely stopping herself from unleashing an instinctive torrent of magic at the threat. Thankfully, the rational part of her brain was telling her that if the soldier had recognized her for certain, he wouldn’t be wasting his time on knocking politely.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Twilight glanced around the room, hoping to find something to mask her features. As her eyes fell on a brush lying on her nightstand, she glowed with an idea.

Remembering the right spell was a cinch, so in a flash of light her mane and tail had changed their color from purple to sickeningly green. It was garish, there was no denying that, but Twilight knew it from her early Academy days. That hadn’t been one of her best decisions back then, but it would prove useful now. With enough concentration, Twilight could modify the spell to a different color, but she was in a hurry.

Her last touch was levitating a saddlebag onto her back to hide her cutie mark. Hoping that her little disguise would throw the soldier off her tail, Twilight approached the door and opened it, forcing her muzzle into a polite smile.

“Eh… Howdy there, miss,” the soldier said, looking past her shoulder into the room. “Are you alone in there?”

“Yes, of course,” Twilight chuckled, giving the soldier a worried look.

The soldier shifted uncomfortably, twitching his ear.

“I thought I’d seen — But never mind, I guess I was wrong,” the soldier shrugged and was about to leave when Twilight’s curiosity made her ask a question of her own.

“Who did you think you saw, if that’s not a secret?”

The stallion shrugged.

“Eh, I guess I just leaped at a shadow… Don’t you worry, miss.”

After apologizing for disturbing her, the soldier walked away, muttering angrily under his nose, with Twilight catching something about a reward.

As soon as he was out of sight, Twilight slumped on the floor, shutting the door with her magic. Her heart was beating fast in her chest — that had been a close call! The unicorn wasn’t quite sure if her disguise would work, so that small encounter had cost her a lot of nerves.

Getting back on her hooves, Twilight frowned. She had underestimated the government. Barely a day had passed since the king had been poisoned, but some random soldiers away from the capital already knew what she looked like.

Twilight’s new priority was to disguise herself with something more thorough than simply a mane of a different color. Perhaps she could make the dyeing spell work on her coat as well…

I need a mirror for this.

***

Half an hour later, Twilight was standing in front of one in the bathroom, gazing at her own reflection. A totally unfamiliar mare was looking back at her. Instead of Twilight’s purple coat, the mare’s coat was a light shade of blue.

Her mane had received some attention too. Twilight had changed her color to a nice, soothing shade of green that didn’t look quite as poisonous as her previous hasty attempt.

Doing all of the color changes had actually taken her less than ten minutes. The mare had spent most of that time struggling with a simple hairbrush, trying to comb her mane into a different style. The end result had definitely been worth the effort though.

Even her brother wouldn’t have recognized her.

The only problem left was her cutie mark. Twilight had made an attempt to change it, but for some reason her magic had had no effect on it. It would be an intriguing topic of research at any other time, but for now it was a hindrance. Twilight settled on covering her cutie mark with her saddlebags until she found a better solution. Maybe some body paint would do.

With her disguise done, Twilight went downstairs once again. The soldiers were thankfully gone by now. In fact, the whole place was empty, save for the innkeeper cleaning some tables.

He did a double take at Twilight.

“I don’t remember you staying here,” he stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

After all the work she had invested into her new look, Twilight would be surprised if he did. Putting an innocent smile on her muzzle, the mare tried to come up with some explanation.

“Sorry, I just needed to use the bathroom.”

“I didn’t see you entering either,” the innkeeper frowned.

“Eh… I came at night. In fact, I’m sharing a room with my friend up there. If that’s okay with you, of course.”

The pony shrugged. “Well, as long as the room is being paid for, it’s none of my business.”

Twilight nodded as she sat behind one of the tables. It was about time she finally had her much delayed breakfast.

***

Twilight left the inn with a full belly.

Before leaving the village, however, Twilight decided to buy some supplies for the road, with food being first on that list. The innkeeper had mentioned an apple orchard near the village — apples would be a perfect choice. She looked around as if expecting to see an apple stand, but of course there were none in sight.

What she saw was a group of ponies hanging about. Maybe somepony in that big crowd would give her some directions. Twilight approached the gathering and caught the attention of the nearest pony. The pony looked upset for some reason, but she explained how to find what Twilight was looking for nonetheless.

Thanking the mare, Twilight trotted on a small path away from the village. Just like she’d been told, soon she saw the farmhouse up ahead. She went faster, but immediately felt a discomfort in her hooves. Glancing down, a realization dawned on her.

She lacked horseshoes.

Twilight had left Birminghoof in a hurry the same night she had escaped the dungeon, before anypony had even realized she was gone. There had been no time to properly prepare for the journey, but at least Blueblood had given her a sum of money to buy what she needed along the way. She would add horseshoes to that list.

Twilight stopped as she approached the building, examining it with interest. It was made out of wood, unlike her parents’ house in Canterlot, while being much larger as well. Twilight’s family had to fit into a small apartment, while this one seemed to have the whole house all for themselves.

Moving her attention to one of the windows, Twilight noticed a filly. The mare waved, but the filly didn’t seem to notice. Shrugging, Twilight approached the front door and knocked.

It opened almost immediately. A large, red-coated stallion was standing there, silently glaring at Twilight. She gulped, being slightly nervous from such an unfriendly welcome, but there was no point in backing out now.

“Sorry for disturbing you, eh… sir, but I was told I could buy some apples here?”

The stallion gave her a nod and walked right past her outside, making a gesture to follow him. Twilight did so reluctantly, slightly put off by the pony’s unwelcome attitude. Making their way to the back of the house, the stallion stopped and turned around to face her.

“How many do you need?” he asked in a low, heavy voice.

“Enough to fill half of my saddlebag,” Twilight said, giving it a calculating glance. It wasn’t really suited for travel. “Speaking of which, do you happen to have a larger saddlebag? I would buy it as well.”

The pony thought for a second before nodding.

“I also need some traveling horseshoes,” Twilight smiled nervously.

“You got it!”

Having said that, the farmer gestured her to wait and opened a hatch to the basement at the side of the house. A few minutes later he got out, carrying a small basket of apples. He put them on the ground in front of her and left again, this time going into the back of his house. It took the farmer a bit longer to return this time, but soon he appeared with a saddlebag and some horseshoes, laying them on the ground as well.

“That’ll be five bits.”

Twilight paid the sum without trying to bargain.

The new saddlebag was indeed bigger than her old one, so she quickly moved her stuff to it. Taking a few steps back and forth, Twilight made sure it was comfortable to wear. After adjusting some straps, it turned out to be even more comfortable than her old one.

“Those were for my sister,” the stallion suddenly said, pointing at the horseshoes. “I never got a chance to give it to her.”

Twilight looked at the pony in surprise.

“Why not?”

He sighed heavily. “She’s gone.”

“Oh,” Twilight drooped her ears. “My condolences.”

“She’s alive,” the stallion corrected her. “She left, right this morning.”

Twilight was curious about what he had meant by that, but she kept her mouth shut. The farmer was obviously in a bad mood because of his sister leaving. At least she had been lucky enough to get everything she needed in one place without having to scout an entire village.

Having thanked the farmer, Twilight trotted away, making a new sound with her new horseshoes, which were securely strapped to her hooves. It would take some time for her to get used the sound, but it was much easier walking on the road’s hard surface with them.

When she had gotten far away from the farm, Twilight realized something — she had never bothered to learn the farmer’s name.

***

The horseshoes had been serving her well.

Twilight had covered a good distance already, two hours after leaving the village behind. The mare had quickly passed through a few of the smaller villages without even stopping for rest. The faster she got to Canterlot, the sooner she could begin her artifact hunt.

But even her resolve couldn’t keep her going at such a pace forever. The unicorn’s legs simply weren’t used to prolonged journeys. Even though the horseshoes were protecting her hooves, Twilight felt a growing ache in her muscles. She didn’t have to experience such difficulties on her way from Canterlot to Birminghoof — the king had sent a pegasus carriage for her that had made the whole journey in less than a day.

I need to hire a carriage as soon as possible, Twilight decided.

Of course, the mare had to settle for something ground-based this time, since finding a pegasus in a farm village was just as likely as finding flying pigs.

After five more hours of constant trotting, Twilight finally slowed down to a walk and eventually stopped altogether. She lowered herself on the grass at the side of the road, levitating a heavy saddlebag off her back, while exhaling heavily.

Getting her map out, Twilight examined it closely.

According to it, the nearest relatively big town was half a day’s walk away — Waterhoof. In there, Twilight should have the best chance of finding a carriage that would take her to Canterlot. If she really stretched herself, she could get to the town by nightfall.

Putting the map away, Twilight dove her muzzle into her saddlebag, grabbing an apple. It turned out to be surprisingly good, so she devoured three of them in quick succession, shutting her eyes in bliss as she enjoyed their sweetness.

The mare rested for an hour before resuming her journey once again.

Half a day later, Twilight’s legs were sore, but she had managed to stay on schedule. The sun was setting when she saw the lights over the town’s gate ahead of her. As she got closer, however, Twilight noticed a problem — the gate was closed. She growled in frustration.

Some cities closed their gates at night, but Twilight had never experienced it before. If only she had remembered it earlier, then she wouldn’t have to stretch herself so much. She could have stopped at some inn a long time ago!

Snorting angrily, Twilight looked around for a place to spend the night. She saw a good spot under a tree — a small clearing away from the road. Twilight walked there and dropped her saddlebag on the ground. Levitating a small towel, she threw it on the cold grass.

It would have to do.

Twilight sighed, thinking of some good meal she could have been enjoying right now. At least she had some apples… Twilight had half a mind to just bang at the gates until somepony opened, but considering her situation, it wouldn’t have been a good idea to draw attention to herself, even with her disguise.

After finishing off another batch of apples — her supply of them was dwindling rapidly — Twilight laid her head down. Sleep, however, was eluding her. Unwelcome thoughts and memories flooded her head when she had nothing else to distract her.

Twilight’s thoughts wandered to the assassin who had poisoned the king. She recalled the pony in detail. Black coat, black mane — those weren’t natural colors. It wasn’t just the usual black: it was a coal-black, the darkest kind of black. Most likely the criminal had used some kind of a spell or potion to change it, just like Twilight had done earlier.

She remembered how easily the pony had leaped through the window, even though they had no wings.

The assassin is a powerful unicorn, Twilight concluded. Too bad I wasn’t able catch them.

Eventually her thoughts became more and more derailed, until her mind finally slipped into a slumber.

***

Twilight was awoken by the sound of hoofsteps nearby. Cracking her eyes open, she saw two soldiers approaching. A surge of panic overwhelmed her — she’d been discovered!

Scrambling to get on her hooves, Twilight charged her horn to strike at the soldiers. She managed to stop herself at the last second before she did something drastic, as her half-awake mind finally grasped the situation.

They’re not even armed, she scolded herself, releasing her unused magic.

The soldiers stopped a few feets away from Twilight, looking at the mare with half-grins.

“Did you sleep here all night?” one of the soldiers asked.

Twilight nodded, shaking a little from the adrenaline.

“You could have just knocked, you know,” the other one added and then winked. “We wouldn’t have left such a cute mare outside.”

Twilight’s cheeks flared red as she stepped from one hoof to another. The soldiers barked a laugh.

“Anyway, the gates are open now,” the first soldier told her, calming down. “You can enter this dump somepony called Waterhoof.”

Twilight thanked the pony.

The mare watched both of the soldiers make their way back to the gates, taking positions at its sides. They’d likely just wanted to check on a mare they had seen under a tree when Twilight had almost attacked them. The unicorn frowned.

Twilight didn’t really know any attack spells. What if the soldiers had really been planning to capture her? Would she have been able to resist?

I need to learn some battle magic pronto, Twilight decided. The library in Canterlot would surely have books on the topic.

Putting the towel she was sleeping on back into her saddlebag, Twilight brushed her coat off of grass and leaves. Her stomach growled, but the mare ignored its demands. She didn’t want to waste the few apples she had left, when she could get some snack in that town. Levitating her saddlebag onto her back, the unicorn moved out.

Twilight went past the guards, exchanging a nod with them, and finally entered the town. She didn’t get far, however. After making a few steps down the street, the mare thought of something and doubled back. The guards looked at her curiously when she appeared in front of them once again.

“Excuse me, gentlecolts, can I ask you something?” the guards nodded, so she continued, “I’m looking to hire a carriage to Canterlot. Do you know where I could do that?”

The guards both chuckled. “Gentlecolts…” one of them mulled over the word. “Nopony has called us that before, that’s for sure… Anyway, I don’t think you can hire a carriage here.”

“Nope,” the other one confirmed.

Twilight drooped her ears. That was disappointing. “Okay, thank you.”

She was about to leave, when the guard gestured to her.

“However, there’s a market in the town’s center — go straight ahead and you’ll find it. Some farmers come from afar to sell their stuff. Try asking them. I doubt anypony would get you to Canterlot, but for some bits they would probably give you a ride to their village. That’s better than nothing, right?”

“Thank you!” Twilight said, her ears perking up.

Following the guard’s advice, Twilight went straight ahead from the gate. With the bits she had, she was certain to find some ponies ready to take her much further than just their village.

It was quite early in the morning, judging by the sun’s position, so Twilight wasn’t surprised to see the streets deserted. What surprised her was condition the streets were in. The guard was right — it was a pure dump.

Twilight even had to watch her step to avoid stumbling into some pothole. Most of the houses the unicorn saw desperately needed repairs. However, as she got closer to the center of the small town, the situation improved a bit. The ponies who lived there could afford to keep their dwelling in a decent condition, unlike the ones who lived at the edges.

Soon, Twilight had reached the marketplace. It was empty save for a lone pony sweeping the paved square with his broom. Throwing a quick glance around the place, Twilight looked for some inn and sure enough found one in the corner, facing the market square.

Trotting up to the establishment, Twilight entered it. Once inside, she found it not much different from the one she had spent the previous night in. Similar-looking hall, same old furniture… The main difference was its popularity. Half the tables were taken up by ponies chatting with each other loudly. Most or even all of them were earth ponies, as Twilight had noticed.

They must be the farmers I need, the mare thought, excited.

Forgetting all about her planned meal, Twilight chose her first target. She approached a table in front of her that was occupied by two earth stallions. They threw her an annoyed glance upon having their conversation interrupted. She smiled nervously.

“Hello, ponies,” Twilight said. “I’m looking for a ride to get me to Canterlot, fast. I’ll pay.”

The ponies exchanged a look and then laughed out loud. Twilight drooped her ears, her smile disappearing.

“Don’t you want any bits?” she asked, frowning.

“And who’s going to watch our tomatoes, filly? You?”

“Tomatoes?” Twilight repeated.

“Tomatoes,” the pony nodded. “That’s what we come here to sell, you know.”

Twilight did not despair at the first rejection. However, when she attempted the same strategy with a couple more farmers, she got the same result — nopony wanted to give her a ride to Canterlot. By now, everypony knew what Twilight wanted and simply shook their head as soon as she came near.

She had little hope when she approached a table with a lone, gray stallion, but before she had even opened her mouth, the pony there grinned.

“I’ll get you to Canterlot in a blink, filly,” he said. “If you pay me a hundred bits, that is.”

The ponies around her shuffled, observing the situation with interest. Such a sum was quite a lot by their standards. Twilight’s own family could live off that money for an entire month. Despite the mare’s purse having thousands of bits from Blueblood, she was reluctant to agree.

Did she really need to hire anypony at all? It would be difficult, but she would be able to reach the city on her own. Perhaps it would take her a bit longer, but what were a day or two in the great scheme of things? On the other hoof, Blueblood had urged her to hurry. He wasn’t sure that Everlight wouldn’t try to get rid of him eventually. And since those were his bits anyway…

“Fine,” Twilight groaned. “I’ll pay you that much. But we should move out in an hour.”

The stallion stared at her dumbfounded. He blinked a few times, shaking his head.

“Whoa, filly, would you really pay me that? I was just messing with you.”

“Oh,” Twilight sighed in disappointment. “So you won’t get me to Canterlot?”

“Well, of course I will!” the stallion jumped on his hooves.

The other ponies glared at him with jealousy in their eyes. Nopony had really expected the unicorn to have that much money, otherwise most of the farmers would have dumped their tomatoes — or whatever else they were selling — to take her wherever she asked. They weren’t going to make even half of that sum with an entire cart full of tomatoes.

“Finally,” Twilight smiled at the pony’s enthusiasm, oblivious to the others staring in their direction. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“The name’s Spinach!”

***

After a healthy breakfast, Twilight and the farmer went to the inn’s backyard. A whole lot of carts full of tomatoes, potatoes and other greeneries were parked in there. Spinach approached one of them and quickly harnessed himself to it. Grunting, he pulled the cart to the middle of the yard.

“Jump on, Dawn Glister!” Spinach said, calling her by the fake name she had recently come up with.

Twilight snorted when she saw the cart’s load — it was full of actual spinach. Climbing up, she settled right on top of it. It was quite comfortable, almost like hay. When she was ready, she waved for Spinach to move.

While they were going through the town, their pace was pretty slow. But as soon as they got outside, Spinach sped up considerably. He was trotting at a steady pace, actually moving faster than Twilight would do on her own — and he was dragging the whole cart along! Those earth ponies were so strong.

Too bad some unicorns consider themselves to be superior, Twilight reflected, Everlight and Blueblood coming to her mind first.

The king wasn’t like that.

“So, are you noble or something?” Spinach interrupted her thoughts.

Twilight bit her lip as she carefully considered her answer. She didn’t want to seem suspicious. On the other hoof, a unicorn mare with a bunch of bits hiring a carriage in some backwater town was suspicious on its own. Nopony in their right mind would be wandering around alone carrying that much. Not to mention that those who had such money could usually afford to have a personal carriage.

“I’m a commoner,” Twilight finally answered. She might as well tell the truth.

“Oh, alright then.”

The pony walked in silence after that. Twilight didn’t know if he’d believed her words, but it didn’t really matter. Relaxing, she tried to simply enjoy the ride, glancing at the trees passing by.

An hour passed like that.

The silence was getting on her nerves, so she had started a conversation with Spinach. The farmer told her about his village and his wife awaiting him there. In turn, Twilight told him about her own family in Canterlot. Without sharing any details, she explained that she’d been working in Birminghoof and was now returning home.

“So what did you do to earn so many bits?” Spinach asked.

Twilight hesitated, trying to come up with something, when she caught a sound coming from behind. Her ear swiveled backwards — it was a rapid clopping of hooves.

Turning back, Twilight noticed two figures catching up to them. Spinach heard it too and slowed down, trying to see what was going on behind him, but the cart was blocking his vision.

“What’s going on?” he asked nervously.

“Two ponies are galloping toward us,” Twilight answered, squinting her eyes at the figures.

They were still hundreds of lengths away but were catching up quickly. Nopony traveled that way, since galloping was pretty exhausting over long distances. Considering that the road was empty otherwise, the pursuers were definitely coming for them, and likely with unfriendly intentions.

Spinach finally stopped, hastily unharnessing himself from the cart. Twilight jumped on the ground, standing beside the farmer. Together they stood there, waiting for the unwelcome visitors to get close. When they did, Twilight was surprised to recognize them — they were the first ponies she had approached at the inn.

“Howdy there,” one of them smiled, stopping just a few lengths away. His partner remained silent.

“Hey,” Spinach nodded.

“So, how is it going?” the smiling pony asked.

Twilight was tense. She didn’t like those ponies’ sudden appearance. Spinach seemed to share her feelings.

“Cut the crap, Barne,” Spinach frowned. “What do you want?”

The smile disappeared from Barne’s face. He reached behind his back, grabbing a club out his saddlebag. His partner followed his lead. Twilight ears went flat as both of them turned their attention to her.

“We’re here for her money,” the stallion explained calmly.

“Don’t be stupid, Barne,” Spinach said, flickering his tail. “You’ll be caught.”

“Not if we kill her. Nopony would even know.”

Having said that, the farmer took a step towards Twilight, swaying his club menacingly. Twilight recoiled, lighting up her horn, but Spinach stepped between the two.

“It’s not worth it, you moron,” he growled. “You’re not a killer.”

Barne furrowed his brows.

“We’ll split the money with you, don’t worry,” he said, pushing Spinach out of his way and coming straight at Twilight with his club high above his head.

Twilight reacted at once.

Grabbing the club in her magic, she wrestled it out of the earth pony’s grip. Barne followed it with his eyes as it flew up and then landed on his muzzle with a thump. It wasn’t enough to bring him down as Twilight had hoped. Roaring in rage, he jumped at Twilight, tackling her to the ground before she could use her magic again. He hit her head with his hooves, each hit ringing in Twilight’s head like a bell.

Squealing, the mare raised her forelegs to protect herself, taking a few painful punches on them as well. It was still better than getting her head hammered and it gave the unicorn a much needed moment for her to collect some magic.

Twilight’s horn flared brightly and discharged a torrent of raw magic at the assailant. The pony made a small arch in the air and hit the ground like a rock. Some of his ribs cracked and he groaned, scrambling back on his hooves.

Twilight got up first, rubbing her bleeding cheek. She glared at the second farmer, who was just standing at the side of the road, wide-eyed. Noticing Twilight’s stare, he dropped his club and took a step back.

“I didn’t do anything! Don’t hurt me, please!”

The unicorn blinked and shook her still ringing head. She twitched when somepony put a hoof on her withers, lighting up her horn again, but it was just Spinach. He retracted his hoof rapidly.

“Sorry,” he said. “Let’s leave these fools here and go.”

Twilight nodded without taking her eyes off the failed attackers. With his friend’s help, Barne was able to stand up. He scowled at Twilight but was in no condition to attack again. It suited Twilight just fine, as she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle it.

“I’ll allow you to keep your bits,” Barne waved his hoof.

Shoving his friend, he limped away without his help. His friend shrugged and followed him. Twilight and Spinach watched them leaving in silence.

When they had gotten far enough, Twilight dropped on her haunches.

“I really need to learn some fighting spells,” the unicorn said to Spinach.

“What you really need is some medical attention.”

“That too,” Twilight agreed, looking at her bloodied foreleg. She carefully touched her face and cringed in pain.

“Yeah… Your face looks really beat up. But we can probably find some healer in the next village. Jump on, it should be pretty close.”

The unicorn did as he had asked, putting a towel on the spinach first — she didn’t want to spill her blood all over it. As soon as Spinach had harnessed himself to the cart, they resumed their journey.

Twilight hoped that no more adventures awaited them.

Chapter VI - In and Out

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It was almost evening by the time Rarity’s carriage had arrived in Birminghoof.

The journey here had taken hours, which Rarity had used to think about what had happened back at the village. She had a lot of questions about her father’s decision to allow conscription. However, the more Rarity thought about it, the more obvious it became that her father, Lord Belle, wouldn’t have done it without a very good reason.

He wasn’t a pony who broke his word under the usual circumstances.

As soon as the carriage had pulled over in their family manor’s inner yard, Rarity jumped off. Dismissing Lotus, she trotted into the house. The guards barely managed to unharness themselves from the carriage to catch up with their lady.

The few servants Rarity met on her way through the corridors threw her surprised glances — they knew she wasn’t supposed to be back yet. Rarity paid them no mind, however. Even though her face was an impassive mask, the mare was feeling nervous as she approached her father’s office. Her father wouldn’t be happy with her leaving the village without his approval… On the other hoof, he had taught her to be the future leader of their House, and a true leader shouldn’t be afraid to make their own decisions.

Soon, Rarity had stopped in front of his door. She didn’t even bother to ask anypony if her father was home. With all the chaos that was likely going on after what had happened with the king, Lord Belle was probably stuck at some meeting. He was a member of the High Council, after all.

Maybe I should go to my room for now… No, I’m simply stalling.

Pursing her lips, Rarity rapped on the door. Her father’s low, deep voice asked for her to come in — he was home, after all. Rarity ordered the guards to wait outside. Taking a deep breath, the mare pushed the door open and entered, holding her head high.

“Ah, dear daughter,” a white-coated stallion, the owner of a thick, brown mane and mustache, greeted her. “I’m glad you received my message so quickly.”

Rarity raised her eyebrows, a bit thrown off by her father’s words.

“Your message?”

Lord Belle frowned.

“Yes, I sent you a courier this morning. Did you not meet him?”

“Eh, no, I didn’t.”

Her father leaned back in his chair, giving his daughter a calculating look.

“So you decided to return on your own, then.”

Rarity steeled herself.

“Yes, father. I wanted to talk about something very important—”

“You didn’t get pregnant, did you?” he interrupted the mare, flickering a glance at her belly.

Rarity went into a coughing fit. This wasn’t the question she’d expecting to hear today.

“Of course not, father!” Rarity exclaimed, pretending to sound indignant. “Why would you think that?!”

“Your little adventures are no secret to me, filly,” Lord Belle told her, chuckling. “I don’t mind it, as long as you’re careful not to damage our House’s reputation. After all, I didn’t miss a tail myself when I was your age.”

Rarity stared at her father in shock. She had always been careful in her choice of partners — all of them had been nobleponies themselves, wishing for the same thing as her — discretion. How could her father have learned that? So embarrassing…

“Well, it has nothing to do with that, father, so please let’s drop the subject,” Rarity said with her cheeks burning red.

“As you wish, daughter,” Lord Belle nodded, putting on a serious expression. “What is it that you want to discuss?”

Clearing her throat, Rarity explained what had happened in the village. He listened while his face remained impassive. She finished with describing the villagers’ reaction to the conscription.

“…So that’s why I’ve come here. It was quite a bad decision, so I wanted to hear your reasons for making it myself. And who’s that new regent, by the way? I thought Prince Blueblood was the heir.”

“He is,” the lord confirmed, “But the High Council voted in favor of appointing Everlight as the regent until the king recovers.”

“Everlight?” Rarity gasped. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Everlight had been her House’s long-time enemy. He used to be the king’s opponent on the High Council as well, while Lord Belle had always supported the king. Rarity knew that Everlight had always rooted for a retribution war against the griffons. It seemed that with the king out of the way, they were implementing their plans at last.

“When it became known that the king had been poisoned, a lot of his old supporters in the Council switched sides,” the lord shook his head in dismay. “Should have expected that, of course. I was forced to accept the proposition of expanding our army and thus increasing conscription.”

“I understand, father,” Rarity nodded. “Is there any hope for the king’s recovery?”

“He was poisoned by Deathsong,” her father said, drooping his ears. “It’s highly unlikely that he recovers, which is why the Council’s decision to make Everlight a regent is highly questionable. In fact, I have little doubt that Everlight was the one to arrange the whole thing in the first place. His claim that Twilight Sparkle, the new Court Mage, was the one who poisoned the king is ridiculous. The king had known the mare since her fillyhood.”

“Twilight Sparkle, you say?” Rarity asked. The name sparked her memory as she finally realized why the mare she’d bumped into in the inn’s bathroom had seemed familiar. Rarity had been present at the ball following her appointment a month ago!

“Yes,” her father confirmed. “She has allegedly escaped, but I’m sure that Everlight just killed her off in secret.”

“Actually, that might not be the case,” Rarity said thoughtfully. She told her father about her short interaction with the mare back at the village.

“Well, that’s surprising,” Lord Belle said, rubbing his chin. “She actually did escape. That doesn’t change anything, though. With the resources Everlight now has, he will find her sooner or later.”

“I guess,” Rarity sighed. “What’s going to be happening now, father?”

Lord Belle was silent for some time.

“Only time will tell, but I’ll do my best to bring Everlight down.”

***

“Well, here we go, Dawn,” Spinach announced needlessly, as if Twilight couldn’t see the towering mountain of Canterlot with her own eyes.

Her home.

Twilight broke off her gaze and turned her attention to the earth pony. Three days had passed since the unfortunate encounter with the robbers, but even considering their forced delay to tend to Twilight’s injuries and the times they had stopped for rest each night, Twilight had reached Canterlot twice as fast as she would have on her own.

“Thank you!” Twilight smiled as she jumped off the cart.

Beaming, the mare reached into her saddlebag with her magic. Ten golden coins — ten bits each — flew off in a neat line, stacking themselves in front of Spinach. He watched the money wide-eyed.

“Here are your bits, like I promised.”

Blinking fast, the farmer threw a nervous glance around and then grabbed the bits in his mouth, securing them into his own saddlebag. He grinned at Twilight.

“I’ve never held that much money at once,” Spinach told her. Twilight knew quite well how he felt. “Well, is my job done? I can get you to the city’s gate, if you want.”

“No, thank you, I’ll be fine on my own,” Twilight waved her hoof. “I really need to stretch those legs.”

“Have it your way.”

The two said their goodbyes and went into opposite ways, each having gotten what they wanted.

Twilight sighed. The mare had gotten used to Spinach’s presence for the last three days. They had exchanged a lot of stories that had made Twilight know him a bit better. Usually, she didn’t interact with ponies on such a level — not even with the king — since she would be far too busy with her studies.

The only exception was her big brother.

Shining Armor was a city guard in Canterlot. He had been promoted just after Twilight had gone to Birminghoof to be the Court Mage, so now he was in charge of his own unit. Even though not much time had passed since Twilight had last talked to him, she missed her brother.

It would be torture not to be able to visit Shining Armor while staying so close, but Twilight didn’t want to risk it. Everlight probably had somepony watching him just in case. She hoped it was all the regent would do to her brother. He could ruin his career — or worse — with a wave of his hoof.

I guess I won’t see him until this mess is over, Twilight sighed. If it’s ever over at all…

With her mind mulling over those thoughts, Twilight approached the city’s outer gate at the very bottom of the mountain. A sturdy stone tower was placed at both sides of the wooden gate, reinforced with iron bars. It guarded the only road leading to the beautiful city above. The path had been carved into the side of the mountain, which was hard to climb if you had no wings.

Twilight saw four guards posted outside. The guards were currently busy with some earth pony pulling a cart, but as she approached, the earth pony had been let through the gate, having shown some papers.

That made Twilight’s heart beat faster. What if she needed some special permission to get inside? She hadn’t heard of that before, but she had never actually been outside her home city. Her flight to Birminghoof had been the very first time she’d left Canterlot.

Thankfully, the guards paid no mind to a lone unicorn passing through the gate.

A few hours later, a panting Twilight passed through the second gate. One of the guards threw her a quick look that caused her heart to drop down to her hooves, but with Twilight’s disguise nopony was able to recognize her.

Once she had gotten further away from the gates, she could finally relax. She was in Canterlot.

As she trotted on the main street, Twilight looked around in search of some place to stay. It was the first thing she had to take care of before her next move.

The second one — getting to the library — would be far more complicated. As far as Twilight knew, the library was open to the general public, but only students with a special pass were allowed into the closed section where all the rare books were kept. If she wanted to succeed in her task, that was where she needed to be.

Twilight’s hooves were loudly clopping on the paved road. Walking through Canterlot was a pleasure, especially in contrast to Waterhoof or even the capital itself. Stores and shops of every kind were on the main street. The buildings were built in the same elegant style, each of them looking well-cared for. Her eyes caught a sign of a bookstore, but she forced herself to walk past it — she wasn’t likely to find the books she needed inside.

Soon, Twilight had found some inn. This building was one level taller than the ones around it — its upper floor looked newer than the rest. Pushing the door open, she entered the lobby and made her way to the counter. A unicorn in a bowtie greeted her there.

Twilight asked the pony if they had any rooms available. They did, but the price for them boggled Twilight’s mind.

“Fifty bits?” she gasped.

“Yes, Miss,” the clerk confirmed, frowning. “We provide the best service in Canterlot.”

“I see,” the mare nodded thoughtfully.

Twilight could afford the place, of course, but staying for more than one night would be far too costly. She had spent a lot of bits on reaching Canterlot quickly, but Twilight didn’t know how long it would take to find the information she wanted. Turning around, Twilight left as the clerk watched her back in amusement.

“Tourists,” he chuckled when she was out of earshot.

***

This place is perfect!

Twilight had wandered through the city for quite some time until she found this new place. It was in the poorer part of the city, but even so the neighborhood was in a better state than Waterhoof’s center. The inn she had chosen had rooms for a reasonable price, so Twilight had booked one right away for a whole week forward.

Dropping her heavy saddlebag on the floor, Twilight crashed on top of the bed and just lay there for a couple of minutes, giving her hooves some deserved rest. While her body relaxed, her mind was working to solve the problem facing her — the library.

Twilight would have no trouble getting inside, but how was she supposed to sneak into the closed section? Even if she did, how was she supposed to do her research while worrying about being discovered at any second? Only the best students would get access to it, so an unknown pony would be like a thorn in their eyes.

Those were the questions she hadn’t found the answer to yet.

It was still far from the evening, so Twilight planned to visit the library right after she got something to eat. Maybe an answer would present itself once she saw the possibilities with her own eyes.

***

The library’s building was on Starswirl Academy grounds, so Twilight would have to pass through a security post. She used to pass here every day for years, but she had been a student back then. Twilight had no idea if she needed some special permission to get inside without being one, but she knew for certain that the library was open to the public, so it should be logically possible.

Twilight was stopped by a security pony as she approached the gate. The mare tensed up, having recognized his face. She hadn’t had any interaction with him beyond exchanging greetings, so he shouldn’t be able to recognize her with her disguise on, hopefully.

“State your business, Miss,” the pony asked flatly.

“I’m visiting the library,” Twilight told him, making her voice lower just in case.

The stallion’s bored expression didn’t change as he nodded, acknowledging Twilight’s answer. He produced a journal out of his saddlebag.

“Sign here, Miss,” the pony explained, pointing at the opened page.

Twilight calmly grabbed the quill he had offered, writing her fake name and signature under countless others. Nodding in satisfaction, the security pony gave her a pass in form of a simple card with a green stump on it.

“Don’t forget to sign out on your way out,” the security guard warned her.

Tucking the card into her own saddlebag, Twilight thanked him and was on her way.

The path led the mare through a small park full of decorative trees and neat bushes, and soon she was standing in front of the building. She could have found it with her eyes closed, having been there countless times before — the last time had been a little over a month ago.

It towered over Twilight dozens of feet high, with two imposing pillars on both sides of the door. They were holding a rectangular roof above them. A statue of Starswirl the Bearded — the wizard who had founded the library as well as the Academy itself — was placed on a pedestal in front of the stairs to the library.

Twilight greeted the statue with a nod like an old friend as she trotted past it.

Opening the door with her magic, Twilight entered. A large hall with tall rows of shelves filled with thousands of books was waiting for her in here — and that was just the public section. The other, closed wing had even more books! Twilight took a deep breath, enjoying a familiar smell.

The Royal Library in Birminghoof was good, but it didn’t compare to this place.

Twilight looked to the counter, expecting to see the old librarian, but a young unicorn stallion with a dark blue coat was in her place. After a moment, Twilight recognized him as one of her ex-classmates — Midnight Star.

The mare frowned, not sure how to feel about the replacement. She’d been hoping to see the old librarian again, even if she had to pretend to be somepony else. The old mare who had been here before would always know where to find the book that Twilight needed. On the other hoof, she would also have been more likely to recognize Twilight, having interacted with her on a daily basis.

Twilight noticed the stare Midnight was giving her as she approached.

“Here’s my pass,” she said, showing him the paper.

The stallion flickered a glance at it and nodded, continuing to stare at Twilight.

“Is there something wrong?” Twilight asked, lowering her ears.

“N-no, it’s fine,” Midnight waved his hoof, blinking a few times. “You can pass. Enjoy the library, Miss…?”

“T— Dawn! My name is Dawn,” Twilight said, cursing on the inside for her near slip.

“Enjoy the library, Miss Dawn. If you need any help, I’ll be here.”

Nodding, Twilight walked into the first row. She went directly to the opposite side of the hall, where the door to the closed section should be. She tried it, but it was closed, of course. Only the librarian had the key to open it. Perhaps she should attempt to steal it somehow—

Wait a second, I don’t need a key to get through the door. I can just teleport myself to the other side!

Twilight’s enthusiasm lessened when she remembered the loud pop that would accompany the spell. Even if she were to replicate the spell successfully, everypony would be alerted to her presence. Although if she combined the teleportation with a sound dampening spell… That might work.

However, she still needed to find a way to do her research in peace. Unfortunately, Twilight couldn’t simply borrow the books, even though she needed to go through them in peace in her room at the inn — each book in the closed section was marked with a tracking spell that would alert the library if you tried to take them without notice.

I’ll just hide here until the night, Twilight decided. I’ll have plenty of time until it opens again tomorrow.

A small obstacle in that plan was that Twilight didn’t know a sound dampening spell yet, but she was in the greatest library Equestria has ever had. It wouldn’t be a problem to find a book on sound magic. Throwing a glance at the shelf number, Twilight located the section she needed. Orientating herself in the library had been easy for her once she had learned the classification system years ago.

Twilight quickly found the right book and proceeded to the reading chamber. She would have to read the book here instead of checking it out, since she didn’t exactly have the credibility. The chamber was quiet, despite a bunch of students occupying most of it. The only sound was a shuffling of papers as everypony was concentrated on their work, with some scribing some notes into their scrolls.

Twilight had missed this so much.

Dropping her saddlebag on the floor, the mare settled at one of the empty tables, putting the book in front of her eyes. Time flew as she read through it page by page. Eventually, Twilight had finished the theory part and had gotten to the practical one. Taking out a scroll, she began writing down the instructions to try it back at the inn.

A hoof touched her shoulder.

Twilight yelped, almost falling off her chair.

“We’re closing for the night, Miss,” the librarian told her. “Sorry for startling you.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Twilight nodded rapidly. “I’m so sorry; I got a little caught up in all this.”

Midnight stared at her intently. Twilight looked at herself to make sure that her dyeing spell hadn’t stopped working or something, but she still looked like a blue-coated mare to an outsider. Her glance moved further down.

Oh no…

Her saddlebag was lying on the floor by her chair, exposing the telltale stars on her flank. Twilight groaned, slapping her forehead.

“Is— Is that you, Twilight?” Midnight asked.

***

Rarity gingerly stepped down from the carriage, trying to keep herself from wobbling on her hooves too much. Flying… ugh!

Two pegasi had flown them from Birminghoof to Canterlot in a span of a few hours, but Rarity would have rather spent a week on the road. Her father, however, had thought it was too dangerous to use the road in their situation and Rarity had had to agree after some consideration.

“Wow, that was so delightful!” her little sister — Sweetie Belle — shrieked, jumping off to the solid ground. “Can we do it again?”

Rarity sighed at her sister’s unladylike behavior.

“Sweetie, please,”Aloe said, stepping down from the carriage next, “That’s not how a lady is supposed to express her joy.”

“Aw, you’re so boring…” Sweetie Belle pouted.

Rarity kept silent, letting Aloe do her job. The mare had been hired to teach Sweetie Belle some proper manners, after all. Besides, Rarity was feeling far too dizzy to deal with her sister at the moment.

“Lady Rarity, are you okay?” Lotus asked her quietly, making sure that nopony else would hear them.

“No…” the mare shook her head. “I feel like I’m going to be sick.”

She glanced around and threw up into a garbage can near the bench. Thankfully, the flight station was empty save for their little group, so nopony else noticed her mishap.

Breathing in and out, Rarity waited until her stomach calmed down. Lotus hastily produced a paper towel, so she could clean her muzzle. When Rarity was done, she flickered an embarrassed smile to the others.

“Let’s go home now,” she said, leading the way. Everypony, including the two bodyguards, followed her.

The station was close to her family’s cottage in Canterlot. The place was used for their summer vacations. Of course, none of Canterlot’s balls and social events thrown by small, local noble houses compared to the capital’s, especially in autumn season, so Rarity wasn’t excited about spending the upcoming months in this city.

But there were more important things on the plate right now.

Lord Belle was going to form an opposition to Everlight. Since the regent had already proved how ruthless he could be by poisoning the king, he could easily have attacked her father by doing something to either her or Sweetie Belle if they had remained in Birminghoof.

At least the weather here is nice, Rarity thought as they made their way to the cottage. Not that I’ll get much chance to enjoy it.

It was indeed much warmer here this time of year than it was in Birminghoof to the north. Cloudsdale, one of the great city states of the pegasi, hovered in the skies near Canterlot, so the city hired them to control the weather around it. Birminghoof had no such luck.

Lotus and Aloe, being in Canterlot for the first time, seemed to enjoy the city a lot. They kept staring around while the group was making its way through the streets. Rarity had to admit — the city did give a much better first impression than Birminghoof. Sometimes she wondered why the capital hadn’t been moved back here, just as it was centuries ago.

Soon, the group was outside a small cottage in the middle of the noble district. Most of the district remained empty in autumn. Those nobles who could afford to have a cottage here used it for vacations, while their main estate was somewhere else. One of the reasons why her father thought it was a good place for them to hide was that Everlight didn’t know which cottage was theirs. Such information was very hard to get by because the powerful nobles were fond of their privacy. The district even had its own gate, so it was hard to enter here for an outsider.

Rarity opened the door with her key and let Silver Armor inside. The guard made sure that nopony was laying an ambush, while his partner stayed with the rest. A few minutes later the guard yelled at everypony to enter.

Rarity trotted in first.

“Thank you, darling,” the mare smiled, brushing her flank against his body as she passed.

Rarity suppressed a smirk, noticing his tail twitch. The rest of the ponies entered the cottage right behind her, so she put on a neutral expression.

The cottage had gotten a bit dusty after months of staying empty. While both maids worked to bring it back to a livable condition, Rarity enjoyed a relaxing hot bath. As she lay there, soaking in the tub, she thought about the serious problem she was going to face in the coming days — boredom.

Her father had strictly forbidden her and Sweetie Belle from leaving the cottage. Personally, Rarity thought it was a little excessive — nopony was likely recognize her in this city — but her father had been unbending.

After Rarity had left the bath, she found Lotus in her bedroom putting sheets on the bed.

“Do you feel better, Lady Rarity?” the maid asked, without interrupting her work.

“Yes, quite,” Rarity said, flashing a grin. “Thank you.”

Rarity sat on the floor and simply observed her reflection in her shining hoof until Lotus was done. The mare turned around, raising her eyebrows in question.

“Do you want something, Lady Rarity?”

“Oh, I was wondering if you knew of anything we could do to pass the time,” Rarity said, caressing her wet mane with her hoof.

“Oh,” Lotus drooped her ears, “Lady Rarity, don’t take it as an insult please, but I’m not into mares…”

Rarity giggled. “That’s not what I meant, darling. I was asking if you have any hobbies that we could enjoy together. Besides that, of course.”

Lotus’s cheeks reddened.

“I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions,” the maid giggled as well. “But I’m afraid I don’t really have any hobbies.”

“That’s too bad…”

“Surely you have some, Lady Rarity?”

“Of course I do,” Rarity smirked.

She fell silent for some time after that, trying to remember when the last time had been that she had done anything besides going to another ball or choosing a new dress to wear. Nothing came to mind.

“Well, actually I don’t,” she sighed. “That’s why I hoped you would help me.”

“Do not worry, Lady Rarity,” Lotus consoled her, touching her shoulder. “We’ll find something together.”

***

Twilight was sipping a hot coffee.

She and Midnight were in a small cafe on the street, adjacent to the Academy grounds. It was filled with students at this time, but they had managed to find a free spot. Midnight was sitting at the opposite side of the table from her with a cup of tea.

Twilight was telling him the story behind her disguise. There was no point in keeping it a secret after the librarian had recognized Twilight. She didn’t know what she was going to do if he didn’t believe her, but so far Midnight had been listening attentively, hanging on Twilight’s ever word.

“I’ve got to say — that’s pretty insane,” Midnight stated after she had finished. Twilight gave him a worried glance. “I mean, I think you’re telling the truth, of course. I won’t give you up to authorities or anything.”

“Well, it’s a big relief to hear that,” Twilight chuckled as she took another sip of coffee. “Anyway, how did you end up as a librarian? Weren’t you planning on going to Birminghoof yourself after you’d graduated?”

Midnight sighed, drooping his ears. “I don’t want to talk about it…”

“Ah, okay,” Twilight nodded. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I’m sorry, it just makes me feel bad,” Midnight shrugged. “I’ll tell you later.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight assured the stallion.

They sat in silence after that, simply finishing their snacks.

“This Everlight seems like a terrible pony.”

“Yeah…” Twilight’s ears fell flat. “I’ll make sure he pays for what he’s done, though.”

Midnight raised his eyebrows.

“You will? Is there anything I can do to help?”

“There actually is,” Twilight flickered a smile. “I need to get to the closed section of the library.”

“Why?” Midnight asked.

Twilight thought for a moment and then shook her head.

“I have to do some research,” the mare said simply.

Despite Midnight being her ex-classmate, Twilight didn’t know him all that well. He seemed friendly, but she wasn’t sure she could trust him with her plan. While there was no choice but to tell him about the king’s poisoning and her role in it, Twilight had kept most of the details to herself. For example, she hadn’t mentioned Blueblood’s help at all.

“Well, I guess I can let you in there,” Midnight shrugged, rubbing his chin. “One of the few perks of being a librarian. Come to the library tomorrow.”

“I was actually thinking of tonight,” Twilight said, finishing her cup. “The students would question if some unfamiliar mare appeared in the closed section.”

“I don’t know about tonight, Twilight,” the librarian frowned. “I mean, we’ve already left. Wouldn’t it seem suspicious if I suddenly returned with somepony else so late?”

“Oh, yes, right,” Twilight nodded. “I hadn’t though of that.”

The two discussed the situation and soon came up with a solution. Twilight had considered it before, but with Midnight’s help it was going to be far less risky. However, they needed to wait until tomorrow to implement the plan. Twilight wasn’t happy with the delay, but it was the best way.

Standing up, Twilight paid the waiter and together they walked out onto the street. Midnight offered to walk Twilight to whatever place she was staying, but the mare refused — she didn’t want to reveal her location. It wasn’t that Twilight thought the librarian was going to rat her out, but she felt calmer that way.

“See you tomorrow then,” Midnight waved his hoof.

Twilight waved back and they parted their ways.

It was getting dark, but as she trotted on the brightly lit streets, she wasn’t afraid of any muggers. Canterlot was safe enough even for nighttime strolls. Twilight used to do go out simply to clear her head in the middle of the night after another hard study session. Even if she were to encounter anypony with ill intentions, Twilight was confident in her abilities.

She would simply teleport away.

Twilight reached her room in the inn without encountering any trouble. Taking her notes from the library, Twilight jumped onto the bed and laid them out in front of her. She wrote quite a lot.

Even though she didn’t have to do it anymore thanks to the help that Midnight had promised, Twilight was still going to practice the sound-suppressing spell. Even if she didn’t use it to sneak into the closed section, the spell would be a useful thing to learn. Besides, she hadn’t spent hours studying the book to simply dismiss it.

Good thing Twilight had filled herself up with coffee — it was going to be a long night.

***

Rarity and Lotus had tried everything from playing cards to painting pictures, but nothing seemed to interest the lady. At least not enough to keep her entertained for long. Lotus was getting a bit desperate, but she refused to give up.

“Have you ever tried sewing, Lady Rarity?” she suddenly asked.

“Sewing? Really?” Rarity rolled her eyes. “My cutie mark is three gemstones, not a needle, darling.”

Lotus drooped her ears slightly but kept a smile on her face.

“Well, I saw a sewing machine when I was cleaning up…”

“Ah, that one,” Rarity said flatly. “My mother bought it for Sweetie Belle last year when she thought she would get a cutie mark in sewing. She didn’t, obviously.”

“So you have never tried it yourself.”

“Well, no,” Rarity shrugged.

Beaming, Lotus dashed out of the room. The mare returned a few minutes later, carrying the thing on her back. Rarity grabbed it in her magic and gently put it on the floor. She regarded the machine with a critical eye.

“That looks complicated.”

The sewing machine was pretty new, having been used just a couple of times in the past. After Sweetie Belle had abandoned that activity, the machine had been put into a cupboard here in case she ever returned to it.

“Can we make a dress, please?” Lotus asked, rubbing her front legs against each other. “I’ve kind of always wanted one, but we could never afford it.”

“I can buy you a dress if you want, darling,” Rarity told the surprised mare. “You’ve certainly deserved it.”

“Thank you for the offer, Lady Rarity, but you’re missing the point,” the maid smiled. “I want us to make a dress together. It could be something fun for us to do.”

Rarity didn’t agree with Lotus’ definition of fun, but she didn’t say no. The maid looked so hopeful and it wasn’t like Rarity had anything better to do.

“Sure, we can try…”

It took the two of them an hour to learn how to use the machine properly. The mares were taking turns with sewing pieces of fabric together. Surprisingly, Rarity found herself to be enjoying the process, even though they were still as far from making an actual dress as could be.

“This is actually fun,” Rarity noted, levitating a rickety sheet she’d just finished, looking it over with a critical eye. “Though I think we desperately need some books about dressmaking.”

Lotus giggled.

“Definitely. Do you have any of those in the cottage?”

Rarity shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. But there’s a big library in the city. We could find something in there.”

“We, Lady Rarity?” Lotus looked up in surprise.

“But of course, darling,” Rarity glanced at the maid. “Did you think I was going to sit inside of these four walls forever?”

Lotus flickered her ear. She didn’t like her lady’s words. If the lord found out about that, they both would get in a lot of trouble. And he was going to find out for sure — the guards wouldn’t keep quiet even if Lotus and Aloe would.

“But Lady Rarity, what about the guards?” Lotus asked.

“I’ll handle the guards, dear,” Rarity flickered a cocky smile. “You and Aloe must keep Sweetie Belle occupied in her room for at least an hour. I should be done by then.”

***

The guards were easy to find — the two unicorns were playing cards in the dining room. They stopped their game when Rarity walked into the room, turning their heads towards her. The lady waved her hoof, allowing them to continue as she approached, taking a seat next to Silver Armor. His partner, Blazing Shield, was sitting opposite to her.

The stallions looked at her nervously and Rarity winked.

“Please, continue your game, boys. I just want to watch.”

“As you wish, Lady Rarity,” Silver Armor shrugged, dealing his cards.

The game went by for a few minutes when Rarity made her first move. Raising her hindleg under the table, she gently touched Blazing Shield’s crotch. The guard twitched, dropping his cards on the table. Silver Armor looked at him in surprise.

Blazing Shield stared at the mare wide-eyed, his mouth agape. Rarity could feel the stallion’s member growing under her hoof. Flickering a smile, she started to rub his crotch with her pastern.

At this point, Silver Armor had finally noticed what was going on.

“Lady Rarity, what a-are you doing?” he asked, stumbling as she caressed his chest with her front hoof. “We can’t do—”

“We can and we will, darling,” Rarity interrupted Silver with a kiss, without stopping her hoofwork on his partner.

Blazing Shield sat there with his face bright red. His forelegs were firmly pressed against the table, while his hard cock was being rubbed by Rarity’s soft pastern. The bodyguard had no idea how he was supposed to respond to a situation like that.

The kiss with Silver lasted for ten long seconds until the mare disengaged. “Don’t you like me?”

Having said that, Rarity climbed onto the table. She turned her rear to Blazing Shield, raising her tail. He raised his eyes to her exposed marehood with the same dumbfounded expression. Rarity giggled at his reaction.

“Don’t be afraid, darling, it won’t bite you,” she said, shaking her hips in front of his face. “Though you can bite it.”

The guard looked her in the eyes and Rarity could see his desire clear as day. He was barely holding himself back. What he needed was a little nudge.

Winking her pussy did the job.

Leaning forward, Blazing Shield stuck his muzzle into her wet folds, biting it slightly. Rarity yelped in surprise — she hadn’t expected the stallion to take her words quite so seriously. Then he started licking. Rarity’s knees twitched as she tried to keep them steady, while the guard’s tongue caressed her sensitive clitoris.

Through sheer force of will, Rarity turned her attention back to Silver Armor. The stallion was clearly excited if his stiff cock was any indication. Rarity knew just what to do with it. Leaning down, she took most of his length in her mouth. Bobbing her head up and down continuously, she was speeding up with each pass. Silver Armor put his hooves into her mane, letting out a quiet moan.

If he’d had any thoughts about refusing this, they were all gone by now.

That continued for a few minutes, when Rarity suddenly stopped just as she felt his member starting to twitch. Silver Armor looked at her, crunching his eyebrows. He was so close!

Panting heavily, Rarity grinned.

“Sorry, darling, but I think your friend deserves it more.”

Ignoring the guard’s growl of frustration, Rarity jumped off the table, interrupting Blazing Shield’s diligent work on her marehood in the middle. As much as she’d been enjoying his nimble tongue, she needed something more now.

Glancing back at Blazing Shield, Rarity raised her eyebrows.

“Well?” the mare shook her hips suggestively.

The stallion didn’t need to be asked twice. Throwing an apologetic look at his grumpy partner, the guard jumped off the chair and stood up behind Rarity, laying both of his hooves on her flank. Rarity gave him an encouraging nod.

He mounted her eagerly.

Even though she’d been waiting for it, Rarity gasped when his large member entered her so roughly. Thankfully, his tongue had made her folds wet enough for his whole length to slide inside without much discomfort for the mare. Holding her flank steady, the stallion began rocking his hips back and forth like a maniac.

Rarity bit her lower lip as each of his thrusts went deep enough to hit her cervix hard time and again, making the mare moan lustfully. It was a bit painful at first, but the pleasure quickly washed it off. She bent her weakening forelegs, barely keeping herself steady under the weight of the stallion leaning on her.

Silver Armor watched the two with a grim expression. He had regretted his earlier decision to turn Rarity down, but he hadn’t really believed that she’d been serious back then, thinking it had just been a test of his professionalism. Only later had he realized his mistake…

Rarity, in turn, couldn’t think of anything at the moment but the large member ravishing her insides. The unicorn guard seemed to have a stamina of a true earth pony as he pounded her relentlessly. Not a lot of nobleponies Rarity had been with in the past could compare to him. She was already feeling an orgasm building up in her lower belly, while Blazing Shield continued to hit her like a hammer from the inside. When his dick began to throb, Rarity realized it was time to stop.

Straightening her forelegs, Rarity pulled herself forward, but the stallion clenched his hooves on her flank, thrusting forward furiously. Resigned, Rarity allowed him to cum inside — she had taken an anti-pregnancy potion anyway.

Having achieved release, Blazing Shield let her go. Her pussy was dripping, dampening the coat on her legs. Both ponies were panting heavily, but Rarity hadn’t managed to actually cum yet, which had left her on edge. She stepped from one hoof to another, rubbing her hips together.

Rarity turned around, throwing a thoughtful glance at the gloomy Silver Armor. Perhaps she’d been a bit too harsh on the poor bodyguard. Being in a generous mood — but mostly because she hadn’t been fully satisfied — the mare made a decision.

“You deserve something for your patience,” she said, smiling to Silver. His eyebrows shot up. “I’m ready for round two.”

It was an unexpected twist for Silver Armor, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Grinning, he jumped onto the floor and took his position behind Rarity, waiting for his member to become erect again.

As soon as it did, he thrust it into her like the other guard before him. He was much more gentle than Blazing Shield, however, moving slowly and steadily, while caressing her body with light touches of his magic. Rarity quickly found the pleasant feeling of an approaching orgasm returning with new force.

She prevented herself from finishing too quickly, waiting for the stallion to reach her level of pleasure. Silver wasn’t making it easy, however. Each of his moves seemed to be determined to make her orgasm first, so Rarity finally gave up.

Squinting her eyes shut, the mare whimpered as a hot wave of pleasure overwhelmed her senses. As she was shaking in bliss, Silver Armor was holding her on her hooves with his magic. He added a couple of final thrusts and finished himself. As his horn sparked, the spell holding her disappeared and both fell to the floor.

“Wasn’t it fun, boys?” Rarity asked after a minute of silence, breathing heavily on the floor.

Her tail was twitching in the afterglow of one of the best climaxes she’d had in months. Her pussy was sore, but the experience had been worth it without question. Silver Armor, who was still lying on top of her, grunted something in response. He stood up, helping the mare to get up on her hooves as well.

“I’ve never fucked— I mean, had sex with a mare as good as you, Lady Rarity,” Blazing Shield said. “Though I certainly wasn’t expecting that.”

Rarity chuckled. “Hadn’t your friend told me about my offer?”

The two guards exchanged glances.

“I thought he was just pranking me…”

“I told you I wasn’t,” Silver Armor sighed.

“Of course, everything that has happened here would be our little secret, okay?” Rarity smiled. “I imagine my father would be pretty angry at you if he found out.”

Both guards nodded in agreement.

“My lips are sealed as well,” she told them, grinning fully. “By the way, tomorrow I’m going on a bit of a trip to the city. I’m sure you wouldn’t mention that to my father?”

Silver Armor tensed up. “But the Lord ordered—”

“I know what he did, darling,” Rarity booped the guard on his muzzle. “That’s why I don’t want him to know anything. Is that okay with you, boys?”

The guards exchanged another look and nodded. It wasn’t like they had any other choice. Rarity had them by the balls, so to speak. If they prevented her from going outside as Lord Belle had ordered, she would definitely tell him about what had happened between them.

However, the truth was that Rarity wasn’t going to tell her father anything even if they did stop her, but the guards didn’t need to know that.

“One of us should still come along,” Silver Armor said. Rarity frowned. “If something happens to you while you’re out there alone…”

“Well, I guess that’s reasonable,” Rarity sighed after some consideration. “As long as my trips outside stay between us.”

“Of course, Lady Rarity.”

“Excellent,” Rarity beamed. “We’ll discuss the details in the morning.” She glanced at the mess on the floor, scrunching her muzzle. “And please, do clean up before my sister comes here.”

Having said that, Rarity walked out of the room. She was pretty exhausted and desperately needed to take a shower. Despite the mess her coat was in, Rarity had a smile of satisfaction on her face — everything had turned out just as she had hoped.

Chapter VII - Boot Camp

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A group of conscripts were standing in line in front of the barracks. Sergeant Sharp had awoken them early in the morning, but everypony was used to getting up at such an hour — such was a farmer’s life. The sky was brightening, but no sun could be seen yet from behind all the other barracks around them.

Applejack was standing along with the rest, watching the sergeant walk back and forth in front of their line. He had his armor equipped this time, but his weird gait — the stallion kept his hindlegs spread wider than normal — had nothing to do with it. It seemed like her buck hadn’t gone without consequences for the poor stallion after all.

“Today is the first day of your training, conscripts,” Sergeant Sharp spat out, glaring at the line of ponies in front of him. “Don’t think it’ll be easy for you. Weaklings like you are going to have a hard time until I bring you up to our standards.”

A murmur of discontent went through the line, but it died out after the sergeant stomped his hoof.

“We will move onto the training field where you will run laps for as long as you can,” the sergeant continued with a tiny smile. “Without any equipment for now, I just want to test your endurance as is.”

Sergeant Sharp levitated a scroll from his saddlebag, unrolling it before his eyes.

“But first we need to do a roll call,” the stallion said, throwing a quick glance at Applejack. The mare sighed. “Pumpkin Field—”

The sergeant quickly went through the names. Applejack wasn’t surprised in the slightest when he discovered that five out of the fifteen names had been made up — after all, she had written the list in the first place. Turning his attention to the mare, Sergeant Sharp grinned with the tips of his mouth.

“You did a piss-poor job with that list, conscript,” Sergeant Sharp said, walking to stand in front of her.

Applejack suppressed a sigh. She had been expecting this issue to arise, but she’d been too angry at the sergeant for making her do his paperwork to bother with any details. Besides, everypony had been asleep by the time she’d been doing that, so she had simply made up some name if she had forgotten somepony.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Applejack met his eyes. “Maybe next time you could find the time to do that yourself.” She didn’t add the “instead of getting your flank drunk” that was rolling on her tongue, but the sergeant frowned at her answer anyway.

“When I give an order, I expect it to be carried out perfectly, conscript,” he said coldly, leaning his face forward. Their eyes were mere inches away from each other. “Is that clear?”

Applejack looked back at the sergeant, not affected in the slightest by his close proximity. “It is clear. Sir.”

The sergeant’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t think it is, conscript,” he said. “To prove my point, you’re going to run in full armor today. One hundred laps.”

Applejack flickered her tail, giving the sergeant a curt nod. She’d been expecting him to give her a hard time, but she was ready for anything. The mare was sure he wouldn’t go overboard this time and not only because of her painful buck.

When Applejack had returned to her barracks last night, the sentry inside had been surprised to see her back so soon, having read the sergeant’s intentions as they had left together. Being true to her word, Applejack didn’t share any details, so the pony had assumed the worst.

Being a good pony, he gave her a bit of advice.

Applejack could report such a case to the camp’s command, but if the other sergeants found out about that, they wouldn’t look at it favorably. They preferred to deal with issues like that without involving the higher officers.

However, the same rule applied to Sergeant Sharp himself, Applejack figured. He wouldn’t dare to report her and even if he did, he would certainly get in trouble when the circumstances came to light.

Applejack could have alerted the other sergeants about what Sharp had tried to do, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. She had punished the pony anyway, so unless he tried crossing that line again, the mare was going to keep silent as she had promised.

“Let’s move, conscripts,” Sergeant Sharp said, leading the way.

Applejack followed him along with the rest, thinking about the upcoming exercise. Back in the village, she used to pull a heavy plow alone through the fields, so running with some weight shouldn’t prove too difficult for her.

Feeling confident, Applejack took in the morning scenery – the camp was much more active than when they had arrived. The ponies were going about their business, despite the early hour.

Applejack noticed a couple of groups just like her own, being led somewhere by a sergeant. Those were probably the conscripts from other villages. The mare idly studied their faces and cutie marks in case she recognized anypony.

“You – with me,” the sergeant threw, pointing at Applejack. “Everypony else wait here.”

Having said that, Sergeant Sharp entered a seemingly random barracks to their left. A flashback from the last night flickered through Applejack’s mind, but she dismissed that right out, especially after she’d read the sign over the door – armory.

Entering the building a couple of seconds after the sergeant, Applejack found him waiting for her in the company of two heavily armored stallions. She noted that they were unicorns. They paid no attention to her except for flickering a bored glance.

The sergeant led Applejack further inside to the storage, where they met the quartermaster. After the sergeant had explained the situation to the pony, Applejack was given a full set of armor.

The mare looked at the pieces laid out in front of her, having no idea how she was supposed to put them on.

She raised a sole eyebrow at the sergeant.

With a sigh of exasperation, the stallion picked up all the pieces with his magic. It took him a whole minute to secure everything onto Applejack, locking every hook and nook firmly.

As soon as he was done, the mare took a couple of steps back and forth to make sure that it wasn’t restricting her movements, but the armor was sitting on her well. In fact, Applejack could barely feel its weight.

“Here’s your military saddlebag,” the sergeant smirked, throwing a heavy bag onto her back.

Applejack took it with ease. The mare flickered a grin, noticing the sergeant’s scowl. If he had hoped her knees would buckle under the weight, he was severely underestimating her. Huffing in annoyance, he trotted away, not bothering to see if Applejack was following him.

As they got outside, Applejack joined her fellow conscripts. Her armor was clanking slightly as she moved, but otherwise it was pretty comfortable. The ponies regarded her with curious looks, checking out the armor from up close.

“Is it heavy?” one of the mares asked.

Applejack shrugged dismissively. “Well, not for me at least.”

“Quit your yapping,” Sergeant Sharp interrupted them. “We’re wasting daylight.”

Having said that, he marched forward as the rest trotted behind. They didn’t have to go far; soon, the sergeant stopped at the edge of the line of barracks, where a giant field stretched out before their eyes. A few obstacle courses could be seen there which some poor souls were struggling to beat, but mostly the field consisted of large patches of flattened dirt.

“Give me the laps,” Sergeant Sharp said, turning to the group and pointing at the field. “Now!”

Exchanging quick glances, the ponies started into a full gallop around the field as the sergeant had told them earlier. Applejack was able to keep up with her comrades without trouble, even though the heavy saddlebags were beating at her sides as she ran.

As they finished the first ten laps, most of the group was holding together, but some of the ponies began to fall behind. By the twentieth lap, about a third of the conscripts had given up, crawling back to the sergeant dragging their hooves and panting. Those who were still running were visibly struggling, but forced themselves to move lap after lap.

However, even the sturdiest of ponies had given up as they crossed the fiftieth lap. Except Applejack, that was. She had lost count of the laps she had already made, but she kept going anyway. Her breath was heavy but steady as she galloped around the field.

But even her stamina wasn’t enough to keep her running for much longer.

Her legs were aching, begging Applejack to stop, but the mare refused to obey, pushing herself forward relentlessly. She would have made a couple more laps if not for a sudden crash into an invisible barrier. Her body rammed through it, but she lost her balance, stumbling and rolling on the ground, until she came to a stop.

“I said enough, you deaf fool,” the sergeant’s voice sounded from above.

Cracking her eyes open, Applejack saw his figure towering over her. To her surprise, he lent her a hoof to help her stand up.

“I was expecting you to give up before thirty,” Sergeant Sharp admitted, giving her a look of respect. “You’re surprisingly strong for a mare.”

Applejack managed a shrug.

“You’re freed from any exercises today for your impressive performance. I don’t want you to die from exhaustion after all,” the sergeant said, much to Applejack’s surprise. “But don’t think it’ll change anything between us.”

Giving the sergeant a nod, Applejack dragged her hooves to rejoin the group of conscripts. The ponies around her were looking at her with awe at her abilities.

“I knew you were a strong pony, but I didn’t know you were that strong,” somepony whispered.

Applejack blushed slightly. She didn’t usually like to show off her abilities, but the awe in that pony’s voice sure felt good.

She didn’t have to push herself as hard as she had done, but if Applejack promised something, she was determined to keep her word. And she had promised to herself that she would take whatever the sergeant threw at her.

***

Two weeks had flown by in the blink of an eye.

True to her word, Applejack had successfully passed through every obstacle Sergeant Sharp had put in her way. He had never stepped outside of the rules, but every tiny mistake on Applejack’s part was followed by some punishment that usually consisted in a double round of some heavy exercise.

As Applejack was having breakfast in the mess hall — a big room with dozens of tables filled by hungry ponies — she reflected on how the camp had changed lately. While it had been practically empty when she had gotten here, it was brimming with thousands of new arrivals now.

They were mostly earth ponies just like her, but a sizable number of them were unicorns. Those had mostly been conscripted from low-class citizens in Birminghoof. As Applejack had learned from some conversations, those unlucky unicorns were being trained along with earth pony troops because they didn’t possess high enough magical abilities to justify having them trained to be proper battle mage.

Not a lot of unicorns did, apparently.

“You look gloomy, Jackie,” a feminine voice said.

Applejack scrunched her muzzle, flickering her ear as if to get rid of an annoying fly.

“That’s ’cause I knew you were comin’, Flare,” Applejack grumbled, giving the unicorn an eyeful.

Despite her azure mane being cut short like a typical stallion, it would be hard to confuse her with one because of her petite stature with a round flank. The mare’s dark purple coat was slightly damp from her morning shower, making her cutie mark of two crossed knives look like a pair of crooked sticks.

“How funny, Jackie,” Flare snorted, squeezing herself between the two ponies to join Applejack’s table.

Applejack let out a heavy sigh. This mare had been trying too hard to be her friend since the moment they had met when she — along with dozens of others – had been assigned to Applejack’s barracks. Unfortunately, Flare had gotten a bunk right next to Applejack’s. It had happened just two days ago, but it already felt like an eternity.

“Why didn’t you tell me you have a brother and a sister back home?” Flare asked in an accusatory voice.

“You didn’t ask,” Applejack answered flatly.

“I’ve always wanted to have a sibling,” the mare smiled, watching over Applejack’s shoulder with a dreamy stare.

“Good for you,” Applejack grumbled.

“Well, I had some great friends instead though,” Flare continued, her smile dropping. “But not anymore.”

Applejack glanced at the mare in surprise.

“What?”

“Eh, forget about it.”

Applejack shrugged, returning to her meal. She was trying to finish her wheat porridge as quickly as she could, while Flare was busy talking about her home city Birminghoof. She didn’t seem to like it much, not that Applejack cared. Glancing at Flare’s plate, she made sure it was almost untouched by the chatty mare — it was her chance!

Jumping off her chair, Applejack grabbed her plate in her mouth and dashed to the counter for dirty dishes. Leaving her plate there, she hurried to the exit, glancing at Flare. To Applejack’s dismay, the mare had finished her meal in one big swoop of her tongue and was trotting after her, launching the plate at the counter with her magic.

Damn unicorns.

“Hey, wait for me, Jackie!” Flare yelled as Applejack exited the mess hall.

Admitting defeat, Applejack stopped and waited for Flare to catch up. Together they made their way through the camp back to their own barracks, with Flare filling the silence with her blabber. She was still droning on about Birminghoof.

“Can you imagine that even the king was killed by his own student?” she said, rolling her eyes. “It’s typical for that city. Just typical.”

“Yep,” Applejack nodded.

Soon they had reached their barracks.

A dozen of armored conscripts were already hanging around near the entrance, but the sergeant wasn’t there yet. Soon he would arrive to do the roll call and announce their daily task, but Applejack assumed that she had time to suit up until then.

She trotted inside, with Flare right behind her. Applejack walked past a bored sentry — it was one of her co-villagers today — and approached the armor racks. Each conscript had been issued a set about a week ago. It was required of them to be wearing the armor at all times while on duty.

Taking a set from under her name tag, Applejack began the chore of putting it on. While she was struggling to hook everything up with her teeth and hooves, Flare simply used her unicorn magic.

“Need some help?” Flare asked, securing the last belt.

“No, thank you,” Applejack grunted through her teeth.

In a few minutes she was done. It was actually a much better result than when she had tried it for the very first time, but it was still far from perfect — according to the sergeant, she needed to do it twice as fast.

The two made their way back outside, joining the rest of the conscripts. Applejack sat on the ground and glanced at the clear sky above. The weather was promising today.

“Hey, aren’t you excited?” Flare poked her.

Applejack raised her eyebrow. “Excited about what now?”

“We’ll start training with weapons today!”

“Ah, that,” the mare shrugged dismissively. “A bit, I guess.”

For the last two weeks since they had joined the camp, the sergeant had made them go through countless exercises, not to mention the obstacle course they had to finish on a daily basis. But yesterday, he had announced that they were ready to move up to the next level.

“I wonder what kind of weapon we’ll get,” Flare said, pacing around Applejack. “What do you think?”

The mare flickered an ear.

“Probably a sword,” she said flatly. “Every soldier I saw here has a sword.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Flare sighed. “I’m hoping for something cooler. Like knives!”

Flare began to describe the superiority of a good knife over a sword, but Applejack was barely listening, simply enjoying the fresh morning air. More and more conscripts were gathering in front of their barracks — and every other barracks in the camp — with each passing minute.

Soon afterwards, their sergeant finally showed up.

Flare shut up when everypony hurried to take their position. The whole unit had lined up in three even lines in less than ten seconds, facing Sergeant Sharp while he watched over them with a tiny smile of approval.

“You’ve learned something after all,” he nodded. His face turned serious again. “But that’s not nearly enough — you’re still just fodder for the enemy.”

The conscripts didn’t seem to react to the sergeant’s harsh assessment, simply staring forward with stony expressions. They knew that the sergeant hated it when anypony interrupted one of his speeches.

“As I’ve already told you, I’m going to train you to use a weapon in a fight,” he continued. “We’re going to spend the whole day today covering the basics. However, if you think I’m going to call off our usual obstacle course, you’re a fool. Any questions?”

Flare shot her hoof up, but the sergeant ignored like he usually did.

“No questions, good,” he shrugged. “Follow me, conscripts.”

Flare sighed in disappointment, but walked in a line along with the rest. The sergeant led them to the armory nearby. Their unit had to wait until the ponies who had gotten there first had been issued their equipment — simple swords.

“Aw, it really is a sword for everypony…” Flare said, drooping her ears.

Applejack rolled her eyes.

Soon they got their turn. The ponies entered the armory in small groups of five, where the quartermaster handed out a sword to each of them. Applejack took one with her hoof, quickly putting it away into her sheath, while Flare just stared at her own sword with a look of sadness.

“I don’t like swords,” she told Applejack. “They’re too clumsy. A good knife is much easier to control.”

“Of course it is” Applejack said, flickering a glance to her cutie mark. “Have you ever actually used it in a real fight?”

Before Flare could answer, the quartermaster shooed them out. They complied, but as soon as they got outside, Applejack repeated her question.

“Oh yes, I had to use them pretty often back in Birminghoof,” Flare answered flatly. “Not that it helped much…”

The mare fell silent after that, poking the ground with her hoof, but Applejack didn’t enjoy the moment of peace. Flare was clearly upset and despite her being a pain in a flank, Applejack wasn’t happy to see her like that.

Before she could come up with something to console her, everypony had finished getting armed and the sergeant led the group to the training fields. A whole lot of conscripts were there already, but their unit had a part of the field designated just for them. They formed up in three lines as per usual, waiting for Sergeant Sharp’s instructions.

“Before we begin, I’m going to show you how you would compare against a trained fighter,” the sergeant said, grinning. “Split up into pairs and prepare your swords.”

The ponies were surprised, but they had learned not to question their orders.

Applejack and Flare got to be in a group together. They drew their swords and Applejack touched its blade with her fetlock. It was blunt just as she had suspected. She hoped the sergeant had a blunt one himself — it would have been pretty crazy of him to cut them down for a demonstration.

“You,” the sergeant pointed his hoof at a seemingly random pair, “Try to take me down.”

The two ponies exchanged glances, taking an uncertain step forward and then lunged at him. Unfortunately, one of the ponies stumbled over his own sword, faceplanting into the ground. His partner looked back at his fallen comrade, allowing the sergeant to jump at him, landing a buck on his chest. The poor stallion was sent back flying with a yelp of pain.

Sergeant Sharp shook his head, scrunching his face like he had smelled something bad.

“I didn’t even draw my sword,” he told the two conscripts as they slowly got back on their hooves. “If that had been a real fight, you would be dead. Get back in line.”

Having said that, he took a scroll from his saddlebag, making some notes.

The next pair was dispatched by the sergeant almost as easily as the first one. He knocked the sword off the pony’s hoofgrip right away, punching his partner in the muzzle. The fight was pretty much over after that.

“Pathetic,” Sergeant Sharp spat. “I knew you would be bad, but I was hoping for some challenge at least.”

He looked over the line of conscripts, stopping his eyes on Applejack. The mare had guessed what was about to happen before he pointed his hoof at her, inviting Applejack to step forward.

Resigned, Applejack did so. It wasn’t difficult for her to walk on three legs, since she was used to carrying instruments back at the farm; the sword wasn’t even that heavy compared to them. But having never held a sword before, Applejack doubted she would beat the sergeant with it. If only it had been a hoof fight…

Flare seemed much more competent with a weapon, despite her earlier complaints about swords. She was holding it with her magic in front of her face, ready for anything. After exchanging a glance with Applejack, the two began encircling the sergeant.

That was when he made his move.

Unlike Flare, Sergeant Sharp held his sword like an earth pony. Dashing at Flare, he knocked her sword to the side, following it with a hoof to her face. Her reaction proved to be quick, however, as she jumped backwards to avoid the punch.

As the disarmed mare stumbled backwards, Applejack rushed at the sergeant from the side, hoping to catch him by surprise. Unfortunately for her, the sergeant had anticipated her move.

Turning to face her, he blocked Applejack’s clumsy swing with ease. Grabbing her hoof holding the sword, Sergeant Sharp pulled it with force, dropping Applejack onto the ground. Without giving her time to recover, he rolled her onto her back and dropped his armored elbow onto her belly.

That was a weak spot in the armor. Applejack was left gasping for air, curling up on the ground in pain. She didn’t want to admit defeat, but she never denied the truth when it was staring into her face.

Flare, however, wasn’t ready to give up. While Sharp was dealing with her partner, she had recovered her sword. She advanced on the sergeant as he just stood calmly, watching her every move.

With an improvised war cry, Flare jumped at him, swirling her sword madly. The sergeant simply stepped away, managing to score a hit into her head as she flew past. Following her, he kicked Flare’s legs from underneath her, making her fall with a loud thud.

“You’re dead,” he stated matter of factly, holding the sword to her neck. “Now get back in line.”

He waited until she and Applejack scrambled to their hooves to rejoin the others.

“That quick demonstration showed you what would happen if untrained rookies like you went up against a veteran,” the sergeant said. “I don’t expect all of you to reach my level, but I’m going to teach you how to use a sword and show us some basic moves that would make you somewhat useful in a battle.”

“But first let me address some of the mistakes you made. Flare, forget about using magic to wield a sword. It’s dangerous for your own allies in close quarters. As for the others…”

While the sergeant continued to break down the short brawl in detail, Applejack tried to pay attention, despite her aching stomach. No matter her personal feelings for the pony, he was a competent fighter that could teach her a lot.

“I’m sorry about what happened, Jackie,” Flare whispered; Applejack had to swivel her ear to hear her. “If only I had my knives…”

“And then what?” Applejack glanced at her slightly annoyed. “You think it would have gone differently?”

Flare shrugged, drooping her ears. “I don’t know…”

Applejack said nothing to that.

When the sergeant had finally finished with his speech, he ordered the ponies to face each other in pairs. Then he demonstrated a number of basic moves to the future soldiers and stepped away, observing the ponies repeat it.

***

Later that day, Applejack and Flare were sitting together in the mess hall. Flare was exhausted after hours of training. Even Applejack herself felt tired, not to mention a dull ache in her belly that was bothering her whenever she walked.

“I hate that guy,” one of the conscripts grumbled.

Applejack ignored the pony; her attention was focused on Flare instead. The mare seemed pretty down after being beaten by the sergeant. In fact, she had barely said a word after they’d been finally released.

“What’s wrong, Flare?” Applejack asked with genuine concern.

The mare flashed an obviously fake smile. “Nothing’s wrong, Jackie. Don’t worry about me.”

“I can sense a lie from a mile,” Applejack shook her head. “Are you that upset that the sergeant beat us?”

Flare flattened her ears; Applejack felt like she’d just hit the spot.

“Well, yes. I had always assumed that I was good enough to take care of myself,” Flare admitted, her smile gone. “But… maybe I’ve just never had a decent opponent.”

Applejack sat quietly, thinking of her answer.

“I was beaten, too,” she said, trying to console the mare. “We just need to train harder, that’s all.”

The unicorn shrugged.

“Don’t worry about that,” Applejack continued. “Besides, I know for a fact that Sergeant Sharp is not as tough as he looks.”

“What do you mean?”

Applejack shook her head, falling silent.

After the two mares had finished their meal, they went back to the barracks. Applejack found herself worried over Flare’s prolonged silence. She’d been wishing for her to shut up since she’d met her, but now when the mare was brooding inside, Applejack would actually prefer to hear her talking.

“So what did you use to do before being conscripted?” Applejack asked to break the silence.

A frown flickered on Flare’s face.

“I used to sell flowers,” the mare said evenly. Too evenly.

Applejack had a keen ear for catching lies and right now she felt like Flare was lying pretty clearly. Whatever she used to do was certainly far from what she had stated. Applejack narrowed her eyes, but didn’t challenge her statement just yet.

“Flowers are nice,” Applejack nodded.

They went the rest of the way to the barracks in silence.

As soon as they had gotten inside, Applejack happily took off her armor. She had never worn clothes in her life and it was hard to get used to the constant feeling of the armor around her body. It was so constricting compared to a natural coat.

Of course, Applejack had no objections to wearing a cloak if there was some rain or wearing some warm garments if the weather was particularly nasty, but she would never understand those ponies who liked to cover themselves in fancy clothes just to make themselves look better. She knew the nobles in the big cities did that; what a weird bunch.

In fact, the only piece of clothing Applejack owned was her old hat. Too bad she had to leave it back at the farm. The hat had been very useful for saving her from a heatstroke after having worked too long under the blistering sun on the field.

As the mare lay down in her bed, she thought about her old life on the farm. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

***

Parring a high blow with a sword, Applejack jumped backward, making her attacker lose his balance, and smashed her hoof into his face. The pony was thrown to the ground by the force of the punch, where Applejack finished him off by severing his neck.

Or at least, that was what would have happened if that had been a real fight. Fortunately for her opponent, it was just a tournament, so Applejack simply touched the pony’s neck with the tip of her sword, signifying his defeat.

Putting her sword back into her sheath, Applejack grinned.

The crowd of ponies around her erupted into cheer. She had just won the camp’s tournament! It had been set up for all the new conscripts. Applejack had joined to test what she had learned in the last two weeks of rigorous training that Sergeant Sharp had put them through.

As it had turned out, quite a lot.

“Keep it up, Jackie!” a familiar voice could be heard among the others.

Applejack searched for Flare with her eyes. The mare herself had decided to skip the tournament, much to Applejack’s dismay. She seemed to have lost faith in her fighting abilities after the sergeant had wiped the floor with both of them.

Giving Flare a little nod, Applejack raised her hoof in victory, invoking a new round of cheer from the crowd. Not only conscripts were in it, but also a number of regular soldiers, as well as officers. The soldiers could be distinguished by a blue stripe on their foreleg’s armor, while the conscripts’ armor was blank.

“The winner is—” the announcer squinted his eyes to read the name on his list, “—Applejack!”

The mare bowed her head.

There was no actual prize for the winner, of course, but Applejack hadn’t sought one in in the first place. Having received a blue ribbon from the hooves of the camp commander, an officer whose name Applejack didn’t remember, the mare was dismissed along with the rest.

She made her way through the crowd, nodding towards the ponies congratulating her on the victory, until she reached Flare.

“Congratulations, Jackie,” Flare grinned. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Well, thanks,” Applejack smiled in return. “Though I’m sure you would have done just fine yourself.”

Flare’s grin dropped a little. “I don’t know about that.”

The two walked through the camp, which was unusually active for such a late time. In fact, everypony was supposed to be in bed already, but the curfew had been extended to allow the tournament to be finished in one day.

When they had finally entered their barracks, Applejack found most of her unit gathered there. They cheered loudly as soon as she appeared.

“You were so cool, Applejack!” somepony yelled.

“Aw, shucks, everypony,” she blushed at receiving so much praise. “Thanks, I guess.”

When the wave of praise had died out, Applejack took off her armor as usual, finally being able to relax. She had been participating in the tournament since early in the morning, having endured five different brawls to get to the finale, so she wished for nothing more than some good rest.

Unfortunately, sleep hadn’t prevented Applejack’s body from aching all over in the morning. She may have won the tournament, but she hadn’t gotten through it completely unscathed, despite everypony wearing armor to protect them from the worst of injuries.

So when their unit had lined up in front of the barracks, Applejack was expecting it to be a bad day. When the sergeant showed up, her expectations even worsened. Instead of doing his usual roll call, he just stood in front of the line, eying the conscripts with a heavy stare.

“The high command has ordered the camp to speed up your training,” he stated, spitting on the ground in disgust. “Obviously, you’re not ready, but they’re still planning to deploy you to Stalliongrad on the eastern border.”

An excited murmur went through the crowd. The city’s name was well known to every earth pony. For most of them, going there would be a dream come true, despite the city being right on the border with savage griffons. Applejack was excited along with the rest, though the fact that they were being sent there in such a hurry was a bit disturbing.

“I’m going to be deployed there as well,” Sergeant Sharp continued, suppressing any disturbance with his glare. “So, the following week is going to be much more intense if I am to make you somewhat ready. Some of you have made good progress in one-on-one brawls, but a serious battle is not the place for a lone hero. You’re going to be trained to fight in a proper formation.”

Applejack kept a frown off her face, but she was disturbed by the news. There was a rumor about an upcoming war and these events supported that theory. Though if Applejack had been the one making the decisions, she would have thought twice before sending a barely trained force into battle.

“I don’t want whatever commander gets you in their unit to think that Sergeant Sharp is a bad teacher, so I’m going to try my damnedest to knock something into your little heads,” the sergeant promised. “Do your best, everypony. Your lives may very well depend on it.”

Applejack’s thoughts flashed to Big Mac, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom as she tried to imagine their reactions to her death. It wasn’t pretty, so the mare furrowed her brows, determined to learn everything she could to survive a possible war.

She would see her family again.

Chapter VIII - P.I. Pie

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Pinkie Pie trotted through the brimming streets of Birminghoof. Her pink mane had a somewhat darker shade than her bright coat and was collected in a tight bun. A pair of stylish glasses sat on her muzzle. She didn’t really need them since her eyesight was perfect, but Pinkie liked the smart look it gave her.

Three balloons — one yellow and two blue ones — were proudly displayed on her flank — her cutie mark.

There was a spring in the mare’s steps that was lacking among the other citizens. In fact, she attracted a lot of looks from the ponies she met along the way since her cheerful mood was in sharp contrast to the city’s depressing gray colors. After years of living in the capital, Pinkie was used to stares, however.

“Hello, random passer-by!” Pinkie waved to some stranger, who flickered her an annoyed look as he passed her by in silence.

The happy mare wasn’t put off by such a response. Her mood was high in the sky after she had successfully finished another case — finding the smith’s missing daughter. The poor girl had escaped from her own home because of the issues in her family, but Pinkie had managed to resolve them after bringing the young mare back home.

In fact, Pinkie hadn’t even accepted any reward for her job. Nothing could trump the happiness she got from helping her fellow ponies. Besides, she had the bits to spare after her last job. Not to mention that being an earth pony, the smith hadn’t had that many bits to offer anyway.

Turning from the main street to a side lane, Pinkie approached her little cottage at the end of it. She froze in place, perking up her ears — her knee twitched. It wasn’t just a random twitch either. It was one of the signs she had learned to read over the years.

She had some unexpected guests.

Quickly rolling behind the corner of one of the houses, Pinkie peeked out; her entrance door was in her direct view. She could now pick up the details she hadn’t noticed at first glance. While the door appeared to be closed, the lock was damaged as if someone had kicked it open, which was probably exactly what had happened.

She also noticed a unicorn loitering near the door. Their eyes met.

“Oh…” the mare gasped, yanking her head back behind her cover.

The sound of hoofsteps began to rapidly approach her hideout. It had been compromised! Jumping up, she grabbed at the windowsill and pulled herself up as quickly as she could. Quickly, she climbed all the way to the roof just in time, when the unicorn reached the corner with his horn ablaze.

He stopped, scratching the back of his head. That tight space between the two houses had no other way out as far as he could see. There was literally no place to hide. Pinkie barely suppressed a giggle, watching the unicorn’s confused face from her new position on the roof.

Illuminating the way with his horn, the pony slowly walked forward. He was checking every nook and cranny until he reached a dead end. The stallion knocked on the wall to make sure it wasn’t some illusion, but it was stone solid. Muttering some curses, he backed down, since there was no place for him to simply turn around.

The mare above was gone by now.

Pinkie had jumped onto her own roof, easily balancing on the slope. Knowing that somepony had invaded her house, she was contemplating her course of action. She could slide down the chimney to surprise the intruders by jumping out of the fireplace, but it would take ages to get the soot out of her coat.

No, she needed something more effective.

Approaching the chimney, Pinkie pulled out a certain brick at its base, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside of it was a coil of rope that she had stashed in case of an emergency. Flickering a smile that it had finally come in handy, she first wrapped it around the chimney and then tied it securely around her torso. It wasn’t a perfect set up, but it would do for the task.

Stepping over the edge of the roof, Pinkie looked down. It wasn’t exactly high, but she would prefer to avoid falling. Holding the rope with her teeth, she carefully slid down the wall until she had reached the window on the second floor. It wasn’t locked, so she quietly sneaked into her bedroom. Untying the rope, Pinkie let it hang freely outside in case she would need it again.

Having done that, she stopped for a moment to plan her next step.

There was obviously more than one intruder, including the unicorn outside. Pinkie doubted that he was just taking a stroll in that alley. But how many of his pals were inside? Eh, it didn’t matter. Pinkie could take them all out if she acted smart. Though she needed to be extra careful with the intruders being unicorns with their freaky magic.

It would be fun.

Giggling in anticipation, the mare approached a painting with flowers on it. Shoving it aside, it revealed a safe built into the wall. Inside the safe were a couple of purses full of bits that she just threw out of her way to find the device she was looking for. There it was!

It looked like a simple black ball with evenly disturbed holes on its surface. Pinkie had tried to see what was inside on more than one occasion, but it was completely black even under direct torchlight. She had gotten the device for a large sum of bits a couple of months back from a unicorn wizard and had had no opportunity to use it yet.

Now would be the time.

Grabbing the device with her teeth, Pinkie went out of the bedroom door, her hooves making no sound thanks to the thick carpet that covered the floor. She sneaked into the corridor, swiveling her ears as she tried to locate the intruders. A moment later she caught something from the direction of the stairs.

Pinkie grinned.

Crawling all the way to the staircase, the mare peeked from behind the corner to see three unicorns below. She had no idea who they were, but they looked too well-fed and groomed to be just some common robbers. Besides, why would some robbers be sitting on her couch instead of trashing the place in search of something of value?

However, they had still broken into her home uninvited, which was extremely rude of them. They weren’t even her friends, not that Pinkie would even want to be friends with some stuck-up unicorns. Wait a second…

Were they eating her pie?!

That just wouldn’t do. Furrowing her eyebrows, the mare threw the device in her mouth right into the middle of the group of invaders. It landed on the floor with a heavy thump, bouncing a few times before stopping unnaturally quickly. The unicorns jumped on their hooves in alarm, looking at the ball in surprise.

WHOOSH!

The device made a loud whistling sound as it activated, sucking in all the magic around it. The unicorns screamed in pain, dropping on their knees. The device was working exactly as promised! Grinning happily, Pinkie jumped over the railing, taking a second to enjoy the beautiful sight before knocking them all unconscious one by one with a swift punch to the back of their heads. The whole ordeal had taken less than ten seconds complete.

Pinkie’s left ear flopped suddenly, reminding her that it wasn’t time to relax. She dashed to the entrance door just in time for it to burst open with one more unicorn rushing inside. His eyes widened, noticing the pink mare flying at him.

“Surprise!” she squeaked before smashing into him with her full bodyweight.

The pony was indeed taken by surprise. His head was spinning from the harsh landing — he may have hit it on the ground. The mare was lying on top of him. Being the professional that he was, the unicorn tried to light up his horn to deal with this crazy pony, but she smacked it between her hooves, sending a jolt of pain through his head.

The stallion cringed, grinding his teeth as he glared at Pinkie.

“Sleep tight,” the mare smiled gently.

The last thing he saw was her hoof rapidly closing in.

***

The unicorn cracked his eyes open, squinting them immediately as they adjusted to a light beaming directly into his face. He attempted to cover his eyes with his hoof, but something was holding it. A moment later his slowly awakening brain had realized that his limbs were tied up tightly to a chair in which he was placed rather uncomfortably.

Pinkie moved the lamp she was holding away from his face, making it a bit easier for the captive to see her. There was no doubt in his mind — she was P.I. Pie, the mare he was looking for.

The mare examined him in turn. Her captive was pretty big for a unicorn. His white coat was also clean and well groomed. Everything about him just screamed high status. Obviously, he and his friends weren’t simpler robbers.

“Well, well, well,” Pinkie began, shaking her head. “You’re in quite a pickle, unicorn. Tell me, what were you and your pals doing in my house without a proper invitation?”

“I…we…” the stallion mumbled, trying to collect his thoughts.

“I want you to confess!” Pinkie lurched at him, making him recoil. He would have fallen backwards if she hadn’t grabbed the handles of his chair.

“Or what?” the captive asked, putting on a brave face. “Are you going to kill me?”

Pinkie stayed silent, but a thin smile appeared on her face. He didn’t like the sight of it.

P.I Pie was widely known among the earth ponies that lived in the capital. The captive wasn’t one himself, but he had learned about her from one of his friends who was one. That mare had a true talent for finding missing ponies, whether they were alive or dead.

“Well, I wanted you to find somepony,” the stallion said.

Pinkie arched her eyebrows. Tilting her head, she looked at her captive like he was mad.

“That’s not how you offer someone a job, silly.”

“We knew you would refuse it anyway,” the stallion said. “Everypony knows you never do a job for a unicorn. So we wanted to encourage you to take it. If you know what I mean.”

“Oh, I do indeed,” Pinkie nodded solemnly, her ears flickering backwards for a second. “A few have tried it before. So, what noble fool sent you this time?”

Before answering, the stallion threw a quick look around. He could see the stone walls, illuminated dimly by a lamp in Pinkie’s hoof. It looked more like a cell than an actual room, having no furniture except for his chair. P.I. Pie and him were completely alone in here.

“Don’t make me repeat my question,” Pinkie said, narrowing her eyes.

The pony’s attention snapped back at her.

“First, tell me, where are my guys?” he asked, ignoring her question.

The mare grinned widely, showing her white teeth.

“They’re dead,” she said like it was the punchline to a joke. “I’ve killed them myself.”

The captive inhaled in shock. He felt like a ball of ice had been put inside of his belly. For the first time since he had woken up, he attempted to summon his magic, but to no avail. He knew that the mare had likely neutralized his horn with something — it was the very first thing you did when capturing a unicorn — but it was more of a reflex at this point.

“Gotcha!” Pinkie poked his muzzle, giggling. Her mane seemed to puff up a little as she laughed. “You should have seen your face! Your friends are actually upstairs. Totally alive and everything.”

“Huh?” the stallion bulged his eyes at her, thrown off by the sudden change in her behavior.

“But not for long, unless you cooperate,” the mare added, getting serious once again. “Who sent you?”

The pony was silent for a few moments. He had underestimated the mare already. Not to mention that she seemed a bit wacky. He wasn’t sure that she would believe the truth in her current mood, but he decided to roll with it anyway.

“Nopony sent us,” he said, looking Pinkie in the eyes. “We came on our own.”

She looked at the stallion, scratching her chin thoughtfully.

“On your own, huh? That’s interesting.”

“I bet it is. My name is Captain Heavy Steps of the Royal Guard.”

Pinkie whistled in surprise.

“The Captain of the Royal Guard?” she asked.

“No, just one of the captains in the Royal Guard,” the stallion corrected her.

Pinkie chuckled. “Ah, that makes much more sense.”

Still, the whole situation had just grown more serious.

She had dealt with some cases when some silly noblepony had suddenly decided that P.I Pie was their errand mare. After a quick visit and a heartfelt conversation, they usually realized their mistake and never bothered her again. But never before had the Royal Guard itself been involved.

“So, who am I supposed to find?”

“The pony who poisoned the king, that damn Twilight Sparkle,” the captive practically spat out the name, “That little traitor…”

Pinkie flattened her ears, flickering her eyes down as if in shame. She took her emotions under control, however, eying Heavy Steps with a hard stare.

“Why do you want me to find her?” she asked coldly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the guard rolled his eyes. “The bitch poisoned the king; the king I was in charge of protecting. I want to make sure she pays for what she did myself.”

“The king got what he deserved,” Pinkie stated firmly.

Heavy Steps reddened. He would have slapped the mare for her insolence if his hooves weren’t bound to that damn chair.

“Don’t you dare speak about King Hearth like that,” he growled instead. “He was… is an honorable pony! What happened to him is a tragedy, especially when he was one step away from starting his reforms…”

Pinkie was taken aback by such a strong reaction from the pony. Her opinion about the king was pretty low, considering the state Equestria was in. Who if not its ruler was ultimately responsible for it?

“I see…” Pinkie said. “So you’re saying you and your friends came on your own? Nopony sent you?”

Heavy Steps nodded.

“But why? The whole country is looking for her as it is.”

The stallion cringed. “The royal investigators still have no idea how she was able to escape in the first place...”

The captain fell silent. He knew that he had failed miserably in his plan. It had been a big mistake for them to try forcing the mare into accepting the job, but who could have known how good she was?

“I need to think about it,” Pinkie said to his surprise. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Having said that, she winked at the guard and left the room, leaving the pony alone in complete darkness.

***

Pinkie was baking.

It not only helped to calm her nerves, which were a bit shaken after her conversation with Heavy Steps, but it would also provide her with a pie to replace the one eaten by the home invaders.

As Pinkie was preparing the dough, she was also thinking about the captain in her basement. No matter how much she tried to deny it, her heart was telling her that Heavy Steps was a good pony despite being a unicorn, as unlikely as it seemed after he had broken into her house.

And he claimed that the king was a good pony too. Being his personal guard, his words held a certain weight.

That came into conflict with everything Pinkie had heard about the ex-ruler. The thought of being wrong about him had been bothering her since the night he’d been poisoned. Being the good P.I. that she was, she had to check the facts, no matter how unbelievable they seemed. Something she should have done much earlier, perhaps.

Finding Twilight, the king’s own protege, would be a step towards finally learning the truth about him. By talking with the mare personally, she would make a fair assessment of her and through her the king himself.

As she put the pie into the oven, she had come to a decision — she would find Twilight Sparkle as the Captain had asked. Not for him, of course, but for herself.

***

Pinkie let her captives go with a warning, but the Captain decided to stick with her for the investigation when he learned she would look for Twilight after all. Pinkie allowed that for now — working alone was terribly boring at times.

A few hours later, Pinkie and her escort entered the palace grounds.

The palace was the largest and richest structure in the city and could be observed from every district, showing the power of royalty for everypony to see. Its walls looked weary with age from up close, but its tall towers were impressive nonetheless, completely dominating the cityscape.

It housed the whole government of Equestria with all its ministries within its walls, so a lot of ponies were coming in and out of the palace constantly. Most of them were fancy unicorns, so it was unlikely that somepony would recognize Pinkie, but she still had changed her appearance drastically for this mission.

Due to her reputation, she had to do that pretty often on her job.

A special potion had dulled her colors from bright pink to cherry, making her completely unrecognizable to anyone who didn’t know her very well. She had also gotten rid of her glasses and had even gone so far as to change her mane style, making it fall down freely rather than being restricted in a bun.

“First, I want to see the place from which Twilight escaped,” Pie said to Heavy Steps. “Take me there.”

“I won’t be able to get you in,” the Captain warned her. “I was suspended after the king…”

“I get it,” Pinkie waved her hoof. “Lead me there anyway.”

With a nod, Heavy Steps walked somewhere determinedly. He was navigating the countless corridors with seeming ease. Nopony they met along the way paid them any attention, which suited Pinkie just fine. After a while, they had finally arrived at the stairwell to the palace dungeons.

“Here we are,” Heavy Steps pointed. “I doubt he’ll let us in.”

A unicorn sentry in full armor was guarding the way down.

“I’m sure he will,” Pinkie grinned.

She trotted towards the guard carelessly, ignoring the heavy stares he was burrowing her with. Opening her mouth as if to say something, Pinkie lunged at him with no warning. She grabbed his helmet with both of her hooves, taking it off his head before the pony could react. The guard reared up, but Pinkie avoided being hit by his front hooves. Instead, she rolled around him and jumped onto his back, hammering his head with heavy punches from all sides.

It didn’t take long for the stallion to fall to the floor and stop moving.

“What in Tartarus are you doing?” Heavy Steps exclaimed in shock, rushing over to the fallen guard. “I swear to Nightmare, if you’ve killed him—”

“He’ll live,” Pinkie waved dismissively, going down the stairs.

Heavy Steps followed her, carrying the guard with him after making sure that P.I. was telling the truth. The poor guard had received a heavy beating, but had no life-threatening injuries except for a possible concussion.

Pinkie was already examining the empty cell when Heavy Steps caught up with her. She had a small lamp in her hoof, but the captain added the light of his horn anyway. Shrugging, Pinkie extinguished the lamp, tucking it back into her saddlebag.

Heavy Steps gently lowered the guard to the floor and glared at Pinkie’s back.

“You shouldn’t ha—”

“Shhhh,” the mare interrupted his attempted scolding.

Leaning down, Pinkie examined the lock of the cell’s door up close. She could see right through the keyhole. Bringing her muzzle closer, she gave it a deep sniff. While she was doing her strange manipulations, Heavy Steps was trying to take his thoughts under control.

Once again, the pink mare had proved her insanity. Attacking a royal guard in the middle of the royal palace in broad daylight… While this part of the palace wasn’t visited much, it was still insane. Well, at least the P.I. was working towards the goal he had given her — finding Twilight Sparkle.

He shouldn’t be complaining too much.

“The lock was opened with the key,” Pinkie stated. “Most likely from the outside.”

The stallion nodded. “Yeah, the royal investigators have assumed as much.”

Pinkie murmured something incomprehensible, continuing her examination. She walked into the cell itself, then walked out. After repeating the process a few more times, the mare left for the last time, trotting deeper into the dungeon itself.

“The place has been searched more than you can count,” Heavy Steps pointed out. “Our best unicorns have cast all kinds of spells trying to find something. There is nopony here and no way out.”

“Interesting.”

Soon, the two had arrived at a dead end. Heavy Steps stopped, but Pinkie continued to walk straight forward until she hit the solid wall with her muzzle. The mare recoiled, rubbing her hurt nose.

“Aw, I was so sure that would work.”

Heavy Steps gave her a surprised glance, but she didn’t elaborate. The assumption about the mare’s poor mental state only solidified in his mind. He shrugged as he observed the mare tapping at the wall seemingly at random.

“Aha!” she exclaimed triumphantly.

The captain’s mouth fell open as a whole section of the wall shuffled aside, revealing a dark corridor behind it. He stared at the mare in disbelief. How in Equestria had she found a secret passageway so quickly, while all the efforts from the Royal Guard had failed?

Pinkie giggled, noticing the stallion’s expression.

“Let’s see what’s on the other side!” she said, booping his muzzle.

Having done that, the mare went into a full gallop. The darkness didn’t bother her in the slightest as she disappeared into the corridor ahead. Pulling himself out of his stupor, Heavy Steps ran after her. However, even with his royal guard training, catching up to her seemed to be an impossible task. He couldn’t even see her up ahead!

Thankfully, the tunnel went straight forward, so there was no fear of getting lost. Illuminating the way with his horn, Heavy Steps galloped steadily. Finally, after running for what felt like eternity, he saw some light ahead. Soon the tunnel ended, with a staircase leading up.

Some light was coming from the door on the top.

The P.I. was nowhere to be seen, so Heavy Steps assumed she was already up. However, just as he was about to climb, something tapped his flank.

With a surprised yelp, the stallion reared up. Turning around, he almost blasted whatever that was with an attack spell, but he stopped himself in time when he recognized Pinkie who was rolling around the floor, making weird noises.

A second later, he realized that it was laughter.

“Gotcha!” she thrust a hoof at him

Heavy Steps rolled his eyes. The mare was getting on his nerves, but he couldn’t afford to lose her help. Despite her insanity, just in five minutes she had made more progress than the entire Royal Guard had since Twilight escaped. Turning away with a sigh of frustration, the stallion climbed up the stairs.

He landed in a small closet with an open door to the outside. Stepping out, Heavy Steps found himself in a small alley that was tucked between two buildings. He was obviously out in the city now. He knew that the palace had a couple of secret tunnels leading outside, but that was the first time he had ever heard of this one.

Since the Captain used to be in charge of the king’s security, it was surprising that somepony like Twilight would know that while he didn’t. Though with how much time the mare had spent in the library, he guessed it wasn’t that surprising she would know the old palace’s secrets better than him.

Pinkie exited the tunnel right behind him. As soon as she did, the entrance closed on its own, making the wall look the same as any other, but she ignored that for the moment, planning the next step in her investigation.

Twilight Sparkle had had outside help to escape, that much was obvious. She had seen two sets of hoofsteps on the dust in the tunnel which had proved that. That meant that somepony had let her out and showed her the secret tunnel that nopony knew about. The mysterious pony had likely used that passageway to get into the dungeon in the first place.

Since the Guard hadn’t been able to find it, it was likely known only to the King himself. Perhaps his son knew about it as well, since he was part of the royal family. But why would he free the mare who was assumed to have poisoned his father?

That was the question Pinkie wanted to ask the prince personally.

“Let’s go visit the prince,” Pinkie broke the silence. She turned around and after some manipulation opened the secret door once again.

***

“I’m onto you, buster!” Pinkie yelled, rolling into the prince’s chambers through the door she had just broken.

Blueblood, who was relaxing on his chair in front of a fireplace with a glass of wine, jumped onto his hooves, spilling the wine on his coat in the process. His face reddened as he glared at the mad mare who had just invaded his privacy.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Blueblood yelled, trying to grab the invader in his magical grip.

But his spell only grabbed the empty air. He blinked, seeing Pinkie standing right next to him. With a swift move, she put a ring on his horn, blocking the unicorn’s access to magic. Blueblood froze in shock, looking at the mare with wide eyes.

“Why did you help Twilight escape?” Pinkie thrust an accusatory hoof at his chest. “Don’t you try to deny it; I know all about it!”

Blueblood paled. His anger was replaced by panic. He made a step back, falling into his chair. Who was that mare? Had she been sent to him by Everlight? His thoughts were a mess at the moment. When he noticed Heavy Steps, the captain of his father’s personal guards, dragging the bodies of his own guards inside, his brain practically shut down from overload.

“W-what…” Blueblood blurted out. “You?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Heavy Steps nodded, stacking the two unconscious guards close to each other and closing the door.

The prince furrowed his brows. “But why? You were always loyal to my father…”

“I still am. But I’m not sure if you are. Helping the traitor who poisoned your father escape is pretty suspicious, I’d say.”

“I did it because she was innocent, you oaf!” Blueblood exclaimed, waving his hooves. “The damn regent set her up; everypony can see that.”

Heavy Steps frowned. The thought that Everlight was behind this had crossed his mind before, of course. He had heavily benefited from those events after all. But he had seen with his own eyes how Twilight had broken into the king’s chamber with a bottle. She had done the deed herself, there was no denying that in his mind.

Whoever had told her to do that, though, was another question.

It may as well have been Blueblood himself. Heavy Steps had never had a high opinion of the prince. For all he knew, Blueblood could have been working with Twilight to get rid of his father, but being as dumb as he was, he had messed up, with Twilight ending up in jail and Everlight using the situation to seize power for himself.

“Innocent or not, I need to find her,” Pinkie said.

“Who in Tartarus are you anyway?” Blueblood asked, making an attempt to stand up.

“Silence,” Pinkie shot him a glare, making the prince stop fidgeting. “It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is what I’ll do if you don't talk.”

Blueblood shook his head indignantly.

Pinkie sighed, producing a knife out of her bag and spinning it on her hoof. The prince watched the knife for a few seconds, mesmerized, until he twitched.

“I'm the prince!” he exclaimed, flattening his ears. “You wouldn’t dare to hurt me!”

Heavy Steps frowned, seeing where the situation was going. However, he had already broken so many rules that he would be court-martialed, so he decided to simply watch the situation unfold. Seeing the P.I. in action, he wasn’t sure if he could stop her anyway.

Finding the one who had ruined his life would be worth it in the end.

Thankfully, Pinkie didn’t have to do anything. Blueblood’s resolve melted faster than snow in the summer. Just a threat had been enough for him to start singing like a bird.

And what interesting things he had to say.

Blueblood and Twilight were planning to find some powerful artifacts to get back at Everlight, whom he claimed to be the true villain. The ex-mage had left the city the same night that she had escaped. According to Blueblood, she was going to Canterlot to do some research. The two had had no contact with each other, so the prince had no idea how successful Twilight had been so far.

“Well, that makes sense,” Pinkie nodded when Blueblood had finished. “Thanks!”

Having said that, she turned around and trotted out of the chamber, leaving a confused Blueblood behind. Glancing at the poor prince, Heavy Steps hurried after her.

“Wait, what are you going to do with him?” he asked the P.I., pointing at the chamber they had just left.

“Nothing,” Pinkie shrugged. “He was telling the truth.”

Heavy Steps looked at her in surprise. “How do you know that?”

“I have no idea; I just do.”

***

Pinkie was thinking about her interaction with Blueblood on her way home.

The Prince hadn't left a good impression on her. He was slick, cowardly and whiny — the worst combination. Most of the nobleponies she had met were exactly the same. If the king had raised his son like that, perhaps he wasn’t that good of a pony after all. That raised Pinkie’s mood slightly.

She still wanted to find Twilight to make a full assessment of the monarch, however, so as soon as Pinkie got home, she began packing. The road to Canterlot wasn’t a short one, but she was determined to go on hoof, at least until she found the evidence to confirm Blueblood’s words. She may have believed in the prince’s story, but no good detective would trust a theory with no proof.

Heavy Steps was here as well, loitering in the corner.

“I’m sorry about my friends and I breaking into your house,” he said. “If I'd known you would agree to help me, I wouldn’t have done that.”

“Oh, I’m not mad at you about that,” Pinkie assured him. “It was still not nice of you to eat my pie.”

The pony lowered his glance in shame. “It just smelled so good…”

“It did?” the mare raised her eyebrows. “Why, thank you!”

Being done packing, Pinkie was ready to go. A big saddlebag full of stuff was on her back, covered by a traveling cape. It was autumn, so she should be prepared for some bad weather. She glanced at Heavy Steps.

“Well, I’ll see you later!”

Pinkie was about to leave when she remembered that it was her house. She escorted the pony outside and locked the door. Now that was much better. Not that her lock had stopped him and his friends from breaking in the last time… But he was sorry for that, so it was all good now in Pinkie’s eyes.

Waving goodbye at him, she trotted away, but the Captain quickly caught up.

“I’m coming with you,” Heavy Steps stated firmly.

Pinkie turned to face him, narrowing her eyes.

“Why?”

“Well, I said that I wanted to look Twilight in the eyes and ask why she poisoned the king,” the stallion said. “Besides, after what we did to the prince, I’m pretty sure my suspension will be permanent. I won’t be surprised if there’s already a price on my head.”

“You wanted to come along yourself,” Pinkie shrugged.

“I know… I just hope finding the answer will be worth it.”

Pinkie simply shrugged. Seeing as Twilight was innocent of the crime she had been accused of, she doubted that Heavy Steps would be happy with his answer. He seemed to be certain of her guilt, despite Blueblood’s words to the contrary.

“You can come,” she waved her hoof. “It’ll be more fun to travel together, I guess.”

The two made a detour to Heavy Steps’ own home, so the stallion could take his belongings with him. He took his sword, some supplies and some bits, stuffing the rest of his things into his saddlebag. He sighed, looking back at his house for the last time.

After what he had done in the palace, Heavy Steps doubted that he would be able to return. Even if the P.I. found Twilight and he brought her back on a silver plate, he would still be punished. But what was the point of his life anyway, when he had failed his most important task of protecting the king?

“Well, let’s get moving.”

Chapter IX - A Helping Hoof

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The weather in Canterlot was simply divine.

At least one positive side of being stuck here, thought Rarity.

Such warmth was quite typical for Canterlot’s autumn. Rarity was happy that she was able to enjoy it properly instead of being stuck in the cottage, even though it was just for a few hours while Sweetie Belle was having her daily nap. Aloe was in on their plan, so she stayed back to keep Rarity’s little sister from finding out they were away. She was just too young to be trusted with a secret like that.

As the group walked through the streets of the city, a stylish chapeau gave the lady some shade in the bright sun, while her companions remained exposed to the sunrays. After wandering for a bit, Rarity, Lotus and their guard, Silver Armor, were finally approaching the gates of Starswirl’s Academy — their final destination.

“Purpose of the visit?” a bored security pony asked them, stepping out from his booth.

“The library, dear,” Rarity smiled at him. “Lovely uniform, by the way.”

The stallion flustered at being complimented out of the blue. Even though hundreds of visitors passed through each day, the ponies would barely exchange a single word with him, let alone praise his uniform, which was sad for him at times, if he was being honest.

“Oh, thanks!” he smiled back. “I actually iron it every day before work! It’s nice that at least somepony appreciates it. Well, just sign here and you’re free to go.”

He levitated a journal out of his saddle bag, offering it to the mare. Rarity did as requested and prompted her companions to do the same. Obviously, none of them used their real names. Afterwards, the security pony gave each of them a pass.

“Don’t forget to sign out on your way back, please.”

“I won’t. Thank you, darling.” Rarity grinned, taking the card in her magic. “Have a good day.”

The trio trotted past the gate and deeper into the Academy’s grounds. The place was akin to a small village in its own way, housing thousands of students that had come from different cities to study here. Of course, only nobles — or rich unicorns — could afford it.

Even with such a limited pool, the Academy had produced a good number of powerful wizards, including Everlight. Rarity herself had graduated from the Academy just a few years prior, though she was far from an actual wizard. Most of the students had chosen the basic course and thus didn’t get the right to be called one.

Lotus looked at the buildings in the distance, impressed.

“Is it all just one Academy?” she asked Rarity in awe.

“Indeed, darling,” the mare smiled in return. “It’s the most prestigious one in Equestria.”

It didn’t take long for the group to find the library. It was exactly where Rarity remembered it, not that she had expected the ancient building to move, of course. She and her companions quickly climbed up the stairs and entered.

Rarity shuddered slightly — it was chilly here, especially after the pleasant warmth of the street. She glanced around, quickly locating the counter, and approached the pony she assumed was a librarian, who was looking at them expectantly.

Contrary to what she remembered, the librarian now was a young dark blue stallion of her age. She couldn’t see his cutie mark from where she was standing.

“Here’s our pass, darling,” Rarity flashed a card before his eyes.

The stallion barely paid it any attention, looking at the mare in front of him instead. “You’re free to enter. Do you need any help?”

“I would appreciate that,” Rarity smiled. “I have to admit, I’m not as familiar with the library as I perhaps should be. Let me introduce myself, I’m Lady R—”

Rarity stumbled, getting a sharp elbow to her ribs. She glared at Lotus, who flattened her ears, but a moment later Rarity realized her slip. You’re supposed to be incognito, silly filly! — she chided herself.

“Excuse me,” she said out loud. “As I was saying, I’m Lady Rose. And you are?”

The slightly surprised stallion looked between Lotus and Rarity, but then shrugged. It was none of his business.

“My name is Midnight Star,” he said. “So, what can I help you with?”

“Oh, I’m looking for some book on the topic of dressmaking, or something similar,” Rarity explained. “Would you know something like that?”

Midnight nodded. “Sure. You should find it in the “Crafts” section.”

He told Rarity the relevant row number. The mare thanked him and went on her way, Lotus and Silver Armor following her just a step behind. As soon as they had gotten out of the librarian’s view, Lotus caught up with Rarity, having a distressed expression on her face.

“I’m very sorry I hit you, Lady Rarity,” she said, her accent being more pronounced. “I just wanted—”

“Nonsense, darling,” Rarity interrupted her mid-sentence, causing the mare to sink to her haunches. “No-no, I’m not mad at you! In fact, I thank you for preventing me from foolishly revealing my name.”

Rarity helped Lotus to stand up, giving her a warm smile. She smiled back uncertainly.

“I’m still sorry,” she added.

“It’s alright, dear,” Rarity reassured her, going so far as to give her a light pat on her shoulder. “Though the next time do try to be more gentle.”

Unseen by either of them, Silver Armor, who was standing behind them, shifted his hindlegs uncomfortably, remembering the same words being uttered by Rarity the day before in the heat of the moment, so to say. The stallion quickly switched his attention to the books around him — the public library wasn’t the place to indulge in such memories.

“I definitely will, Lady Rarity,” Lotus answered, now more at ease.

With that issue out of their way, the group continued making their way between the bookshelves to their desired row.

Most of the students were keeping a good distance from their company, likely because of Silver Armor’s intimidating expression — the stallion was glaring forward, doing his best to keep his eyes from flickering towards Rarity’s tail. He wouldn’t be manipulated again!

However, a lone green mare was so engrossed in choosing a book that she hadn’t even noticed them approaching. Seeing as she was standing right in the middle of their passage, Rarity had no choice but to disturb her by lightly tapping on her back.

The mare jumped with a startled yelp, dropping the book she was holding in her magic on the floor. She stared at Rarity with wide eyes, flattening her ears against her skull. Rarity was taken aback at her extreme reaction — she even felt ashamed for scaring the poor pony like that.

“Terribly sorry for startling you, but would you mind letting us pass?” she gave her a gentle smile, trying to sound as polite as possible.

“Eh, sure, of course!” the mare bobbed her head up and down.

She took a step back and to the side, freeing the passage. However, Rarity hesitated. The mare’s voice sounded strangely familiar. It took Rarity a moment to place it, but when she did, she drew in a heavy breath. She shot a quick glance at the mare’s flank to confirm her suspicions, but unfortunately her large saddlebags were covering her cutie mark.

“May I ask what book you are looking for?” Rarity asked to justify the delay, while taking a mental note of the mare’s stature, mane style and coat color.

It obviously wasn’t that of Twilight Sparkle, but she could swear that the voice belonged to the pony she had met in the village not so long ago. Rarity was good at remembering these kinds of things, considering that she had to keep track of hundreds of important nobles in her head, lest they get upset at her for not remembering their names.

“I’m just looking for some light reading,” the unicorn shrugged, raising her eyes to meet Rarity’s.

Rarity glanced at the shelf, which was filled with thick tomes about Equestrian history. She couldn’t help but chuckle nervously – light reading indeed. However, hearing her voice again made it blatantly obvious — in front of her was Twilight Sparkle, the fugitive who was accused of having poisoned the king, even if she looked different at the moment.

“Well, I’ll leave you right to it,” Rarity forced a smile, making her way past Twilight.

***

Twilight Sparkle watched with concern as the group went past her.

She remembered the two of them — the white unicorn and her large companion. Her name was Rarity Belle, a member of one of the great houses, and the stallion was probably her bodyguard. It was hard to forget their encounter in the village where Twilight had first stopped for the night. It was a weird coincidence to be meeting them now, just a few days after the last time.

Or was it really a coincidence?

What if the mare had been following her for the whole time?

What if she wasn’t who she said she was?

So many questions and so few answers, Twilight thought in frustration. I need to find out more about her.

Of course, she couldn’t simply ask the pony those questions. Neither was it wise to tail them — the ponies in the library would notice Twilight’s strange behavior; she didn’t want to attract any attention. Twilight’s eyes lit up when a better idea entered her head.

She had been practicing the muting spell for the whole night until she managed to get it right, getting only a few hours of sleep. Twilight didn’t really think she would need it so soon, but now was the perfect opportunity to use it. Concentrating on the spell, she cast a bubble of silence around her and another one on top of a bookshelf next to her. Stomping her hoof on the floor, she made sure that no sound could be heard from it.

That was the easy part.

Gathering as much magic as she could, Twilight used it all in a flash, teleporting into the bubble on top of the shelf. No sound could escape to betray her — a little spark of light was the only thing that betrayed her casting, but thankfully it had gone unnoticed in the library full of unicorns.

Keeping the bubble around her, Twilight crawled to the edge until she saw Rarity and her company below. She tried to listen in to their conversation when she realized her mistake — her spell didn’t allow any sound to enter the bubble! Twilight hadn’t considered it to be a problem before, but now she cursed her shortsightedness.

Thankfully, with the nature of the spell known to Twilight, it was a matter of a few seconds for her to change the formula. She recast the spell with a new configuration that allowed sound to enter, but didn’t allow it to leave her bubble. But the group had gotten out of her earshot by the time she was done.

Growling in frustration, Twilight had to repeat the same routine as the first time, reappearing on the shelf directly above them. Swiveling her ears down, she listened to their conversation.

***

Rarity walked in silence, trying to comprehend what had just happened. All of Equestria was looking for Twilight, but here Rarity had simply stumbled into her for the second time within a week. If it really was Twilight and not just her bored mind playing tricks on her.

“Do know that mare, Lady Rarity?” Lotus asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Rarity shook her head.

“I thought she looked familiar for a moment, but I was mistaken,” she lied, mimicking an embarrassed smile. “It happens with me sometimes.”

Lotus seemed to believe her. Rarity wasn’t happy about lying to her maid, who was almost like a friend to her, but she wasn’t foolish enough to be sharing such information, especially not in the presence of Silver Armor. The stallion was a mercenary. Rarity had no illusions about him keeping this secret if he learned about Twilight. After all, the bounty on her head was much higher than whatever her father was paying him.

Unseen by anypony, Twilight, sitting on the shelf directly above them, sighed in relief at Rarity’s words. Still, she continued to follow the group just in case as they made their way through the labyrinth of book rows.

Rarity, though, had lost any interest in books, with Twilight occupying her thoughts. Every day that she remained at large was a blow to Everlight’s reputation, weakening him in the eyes of his fellow nobles. Lord Belle could use that to convince more of them to join his side.

Maybe Twilight would even know something that would help to incriminate Everlight. Most of the nobles still believed his tales, but if they had proof that he was behind the poisoning… Intrigues and political struggles were common among the nobles, but actual assassinations were considered a dirty move. He would lose a good number of supporters.

Rarity simply had to talk with Twilight!

When she and her company had finally found the Arts and Crafts row they had been looking for, Rarity absentmindedly searched through the titles while trying to come up with a plan to somehow get rid of her companions. Lotus she could deal with, but Silver Armor would be a challenge.

“This book may be what we’re looking for, Lady Rarity,” Lotus caught her attention, pointing at the book she was holding.

Rarity threw a brief glance at its cover, giving her maid a nod. “It’s lovely. We’ll take it.”

Lotus tilted her head.

“Don’t you want to check it first?” she asked.

“Ah, yes, of course, darling!” Rarity smiled, ripping the book off from Lotus’ grip with her magic and quickly flipping through the pages.

The book actually had a lot of images with instructions, so it would definitely be useful for their sewing practice. However, Rarity was more interested in how she could use the book to distract her maid for the moment. She gave the book back to Lotus.

“That’s exactly what we need, dear,” she nodded, not even having to lie. “But I really need to use the lady’s room. Would you mind checking out this book at the counter?”

“Me?” Lotus opened her eyes wide. “But the librarian would probably ask for my name and address…”

Rarity winced. She had no excuse for forgetting how this library worked. Of course every new member would have to provide a valid name and address! And with her being incognito, she would be treated as a new member. After giving the situation a bit of thought, she sighed.

“Just get that book to the counter and wait,” Rarity told Lotus. “I’ll be joining you shortly.”

Lotus nodded and they parted their ways.

With her maid dealt with, Rarity only needed to lose Silver Armor. She quickly made her way to the bathroom, remembering its location since her time at the Academy. Obviously, Silver Armor had to stay outside, so Rarity entered it alone. As it turned out, the whole place was unoccupied at the moment.

Despite the library itself being centuries old, the bathroom had been renovated often. It was up to the highest standards — there could be no other way with the Academy being full of nobles. It had a bunch of private cabins and a row of sinks to wash your hooves in at the opposite wall.

Rarity approached a mirror above a sink and took her sweet time with adjusting her mane that had been slightly disturbed by the wind on their way through Canterlot’s streets. She was still trying to come up with something to distract her bodyguard. While she was using the toilet for its actual purpose, an idea formed in her head.

The mare couldn’t contain her grin.

Quickly washing her hooves, Rarity quietly approached the door. Slowly cracking it open, she peeked outside — Silver Armor was still waiting there for her, just as she had expected.

Lighting up her horn, she caressed the stallion’s crotch. Silver Armor stiffened immediately, opening his mouth in surprise. Suppressing a giggle, Rarity rubbed along his shaft. Her bodyguard finally understood what was happening, his eyes focusing on the bathroom door.

Being caught in the act, Rarity trotted out without stopping her magical ministrations, flashing her teeth at the reddening stallion.

“Lady Rarity, what are you doing?” Silver asked, mixed feelings on his face. “We’re in a public place.”

Rarity winked.

“I know, isn’t it exciting?”

Having said that, she sped up her magical hoofjob. A lot of ponies would struggle with such fine control of their magic, but for Rarity it was like a second pair of hooves. Even better, in fact. She couldn’t see what was happening under the stallion, but she could feel his cock reaching its full length. If somepony were to walk in on them right now, Silver Armor would be quite embarrassed.

“It’s… unacceptable,” he muttered, letting out a whinny.

“As you wish,” Rarity grinned, ceasing her magic at once.

Silver Armor looked at her with a hurt expression, arching his eyebrows almost comically.

“Why don’t you finish it in the bathroom, darling?” Rarity offered helpfully. “I’ll be waiting for you here.”

The bodyguard silently nodded and without wasting any time rushed into the stallion’s room. Rarity hoped it would take him at least a few minutes, so she would have enough time to do what she needed to do. Sure, she could have come up with a less perverted plan to distract him, but what would be fun in that?

As soon as Silver Armor had closed the door behind him, Rarity bolted out of there, moving in the direction where she had last seen Twilight.

***

Twilight observed Rarity from above for a while, listening to her every word. The noble mare didn’t show any signs that she had recognized Twilight, at least not to her friends, so eventually Twilight relaxed. When Rarity sent her servant to the exit, Twilight finally decided that she’d been eavesdropping long enough.

Though it looked like a false alarm this time around, Twilight decided to be more careful from now on, just in case. Until she could properly hide her cutie mark, she wouldn’t even take off her saddlebags, lest somepony recognize it like Midnight did.

While Rarity and her bodyguard went to the bathroom, Twilight quietly teleported back to where she had started. She was slightly winded — using so much magic in such a short time wasn’t easy even for her. By her estimates, she had spent almost half of her mana pool by using those spells.

It was a good thing that Twilight’s pool was naturally larger than that of a regular unicorn. If it weren’t, she wouldn’t be able to cast it more than once.

Keeping herself closer to the shelf, Twilight resumed examining the books one by one. A lot of them were just copies of those she had read back in Birminghoof, but sometimes she would see unfamiliar titles as well. While Twilight doubted she would find something useful for her research here, she needed to do something while she waited for the evening.

A Complete Guide to the Noble Houses of Equestria by Smart Quill was the book that grabbed Twilight’s attention. Her knowledge about the nobility was severely lacking, but seeing as she’d been getting involved with a lot of nobles lately, it would be beneficial to learn more about them. “Know your enemy”, as the famous saying went.

Making her choice, Twilight giddily levitated the book off the shelf. It was quite a thick tome — the book would keep her occupied until the evening. Stuffing it into her saddlebag, Twilight turned around and trotted to the reading room, looking forward to indulging in her favorite activity.

Just as she neared the corner, however, another mare jumped out and the two crashed into each other with a loud bang. Both ponies stumbled backwards, rubbing their heads simultaneously. Twilight groaned, feeling annoyed at such irresponsible behavior.

Somepony could have lost an eye!

She glared at the mad pony who dared to run around the library like a foal and drew in a heavy breath. It was none other than Lady Rarity!

***

Rarity slowly collected her wits. Her head was aching from a harsh bump, but she had nopony to blame for it but herself. She glanced at the pony she had bumped into to offer her sincerest apologies, when she noticed that it was Twilight Sparkle herself. Or the pony she had assumed to be Twilight Sparkle, at the very least.

It was a bit ironic, considering that at their first meeting Twilight had bumped Rarity’s head on the door.

“Excuse me… Miss Sparkle,” Rarity said, smiling to reassure the mare. She would have preferred a slower approach, but Silver Armor’s “distraction” wouldn’t last long, so she had to take the bull by the horns. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk to you, that’s all.”

Rarity kept up her smile, even when Twilight slowly backed off, lighting up her magic. A panicked thought flickered in her mind — being the Court Mage, Twilight could wipe the floor with Rarity — so she froze in place, trying her best to appear friendly.

Thankfully, the green unicorn in front of her stopped as well, looking at Rarity with a frown. Using the opportunity, Rarity decided to push Twilight’s thoughts in the right direction.

“My father, Lord Belle, and I both believe in your innocence,” Rarity stated firmly. “You probably know that my father and the king were friends, so it was easy for him to see through Everlight’s lies. We want to help you.”

“You do?” Twilight asked, raising her eyebrows slightly.

“But of course, darling,” Rarity gave her a warm smile.

Twilight’s frown deepened again. She wasn’t so naive as to trust Rarity’s words just like that. As far as her experience with powerful ponies went, they never did anything freely. There was always a catch.

“What do you want?” she asked curtly.

“To talk, just as I said.”

“Talk about what?”

“Well, I want to help you,” Rarity said. “Everlight is our enemy as well, so it would be wise to at least discuss what can we do about it.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “I guess there’s no harm in talking…” her eyes narrowed. “But why are you alone?”

She snapped her head back as if expecting to be ambushed from behind. Seeing nopony there, Twilight looked back at Rarity.

“Calm down, darling,” Rarity said, taking a step back. “I wanted to speak with you alone. They’re good ponies, but I can’t trust them with a secret like that.”

Twilight stayed on edge, but at least she no longer looked ready to unleash some devastating spells. Frankly, Rarity would have preferred to slowly put Twilight at ease with a cup of tea, but time was pressing on her. Silver Armor would be finishing his business in the bathroom soon and go looking for her. The last thing Rarity needed was her bodyguard stumbling on them.

Even though Twilight was disguised pretty well, the risk was there.

“Look, how about we meet here tomorrow around noon?” Rarity asked, tackling the issue directly. “Take that time to consider my offer.”

As soon as Twilight gave her a nod of agreement, Rarity rushed back to the bathroom, hoping that Silver Armor was still inside.

Luckily for her, the stallion was just exiting when Rarity appeared behind the corner, slightly panting from her running. Silver looked at her with a question in his eyes. Having no better explanation, Rarity simply winked in return, hoping that the stallion’s mind would get the wrong idea.

“It’s time to leave, dear,” Rarity said when she got closer.

Silver Armor nodded. Moving past him, Rarity trotted first, knowing that he was followed right behind her. With the view she was offering — who wouldn’t?

When they finally made their way out of the book maze, they found Lotus waiting for them near the counter, just as Rarity had ordered. The librarian ignored her, doing his own business. Rarity couldn’t see exactly what.

He raised his head to look at Rarity.

“Ah, Lady Rose. I’ve already told your servant that I can’t let you borrow the book without you being a member,” Midnight Star said. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t make those rules.”

Rarity nodded. She had expected something like that to happen, although it was pretty annoying. Of course, there wouldn’t be any Lady Rose in his record, but there would definitely be a Lady Rarity. She could have easily confirmed her true identity in order to get this book. However, though it was unlikely Everlight would somehow catch wind of her staying in Canterlot that way, Rarity saw no point in taking an unnecessary risk for a book she didn’t even need.

“Maybe another time, darling,” Rarity said to Midnight. “Keep the book.”

Having said that, Rarity gestured to her companions and walked to the exit without looking behind her. Lotus arched her eyebrows, trying to understand what had just happened — first her lady had gone to great lengths to get out of the house, but once she had found the book she wanted, Rarity had given up so easily.

In turn, Rarity’s mind was focused little on any book as she thought about tomorrow’s meeting. Obviously, she had to be alone there. Sneaking out of the house would be difficult without the guards noticing, but not impossible if she had the key. She glanced at Silver Armor, who was wearing the key on a small chain around his neck.

She already had a few ideas about how to get it.

***

Twilight was in a similar situation. It had been two hours since her encounter with Rarity, but she had barely gotten through the first hundred pages of her book about nobility. It was difficult to concentrate on reading with her mind full of doubts.

She had been on edge ever since Rarity had left, half-expecting the guards to break into the library at any moment to seize her, but everything had remained peaceful as always. It gave a few points to Rarity, making Twilight more inclined to meet with her again.

It was a calculated risk, after all. She would have her teleport spell at the ready if something went wrong, but having help from one of the most powerful noble houses in Equestria wasn’t something she could afford to ignore right now.

The prince was on her side, sure, but there was the issue of his questionable personality. Even though he had helped Twilight to escape, he had done it for his own benefit, since nopony else would have been able to help with his half-baked plan. The prince had never been clear on what exactly he was going to do once he got those artifacts.

Now that the initial shock of the first few days had passed, Twilight had some time to think. Though she was excited at the prospect of finding one of the long-lost artifacts, she had to wonder if doing that was the right way to deal with Everlight.

That’s why I should hear what Rarity has to offer, Twilight thought, returning to reading. Maybe there is a better way to deal with this mess.

Having reached a decision, she was finally able to relax. She spent the rest of the day reading that book. Good thing she had brought some sandwiches — otherwise she would have starved to death. Midnight had attempted to talk with her a few times, but seeing the mare so concentrated on her reading, he didn’t have the heart to interrupt her.

When the evening finally came, Twilight had gotten through most of the book. Her head was brimming with new knowledge that needed sorting — a feeling she enjoyed greatly.

She had even read about the House Everlight belonged to, though only one paragraph was dedicated to it. Apparently, his House was pretty small and had never had any prominent members until Everlight came along, becoming the Grandmaster of the Elite Unicorn Union order and member of the High Council. Now he was the regent, though his methods of achieving it had been downright despicable.

Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the library’s closing hours.

Sighing, Twilight bookmarked the page she was on and closed the book, levitating it into her saddlebag. The students around her began to pack as well, leaving one by one as they did so. Twilight held back though until she’d been left completely alone. A couple of minutes later Midnight approached her.

“Well, my shift is almost over,” the unicorn said. “I need to check the place in case somepony is still here and then I can let you into the closed section.”

Twilight yawned. “Great!”

She joined Midnight in his task. As they quickly went through the building row by row, Twilight shared what she’d learned from today. House Star was mentioned in the book as well, though just like with Everlight, not much was said about it.

“I’m surprised somepony remembers our family at all,” Midnight shrugged. “We’re not as rich as we used to be. They barely scraped up the money to get me into the academy…”

Twilight drooped her ears. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Midnight waved his hoof. “It’s not your fault. I know that you aren’t from a rich family yourself, aren’t you?”

Twilight nodded curtly, being put slightly on edge by his words. A lot of students used to tease her about the fact that Twilight was from a family that wasn’t even nobility. Though Midnight had never been among them, the topic was still sensitive for her.

“Let’s just finish this quickly,” Midnight said, lowering his ears a bit.

The next couple of minutes went by in silence. With nothing to distract her, Twilight started to feel drowsy. Her steps became automatic and she didn’t even notice when they had arrived at the doors to the closed section.

“—Twilight? Are you okay?”

Twilight jerked in surprise when Midnight’s hoof touched her shoulder. The mare shook her head, blinking a few times. She was exhausted after spending the whole night studying the muting spell, and the whole day of reading hadn’t helped matters, not to mention the whole ordeal with spying on Rarity. Still, there was no point in backing out now, when her goal was just a step ahead.

After all, pushing herself to her limits was nothing new to Twilight.

Putting on a confident smile, the mare nodded. “Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about… something. Anyway, let’s get to it!”

Ignoring Midnight’s doubtful gaze, Twilight trotted in through the door that he had opened.

***

Before going back to her cottage, Rarity and her companions had stopped for a small dinner in a local cafe. It was a fine establishment, the one that Rarity had always gone to during her own time in the Academy. Feeling a bit nostalgic, Rarity had ordered the same dish she had always enjoyed in the past.

While she was eating, Rarity thought about what she was going to write to her father. Even though he’d be angry at her disobeying his orders so blatantly by leaving the cottage, Lord Belle would definitely need to know about Twilight.

The message had to be secure, though. She couldn’t just send a regular letter through the Royal Mail and risk it being read by other eyes. It was well within Everlight’s authority to arrange something like that. There were private messengers, of course, but they would charge a lot.

However, there was no other way.

After wrapping up at the cafe, the company went straight for the cottage. The whole trip to the library had taken just a few hours, which Sweetie Belle had spent sleeping, thankfully. As soon as Rarity had gotten inside, she retreated into her room to write the message.

It didn’t take long. She already knew what to say, so she just had to assemble it into a coherent letter. Admitting her fault to her father, Rarity spared the guards by claiming she had escaped without their knowledge. Hopefully, he wouldn’t reprimand them too much.

With the writing done, Rarity went to find one of her guards.

“Blazing Shield! Just the pony I’m looking for,” Rarity smiled, walking into the guest room. “But where’s your partner?”

The stallion straightened, looking at Rarity with caution. The events of the previous night were probably playing out in his head.

“He’s busy,” he answered curtly. “Do you need something, Lady Rarity?”

“As a matter of fact, I do!”

Rarity quickly explained the task to him. Blazing Shield frowned when she admitted to revealing the fact that she had been outside to her father, but Rarity assured him that she had excluded the guards’ involvement, however involuntary.

He didn’t seem entirely at ease, but he agreed to get the letter to the messenger. Rarity flashed a grateful smile, giving him the sealed envelope with their House’s symbol — a gemstone — stamped on the wax.

“Here’s the money,” Rarity said, giving him a small pouch of bits. “Hopefully it will be enough. You can take the spare change if there’s anything left.”

Nodding, Blazing Shield went to warn his partner about his departure while Rarity fetched Lotus, who was doing some more thorough cleaning around the cottage. Together, the mares went into Rarity’s room.

With nothing better to do, Rarity decided to resume her attempts at dressmaking. Though she couldn’t really make a lot of progress without at least some tutorial, at least it provided Rarity with a nice way to spend the time. She found the process to be soothing for her nerves.

“Too bad we couldn’t get the book,” Rarity complained to Lotus, examining the result of her hard work. It was pitiful at best.

Lotus winced when she glanced at it briefly.

“Too bad,” she confirmed.

Rarity sighed.

Perhaps her reluctance to use her real name in the library had been overly cautious. Everlight couldn’t have spies everywhere — it was only going to lead to paranoia. Now she was doomed to struggle, producing absolute garbage! Crumbling the poor excuse for a blouse with her magic in disgust, Rarity threw it aside.

“I’m sorry, Lady Rarity,” Lotus said, casting her eyes down. “Would you like some tea?”

“That would be splendid, darling,” Rarity flickered a thankful smile at her maid. “Add extra sugar, please.”

Nodding, Lotus left the room. With a groan, Rarity fell on the couch. She picked up the piece of clothing she had made in her magic, examining it with a scrunched muzzle once again. It was supposed to be a simple blouse, but it was so distorted and disproportional it may as well have been made for a minotaur.

Rarity was about to rip it apart when another idea struck her. Widening her eyes in excitement, Rarity jumped off the couch with renewed energy, rushing to the sewing machine. She quickly loaded up a new set of fabric. The solution seemed obvious to her now.

With a slightly manic smile, Rarity began to create.

Soon Lotus got back, carrying a silver tray with a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits — just like her Lady liked — but Rarity didn’t even notice her in her creative rush. Smiling at seeing her so engaged, Lotus set the tray on the table nearby.

It made a little clang, so Rarity finally noticed the mare, her ears perking up in excitement. “Ah, Lotus! Come here, darling.”

The maid did as she was told, intrigued. She stood motionlessly, while Rarity took her measurements, marking the fabric according to them. It took some time for her to get it right, and then Rarity dove into her work again, forgetting all about Lotus for the moment.

Lotus simply shrugged and settled next to Rarity, watching her working. There was something mesmerizing about observing her manipulate the different pieces of fabric, stitching them together one by one.

At some point, Rarity realized that the end result wasn’t going to be the one she had hoped to achieve. While it soured her mood a bit, she assured herself that it was to be expected to get a less than perfect result on the first few attempts. At least it was an improvement over the first version.

Her tea had long gone cold when Rarity was done. With a critical eye, she inspected the new blouse.

“That looks great, Lady Rarity!” Lotus exclaimed, looking at her creation with admiration.

“Don’t be absurd, darling,” the lady smirked. “It’s not something I would ever show myself with in public.”

She levitated the two versions of the blouse together — the difference was much more glaring. Taking the proper measurements had been quite obvious in hindsight, but Rarity, having never done anything like that in the past, was wondering how many mistakes like that she would still make.

Without that book — probably a lot, Rarity thought.

Finally taking a cup of tea, Rarity took a few gulps. She winced — it was cold and she despised cold tea. Looking at Lotus, she gave her an apologetic smile. “Would you mind getting me some more tea?”

***

“Wake up, Twily.”

Twilight grudgingly tore her head off the page of a book that was serving as her pillow. It seemed like she had fallen asleep sometime during the night, right in the middle of her research. She wasn’t surprised — it wasn’t the first time it had happened — but it was still annoying.

“Did you just call me Twily?” she asked in a drowsy voice, raising her eyebrows at Midnight.

He stepped from one hoof to another. “Well, yeah… I’m sorry. I was way out of line—”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Twilight waved her hoof dismissively. “It’s just that only my brother has ever called me that before. But I don’t mind you doing that as well.”

“Thank you,” Midnight smiled in relief.

Getting off her chair, Twilight stretched her whole body. It made her feel somewhat better, driving the morning stiffness out of her limbs with a pleasant popping sound. She straightened out and looked at Midnight, who was staring. Noticing her attention, the stallion blushed.

“It’s time to open the library,” he said a moment later, his voice slightly elevated. “You’d better hide in my office, since some ponies like to wait in front of the doors, so there will be some questions if they see you here first.”

“Alright.”

Twilight grabbed the book she had slept on in her magic and followed her friend into his office. It was a small room with most of its space being taken up by a table, cramped with tons of scrolls and papers.

“Sorry for the mess,” Midnight said. “I haven’t found the time to sort it out yet.”

Twilight nodded silently; her brain hadn’t fully awoken yet to bother. Luckily, Midnight had some coffee around that he generously offered Twilight, which made her quite happy. While Midnight was getting ready to open the library, Twilight was enjoying a hot cup that woke her up fully.

When she was done, she carefully put the empty cup down, frowning slightly at the mess. It disturbed her on a deep level. Picking up one of the scrolls, Twilight examined its content. Then she did the same with another, putting it down close to the first one.

It didn’t take her long to sort out everything in three neat stacks, according to its importance.

Satisfied, Twilight placed the book she had read just before falling asleep on the now clean table. She sighed. The book itself was pretty much useless, just like countless of others she had checked before. It was interesting by itself — a large study on the known artifacts — but she hadn’t learned anything she needed.

What she needed to find was some clues about the artifact’s current location. According to the story, the legendary Alicorn Amulet had belonged to a number of different noble houses throughout history, giving each a considerable boost in power and influence.

It never stayed that way for long though, as that kind of power attracted a lot of unwanted attention. One way or another, houses were losing the Amulet, only for it to resurface in another house’s possession a few decades later. But all the books agreed that it had been lost for good about a century ago. Nopony had seen any signs of it ever since.

“Wait a second…” Twilight mumbled, taking out her book about noble houses.

Scrolling quickly through its pages, she found the chapter about one particular House she had read about yesterday — House Moonlight. It was one of the smaller chapters, since the house had been pretty obscure until its sudden rise in power. Was it a coincidence that its rise began just a decade after the Amulet had last been seen?

Its success hadn’t last long, with the House Moonlight declining after its head had taken his own life. The Amulet was never mentioned, but Twilight could see similar patterns to those houses who had owned it openly. If her guess was right, it was the last house that had had the Amulet in its possession. According to the book’s author, the House’s descendants lived in Canterlot.

That made Twilight excited. She checked the date of publishing — the book had been written only a couple of decades ago. Those descendants could still be living in Canterlot. Obviously, they no longer had the artifact, but maybe they had some clues about what happened to it.

Once she had the chance to do so, Twilight shared her idea with Midnight.

“It sounds good,” he nodded, after she had finished explaining. “Though Canterlot is a big city. Did it say where exactly they live?”

Twilight drooped her ears a bit. “Well, no. The author didn’t specify that, but I know their name, so we could ask somepony.”

Midnight shifted uncertainly. “I don’t know, Twilight… I’ve never heard of them and I’m from a noble family myself. We can ask for some information in the city hall, I guess, but I’m not sure how quickly they’ll answer. If at all.”

“Well, I have an idea of who might help us with that,” Twilight said slowly. “But I’ll be more certain once I talk with her.”

“Her?”

Twilight told Midnight about her short meeting with Lady Rarity yesterday. Midnight listened with interest, but frowned when Twilight described the mare.

“I remember her,” Midnight nodded. “She was here with two other ponies. Though she introduced herself as Lady Rose to me…”

Twilight hesitated in confusion. Why would Rarity pretend to be somepony else? It was suspicious to say the least. Maybe that pony was in fact pretending to be Rarity. After giving it some thought, Twilight dismissed that idea — it made no sense.

No, she was quite certain that it was indeed Rarity, but for some reason she didn’t want to reveal her real name to Midnight. Perhaps she was here incognito for some reason. What reason that may be was a mystery.

Midnight looked at Twilight in concern. “What’s wrong, Twilight?”

She explained her thoughts to Midnight. He listened to the mare in confusion. It was all so complicated. When Twilight had finished, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall — it was almost noon, the time that Rarity had offered to meet her.

“Well, I’ll have to ask her herself,” Twilight said firmly.

“Yeah,” Midnight agreed. “Be careful, though. It may be some trap.”

“I’ve thought about that,” Twilight shrugged. “She had the chance to catch me off-guard yesterday, so I shouldn’t have to worry about her trying to capture me at least. But I can’t really afford to refuse her help, even if it comes with some strings attached. Speak of the devil…”

The door to the library opened and Lady Rarity trotted in. She was alone today. Approaching the counter where Twilight and Midnight were chatting, she stopped just a few feet away.

“Hello,” she said, flickering her eyes at Midnight. “May we talk in private, please?”

Rarity was slightly winded after hurrying to the library as fast as she could. She had managed to get out of the cottage unnoticed thanks to Lotus, but she didn’t have much time. The escape had been rather simple, if a bit crude — she had simply climbed out of the window. The fence around the cottage had magic alarms, but she had managed to steal a key from one of her guards to disable it.

“Okay,” Twilight said, twitching her ear. “Where?”

“There is a nice cafe nearby,” Rarity said. “We can talk freely there.”

Twilight nodded. Midnight kept silent throughout the conversation. The mare hoped he would keep it that way — she didn’t want Rarity to know that they knew each other, just in case something went wrong. Flickering a quick glance at the stallion, Twilight returned her attention back to Rarity.

“Lead the way,” Twilight said.

***

The cafe was the same one where Twilight had had her coffee with Midnight. She had her teleport spell ready, though so far it seemed like Rarity was telling the truth about her intentions.

“Well, here we are,” Twilight said as soon as they had both settled on their chairs. “You said you could offer some help?”

Rarity had to delay the answer as the waiter approached them. She ordered a cup of tea with biscuits.

“I did,” Rarity nodded when the waiter was gone. “Although I admit that my capabilities are quite limited at the moment.”

Twilight tensed up.

“They are?”

“My father sent me and my sister to Canterlot, in case Everlight decides to do something bad to us,” Rarity explained with a bit of annoyance in her voice. “I’m basically hiding here, just like you. But I’ve already sent a message to my father, so I’m sure we can arrange something. Do you need a safe place to hide, maybe?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nope, I have a pretty good place already.”

“I assumed as much,” Rarity nodded.

They discussed such mundane matters for a while, slowly getting a feel for each other. Rarity was a bit frustrated at Twilight refusing her offers to help, and so far she hadn’t revealed what she had really been doing in the library. Rarity suspected that the mare had some plan other than spending her life in hiding.

“So, would you mind telling me what really happened to the king at least?”

“I guess I can do that,” Twilight agreed.

She told Rarity about the assassin that had sneaked through the window and Everlight’s later admission that he had been behind that. The mare frowned when Twilight skipped through the details of her escape, but didn’t push for more.

“So he just flat out admitted that?” Rarity raised her eyebrows.

Twilight shrugged. “He didn’t think I would escape.”

“I see,” Rarity said. “Well, as I said, Everlight is our enemy too, so we’ll help you against him. My offer about arranging a safe place for you will always be open. Besides that, my father will spread rumors about your innocence, using the facts you’ve shared. That would undermine Everlight’s position among the nobles.”

Twilight sat silently for a while. She was disappointed.

“Is that really all you can do?” Twilight asked.

“Well, yes,” Rarity drooped her ears. “Unless you know something that would prove Everlight’s involvement for certain, the only thing we can do is to slowly convince his supporters to switch sides.”

Twilight nodded. That made sense, but as she thought about it, it wasn’t really better than Blueblood’s gamble with the artifacts. But what if they combined both of the plans?

“I’m looking for a weapon,” Twilight blurted out.

Rarity looked at her in surprise. “Oh? In the library?”

“Well, I’m actually looking for some information on how to find it,” she elaborated. “You see, there was an old artifact that basically worked as a powerful magic amplifier, but it’s been lost for moons. I’m planning to find it and use it against Everlight.”

“That… sounds a bit crude,” Rarity winced. “Not to mention that it won’t help you to clear your name. But I guess that might work if you’re ready to accept that fact. I promise my House’s full support in arranging a new life for you afterwards. If Everlight is dealt with, Prince Blueblood would assume the throne as he should have in the first place. It would certainly be better for Equestria, as silly as it sounds.”

Twilight fidgeted in place. She had skipped the prince’s actual involvement in her escape and that he had pretty much guaranteed the official removal of all accusations against her. Not to mention that the prince was planning to use the artifact himself, though she wasn’t quite sure about that part.

She didn’t know if the nobles would accept it though, but with them accepting Everlight’s regency with a live heir, it wouldn’t be a big surprise. However, there would be time to think about details like that once Twilight had the artifact on hoof.

“A new life sounds good,” Twilight said.

Afterwards, Twilight explained to Rarity more about the artifact she was looking for and the clues she had already found. Rarity was determined to help as much as she could with that. Twilight’s way may have been crude, but it was definitely effective.

“I’ll see what I can learn about those ponies you’re looking for,” Rarity said. “You don’t have to do it all alone, darling.”

Twilight’s reputation would be destroyed completely — not a big loss considering that everypony thought she had poisoned the king — but once Everlight was dead, Lord Belle would have enough power to help Prince Blueblood assume the throne.

With a king like that, most of the influence would belong to the High Council, which in turn would basically belong to Lord Belle, with there being nopony else who would oppose him.

“Thank you, Lady Rarity,” Twilight bowed her head politely, finally remembering some manners.

“You’re quite welcome, darling.”

Chapter X - Lucky Find

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Dear daughter,

I have received your message. Before I say anything further, I should mention that I’m disappointed in you, gallivanting through the city without any care in the world. Your presence there is supposed to be a secret. Everlight has shown that he doesn’t play by the rules. I cannot oppose him while knowing that it may be putting you and your sister in danger. If you don’t care about yourself, at least think of Sweetie Belle.

Now about your meeting with Twilight Sparkle. While it doesn’t justify you breaking my orders, I can’t deny that contacting her is a great opportunity. It pleases me that she remains free and I want you to assure that it will stay that way. The fact that she is free is a heavy blow against Everlight’s reputation as a leader. Furthermore, I’ve launched a wide search for the assassin that Twilight Sparkle had described. Finding them is a real possibility, unlike her plan of finding some magical artifact—

Rarity shook her head in disagreement as she went over her father’s letter. Lord Belle seemed to rely on intrigues too much; there was always a chance that Everlight would try to seize power by force if his machinations were exposed and the noble Houses turned against him. Having a powerful weapon at their disposal would be quite handy in a situation like that. Shifting her position on her hard chair, Rarity resumed reading.

—however, I’m willing to contact somepony in Canterlot to help you. He works in the city hall and he owes me a favor. When he finds any information about those House Moonlight’s descendants you’re looking for, he’ll send a message to me and I’ll resend it to you.

As for your bodyguards, under no circumstances should you let them know you’re in contact with Twilight Sparkle. This is too dangerous a secret to entrust to a mercenaries like them. In fact, I’m considering sending a few ponies from my personal guard to replace those two, since they were so useless in stopping you from leaving the cottage.

Until that moment comes, I’m allowing you to leave the cottage to meet with Twilight Sparkle on your own — the orders for the guards are in the envelope — but I urge you to be extremely careful about moving through the streets. Make sure that nopony follows you back home. Apply some disguise if you must.

Please, keep me updated on any developments. I will do the same. You can send your message back with the courier.

Lovingly, father.

Putting the letter away, Rarity let out a sigh of relief. He had reacted much better than she had feared he would. His scolding had managed to make her feel slightly ashamed, however. There was no point in needlessly endangering her filly sister. Even though Rarity didn’t share his paranoia, she swore to herself to never leave the cottage without a good disguise, something she should have thought of herself.

Rolling up the parchment, Rarity put it into one of the drawers of her table. Then she took a blank one from another and unfolded it on the table before her eyes. She froze for a moment, compiling her thoughts. Dipping a quill into a bottle of ink, Rarity began to write her answer while the courier her father had sent waited patiently outside of her little office.

***

The last rays of the setting sun colored the marble buildings of Canterlot in a reddish hue. Twilight tried to focus on that pleasant view as she trotted on the now familiar street, her hooves clopping on the old pavement, their sounds drowned out by a cacophony of dozens of other ponies moving alongside her, despite the late hour.

Most of her life Twilight had spent alone in the tranquility of a study, so she couldn’t help but feel nervous among the crowd. Back in the Academy, she also always kept herself away from any gatherings — nothing good ever waited for her there. Going through that street for more than a week, however, Twilight had began to get used to the feeling of ponies around her.

Of course, she could have chosen some side alley rather than the main street to make her way to the library, but she didn’t. It definitely would have been easier for her to avoid the problem, but in the end it would do her no good, so instead Twilight decided to deal with it head on. Still, when the stream of ponies thinned out once she got to the Academy’s gate, the unicorn couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Twilight went past the security pony as per usual, flashing him her library card that Midnight had arranged for her. It granted her free access to the library, so she didn’t have to sign up for a temporary pass like she had on her first visit. It helped to keep her night stays there a secret, since she didn’t need to sign out on her way out.

It didn’t take Twilight long to reach the library. Saluting to Starswirl’s statue at its entrance, the unicorn climbed the stairs and entered the ancient building.

Midnight Star perked up his ears upon seeing her come in — the only sign of enthusiasm he had shown. By a mutual decision, they both maintained the illusion of being strangers in public. With a poker face, Twilight approached the counter.

“Greetings,” the stallion said formally. Lowering his voice, he continued in a warmer tone. “How was your day?”

Twilight let out a nervous chuckle. “The same as yesterday — slept until midday, grabbed something to eat, then practiced some magic… Nothing special.”

Midnight nodded, suppressing a sigh of envy. At least Twilight had gotten some decent sleep. For the past week he hadn’t gotten a lot of it, what with helping Twilight in her search for most of the night and then having to work the double shift in the library. The rector had promised to find somepony to take the load off, but that had been a whole month ago.

“What about yours?” Twilight asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Midnight shrugged. “It was alright. No worse than usual at least. Anyway, here you go.”

Saying that, he levitated a key to his office to her. Accepting it with her own magic, Twilight proceeded to go there. She usually stayed in it to safely wait until the library’s closing, which would be in less than an hour. She didn’t sit there idly though, using this time to go through her notes on what she knew about the artifact.

And it wasn’t reassuring.

While the Amulet was powerful, it seemed to drive the ponies wielding it to insanity. That was why while her new ally, Lady Rarity, was working on finding the descendants of the House Moonlight, Twilight decided to look into her second-best choice — the Elements of Harmony.

However, knowledge about them was scarce. The artifact — or rather the artifacts — had been lost centuries ago. They had been wielded by the Sun Goddess herself during her reign and had disappeared around the time she had. Twilight assumed that she had taken them with her or at least hid them very well.

If her conclusion was right, would it even be possible to reclaim them? Twilight Sparkle wasn’t certain. That was the reason she had put her hopes into finding the Alicorn Amulet in the first place. But it wouldn’t do to have all your eggs in one basket. Having some alternative wouldn’t hurt, especially considering the Elements were a magnitude more powerful than the Amulet.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts as well as startling her.

“Twilight? The library is empty,” Midnight’s voice announced from the outside. “You can come out.”

Relaxing, Twilight grabbed her journal where she kept her notes and went to meet Midnight.

While both of them slowly made their way to the closed section, they had a little chat about today’s events. Then Midnight shared his frustration about the rector as Twilight tried to console him. In turn, Twilight decided to open up herself.

Being a fugitive and a scapegoat for a crime hadn’t been easy for her, but Twilight could handle it as long as her mind was set on working out the solution to that problem. But not being able to see her family, especially her big brother because of that was the worst.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight,” Midnight said, lowering his ears. “My problems seem so insignificant now… I shouldn’t have complained.”

“I don’t mind,” Twilight shrugged. “That’s what friends are supposed to do, right? I always shared my problems with my brother.”

Midnight held his gaze on Twilight. “Thank you for considering me your friend.”

“Oh, don’t mention it,” the mare answered, flickering her ear. “I mean, you’re helping me, how could I not?”

Midnight was grinning despite feeling tired as they entered the closed section together to begin their work.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful.

As usual, they took a bunch of books she thought would have some new information about the Elements. Obviously, they didn’t read each of them fully, quickly skipping through the pages, searching for certain key words instead. Unfortunately, nothing they had found been helpful so far.

Midnight had long since fallen asleep when Twilight grew too bored to continue. After going through hundreds of books throughout the last week, she felt like it was getting her nowhere. Maybe what she needed was a new approach. Rather than trying to find something about the Elements directly, perhaps she should learn about the pony who was claimed to have wielded them — the Sun Goddess.

Twilight knew that she had a whole cult of followers sprawling all over Equestria. Her own parents used to take her to a temple to praise the Sun every Sunday, but the mare herself had never been a big believer. Twilight didn’t deny the fact that she had once ruled Equestria — it was an established historical fact after all — but she saw no reason to worship her.

She may have been a great ruler in her time, but then she basically abandoned Equestria and left it to its own devices, leaving the ponies without her guiding light. Because of that, Twilight had always been reluctant to read about her. The fact that all the books on the topic were of a religious nature, glorifying the Goddess to no end, didn’t help matters.

But now Twilight had to tuck her emotions deep down and get to it. She spent the next few hours doing exactly that.

Most of the books about the Sun Goddess had been written long after her departure. Just as she had expected, they depicted her with such veneration that Twilight found herself cringing. She was interested in cold facts rather than overblown stories of her supposed achievements. Nopony could be that perfect!

If those tales were to be believed, the mare was an actual Goddess that used to walk upon the earth. Her power was immeasurable. The sun and the moon themselves answered to her. No enemy of hers could stand against her wrath and hope to live. Even Nightmare Moon, the fabled demon from Tartarus who had tried to shroud the land in eternal darkness, was told to have been defeated by the Goddess.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, re-reading the last bit. It mentioned the Elements of Harmony as being instrumental in Nightmare Moon’s defeat. However, it didn’t elaborate on that, so Twilight sighed in exasperation, shoving the book aside. She might return to it later, but the way it was written reminded her more of a fairy tale than an actual historical account of the events.

After caressing her tired neck muscles, Twilight got off her chair and simply trotted in place, allowing the blood flow to restore faster. She had been there for a long time already. Levitating the book back to its shelf, Twilight checked her watch — it was around the time that Midnight should be opening the library.

The stallion in question, however, was nowhere to be seen. Twilight focused on remembering when she had last seen him. It had likely been in the closed section, which Twilight had had to abandon, since it mostly contained books about magic rather than history.

Returning to the closed section, Twilight swept over it with her eyes, noticing Midnight almost at once. This place was pretty small in comparison to the open section, so it wasn’t hard. Bookshelves with the rarest books were spread out along its round walls, while most of the room’s free space was taken up by reading tables. The stallion was sleeping at one of them with his head buried in a thick tome.

Approaching him, Twilight gently tapped him on his shoulder. He jerked awake at once, looking around with a wild stare until he focused his attention at the mare that had disrupted his slumber. Midnight blinked a couple of times, trying to drive the sleepiness away.

“Twilight? What do you want?” he asked grudgingly.

“Oh, nothing… Except that you’re almost late for the opening.” Twilight smirked, seeing his eyes widen in terror.

“Oh, buck!” He jumped — almost fell — off his chair. Tossing the ancient tome he was reading back into its place on the shelf, he hurried out of the room before Twilight could utter another word.

The mare followed close by, barely containing her laugh.

As Twilight hid in the office again, the first ponies entered the place — early students, wishing to get some studying done before their classes started. She waited for a couple of minutes before carefully venturing outside. Midnight had already settled behind his counter, enjoying his morning tea with crackers.

“I have to go now,” Twilight said, approaching him.

Midnight sighed. “Yeah, I know. You think she’ll show up today?”

The mare shrugged in response. Every morning at a specific time, she had been waiting at a certain cafe. Lady Rarity was supposed to meet her there, once she found out about the House Moonlight’s descendants. Twilight hadn’t trusted her enough to reveal her inn address at their first interaction, though now she admitted that it had been a bit silly. The lady obviously had other plans than simply capturing the ex-court mage.

“I hope so,” Twilight said, tapping her hoof on the floor. “It’s been a week. Well, I’ll tell you if anything happens in the evening.”

Having said that, Twilight waved and was on her way. Midnight waved back melancholically, watching his friend leave while he had to stay.

Midnight loved the library and the work here was alright, but he was sick of spending most of his time here. If it had been bad before, with Twilight’s arrival it had gotten even worse! He didn’t resent her for it, of course. In fact, spending time with her had been a silver lining to his routinely boring days.

Sighing deeply, he switched his attention to an approaching student who obviously needed his help.

***

Rarity scrunched her muzzle in disgust. She almost ended up spitting the liquid that was presented to her as tea, but decided that wouldn’t be proper in a public place. As she forced it down her throat, Rarity promised herself to never get anything in that poor excuse for a cafe as long as she lives.

It was a simple place near the Academy, which was why Twilight had proposed it as their meeting ground. Rarity foolishly agreed, not knowing what she was stepping into. Perhaps she should bring up choosing a more upper-class place once Twilight arrived.

As if summoned by those thoughts, the mare in question entered the dining hall. Few ponies besides Rarity were there at this hour, so Twilight noticed the lady immediately. The latter waved to her in greeting.

Twilight approached the table and dipped her head.

“Lady Rarity.”

“Miss Sparkle,” Rarity emulated her.

Twilight gasped, drooping her ears and darting her eyes towards the other clients in the hall. After a brief surprise, Rarity had realized her slip.

“Somepony could have heard my name!” Twilight whispered furiously, taking a seat opposite Rarity.

The white mare cast her eyes down, murmuring an apology. Thankfully, nopony seemed to be paying them any attention, so Twilight relaxed slightly.

“Have you got some news?” she asked.

Rarity nodded with a flicker of a smile. “Of course, darling. Why else would I be here?”

After that, she revealed to Twilight what she had learned from her father’s contact in the city hall. It had taken the pony a whole week to deliver the address they needed, but he had made it. Rarity imagined the archives must have been quite messy if it had taken him that long.

“That’s great news!” Twilight exclaimed, feeling growing excitement. Finally, some progress.

“I’m happy to help, dear,” Rarity gave her a warm smile. “However, I wish to come along when you pay them a visit.”

Twilight’s grin faded, replaced by a puzzled expression.

“You do? Why?” she asked. Though she accepted the idea of Rarity helping her with information, Twilight hadn’t expected the lady to do the actual investigation work.

“Oh, don’t you worry,” Rarity waved her hoof. “I just want to help. If I know anything about ponies, they won’t just tell us anything without some encouragement.”

Although it was part of the reason why Rarity wanted to go, another one was that she had simply grown bored of being stuck in her cottage. Experimenting with the sewing machine had taken some edge off of her, but she missed social interaction with high society. In that light, meeting with the last members of a fallen noble House would be killing two birds with one stone.

“Well, if you want,” Twilight shrugged, accepting Rarity’s offer.

“Splendid!” the lady exclaimed happily. “We shall go right away.”

Twilight was taken aback by her enthusiasm. She wasn’t quite ready to go right now, not without a list of questions she had compiled with Midnight’s help. Unfortunately, the list was back at the library.

“How about we do that in two hours instead?” Twilight offered, noticing some disappointment flicker on Rarity’s face until the mare forced it away. “I need to get my notes first and make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

“That would be acceptable.”

Before leaving, Twilight asked Rarity a few questions about the king. Being out of loop for so long, Twilight was desperate to know about his current condition. Unfortunately, Rarity couldn’t say anything that would make her happy — as far as she knew, King Hearth was still in a coma with no signs of improvement.

Even if there were any, however unlikely that might be, Everlight would make sure they didn’t stick. Rarity kept that particular conclusion to herself, however. Being the smart mare that she was, Twilight would have realized the same thing on her own.

An uncomfortable silence hung over the table.

“Well, I’ll be going then,” Twilight said. “Meet me here in two hours.”

The two exchanged their goodbyes and the disguised mare left the cafe, going back to the library. Rarity watched her go as she weighted her options. She briefly considered waiting for Twilight here, but she dismissed that idea in favor of checking out a few nearby shops instead.

Putting on her large chapeau that shadowed her face nicely, Rarity paid up for her order — including a tip in the sum, even though the cafe didn’t deserve it — and left the place behind.

***

Rarity had hardly noticed as the next hour flew by, so engaged was she in choosing a fabric she wanted to buy. There were quite a variety of options, each having their unique qualities and uses. The process was complicated by Rarity having no idea what exactly those were, so she ended up taking a sample from each, even the most expensive ones.

Not stopping at that, Rarity also picked a bunch of different threads, needles for hoof — or rather magic — stitching and plenty of more supplies necessary for her new hobby.

“New at dressmaking?” a mare behind the counter asked in a pleasant soft voice.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Quite,” the mare chuckled. “We only have a small number of regulars who usually buy that much at once — all of them are known dressmakers in Canterlot. Have you opened your own business as well?”

Rarity shook her head, smiling back. “I’m afraid not. It’s just a new hobby of mine to pass the time, that’s all.”

“Oh, I see. That’s nice too. My name is Silver Thread, by the way. What is yours?”

Rarity took a brief moment to recall her alias. “Rose,” she answered simply.

Silver Thread arched her eyebrows, expecting a continuation, but none followed. The shopkeeper didn’t pry, however. Rarity patiently waited while the salespony assessed her purchases to count how many bits she should charge for them. It ended up being a sum that would shock most of the shop’s clients, but Rarity didn’t bat an eye as she casually put the required bits on the counter.

“Thank you for your visit!” Silver Thread smiled politely. “Would you need some bags to carry everything?”

“Yes, thank you, darling.”

Stacking her purchases into a few big bags that she was holding in her magic, Rarity left the shop in a bit of a hurry. There was still time to get to her cottage to drop her stuff off before rushing to the meeting with Twilight, but just barely.

As soon as she was gone, Silver Thread’s smile vanished, being replaced with a frown as she tried to remember if she’d ever heard of a pony named Rose among Canterlot’s nobility. The elegant mare was obviously from a wealthy family, which limited the number to a very few options. However, none of them had a pony who would match her description. It piqued her curiosity.

Thankfully, she remembered her cutie mark well, so Silver Thread decided to ask her friends about that mysterious mare.

***

Rarity was on edge on her way home.

She wasn’t sure her chapeau was a good enough disguise. Perhaps she should have put on some heavy makeup as well… But that would get her more attention instead. The mare tried to console herself that it was unlikely anypony would recognize her anyway — unless she ran into some of her classmates from the Academy — but that was just as unlikely, since most of them had returned to their own homes in other cities. No, her identity would be perfectly safe, as long as she avoided interacting with other ponies too much.

Finally, Rarity approached her cottage. Opening the front door with her key, she stumbled in and dropped all the bags on the floor. She sighed in relief — carrying so much at once was really straining her magic. Lotus appeared almost instantly, gaping at the mountain of bags that Rarity had brought with her.

“What is that?”

“Oh, I just did a little shopping,” Rarity said with a tired smile. “I’m in a hurry though, so will you please carry that into my room? I expect to be back by the evening.”

Lotus nodded, not asking any questions despite her curiosity. It was the first time Rarity had left the cottage after her father’s letter. Lotus had no idea what was going on, but the guards had no trouble letting her out completely unprotected now. She and her sister Aloe had various theories, but they didn’t know if any of them were true.

Finishing her business at the cottage, Rarity hurried back to the cafe. Luckily, the streets were half-empty. As she cantered through the street, she had a strange feeling in her belly — a thrill of adventure.

Glancing at her watch, Rarity sped up even more. She would be cutting it close — Twilight was likely waiting for her. Pursing her lips tightly, Rarity concentrated on running. Her guess proved true once she reached the place ten minutes later.

“Here I am,” said a winded Rarity upon seeing Twilight inside. “Fashionably late, as they say.”

Twilight waved her hoof, taking a sip of her beverage. Rarity hoped it wasn’t tea. “Don’t worry about it,” Twilight said. “I didn’t specify the exact time the meeting would take place anyway.”

“If you say so, dear.”

The two mares exited the cafe once Twilight had finished drinking her cup of coffee. According to their information, the House Moonlight’s descendants lived in a poor neighborhood of Canterlot. Practically slums, especially compared to the district where Rarity’s cottage was.

Neither of them knew the city well, so they had to ask random ponies for directions. With their help, it didn’t take the mares long to find the neighborhood.

There wasn’t a specific line that separated the rest of the town from it, but the further inside they went, the more buildings were showing signs of neglect. Shops were a rare sight, though some ponies were selling their goods right on the sidewalks.

Unlike the main city, ponies here rarely wore any clothes, though Twilight and Rarity weren’t any different from them in that regard. Wearing clothes on a daily basis was something only Canterlot was known for, after all. Their clean coats differentiated them from the local inhabitants just as much, however.

Too bad I couldn’t take along Silver Armor and Blazing Shield for this trip, Rarity thought regretfully, noticing another unwelcoming glare from a passer-by. That would be one of the few cases that those two stallions would actually be useful in something other than serving their charge in a more intimate way.

Rarity noticed that Twilight was nervous as well. Her eyes darted from one stranger to another, her horn glowing in a dim light, barely noticeable in the sunlight, but ready to unleash all kinds of magic if somepony did more than just glare.

Finding the exact house they wanted proved to be a difficult task. There weren’t any street signs to speak of, so they had no choice but to ask a few decent-looking ponies until they found one who showed them the way. Grateful to no end, Rarity even gave him a few bits for the trouble.

Soon, the two were finally standing in front of a two-story building. It appeared to be in even worse condition than its neighbors, with boarded windows on the first floor. If they were in a better neighborhood, they would have assumed it was abandoned.

Rarity and Twilight exchanged a glance.

Keeping her expression steady, Twilight walked up to the front door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on it loudly. After a minute of waiting, it had become obvious that nopony had heard her. She repeated, knocking even harder this time, but to no avail. Trying to open the door, Twilight made sure it was locked.

“Maybe it’s the wrong house?” Twilight asked, feeling her hope slipping away.

Rarity thought for a moment. “No, I think it’s the right one.”

The door burst open, startling them both. Twilight yelped, stumbling back the stairs and landing on her haunches, while Rarity gaped at the figure that appeared in the door frame.

It was a unicorn with a lump, dirty coat of light blue color. His entangled mane hung over his eyes, likely obscuring his vision. Its condition made Rarity wince in almost physical pain. The stallion was wavering slightly, observing his visitors in silence.

“Hello,” Twilight greeted him, recovering from her fall. “Are you Lucky Mo—”

“Are you the whores?” he interrupted her midsentence.

Twilight stared at the stallion dumbfounded while Rarity narrowed her eyes, suppressing her anger. If somepony else had dared to utter an insult like that to her, her father would make sure that their whole family felt the consequences of that mistake. However, that pony was at the very bottom already.

Shoving her personal feelings into a box, Rarity glanced at Twilight, who stood with her mouth open as if about to say something. All of her strategies hadn’t prepared her for anything like that though, so she was struggling to find an appropriate response.

It was time to take the situation into her own hooves.

“No, we’re not,” Rarity stated firmly, answering the stallion’s original question. “Let us come in.”

Pushing him aside, she led Twilight into the house before he could stop them. Lucky looked at them, blinking stupidly while trying to assess the situation. Rarity could smell a stench coming from him, suggesting heavy drinking

“We’re here to discuss your House’s history, sir.”

“H-history?” the pony repeated. “What…”

Rarity sighed. She had suspected that they wouldn’t be able to learn much from this excuse for a noble. But giving up without even trying would be simply unacceptable, so Rarity pressed on.

“Well, do you have a place where we could sit down and talk about it civilly?” Rarity asked, taking in her surroundings.

They were standing in a small, dusky corridor, illuminated by a dim crystal that probably hadn’t been recharged in years. There was only one way ahead to an open doorway that led into some kind of guest room. Without waiting for their host to answer, Rarity trotted there herself, tugging the docile Twilight alongside her.

She heard the unsteady clopping of the stallion behind them.

Upon entering the room, Rarity scrunched her muzzle from the stale air reeking of alcohol and other stuff she preferred to not think about. She reached for the curtains with her magic, throwing them aside to let some sunlight into this gloomy place. Then she pushed the window up, enjoying a fresh breeze blowing inside. It made breathing in here somewhat bearable.

“Much better, don’t you agree?”

Rarity turned to face Lucky, who stumbled into the room, almost planting his face on the board floor if not for Twilight’s quick reaction. Straightening up, he threw his mane back and gave Rarity an eyeful.

“If you’re not the whores, then get the buck out,” he ordered, waving his hoof back at the exit, which almost caused him to fall again.

Twilight’s face reddened. She stepped aside from the stallion.

“We’re not… whores, but please, we want to ask you some serious questions!”

Lucky glanced at her, swishing his tail in annoyance. “Not interested.”

“It’s about the Alicorn Amulet,” Twilight added, taking another step back.

The stallion’s expression quickly changed from annoyance to surprise and then to anger.

“What? Why are you interested in that damn thing?”

“That is none of your concern, Lucky,” Rarity stepped into the conversation. “We’re aware that your House, such as it is, once possessed the Amulet. That’s why we’re here. So let’s make a deal — you tell us everything you know about the Amulet and I’ll give you enough bits to order however many whores you want. If some poor dear would be desperate enough, that is.”

Rarity added the last sentence only for Twilight to hear. Lucky’s expression turned thoughtful. He sat on his haunches and Rarity could practically hear the gears turning in his brain. With a hiccup, he finally looked at Rarity once again.

“How much will you pay?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. She levitated a small purse she had brought just for that purpose. She passed it to Lucky who didn’t manage to catch it, dropping it onto the floor. He opened the purse with his mouth and carefully examined its content — there were no less than a hundred of bits.

“It’s a deal,” he smiled, exposing his half-missing teeth.

Rarity forced a fake smile in return. She gestured Twilight to take the lead — it was her turn now.

“Okay, let’s begin then,” Twilight said, glancing at Rarity. She gave her an encouraging nod.

Taking out her list, Twilight began asking the questions she had prepared. The stallion’s answers were hard to understand, but he seemed to be answering them to the best of his abilities, if Rarity was reading him well.

He admitted that his grandfather had somehow acquired the Amulet. Lord Moonlight used this newfound power for the benefit of his House, winning duels with his longtime foes, thus proving to more important nobles that his family was to be reckoned with. Soon, he began making powerful allies among them, making deals and advancing his relatives to positions of power.

That continued until one day he killed his sister in a fit of rage. After that, the leader of the House became moody and violent, punishing his servants for even small mistakes. He forsook his duty to the family, spending days inside his manor. One day he simply dismissed his guards and disappeared.

The lord had been missing for days and when he returned, he had no Amulet with him. He refused to say anything about that. Without the powerful magic of the artifact to back them up, his House failed to uphold its deals with the other nobles and quickly lost its position among them.

“…two months later the bastard committed suicide.”

Twilight had run out of questions a long time ago, having to improvise as the story went along. Now she had run out of things to ask. She took a minute to digest all the new information.

It was obvious to her that Lord Moonlight had been emotionally unstable. Whether it had been due to the artifact’s power or not didn’t matter for now. He had likely blamed the Amulet for his sister’s death, so he had decided to get rid of it.

“I think Lord Moonlight must have hidden the amulet somewhere,” Rarity said, coming to the same conclusion. “Didn’t he?”

“Well, yeah…” he nodded. “That’s what they all thought. My father searched for it his whole life. Obviously, he failed.”

Disappointment and despair welled up in Twilight’s chest as she realized all that. The lord had been gone for days, so he could have hidden the Amulet anywhere in Equestria! It was foolish to hope for anything by coming here, but that had been her only trail… Her ears folded, betraying her feelings.

“Did Lord Moonlight have any diary or journal we could read?” Rarity asked hopefully.

Twilight’s ears perked up. It was a good idea!

“Sure, but there’s nothing useful in it,” Lucky shrugged. “My family has been searching for the Amulet for decades, you think they didn’t check it before?! I wouldn’t be living in this shithole if they had found it!”

Driven by a wave of emotions, the stallion bucked the nearby table, causing its leg to break in half. The table crumbled as all the bottles fell on the floor, breaking and clanging loudly. Rarity winced at such a mess unfolding.

“Your House had a whole century to get back on its hooves without the artifact,” she said with contempt. “So you only have yourself to blame.”

Lucky drew in a breath, furrowing his eyebrows heavily.

“Get the buck out of my house!” he yelled in a fit of rage, making a few threatening steps towards the mares.

Rarity scoffed. The stallion was barely standing on his hooves and posed little to no threat to her. Even without her guards she was sure about her ability to handle him.

“I need the journal,” Twilight said nervously.

“You need to learn some respect!” Lucky roared, switching his attention to her and continuing his advance.

He didn’t stop when she lit up her horn, suspending him in the air before her. The pony wiggled his limbs helplessly, letting out snarls of rage, but Twilight kept him that way for a full minute until he finally got tired and simply hung limp in her magic.

“Will you behave if I let you down?” she asked calmly.

The stallion nodded in defeat.

Twilight gave Rarity a glare when the mare opened her mouth, preventing a snarky comment from leaving it, turning her attention back to Lucky on the floor.

“I need the journal, please,” Twilight repeated her request. “We will pay for it, aren’t we?”

Twilight raised her eyebrows at Rarity. With a theatrical sigh, the lady levitated another purse of bits, dropping it near Lucky. It was her personal one that she kept for emergencies. Lucky reached out his hoof, pulling the purse close to his belly. Slowly, he got back on his hooves.

“I’ll give you the damn journal, alright?” he said. “It’s not like I have any use for it. Just wait here.”

Wavering on his hooves, the stallion exited the room through the other door, disappearing into the darkness. While he was gone, Rarity walked up to Twilight, a blush of shame on her cheeks.

“I’m sorry for my behavior,” Rarity apologized to her. “This place is getting on my nerves — it’s simply repulsing!”

Rarity glanced at a half-eaten piece of bread covered with mold, shuddering on the inside. Why couldn’t he have thrown it into the trash can instead? This pony didn’t deserve the right to be called a noble just for his grubbiness alone!

Twilight nodded. “I don’t like it in here either. Thank you for your help by the way, Lady Rarity.”

“Don’t mention it, darling!”

Ten more minutes passed. The two mares began to grow impatient. What was taking Lucky so long? After five more minutes, they finally decided to go search for him. Illuminating the way with their horns, Twilight and Rarity followed the way he had gone, wondering if it was some kind of dumb trap.

The actual reason was far more mundane.

Upon entering the basement, they found the stallion snoring on his back near an overturned box. A bunch of books were spread out on the floor next to it. Twilight guessed that one of them was the journal they were looking for. She considered waking up Lucky, but changed her mind when her eyes fell on one particular book.

It wasn’t the journal, but the name on the back was quite intriguing — Real Modern History by Elegant Lore. Despite its name, the book looked far from modern. Its thick leather binding was telling Twilight that much — they didn’t make any books like that anymore. It had signs of wear and tear on it, likely accumulated by decades of use.

What surprised Twilight, however, was that she did not recall seeing such a book or an author in the library. She had gone through the history shelves just earlier tonight, so her memory about that was still fresh.

Twilight’s heart beat a little faster. Levitating the book to herself, she opened the first page. It was hoof-written — one more proof of the book’s ancient nature. It could easily be centuries old! And to think that a book like that was collecting dust in some drunkard’s basement… It was simply heart-breaking.

She checked the remaining books, looking for the journal. She found it nearby, but no more unique books like the first one. Most of them were relatively new with a lot of copies going around, so she just put them aside.

“Just take the journal and let’s go, Twilight,” Rarity hurried her along. She wasn’t comfortable in this damp, dark basement.

Twilight nodded, quickly tucking both the book and the journal into her large saddlebags. She didn’t feel bad about basically stealing the book — the stallion now had enough bits to buy his whole library as it was. She felt like she would find a much better use for this book anyway.

The two mares made their way out of the basement, stepping their hooves very carefully to avoid waking up Lucky. They froze as he stirred on the floor, snorting loudly, but then he became quiet again. They continued. As soon as they had gotten upstairs, they bolted for the exit.

Only when Twilight was able to smell the fresh air outside did she fully realize how awful it smelled inside. She took a lungful and simply stood there, enjoying a breeze. Rarity was doing the same by her side.

“It’s sad to see a House fall so low,” she commented when she caught her breath. “Makes me wonder if nobles are all that better than commoners.”

Twilight glanced at Rarity with a slight frown. “Well, I’m a commoner and my experience with nobleponies hasn’t been exactly great so far.”

Rarity shifted uncomfortably, cursing her big mouth.

“I’m sorry, darling, I meant no insult by that,” she attempted to smooth over the incident. “Obviously, there are lot of good ponies among the commoners. All of my servants are commoners and they’re very good at their jobs—”

Twilight twitched her tail, drooping her ears slightly, and Rarity stopped, noticing that her words weren’t helping matters. After muttering a simple sorry, she went quiet.

“That’s fine, I guess,” Twilight said, forcing herself to ignore Rarity’s words. After all, the mare had been pretty helpful so far. “Well, I’m going to get back to the inn and examine this journal.”

“Would you mind telling me where you’re staying?” Rarity asked. Noticing Twilight’s hesitation, she decided to push a little. “Oh, come on. It’s just a matter of trust.”

Deciding that she may as well share her address, Twilight did so. The lady was right — if she trusted her enough to keep her identity hidden, revealing her location wouldn’t be any different. Of course, Twilight learned where Rarity lived in turn.

After that, they briskly trotted away from the house, closing the door behind them. It took them much less time to leave the bad neighborhood behind, now that they weren’t searching for anything. Thankfully, nopony gave them any trouble along the way.

“Well, today was definitely exciting,” Rarity smiled as they were about to go their separate ways. “I’ll pay you a visit tomorrow morning, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, go ahead. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn something of use with this journal.”

Twilight didn’t sound hopeful, but she didn’t want to despair before she had gone through the journal page by page. There may be some clues to the Amulet’s location. Even if there weren’t, it wasn’t the end of the world, she told herself.

The two said their goodbyes and went in different directions, with Twilight returning back to the inn, while Rarity went back to her cottage.

***

“I’ve found the Amulet,” Twilight whispered excitedly, her face mere inches away from Midnight’s.

The stallion stared into her violet eyes with his blue ones. He was so lost in them that he was barely able to comprehend her words. When he did, however, his brain began working again.

“W-what? How? Where?” he sputtered in shock.

Looking around to make sure that nopony was going to disturb them, Twilight quickly retold Midnight the events of the previous day and the following night. She hadn’t been sleeping as usual, busy with her new find.

The journal appeared to be a boring compilation of facts from the old lord’s life, up until the moment he had found the Amulet. In his personal diary, Lord Moonlight revealed how awful he had felt after he had to kill somepony to get it, but he considered the Amulet worth it.

The next pages were filled with his excitement over this newfound power and the rise his House was experiencing. However, the further along Twilight got, the harsher the lord became. He was harshly criticizing his servants, his family, even the king himself for the smallest and pettiest of reasons.

Until one day he killed his sister after an argument.

That event seemed to have taken a huge toll on his mental health. The entries became more sporadic and rambling. The last entry was a day before Lord Moonlight had disappeared. After reading it, it had become a confirmed fact for Twilight that he indeed was planning to hide his treasure, blaming it for all his troubles.

No one should have this accursed thing! I’ll tuck it deeper than Tartarus itself if I have to, but I’ll make sure nopony would ever use it again.

The pages were empty after that. At least, they seemed to be at first glance until Twilight thought to scan it with the Perfect Sight spell. It helped the unicorn to notice an interesting detail – the last few pages had been cut off. It had been done so cleanly that it would seem like there weren’t any pages at all, but she could see it clearly now.

Her Perfect Sight spell allowed her to pick up on things she would miss otherwise, including an imprint left on the opposite page. It was pretty faint, but Twilight was able to make out the writing. It took even her a while to decipher what was written with some missing bits and pieces, but when she did, she was fully rewarded for her trouble.

Day 5 of the Platinum Month.

I’ve done it. I’ve lost all the mercenaries and almost died myself, but thanks to this accursed Amulet, I managed to get through every obstacle on my way. How ironic, considering that I did it all to get rid of it for good. The tunnels around me look natural and untouched by hoof. I think I’m the first one to venture so deep. The dangerous creatures that hide in the shadows are afraid of me after tasting the Amulet’s magic on their wicked souls, but I’m not sure if they will let me through on my way out.

Day 11 of the Platinum Month.

I’m back on the surface!

I don’t know how I managed to get out, but I did it without the Amulet! It seemed to boost my natural magic for quite a bit, since I wouldn’t have made it otherwise. Its influence is fading now and I feel greatly weakened, but leaving the Amulet behind was the right decision.

“...So you see? It’s so obvious now. He hid the Alicorn Amulet in the caves beneath Canterlot!”

Chapter XI - Stalliongrad

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Applejack’s hooves clopped rhythmically as she marched forward on the seemingly endless road.

Thousands of others marched alongside her in a long line stretching on for miles like some enormous worm. They weren’t just conscripts anymore — they were the soldiers of Equestria. It was the fifth day since they had left the training camp behind after taking the vow of service, being sent to reinforce the garrison of the city at the griffon’s border. According to the sergeant, they would arrive at their destination by the evening.

Applejack was astonished at how far from her home this city was. She knew Equestria was vast, of course, but now she had truly realized that, after covering the distance with her own hooves.

They had passed near Canterlot a couple of days ago. The majestic city was the very heart of Equestrian culture and knowledge as far as Applejack knew. It was too high above the ground for her tastes — she preferred some solid ground under her hooves — but the mare couldn’t deny its beauty.

But even higher above was Cloudsdale. It hovered near Canterlot itself, looking like a big mass of clouds from the ground. If not for Flare’s explanation, Applejack wouldn’t have guessed it was actually a whole city. Only pegasi could live there, having control of the clouds. This city — just like the rest of great pegasi city-states — was semi-independent from Equestria, technically being under its rule, while in fact having its own power structure and even militia.

Those cities were some of the last beacons of civilization on their way to the east.

There were still some scarce towns and villages along the road, but nothing even approached Canterlot’s level. In fact, they were so desolated that Applejack would have thought they were abandoned if she hadn’t seen the ponies living there. The soldiers simply passed through without bothering to stop, ignoring its inhabitants, who were silently eying the marching columns.

“I never thought I’d say that, but seeing how ponies live here makes me glad that I was born in Birminghoof,” Flare commented, wincing at her own words. “I mean, I’ve seen happier ponies at a cemetery!”

Applejack muttered her agreement.

Her own village wasn’t big or important either, but the ponies there would never allow for it to fall so low. Of course, the war with griffons that had ravaged these lands half a decade ago might have something to do with it, but Applejack didn’t think it was the only reason. She remembered their neighbors back at the village recovering after their whole household had burned down. But the ponies here seemed to have lost their fighting spirit.

“If you look hard enough, you can see the city in the distance,” Sergeant Sharp said, taking Applejack out of her walking reverie.

Applejack and Flare both squinted their eyes at the horizon. Applejack thought she could distinguish a thin black line on the horizon, which was probably it — legendary Stalliongrad, the rock that had stopped the scythe of the griffon’s invasion.

It had been founded by earth pony colonists to mine the rich bowels of the Foal Mountains in the times when the Sun Goddess would still walk the earth. Years after her exodus, the city had become a place of refuge for earth ponies, who suffered from the increasing arrogance of the other tribes. There was even a time when it was independent for a couple of centuries, until it rejoined Equestria because of the raising griffon’s threat, which were just coming at the continent from the wild lands across the sea. Even now Stalliongrad was known as a safe heaven for earth ponies, even more so than Agritania — a small earth pony kingdom west of Equestria.

Recalling all that made Applejack’s ears perk up in anticipation. Plenty of her comrades shared her enthusiasm as well — she wasn’t the only one who knew of Stalliongrad’s reputation. The mare wished they were going faster — such was her desire to finally see the city she had been dreaming of going to since she’d heard Granny Smith’s stories as a foal.

She was hoping it would live up to her expectations.

***

The walls of Stalliongrad were impressive. Tall and sturdy, they were the result of earth ponies’ hard work. Applejack heard that they could even stand against magic. Some giant crossbows — scorpions, as the sergeant had called them earlier — were mounted at the top of the wall at determined intervals, ready to ravage any enemy who dared to come close.

A smaller wall protruded from the main one at some distance from the gate, encircling a pretty large space near the city. Applejack could see rounded roofs of some buildings behind them. Probably barracks or warehouses, thought Applejack. Both walls seemed impenetrable to Applejack, at least until she remembered about griffons — those bastards could just fly high over it.

As she learned from the sergeant’s briefing, the griffons had done just that, using most of their forces to take the city. The battle that had taken place inside its walls was long and bloody, but the invaders had lost in the end. However, neither side had the strength left to continue the war afterward, so peace was made, with the griffons retaining all the land they had seized prior to that, including Baltimare, the only large city-port Equestria had on the east.

Applejack’s attention returned back to the present when the head of the column had reached Stalliongrad’s gate. It slowly opened, letting the reinforcements flow into the city.

“Finally some civilization,” Flare said, looking at the busy streets behind the gate. “The city seems to be more lively than the ones we had passed on our way here.”

“Yep,” Applejack confirmed.

As they marched through the city, Applejack greedily eyed her surroundings. The city was mighty impressive, just like in Granny’s stories. Its sturdy stone buildings had earth pony craftsmanship written all over them. The city had endured a fierce battle with griffons inside its walls five years ago, but it still was in better condition than Birminghoof.

In the center, there was a huge fortress towering over the rest of the city. It was as old as Stalliongrad itself, growing over time just like the city did. An Equestrian flag — a unicorn horn inside a winged horseshoe on a blue field — could be seen flattering on the wind on its highest tower.

A massive weird-looking cloud hung above the whole thing. Applejack’s eyes widened when she saw a group of winged ponies — pegasi — appearing from it and flying off to somewhere. It was no simple cloud, she realized.

Shaking her head in wonderment, Applejack turned her attention to the ponies, who leaned to the sides of the streets, letting the soldiers pass. While most of them were her fellow earth ponies, there was a sizable number of unicorns as well. The pegasi were present too, though they mostly hovered above the crowd. Applejack eyes those with interest, seeing ponies of that tribe up close for the first time.

Nopony seemed unhappy about being inconvenienced by the passing columns. In fact, a lot of the civilians were cheering and clapping their hooves on the paved street as they greeted the reinforcements.

The sergeant was unfazed by all the attention, but the same couldn’t be said about the simple soldiers, who were smiling and waving in return. At least he didn’t try to stop them. Applejack too allowed herself a smile when she noticed a filly that reminded her of Apple Bloom on a sidewalk. The mare waved to her and the filly responded in kind, grinning widely.

With their spirits high, the soldiers finally reached the fortress. As a suspended bridge was slowly lowered down over the deep trench that had been dug all around the structure, the reinforcements began to pour into the courtyard.

Upon entering, their commanders were promptly organizing them into a neat formation. Applejack stood straight as she was trained to do, least the sergeant found some imperfection. She had given him less and less reason for it lately.

Finally, the last of the ponies walked into the courtyard. The bridge slowly lifted behind them. The soldiers were quickly quieted down as an important-looking stallion clad in fancy suit of armor climbed to the small podium that had been risen by a couple of unicorns mere moments ago.

Instead of him, however, Applejack’s attention was drawn to the two hulking earth ponies with battle axes that accompanied the unicorn. They were armored from hoof to head. Their tails were missing, probably hidden inside the heavy suit. But the most interesting thing about them were their size. She had never seen anypony bigger than Big McIntosh, but those ponies were at least twice as large!

“Look at those two,” Flare whispered for only her friend to hear. “They’re so—oohh…” her sentence was interrupted by a swift elbow to the ribs from the ever vigilant sergeant.

“No talking,” he growled quietly.

Flare threw him a glare, but thought better than arguing.

Applejack returned her attention back to the unicorn, who was about to make a speech. The stallion lit up his horn for a moment — she knew he was using magic then — and began to talk.

“Welcome to the Stalliongrad Citadel, troops!” the pony said in a deafening voice. Applejack’s ears wilted to preserve her hearing. The pony wasn’t yelling, but his thunderous voice easily carried through the courtyard nonetheless. That’s what the magic was for, guessed Applejack.

“I’m Legatus Bloodspear, commander of the 2nd Legion,” he continued, unperturbed by a small commotion he had caused among the lines. “I am glad to see so many fresh—”

The legatus droned on like that for fifteen minutes. Applejack forced herself to listen, but it was a simple greeting speech which told her almost nothing. The most important thing he had revealed was a day off tomorrow for the new arrivals to get some rest after the long march. A small cheer erupted in response to his announcement.

“—Equestria and its ponies are counting on you, soldiers!” Legatus Bloodspear finished. “Dismissed.”

Having said that, he and his massive guards disappeared behind one of the smaller gates that led into the fortress’ main building. After that, the troops were finally allowed to relax a bit. Soon they were led into the fortress themselves.

The usual organizational chaos had begun.

It had taken a couple of hours for Applejack’s unit to get their bedclothes and be finally assigned to their own barrack room. Another hour was spent trying to find the barracks in the massive citadel. The sergeant walked determinedly, but it soon became obvious that he had no idea where he was going. They would have roamed the corridors forever if not for one of the local soldiers offering his help to find their way.

“It’s even worse than in the camp,” Flare whined as they entered a tiny room, lined with six bunk beads. Murmurs of agreement could be heard from the rest of the ponies. It was a place purely for sleep and nothing else.

“Settle in, boys and girls, that’s your home now,” Sergeant Sharp said, activating the light crystal on the ceiling with his magic. “Wait for me here. I’ll be back after a briefing.”

The soldiers shuffled into the room as soon as he had left. After a short struggle the bunk beds were distributed among the ponies. Applejack didn’t care much, unlike Flare, who managed to win them two places on the top near each other. It was just as well.

The sound of chatter began to fill the room. It was literally the only thing they could do here. Applejack, however, planned to get some nap. Climbing to her place, she set the bedclothes on it and laid down, closing her eyes.

“So, what are you planning for our day off tomorrow?” Flare asked, interrupting Applejack’s attempt at sleeping.

“Nothin’ much,” Applejack answered, suppressing her annoyance. Flare was just being Flare. “Explore the city, I guess.”

Flares nodded. “That’s what I thought too. Maybe visit some pubs.”

Applejack turned on her belly and found herself face to face with Flare, who was lying a short distance across on her own bed.

“Why though? It’s not like we’ve got bits.”

“We can find some, if you know what I mean,” the mare smiled slyly.

Applejack frowned. “No. I don’t.”

“Eh, forget about it,” Flare waved her hoof. “Anyway, the city looks pretty nice from what I’ve seen. Much better than Birminghoof, that’s for sure.”

“Can’t argue with you here,” Applejack shrugged. “That place is a dump.”

As usual after mentioning Birminghoof, Flare went into a whole tirade to besmirch the city. Not that Applejack disagreed, but listening to it for the hundredth time... Suppressing a sigh, she pretended to listen while letting her thoughts wander back to her home.

Even though the farm mare had left it less than a month ago, it felt like forever. Applejack missed her family terribly. She dreaded the months — even years — apart that still lay ahead of her. What wouldn’t Applejack give to talk with them again, but instead she was stuck here, having to listen to her friend’s whining!

“I’ve got ya, girl, you hated it there,” she interrupted Flare sharply. “No surprises here. But there’s no need to tell me that again.”

“Oh, I just can’t help it, Jackie,” the mare answered, shaking her head. “That city just always brings up bad memories…”

“What in tarnation happened there anyway?” Applejack furrowed her eyebrows. Flares was secretive about her life in Birminghoof to the point of suspicion, but Applejack didn’t usually push. Right now, however, she was in a sour mood. “You always complain ‘bout it, so spit it out already.”

“I don’t really want to talk about it right now,” her friend said, sighing heavily. “Maybe after a few rounds of drinks if you really want to know… I’m sorry, it’s just too hard.”

Flare looked away. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed between them.

“Nah, it’s me who should be sorry,” Applejack said eventually, rubbing her neck. “I was just thinkin’ ‘bout stuff and that... Well, I’m sorry for letting my anger out on you. You don’t have to tell me anythin’ if you don’t feel like it, but I really think it’s better to share what’s botherin’ you with a friend. Friends should support each other like that, that’s what I was taught.”

Flare chuckled. “I guess I just never had a friend like you. You’re right. I promise to talk to you about that, but not here, okay?”

She gestured with her eyes at the other soldiers in the room. Nopony was paying attention to the two mares, having their own conversations to engage in, but she wasn’t exactly comfortable discussing private stuff. Applejack could understand that.

They switched topics to something more light-hearted, sharing funny stories from the training camp with their fellow soldiers. That kept them entertained until Sergeant Sharp finally returned with the announcement of a late dinner.

It was one of the rare moments when Applejack was happy about something he said — she was starving. Everypony else shared her enthusiasm. They left the cramped bedroom in a hurry, following the sergeant as he led them through the castle’s corridors.

He actually knew where to go this time, so they found the mess hall pretty quickly. After dinner, an unfamiliar officer addressed them, giving a bit of news that invoked a big cheer from the audience. — being regular soldiers, they were entitled to some pay.

This was a nice surprise to Applejack and judging by everypony’s reaction, for her comrades as well. The sum was minuscule, of course, but it was enough to buy yourself a few drinks. Which was probably the point — even the command understood the soldier’s need to unwind sometime.

Flare was especially jubilant at the prospect.

“Tomorrow is going to be epic!”

***

A large crowd poured out of the fortress in the next morning.

It was their first day off in almost a month of non-stop training, so their mood was high. None of the ponies had been to the city before, but the ones who were smarter had already chatted with the veterans, learning what Stalliongrad had to offer.

Applejack and Flare were the smart ones. As the crowd slowly dispersed into the city, the two mares kept together, simply exploring the city. Even though Applejack was used to seeing a lot of ponies in the training camp, she felt uneasy at seeing so many civilians on the streets.

“Stalliongrad is big,” she voiced her thoughts.

Flare smirked. “No, really? I didn’t notice.”

“Ha-ha.”

“But you’re right, of course,” Flare continued more seriously. “It’s one of the largest cities in Equestria after Birminghoof and Vanhoover. By the way, I’ve noticed that a lot of earth ponies are strangely excited about being in here. What’s up with that?”

As they wandered around the streets, Applejack had to explain to her friend why Stalliongrad was important to her. Flare listened, nodding in understanding from time to time.

“That makes sense,” she said thoughtfully. “I hadn’t really thought about that before, but I guess the other tribes treat you a little unfairly… I get that a lot just because of who I am myself.”

“Because you’re a unicorn?” Applejack asked, surprised.

Flare winced, nodding her head. “Ponies in Birminghoof are at each other’s throats. But it doesn’t matter right now. The point is, I can relate.”

Applejack let the issue be, even though she was curious about what exactly Flare had meant.

Turning her attention back to her surroundings, Applejack simply observed the city around her. Though Stalliongrad was vastly better off than its smaller neighbors, the mare still noticed some signs of troubles.

There was a weariness on the ponies’ faces she hadn’t noticed before. Even the buildings weren’t as well-kept outside of the main street, though they still looked better than their Birminghoof conterparts.

“Yeah, it’s hard to believe there was even a battle,” Flare said when Applejack shared her observation with the mare. “Those griffon savages got their asses handed to them.”

Applejack shrugged. “Sergeant Sharp said it was a bloody mess that lasted for days.”

“Yeah, but the griffons lost, didn’t they?”

The mare grumbled in agreement, though she didn’t share Flare’s laid-back attitude.

They continued their way in silence as Applejack was deep in thought. She didn’t know much about what was happening in Equestria while she was living in her small village, but even they had heard about the war. Only recently had she learned how bad it really had been.

All because of those griffons.

Applejack gathered what she knew about the creatures. She hadn’t seen one in real life, but she knew they looked like a weird mix of a bird and a cat. They were hunters, swooping in on their prey from the sky. The stories among the soldiers said that they even ate ponies.

The mare shuddered at the thought. What if those savages had won the battle of Stalliongrad? Her imagination ran wild, showing her farm burning, while some beastly winged creatures prepared to feast on Apple Bloom. Looking at the situation from such a perspective changed something for her.

Applejack still didn’t like being conscripted in the way she had been, and the sergeant was still a bastard in her eyes, but she realized that Equestria needed soldiers to protect itself against enemies like that.

“Look at this one, Jackie!” Flare tugged at her, breaking Applejack from her thoughts. “I like its name. Let’s go in!”

Applejack blinked a couple of times, gathering her surroundings. She saw Flare pointing at the old sign saying Wavering Mare over an old stone building. It looked like a typical pub, one of the many in this city.

“Sure,” Applejack relented. She looked forward to getting something other than water to drink.

The two mares entered.

The atmosphere inside was warm. The windows were closed, so old-style torches were the source of light, giving the place a cozy feeling. Overall, it wasn’t much different from the tavern back in her own village — just a simple place for simple ponies like her to spend some good time, enjoying their drinks.

A lot of ponies were busy doing just that and quite loudly. Applejack recognized a few familiar faces from the training camp among them. It seemed like the majority of today’s clientele were the resting soldiers. Most of them were also stallions, but Applejack wasn’t bothered by the fact, being used to such a ratio.

Flare quickly found a spot at one of the tables, already occupied by a small company. They gladly accepted the new additions, especially when Flare bought all of them a round of ale.

Downing her mug in one go, Applejack joined the table’s conversation. It wasn’t about anything in particular, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Their new comrades were tipsy already, so Applejack and Flare did their best to catch up. The alcohol affected Applejack at a lower rate than other ponies though, so when Flare had gotten quite woozy, the ex-farm pony was just feeling a little warmness spreading throughout her body.

They continued like that for a while.

The more Flare drunk, the more talkative she became. Even when the mare was sober, she’d be chatting quite a lot. Sometimes she poked fun at her peers. She usually had some boundaries, avoiding sensitive topics though.

But when her friend openly mocked the pink mane of one of the stallions at their table, Applejack realized that drinking so much might have been a mistake.

“You insolent bitch!” the stallion exclaimed, knocking over his mug as he jumped at his hooves.

Flare just laughed in his face. “Oh, come on!” she exclaimed, noticing his lowered ears. “It was just a joke, for Sun’s sake. You would laugh too if somepony else had a girly mane like yours!”

Growling in rage, the pony leaped at Flare, hitting her in her muzzle so hard that she was thrown backward. She bumped into somepony at a nearby table, causing him to spill his drink all over his coat. As the stallion turned around, his eyes fell on Flare, who was struggling to stand up.

“I was going to drink this, you klutz,” he barked, raising his mug and then bringing it down on her skull.

Applejack winced — the blow looked pretty painful. As Flare’s body dropped to the floor, Applejack jumped off her chair and stood in front of the angered pony.

“Calm down, ya fool,” she said, looking him straight into his eyes. “You could seriously hurt her.”

“Well, that’s the point, girl,” he answered in an unsteady voice, grinning like a madpony. “You seem cute, by the way. Would you like a drink?”

The mare’s vision reddened. This drunken idiot had just hurt her friend for no good reason and now he had the gall to hit on her afterwards! She was slow to get mad, but when she finally did, it was devastating for those at whom it was directed.

Applejack answered the pony’s question with a hook under his chin. She put enough force into it to knock him unconscious with one try. As the stallion dropped, however, his pals stood up. A few moments later Applejack was joined by the ponies from her own table, who stood at her sides determinedly.

One pony hit another and before she knew it, the chaos was everywhere. Drunken ponies were brawling, crushing the furniture off each other and involving more and more ponies in the fray. Ducking, Applejack avoided a flying stool that hit somepony behind her and bucked a pony who was about to step on a helpless Flare in his blind rush.

Applejack was sober enough to realize that it was time to go.

Grabbing her fallen friend, Applejack dragged her to the exit, avoiding the brawlers and sometimes knocking down those who came at her. She shrugged off a few hits she missed, too busy to feel any pain for the moment.

It was hard to see which side was winning — if there even was a side at this point — when Applejack finally reached the way out. It was wide open and as she climbed outside towing her friend behind, she saw some wiser ponies waiting out the brawl in calmness.

Ignoring them, Applejack threw the unconscious Flare on her back and briskly trotted as far away from the pub as possible.

Ponies followed them with surprised stares as Applejack moved through the streets. Her destination was the fortress. It was just a few streets away when her alcohol-addled brain realized that she couldn’t just get past the guards with Flare knocked out on her back.

Applejack didn’t want to be questioned — Sun forbid if the sergeant learned about what had happened — so Flare had to be woken up. Gently putting her friend down in one of the empty sidestreets, Applejack tapped her shoulder. It didn’t help, so next she gave her a slap at her cheek.

Thankfully, she had to do nothing more.

A heavy moan escaped Flare’s mouth as she finally opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, touching her undoubtedly hurting head as her gaze focused on Applejack, who was standing above. A recognition dawned in her green eyes.

“Jackie… What happened?” she asked weakly. “Why does my head feel like a herd of cows stampeded on it?”

“I’ll tell ya later, you hornhead,” Applejack brushed her question away. “Can you at least stand?”

With her friend’s help, Flare proved that she could. Her stance was unsteady, but she didn’t fall when Applejack removed her support. It was promising.

“Now, let’s get your flank to the barracks.”

***

Getting into the fortress turned out to be easy. The gates were down and the guards let them pass after the mares showed their papers. They asked no questions, though their eyes followed the slightly wavering Flare.

Once inside, Applejack led her friend to their room in the barracks. Unfortunately, she hadn’t memorized the way to it yet, so only after asking for directions did she manage to find it. The place was empty at this time.

The room was still illuminated by a crystal on the ceiling, emanating a dim but steady light. Only unicorns could manipulate it and since their unit had just two, they decided to leave the light on at all times. After all, their magic could last for years.

Applejack helped Flare to climb onto her bed and followed suit herself. She laid on her back, finally able to relax. Her body was aching from the beating it had taken, though she bet it wasn’t as bad as Flare head was feeling right now — her groans of pain were pretty telling.

“What in Tartarus were you saying out there?” Applejack asked in frustration.

“What? I don’t remember anything,” Flare groaned, rubbing her temples. “Why does my head hurt so much?”

She didn’t seem as drunk as she’d been back at the pub, but her speech was still drowsy. Applejack hoped that she hadn’t gotten a concussion or something after what had happened.

“Basically, ya mocked somepony, so he hit you,” Applejack quickly explained, giving her friend a heavy stare.

“It does sound like me,” Flare found the strength to grin, but it quickly disappeared. “Is that all?”

“Well, then a big fight started with everypony beating each other up like it was bucking season. I dragged you out myself.”

“That’s a classic,” Flare said and then sighed heavily. “Too bad I missed it. A nice drunken brawl is a good way to unwind after a job.”

Applejack was curious. Flare had never mentioned how she used to earn a living before getting into the army. Not that Applejack had asked — she figured her friend would tell her herself when she chose to do so. But she had promised to talk about it after a few rounds of drinks.

They’d had more than enough today.

Applejack gently reminded Flare about that fact.

“Well, fine…” the mare nodded quickly. “You told me about yourself, so it’s only fair of me to share a few things about myself. But promise me that you won’t tell a soul about it, okay?”

“I swear by my parent’s grave,” Applejack said solemnly.

Flare was quiet for some time, thinking about the best way to start.

“Well, long story short — I was a thief. We were robbing some rich idiots with a group of other ponies.”

Applejack stared at her friend in silence, not sure of how to react yet. She had no sympathy for thieves. Nopony had at her village. But for the few weeks that she had known the mare, she had been a good friend, so Applejack reserved her judgment for now.

“Each of us had their own lives, but once in a while me and the others would meet together to plan to rob another rich mansion,” Flare noticed Applejack’s tension and winced. “I know what you’re thinking. Stealing is wrong, right? But those ponies we were targeting are really rich, so it’s not like they would miss what we took from them.”

Applejack pursed her lips, but nodded curtly.

“I had enough bits to live a good life. Everything was peachy there. Until we got greedy.”

Flare sighed deeply.

“One day one of ours was approached by somepony who offered us to rob someone for them. Yeah, sometimes our team was hired by conflicting nobles who wanted to get something from their rivals. They paid us in bits and it was much easier than having to sell the stolen items we would have gotten otherwise. Anyway, the pony they wanted us to rob was Everlight.”

“What?” Applejack asked in shock. “The regent?”

“He wasn’t the regent back then, sillyhead,” Flare explained. “It was like three years ago. But that’s not the point. We agreed to this job because the pay was good, even though the job itself was complicated. They wanted us to steal Everlight’s necklace, the one he kept on his neck at all times, and replace it with a fake one.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea,” Flare shrugged. “I guess, they wanted to humiliate him or something. But we did it. We replaced the thing on his neck while he was sleeping and delivered it to the meeting place—” Flare lowered her eyes, falling silent.

“I guess it didn’t go as planned.”

“No, it didn’t,” Flare said in a strange voice and Applejack noticed her eyes glistening with tears. “We were ambushed. Some thugs surrounded and attacked us. They were going for the kill. I saw with my own eyes how my friends were dying one by one. We took down a few of them, but there were too many. I was badly wounded, but I managed to escape somehow.”

Applejack looked at her friend with new eyes. She knew that something bad had happened to her in Birminghoof, but she had no idea just how bad it was.

“I’m so sorry, Flare,” she said, putting her hoof on the mare’s shoulder.

“Thanks… Well, that’s kind of the end. I was hiding after I escaped. I had some money stashed, so I got myself fixed up. I tried to figure out who hired us, but I couldn’t do much on my own, so eventually I dropped it and simply lived my life quietly until I heard about the army conscripting ponies. I decided to join on my own, because why not? I wanted nothing to do with that damn city anymore.”

Both mares were silent as the story concluded.

“That’s… one hell of a story, Flare,” Applejack said eventually. “I’m sorry for what happened with your friends.”

“Yeah… Well, at least I have you now, right?” Flare smiled weakly. “I’ve liked you since I saw you back in the training camp. You kind of reminded me of one of my best friends. I wasn’t wrong.”

Even though Flare’s friends were thieves, Applejack didn’t mind that comparison. She had no love for nobles herself. Stealing was still wrong in her eyes, but it wasn’t the same as stealing stuff from your neighbor, who was struggling just like you.

“Thank you, Flare,” Applejack said and chuckled. “To be honest, I didn’t like you much at first, but you’ve grown on me.”

“Oh, I knew I would, Jackie,” Flare giggled in response.

The rest of the day was spent with the two mares exchanging stories from their past.

***

The next morning was hard for a lot of ponies.

Applejack was one of the lucky few whose natural resilience allowed them to avoid the consequences of the previous day’s fun, but the same couldn’t be said about her friend. Groaning, Flare stumbled off her bed, rubbing her aching head. The trauma combined with the hangover — Applejack was surprised that she could stand in the first place.

The pony who had woken them up — Sergeant Sharp — waited for the soldiers to gather up in the corridor. Applejack was the first one out, taking her place in a would-be line. She could see the same morning process repeating all throughout the barracks. Once her comrades were ready, the sergeant addressed them.

“I hope you’ve enjoyed your day off, some of you more than the rest,” he said, keeping his eyes on Flare longer than usual. “But now it’s over. Once you have a meal, go for a line-up in the courtyard. Don’t miss it. The command was busy reorganizing the units yesterday to include you bunch into the Legion’s structure, so four of you newbies will be transferred and I’ll get some veterans instead—”

Applejack worry was stirring inside. She and the sergeant weren’t on good terms, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow arranged for her and Flare to be separated. She kept her mouth shut, however, knowing that even if he did, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

After mentioning a few more details, the sergeant finally let the soldiers go, leaving to do his own business. As soon as he was gone, the ponies began discussing the news with each other, trying to guess who would be transferred.

“Do you think it’s going to be me?” Flare asked. “Or you?”

Applejack shrugged. “I sure hope not… But there’s nothin’ we can do about it, ya know.”

Her friend nodded solemnly, her ears going flat against her head.

“Don’t fret it though, sugarcube. We’re still going to see each other if that happens, okay?”

Flare smiled weakly, giving Applejack a nod, but she was silent throughout the meal and all the way to the inner yard. Applejack wasn’t sure if it was more from her headache or sadness at their possible parting. She hadn’t been in the best of moods herself.

The sergeant met them in the yard.

“About damn time,” he said. “Follow me, slowpokes.”

Quite a number of ponies were in the yard already, standing by squads. Applejack noticed that they weren’t peers from the training camp — those looked older and more experienced. She assumed that they were the regular soldiers who’d been here before Applejack’s newbies arrived.

The sergeant led them to stand on the other side of the yard, across the veterans. One by one, the other units were arriving, filling up the place. Its size was pretty large, so even when everypony was present, a lot of free space was available.

Finally, the great reshuffling began. Names were called and the ponies were assigned to different units. Applejack stood firm, but her insides were squirming with uncertainty as her own squad was getting closer and closer to its turn.

To Applejack’s immense relief, neither she nor Flare were transferred. Shooting a glance at Sergeant Sharp, the mare wondered if he had any say in the transfer and if yes, why didn’t he use this opportunity to hurt her.

She wasn’t about to complain though.

When everything was done, Applejack learned that her Squad was designated the 2th Squad of the 6th Company of the 7th Cohort, which she tried to remember. The Legion used to have just four Cohorts before the reinforcements, so now there were more newbies in it than old-timers.

They’d gotten four of those instead of the ones they’d lost. The sergeant assigned to each veteran two newbies to watch over. Applejack and Flare got to be in different teams, but that didn’t matter much, since they were still in the same unit.

“6th Company, form square!” an unfamiliar stallion ordered.

The sergeants snapped to action, gathering their units into the formation under steady gaze of an elder unicorn with a gray coat. He had a grim expression on his face as he looked over the soldiers with a look of authority.

“I’m Major Gloomy Heart,” he announced in a raspy, but loud voice. “I’ve been informed that most of our reinforcement are yesterday’s farmers and such with less than a month of training, but for your own sake I hope you learned well because the rumors you’ve heard are true — war is coming.”

The news of war wasn’t exactly unexpected, but it was the first time a pony in command had announced it directly, so it caused a bit of commotion. It was quickly put down by the sergeants, however, so the major was able to continue.

“The last war we were unprepared, but I’m confident this won’t happen again. We’ve learned from our mistakes and are ready to take our land back from the dirty claws of those griffons—”

Applejack listened to his speech, feeling herself growing impatient. The stallion was talking long and colorfully, while she would have preferred for him to get to the root of the issue. In that regard, even Sergeant Sharp was better. Though her fellow soldiers — mostly newbies — were eating it all up, so she supposed the major knew what he was doing.

She returned her attention to him when she heard something about ships. Ships?

“—on the Luminous. It was recently modernized to accommodate a company-sized detachment. We’re going to be tasked with protecting her from those griffons that get through to her—”

As he continued explaining, Applejack finally realized that he wasn’t talking about a sea ship, but an air ship! She’d remembered hearing about those things back in the camp. Imagining that she was going to actually be in one, flying high above the ground, made the mare feel a little dizzy but excited at the same time.

“—test flight will be tomorrow, but today I’m going to introduce you to the ship. Soldiers, follow me.”

***

The way to the ship took them a while. The port was at the edge of the city, so they had to march through the crowded streets to get there. Other companies made their way alongside them as well. Soon, Applejack realized that the buildings with rounded roofs she had seen from the outside were in fact the port.

The whole complex was the size of the small town itself. The arc-roofed buildings turned out to be massive from up close. They were called hangars and the ships were stored inside. When Applejack wondered how they would ever get out, one of the veterans explained about a special mechanism that would open the roof when the time was right.

They were met by a pony in a blue uniform who called himself Lieutenant Jumper. He allowed the soldiers into the hangar while telling them about the ship. Applejack could only see the outline of it in dim illumination, but when the light got brighter, everypony could see the Luminous in its full glory.

Everypony including Applejack gawked at the massive wooden monstrosity. It looked similar to the ships she had seen on pictures. It even had sails. She listened to the pony in a blue uniform as he continued to talk.

“The best mages of the Unicorn Union Order have enchanted the crystals that allow our ships to hover. The crystal is placed in the heart of the ship, so any attacker would have to go through all the defenses if they want to destroy it. It’s a recent invention, so not all of our ships are equipped with that. Some still use the old-style enchanted gas, but they’re more vulnerable.”

He encouraged ponies to ask questions and a lot did, so the talking continued for quite some time. Even the sergeant asked a few of his own — Applejack gathered that he hadn’t been on a ship before.

Then it was finally time to enter the ship itself.

There was a ramp that let everypony get on the deck quickly and from there the lieutenant and a few of his assistants led the soldiers below to show where their place on the ship would be.

As it turned out, their rooms were pretty small, even smaller than those at the barracks. The mess hall was tiny too, but at least the ship had a small zone to relax with couches, tables and even some simple games. Applejack, who was used to wide places, found herself uncomfortable on such a cramped ship.

“I don’t like this place,” Flare whispered to her while they walked through its narrow corridors.

“I can’t say I do either,” nodded Applejack in response. “Too little space for me.”

“I know, right? I hope we’re not going to be here all the time.”

Applejack shrugged. There wasn’t anything she could do about that, but she was glad that at least Flare would be with her.

***

The next few days flew by quickly, with Applejack settling into the new routine. It wasn’t much different from the training camp in her opinion. In fact, the training continued, though the things they were learning now were different.

Their Company was mastering the layout of the Luminous to be able to move throughout the ship quickly to defend it against attacking griffons. It was made more difficult because the ship was hovering in the air, vibrating slightly. It made some ponies seasick.

On top of that, they were improving their fighting skills by sparring with the veterans. Applejack was able to hold her own against them for some time. The reason for it turned out to be the fact that it wasn’t the weapon they had been trained to use.

Though swords were going to be their primary weapons on the ship, Applejack had learned from a veteran that spears were the main weapon for most of the ground troops. It was too cumbersome for a ship, so the command saw no need to teach the new recruits to use it yet.

“We’re going to train with them soon, don’t you worry,” Sergeant Sharp promised them. “For now, just focus on swords.”

Applejack remembered all that on the way to the port. Today there was going to be a mock battle up in the air, where another team would simulate the attacking griffons. Applejack wasn’t needlessly worried, unlike a stallion who was walking beside her. She saw his tail twitching nervously, which was a telltale sign.

“What’s wrong, Plowed Field?”

“Nothin’” the stallion replied. “Nothin’ at all.”

Applejack could see that something was wrong though, so she kept pushing until he finally gave up.

“I’m just worried about fighting so high above the ground,” he admitted.

Flare snorted, but Applejack gave her a stare, which shut her up. The stallion was serious and it wouldn’t do any good to mock him.

“Why would you be, sugarcube?” she asked gently.

“Well, it’s high above the ground for starters. What if somepony falls down and splats themselves?”

Flare shook her head like this was the most ridiculous thing ever. Applejack threw her an annoyed glance, but it didn’t stop the mare from intervening.

“You can be such a silly head, Field…” Flare said, shaking her head again. “There’ll be a big net set below the ship, so whoever falls will be caught in it. They explained it on the morning line-up, remember?”

The stallion reddened, lowering his eyes. “Eh, nope. I kinda missed it…”

“Well, next time don’t,” Applejack said firmly. “There could be something important like that.”

“They mostly say boring stuff, to be honest,” Flare interjected again.

Applejack grumbled but didn’t argue with her friend. Not only would it be a waste of time with that mulehead, but Applejack couldn’t say she was wrong. Besides, they were already approaching their hangar.

Another company-sized group was already waiting beside it, so Applejack’s attention turned to them. They were wearing a different armor than the mare was used to. It was obviously lighter than the one Applejack wore, being made out of leather with some metal plates at vital points. Soon she saw the reason why — those ponies had wings.

She had seen some pegasi in the city, but they were a rare sight. But now Applejack was finally able to gave them a proper look. They were actually not much different from a typical earth pony or a unicorn, save for their feathered wings that were tucked close to their body.

Major Gloomy Heart ordered everypony to stop as a pegasus in a fancy helmet stepped forward from the group. The two ponies met in the middle.

After shaking their hooves and discussing something privately, they returned to their respective companies. Applejack and the rest watched in awe as the whole pegasus company shot up into the air, spreading out as they got higher up to avoid bumping into each other. They did it without a hitch.

Applejack and the rest were brought back into the action by the sergeant, hurrying them along into the hangar, where their company quickly boarded the Luminous.

By the time everypony had gotten to their cabins, she felt the ship vibrating. A constant humming could also be heard from the center of the ship where the crystal was. Applejack once again thought about how powerful a unicorn’s magic was — making large ships fly like some birds. That was mighty impressive. Of course, Applejack knew that a rare unicorn could achieve something like that, just like not every earth pony was as strong as her, but the mare couldn’t help but feel helpless in the face of that kind of magic.

A weird feeling in her stomach told her that the ship had started ascending into the air.

“Those pegasi you saw are militia from Cloudsdale,” Sergeant Sharp said, being in the cabin with the troops. “They’re trained warriors, so I’m not expecting a victory. I just want you all to show what you’re capable of.”

The soldiers grumbled in response, but without much enthusiasm.

“But we have no weapons or armor!” Plowed Field exclaimed in near panic. “We’re doomed!”

“Were you listening with your arse, boy?” the sergeant turned to him, growling. “We’re going to the armory once we hear the signal. It was all part of the training. Any more stupid questions?”

The stallion opened his mouth as if to ask one, but changed his mind at the last moment. The sergeant nodded in satisfaction as a silence hung in the cabin.

Soon the ship stopped ascending.

Applejack couldn’t feel its movement now, so she guessed the battle was about to start. Predictably, the sound of the horn blazed three times throughout the ship. She remembered from her training that it meant an enemy boarding.

“Here we go,” the sergeant said, standing up. “Get ready!”

He opened the door but didn’t go through it yet. The corridors were too narrow for the soldiers to move through more than two at the time, so he had to lead the others through first. Once another squad had passed, he led his own ponies at some distance behind them.

The armory was close to the soldier’s quarters, so they got to it within a minute. It was a tight fit — just like the rest of the ship — but there was just enough space for everypony to arm themselves without wasting any time on waiting their turn.

Applejack’s squad had their own designated section where their personal armaments were supposed to be. They hadn’t been issued anything yet, so for now it was just standard gear, not adjusted to their bodies. Thankfully, the quartermaster had made sure to include sets of female-type armor for a number of mares in the squad.

The armor wasn’t much different from the male version except for its smaller size, since stallions tended to be larger. Even Applejack for all her strength couldn’t compare with them in that regard. Not that she cared about such silly things, of course.

Grabbing a set, she put it on with a speed born of experience, while Flare did the same beside her. Adjusting it to fit her body more tightly, Applejack moved around a bit to make sure it was done right. Satisfied, she finally took a sheathed sword from a rack, securing it on her side.

She was ready for the fight.

“Hurry up, soldier!” the sergeant barked.

Applejack lowered her ears, but then realized that he wasn’t looking at her. The target of his ire was the unlucky Plowed Field, who was still fumbling with his armor. The poor stallion had been added to their squad just before they had taken their vows back in the training camp. The sergeant wasn’t happy about that transfer and Applejack could see why.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Plowed Field mumbled as he desperately tried to finish the last adjustments.

“I’ll deal with you after this is over,” Sergeant Sharp promised menacingly once the stallion was finally done, making the latter shrink in fright.

By now they were the last squad still in the armory, so the sergeant rushed them to their destination which was up on the upper deck. The sound of battle had reached them before they emerged from the ship.

Even though Applejack knew it wasn’t for real, she still felt a rush of adrenaline in her body as she saw the ponies fighting. Even though it had just started, her allies were already in a bad way. They fought valiantly, but the pegasi were far too maneuverable, quickly changing their positions if the situation got rough for them and flanking their opponents.

“At arms!” the sergeant ordered, going for a flank attack of his own on the group of pegasi, who were pressing at their allies.

With a roar to encourage themselves, the soldiers charged.

Applejack was among the first to enter the fight. As she blocked a hit from one of the pegasi, Flare hacked at the attacker’s foreleg. If her weapon were real, the pegasus would have lost it. Instead of that though, a powerful discharge went through the sword to his leg, numbing the limb for a few hours.

Obviously, the swords were blunt to avoid a serious injury, but a paralyzing enchantment allowed for a more real experience. It was also pretty painful.

Applejack had no opportunity to finish her opponent off, however, as he jumped out of her reach with a flap of his wings. Forgetting about him, the mare moved on to the next one. Working together with Flare and another soldier, they managed to incapacitate the pegasus at the cost of losing the poor soldier as well as Flare’s hindleg, which had been touched by the enemy’s sword. Damn, that pegasus was fast!

Taking a second to breathe, Applejack threw a glance at her surroundings — it wasn’t good. Half of their numbers were already on the decks, unmoving or squirming in agony from too many strikes. The sergeant was still up and about, holding his own against two pegasi at once. The veterans formed at his sides, protecting his flanks. To Applejack’s surprise, Plowed Field was up as well, successfully dodging his opponent’s attacks. But even though the enemy had been taken by surprise, they were winning.

Suddenly, she heard a sound behind her.

Applejack ducked just in time as another group of pegasi struck from behind. Unfortunately, Flare wasn’t quick enough. A pegasus with a colorful tail flew by her like lightning, dropping Applejack’s friend down with a targeted kick to her head. The mare didn’t get up after that.

With a cry of rage, Applejack jumped up on her hooves and rushed to the landing pegasus. Noticing her attacker in time, the pegasus tried to fly up, but Applejack’s anger gave her the edge she needed to grab the pegasus’ tail before she did.

She assumed it was a mare, based on her smaller size and weight. If it was a stallion, Applejack doubted that she would be able to drop her opponent to the decks. While the remains of her squad grabbed the rest of the pegasi’s attention, Applejack battered her enemy with her bare hooves.

She felt a sharp pain in her stomach as the pegasus’ sword hit her below, passing a charge through her insides. To her own surprise, Applejack was able to remain standing. She saw the surprise reflecting in the mare’s widening eyes, barely visible through her helmet.

Clenching her jaw, Applejack forced her opponent’s foreleg to the decks, making her release her weapon. She barely felt her kicks thanks to the numbness that was settling in her body. Grabbing the sword for herself, Applejack touched the mare’s neck with it.

She went limp as a current went through her body.

Rolling to the side, Applejack managed to get onto her hooves, but she was in no condition to continue fighting. In fact, she was the last of her squad still standing with the exception of the sergeant, who was struck down right before her eyes.

Without giving the mare time to recover, the pegasi rushed to finish her off. Fending off the blow from the side, Applejack missed another one from behind her. Hissing in pain, she fell on her side as her leg gave up under her.

Another strike to her neck finally sent her unconscious.

***

Applejack woke up in the infirmary.

At least she had assumed it was one. The chamber was spacious and well-lit with crystals that were held in their spots at the ceiling. She hadn’t been in this place before, but it had a lot of cots, with her occupying one of them. It was the logical place to be after a battle, even a mock one.

There were a few dozen other ponies besides her, lying in their own cots; some were chatting with each other. Applejack answered a few greetings when they noticed her wake up. After asking them a few questions, her theory was confirmed. They all had been injured the most in the exercise, though none of them seriously enough to keep them here more than a couple of days at most.

As her senses slowly returned to her, Applejack felt a residing pain in her stomach. She lowered her gaze at it — it was all bruised, appearing bluish through her orange coat. Thankfully, she felt herself being under some medication, so the pain wasn’t as bad as it could be.

“You were really awesome out there,” an unfamiliar pony on her left said. “I saw you take down that pegasus bitch with a fancy tail — it was damn impressive! She took down many of us before you caught her.”

The others nodded, confirming the speaker’s words. Applejack felt slightly uncomfortable at such attention, even if it was a favorable one. She pushed a smile nonetheless.

“I just kinda lost it, I guess,” Applejack chuckled. “Heat of battle and all that.”

“Yeah, you were a damn berserker!”

“We would have won if we had a dozen like you with us!”

Applejack took the praising in stride until it finally died down, much to her relief. After the chatter returned to its usual level, Applejack’s thoughts went to her friend. Flare wasn’t in the chamber, so it was safe to assume that she wasn’t injured enough to be here. If something bad had happened to her, the others would have known something, right?

Relaxing, she simply rested in her cot when the door to the infirmary opened. She heard hoofsteps getting closer and closer, but didn’t pay them any attention until they stopped near her. Cracking one eye open, she jerked, seeing nopony other than Sergeant Sharp himself standing beside her bed.

“At ease, soldier,” he waved his hoof as she attempted to get off the cot.

Applejack narrowed her eyes, suspicious at the sergeant’s charitable behavior. His expression was unreadable. He had never tolerated anything even slightly off the regulations from her, so his behavior was ringing bells in Applejack’s head.

“You did good out there,” Sergeant Sharp said after a moment of silence. “Color me impressed.”

“Thank you, sir,” Applejack answered politely, as was required.

The sergeant frowned, looking around when he noticed a sudden drop in conversations around them. The ponies quickly turned away from his glare, pretending to be extremely busy with something of their own.

“I need to talk with you alone, soldier. Can you walk?”

Applejack nodded. She wasn’t as sure as she was showing, but she didn’t want to look weak in front of the sergeant.

With a grunt of pain, she dropped on her hooves. It took her a few moments to get herself steady and get used to her feelings. Her limbs felt a little funny — the effects of the enchanted weapons, she supposed — but that feeling was quickly dissipating.

Together the two ponies walked into a corridor where the sergeant turned to face Applejack. The mare watched him cautiously.

“I want to put our enmity behind us, Private Applejack,” he dropped.

Her eyes widened — it was the last thing Applejack had expected to hear from the sergeant today. However, she was good at detecting a lie and she couldn’t see even a sign of it in Sergeant Sharp at this moment.

“We’re about to go to war and I can’t afford to have my best soldier be hostile towards me,” he continued. “I admit, I messed up with you pretty badly. I don’t expect us to be friends, but I’ll be treating you like every other soldier under my command from now on. In return, I expect you to respect me as your leader. Do you accept my proposal?”

Applejack felt conflicting emotions fighting inside of her. On the one hoof, she knew that it would be the best outcome she could hope for in their conflict, but on the other, it was hard to put behind all the mistreatment he had put her through. Though to be honest, he had never stepped out of line or done something outside of the rules after their incident in the empty barracks…

Making her decision, Applejack nodded.

“I accept,” she said. Noticing a frown flickering on his face, she added, “Sir.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Sergeant Sharp said, nodding in satisfaction. “Now to business. We’ve got the rest of the day off, but tomorrow we’ll have a job. The Luminous is going out to the griffon’s territory for a mission and we’re going to be protecting it. I wasn’t told the details, so I’m expecting everything. I want you to be at your best, soldier, so go rest. Dismissed.”

Having said that, the sergeant turned around and left.

After standing in the corridor for a few minutes, mulling over what had just happened, Applejack followed his order and returned back to her cot. Her insides were tipsy and not just from her injuries — it seemed like tomorrow they were finally going to war.

Chapter XII - The Night of Terror

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A fiery magical projectile slammed into Twilight’s transparent shield, exploding in a flash that illuminated the surrounding road. The mare flinched, squinting her eyes reflectively, but nothing managed to pass through her defense.

“I don’t like doing that,” Midnight Star grumbled, wincing. “What if I hurt you?”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she dispelled the purple dome around her.

The two unicorns stood facing each other five minutes away from Canterlot’s outer walls. There was a wide patch of relatively flat land where the road made a turn around the mountain, so it was a good place to practice some dangerous magic without risking burning someone’s property.

“I think we’ve established by now that my shield can hold against low-level fire attacks,” she said. “In fact, I believe it’s time to up the stakes. I want to test its durability against kinetic forces. Throw that boulder at me, please,” the mare pointed at the massive rock the size of her body lying nearby.

Midnight widened his eyes.

As a part of her preparations for the expedition, Twilight had been mastering a potent defense spell among other things. Her brother had taught her to use it a while back, but she lacked practice. She was going to need it to be flawless to have any chance to survive in the caves, so Midnight had agreed to help.

But that was simply too much!

“Have you gone mad?” the stallion asked, eyeing the boulder. He imagined it crushing Twilight’s fragile body and shuddered. “I’m not going to do that!”

Twilight lowered her ears slightly.

“I know it’s risky, Mid, but it’s important for me to know the limits of my shield,” the mare said, “I need to be ready for anything down there.”

“I know, Twi, but what if your shield fails now? Let’s start with something small at least!”

Twilight looked at the boulder again, realizing that Midnight was right. She wouldn’t get away with a few broken bones if that thing managed to pass through. You’ve gotten overenthusiastic and forgotten about your own safety. Again, she scolded herself.

“Yeah, let’s change it a bit,” Twilight said out loud.

Charging her horn, the unicorn concentrated. The shield spell was designed to be cast around its user, but if she changed a few elements… With a low hum, the shield appeared around a lone tree. It was a little harder to power it at a distance, but at least she would be safe if it failed. Twilight grinned with pride.

“That’s really awesome,” Midnight said. He knew a fair bit about magic himself and changing the spell’s properties like that was something only very advanced unicorns could do. He certainly wouldn’t be able to do that himself. “Well, here we go then.”

Having said that, Midnight strained as he lifted a heavy boulder into the air. The heavier the object was, the more power was required to hold it, so the stallion felt his magic energy dwindling at an elevated rate. Without wasting any time, he hurled the rock at the tree with all the force he could muster.

Twilight groaned as the boulder bounced off her shield, almost losing control, but managed to hold it in the end. It had taken more energy than Twilight had expected, but now she had learned what to expect next time.

“Don’t ask me to do that on you, please.”

Twilight, who was just thinking about doing exactly that, twitched in surprise.

“Fine… I guess, I’ve got what I wanted anyway.”

“Good,” Midnight nodded. “Anyway, I’m pretty beat for today. Can we go back now?”

“Sure, we’re done here.”

The sun was about to set, but Canterlot’s gates were always open, even at night, so the two made their way back at a leisurely pace, discussing Twilight’s results. With the shield spell being the latest one, the mare had learned and practiced a number of both defensive and offensive spells since she had made her big discovery a week ago.

Good thing the library had everything she needed.

On top of that, Twilight had also read what she could find on the caves under Canterlot. The books didn’t specify what would wait for her deep down. In fact, nopony even knew how deeply they stretched. While their upper levels were mostly safe, a rare pony dared to venture deeper. Some had tried over time, hoping to find some treasures, and most of them had never returned. The ones who had, had told stories of terrible monsters living there.

“Do you still want to go?” Midnight asked as they trotted on a near empty street.

He was less than enthusiastic about the prospect of Twilight going to such a dangerous place, but the mare kept saying that there wasn’t any other choice. She just had to go. Not because Blueblood had told her to find the Amulet, but for the king himself.

While the old monarch was still alive, there was hope. It was a slim hope, Twilight knew that, but she didn’t want to give it up. Wielding the Alicorn Amulet may give her the power to rid the king of the poison’s aftermath. It was something that Twilight wished to achieve, though she would never admit it out loud — even in her own head it sounded desperate.

But the longer Everlight stayed in power, the more likely he was to finish the king off for good. His regency was based on the claim of King Hearth’s possible recovery, but once Everlight had solidified his hold over the country, it would no longer be necessary.

Even though Blueblood was supposed to ascend to the throne in case of the king’s death, Twilight doubted that it would change anything. He would simply be a puppet for Everlight. Sometimes, the mare wondered why he hadn’t done that in the first place. There were a lot of questions about Everlight’s motives in Twilight’s head. Like, for example, why he was so hellbent on waging a war.

“Yes,” Twilight answered Midnight’s question, pulling herself out of her thoughts. “Lord Moonlight went in and cane back again, didn’t he?”

“He had the Amulet’s power with him, Twi,” Midnight reminded. “Not to mention a bunch of mercenaries who all perished along the way. You have neither.”

Twilight grumbled, but didn’t refute his words. She was determined to go regardless.

The rest of the walk passed by in silence. They were getting close to the inn when Midnight overtook her, forcing her to stop as he stood in front of her with a serious expression. She looked at her friend in surprise.

“If you’re not changing your mind, Twilight, then I’m going with you,” Midnight announced. Twilight blinked.

“What? Why?”

“It’s too dangerous for you to go alone, obviously,” he explained, shaking his head. “I won’t be able to work at this damned library knowing that you’re risking your life down there. I just can’t.”

“Well… I appreciate your offer, Midnight, but…” Twilight went silent for a few moments, realizing the irony of what she wanted to say, “But it’s too dangerous for you.” Seeing a smirk forming on his lips, she hurried to explain. “I mean, I can protect myself with some success. I’ve been studying battle magic this whole week as you know, so—”

A sudden flash interrupted her midsentence. She shut her eyes, feeling a rush of hot air blow at her coat and then heard a loud bang. Opening them again, she found Midnight pointing at a smoking hole the size of a pony’s head on a nearest wall.

“I can do more than low-level fire magic, as you called it,” he said to the startled mare. “I went through the advanced course at the Academy just like you, remember?”

The window of the house he had just blown a hole into lit up. Midnight turned his attention to it, realizing what he had just done. He should have aimed at the ground… He saw a pony silhouette approaching, probably to see what in Tartarus was going on outside.

“We need to run,” he said and Twilight nodded.

Together they bolted before the owner of the damaged house would call the city guards on their heads. Thankfully, the inn was just a street away by now, so they broke into the lobby not a minute later, startling the poor mare behind the counter from her sweet slumber.

Twilight mumbled a sorry, smiling to the mare sheepishly. The mare followed the two with her eyes as they climbed up the stairs and resumed her nap when they had disappeared from her view.

Approaching the door to her room, Twilight opened it and invited Midnight inside.

“Do you live far from here?” she asked. Perhaps she should offer him to stay the night if he was.

“Oh, I… I live with my parents,” Midnight explained, his cheeks reddening slightly. “It’s on the other side of the city. I guess that’s far. I would have gotten a place of my own if we had the money, of course.”

“Don’t worry, Midnight,” Twilight waved her hoof. “I lived with my parents myself until the king took me to the palace.”

“I see,” he nodded, relaxing a little. Both ponies settled on a couch and Midnight continued, “So, you saw what I can do. I can protect myself just like you. Besides, two ponies have more of a chance to succeed than one, even if it’s somepony like you.”

Twilight fidgeted on the couch nervously. She had no qualms about risking her life, but she didn’t want to drag Midnight with her if she failed. He was a good stallion.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked. “You have a life here; nopony is looking for you. Why risk it all?”

“Pff, a life… I spend most of my day on a job that I’m starting to hate and I don’t really have any choice in the matter. Believe me, I’ve tried looking for something else. By coming with you, I’ll get a chance to do something useful for once. Not to mention that you’re my friend and what kind of pony would let his friend go into some deadly cave on her own?”

Twilight sighed heavily.

“Well, I can’t really afford to refuse help, can I? Sun knows I’ll need it there. But what about your job at the library?”

“I’ve been working there all alone for months, covering two shifts every day,” Midnight said. “I deserve a damn vacation.”

“Are you sure the rector would allow it? You said he couldn’t find anything else to help you with.”

“He would have to,” Midnight frowned. “I’m just so sick of it. I can’t continue like that forever anyway, so maybe that’ll make him finally do something.”

After that, they discussed the details of the upcoming expedition. It was due as soon as Rarity came through with her part. Twilight needed some special gear and the lady had promised to get her the best that money could buy.

Twilight had to give up most of the gold Blueblood had given her — without explaining its origin — because Rarity’s father had refused to sponsor her trip. Thankfully, the lady had some savings of her own that she had asked Lord Belle to send her, assuring Twilight that it would be enough to cover the expenses. Hopefully, she’d have enough left to get something for Midnight as well.

Twilight didn’t like the delay it would cause, however. She was planning to leave in a few days already, but she couldn’t let her friend go unequipped, could she? Oh well, perhaps she could skip the potions this time — getting them was what had taken so much time as the alchemists had to brew them from scratch. Rarity should have gotten her enough for two anyway.

Midnight agreed with Twilight. He also had a few useful things of his own that he thought would help in the caves, so it was a few items off the list. When they finally had gone through all they could, Midnight bid his farewell, deciding to go home, despite Twilight’s offer to stay.

Soon after that, Twilight went to bed herself.

***

“Had fun yesterday?” the receptionist asked as Twilight was making her way out.

Twilight turned to her, blinking in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing, miss,” the mare chuckled, giving Twilight a wink. “Have a good day.”

Shrugging, Twilight finally left the inn, casting the mare’s strange behavior aside. The only thing she really cared about right now was her morning coffee. Unfortunately, this place served nothing, so she had to go to the nearest cafe every day to have her desire fulfilled.

This cafe was also the meeting place for Twilight and Rarity. Of course, Rarity could go straight for the inn, but Twilight was usually gone most of the day, so instead they set a special time when Twilight was supposed to wait for her. Today, Twilight knew that Rarity would show up, since she had promised it on their last meeting a couple of days ago.

“The usual, please,” Twilight told the waitress as soon as she entered.

The waitress nodded. “Right away, Miss Glister.”

Twilight had been visiting this place for the last few weeks, so the staff knew her by name. A fake one, obviously, since she couldn’t just reveal her real one. While the waitress went to get her order, Twilight took her favorite spot by the window.

By the time the waitress had returned, the unicorn was going through her notes about the caves one more time, trying to think of any more spells she could learn to prepare for her dangerous quest.

Moving the notes out of the way just enough to let the mare put coffee with cupcakes onto the table, Twilight checked her checklist of preparations. According to it, Twilight had done almost everything she had planned for already. The only thing left unchecked was the equipment, but that was Rarity’s job. Though with Midnight joining the expedition, she would have to ask the lady to get some more.

Being so engrossed in her notes, Twilight missed when Rarity showed up.

“Greetings,” she said, startling Twilight as she took the place across from her. Her coat was slightly damp as she had just done some exercises. “How are you doing this lovely morning?”

“Just fine, thank you.”

The two engaged in their traditional small talk, discussing the current weather and such for a couple of minutes, until Twilight could finally get to the real business.

“Anyway, did you get what I need?”

“Of course I did, darling,” Rarity smiled. “Why do you think I came all this way?” She pointed at the large duffel bag near the table that Twilight hadn’t noticed before. “Though the bag is rather heavy, so beware of that.”

“That’s not a problem,” Twilight said, waving her hoof dismissively. “Though I was wondering if there’s a chance I could ask for something more? I need some equipment for one more pony.”

Rarity frowned.

“Well, I’d be happy to help, but I’m afraid I burned through almost all my savings to get you this much,” she explained. “Perhaps if I find something less expensive… Oh, but it won’t be the best quality.”

“That’s fine, Rarity. Just do what you can. And I don’t need the potions this time.”

“Of course,” she nodded. “So, I understand that you’ve got somepony to help you?”

Twilight confirmed Rarity’s guess without revealing Midnight’s identity. The two had discussed it beforehoof, deciding it would be the best option. It wasn’t that Twilight didn’t trust Rarity after everything she had done to help, but the fewer ponies knew about her friend’s involvement, the safer he would be.

“I see,” Rarity said, accepting her reasoning. “Anyway, I really don’t think I’ll be able to get much for the money I have left. At least not of the quality you need. And you’ll need only the best down there. Perhaps I can convince my father to lend me some money or at least tell him to sell some of my old stuff back at home…”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t want to delay it for too long, Rarity. Just get what you can.”

“But, darling, wouldn’t it be better to spend some time now to get ready, rather than rush in prematurely and perish?”

“You don’t understand…” Twilight sighed. “I’ve been here for more than two weeks already and every day Everlight’s power grows stronger. There’s no telling what he might do with the king.”

“I admit I didn’t know the king as well as you, but I think he was a good pony,” Rarity said, looking at Twilight with a hint of pity. “However, Everlight need not lift a hoof to do anything. I should point out that the poison the king has been given has an extremely low rate of recovery.”

“Well, I think you’re wrong,” Twilight retorted firmly. “Besides, didn’t you say that he may start a war against the griffons at any moment? Once he does, it would be almost impossible to stop. Equestria can’t afford it right now. We’re nowhere near ready. It’s going to be a disaster.”

Rarity sipped the tea she had ordered earlier and took a bite off her cupcake with blueberries, enjoying its magnificent flavor. This cafe turned out to be much better than the one near the library where they’d had their first meetings.

“Actually, my father believes that it may not be as bad as we feared,” Rarity said.

Twilight raised her eyebrows and the lady elaborated.

“Everlight presented his war strategy to the High Council at their last meeting. Obviously, the military has been preparing for another war since the last one ended. They have the weapons stored and the border fortified. All they needed were more soldiers and Everlight’s wide conscription solved that problem.”

“It’s not just a matter of military power, Rarity,” Twilight said as she recalled the king’s words on the matter. “Agritania may use this opportunity to strike Equestria in the back, especially if the war with the griffons goes badly. There has been a lot of tension between our countries in the last few years. In the Crystal Kingdom, they are speaking of independence more and more lately — it would be a good opportunity for them as well. Not to mention the issue of our inner stability, which would go to Tartarus as the war goes on. The king was ready to fight back if the griffons attacked again, but starting the war ourselves is a deadly risk.”

Rarity was taken aback at Twilight’s rebuke.

“I see,” she said, composing her feelings. “I guess when you put it like that, I can see why you’re in a hurry. My father didn’t mention all those issues, but I guess the king saw the bigger picture.”

“Obviously. That’s why I must do everything in power to get him back.”

***

In the other corner of the café, another unicorn was enjoying his tea in peace.

While he seemed to pay no mind to his surroundings, his eyes were actually at the two mares on the opposite side — the green one and the white one — who were chatting with each other. He tried to listen in, but unfortunately for him, he couldn’t exactly hear what they were saying because of the silence bubble the green one had put over their table.

But the pony observed them nonetheless.

***

“Well, I shall leave now,” Rarity said, getting off her chair. “It was nice talking to you, Twilight.”

The other mare stood up as well, levitating the duffel bag Rarity had brought with seeming ease. Rarity felt a pang of jealousy — she’d had to hire a random passer-by stallion to help her get the bag here, though she hadn’t mentioned that fact to Twilight.

“Thank you, Rarity,” the mare smiled warmly. “I’m glad you’re helping me. It would be so much harder without you.”

Rarity bowed her head slightly, returning a smile of her own.

“I’m happy to help, darling. After all, it’s in my House’s interests.”

“Even so, you’re the first noble pony I’ve met who’s not just some stuck-up moron or power-hungry maniac,” Twilight said and stopped to think for a second as Midnight came to mind. “Well, maybe the second, but still.”

“I appreciate the compliment, darling, but I’m sure that you simply haven’t had a lot of opportunity to meet good nobles. I know some who are quite lovely ponies despite their flaws.”

“If you say so,” Twilight said, unconvinced. “Well, I have to go now. Same time here tomorrow?”

“Yes, that works for me.”

Having said that, Rarity left. A lonely stallion that was watching their every move followed the lady outside. Twilight spared him a glance, but paid no mind otherwise. Levitating the heavy bag near herself, she went back to the inn.

***

Twilight had just finished sorting through her newly acquired stuff when somepony knocked. The mare tensed up for a moment, but relaxed when she heard the voice from behind the door.

“It’s Midnight.”

Twilight glanced in surprise at the bright sunlight still pouring into her room. No, she hadn’t spent much more time than she had thought, it was just Midnight who had gotten here early. He was supposed to be at the library for at least four more hours.

She opened the door with her magic without standing up, allowing the stallion inside. Midnight entered, carrying a long rod wrapped in fabric along with him.

“Whoa,” he said, gawking at a bunch of items carefully arranged on the floor. “That’s quite the setup you’ve got here. Wait… Is that what I think it is?”

He carefully levitated one of the potions and read the name written on the jar — Ironcoat.

“Yep,” Twilight confirmed. “A full-metal coat for about an hour from just a sip of that stuff. I’ll need to make some calculations to see how much time a drop would give me.”

Midnight nodded in appreciation, gingerly setting the potion back on the floor. He knew it cost a small fortune and was hard to produce, but it would give a pony almost impenetrable protection against pretty much any physical attack. It had dangerous side effects if used often, but it was worth it.

The rest of the items were more affordable, but no less useful. There was a light, enchanted barding that would fit Twilight’s body, guarding her vitals from injuries, a cloak to preserve the warmth in case the caves were cold, traveler’s saddlebags, some preserved food that would last a pony for at least a weak, even more potions of different properties... Midnight could see that Twilight was taking her preparations seriously.

“That’s everything on my checklist,” Twilight said. “Lady Rarity will get something for you too, if you’re still serious about coming with me.”

Midnight’s ears flopped as he dropped to his haunches. He chuckled, giving Twilight a shrug.

“I don’t really have anything else to do now — the rector fired me. So yeah, I’m coming with you.”

He quickly explained to Twilight what had happened.

Obviously, the conversation hadn’t gone according to plan. The rector was a hotheaded pony, so he hadn’t responded well to Midnight’s request. Maybe he was having a bad day, so instead of solving the problem like a reasonable adult, he had simply fired Midnight in a fit of rage.

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Midnight,” Twilight said, approaching the stallion to give him a comforting hug. “It will make visiting the closed section of the library so much harder…”

“Damn, Twilight, I’m sorry for letting you down,” he said, sighing deeply. “I’m such a failure…”

Where would he get the money to live now? It was the only good job Midnight had managed to find after finishing the Academy. Perhaps he would have to look for some menial jobs with low pay, like working in some shop or something, but that would be something to worry about later.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Twilight shook her head. “It’s the rector’s. But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find a much better job. Not that there is anything wrong with working at the library, of course, but you clearly weren’t happy there.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” the stallion shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s just go over your preparations again, okay?”

“Sure.”

***

A lone pony was standing a street away from the noble district, waiting for his comrades to arrive after the sun had just set. He could still see the entrance to it from here — the district was a compound of half a hundred cottages with its own gate, guarded by private mercenaries sponsored by those who owned those places. There was no way past them unless you had the key to one of the cottages inside.

A few minutes later five other ponies — all of them unicorns — approached the one who was waiting for them.

“Is the target in there?” the older one asked the lone one.

“Yes, Master Sorbet,” the pony in question nodded. “She was quite busy today, but she returned a few hours ago.”

“Good, good… We shall start immediately then. Does everypony remember what to do?”

After hearing the confirmations, Master Sorbet nodded in satisfaction.

“Perfect. Remember, do not use lethal spells in the cottage. Also, no fire magic. I don’t want you to kill off our target by stupid chance.”

***

Rarity jerked awake from a loud wailing coming from outside.

It took her a few seconds to recognize the sound of the alarm. The last bits of sleep were banished from her mind when realized that somepony was likely meddling with the spell defense network around the cottage.

With a sound of splintering wood, the whole house shook around her.

Rarity rolled off the bed, rushing to the window to see what the hell was going on. Before she could reach it though, the whole wall was torn off by some invisible force, leaving a large gaping hole to the outside.

The mare recoiled in shock, falling on her back as she stumbled at the floor. As Rarity jumped at her hooves, a figure leaped into the opening from below, its horn burning in a menacing green light. It lowered its head slightly, aiming it at the mare.

Rarity shrieked in panic, throwing herself to the side to avoid the spell. With her fear giving her strength, she launched the bed straight at the assailant.

He managed to catch it in his own magic at the last moment, but Rarity had already bolted out of the room, closing the door behind her. Though considering what the attacker had done with her outer wall, it wasn’t going to stop him.

Once in the corridor, Rarity stumbled into yet another figure. Before she could hurl a nearby shelf at him, she recognized her own guard Silver Armor. His horn was glowing brightly, illuminating the whole corridor. A relief washed over the mare.

“Oh, thank the Sun it’s you! There’s somepony—”

“I’ve got it,” Silver Armor interrupted her. “Go to the safe room now.”

Rarity nodded curtly and did just that, while her guard stayed behind her, waiting for the assailant to exit the room to catch him by surprise. But as she was running down the stairs, Rarity suddenly remembered Sweetie Belle. What if the attacker wasn’t alone?

A shriek of the filly sounded from upstairs as if answering her thoughts.

Fearing for her sister, Rarity rushed back to Sweetie’s room. It was dark in the corridor, but she remembered the place’s layout well enough to reach it quickly. Sounds of magical discharges were coming from the inside as she approached the door.

Rarity burst it and charged in.

She noticed Sweetie Belle and Aloe cowering near the wall right away, while Blazing Shield was engaging in a magical duel with another pony. Spells were being thrown and deflected all around the room, leaving scorched marks on the walls.

Rarity’s sudden arrival caused Blazing Shield to lose his concentration for just a moment. However, that was all it took for his opponent — a young unicorn — to hit him with a well-aimed spell. The stallion’s limbs froze as he fell to the floor with a thud.

The unicorn turned his attention at Rarity, getting another spell ready. Knowing what was coming, the mare dropped down, allowing the magic to pass over her head harmlessly, but the attacker was preparing yet another spell to finish her off.

He was sent flying through the hole in the wall before he could unleash it.

“I told you to go to the safe room!” Silver Armor yelled, biting at Rarity’s withers like a foal and putting her back on her hooves. “Take those two and let’s go.”

“Where’s Lotus?”

“Just do what I said, you little brat!”

Rarity was appalled for a brief moment, but it wasn’t the time to get offended. The situation seemed quite dire. There could be more attackers, so she did as Silver Armor had told her, while the guard took his fallen comrade on his back. After that, a small company followed him to the basement where the safe room was.

They didn’t manage to get far.

As soon as they got to the first floor, three new ponies assaulted them with a barrage of spells. Rarity froze for a second, but Silver Armor deflected the initial wave with a nearby table, which he hurled back at the enemy. Dropping his comrade to the floor, he ordered Rarity and the others to run, while rushing to meet the attackers. The mares bolted, leaving the fight behind.

By the time they reached the door to the basement, it got quiet.

Rarity had no time to question it. She rushed to open the door, turning around to tell the others to hurry up, when a flash of magic washed over the figures of her sister and Aloe. Rarity’s heart clenched, fearing the worst, but the ponies remained standing, petrified.

Desperately bucking the door open, Rarity grabbed Sweetie Belle’s rigid body in her magic embrace, but before she could get them both to safety, a new spell struck her square in the chest.

***

“Wake up, Lady Rarity, please, wake up!”

Rarity blinked a couple of times as she regained her consciousness. Her limbs were beginning to feel again, though she wished they didn’t. With a groan, she drew them closer to her body, wincing from thousands of tiny needles puncturing her skin.

“Thank the Moon you’re alright!” Lotus exclaimed.

The mare was on the floor near her lady, watching her with a worried expression.

“What… Where am I?”

“You’re in the safe room,” Lotus explained readily. “I dragged you inside when I saw you falling to the floor.”

Memories of what had happened returned to Rarity in a flash.

“How long was I out?”

“Just a couple of minutes.”

At first, Rarity was surprised at such a quick recovery, but then she remembered what kind of room she was in. The safe room was not only designed to hold against an outside attack — magical and physical alike — but it also dispelled any negative enchantments on those who were inside. Rarity didn’t know the exact mechanics of that, but it wasn’t important right now.

“They’ve got our sisters, Lotus,” Rarity said in a shaking voice. She looked at the sturdy metal door, feeling a pit in her stomach. “What should we do now?”

“I don’t know, Lady Rarity…”

Of course she doesn’t, she’s just a maid! Rarity scolded herself. You’re the lady here. Do something!

She glanced around the small room, hoping to find anything of use and sure enough there was a rack with some weapons. Not that it would help her where her guards had failed, but she grabbed a sword in her magic anyway. It made her feel a little more in control.

“So, they want to capture, not kill us,” Rarity said, calming herself with the fact. “That should give us an edge.”

Lotus widened her eyes. “Do you want us to fight them? But I’m not good with weapons, Lady Rarity…”

Rarity stopped, looking at the sword in her grip. What in the Sun was she doing? She wasn’t some damn berserker to rush into a fight that she couldn’t hope to win. As much as it pained her to admit it, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to save her sister right now.

The attackers had obviously been sent by Everlight, just like her father had warned could happen. She hadn’t been careful enough with her venturing through Canterlot. It was her own fault, she realized with stark clarity.

But it was not the time to fall into despair.

“You’re right, Lotus. We’re not going to fight them,” she told her maid, who looked at her with fearful eyes. Rarity pointed at the hatch in the corner of the room. “We need to run. There is a way out of here to the sewers. Hopefully, those guys don’t know about it.”

***

The expedition would begin soon.

As soon as Rarity got the equipment for Midnight, the two were going to head into the caves. It would be the most dangerous thing Twilight had ever done, but she calculated her chances of success as decent, especially since she would have somepony to watch her back.

The pony in question was sleeping in her room tonight because he had borrowed an old family heirloom from his house and didn’t want to explain to his parents why. It was an old-style magical staff — such things were in style a few centuries ago. It had a crystal at its top that was used to magnify the spell’s power by conducting more mana than a horn could. Wielding it required some training and could be dangerous for the unprepared, but Midnight assured her that he knew how to use it.

While Midnight was peacefully snoring on the floor nearby, Twilight was sitting on her chair, looking at the thick tome in front of her — Real Modern History by Elegant Lore. She had found the book in Lucky Moonlight’s basement a week ago, but had had no time to read it since then with all her preparations. But now was her last chance before she had to go.

Gingerly, Twilight opened the first page and began to read. It turned out to be more complicated than she had thought, since the book was not only hoof-written, but also used a lot of archaic words and sentence structures. It was truly an ancient book by all accounts. Thankfully, Twilight’s mind was adapting to the book’s style quickly, so the reading became increasingly easier the more she read.

As she understood from Elegant Lore’s note at the start, the book had been written about two centuries after Princess Celestia had left the throne. It didn’t take Twilight long to put two and two together to realize that it was what the Sun Goddess used to be called. For some reason, she hadn’t seen the name being mentioned in all the other modern history books she had read.

She found an explanation for that soon.

The author claimed that the Church of the Sun was purposely withholding a lot of information to create an image of Princess Celestia that suited them — a flawless Goddess. But Elegant Lore, being a church member herself, was of a faction that opposed that policy. With help of her fellow worshipers, the so-called Sun Society, she had created this book.

It focused on Equestrian history from its founding, following its ruler’s role in it. Right off the bat, Twilight got a shocking revelation — the Sun Goddess wasn’t the only Princess Equestria had back then. Apparently, she had a sister called Princess Luna, who was responsible for the moon, just like her sister was for the sun.

The time flew as Twilight poured over the book.

The night had long since settled outside, but Twilight felt no inclination to stop. It was exactly the kind of book she had hoped to find. Twilight was learning more from this tome about early Equestrian history than from all the history books she had read in the library put together!

A rapid knock at the door startled her.

Twilight turned her head sharply, frowning. A surprise visitor at such an hour? It was a reason to worry. She pushed Midnight with his magic to wake him up and quietly approached the door. The stallion jerked awake, looking at Twilight in confusion. She gestured for him to be quiet just as the door rattled again.

“It’s Rarity,” the mare’s voice sounded from behind the door.

Twilight relaxed slightly, but she was still on edge. It wasn’t natural for Rarity to come here personally, especially so late at night. Something was clearly wrong. What if it was some kind of trap? Twilight’s heart beat faster as she waited for Midnight to join her by the door, wielding his staff.

The two exchanged a glance and Twilight threw the door open with her magic, ready to face any danger. When she saw the pony behind it, however, Twilight recoiled in a mix of surprise and shock.

The elegant and beautiful Rarity was no more.

Her pristine white coat was now dirty and dripping wet, her purple mane was matted. There was a vile stench coming off her that made Twilight scrunch her muzzle in disgust. The lady was wielding a sword in her magic. Ignoring Twilight’s shock, she entered the room, leaving wet hoofprints on the floor. Another mare that Twilight hadn’t noticed at first followed Rarity behind.

“Hello, Twilight. Allow me to introduce my good maid Lotus,” Rarity said, pointing at the mare. “Lotus, meet Twilight Sparkle. She’s innocent of the crime she’s accused of, so don’t be afraid, please.”

Lotus nodded, looking at Twilight with equal fear and curiosity.

At that point, Rarity noticed Midnight.

“The librarian?” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re Twilight’s mysterious companion? I didn’t see that coming, though now it seems kind of obvious.”

Having said that, Rarity giggled with a hint of madness in her laugh.

Twilight watched her with a worried expression.

“Rarity, what happened to you?”

“Oh, Everlight’s ponies managed to find me after all,” she shrugged as her eye twitched. “They’ve got my sister and Lotus’s sister. I had nowhere else to go, so I hope you don’t mind me crushing here for some time until I figure out what to do next.”

Twilight shook her head. “Of course I don’t mind. Take a seat, please.” Twilight pointed at her chair. “I would offer you some tea, but I have none here.”

Rarity ignored the chair and sat right on the floor. Lotus followed her example, still eyeing Twilight strangely. Without wasting any more time, Rarity quickly explained what had happened to her tonight.

“…so that’s how we got here,” she concluded.

Twilight thought over her story for a bit.

“I’m sorry that your sister was captured, Rarity,” she threw a glance at Lotus, “Both of your sisters.”

“This bastard Everlight is behind it, I know it,” Rarity furrowed her brows, stomping her hoof in frustration. “Get this artifact you’re after and blast his wrinkly old flank, pardon my language. Sorry I couldn’t get you the equipment I promised.”

“It’s fine,” Twilight waved her hoof. “Luckily, Midnight brought some stuff of his own, so I don’t think that it would hinder us much. We were planning to head out tomorrow and I think we’ll do exactly that. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want — the room is paid for for a month in advance.”

Rarity flickered a smile.

“I appreciate that,” she said. “I’ll probably hide here for a few days until I try to contact my father. Sorry to ask, but do you have some bits you could lend me? I’m afraid I left my purse at home.”

“Sure,” Twilight answered without hesitation. “It’s the least I can do for all your help.”

“Thank you, dear” Rarity said absent-mindedly, rubbing a patch of dirt off her chest. “Thank you. Say, does this place have any facilities where I could wash this dirt off?”

Twilight explained where the bathroom was, so Rarity went there immediately, taking Lotus with her. It was a common bathroom, but Rarity was sure that nopony would interrupt them since it was so late. She still locked the door with a hinge though.

As Rarity and Lotus helped each other to wash the sewers off their coats and manes, the lady thought about what she would write to her father. There wasn’t really much she could say. By the time her message had reached Lord Belle, Everlight would likely already be using Sweetie Belle for blackmail. Rarity couldn’t even reveal her location in case the message got intercepted!

And the whole situation was her own fault, Rarity realized.

If she hadn’t been gallivanting around the city so carelessly, they wouldn’t have found her. Somepony had probably recognized her in one of the stores she had visited. But she’d had to do that to help Twilight, hadn’t she? Though the mare seemed to be doing rather well without Rarity’s help anyway.

It was too late for any regrets now. She would get in contact with her father and together they would come up with something.

***

Master Sorbet and four other unicorns were standing outside the inn where Rarity and her servant were hiding. They were able to track the mares all the way through the sewers following the trace of the safe room’s powerful magic. It was ironic that the place that had saved them at first would now lead to their capture.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, the unicorn scolded himself. Look where it got you.

Thanks to the Thermal Vision spell, he was able to see that Lady Rarity was in the company of two new ponies. He didn’t know who they were, but he had to assume they were Rarity’s allies. Their capabilities were unknown and his team was down one pony, who had suffered a serious injury dealing with the lady’s bodyguards, so he’d been left to guard the captives.

Sorbet considered those chances to be good.

“Remember, Rarity is the only pony we need,” he told the others. “Try to capture the rest if you can, but their life is not a priority.”

***

Twilight wasn’t going to sleep tonight.

She accepted that as a fact and was simply sitting on her chair, mulling over the situation. Rarity, having returned from the shower well-cleaned, was deep in her thoughts as well, while her maid and Midnight were chatting in the corner.

The serene atmosphere was rudely interrupted by a door getting ripped off its hinges. Before anypony could react, a spell flew into the room, blowing up into a thick black smoke that made seeing something near impossible.

Twilight panicked.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she fueled all she could into the first spell that came to her mind — the Shield. A purple dome sprung to life around her, rapidly expanding in size. Her friends were sent flying to the walls, almost flattened by her magic, but at least the smoke had dissipated.

Dismissing the spell, Twilight saw a pony in the corridor getting up to his hooves. It was the attacker! Picking up the door from the floor, she squashed him with it like some bug a couple of times, but the unicorn managed to wrestle it from her control, launching it straight back.

Twilight jumped to the side at the last moment, barely avoiding being hit.

She wasn’t given time to recover. Just as she recast her shield, waiting for the unicorn to rush inside, an explosion sounded behind her. Twilight snapped her attention to the new sound, her eyes widening as she saw a gaping hole where the wall used to be. Two new ponies appeared in the frame, unleashing their magical assault on her.

Her shield held, but she groaned, straining as the hostile magic was trying to break it. She felt her strength waning. Despite her training, Twilight wasn’t ready for such a powerful attack.

Thankfully, her struggle had given her friends some time to recover from her own mishap.

Midnight grabbed his staff, pointing it at the attacker that had just entered the room from the corridor, and unleashed a fiery ball of energy without holding back like he had with Twilight. It hit the pony with a small explosion, throwing his body crushing into the cupboard.

That drew the others’ attention to Midnight. Stopping his assault on Twilight’s blinking shield, one of the invaders tried to take him out with a lightning bolt. Midnight felt his coat stand on end as he rolled to the side, avoiding certain death by mere inches.

Before a follow-up spell could finish him off, Rarity entered the frame.

Shrieking in rage, she charged at the pony with her sword. He stumbled to the side from the first slash, but the second one cut into his side deeply. The injured stallion yelled in agony, taking a step back and falling out from the hole in the wall. The last attacker, seeing himself outnumbered, disappeared in a flash of light.

Dropping the shield, Twilight drew all the furniture in the room to the hole, creating a makeshift wall. She cast a wave of frost on it, reinforcing the wall with a thick layer of ice. It left her winded, since her mana reserves were almost empty.

“We need to run,” she told the others, trying to catch her breath. “There could be more of them. Take what you can and let’s go.”

The others rapidly nodded in agreement.

Grabbing her heavy saddlebags, she strapped them on herself. Her eyes fell on the Real Modern History book, lying on the floor, and she tucked it in her saddlebag as well. The last thing left was the barding, but Twilight had no time to put it on, so she simply threw it into the duffel bag that Midnight was holding. Together, the four ponies ran into the corridor.

There was only one staircase down, so Twilight was ready for another ambush. She stopped before going down and told her guess to the rest.

“We should try to take one of them with us,” Rarity said, her voice shaking from emotions. “Those are the same ponies who took Sweetie Belle! I bet they know where she is being held.”

“I think our priority is to get out in one piece,” Twilight shook her head. “We don’t know how many—”

An explosion from behind her interrupted her. She realized that her makeshift wall was gone and the attackers would be back at any second. Gesturing her companions to follow, Twilight rushed downstairs with her shield activated once again.

Sure enough, a nasty-looking spell was launched at her as soon as it showed up. The shield deflected the attack before being overloaded, with the magic recoil hitting Twilight’s horn. The mare winced in pain as she jumped behind the counter, with the others following right behind her.

Twilight landed on something soft. Throwing a glance down, she couldn’t suppress a scream as she saw a body of a mare below her. She was obviously dead, with her empty eyes staring into the ceiling. The cause of death was obvious — her throat had been slit, with blood staining her coat. It was the pony on the counter that Twilight had passed every day. And now she was dead because she had gotten in the way.

The others stared at the body in shock.

Seeing somepony she knew — even in passing — being killed that way, filled Twilight’s heart with rage.

Gathering every last bit of magic she could, the unicorn launched the heavy counter at their ambushers like a hammer of doom. It swept one of the ponies away like a fly, but his partner dropped to the floor, letting it pass over his head. Ignoring the weakness in her limbs, Twilight rushed forward before he could recover and she stomped both of her front hooves on his head.

They landed with a crunch, bringing Twilight back to her senses.

Her rage was replaced by horror as she looked at the bloody mess under her hooves, realizing what she had just done. She had killed this pony. Probably the one who was hit by the counter too. So she had killed two ponies in less than a minute like some kind of mass murderer.

“Twilight, let’s go!”

She looked at the source of that voice. Midnight was doubling down, unleashing one magic projectile after another through his staff, aiming at the doorframe on the top of the staircase.

“You did what you had to do, dear,” Rarity said, grabbing Twilight’s foreleg. “Now let’s run before any more come.”

Twilight nodded, a feeling of sickness in her throat.

Moving as quickly as they could, the four exited the inn and galloped as far away from the damn place as possible without looking back.

***

Nopony was following them as far as Twilight could see.

After running through the streets for ten minutes, she managed to pull herself back together, shoving the latest events to the back of her mind until they were relatively safe. Winded, they stopped for a short moment in one of the side streets to discuss their plan of action.

“I think we’ve lost them,” Twilight said, catching her breath.

Rarity sighed. “I thought so too when I came to you. I’m sorry for giving you trouble…”

“You couldn’t have known,” Twilight said. “But you’re right. We can’t relax for now. We need to find a place to hide.”

After a short discussion, Twilight came to the conclusion that going into the caves was their best option for now. There wasn’t really any other place in the city where they could safely go, so she decided that she may as well get on with her expedition.

“Have you gone mad, darling?” Rarity widened her eyes, appalled. “That place is more dangerous than those bastards.”

“Well, you’re welcome to stay and take them on,” Twilight snapped. She took a deep breath to calm down. “I’m sorry. I realize how dangerous the caves are, but I don’t see any other way. Those guys would catch up with us eventually; they’ve obviously found a way to track you. We’re not in any condition to fight them off again.”

“And how do you think we would fare in the caves if some monster attacks us?” Rarity retorted.

“I don’t know! But we can’t just stay here.”

Rarity winced, realizing the truth in Twilight’s words. She had no desire to dive into the caves, but waiting for Everlight’s ponies to find them was not an option either. She looked around as if expecting them to appear at any moment.

“Fine. Let’s go to your caves, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity dipped her head in agreement. “We’ll decide what to do next once we’re there.”

And off they went.

There were some entries into the caves in the city itself, but they were locked by heavy gates and guarded by the soldiers. But outside of Canterlot it was a different matter. There were plenty of abandoned mines alongside the road that nopony bothered to guard. All of them led deep into the mountain, eventually connecting into the natural caves, which was Twilight’s goal.

Nopony stopped them at the gates out of the city despite the night time. The four ponies trotted on the road in a brisk pace, even though Twilight’s legs burned from exhaustion. They managed to reach the first mine quickly. It was as good as any other, so they entered with Midnight illuminating the way with his horn.

After going in a straight line for half an hour the group had finally decided to stop. They hurdled close to each other and sat around a dimly glowing crystal that Twilight had produced out of her saddlebag.

“Well, here we are,” the mare said, looking at the others’ faces. “We’re almost in the caves now. Midnight and I are going in.”

“And you’re expecting us to join you?” Rarity asked, looking into the glowing crystal.

“It’s your only way to avoid being captured,” Twilight nodded. “But it’s your choice. We may all die down there, but those ponies obviously want you alive. So at least you would survive for sure. I’m not sure about your maid though, but I think she can simply hide in the city on her own. It’s not her they’re looking for. So I guess that’s another option you have.”

Rarity seriously considered giving up. She was a valuable hostage and with them already having Sweetie Belle, it wasn’t like her capture would change much for her House in the long run. At least she would survive, as Twilight had said.

But what would she think of herself then? She was Rarity of House Belle, one of the most powerful noble Houses in the country. She couldn’t just give up without a fight, especially if there was a small chance to win. After all, once Everlight got what he wanted, he could simply dispose of them anyway.

Imagining Sweetie Belle dead shook her out of her trance.

“I’m coming with you, Twilight,” she simply said, making her decision.

Twilight nodded.

“Midnight, can you blow up the entrance?” she asked. “I don’t want them to follow us that way.”

Midnight concentrated on his staff, collecting as much magic as he could afford for the explosion. Once he was done, he unleashed a massive projectile, hitting the ceiling away from them, causing it to collapse.

There was no way out here anymore.

After that, the group went deeper into the mine. The upper levels of the caves weren’t dangerous, so Twilight simply wanted to get her group as far away from the entrance as possible so they could have some rest. She was barely standing on her hooves by now.

Lotus sighed deeply. Nopony had asked if she wanted to go. The caves were dark and likely full of terrors, so she would rather try her chances at Canterlot’s streets. She was a simple maid, so she doubted that anypony would hunt for her.

But that would mean never seeing her sister again, Lotus realized. Sticking with Lady Rarity was her only chance of seeing Aloe again.

Chapter XIII - Beneath the Mountain

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“That’s too much for one night,” Rarity grumbled as she stumbled on an uneven surface of the floor. “First the sewers, now these forsaken caves…”

Midnight shot her an annoyed glance — Twilight barely moved her legs, but unlike that lady, she hadn’t uttered a word of complaint. If not for Lotus’s offer to help, she would probably still have struggled under her heavy saddlebags. Midnight felt rotten for not offering his help first, but the massive duffel bag was weighing him down enough as it was.

“Well, I don’t like this place either,” he snapped. “But I’m not complaining like a—” Midnight stopped himself from saying something he would regret.

Rarity turned her head towards the stallion, raising a lone eyebrow in response.

“There is no need to be so boorish, darling,” she said. “It’s been a hard day for all of us.”

Midnight’s ears wilted slightly. “Sorry, eh, Lady Rarity,” he said. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Oh, I’m not offended,” Rarity smiled, switching her place with Lotus to be closer to Midnight, who was walking at the tail end of their column. “As I said, it was a hard day.”

“It’s going to get harder if half of what Twilight read about this place is true,” Midnight said grimly.

“Yes, so I’ve heard,” Rarity nodded. The mare slowed down to walk alongside Midnight; their sides were almost touching. “I had no chance to ask, but how did you, a librarian, end up helping Twilight?”

Midnight’s face flushed red from such close proximity to the mare, but he tried to keep his voice steady, answering her question.

As the group made their way through the mine, Midnight told Rarity how he got to know Twilight back at the Academy. Though they had never exactly been friends, they had been on good terms, sometimes even helping each other with their assigned tasks.

“I was shocked when I heard the news,” he continued. “I didn’t really believe that Twilight did it, of course. So when I met her in the Library a week later, I decided to ask what happened myself.”

Twilight’s tired chuckle sounded from up ahead. “You almost gave me a heart attack when you called my name there. Sorry for eavesdropping.”

Their little conversation was a nice distraction after the madness of the previous hour, so Midnight didn’t even notice when they left the ponymade tunnel and entered the natural caves. Curiously enough, it wasn’t as dark here — naturally grown crystals inside the walls emitted a dim glow, though it wasn’t enough to illuminate their surroundings.

Soon they had encountered the first issue — the tunnel split apart on three different paths. Twilight stood at the fork for some time, examining each way closely, until she finally chose a direction.

“The tunnel goes slightly down here,” she explained.

The party walked down that way for what seemed like an hour, making a few more turns along the way. Twilight and Lotus kept silent, but Midnight and Rarity continued to chat, though their topics shifted to more pressing concerns.

“I’m actually surprised we haven’t encountered any danger yet,” Rarity said, throwing a glance at the sword that was hanging at her side. “Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

Midnight nodded. “Yeah. Now that you mentioned it, I feel kind of worried.”

“The upper levels should be mostly safe,” Twilight said flatly. “But we shouldn’t let our guard down.”

The next moment the mare stumbled, losing her balance and falling to the floor with a heavy thud. The others rushed to her to make sure she was alright, but she clearly wasn’t.

Her breathing was heavy and her coat was damp from sweat. Its fake colors were fading away, revealing Twilight’s natural purple. Midnight helped her to get back on her hooves, cursing himself for not noticing her condition earlier — the unicorn was suffering from mana exhaustion after escaping from the inn.

After a short conversation, the ponies decided to set up a camp right there, in the middle of the tunnel. It was risky, since there was a chance Everlight’s ponies might still be following them, despite all the obstacles, but there was no going any further for today.

Midnight searched inside the duffel bag with all their supplies, but found only one blanket with a small pillow — Twilight hadn’t prepared for such a large party. Sighing, he gave those to Twilight, who had fallen asleep already.

The rest of the ponies had no choice but to settle on the floor close to each other. Midnight got to be between the two remaining mares. While realizing that it was purely for keeping themselves warm, he felt weirded out at the prospect of spending the night with them.

Unbidden, the image of Rarity’s round flank swaying in front of his vision entered his mind. He had been able to ignore it back while they were walking, but it wasn’t so easy when her warm body was snuggled against his. With a feeling of dread, the stallion felt his member growing in size underneath.

Midnight bit his lip, glad that he was laying on his stomach.

This was going to be a hard night.

***

A well-lit stone ceiling was the first thing Twilight saw as her eyes opened. She frowned, staring up in confusion. Was she in a cave? It took her a couple of moments to remember the last day’s events.

Twilight’s ear swiveled as some voices sounded from the side.

“I don’t really think there are dragons down here, Rarity,” Midnight’s voice said.

It was curious that the stallion wasn’t using her proper title. Twilight turned her head slightly — the two ponies were sitting near her, with a glowing crystal on the floor laying between them. Lotus was behind them, keeping quiet.

“Are you sure?” Rarity asked, seeming relieved. “I’ve heard that dragons like dark caves.”

“A lot of dragons live in caves, that’s true, but they aren’t this deep,” Midnight explained. “Dragons are large creatures, you know. Don’t you think somepony would have noticed if they lived so close to the city?”

Rarity nodded with a slight frown on her face. “You make a good point, darling. But if not dragons, what else can live here? Manticores? Cockatrices?”

“Those are all surface creatures,” Twilight said, entering the conversation. Everypony’s attention turned towards her as she stretched. “They wouldn’t be able to survive here. The underground world has its own dangerous predators from what I’ve read.”

“Dangerous predators?” Rarity widened her eyes, wrapping her tail around her legs. “Like what?”

Before answering, Twilight took a sip of water and a loaf of bread from the duffel bag. While she had her breakfast, the unicorn brought her companions up to date on what kind of danger they might encounter here.

“Blind shriekers are not predators, but they’re dangerous nonetheless,” Twilight spoke, chewing rapidly. “They feed off of crystals and they don’t like to be disturbed. Their shriek might deafen you if you get too close.

There are also biters. They are predators. Although they’re pretty small, they move in packs. While those mines were still active, they used to attack those ponies who wandered too far from the group. A lone pony is an easy victim for them, so we shouldn’t get separated.”

Midnight pulled his staff closer, throwing a quick glance into the dark of tunnel. Lotus and Rarity joined side by side with their ears flattened, observing the tunnels as well. Twilight furrowed her brows — her companions had to know what to expect, but she didn’t want to scare them into panic.

“Eh, it’s not so ba—”

“That’s awful!” Rarity interrupted. “And to imagine that some ponies were foolish enough to work here…”

“I don’t think they worked here because they wanted to, Lady Rarity,” Lotus said without looking at her. “Perhaps it was the only way for them to feed their families.”

“Oh.” Rarity’s shoulders slouched. “Yes, perhaps you’re right.”

“She is right,” Twilight pointed out. “The miners were mostly poor, older ponies who had nowhere else to work. Despite how much the crystals cost back then, the mine owners didn’t pay them very well.”

Rarity hung her head as if she had been the one responsible. An uncomfortable silence settled in the cave.

“The mines were abandoned a few centuries ago when the Crystal Kingdom joined Equestria,” Twilight said just to break the silence. “Crystals became much cheaper afterwards, so the activity here was stopped.”

“House Belle would have never skimped on our workers,” Rarity stated, raising her head high. “We’re different from those greedy excuses for nobles.”

“That is true,” Lotus said. “Lord Belle pays us well, especially compared to maids from other noble houses.”

Twilight nodded, reaching for her pocket watch. Her eyes widened in surprise — no more than six hours had passed since they had entered those tunnels, but her mana reserves were fully replenished. After four hours of sleep! It was incredible. Twilight’s mind quickly found an explanation: the caves were saturated with an abundance of magic because of all the crystals, so what would have taken a couple of days, took just a couple of hours instead.

Exhilarated, the unicorn shared her discovery with the others.

“That would greatly help us,” Midnight said, scratching his chin. “But I can’t help but wonder how that would affect the creatures who live here.”

The smiles slowly vanished from Rarity and Twilight’s faces.

“Eh, sorry. It’s just a thought.”

After finishing their breakfast, Twilight took the duffel bag and laid all the equipment on the floor. In their hurried escape from the inn, she’d had no time to put on her barding or use any of the potions Rarity had bought for her, but for now their lives weren’t hanging on the balance.

The others simply watched as Twilight armored up. The barding was much lighter than the armor soldiers and guards usually wore, but it would still offer some decent protection for her legs, chest and flanks from any physical and magical attacks, thanks to its smart design and use of expensive alloys. Rarity had ordered it specifically for Twilight from the best smith in Canterlot, paying extra for it to be finished quickly.

Twilight refused anypony’s help for putting it on, wishing to learn everything on her own, so it took a decent amount of time. When she had finally strapped every belt and lock, the mare trotted from side to side, making sure her movements weren’t hindered. Satisfied, she added a harness with potions on her chest.

The last thing was a metal tiara with a crystal at its center to illuminate their path in the darkness. Twilight levitated it onto her head and poured a bit of magic inside. It glowed in a warm, bluish light.

Finally, Twilight was ready.

Unfortunately, her companions were far behind in that regard. Midnight was the most protected one besides Twilight, since he had taken an old cape from his house, which he claimed was magic resistant. Twilight doubted it would stop a serious attack, but it was better than nothing.

But Rarity and Lotus were completely naked, save for their coats. In case of an attack, nothing would protect their bodies from damage. At least Rarity had her sword, but her maid couldn’t even say that.

“Take this,” Twilight said, offering her a spare dagger.

Lotus shot her eyebrows up, eying the weapon like a dangerous snake.

“I.. I’m not sure I’ll be any good with that,” she said, taking the dagger nonetheless.

Soon after that, the party continued forward.

Twilight took the lead again, driving the darkness away with her bright light, while Midnight guarded the rear. The ponies moved in silence, trying to listen to the sounds around them. It wasn’t easy — the clopping of their hooves seemed thunderous in the otherwise quiet tunnels, drowning out everything else

Before their noise announced their presence to everyone, Twilight cast a bubble of silence around the group. She used her own version of the spell rather than the standard one. It suppressed all the sound inside while allowing them to hear the outside. The spell demanded a constant flow of mana, but Twilight had enough to maintain it for weeks if she really wanted to.

The only drawback was their inability to talk to each other, but at least nothing would sneak up on them.

With no other sound to distract her, Twilight could hear a lot of activity. Sometimes a scratching came from a distance or an echo of a shriek reached her ears. It sent chills down Twilight’s spine, even though she realized that those were probably just the blind shriekers.

You’ve read about them, Twilight, she assured herself. You know what to expect.

As they continued to move through the tunnels, Twilight marked their turns with tiny arrows at the bottom of the walls. She didn’t want to leave the trail for somepony to follow, but even if her spell could let her know the direction of the exit, it may take too much time to find it with all the twists and turns on their way back.

Soon, the group found their first shrieker.

Shuddering in revolt, Twilight raised her hoof, ordering the others to stop.

She had taken it for a rock at first glance. The shrieker looked like a big blob of flesh the size of a grown mare, resting on the wall near a large glowing crystal. Its numerous tiny outgrows were in constant movement as if trying to grab the air around it. It had no obvious eyes, but its “limbs” were moving in agitation as if feeling the ponies’ presence. Were they oriented by sound or were they feeling the magic directly?

Despite the creature’s revolting image, Twilight was fascinated by it. She would have been happy to just stay here for a few days, studying it in detail, but alas, far more pressing concerns demanded her attention.

Backing down a few dozen feet, Twilight dispelled her silence bubble...

“That creature is repulsing,” Rarity spat out at once, scrunching her muzzle. “We shall eliminate it.”

Twilight shook her head. “It does look strange, but I think it’s fascinating,” Twilight said, ignoring Rarity’s shocked expression. “It won’t do anything unless we disturb it, so we just need to get past it very carefully.”

“Can’t we just turn the other way?” Midnight offered. “It’s not like we have a direction to go.”

“Wait, what do you mean no direction?” Rarity asked, narrowing her eyes. “Don’t you know where the Amulet is hidden?”

“I don’t,” Twilight sighed, looking away. “At least, not its exact location. But Lord’s Moonlight journal implied that it’s hidden deep below, so that’s where I’m leading us.”

Rarity’s ears fell flat, betraying her emotions.

“But don’t worry, I have a way to search for it once we’ve gotten far enough,” Twilight said, patting Rarity’s shoulder. “But back to the shrieker. While we can find some other tunnel going downwards, I think we need to push forward here. I doubt it would be the first shrieker we encounter and we can’t afford to go around every danger on our way.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Midnight admitted. “But what if it, well, shrieks? How bad would it be?”

Twilight shrugged. “I’ll cast a silence bubble that should stop any sounds from reaching us in the first place. Even if it fails, the shriek shouldn’t kill us.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?”

Nodding sharply, Twilight cast the original version of the silence bubble. No sound could be heard both from inside and outside. Satisfied, she waved her hoof, signaling the rest to follow her.

Twilight leaned close to the wall, slowly moving one leg in front of the other. The creature pointed its protuberances at her group, following their every movement. Since the cave was only about ten feet wide, they were coming closer and closer to it with every step, causing it to slightly twitch in agitation.

The shrieker jerked violently, flaying its limbs.

A moment later a high-pitched shriek cut into Twilight’s ears, bursting even through her silence bubble. She cringed when the recoil from the broken spell hit her horn. Flattening her ears, Twilight galloped forward.

The sound threatened to tear her head apart as she ran. Her only thought was to get away from it, but it traveled far in the enclosed space. Only when she took a turn to a side tunnel did its intensity drop.

Twilight finally regained her ability to think.

“Is everypony okay?” she asked, not hearing her own words.

She stopped, turning around to check on her friends and a sigh of relief left her when she saw them all present. A disheveled Rarity opened her mouth, gesturing wildly, but Twilight couldn’t hear her either with her ears ringing.

But there was no time to chat anyway — Twilight feared the sound would attract something else’s attention. Gesturing for the others to follow, she continued further into the tunnel.

Those shriekers were surely fascinating beasts, but Twilight’s desire to study them had dropped a notch.

***

It took a couple of hours for Twilight’s ears to recover.

Taught by their harsh experience, the party avoided getting close to the shriekers altogether. There were quite a few of them now, hanging on the walls near some crystal. Most of them were smaller than the first one — around the size of a foal — but Twilight had no wish to test the strength of their shriek.

Instead she teleported herself and the others past the shriekers. It used up a lot of her mana, but it wasn’t an issue down here. It would have been simpler to kill them from a safe distance, but Twilight argued against it. The thought of taking another life made her ill.

Though the mare tried not to think about what had happened, sometimes the image of her bloodied hoof and the gory mess underneath it haunted her mind. The sound of a pony’s bones being crushed under a heavy counter plagued her ears.

Twilight repeated to herself that those ponies had gotten what they had deserved, but it wouldn’t change the fact that she had become a killer. The thought was constantly in her head, especially in the quiet of her silence bubble.

Twilight twitched as something touched her withers. She turned sharply — Rarity was standing behind her with concern evident on her face. Her mouth moved as she said something, but no sound came out. Rolling her eyes, the mare gestured at Twilight’s horn.

“What?” Twilight asked, canceling her spell.

“I don’t know about you, but my legs are burning,” Rarity said. “And I’m hungry. Could we stop for a break, perhaps?”

“Oh, of course,” Twilight nodded, feeling tired herself.

She checked her watch — it had been almost four hours since their first encounter with a shrieker. Putting her tiara in the center of the tunnel, Twilight and the others sat around it. Grabbing some snacks out of the duffel bag, Midnight passed them around.

“Those tunnels look the same,” Rarity complained, taking a bite off her bread. “It seems like we’ve been walking here forever!”

“We must be deep inside the mountain by now,” Midnight said.

Twilight nodded. “That’s correct. By my estimation, we’re as deep as five hundred feet below Canterlot by now.”

Midnight raised his eyebrows. “Well, that’s good news. But we still have a long way to go.”

“Yeah.”

The ponies enjoyed their meal in peace, recounting what they had faced today. At one point, Rarity interrupted them.

“So, how exactly are we going to find the Amulet?” she asked, meeting Twilight’s glance.

“As I said, I have a spell I believe would help us,” the unicorn explained. “You wouldn’t understand the specifics, but basically it allows the caster to see sources of magic around themselves. Its range is massive, but it takes a lot of energy to cast and much concentration to control. I’m waiting until we get further down to use it.”

“Have you done it before?”

“Yep, back in Canterlot,” Twilight said, wincing as she remembered that day. Rarity caught her expression.

“I would guess the results weren’t to your liking?”

Twilight shook her head quietly. “There is simply far too much magic in Canterlot. It was hard to see specific sources among them. But those tunnels should be different.”

“How so?”

While Twilight tried to explain the reason, Lotus was simply sitting there, staring into the ground quietly. Dark thoughts stirred in her mind, sending shivers down her spine. It didn’t take Rarity long to notice her obvious distress.

“Are you alright, dear?” she said, touching Lotus’s shoulder.

The mare jerked, glancing at Rarity with her wide eyes. Eventually, she shrugged.

“I’m just worried about my sister, Lady Rarity,” the maid said in a broken voice. “I know that your sister was kidnapped too, but at least they need her alive, yes? Aloe doesn’t have that luxury. Those mean ponies might just slit her throat and throw her into some ditch...”

Rarity realized that Lotus’ words were likely true. The kidnappers seemed ruthless and had no real need to keep Aloe and her guards alive. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if they had finished them off already.

She knew better than to say it out loud, though.

“I’m sorry, Lotus,” Rarity said instead. “But you shouldn’t lose hope. I swear that I’ll do everything in my power to bring her back if she’s still alive.”

Lotus nodded in understanding.

An hour later the break was over and the party resumed their journey deeper into the caves. If they took too much time to search for the Amulet, their food supplies would run out within a few days, so Twilight pushed them and herself forward to cover as much ground as possible in a single day.

Shriekers had been their only problem so far, but Twilight didn’t let herself relax for even a moment. Her ears swiveled constantly, searching for anything suspicious, while her tiara illuminated the area ahead with a wide ray.

The mare stopped when she heard a rustling noise from behind her. It was nothing new on its own, but this time it was actually getting closer, which had caught her attention. Gesturing for the others to stop, Twilight pointed her hoof in the sound’s direction.

“Something is coming,” she said, dismissing her silence spell.

The others gathered close to her, getting their weapons ready. Twilight gazed into the darkness of the tunnel, trying to see anything beyond her ray of light. There was definitely something moving, but it was out of reach yet. Twilight’s legs were shaking slightly, but her mind worked rapidly as she recalled all the useful spells she had.

Finally, the first creature stepped into the light.

Twilight heard a gasp behind her, recoiling from the sight. Gritting her teeth, Twilight watched the little monster slowly approach. It was a biter, there was no doubt about that. It fit the description from the books to the letter — a small scaly beast walking on its two hind legs. Its sharp-looking claws on its front limbs looked capable of slicing a pony to pieces. A long, thin tail helped to keep the creature balanced.

However, the most unsettling feature was its jaw. Twilight’s knees felt weak just by looking at its open maw with layers of razor-like fangs. The unicorn quickly realized that she wouldn’t be able to scare it with light like she had planned — it had no eyes. In its place were two antennas that were moving around constantly.

“Twilight, what should we do?” Midnight asked, gripping his staff in his foreleg. “Is it going to atta—”

He stopped mid-sentence as more biters appeared in the light, following their leader from a distance. Twilight counted ten, including the first one.

She didn’t like the numbers.

Taking a wide stance, Twilight cast a shield around their group. The biter’s antennas twitched when she used her magic, focusing on her, and moved towards her with double speed, clanking its jaw.

“I don’t know if it will hold, so get ready,” Twilight warned the others, recalling her silence bubble’s failure against the shrieker.

The biter stopped near the shield, feeling it with its antennas. Slowly, it reached out with its front limb and touched the transparent surface. Twilight yelped as a jolt of pain went through her horn. The shield flickered, but she stabilized the spell before it collapsed.

“Whoa!” Twilight exclaimed, staring at the biter.

Her heart skipped a beat when the creature suddenly let out an angry squeal. It went completely berserk at her shield, scratching and biting its surface, each attack reflected by a sharp pain in Twilight’s horn. Its claws were ripping holes right through the surface. Panicking, Twilight poured more magic into strengthening the shield, but it disintegrated instead with a loud pop.

The burned body of the biter was left on the floor, motionless.

Twilight raised her gaze to see its friends rushing at them, squealing in rage. The first couple of them were met with a fire projectile by Midnight, sending their charred remains flying backwards. Snarling, Twilight smashed the following trio into each other with incredible force, but the others were right behind.

Stumbling, Twilight caught one in her magic mere inches from her muzzle. A stench from its clanking jaw assaulted her senses as it desperately tried to take a bite off of her face. Wincing, she hurled the biter against the wall, when a sharp pain pierced her foreleg.

She yelped, shaking it desperately, but the biter’s jaws were locked tightly. It had bitten just over her protective barding, tearing into the pony’s tender flesh and clawing at her with its hind claws. Twilight screamed in agony, desperately punching the little monster with her other hoof.

“Twilight, don’t move!” Midnight yelled.

Twilight forced herself to freeze as the stallion released a jet of flame from his staff. The wave of burning heat washed over Twilight’s coat as the creature was set aflame. Shrieking in anguish, the biter finally released Twilight’s leg and fell to the floor, squirming in agony. Midnight stomped on its head, ending its struggle for good.

“We got them all!” Midnight laughed.

Grinning like a madpony, he glanced at Twilight. His smile vanished in a heartbeat.

“Holy Tartarus… Are you alright?”

“I— I don’t think so,” Twilight groaned, examining the wound.

A stream of blood was flowing down her mangled limb, creating a pool of blood beneath her hoof. Her head was spinning, so she lowered herself to the floor, hissing in pain as she disturbed her injury. It didn’t look like something that could be fixed easily.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked in a shaken voice, breathing heavily.

Her friends had managed to avoid getting hurt, however. Rarity had impaled a biter that had come for her, while Lotus had just received a couple of scratches on her foreleg. Twilight was the only one who had sustained a serious injury, being attacked by two biters at once.

“Good then,” she nodded after the others had finished retelling her the events.

While she listened, Lotus approached to disinfect the wound and put some bandages on it to stop the bleeding. Twilight nodded gratefully to the mare, getting a timid smile in return.

“Those bites are deep,” she said, drooping her ears. “The leg will take at least a month to recover.”

“What are we going to do now?” Rarity asked, frowning. “You won’t be able to continue in that condition, will you?”

Instead of answering, Twilight took one of the potion bottles from her harness. Unrolling the cap, she took a small sip, draining half of the tiny bottle in one go.

A shiver went through her body. She felt the skin around her wound moving as it mended back together in mere seconds, leaving a terrible itch behind it. Clenching her jaw with determination, Twilight stopped herself from scratching it.

Soon, the feeling had passed.

“W-what was that?” Lotus asked in shock, staring at the smooth coat where a deep bite had been a minute ago.

“That was five hundred bits down the drain,” Twilight sighed, knowing that there was no other way if she wished to continue the expedition.

“That was highly impressive, darling, but what if we run into those… monsters again?” Rarity scrunched her muzzle, eyeing the corpses on the cave floor. “They went through your shield so easily…”

Twilight nodded. “That’s true,” she admitted. “I was afraid something like that would happen. The local inhabitants we’ve met so far seem to have some way to disrupt magic. But I’ll be ready the next time.”

“I almost wish I would have tried my chances with Everlight’s brutes…” Rarity murmured.

A light frown flickered on Twilight’s face as the mare stood up to address everypony.

“I know that everypony is tired and scared, but we can’t back down,” she said firmly, looking at each of her companions in turn. “If we were to turn back, Everlight’s ponies would capture us and all hope for us would be lost. Even if we managed to avoid capture this time, it would only prolong the inevitable. Everlight would grow more powerful as time went on, crushing his opposition one by one. There is already nopony left to oppose him.” Twilight stopped to take a breath. “Finding the Amulet is our only chance to finish him off once and for all. With its power, I’ll be able to go toe-to-toe against the entire Royal Guard. I’m going to walk into the palace unopposed and force him to admit his crimes to the public!” Twilight stomped, leaving cracks sprawling from her hoof. “We’re going to face even more danger the deeper we go, but I believe there is no other way.”

The others stared at Twilight in surprise. Lotus turned her eyes down, whispering something.

“I’m with you to the end,” Midnight said eventually.

Rarity nodded. “Me too. As long as you promise to use this power to free Sweetie Belle first, of course.”

Twilight smiled, breathing heavily after her speech.

“I promise, Rarity.”

After taking a short break where Lotus’ scratches were taken care of, the ponies headed deeper into the dark tunnel, with their resolve somewhat strengthened.

***

“Those damn biters,” Midnight muttered, lowering his staff.

The still smoking remains of another biter were lying on the floor. The smell of roasted meat hit Twilight’s nostrils, almost making her puke, but she kept her stomach under control. Unlike the previous time…

After their first encounter with a biter pack, a couple of smaller ones had tried to dine on some pony meat, but Twilight’s party had dealt with those just like they had with the first one.

“They’re quite repulsing,” Rarity agreed with the stallion, covering her nose with her pastern. “Let’s leave this spot, please.”

Nodding, Twilight led the others away from the source of the stench until the air became breathable again. She halted then. By her estimation, they’d made some great progress today, but her hooves were aching at this point. Though her goal was even further ahead, pushing towards it without some good rest would be a bad decision.

“We’re going to stop here for the rest of the day,” Twilight announced.

Her companions rejoiced at her decision, falling to the floor where they stood. Everypony, including Twilight herself, was quite exhausted after all the walking and then fighting in the last few hours.

After having a minute to catch his breath, Midnight spread out a blanket on the stone surface, offering it to Lotus and Rarity. Then he did the same with his own cloak, inviting Twilight to share it with him.

But instead of accepting his offer, Twilight dove into her own saddlebag, fetching a pony-sized white towel with circular patters drawn on it. She put it down carefully, flattening every fold.

“Is that a power array?” Midnight asked in surprise.

“Yep,” Twilight confirmed. “It absorbs the natural magic in the area to power up your spell.”

“Oh, I know what it does,” the stallion waved his hoof. “I’d just never heard of it being used… in that way. Are you sure it’s safe?”

“I’m sure. I’ve done it before a couple of times,” Twilight said, making sure the towel was spread as flat as possible. “As long as the lines are aligned properly, it works just as well as if I had drawn it on any other hard surface.”

“I see. Are you planning on casting your spell to look for the Amulet?”

“Yep,” Twilight nodded curtly. “The Amulet is likely far outside its range, but I think it’s worth a shot. Plus, I want to see how well this spell works underground.”

Rarity’s ears fell.

“I don’t like the idea of everything depending on that one spell,” she said. “What if it doesn’t work? What would be our options then?”

Twilight’s shoulders slumped briefly before she straightened them again. She pursed her lips, shaking her head.

“This will work,” she said, equally for her own sake as well as for the others. “There is no reason it wouldn’t. I’ve thought this through.”

Stepping directly into the center of the array, Twilight spread her legs wide. The mare took a deep breath, forcing all the thoughts out of her mind. Her horn shone with a purple light, brightening with every passing second. The array around her glowed next, humming as it accumulated arcane energy.

“Here it goes…” Twilight murmured, casting the spell.

Her coat hairs stood on end when waves of magic spread away from her in a sphere, going in all directions at once and detecting every sizable pool of magic for her to observe. With each pulse of her magic, her field of vision expanded even more. It wasn’t as intense as when she had used it in Canterlot, but the unicorn’s head still spun while her mind tried to grasp everything.

Twilight knew she wouldn’t be able to handle this for long, so she focused on her search.

The three ponies near her glowed like little torches in her mental vision — Lotus being just as bright as the unicorns — but Twilight moved her attention further away. Crystals, underground dwellers, the stone of the mountain itself — everything had its own magic. The farther away they were, the harder it was to distinguish separate sources.

Twilight’s inner vision shot in every direction, but there was nothing that would resemble the Amulet’s level of power. A bright shimmer above her was hurtful to look at, but it was simply Canterlot with all its ponies’ magic combined.

Twilight’s stomach jumped as she caught something at the edge of her vision.

It burned with a steady light, much brighter than everything around it. Could it be the Amulet? It wasn’t as deep as she had expected, but what else would have so much magic? It was worth checking out. Remembering the direction it was in, Twilight finally let go of the spell.

Her knees gave out as soon as it was gone.

“Whoa, are you alright?” Midnight rushed towards her.

The mare reached out her hoof and Midnight helped her to get up. She gave her friends a short glance, frowning. After being able to see so much, Twilight thought her vision to be extremely limiting.

Thanks to the power array, her mana reserves were only half drained, but the spell was a mentally demanding one. Twilight groaned as a headache began to settle in.

“I think I saw it,” she drawled, rubbing her temples.

Rarity’s ears perked up.

“You did? How far is it?”

“Surprisingly enough, it’s actually not that far,” Twilight answered. “Well, relatively speaking. We’re about halfway there in a direct line.”

“That’s great!” Rarity exclaimed.

Encouraged by Twilight’s discovery, Rarity wanted to continue right away, but quickly realized it was a bad idea with everypony being so tired.

“That was one impressive spell you did there, Twi,” Midnight said. “You deserved your position as the Court Mage.”

“Thanks,” Twilight nodded, hoping her blushing went unnoticed. “But I’m really not that great. I was honored the king chose me of course, but there were plenty of other good candidates…”

“You were at the top of the class, Twilight,” Midnight pointed out. “The top of the Academy, in fact.”

Twilight chuckled nervously.

“You were not so bad yourself,” she said.

“Eh, I was somewhere in the middle,” the stallion shrugged nonchalantly, but his ears lowered slightly.

Lotus cleared her throat, getting everypony’s attention. The maid’s eyes flickered over their faces eventually stopping at Rarity’s.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think I can hear something.”

The ponies tensed up, swiveling their ears at the noise. Lotus was right — there was some rustling coming from both directions of the tunnel at once.

Twilight paled as she realized what had happened.

“The local inhabitants can feel the magic! My spell would be like a big firework—”

“I don’t think it’s a good time to theorize, darling,” Rarity interrupted her. “It sounds like there are quite a lot of them.”

The ponies stood back-to-back to each other, looking into the darkness of the tunnel with wide eyes. Twilight levitated her tiara up, fixing it to the ceiling, so everypony could see what was happening around them.

A dull pain was pulsing through Twilight’s head, getting worse when she used magic. Not to mention how tired she was. After some brief hesitation, she took the Ironcoat potion off of her harness and drank a few drops, passing it along to the others. Then she sipped from a few others, getting increased speed and strength for the upcoming fight.

“This potion makes your coat as hard as iron, but even iron can be broken,” Twilight warned. “Stay together and be careful.”

Just as she had finished talking, the first biters jumped out of the dark.

Snarling, Twilight struck them with a bolt of electricity, but the others followed right behind. Twilight’s eyes darted to Lotus as the mare yelped, swinging her dagger at the biter that was dashing for her.

Before Twilight could help, another biter snapped its jaws on her foreleg. Twilight groaned, shaking it off, but two others replaced it, tearing into her leg. Their jaws pressed with a tremendous strength, but they couldn’t puncture her coat.

Twilight screamed in anger, bucking, stomping and throwing herself against the walls madly while the swarm of biters tried to get a piece of her. At times a deadly spell would shoot off her horn, smashing an unlucky biter. If not for the potion, Twilight would have been torn apart already, but even so her whole body ached from countless bites.

She gasped when some jaws clenched right at her ear, pulling at it with great strength. Yelping in pain, Twilight smacked the biter with her hoof until it let her go. Growling in rage, she stomped on its head before it could get up.

Breathing heavily, Twilight looked around in search for another biter. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw a whole heap of them swarming over somepony.

She rushed at them and sent the first two flying, blowing them up in the air. Aiming her horn at the rest, Twilight shot a rapid barrage of spells at the rest of the swarm. They fell off the body in quick succession with their heads severed, gushing their thick red blood all over the poor pony.

Breathing heavily, Twilight threw a quick glance over the tunnel. No new biters were in sight — Rarity and Midnight had just finished off the last one. Their coats were covered in blood, but it was too dark to be theirs. Frowning in concern, Twilight turned her attention back to Lotus.

The mare was lying on the floor, curled up in a ball. Her sides were moving up and down, so she was alive at least. Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Because of all the biters’ blood on her, it was impossible to see if she was seriously hurt, but Twilight was certain that the Ironcoat potion had done its job.

Midnight and Rarity trotted closer, concern evident in their eyes.

“Is she alright?” Rarity asked, arching her eyebrows.

“Lotus, it’s over,” Twilight said, carefully poking at the maid.

The pony’s ear twitched, lifting at the sound of Twilight’s voice. She raised her head, staring at Twilight with terrified eyes. The unicorn smiled encouragingly and offered her hoof. Slowly, Lotus accepted it and stood up with a yelp of pain, wincing.

“Are you hurt, dear?” Rarity asked as she wiped the blood off of her with Twilight’s towel. Twilight cringed, but made no comment. She had the array memorized anyway.

“I don’t know,” Lotus said with her voice shaking, stepping from one hoof to another. “I think I’m okay. But I will have a lot of terrible bruises tomorrow.”

“I don’t think we would have made it if it wasn’t for the potion,” Midnight said, rubbing the blood off of his foreleg. “How much of it do we have left?”

Twilight checked.

“More than half the bottle,” she answered. “We’re good for two or three fights like that.”

After that, the party decided to move away from this spot in case anything else came their way, drawn by Twilight’s powerful magic. They didn’t get very far, stopping after just a couple of minutes.

Everything seemed quiet now, but they still set up a watch in case something came while they were resting. Twilight could have used her magic to cast some alarm spells, but with the enemy they were facing, it would only cause more trouble.

Midnight volunteered to be the first, so while he sat with his back at the wall, the others quickly succumbed to sleep, exhausted by today’s events.

***

They resumed their journey in the morning. Though with the tunnels being underground, only Twilight’s watch could tell the difference. The ponies had managed to get some good rest over the night, though each of them had suffered from countless bruises all over their bodies.

As per usual, Twilight led in the front. Her hooves clopped on the floor loudly, not suppressed by any magic for once. She was reluctant to use her silence bubble, fearing that it would only attract more attention to them.

Midnight and Rarity were having an argument about the role of the nobility in Equestria, but Twilight was listening with only half an ear, engrossed in her own thoughts.

Lord Moonlight had had some mercenaries with him when he had ventured into those caves. If they had been any good, they would have been able to handle the biters with ease — even Twilight’s own ragtag group had managed to stand their ground against them — but according to his journal the mercenaries had all perished.

Did it mean there was something far worse than biters?

Twilight was scared to think about the possibility, but she had to in order to survive here. She shared her theory with her friends, causing them to forget about their argument for a moment.

“That’s… quite disheartening,” Rarity said, her eyes darting to the sides as if she was expecting some horrific abomination to jump right out of the wall. “Keep your potions ready, please.”

Twilight nodded.

But as the hours went by, they hadn’t encountered anything more than the occasional biter pack or some relatively harmless shriekers. The biters were easily dealt with before they even managed to get close, and the shriekers were passed via teleportation.

Suddenly, Twilight froze in the middle of the tunnel.

Her friends tensed up, readying their weapons. They took their positions next to Twilight, staring ahead at what had caused her to stop. Something was lying in their way, just at the edge of the light. The ponies exchanged a glance before slowly approaching.

Those were dead bodies.

A cold lump rolled through Twilight’s stomach, but she took a deep breath, calming herself. The bodies had been here for decades judging by their condition. Three skeletons with what remained of their barding was all that was left from what once had been living and breathing ponies.

The others were quiet while Twilight examined the bodies from up close.

“Do you think those were Moonlight’s companions?” Midnight asked.

Twilight shrugged, not taking her eyes off the remains.

The pieces of barding were badly corroded and dented and a lot of bones were broken. It was impossible to know who they had been in life, but Twilight hoped she wouldn’t end up the same way.

“That’s a morbid sight,” Rarity said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to linger here for too long.”

“Just give me a few minutes. I want to know what killed him.”

Rarity shifted from one hoof to another, throwing a helpless glance at Midnight, but the stallion shrugged, joining Twilight in examining the bodies. The lady huffed, falling on her haunches and wrapping her tail around her base.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight returned to her task.

“I don’t think those were biters,” she said thoughtfully, picking up one of the broken bones. “I see no bite marks here…”

“Are you a doctor now?” Rarity snapped. “Why does it matter how he died? It was obviously years ago.”

Twilight’s ears fell. She dropped a bone down, turning to face Rarity.

“Knowing what killed him would help us to prepare for any potential new danger,” Twilight explained steadily. “It’s important.”

“I didn’t mean to sound harsh, dear,” Rarity said, lowering her gaze. “My apologies.”

Midnight sighed. “We’re all on edge. How long have we been down here?”

“It’s the second day,” Twilight answered instantly. “I believe we’ve reached the base of the mountain by now. If our rate of descent remains the same, we’ll reach the place we need by tomorrow.”

Soon, Twilight had sated her curiosity. All she could determine was that those ponies had died an unnatural death, which didn’t take a genius to figure out. Her ear flickered nervously — even the Ironcoat potion wouldn’t save them against something that was strong enough to break bones. Their best defense against that kind of monster was to avoid it.

Luckily, they didn’t encounter it right away, but only when the party had gotten hours of distance from their find, did they finally allow themselves to relax. Not fully though — the caves were still dangerous.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Rarity said, “But we’ve had little trouble today so far.”

“I don’t mind that at all,” Midnight murmured.

After walking some more, the ponies stopped for a bathroom break.

Privacy in those dangerous caves was a difficult thing to achieve, so they had to do their business in pairs, while guarding each other. Twilight and Rarity went first, taking a turn to a side tunnel. They stopped just out of the vision of their friends.

“I’ll go first if you don’t mind,” Rarity flashed an apologetic smile, rubbing her hindlegs on each other. “Please, turn around.”

Twilight shrugged, doing as she was told, and prepared to wait. Rarity’s hoofsteps sounded behind her. A few seconds later something cracked loudly and the mare shrieked. Twilight’s heart leaped into her throat.

Summoning her magic, she turned around, ready to blast whatever had attacked them, but saw nothing. Her eyes widened in panic, searching for Rarity, but the mare wasn’t there! When a groan of pain sounded from below, Twilight finally noticed a gaping tear in the floor.

She rushed towards the hole, dropping on her stomach to look over its edge. A sigh of relief escaped her throat — Rarity was alive. She was floundering among the rocks at the bottom of the small pit, cursing loudly.

“Rarity, are you okay down there?”

The lady glanced up.

“Oh dear… I don’t know.” She attempted to stand up, but dropped back with a yelp. “No, I don’t think I am. My leg…”

“Damn it,” Twilight muttered.

She turned sharply, hearing a commotion behind her, but it was just Midnight and Lotus. Twilight quickly explained what had happened, turning back to Rarity.

“I’m going to lift you up, okay?”

“Well, of course! I don’t want to stay here forever!”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

Trying to use as little magic as possible, she took the mare’s body in her grip and raised her gently. Rarity gasped, pulling her hindleg closer to her body. Carefully, Twilight put her down on the floor. Rarity squirmed, taking a more comfortable position without disturbing her injured leg.

“How could I miss that accursed hole?” Rarity winced, throwing a glare at the large gap.

“There wasn’t a hole there before,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “The floor looked just fine to me.”

Twilight jumped on her hooves in alarm. If that hole was purposely hidden from view, it meant it was a trap. Twilight’s crystal flashed with a bright radiance, illuminating the caves for dozens of feet in all directions to make sure nothing was watching them.

Something was.

She froze, looking at the small bipedal figure in the shadows.

The rest saw it too, rapidly drawing their weapons. Lotus kept her dagger in front of her, though her foreleg was shaking. Even Rarity levitated her sword while lying on the floor. All the while the figure remained motionless, its green eyes reflecting the crystal’s light.

“Eh, hello there, ponies,” the figure waved, stepping forward.

Chapter XIV - Rainbow Fails

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A blue pegasus mare paced around the cloudhouse room with a scowl on her face; her colorful tail swished behind her like a whip, barely avoiding hitting other ponies — her squadmates.

Most of them simply ignored the mare’s obvious displeasure, preferring to relax on their cloud cots instead, except for one pair of eyes that followed her every movement.

With a growl, the enraged pegasus suddenly bucked the wall, leaving a gaping hole in it.

“Chill out, Rainbow Dash,” a white-winged mare said, rolling her eyes. “We don’t need more ventilation here.”

Rainbow turned her glare at the mare who had dared to interrupt her and her anger lessened a bit. She took a moment to admire her — Snowfield was a pretty mare. Unlike her wings, the rest of her body was dark gray, while her mane had a soft pinkish color, creating a wonderful palette.

“Shut up, Snowfield,” Rainbow grumbled, having lost much of her heat.

“You’re blowing this way out of proportion, Dash,” Snowfield said and puffed up her cheeks. “After all, it was just a training exercise.”

The pegasus shot to the ceiling.

“Just an exercise?!” she roared, gesturing wildly as she made circles around the small room. “I would have been dead if that was for real! How am I supposed to become a hero if some mud crawler can beat me?”

“Perhaps you’re not as good as you think you are, Rainbow,” somepony from below pointed out.

Snowfield facehoofed.

Predictably, Rainbow went as red as a tomato while her eyes darted from pony to pony in search of whoever had said that. Suppressed giggles sounded throughout the room, causing her face to redden even more.

“You… You guys…Argh!” With a scream of exasperation, Rainbow burst through the open window and disappeared into the night, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.

The pegasus’ powerful wings flapped, raising her higher and higher into the chilly air. That was what she needed right now. Some chill. After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash finally stopped and took a few deep breaths of rarefied air.

Feeling somewhat calmer, she looked at the beautiful night sky far above. The moon shone brightly alongside smaller stars, which created wonderful constellations. It had been a while since she’d been able to simply enjoy the view.

Rainbow frowned as she noticed something different about the moon’s appearance. It used to have a notable mark on its battered surface as far as she could remember. But somehow the moon looked even better without it.

After hovering there for a while, basking in the night, Rainbow finally turned her attention downwards.

She could barely distinguish the pegasi militia’s camp in the clouds below her, least of all a separate house where her squadmates resided. Stalliongrad looked so small — Rainbow must have been flying higher than she had realized. Despite the night, the streets of the city were well-lit and tiny dots — ponies — were in constant movement.

They seemed so insignificant from her position. And to imagine one of them had actually beaten her in a fight! Rainbow recalled her adversary’s orange fur and bright green eyes. Her hooves, hammering blow after blow on her helmet, making it ring; the helplessness Rainbow had felt.

Remembering such a humiliation made her blood boil once more.

“I won’t underestimate you the next time,” Rainbow Dash promised.

To distract herself, the pegasus tucked in her wings, diving straight towards the ground. Her mane and tail waved behind her as the buildings below grew frighteningly bigger. Some ponies on the streets were pointing at Rainbow Dash, but the mare ignored them. When a crash seemed inevitable, she finally spread her wings.

A gust of air almost forced them out of their sockets, but Rainbow was prepared for the possibility, keeping her wings steady. If she had been wrong about her timing by even a second, she would have splatted on the pavement, but instead she flashed just above the heads of the ground dwellers and then pulled up with a crazed grin on her face.

Though the ponies below weren’t pegasi and couldn’t truly appreciate what it took to pull off such a stunt, Rainbow enjoyed their shocked faces nonetheless. But as fun as it had been, Rainbow really needed to get some rest before the big day tomorrow. She did a flip in the air, throwing one last look at them and then turned back towards the fortress, above which the pegasi camp hovered.

Rainbow had to explain to the patrol what she had been doing outside past curfew, but in the end they let her off with a warning. Before another one showed up, she went straight to her squad’s house, easily finding it among dozens of others.

Each squad had made their dwelling on their own out of the cloud substance they’d been given, giving each of the houses a unique look. Though the material was cheap, the houses were good enough to last a couple of months.

When Rainbow got inside, she found most of her squad sleeping. Snowfield, however, was still up reading some book. Her ear flickered as she heard her friend’s soft steps.

“Cleared your head?” she asked, closing the book.

“Somewhat. Why are you still up?”

Snowfield smirked. “Was waiting for you, obviously. If you hadn’t come back in ten more minutes, I was going to look for you.”

“What did you think could have happened?” Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrows.

“With a hothead like you? I’m scared to imagine,” the mare continued, grinning. “But I’m glad you’re fine.”

“Yep. I’m totally fine,” Rainbow nodded. “Because I know what I’m going to do now.”

Snowfield kept silent, simply raising one eyebrow.

“I’m going to find that mare and duel her,” Rainbow announced, ignoring her friend’s facehoof. “Beating her would be a challenge, but once I do it, I’ll be unstoppable!”

Snowfield sighed. “That’s one of the things I was scared to imagine. You can’t just duel anypony who ever beats you in training. Is it too much to ask you to just drop this silly idea?”

Rainbow stomped her hoof, causing the sleeping ponies to stir in their cots.

“Nopony has ever beaten me in training,” she said, swishing her tail from side to side. “Except for her. But I’m the best. And I’m going to prove it.”

“That’s a bold statement,” Snowfield said flatly. “Have you forgotten how the sergeant wiped the floor with you back in training camp?”

Rainbow’s shoulders slumped slightly, but she straightened them again.

“Yes, well, that was a long time ago,” she waved her hoof dismissively. “I could beat him easily by the end, remember?”

“That’s true,” Snowfield admitted, meting Rainbow’s eyes. “But we’re going to launch an offense tomorrow. I don’t think you’ll have the opportunity.”

“We’ll see about that. Night.”

Having said it, Rainbow jumped onto her cot made of soft clouds and a few seconds later she was snoring.

Snowfield smirked. The mare’s unreal ability to fall asleep in an instant was somewhat legendary among the soldiers. She was even jealous of it at times.

Her eyes wandered over Rainbow’s lean, muscular form, lingering on her firm flanks, before stopping at the folds under her tail. Snowfield’s breath quickened, but she turned away through sheer force of will.

At times like that, Snowfield thought of telling Rainbow about her feelings, but the pegasi traditions would be against their relationship, even if Rainbow returned her affection.

“So unfair,” Snowfield whispered with a heavy sigh.

Forcing useless thoughts out of her head, she fell back onto her own cloud cot, hoping for sleep to overtake her soon.
***

Rainbow Dash’s dream was rudely interrupted when she felt something pulling on her tail. Grumbling, she bucked her hind leg at whoever had messed with her tail and the sensation stopped. Opening her eyes, Rainbow glared at Snowfield, who was standing by her cloud cot, spitting some rainbow-colored hairs.

“You overslept, Dash,” Snowfield stated accusingly. “Again.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes.

“Doesn’t mean you can pull my tail, Snowhead,” she retorted, swishing it right into the mare’s face.

“Hey!” Snowfield exclaimed, jumping back.

Grinning, Rainbow rolled onto the floor and took a look around. As usual, she was the last one to be up. It was about the only thing she didn’t mind to be the last at.

After greeting the rest of the ponies, Rainbow quickly put on her barding. It was her least favorite part of being in the militia, but the regulations forced every pegasus to wear it while on duty. Sure, it made their wings stronger by carrying an additional weight, but it also slowed them down.

And if the latest exercise had proved anything, it was that even a spare second could be crucial in a fight.

“Ready now, slowpoke?” Snowfield asked as soon as Rainbow had finished.

“More than you’ll ever be, Snowhead.”

Just as she had said it, the door burst open and a yellow pegasus flew in. He was wearing a fancy helmet with a red brush on top. Hovering in the air, the stallion waited for the soldiers to assemble into a line before him.

“Good morning, troops,” Sergeant Yolk said, exchanging a salute with them. “As you should be aware, today is a big day for all of us—”

Rainbow found it hard to listen to his speech. The sergeant was explaining their schedule for today, but it wasn’t anything Rainbow found particularly interesting. After all, she could always ask Snowfield if she missed anything really important, and the fact that they were going to launch an offensive on the griffons had been known for a long time.

“Finally,” Rainbow groaned when Sergeant Yolk finished.

She was the first one to leave the house, flying straight up to the mess hall. The large square building was placed on a large cloud atop of the squad houses, so Rainbow got there in just a couple of seconds without breaking a sweat.

A thin smile crept on her face — the doors were still closed. The place was going to open exactly on schedule and not a minute earlier, so she still had time to get first in line. It seemed like all the other squads were waiting by the doors already, but Rainbow was never intimidated by competition.

“So, Dash—” Snowfield caught up to her friend only to be met with a dissipating rainbow trail in her wake. The mare rolled her eyes. “Typical...”

There was never a day when Rainbow Dash didn’t manage to be the first and today wasn’t an exception. While Snowfield and the rest of their squadmates were waiting in line, Rainbow was already finishing her meal, which consisted of beans with rice today.

“So, Dash,” Snowfield repeated, approaching her table. Rainbow’s ears swiveled at her. “You haven’t changed your mind yet?”

The mare shook her head.

“Nope.”

“This won’t be easy, Dash,” Snowfield pointed out. “She’s not a pegasus. Major Windmane would never approve of you having a duel with her.”

Rainbow frowned. Major Windmane was in charge of their whole company and was well-known for his strong traditional views. While he wouldn’t bat an eye if Rainbow settled her problems with another pegasus with a duel, if the major learned of her doing it with an earth pony…

“Damn it.” The table shook as Rainbow’s hoof left a dent in its surface. Her neighbors threw annoyed glances at the mare, but Rainbow ignored them completely. “I didn’t think of that.”

Snowfield patted her friend’s hoof. “That’s why I’m here, Dash. To think for you.”

“Shut up,” she batted her hoof away. “I’ll just have to duel with her in secret.”

“Well, it’s not a secret now,” a squad member sitting left from her said. Rainbow growled in frustration.

“What if she doesn’t accept your duel, Dash?” Snowfield asked. “Or worse, what if she beats you? I don’t think your ego would survive that.”

“That won’t happen,” Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively.

“She has beaten you once, hasn’t she?”

While the two continued to argue, the rest simply ignored them. It was easier to let it run its course, rather than trying to intervene. But the mares hadn’t stopped even when they had finished breakfast and the squad had flown to the port for the final briefing.

Only when the sergeant himself had joined them, did the two finally quiet down, though still far from any agreement. That stubborn Snowfield simply refused to understand Rainbow Dash’s position! The mare huffed angrily and concentrated on flying.

Soon the squad arrived at the large field near the port. They were among the first, but more squads were arriving by the minute, so it didn’t take long for every pegasus to form by their companies.

In the end, twelve full-sized companies of the Militia, each representing one of the great city-states, stood on the field — fifteen hundred of the best pegasi warriors. It was a force to be reckoned with. Rainbow Dash even forgot her frustration for a moment as her eyes glinted with pride, observing the formation.

Finally, the strategos in charge of the whole pegasi force finally appeared flying from the port’s direction, accompanied by the companies’ leaders. Major Windmane was among them. The officers landed in front of the formation, exchanging a salute with the troops.

“Today is a great day for us, everypony!” the strategos, the long-bearded pegasi in old-style armor, started. “Today we’re joining Equestria in reconquering its rightful land from the barbarians—”

Rainbow Dash listened to the speech with undivided attention until it was over. When the strategos had left, the leader of their company began explaining details like which ship they were being assigned to or other boring stuff like that. Rainbow simply tuned out from it, dreaming about the glorious battles awaiting her instead.

“Wake up, Dash.”

Rainbow blinked sheepishly as she came back to reality. Her eyes concentrated on Sergeant Yolk, who was standing in front of her as he looked at her with narrow eyes. Behind him everypony was taking off, so the briefing was probably over.

“I’m expecting you to repeat everything the Major said once we’re settled, Dash. Now, everypony, follow me.”

Having said that, he took off into the air, leading his squad to the port, along with the rest of the company. Rainbow and Snowfield kept at the tail of their formation.

“Do I have to repeat everything to you again?” Snowfield sighed heavily. “Fine. But only if you say please.”

Rainbow gave her an annoying glance, still angry at her stubbornness earlier.

“Please,” she growled through her teeth.

“Good enough,” Snowfield smirked. “Anyway, here’s the deal—”

On the short flight to the port, she quickly explained to her friend the outlines of the Major’s briefing. As she listened, Rainbow’s ears were lowering more and more.

“What? Are you sure?”

“That’s what he said,” Snowfield shrugged. “We have to take that mining town and clear the surrounding area from the enemy. I thought you’d be more excited.”

“Excited? I was hoping to be among those who liberate Fillydelphia! Not some stupid mining to—” Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Oh no…”

Snowfield glanced at her in surprise. “What again?”

“I just realized something. If the fleet is split up like that, that earth pony might land in some other squadron than me. I won’t be able to duel her!”

“Oh, what a shame it would be,” Snowfield deadpanned, ignoring her friend’s glare. “Sadly, you’re wrong again.”

“What?” Rainbow blinked.

“She’ll probably be on the same ship as we are, Dash,” Snowfield said, shaking her head in dismay. “The Luminous. It’s the same one where we had a training fight yesterday. If nothing has changed, her company is still assigned to it.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it.”

“You never do, Dash,” Snowfield sighed heavily. “You never do.”
***

A few hours after the strategos’ speech, the last preparations before the launch were finally over. As the war horn blew, dozens of airships slowly rose into the air from their hangars. More than half of those were the old balloon types, but the rest were modern airships, kept afloat by a heavily protected magical crystal core. Raising their sails, the airships gracefully maneuvered into smaller formations, escorted by pegasi militia.

It was an awesome display of power.

Rainbow Dash’s squad was among those who were escorting the Luminous, the flagship of its own squadron. Only two other, smaller airships of the previous generation were a part of it besides the flagship itself. Rainbow couldn’t help but feel disappointed for being assigned to the weakest formation.

Picking up speed, the Luminous moved north from Stalliongrad, keeping the Foal Mountains to the left and getting further and further away from the rest of the fleet. While their pace could have seemed fast to a ground dweller, Rainbow Dash had no trouble keeping up, lazily flapping her wings.

The mare threw a glance at the airship, observing the ponies bustling around the decks. While they had no wings of their own, they had still found a way to soar the skies. They would never truly experience the joy of flying as Rainbow Dash could, of course, but their attempt was admirable.

“Keep your eyes peeled for the enemy, Dash,” Sergeant Yolk yelled at her from behind.

The mare cringed, grudgingly returning her attention back to the surroundings. She hadn’t expected their advance to be so boring. Not only did she have to slow her speed to a crawl to escort the airship, the sergeant also wanted her to be at full attention as if he was expecting the griffons to sneak up on them right in the air in broad daylight.

Rainbow would like to see them try.

Only a third of the pegasus’ militia in the Luminous’ squadron were in the air at a time. The rest of them rested on the airships, ready to spring into action in case of an attack. Together with the airships’ mounted crossbows, they had the strength to win any battle in the skies and two full companies of ground troops could handle anything on the ground.

But an hour had passed and not a single griffon had been seen. Perhaps they were hiding in some of the seemingly abandoned pony villages the squadron had passed on the way. Those seemed like somepony had just been there, with the fields harvested and the roads appearing well in use. Rainbow was ready to go investigate, but unfortunately no order for that had been given.

At the speed the squadron had been moving, the mining town they were going to liberate finally appeared in their view two hours later. It could have been even faster if they hadn’t made a detour around the massive forest on their way.

Contrary to Rainbow Dash’s expectations, they didn’t go to the town directly, but landed on the fields a few miles from it. Hovering over the ship, Rainbow stared in the town’s direction, hoping to finally see the enemy.

“Everypony, land for now to have some rest,” Sergeant Yolk ordered when another squad advanced from the Luminous to take their place. “I don’t know how long we’ll have, so don’t get too comfortable.”

Rainbow had preferred to hover instead. The ground was rough and hard, so she tried to spend as little time on it as possible. At least it was better than the narrow corridors of the airship. Compared to the openness of the sky, they felt like a coffin.

“It’s so dumb,” she complained to her comrades. “Can’t we, like, lie on a cloud or something?”

Sergeant Yolk sighed. “Don’t be stupid, Dash. Have you ever tried to land on a wild cloud?”

“Oh, right…” Rainbow’s ears went limp. “I forgot.”

Trying to ignore her smirking squadmates, Rainbow turned to the Luminous. For some reason, the ground troops were exiting the airships, simply hanging near it without any proper formation. Some of them were stretching.

“Are you looking for that mare?” Snowfield asked, hovering in the air besides her.

“That mare? Oh, yes!” Rainbow scanned the crowd, trying to find the orange pony among the hundreds. With the armor covering most of their bodies, it wasn’t easy to find her target, but luck was smiling on her today. “There she is!”

The mare’s blond braid was sprawling from her helmet, which was why Rainbow Dash recognized her. A familiar unicorn that she had knocked down during the exercise before her shameful defeat was standing right next to the earth pony. The two were chatting.

Grinning widely, Rainbow flapped her wings, launching herself towards the ponies in one leap. She landed in front them with a thud, causing both to jump in surprise. A moment later Snowfield landed beside Rainbow, shooting nervous glances at the ground soldiers, who were staring back at them in surprise.

“What do you want?” a plump purple unicorn, the orange mare’s pal, asked, narrowing her eyes.

Ignoring her, Rainbow Dash addressed the earth pony, “You beat me in the exercise yesterday,” she said, staring right into her eyes as they slightly widened in recognition.

“Ah, yes,” the orange pony nodded. “Ya put up quite a fight there, I admit. Left some nasty bruises on my stomach.”

Rainbow raised her eyebrows.

“I did? I mean, yes, of course I did,” she smiled briefly. “But I want to challenge you to a duel to prove which one of us is better once and for all.”

“Didn’t Applejack prove it clearly enough yesterday?” the unicorn smirked, earning a punch from her friend. Rainbow’s face turned red.

“Excuse my friend over here,” Applejack said, “But what do ya mean by a duel?”

Throwing a murderous stare at the unicorn, Rainbow Dash returned her attention back to Applejack. “We fight each other until one of us admits defeat,” she explained curtly.

“Oh, just like the tournament we had back in camp!” Applejack smiled. “Sure, I’d like to do that sometime.”

Rainbow’s mouth hung open at the mare’s blatant comparison of the sacred pegasus duel to some camp tournament, but she quickly pulled herself together. It was just one more reason to beat her in the duel.

“Let’s meet on the Luminous’ decks once we’ve seized the town to talk about details,” Rainbow offered. Her opponent nodded. “My name is Rainbow Dash, by the way.”

“Applejack.”

“Flare,” the unicorn said cheerfully, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s burning gaze. Once she had beaten Applejack, that insolent brat would be next.

Suddenly, a unicorn with a sergeant’s stripes appeared from behind the soldiers.

“Hey, what’s the problem here?” he said, looking from Applejack to Rainbow Dash in turn.

“Nothing, sir,” both answered in unison.

“I was just leaving,” Rainbow added, saluting.

Having said that, she nodded to Applejack and went back to her squad, only now noticing the hard stares of the other ground troops, concentrated on her. Rainbow herself would have reacted the same way if some earth pony had showed up to challenge one of her squadmates.

As she and Snowfield landed among their squad, Sergeant Yolk shot them a suspicious glance, but since they hadn’t caused any trouble, he left them be. The sergeant was good that way.

“Weren’t you planning on having a duel in secret, you featherbrain?” Snowfield chided her as they walked out of the others’ earshot. “Major Windmane will definitely hear about it now.”

Rainbow furrowed her brows. “I’ll just have to risk it, I guess.”

“You’ll be getting yourself killed someday if you don’t start thinking ahead,” Snowfield said flatly.

Rainbow just waved her hoof dismissively.
***

The problem with fighting griffons was their mobility in a battle. While the movement of large armies was still limited by the supplies that each griffon could carry in a flight, they could easily jump around the battlefield, attacking their ground-based opponent from multiple directions.

That was where the airships would come in. Heavily protected by its soldiers, they were like mobile fortresses. The griffons would have no choice but to either flee or try taking them down. Rainbow silently prayed for them to choose the second one.

Finally, the order to advance came.

The ground troops boarded the airships once again and together with their pegasi escort moved towards the town. Rainbow’s eyes were peeled straight ahead, searching for the enemy, but she hadn’t been able to detect any movements so far.

“Damn, my hooves are shaking a bit,” Snowfield addmitted, staring at her foreleg. “This is our first real battle.”

“Don’t worry, Snow, we’ll kick their flank,” Rainbow said lightheartedly, trying to hide her nervousness under a grin.

She glanced at the other ponies in the squad, trying to read their emotions. None of them had been in a real battle either, despite having been in the militia for a long time. She could see uneasiness in their eyes.

“You know what to do, guys,” Sergeant Yolk said. “Keep the griffons from damaging the airship and watch out for the crossbows, because friendly fire isn’t really your friend.”

“Yes, sir,” everypony answered as one.

The airships slowed down as they reached the edge of the town. There was still no sign of the griffons. While the town’s buildings were in a good condition, the streets were abandoned and all the houses had their shutters closed tight.

“They’re hiding somewhere,” the sergeant said. “Be ready.”

Rainbow tensed up, but no attack came.

For the next twenty minutes the whole squadron just waited as some pegasi were scouting the city from above. They reported no signs of the enemy upon their return. If the griffons were still in town, they were hiding in some of the houses.

The command had reached the same conclusion.

The airships descended, unloading about half of their troops on the streets below. Slowly, they began checking house after house. Just like Rainbow Dash had expected, the civilians were hiding inside, though a lot of houses turned out empty.

As the troops spread out throughout the town, herding the civilians to the town’s center, the airships along with the pegasi hovered overhead, ready to lend their support in case of any trouble. Rainbow’s sharp eyes eagerly pierced the area below, hoping for some action.

And she was finally rewarded.

“There they are,” the sergeant said, pointing at the commotion on one of the streets.

A swarm of griffons was pouring from nearby houses. Rainbow watched helplessly as since they were vastly outnumbered, the ground troops were quickly overwhelmed. Without wasting any time, dozens of griffons rushed towards the airships next.

The Luminous was the closest one.

Rainbow rose up to meet them, but the sergeant barked at her to stop just in time when a volley of bolts shot from the airship. The griffons scattered, but a lot of them had been struck anyway, crushing into the side of an airship or falling to the ground.

“Here they come!” the sergeant yelled.

With a feral grin, Rainbow sunk her hoofblade into the attacking griffon’s chest, splattering her own armor with blood. The creature’s wings flapped desperately while his claws slashed at her, but Rainbow’s second hoofblade pierced his neck, finishing his struggle for good.

Before the griffon fell, their eyes met for the last time. Rainbow’s grin was gone in an instant as they stopped moving. Her eyes followed the dead body of her enemy falling to the ground.

“Dash!”

Rainbow ducked, avoiding another griffon’s slash. This was no time to be distracted! A slight movement of her wings and she was already behind the enemy’s back, but for some reason the mare hesitated to land a finishing blow, so the griffon managed to avoid it.

Before Rainbow could do anything, two other pegasi tackled the griffon from behind, making quick work of him. Rainbow watched as his bloodied body joined the rest of his fallen comrades below.

“Good job, everypony,” the sergeant said.

The mare looked around in surprise — there really were no more griffons left to fight.

“That was weak,” Snowfield said, startling Rainbow. “What were they hoping to accomplish?”

Rainbow shrugged. The griffons were outnumbered and outgunned in this fight. With the airship’s crossbows and the other squad’s help, they couldn’t hope to win.

“Are you alright, Rainbow?” Snowfield asked, frowning in concern. “I thought you’d be more excited after a fight. You’re not wounded, are you?”

“Nah,” Rainbow shook her head. “It’s just… I killed a griffon. It didn’t feel as good as I thought.”

Scrunching her muzzle, Rainbow rubbed a blood spot off her chest armor.

“It’s only natural to feel that way,” Snowfield said. “It’s not in a pony’s nature to kill. Even though they are the enemy, they’re still living creatures just like you.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, thinking.

Everything she’d been training for was finally happening. She had taken down her first enemy, which was supposed to fill her heart with pride. And it did, but the feeling was somewhat ruined by the memory of the griffon’s eyes right before he died.

But nopony had asked that griffon to attack her. Nopony had asked them to take the pony’s land and enslave its inhabitants. The mare furrowed her brows, feeling her anger growing. It had been his own damn fault that he had died!

Feeling more at ease, Rainbow checked the rest of her squadmates. They too didn’t seem particularly happy at their first victory. In fact, they seemed sad for some reason. Finding Snowfield, who was chatting with somepony, Rainbow met her gaze, raising her eyebrows in question.

The mare flapped her wings, bringing herself to Rainbow’s side.

“Cloud Walker is dead,” she blurted out.

Rainbow widened her eyes. “What?! How?”

Though she hadn’t been close to Cloud Walker, he had been a good member of their squad. They had sparred sometimes, so she knew he had been a good fighter. She had never imagined that he would die in his very first battle.

“I haven’t seen it myself, but I was told a wounded griffon grabbed him and didn’t let go until he had been crushed.”

Rainbow’s gaze shot to the ground below the ship, quickly locating the two bodies among the rest. The mare growled in helpless rage — it was too late to do anything.

“I’ll make those bastards pay…”

“Casualties in war are unavoidable, Dash,” Snowfield said. “We’ve already killed far more of them here, so we don’t need to risk our lives on needless revenge.”

The pegasus turned to her friend in disbelief.

“Don’t you care about Cloud Walker?”

Snowfield narrowed her eyes. “Of course I do, Dash. But we can’t bring him back. All I’m asking is that you don’t do anything reckless. Besides, the one who killed him is already dead.”

“Sorry,” Rainbow sighed. “I guess you’re right here…”

Both fell quiet for a while.

No more griffons were found, so an hour later the town was finally declared to be liberated from the griffons’ presence. It was clear that except for those who had attacked the airships, the main garrison of the town had chosen to abandon it.

Rainbow Dash felt both disappointment and relief about the fact. She still wanted them to pay for killing one of her comrades, but at the same time she realized the truth in Snowfield’s words about the casualties. She didn’t want another squadmate to join the list, least of all Snowfield herself.

Rainbow looked at the mare, shuddering at the thought of her dying. Tartarus itself would break open before she would allow any griffon to harm her friend!
***

It was evening when Rainbow Dash was finally able to get to the Luminous’ decks. The ship had been hovering above the town’s center with half of the troops still on board, so as soon as her patrol was over, Rainbow flew there, hoping that Applejack would be waiting for her there after all that time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“You didn’t really think she’d be here all day?” Snowfield said, landing behind her. “Besides, she may be among those who went to the ground.”

“I’ll ask somepony,” Rainbow said.

She darted to the first crewpony in her view, startling the poor mare into grabbing her sword. She shot some questions at her.

“Yeah, I saw somepony like her leaving the ship,” the crewpony said, glaring at her angrily as she sheathed her sword. “She’s probably still on the ground, so go look for her there.”

Rainbow took off without another word, diving straight down. She opened her wings at the last moment, rapidly slowing her descent and softly landing on her hooves between the tents in the central square they had occupied and converted into their base. A couple of seconds later, Snowfield joined her, almost stumbling as she roughly touched the ground.

“The sergeant will be mad at us, Rainbow,” Snowfield said, panting slightly. “We were supposed to stay at the base.”

“It’ll be fine,” Rainbow waved her hoof, looking around.

Her eyes widened slightly as Sergeant Yolk approached the two.

“Where in Tartarus have you two been?” he asked sternly, a frown on his face.

“Visiting the ship, sir,” Rainbow shrugged as it was no big deal, lowering her ears slightly. “You didn’t say we couldn’t.”

The sergeant considered her words for a moment and nodded.

“You’re right,” he admitted, wincing as if he had bitten a lemon. “Well, now I will say it explicitly. Don’t leave the camp unless you’re on patrol. For all we know, the griffons may be preparing a counterattack as we speak. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Rainbow and Snowfield saluted in unison.

Nodding curtly, the sergeant led them to the rest of the squad, who were just finishing putting up a big tent. It had enough space inside for the whole squad. The three ponies, including the sergeant, lent their help, quickly finishing the job.

When they were done, everypony silently joined together in a small circle. Nopony had said anything, but Rainbow knew without words what it was about.

“We’ve lost our friend Cloud Walker today,” the sergeant said, slowly eyeing each of the soldiers in turn. “He was a good soldier and died a heroic death, fighting the enemy under my command. His death was not in vain, as thanks to his sacrifice and that of other fallen soldiers, we have taken this town from the griffon’s claws. Cloud Walker will not be forgotten.”

The sergeant fell silent, bowing his head respectfully. In turn, the other squad members said their own words about their fallen comrade. Rainbow would have liked something to drink, but it was out of the question, considering their situation.

After the improvised memorial was over, the ponies slowly spread out around the camp to mingle with the rest of the soldiers. Rainbow and Snowfield followed their example, though Rainbow had a certain goal in mind as she trotted towards the ground troops’ tents at the side of the square.

“Hey, you,” Rainbow pointed at the unicorn that was trotting past her. The pony stopped, looking at the mare questioningly. “Do you know Applejack? An earth pony?”

“Nope,” the unicorn shrugged and was on his way.

She asked a dozen more ponies, but no one gave her the answer she wanted. Stomping her hoof in frustration, Rainbow turned around and flew towards the town hall, which towered over the square.

The building had just two stories, but for this small town even that was considered pretty high. It’s thick brick walls offered some good protection against any potential assault and looked sturdy enough to fend off even unicorn spells, so their detachment’s command had set up their headquarters inside.

“Where are you going, Dash?” Snowfield asked, throwing a cautious look at the mean-looking unicorns guarding the door.

Rather than answering, the pegasus flapped her wings, getting onto the roof of the building in one swift movement. Turning around, she searched the square below her for a certain orange mare. Snowfield patiently waited at her side.

“Damn it, I can’t see her,” Rainbow Dash shook her head in dismay.

“She could be in one of the tents,” Snowfield shrugged. “Or patrolling the streets. Or that sailor mare was wrong and she’s still on the airship. You should just keep asking.”

Grunting, Rainbow sat at the edge of the roof, observing the town. She could see all of it from this position — it was tiny, especially compared to Stalliongrad itself. While the streets had been empty when the army had first entered the town, now the locals were out and about.

When Rainbow Dash had imagined liberating the ponies from the griffon’s rule, she had expected to see them on the edge of starvation, brutalized by their masters. However, reality was much different.

A noise from below caught Rainbow’s attention. A big group of town ponies were moving on the adjacent street towards the square, shouting something loudly. A line of soldiers formed at the camp’s entrance, blocking any further advance.

Rainbow swiveled her ears, distinguishing some of their words.

“Those ungrateful bastards,” Rainbow growled, appalled. “We saved them from the griffons. Why would they want us to leave?”

“Why don’t you ask them yourself,” Snowfield said flatly.

“I think I just will,” the pegasus said, spreading her wings.

Her friend widened her eyes, leaping to bite Rainbow’s colorful tail just as she took off.

“Don’t be a fool,” Snowfield grumbled through her teeth, pulling the pegasus back onto the roof. Rainbow glared at her, annoyed. “The soldiers have the situation under control. You’ll achieve nothing by going there.”

Rainbow hovered for a few more seconds until she finally landed back on the roof.

“Cloud Walker died for them,” she said, pointing at the ungrateful ponies below.

“I know, Dash,” Snowfield sighed. “But ponies never like changes. Perhaps they’d gotten used to the griffon’s rule for the last five years, so it’s to be expected that some of them would be unhappy.”

Huffing, Rainbow fell silent.
***

“You’ve got to admit that it’s weird,” Snowfield said as she moved steadily through the night sky.

Two other pegasi were flying alongside her — Rainbow Dash and Peachy Wings — as they patrolled the area around the town. Thankfully, with both the moon and the stars shining above, the visibility wasn’t an issue, despite the late hour.

“What’s weird?” Rainbow asked.

“Why would the griffons give up the town so easily?” Snowfield asked. “I mean, we were told they had a decently sized garrison in here. They could have caused us some serious trouble if they had dug in and fought us.”

Rainbow shrugged. She had thought about the situation before and hadn’t come up with a good answer.

“Well, maybe they didn’t have that many forces here,” Peachy Wing said.

“Yeah, maybe,” Snowfield nodded. “Well, I’m not about to complain.”

Nopony made any further comments, so the patrol continued in silence. As the group went along its route, Rainbow didn’t let herself relax. While to the east of the town were large open fields, to the west lay Foal Mountains with its mines and natural caves, which were perfect for hiding.

Soon, Rainbow noticed another patrol flying to meet them. Perhaps they were finally being reli—

Her eyes widened.
She sharply leaned to the side, letting a thrown spear pass mere inches from her body. Only her lightning quick reaction saved her from being impaled by it. Rolling in the air, Rainbow caught a glimpse of her attacker.

It was a damn griffon!

Snarling, Rainbow dashed at him. Easily avoiding another thrust of his spear, she punched the griffon in his chest with her hoofblades. He trashed, managing to scratch her with his back claws, but his strength rapidly diminished as his wings stopped flapping. Sliding off the hoofblades, the griffon dropped to the ground.

Hearing a scream from behind her, Rainbow Dash turned just in time to see Peachy Wings falling, a spear sticking out from his body. A triumphant griffon let out a happy screech and darted to another pegasus, who was fighting his comrade nearby.

A wave of fear washed over Rainbow. Snowfield!

In a few beats of her wings, Rainbow flashed over to the griffon. He had probably heard something in his last moments, but Rainbow’s charge was too fast for him to react as she cut one of his wings straight off, sending him spiraling to his death.

“Hold on, Snowfield!” Rainbow Dash yelled, throwing herself onto the last griffon.

But it was too late.

As she threw the dead body of her enemy aside, her eyes desperately searched the skies around her for her friend. She had found her within moments, her body plummeting to the ground helplessly. An expression of horror froze on Rainbow’s face.

“Snowfield!”

Rainbow raced to her friend, flying faster than she ever had before. The wind cut into her tearing eyes, but she didn’t care, pushing herself even faster. Every beat of her overworked wings hurt, but it didn’t matter. There were only a couple of seconds left before Snowfield would have hit the ground when Rainbow Dash finally grabbed her in her hooves.

She attempted to straighten her flight in the last moment, but even she couldn’t completely recover in time, so Rainbow just tried to minimize the damage as she rolled on the ground, keeping her wounded friend close to herself.

As they both came to a full stop, Rainbow gently released her and stood up on her shaking legs, grimacing in pain as she tucked her wings. Her heart beat faster with fear as her eyes fell on her friend. In the dim light of the night sky, she could clearly see the gaping holes in her light barding. They were stained with blood.

The mare stirred, opening her eyes. She blinked a few times as her vision focused on Rainbow Dash’s fearful face.

“I don’t feel so…” she started saying, when her body suddenly twitched. She continued to lie unmoving.

Rainbow’s eyes widened with shock. “S-snowfield?” she asked, lowering her head to check her friend’s breathing.

She couldn’t hear anything.

Chapter XV - Going Down

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As the sun was setting on the horizon, a squad of Equestrian soldiers were patrolling the half-empty streets of Stonehill. They had liberated the mining town earlier today, but the locals were still reluctant to go outside, even after the commander had declared the town safe.

Applejack remained vigilant, however. According to the townsponies, the enemy had about three hundred griffons in Stonehill — most of them fighters. While they had lost a few dozen of their own in a futile attack on the Luminous, the rest had evacuated from the town just before the Equestrian army had showed up.

“The locals sure don’t seem too happy to see us,” somepony muttered, but Applejack caught it.

The sergeant’s ear flickered, but he stayed quiet — there was no point in denying the obvious. As the soldiers walked through the dusky streets, the few ponies they met hastily scattered out of their way, throwing wary glances from some distance. Applejack’s eyes met a mare’s on the opposite side of the street, but the pony lowered her gaze with a small shudder.

Applejack frowned.

She had a hard time understanding those ponies. If her own village had suffered under barbaric monsters like the griffons for years as this town had, Applejack and her family would have welcomed their liberators with open hooves. These ponies, however…

Her eyes snapped at a disheveled stallion, who stumbled from behind the corner. His muzzle was bloodied and his ears were flat against his skull.

“Please help me!” the stallion yelled, noticing the soldiers.

The squad stopped, exchanging confused looks between themselves. Some ponies even reached for their swords before the sergeant gestured for them to relax. Stepping forward, he addressed the pony himself.

“What do you want?” Sergeant Sharp asked evenly, eyeing the pony with suspicion.

Applejack’s first instinct would be to lend her hoof to the stallion in distress, but unfortunately, she wasn’t in charge. The decision was in her sergeant’s cold hooves.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, the stallion blurted out, “Those bastards attacked my father! They want to burn down our workshop!”

“What?” the sergeant raised his eyebrows in confusion, but drew his sword nonetheless. The rest of the squad eagerly followed his example. “Who attacked you? The griffons?”

The pony backpedaled, staring at the swords in near panic, and shook his head.

“No, not the griffons! Please follow me!”

Having said that, the pony ran back into the alley he had come from.

“That stinks like a trap, sir,” Flare said.

Applejack furrowed her eyebrows as she considered her friend’s words. The town had been swept clean of griffons hours ago. Who else would dare to attack a full squad of soldiers? No, that couldn’t be a trap, she decided.

Sergeant Sharp seemed to agree with Applejack’s inner conclusions as he commanded everypony to follow the stranger. Giving the reluctant Flare a reassuring pat on her back, Applejack followed the sergeant’s order. Unleashing her sword, Flare trotted behind the rest.

They didn’t have to go far. The stallion was jittering on his hooves on the other end of the alley, biting his lower lip. As the soldiers approached, he pointed at the large two-storey house beside him.

Applejack glanced at it. It was notably bigger than its neighbors, looking similar to the smithy back in Applejack’s own village. Its walls, darkened by age and smoke, had a lot of small cracks in its stony surface. The place had likely been built by the first settlers hundreds of years ago.

“This is our workshop,” the pony said with a hint of pride in his voice. “They’re there.”

A large wooden gate built into the wall was cracked open. Applejack flickered her ear as a sound of splintering wood from the inside reached it.

“Open them,” the sergeant ordered to the stallion, gesturing the squad to take positions beside him.

The pony nodded and, gripping the ring handle in his mouth, pulled hard.

Contrary to its battered outlook, the gate opened without a creak, revealing a big room that took up most of the first floor. A group of ponies who were busy smashing everything on their way froze, turning their attention to the soldiers as one.

“What in bloody Tartarus are you up to?” Sergeant Sharp asked, entering the workshop as if he owned the place.

The vandals backpedaled, but one of the ponies remained standing where he was, staring at the sergeant with an unreadable expression. Suddenly, he threw a sharp salute.

“We’re doing Equestria a service here, sir,” the apparent ringleader said proudly, spreading his foreleg over the whole mess. “They’d been making weapons for those thrice accursed griffons. Weapons that could be used against our brothers and sisters! The smith and his son deserve what they’re getting,” he finished hotly, spitting on the floor in disgust.

The soldiers muttered, suddenly unsure of what to do, but Applejack already knew what had to be done. Whether the vandal’s accusations were true or not, she couldn’t just let them abuse the weak and destroy all their hard work. At the very least, the army could use it for themselves.

“Those griffon taillickers should have run with them while they had the chance!” the ringleader continued, gesturing wildly.

While he was speaking, his pals had gathered behind him, throwing nervous looks at the soldiers. None of them had any weapons or protection, save for a few impromptu clubs — pieces of broken furniture — some of which had been picked up just now.

“Father!” a stallion, apparently the smith’s son, rushed to the corner of the room.

Applejack continued his path with her eyes, finding a pony lying on his side. His coat was covered with a mix of blood and dirt, while half of his face was badly swollen. She couldn’t say if he was alive at all, until he stirred when his son touched him.

“Listen here, bub,” the sergeant said in a low voice, taking a step towards the vandals. “I couldn’t care less if they were sucking the griffon’s king dick every morning as long as they’re serving Equestria again.”

“C’mon, soldier! They’ve already betrayed Equestria!” he exclaimed, swinging his hoof at the two ponies in the corner. “They should be happy I’m not killing them on spot.”

Sergeant Sharp shook his head in disgust. “The army needs smiths more than idiots like you. Squad, arrest—”

“Wait!” the leader raised his hoof. “I know for a fact that the griffons were paying him in gold. Let’s split it fifty-fifty with you and your guys once we find it.”

The sergeant fell silent. Applejack tensed up, noticing his calculating look. If he accepted that bastard’s offer... She would have to grit her teeth but go along with it. There wasn’t anything she could do that wouldn’t end in disaster for both of them.

“Don’t make another mistake you’ll regret, sir,” Applejack said quietly, but in the stillness of the workshop everypony easily picked up on her words.

All eyes fell on her, but she focused her attention solely on the sergeant. Anger flashed on his face at first, but then his shoulders slumped and he sighed. Giving Applejack a tiny nod, Sergeant Sharp straightened again.

“Arrest them,” he snapped the order.

Having said that, the sergeant advanced towards the vandals himself. Their leader bellowed in rage and threw himself at him, but the sergeant sidestepped effortlessly, tripping the psycho and finishing him with an aimed buck to his head.

With their leader knocked out, the rest of his band gave up without further struggle. Applejack snorted humorlessly — beating up a smith and his son wasn’t the same as fighting armed and armored soldiers, however poorly trained they may be.

The smith’s son jumped on his hooves, approaching the sergeant with a wide smile.

“Thank you, sir!” he exclaimed, taking his hoof and shaking it madly. “If it weren’t for you…”

The sergeant nodded curtly, freeing his hoof from the pony’s grip. “Sod off, boy. I just did my job.”

The stallion stepped back, his face flashing red. “Sorry.”

“Were you really working for the griffons though?” Flare asked.

“Well, yes,” the stallion admitted, lowering his gaze. “But it wasn’t just me and my dad — everypony in Stonehill has done something for the griffons one way or another in the last five years. Even those bastards were working in the mine. We had no choice after the army abandoned us here five years ago,” the pony stomped his hoof and then flinched. “Sorry, I don’t blame you, of course. But if it weren’t for the griffons, we wouldn’t have lasted a year. ”

Applejack was taken aback by these words. It went against everything she had heard about the griffons before. In the stories, they had been savage monsters of the sky, hunting ponies for food. But now that she thought about that, it sounded a bit silly. They wouldn’t really be a threat to Equestria if they were just a bunch of two-bit monsters.

“Whatever you say, boy,” the sergeant said, waving his hoof. “Just get your father fixed up. The army may need his skills in the future.”

Having said that, he turned around and trotted out of the gate. The rest of the squad followed behind, escorting their prisoners into the alley. By that time the sun had almost set, making it difficult to see until the moon lit up the sky.

“Are we taking them to our camp, sir?” somepony asked.

“Shut up, private, I’m thinking.”

The soldier — Plowed Field — nodded, taking a step back. Everypony was used to the sergeant’s harshness by now and had learned not to take it personally. Soon Sergeant Sharp nodded to himself, having finally decided something and gestured his troops to follow him.

Soon, Applejack noticed that they weren’t going to the base. The Town Hall’s high spire could be spotted from almost anywhere in Stonehill and it was getting further and further away. Multiple guesses were spinning in her head, but she couldn’t say for certain.

“We should have taken the money deal,” Flare whispered so only Applejack could hear her. “Why’d you talk the sarge out of it?”

Applejack gave Flare a surprised look.

“I mean, those guys were making weapons for the enemy,” Flare explained herself, wilting slightly under Applejack’s heavy gaze. “Don’t look at me like that. They admitted it.”

“I don’t think they had a choice, Flare,” Applejack said with a bit of anger. “If I was in their horseshoes, I would do anything to protect my family too.”

Flare winced.

“Damn you, Jackie. You make it all complicated…”

Somepony snickered behind them.

“What are you whispering about, lovebirds?” Plowed Field’s voice said.

Both mares twitched, turning their burning gazes at the poor stallion. His smile disappeared as he hid behind the other squadmates. Applejack and Flare exchanged glances, barely suppressing a laugh.

“Fine, I guess you’re right,” Flare admitted as they calmed down. “I guess if the choice was between death and working for the griffons, I would choose the latter too. Still, I could have used some gold...”

Applejack shook her head in frustration.

Soon, Sergeant Sharp finally stopped in an empty alley near the edge of Stonehill, ordering the release their prisoners. The soldiers were surprised, but orders were orders.

“Go to your homes,” the sergeant said to the vandals. “We don’t have time to waste on fools like you, so you’d better not cause any trouble again, got it?”

One by one, the ponies nodded in visible relief and scattered away as if they feared the sergeant would suddenly change his mind. The only one left was their leader, who was still unconscious.

“What about this guy?” the soldier carrying him asked, dropping him onto the ground.

“This guy…” Sergeant Sharp repeated thoughtfully, approaching the leader. He looked down at him. “Well, we can’t waste our time on him either.”

Having said that, the sergeant drew his sword in one swift movement, piercing his body where the heart was. The body jerked as blood poured from the wound onto the dirty road, making a small puddle. Everypony, including Applejack, stared at the sergeant in shock.

“Nopony will miss him,” the sergeant stated calmly, giving each soldier a sharp look. “The last thing we need is some loon stirring up trouble again. Such ponies are a threat that must be eliminated.”

Everypony nodded rapidly, avoiding their sergeant’s piercing eyes.

Applejack knew that Sergeant Sharp was harsh, but she hadn’t imagined he was able to kill a pony in cold blood, even if the pony in question was a first-rate bastard. She lowered her eyes at his bleeding corpse and shivered, feeling slightly sick.

She briefly wondered why the sergeant hadn’t decided to get rid of her that way after their fallout back at the training camp, rather than agreeing to her proposed deal. Was it because he knew the blame was on him or because it would have been harder to hide the fact?

Applejack wasn’t sure.

“Let’s get this body into some abandoned house and return to the base,” Sergeant Sharp said, bringing Applejack back to the present. “It’s almost night, so our patrol is over.”

Nopony had volunteered for the grim duty, so the sergeant picked the two closest ones to do the job. After it was over, the soldiers formed a column and trotted out of the alley, leaving a puddle of blood on the road as the only testament to what had happened.

***

Their “base” had gone through some changes while they had been out on patrol.

The soldiers had been busy, setting up dozens of tents in the square — each large enough for a whole squad — to serve as a temporary housing for their force. Bright crystals placed on the Town Hall’s roof illuminated the whole place as if it was still daytime. A lot of activity was going on despite the late hour.

Applejack’s stomach growled as the smell of stew hit her nostrils.

“One of those tents is yours, troops,” the sergeant said.

The common soldiers had to share the space with their comrades and the sergeants were no different, sharing their tent with their counterparts from the other squads. As soon as the squad had claimed an empty one for themselves, the sergeant finally left them to their own devices.

When he did, the dam of silence burst as everypony started talking at once.

“Killing that pony was way too harsh,” Flare said, swishing her tail in agitation. “The sergeant is out of his sunburned mind.”

Applejack nodded, slumping onto her bedroll. “That wasn’t right, I’ll give ya that,” the mare agreed. “But I won’t grieve over that bastard’s death, that’s for sure.”

Flare grunted unhappily.

“He may have overreacted,” she continued, “But I understand his anger. Making weapons for those griffons… I have a hard time forgiving them, no matter what their reasons were.”

Applejack turned to give her friend a hard look which Flare met with one of her own. She was a good pony at heart — as much as Applejack could judge, having known the mare for less than a month — but she had no family of her own. She wouldn’t really understand.

That didn’t stop Applejack from trying, though.

“Those reasons are pretty damn important, Flare,” she said firmly. “You heard the pony — everyone in this town had to work for the griffons one way or another to survive. What else were they supposed to do if Equestria couldn’t help them?”

“I know, I know,” Flare waved her hoof, rolling her eyes. “I’m just saying that I understand where that guy was coming from. I don’t think he deserved to die like that.”

“Maybe not,” Applejack shrugged. “But there’s no point in crying over spilt milk. What’s done is done.”

Flare nodded unhappily.

After that, the two ventured outside to find something to eat, while discussing the rest of the day’s events. Applejack shared her suspicions about the ease with which they had taken Stonehill. While some ponies were happy at such an easy victory, Applejack and Flare agreed that it seemed strange.

“What about that pegasus, Rainbow Flash?” Flare asked when they had returned to the tent. “Weren’t you supposed to meet with her on the Luminous?”

“Oh, yes,” Applejack said, slapping her forehead. “It had slipped my mind.” The mare thought for a second and shrugged. “But it’s not like I can get on board right now even if I wanted to. Doubt the airship would land just for me.”

“Yeah. What’s up with that mare anyway? She looked like somepony put a stick up her ass.”

“She’s just mad I beat her, I guess,” Applejack said. “But I admit, it was more luck than skill. I’d like to have a fair fight to see which one of us would do better myself.”

Flare’s eyes flashed wide.

“I can take bets on the outcome,” she smiled.

Applejack sighed. “If ya want…”

They chatted for some more, but eventually the exhaustion of the day took its toll. One by one, the other squad members fell asleep and soon Flare herself had dozed off. Applejack wasn’t far behind.

***

Applejack woke up much sooner than she had expected. The first thing she felt was a jolt of pain that pierced her foreleg when somepony’s hoof stomped on it. Yelping, she tucked her poor limb closer to her body and opened her eyes to scream at the clumsy fool, but froze with her jaw dropping.

Everypony seemed to have gone off their rocker, running around the tent with no regard for those who by some miracle were still asleep. Applejack’s eyes widened as soon as she saw the reason — the damn tent was on fire!

The flames were rapidly spreading on its walls. The whole construction was shaking violently as the ponies struggled to escape through the only exit, getting into each other’s way. If the burning fabric of the tent collapsed on their heads…

Cursing loudly, Applejack jumped onto her hooves.

“Quit moving, ya dumb blighters!” she roared hoarsely, shocking everypony enough for them to stop. “Grab your belongings and leave one by one. We still have time.”

As the evacuation went more smoothly, Applejack turned to Flare. The mare was stirring on her bedroll, but still asleep — she had always been a heavy sleeper. Reaching out, Applejack gave the mare a harsh shake.

“Gimme five more minutes…” she muttered, waving her hoof, but Applejack was having none of it. She continued to shake her until Flare finally snapped her eyes open. “Stop it! Oh…”

Her angry expression quickly changed to shocked confusion and then near panic when she noticed the burning walls of the tent around them.

“We’re on fire!” Flare exclaimed, jumping onto her hooves.

By now, everypony else was already out. Applejack’s coat on her back was curling from the heat as she grabbed her equipment that was lying by her bedroll.

“Damn right we are,” Applejack said. “Grab your things and let’s go!”

Flare didn’t need to be told twice. As she took her belongings in her magic, the two rushed out of the tent, leaving it moments before its burning remains finally collapsed. Her tail caught fire, but she promptly stomped on it.

The situation outside wasn’t much better, though. Agonizing screams assaulted her ears from every direction. A pony with his coat aflame galloped in front of her before somepony else stopped him, spilling a bucket of water on him to extinguish the fire. Applejack stared at the chaos and panic around her with a shocked expression — the whole camp was burning!

“What in Tartarus…” Flare muttered, being just as shocked as her friend.

At this point, Sergeant Sharp showed up, quickly grabbing the squad’s attention.

“This was sabotage,” he announced. “The enemy assault should follow soon. Get ready!”

His words sent the squad into a frenzy of activity. While armoring up, Applejack threw a quick glance at the sergeant. He was already wearing the armor, with the helmet covering most of his face, but Applejack could see a shadow of fear on his face. Or it could have been the play of lights from the fires.

“What’s happening, sir?” Plowed Field asked.

“An attack, you idiot!” the sergeant snapped.

As if proving his words, a piercing shriek sounded from the sky. It reminded Applejack of a hawk, but way more furious.

“There they are!” the sergeant exclaimed, pointing his hoof up. “Form around me!”

But they had no time — the griffons were upon them.

Applejack snarled as she stood on her hind legs, swinging her sword from below. The griffon released a shriek of pain as the sword cut deep into his stomach and crashed into Applejack, sending them both down.

Applejack got back up slightly dazzled, leaving her opponent writhing on the ground. All around her the fight was raging, but no one else was attacking her for the moment, so she quickly located Flare to make sure she was okay. As Applejack watched, her friend sent her opponent reeling with a well-timed spell and finished him off with a stab to his chest.

Unseen by her, another griffon was charging at her from the sky.

“Flare, move!” Applejack screamed, her heart skipping a bit.

Glancing up, the mare turned to the side in time to avoid the griffon’s spear. Turning around, she grabbed her attacker out of the air with her magic as Applejack rushed to help. She held the griffon in place, allowing Applejack to hack his head off in one swift movement.

“Thanks.”

The two stood side by side, fighting the enemy for what seemed like an eternity. It was impossible to see which side was winning in all the chaos. Broken bodies of ponies and griffons alike were lying on the ground around them. Applejack recognized some of her squad members among them, but had no time to really care for the moment.

At some point they had rejoined the sergeant, who was fighting along with the surviving members of the squad. His magic was flaring like there was no tomorrow, striking down those griffons who tried to approach from the air, while his sword finished off those on the ground.

“They’re breaking!” Plowed Field exclaimed.

As soon as he said that, a pony next to him fell as a spear thrown from the distance went below his chest plate. The griffon who had done that flapped his wings, propelling himself at the stallion, with five of his friends following right behind.

The sergeant took down one of them, but the others engaged with the squad at close distance, using their talons and beaks as much as their long spears. Applejack had been hit with one to her chest, but her plate held. Grabbing the spear, she pulled it to herself along with the griffon, raising her sword for a finishing blow.

Before she could land it though, the griffon let the spear go and flapped his wings, getting out of her reach. As Applejack cursed in frustration, an ear-piercing shriek sounded from above, making her flatten her ears.

Standing in defensive posture, Applejack searched for another enemy to fight, but found none around her. Raising her head up, she saw the griffons in full retreat, with the descending Luminous targeting them with its crossbows. Most of the shots missed their mark, but some scored a hit, dropping the wounded from the sky.

“I can’t believe I’m alive…” Plowed Field muttered, stumbling past Applejack. His armor was covered with blood and dented in some places, but he seemed unharmed otherwise.

Applejack’s heart dropped to her hooves. In the heat of the battle she had lost track of Flare! Her head spun around wildly, but she couldn’t locate her among the standing troops. With a sense of impending dread, she searched the ground.

“Flare!” she yelled, checking her surroundings. “Has somepony seen Flare?”

Sergeant Sharp touched Applejack’s shoulder. “I saw her fall,” he said simply, pointing to the side.

Gasping, Applejack turned to that direction, fearing the worst, and finally saw her. A bloodied form of her friend was lying on the ground, her eyes closed. She had lost her helmet at some point, having three deep scratches across her whole face. Somepony was taking her armor off and Applejack rushed to help.

“Is she…” she trailed off, unable to finish the question.

“She’s alive,” the pony assured her. Applejack felt like a mountain had fallen off her shoulders. “At least for now.” Applejack tensed up again.

Together, they assessed the condition Flare was in. Luckily, her injuries, while numerous, weren’t life-threatening. The most serious damage beside the face scratches was a blow to the head that had probably rendered her unconscious in the first place. Applejack began disinfecting the scratches first, while the mare who was helping her moved on to those who needed it more.

Flare hissed in pain as her eyes burst open. Her horn glowed bright and a pulse of magic threw Applejack on her back.

“Whoa there, girl, calm down,” Applejack said soothingly, getting back on her hooves. “It’s just me.”

Recognizing her friend, Flare slumped, extinguishing her horn.

“Sorry, Jackie.” She looked around, wincing at the carnage everywhere. “Did we win?”

Applejack swept her eyes through their devastated base, feeling her body shaking. The fires were dying down, but the light of the moon combined with the magic crystals allowed her to see everything clearly. A lot of ponies and griffons alike were down on the ground, the survivors helping the wounded. It seemed like a victory, but how many of their own had fallen?

The mare sighed. “We won, Flare. Just stay down. You got banged on the head pretty bad.”

Flare touched her head, cringing in pain.

“I’ve had worse,” she said without much conviction as she tried to stand up, despite Applejack’s words.

“No doubt,” Applejack forced her back and flickered a smile “At least let me finish.”

Grudgingly, Flare allowed her friend to disinfect the rest of the various scratches on her body and apply a bandage to the worst of them. By the time she had finished, Applejack’s hooves were shaking wildly and she felt pain all over her body.

With Flare’s help, she examined herself, but except for a cracked hoof and a lot of bruises, she had gotten out of this battle unscathed.

“How did they sneak up on us?” Flare asked. “Where were those damn pegasi?”

Applejack simply shrugged. It wasn’t a question she could answer for the moment, even though she had a pretty good guess about the fate of the patrols.

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

***

Nopony got any sleep for the reminder of the night as the base was recovering from the attack.

To help with the recovery efforts, the airships had temporarily unloaded all the troops on board, leaving themselves with only a skeleton crew. Two of them were hanging low over the square now, giving the soldiers some sense of security.

But Applejack still felt ill at ease. Even though the airships had saved them from certain defeat earlier, she couldn’t spot the third one anywhere in the sky. Nopony she asked could tell her anything either — not even those who had been on other airships — so her worry only grew.

Her job didn’t make her feel any easier.

Along with a few dozen other ponies, Applejack was dragging the dead to the cart to get them off the base before they started to rot. Some ponies were already digging some graves at the edge of the town to bury them properly.

Applejack had seen death before, but wasn’t used to seeing so much. She felt sick in the stomach when she saw the mutilated bodies of ponies just like her. The rumors said they’d lost almost half of their numbers on the ground in the brutal attack.

Her own squad had only lost four, but most of the survivors had been wounded, though fortunately only one of them heavily. While Applejack didn’t know any of them well enough to really grieve over them, their deaths hit close to home. Any of them could have been her or Flare if things had turned out differently.

“We shouldn’t have taken them as prisoners,” somepony growled, receiving supporting nods from the other soldiers nearby. “Why would we bother keeping those beasts alive? Long Tail is too soft.”

Applejack glared at the bloodthirsty fool. She had no love for griffons herself, especially after tonight, but they could have let the whole town die when they had captured it years ago. At the very least, they deserved the same courtesy. Before Applejack could say anything, however, Sergeant Sharp smacked the pony in the head.

“Don’t speak about the commander that way,” he said angrily. “If I hear something like that again, I’ll have you whipped for insubordination.”

The pony shot an angry stare at the sergeant, but returned to his grim work.

The sun was already up by the time they had finished. The sergeant dismissed them, allowing them to take a few hours of rest, so Applejack and Flare went looking for a good spot. Since their tent had been destroyed, along with everypony else’s, they had to eventually settle right on the ground. Luckily, they had managed to get some spare bedrolls, so it wasn’t too bad.

“I hate those griffons so much,” Flare said five minutes later as Applejack was just dozing off. “I’ll kill them. All of them.”

Applejack opened her eyes, staring at her friend in surprise.

“All of them?” she asked carefully. “That sure is harsh. You wouldn’t even spare their little ones and those who have nothing to do with fighting?”

Flare blinked a couple of times.

“Well,” the mare said, lowering her gaze. “Maybe not… But look at how many ponies they slaughtered. Have you seen their talons? They’re damn predators. They would eat us all if they won.”

“I don’t know about that, sugarcube,” Applejack shook her head. “I admit, we had some blood-curdling tales about griffons back in my village. But talking with ponies in this town… If the griffons are so bad, wouldn’t the townsfolk be happier if we rescued them?”

Flare frowned. She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again.

“Maybe they’re not inherently evil,” she agreed eventually. “But I don’t like them anyway.”

***

The next couple of days weren’t easy for anypony in Stonehill.

As it turned out, the griffons hadn’t gone far this time. Their numerous groups were roaming around town, stopping anypony from venturing outside. It was a full blockade.

What made the situation worse was that the griffon saboteurs had managed to torch the warehouses where most of the town’s food supplies had been stored. With winter approaching, the individual households were supposed to have some in their cellars to last for a while, but the army only had enough left for three weeks.

“It’s getting smaller and smaller each day,” Flare complained, staring at her minuscule portion.

The pony in charge of the food shrugged. “Tell me something I don’t know… Now shoo, you’re holding up the line.”

Applejack tugged her friend along before she could voice any more complaints. Reluctantly, Flare allowed to be dragged away.

“How are we supposed to fight without food?” Flare whined into Applejack’s ear instead. “My magic is not even fully restored from the last battle.”

Applejack nodded, flickering her eyes to Flare’s face. The scratches didn’t look as bad now, but it was still disturbing to see three red lines going across her cheek to her muzzle. It was a miracle her eye hadn’t been damaged.

“The griffons don’t have the strength left to fight us directly,” Applejack said as the two got to their bedrolls. “And if they do, we won’t be taken by surprise this time.”

“The way it goes, they won’t have to,” Flare chuckled grimly. “They can just wait until we all starve to death.”

A deep line crossed Applejack’s forehead, but she couldn’t deny the truth in her friend’s words. The griffons may not have the strength to retake the town anymore, but they still had some fight left in them.

They had proved it yesterday by ambushing a forage party that had gone to collect the hay from the nearby fields. They had one of the two surviving airships accompanying them, but the griffons had attacked it by using its blind spots. They had caused a lot of damage to the party before the airship’s crossbows had been able to get into position to target them properly.

According to the rumors Applejack had heard, the captain of that ship had been demoted.

“The townsponies should help us fight,” Flare stated. “It’s in their own interests that we win.”

Applejack shook her head. “I don’t think they care much about our victory,” she explained. “Most of the ponies just want to have food and a peaceful life, no matter who’s in charge.”

Wincing, Flare nodded slowly.

“I guess so,” the mare admitted. “Still, it would end faster if they helped us win. Besides, despite all its flaws, Equestria would be better for them.”

“I don’t know what it’s like in the big cities, Flare, but life is pretty damn bad in the small villages,” Applejack said with a shrug. “Just ask around in our own squad — most of the soldiers lived in one before conscription. So, no, I don’t think Equestria would be as good as you think for the ponies here.”

Flare finished her food in silence as she mulled over Applejack’s words.

“Isn’t it better to have your fellow ponies in charge?”

“What difference does it make if ya serve some fancy noble or a griffon master?” Applejack answered with her own question.

“Are you saying we should have left those lands in the griffon’s claws?” Flare asked, raising her eyebrows.

“I don’t know, Flare. But I do know that us coming here has caused a whole lot of trouble for the simple ponies.”

They had finished their meals a while ago, but they continued talking for much longer. Their argument wasn’t heated, but the two just couldn’t see eye-to-eye. While Applejack had initially supported the war, for fear of another attack by the griffons, she wasn’t so sure after seeing the consequences with her own eyes.

She knew one thing for certain — the war was bad for simple ponies, no matter who had started it.

Applejack let out a heavy sigh as she thought about that. She could have been home with her family right now if not for this war. It was late fall now, so harvest would already be over. She’d have plenty of time to spend with her brother and sister…

A light thud interrupted her thoughts.

Applejack twitched in surprise, turning to a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane that had just landed near them, recognizing her immediately. It was hard not to with her unique mane.

“Sup,” Rainbow Dash nodded, grimacing in pain as she rubbed her wing. “Applequack, right?”

The mare frowned slightly. “Applejack. Are you here about our sparring? If so, I’m sorry I didn’t—”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” the pegasus waved her hoof. “I just saw you and came to say that I don’t care anymore. That duel was a stupid idea in the first place.”

Applejack’s eyebrows arched slightly.

Rainbow Dash had seemed so determined before and now she was just giving up? It didn’t seem right. Something must have happened in those couple of days to change her mind so drastically. Applejack had a pretty good guess.

The griffon’s surprise attack had cost a lot to the company of pegasi that had been assigned to their squadron. Most of those who had been on the sky patrol had been lost and even more fell while protecting the airships. And with them fighting so high up, a wound serious enough to knock you out would also kill you once you hit the ground.

“I knew you were chicken,” Flare chuckled, causing both mares to look at her — one with annoyance and the other with rage. “What?”

“Shut up, Flare,” Applejack snarled, throwing an apologetic glance at Rainbow Dash. “Don’t mind that fool. She’s been hit in the head.”

The pegasus flared her nostrils, barely containing her emotions, but then nodded curtly.

“You’re lucky I’m not in the mood, hornhead,” she dropped, before turning around and trotting away on hoof.

Widening her eyes, Applejack tapped Flare’s horn to disrupt the spell she was about to cast. The unicorn winced. Rubbing her horn, Flare scowled at Applejack, but the earth pony met her eyes with a hard gaze.

“Don’t be stupid,” Applejack warned her friend.

“I was just going to cut off her tail,” she grinned wickedly. “It’s only for her own benefit. She could use some stallion’s attention to unwind.”

Applejack furrowed her eyebrows.

“Fine, fine, I won’t do anything,” Flare drooped her ears, looking like Applejack had stolen her toy. “But you’re not fun.”

“I don’t think she would have appreciated it, Flare,” Applejack said. “When will you learn not to poke at ponies like that?”

The mare grinned, taking Applejack’s own tail in her magic and pulling it. “Never!”

***

As the days dragged on, more and more soldiers began to lose hope. With the food getting scarce, the townsponies growing increasingly unfriendly and the griffons lurking outside the town, it wasn’t easy to remain optimistic.

“Get up, troops,” Sergeant Sharp said as he approached the squad. “We’ve got a job to do.”

Applejack raised her tired eyes to the sergeant, groans of frustration sounding around her. The ponies were exhausted, having just returned from a long patrol of the streets. The sergeant himself had walked there along with his soldiers, so he should know it better than anypony.

“But we just got back, sir,” Flare complained, struggling back on her hooves. “Can’t somepony else do that job of yours?”

The sergeant shook his head.

“They need everypony for this particular job,” he explained without even reprimanding her. “Commander Long Tail’s wise orders,” he added with venom in his voice.

The squad members stared at the sergeant in near shock. He had never allowed himself to criticize the higher officers — even in such a small way — and would have sent whoever had done that to clean the waste ditches or worse.

“What are you waiting for, an invitation? Get up and let’s go.”

The ponies grunted, but did as the sergeant had ordered. All around the camp the other ponies were getting ready for something as well. Whatever the commander had been planning, it was going to be large and – based on the sergeant’s reaction – stupid.

While Sergeant Sharp wasn’t the nicest pony by a long shot, Applejack trusted his judgment. At least while he was sober — she winced, remembering his foolish attempt to force himself upon her just after she had been conscripted.

“We’ll run out of food within a few weeks,” the sergeant stated, leading the squad out of the camp, along with the others. “So the commander has decided that the townsfolk should share some with us.”

Applejack furrowed her brows as the rest of the squad ponies muttered something in confusion and outrage. The sergeant ignored them all. Approaching the nearest house, he stopped at the front door and eyed his troops.

“We’re going to carry out our orders,” he said as if daring anypony to disagree. Nopony did. “Good. Then let’s get to it.”

Having said that, Sergeant Sharp knocked heavily, making the door shake slightly. Soon, a young stallion opened it, staring at the gathered soldiers. His ears lowered slightly and his eyes widened in fear, but he managed to force out a little smile.

“How can I help you?”

“By Commander Long Tail’s orders, you are to give a third of your food supplies to the army,” the sergeant said unemotionally.

The poor excuse for a smile was gone from the stallion’s face in an instant. His ears flattened against his skull as he narrowed his eyes.

“N-no, I can’t,” he blurted out rapidly, shaking his head. “I don’t really have much at all!”

Drawing his sword, the sergeant stepped forward, causing the stallion to lurch backwards in panic. “Okay, fine, just don’t kill me!”

The pony scrambled back onto his hooves and disappeared into the house.

Blood rushed to Applejack’s face. They were supposed to save the local ponies from griffons, not steal the last bits of food from them! Noticing her hoof lying on the sword grip, she slowly lowered it back to the ground before the sergeant would notice.

Flare sighed in disappointment, lowering her own hoof as well.

“I don’t like the bastard,” she whispered, answering Applejack’s silent question.

It didn’t take long for the house’s owner to return, carrying a bag with him. The sergeant nodded, taking it in his magic and dropping it off onto a soldier’s back. The stallion glared at the sergeant and the soldiers behind him with barely concealed hate. Applejack turned away when their eyes met.

“Thank you,” the sergeant said.

When the stallion shut the door in his face, he magically burned a mark of a cross on its surface.

“It’ll be a long bucking day,” Sergeant Sharp said, spitting on the ground.

And it really was.

While most of the squad members were following the sergeant with sullen expressions, Applejack was still fuming inside even hours later. The only thing that had prevented her from taking action was the fact that it wouldn’t really change anything. With Flare’s help, she might have taken down the sergeant, but he wasn’t the root of the problem.

He was just carrying out orders like the rest of them.

So they continued to go from house to house, from street to street, “borrowing” food from their dwellers. They were rightfully outraged, but no one was foolish enough to resist when they were face-to-face with Sergeant Sharp. He might not have liked his orders, but he knew how to carry them out.

Some other squads, however, were less lucky.

Once, returning to unload the collected supplies to the base, Applejack witnessed a squad breaking down a house’s door. The ponies inside had probably refused to give up their food voluntarily. She didn’t see how it ended, but she remembered the soldiers’ faces well.

They would have a good talk later…

“What’s this?” somepony asked, pointing at a billow of smoke coming from nearby.

“None of our concern,” the sergeant answered coldly.

It was getting dark when the sergeant ordered to head back to the base. The soldiers could barely stand on all fours by that point. Huddling close together, they made their way through the streets, getting a lot of hostile stares along the way. There was an unusual amount of activity for such a late hour, Applejack noted.

Her ear swiveled, catching a metal clank behind her. Before she could look back to check, something hit her armor as well. Somepony was throwing rocks at them!

“Stop it!” a soldier behind her yelled, drawing his sword. “You think we’re happy to do it?”

“Then give back our food!” somepony from a large group of townsponies — no less than two dozen — yelled back. He emphasized his point by throwing another rock, missing this time.

“Put your weapon back, you fool,” Sergeant Sharp growled, approaching the soldier.

“It’s your bucking fault!” the soldier exclaimed suddenly, swinging his sword at the sergeant.

Blocking his blow with an armored foreleg, the sergeant grabbed the weapon from his attacker and punched him on his face, sending him stumbling backwards. He was protected from the worst by his helmet, but he was clearly dazed. Luckily for him, the sergeant stopped.

“I’ll ignore it this one time,” he said calmly. “Now let’s go before they—” he nodded at the group of enraged ponies, “—grow bold.”

The soldier nodded curtly and reached out for his sword, but the sergeant shook his head. “I’ll keep it with me for the time being.”

They trotted away as more rocks continued to hit their armor harmlessly. The sergeant had showed a great deal of restraint by not responding. With the mood those ponies were in, it would only make things worse – and he knew it.

Thankfully, soon they had returned to the safety of the base. Mounted crossbows from a damaged airship had been placed on the roofs around the square, discouraging the mob from wandering too close. Newly raised barricades on the streets adjacent to the base would stop those who would try.

Applejack felt like she had eaten a rotten apple.

A little more than a month ago, she had been on the other side of the fence when the soldiers had come to her village to conscript ponies, breaking the old agreement. Applejack had been enraged at the soldiers too back then, but now she was extorting hard-earned food from the simple ponies, which was even worse.

At least, thanks to her, Big Mac had been spared from doing that. It would have broken his heart.

“I don’t like it,” Flare said as soon as the sergeant had left them alone. “I didn’t join the army to go from a thief to a robber.”

“I don’t like it myself, sugarcube,” Applejack sighed, dropping heavily onto her bedroll. “I knew the army wouldn’t be easy, but I had no idea I’d end up doing something like this.”

“This whole war is going downhill,” Flare nodded. “I think we need to leave.”

Applejack glanced at her friend in confusion. “Leave? You mean like… deserting?”

“Exactly,” the mare smiled briefly, but her expression turned sour again. “I wanted to do something good in my life. Saving poor ponies from savage griffons seemed like a great way to accomplish that… But now they’re doing even worse because of us!”

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Applejack said. “But if we were to leave, where would we go? It’s days on hoof to Stalliongrad and I don’t think they’ll welcome two deserters there. Besides, I can’t just leave, ya know. It would put my whole family at risk once they find out.”

Flare’s ears drooped. “Ah, yes, I suppose you’re right…” the mare punched the ground in frustration. “Damn. I don’t want to leave without you.”

“Sorry, Flare,” Applejack said. “But I won’t risk my family like that.”

“I know,” Flare said, falling backwards onto her bedroll. “Rotten luck. Well, it’s not like I can leave anyway right now…”

***

Two days later, however, Flare got her opportunity. With the situation getting out of hoof, Commander Long Tail had made a decision to send the Luminous to break through the griffon’s blockade and request some reinforcements from Stalliongrad if they had any to spare.

“This is my chance, Applejack,” Flare said. “I’ll sneak out when the ship reaches the city. I don’t think they’ll look too hard for one lost soldier.”

Applejack’s eyes shot nervously around the decks to make sure nopony had heard that. “Be quiet, ya fool. Ya don’t want the sergeant to hear it.”

The two were standing near the rails on the Luminous’s decks as the airship prepared to leave. Only a skeleton crew, a small number of best soldiers and some heavily wounded ponies who couldn’t fight were going on this trip, while the bulk of the forces had remained in Stonehill. The commander reckoned the Luminous was intimidating enough to keep the griffons from attacking the lonely ship.

“Sorry, I got too excited,” Flare shrugged, flickering a smile, “I can’t wait to leave this bucking town. I just wish you’d go with me…”

“I’ll be with you ‘till Stalliongrad, but ya know I can’t really leave.”

“Yeah.”

“Ya don’t have to leave either, ya know,” Applejack said, feeling a pang in her heart. “It’s a real mess in here, but maybe once they send in the reinforcements, it’ll be better.”

Flare shook her head. “Do you really believe it?”

“No.” Applejack wished to say differently, but she didn’t want to lie. She just didn’t want Flare to leave.

Flare seemed to understand her silent thoughts. “I don’t want to leave you either,” she said, drooping her ears. “But I don’t want to be in the army anymore. I was a fool to join in the first place.”

Applejack’s shoulders slumped, but she nodded in understanding. It wasn’t like she wanted to be a soldier. She would have given anything to be able to follow Flare in her daring escape. Anything but her family’s safety.

Soon, the last troops had boarded and the Luminous gently rose into the air. After they had reached a high enough altitude, the crew raised the sails and the ship moved forward, picking up speed.

Everypony who could fight had taken their position on the decks, ready for a possible attack as the airship left the town and flew over the open fields. The enemy, however, wasn’t foolish enough to take on the flying fortress the Luminous was.

Some griffons were following the ship at a distance, but there were too few of them to pose a threat.

As the Luminous soared through the sky, leaving Stonehill far behind it, the soldiers relaxed. Most of them stayed on the decks, though, not wishing to be confined to the airship’s tight interior. Applejack and Flare were chatting about trivial topics, simply enjoying each other’s company in the time they had left.

“They’re coming!” Rainbow Dash yelled, startling everypony as she appeared from below the ship. A dozen of other pegasi were following behind her. “Get ready for an aerial attack!”

Applejack and Flare jumped on their hooves simultaneously, drawing their swords. Loud yells and orders filled the decks around them as everypony tried to organize themselves to defend the ship. A bell rang, signaling the attack for those inside.

“You two, keep close to me,” Sergeant Sharp ordered to the mares. He had been given temporary command of a newly assembled squad for this trip. “Give these griffons hell.”

The griffons poured onto the decks in droves, climbing over the board. They must have approached from the blind spot below the ship to avoid the crossbows, Applejack guessed, looking at them in frustration. Those things were useless right now!

Screams of wounded ponies and griffons filled the air as the soldiers rushed to meet them in close quarters. Applejack and Flare fought for their very survival side by side with the sergeant, being at the tip of the charge.

A griffon’s claws scratched Applejack’s foreleg, but she barely felt any pain, striking back with her sword. It easily went through the griffon’s open chest, leaving a gaping hole when she pulled back the bloodied weapon.

The griffon fell – gasping for air – as Applejack turned to another one charging at her with a spear. I can’t avoid it! — a desperate thought flashed in her head. But mere inches from her body, the spear stopped, glowing in Flare’s magic. Screaming in rage, she sent a surge of energy through it, shocking the attacker. Using that moment, the sergeant finished him off for good.

“You’re okay?” Flare threw at Applejack, blocking a new attack.

Gripping her sword tightly, Applejack jumped to the opponent Flare was fighting with, stabbing him in his back. “Yes.”

The battle went on.

Despite their fierce resistance, the ponies were losing ground. A soldier near Applejack got his armor torn off by a griffon’s talon and was torn apart moments later before she could help. Another pony to her left gurgled blood when a spear pierced his chest plate.

They were slowly retreating to the staircase below — something they should have done from the beginning — when a loud explosion shook the ship, throwing everyone onto the decks. Another explosion sounded just a moment later.

Dazed, Applejack jumped onto her hooves before the griffons could take advantage of it, but the enemy was taking off in full retreat. She stared at their backs in confusion. Some ponies around her cheered, standing back up.

Quickly finding Flare among them, Applejack helped her, checking her for injuries. She sighed in relief, having found nothing serious.

“The ship is doomed, troops,” the sergeant announced, wiping off the blood from his face. He had lost his helmet at some point and half of his ear was missing along with it. “It was one hell of a fight, but we’ve lost.”

As soon as he said that, Applejack noticed that the airship was tilted forward and accelerating towards the ground. Her blood rushed away from her face. At the altitude they were on…

“Oh for Sun’s sake…” Flare muttered, realizing the same thing.

The rest of the ponies burst into panic, hectically running around the decks, but there was nothing they could do. A few remaining pegasi – including Rainbow Dash –were grabbing seemingly random ponies and rushing towards the ground with them, but Applejack knew they wouldn’t be able to save everypony in time.

“We’re not doomed!” Flare exclaimed. “We can stop the ship from crashing if we use our magic. We need every unicorn we have for this!”

Applejack raised her eyes at her with hope.

The sergeant’s drooped ear perked up. “It wouldn’t hurt to try.” Taking a deep breath, the sergeant bellowed. “Unicorns, get in here!”

Not waiting until everyone had heard him, he and Flare embraced the airship with their magic, struggling to slow it down. Grunting from the strain, they managed to lessen its acceleration towards the ground, but the ship was still falling.

Applejack’s hope was dwindling. She desperately wished she could help in any way, but all she could do was helplessly watch.

More unicorns joined their efforts, but there weren’t a lot of them on the airship to begin with and even fewer had survived the battle. Though the ship was slowing down somewhat, the ground was rapidly approaching. Applejack wasn’t a mathematician, but she could see they wouldn’t be able to stop it in time.

Closing her eyes, she recalled Apple Bloom in her mind. Then Big Mac and Granny Smith. If she was going to die, she wanted to die seeing them, not the carnage around her. Too bad she wouldn’t see them again for real.

“I’ve got you,” a familiar voice over her ear startled her.

Applejack opened her eyes wide in shock. Below her, the airship was still rapidly falling, but she was following it at a much slower pace as somepony’s forelegs were gripping her tightly around her barrel. The other pegasi were grabbing some ponies from the decks, but to Applejack’s horror, none of them had picked her friend.

“Flare!”

The mare raised her head and their eyes met. Flare grinned and her horn flashed brightly, momentarily blinding the earth pony. A horrible sound of crashing followed a second later. When Applejack opened her eyes again, her heart clenched at the sight of the broken and burning remains of the Luminous on the ground.

A moment later, it blew up in a fiery explosion.

Chapter XVI - Dungeons and Dragons

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Lotus sucked in a deep breath as a small, purple-scaled creature emerged from the shadows. Everypony shifted nervously, gripping their weapons tighter, staring at the stranger warily. It stood at the edge of light, staring back.

“Who are you?” Twilight asked, fascinated rather than scared as she examined the lizard-like being.

It was unlike anything they had encountered so far and not only because it hadn’t tried to eat them right away. Standing upright on two legs, the creature barely reached Twilight’s chin, but its formidable claws and sharp fangs warned against taking it lightly. Its bright green eyes examined the mare in turn, their pupil slits narrowing even further. The creature shot its tongue out with a small hiss.

“My name’s Spike,” he said in a surprisingly foal-like voice. A few seconds later he added, “And you kind of ruined my trap, you know.”

“Your trap?!” Rarity exclaimed, shaking her sword. “I broke my leg because of it!”

Spike winced, shuffling from one leg to another.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” he said, revealing his sharp teeth in a horrible attempt at what Twilight guessed was a smile. “I didn’t expect anypony to be here, really.” His eyes narrowed. “You aren’t here for me, are you?”

“No,” Twilight assured him, exchanging a quick look with Midnight, who was just as perplexed. “We’re just looking for something.”

Spike nodded and fell quiet, his eyes moving from one pony to another as Twilight considered her next move. After reading so much about the horrors awaiting her in the tunnels, she wasn’t prepared for the possibility of meeting someone friendly. Was the creature trying to lull them into letting their guard down?

“Why, I wonder why you would make a trap in the middle of the tunnel anyway?” Rarity gave Spike a withering stare.

“For hunting,” he shrugged, looking away. “Sometimes a biter or two gets stuck there. They’re pretty good when fried.”

Rarity scrunched her muzzle in revulsion, but Twilight wasn’t really surprised by his diet — she had guessed by his sharp fangs and claws that the creature in front of them was a predator. It did nothing to reassure her about his intentions.

“Don’t worry, I don’t eat ponies,” Spike said, probably noticing something in her expression. “Honest.”

“Good to know,” Twilight nodded, staying on guard.

However, the more she thought about Spike, the more questions she had. As far as she could tell, the creature was just as intelligent as a pony. Also, it clearly knew about ponies and spoke their language, despite living deep inside the mountain. Was there more of his kind around here? What even was his kind?

Twilight couldn’t recall any information about the creature in numerous books she had read about the tunnels of Canterlot Mountain, but that was hardly a surprise. Most ponies had never ventured as deep as her party just had, so while biters and shriekers were relatively well-known, what lay deeper down remained a mystery.

“Are you here alone?” Twilight asked casually.

Spike tilted his head.

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” Twilight said, forcing an apologetic smile. “We weren’t expecting to meet someone like you here.”

“Well, I’m probably the only one of my kind around,” Spike said. “But I wouldn’t say I’m here alone. There are plenty of monsters who would try to eat you.”

“Oh, we’ve met some of them,” Midnight chuckled, playing with his magical staff meaningfully. “They broke their teeth on us, so to speak.”

“Well, I’m not like them,” Spike said, throwing his arms up. “I would never eat a pony!”

That did it for Twilight. Having come to a decision, the unicorn gestured for her companions to lower their weapons. It wasn’t that she trusted the creature completely, but she judged they would take care of him on the off chance he turned hostile.

“We were about to stop for some rest. Would you mind staying and answering some of my questions?”

“Are you sure it’s wise?” Rarity intruded and pointed at her back limb. “I broke my leg because of him.”

Twilight gave her a nod and turned to Spike, awaiting his answer while holding her breath.

“Sure, I would love to talk,” he grinned with his toothy smile, sending shivers down Twilight’s spine, and walked toward the group. “It’s been ages since I last had a good conversation.”

Rarity cleared her throat loudly, getting everypony’s attention. “How about we tend to my broken leg first?”

Twilight blushed, cursing herself internally. In her excitement, Rarity’s injury had slipped her mind. While Midnight kept his eye on Spike, the rest tended to Rarity’s injury. Or at least tried to.

“We need to make a splint,” Lotus suggested.

“I know that, but we don’t really have anything we could use,” Twilight sighed, searching through their duffel bag. “I have the healing potion, of course, but I’d like to leave it for an emergency.”

Rarity scoffed. “I don’t know about you, darling, but a broken leg certainly feels like an emergency to me!”

“Is it broken though?” Lotus murmured, examining Rarity’s hindleg up close. Twilight wished she knew some medical spells to see through her skin, but unfortunately she had never learned one, so she had to rely on Lotus. “Can you move it?”

Rarity cried out in pain when she tried, tears welling up in her eyes. She shook her head with a grimace. “I don’t believe I can...”

Twilight sighed, levitating the bottle with the healing potion. Her eyes went from it to the mare sprawled on the ground, and she shook her head in dismay. It seemed like they had no alternative, unless they chose to abandon the mare or carry her along. Neither was really an option.

“Here you go,” Twilight grumbled, offering the bottle to Rarity.

Nodding in thanks, Rarity gulped it down in one go.

A grimace of pain distorted her face. She screamed, wriggling on the floor in agony, but Twilight prevented the others from intervening, watching the scene with a detached expression. Mending bones with this potion wasn’t a pleasant experience, but at least it was a quick one.

Soon, Lotus helped the disheveled Rarity back on her hooves. The mare was panting heavily and her left eye was twitching.

“You could have warned me that it would hurt this much,” the mare said in an accusatory tone as she tried to restore her mane into a semi-resemblance of her old manestyle. She gingerly stepped on her back hoof. “It seems to have worked splendidly though. Thank you, darling.”

“Don’t mention it,” Twilight said. She turned to Spike, who was standing a dozen feet away from the group, twiddling his claws. “Would you mind coming closer?”

“Nah, I’m fine over here,” the creature answered, settling on the floor right where he was standing.

He didn’t look like he belonged underground, Twilight thought. Typically, the creatures native to here had some similarities like the lack of vision or bright color, but Spike was the opposite. Reptile-like appearance, intelligence… Twilight’s eyes widened as a wild guess popped into her head.

“Are you a… dragon?”

Spike narrowed his eyes, giving the mare a strange look.

“Yes,” he nodded. “How did you know?”

“A dragon?!” Rarity recoiled as if expecting Spike to breathe fire on her. “You said there were no dragons down here, Twilight Sparkle!”

“I’m the only one as far as I know,” Spike said, frowning at Rarity. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you, pony.”

“It’s Lady Rarity for you.”

Spike rolled his eyes. Before the situation could escalate, Twilight began introductions. She had to use her real name, since Rarity had revealed it so carelessly. Not that it would make any difference, considering the situation.

“You’re not an adult dragon, are you?” Twilight asked, her ears perking up. “How old are you? Why do you live here all alone? How do you know about ponies? W—” Midnight interrupted her by putting a hoof on her shoulder. “What?”

“Give him some time to answer, Twi,” the stallion chuckled, nodding at the dragon sitting on the floor slightly befuddled.

Twilight blushed. In her excuse, it was hard not to get carried away when having a conversation with a real-life dragon. She could learn so much!

“Sorry, I’m just so excited,” the mare flashed an embarrassed smile at Spike. “Let’s start this again — how old are you?”

***

After talking with Spike for a while, Twilight and the rest had learned a lot about the dragon. He was young — six years younger than Twilight herself — and, according to him, he was the only one of his kind in these tunnels. However, Spike hadn’t always been living here.

“So you used to live in Starswirl Academy?” Twilight shot her eyebrows up at his revelation. “But I’ve never even heard about you.”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, I was kind of a big secret, you know? The ponies were studying me as a dragon. I lived there for as long as I can remember, but I rarely even left my room except to take part in another experiment. At least Professor Butterfly, who was in charge of studying me, taught me how to read. Otherwise I would have died of boredom.”

Then Spike told the ponies about his time at the Academy. He’d had no friends except for Professor Butterfly, but it had been good enough for him. He used to spend most of his free time reading anyway, reminding Twilight of herself, but rather than studying, Spike was interested in fiction.

“…It was a pretty good life,” Spike finished with a heavy sigh.

“How did you end up living here then?” Rarity asked, arching her eyebrow.

“I’m getting to it, Lady Rarity. Soon after Professor Butterfly had passed away, they just put me in a cage,” Spike said, wincing as if he’d eaten a lemon. “She was the only one who really cared about me as a friend, rather than a rare specimen to study…”

“Oh my, that’s awful,” Lotus murmured as Rarity lowered her gaze to the floor.

“I’ve heard about Professor Butterfly. She taught alien biology, but it was before my time there…” Twilight shook her head in dismay. “I would have loved to meet her.”

Spike nodded with a sigh before continuing his story. The rest of it was pretty short — the next day after he had been put in a cage, Spike had escaped by melting the bars and slipping away at night. Apparently, the ponies had underestimated his abilities when they had chosen a cage for him.

“Sometimes I think about getting back,” Spike admitted. “Even though they’ll lock me up again, I just hate it here. It’s so dark and lonely… and not one book to read…”

Twilight felt a stab of pity for the small dragon. She could understand him better than anypony else. Though she tried to maintain some level of skepticism towards Spike’s story, it was quickly slipping away under a whirlwind of emotions. First of all, he knew too much about the Academy to be making it up. And secondly, how could those ponies have been so unreasonable?!

They’d had a great opportunity of studying a real dragon who had been willing to cooperate, but they had washed it down the drain because of their narrow-mindedness. Twilight’s tail swished angrily behind her. If only they had followed in Professor’s Butterfly hoofsteps…

It was something Twilight had never liked about the Academy. She had only managed to get in there thanks to King Hearth’s personal involvement, but how many talented unicorns had never gotten the chance just because they were lowborn? The king had been one of the few who had understood the problem.

“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight said, throwing a wondering glance at Rarity. “I wish I could help you somehow, but I’m not even sure we’ll be able to leave these tunnels with the luck we’ve been having lately.”

Everypony stared at her in surprise, their expressions sagging.

“Not that I’m giving up, of course,” Twilight said more firmly, her face hardening. “We’ll do our best.”

“Maybe I can help,” Spike offered. “I know these tunnels pretty well, you know.” He smiled. “Besides, I don’t want you to ruin my other traps.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes.

“It’s very generous of you to offer your help, dragon. Is there any catch?”

“Eh, no,” Spike said, looking slightly hurt. “You can tell me about yourselves, I guess. I’m kind of dying of boredom here.”

Giving Rarity an annoyed glance, Twilight smiled at Spike. “I’d be happy to.”

Soon, the group was ready to continue their journey.

As soon as Twilight had explained where they needed to go, they moved out, following Spike’s direction. She did not say what exactly they were looking for though. While Spike seemed like a good dragon, the future of Equestria depended on their success, so Twilight didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. The dragon walked ahead with confidence, but unfortunately his short legs could only move him so fast, so their pace had slowed down considerably.

They still made some good progress though.

Spike hadn’t been kidding when he’d claimed to know the tunnels well. While Twilight had had to decide which turn to take every time the tunnel split, Spike always seemed to know where to go. A few times he warned them about the dangers they would have encountered, had they made a wrong turn. Some of the things he had described was making Twilight’s blood curl.

The others walked in silence as Twilight and Spike talked. The mare had told him about herself just like she had promised, though she had omitted mentioning the king’s involvement in her life or her recent position as the Court Mage. It would have led to questions Twilight didn’t want to answer.

After Twilight was done, Midnight told him about himself as well. Rarity and Lotus, however, remained quiet. While Lotus had never been a big talker, it was uncommon for Rarity to be silent for so long. Letting Midnight take her place near Spike, Twilight slowed down to walk beside Rarity.

The lady gave her a questioning look. “Yes, darling?”

“You’ve been pretty quiet lately. Is everything alright?”

“Oh, it’s quite alright, Twilight,” she lowered her volume to a whisper. “It’s just the idea of trusting a dragon doesn’t sit well with me. He’s a dragon, Twilight!”

Twilight frowned. “You shouldn’t judge him just because he’s a dragon.”

“Really, Twilight? Have you ever heard the stories about dragons?”

“I have, but he obviously doesn’t act like them,” Twilight countered. “Have you ever heard of a dragon who reads books?”

“No,” Rarity admitted. She lowered her voice even more. “But if you think he’s so trustworthy, why didn’t you tell him everything?”

Twilight winced. “I’m just being careful.”

“I can hear you, you know.”

Both mares stared at Spike’s back in shock as he continued to walk forward. Twilight’s cheeks burned hot with shame. Rarity, however, while she had seemed slightly embarrassed at first, quickly recovered, pursing her lips tightly.

The next ten minutes passed by in a tense silence, until Twilight had gathered enough courage to apologize.

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike grinned. Twilight returned a timid smile. “I wasn’t expecting you to trust me right away. I don’t really trust you either yet, but I like most of you so far.”

Rarity huffed, guessing whom he had meant, but made no comment.

Slowly, Twilight returned to her conversation with Spike. The dragon was asking a lot of questions about Equestria in general. Most of his own knowledge had come from fiction books and they weren’t exactly reliable, so Twilight was happy to tell him what little she knew.

Modern Equestria had never been her field of study back in the Academy days or even before that. Most of what she told Spike she had picked up from conversations with the king after he had made her his Court Mage. Twilight frowned, having reminded herself of King Hearth’s condition once again.

Luckily, Lotus was able to fill in the blanks from her own perspective.

“Me and my sister Aloe used to live in a small village near Stonehill with our mother,” Lotus said with a shadow of a smile. “Most of the ponies there were farmers, but our lord had freed our mother from that duty in exchange for her gathering some valuable plants for him.”

Lotus’s mother had taught them to look for rare plants in the large forest that grew nearby. Together, the family had been able to find much more than the lord had demanded, selling the rest in Stonehill. Thanks to that, Lotus’s family had prospered.

“You were lucky to have such a good lord,” Rarity said.

Lotus drooped her ears. “If you say so, Lady Rarity…”

“Did I say something wrong, darling?” Rarity shot her maid a quizzical look.

“N-no, sorry,” the mare shook her head. “It’s just you’re much, much better than he was. We’d been lucky enough to get on his good side, but everypony else in the village hated him.” Lotus sighed. “A lot of ponies didn’t like us either because of that. That’s why Aloe and I had never had any friends except for each other.”

“It sounds like you had it pretty rough,” Spike stated. “Kind of like me.”

“Those damn stuck-up nobles,” Midnight muttered angrily. “I saw a lot of them back at the Academy. They treat everypony like trash. My family is nobility too, but we’re poorer than some of the common folk, so those bastards never liked me either.”

Twilight arched her eyebrows, glancing at the stallion, but made no comment. Before that, she’d had no idea that Midnight had had any trouble with the others. Though, to be fair, she had never paid enough attention to anything but her studies.

“I can assure you, not all of the noble houses are like that,” Rarity pointed out. “House Belle always treats all ponies fairly, be they nobles or commoners. Isn’t that right, Lotus?”

The mare nodded, flickering a smile. “Of course, Lady Rarity.”

“Stop!” Spike yelled, grabbing Twilight’s tail.

A surprised gasp escaped her lips and her leg twitched as if to buck, but she suppressed the natural urge. She stopped, frowning at the dragon, and he finally released her tail.

“Look!” Spike said, pointing at something ahead.

Twilight’s head snapped in that direction, but she saw nothing worth her attention. Just a typical tunnel, stretching into the darkness. She checked her friends behind her, but they had the same puzzled expressions that was likely showing on her own face.

“Don’t you see it?” Spike asked, growling in annoyance. “There’s a stoneworm hiding there!”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as she searched the tunnel again. Her eyes widened when she had finally noticed something suspicious. There was a strange patch on the wall’s surface, slightly darker in color than its surroundings. It was the only thing that was different about the place. But was it really a mysterious stoneworm?

“I don’t see anything,” Midnight said, a hint of doubt in his voice. “What even is a stoneworm?”

Spike winced. “It’s a nasty creature. Go and check for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“Eh, no, thanks.”

The group had to backtrack to the latest turn to go around the suspected stoneworm’s lair. As they moved, Spike explained to the ponies more about the dangerous creature. It had an amazing ability to eat through rock, so it usually dug a hole in a wall and waited for its prey to pass by to spring into action.

“I’ve never heard of a stoneworm,” Twilight said, trying to imagine such an amazing creature. “Not even in any books.”

“Well, that’s how I call it at least. Maybe it’s called something else in your books,” Spike explained. “One of them almost caught me once. They’re hard to spot even if you know where to look.”

“So, kind of like giant Quarray Eels,” Twilight muttered, having recalled reading about them at least. “They live down in the deep ravines.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of them. But the stoneworm is not that big. The one that attacked me was the size of a stallion, though much longer.” Spike shuddered. “I wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for my firebreath. Ponies like you don’t stand a chance.”

Twilight felt a brief twinge of indignation after Spike’s dismissive remark, but remained quiet. While it stung, it was likely true. Rarity, however, had no intention to be silent. While the others were gazing at the walls of the tunnel in fear of another worm like that waiting for them, she caught up to Twilight and Spike in the lead.

“Why wouldn’t we?” she asked sharply. “A unicorn’s magic can be just as powerful as your firebreath. All the dragons who invaded Equestria in the past were defeated by it.”

“Well, you weren’t the one to defeat them,” Spike said, giving Rarity a wary look. “Besides, I found some ponies’ remains who had been killed by the stoneworm. They were unicorns too, but it didn’t help them much.”

Rarity had nothing to answer to that. After Twilight gave her a hard look, the mare pursed her lips and retreated back to her place.

“Do you mean a group of skeletons not far from the place where you found us?” Twilight asked and Spike nodded. “I was wondering what had happened to them…”

“Yeah, it looked like a stoneworm’s job to me,” Spike said. “I found the signs of his old lair near those skeletons.”

“Huh, really?” Twilight raised her eyebrows. “I guess I must have missed it. But we were in a hurry, so I couldn’t examine everything thoroughly.”

“It’s pretty hard to find,” Spike explained. “But I had a lot of time and nothing else to do, so…”

As they continued making their way through the tunnels, they had avoided even more dangerous encounters thanks to Spike’s knowledge of the underground. That had only proved his good intentions in Twilight’s opinion — if he had wished them ill, he could have just stopped helping them. By Twilight’s estimates, they had covered as much distance following Spike as they had throughout all of yesterday!

That meant they had to be close to the Amulet by now.

“We need to stop,” Twilight said soon. When the rest looked at her in question, she added, “I need to cast my search spell again to see how far away we are from our target.”

“That spell, darling?” Rarity winced. “We barely survived the last time you did that, remember?”

Midnight approached Twilight with concern evident on his face. “Are you sure it’s the only way to find what we’re looking for? We can ask Spike if he’s seen something like that, you know.”

Rarity furrowed her brows, giving Midnight a hard look, but Twilight was seriously considering the idea. There was a risk that Spike would try to claim the Amulet for himself once he had helped them find it. After all, dragons were known hoarders.

Spike, however, had been helpful to them so far. He had given Twilight a good impression based on their conversation. On the other hoof, she had trouble reading other ponies’ intentions, not to mention dragons. Besides, she had just met him today.

“I can totally help you find whatever it is,” Spike said, flashing a toothy grin. “I’ve seen pretty much everything in these tunnels.”

Twilight sighed. It was hard to make a decision. What was the biggest risk? Casting a search spell and dealing with whatever was drawn by her magic or trusting in Spike, the nice dragon they had met in this unfriendly place?

“You’re not actually considering it, Twilight,” Rarity said, swinging her tail in agitation. “Are you?”

Twilight gave her an apologetic look. “I think it’s our best option,” she said. “You didn’t want me to cast the spell yourself, remember?”

Rarity winced, but nodded. “Yes, but—”

“I think Spike is a nice dragon, Lady Rarity,” Lotus interrupted and recoiled from the sharp gaze that swiped at her. “Sorry.”

Rarity’s features softened. “Don’t apologize, dear. You know you’re free to express your thoughts to me.” Her eyes passed Spike, who was staring at the floor with his spikes downed, before returning back to Twilight. “But I still don’t like your plan, Twilight.”

“Do you like fighting a horde of monsters, then?” Midnight asked. “Because that’s what’s going to happen if Twilight casts this spell.”

Rarity shook her head. “I don’t want that, obviously.”

“Then there’s no alternative,” Midnight cut in. “I think Spike has done enough to earn our trust.”

“I agree, sorry,” Twilight looked Rarity in the eyes. Finally, the mare slumped.

“Fine, have it your way,” Rarity said. “I hope you’re right.”

Twilight nodded and faced the little dragon with an encouraging smile. “So, Spike, we’re looking for an artifact called the Alicorn Amulet. Have you ever heard of it?”

Answering his confused look, Twilight described what she knew about the Amulet. A lot of books had detailed descriptions or even pictures of it that she had memorized, so it wasn’t difficult. Spike listened to her thoughtfully.

“Holy guacamole,” he muttered once he had realized the Amulet’s power. “It must be priceless…”

“It is,” Twilight said, tensing up slightly. “And we know for sure it was hidden somewhere nearby.”

Spike’s eyes narrowed. Twilight wasn’t an expert in dragon expressions, but she didn’t like his right now.

“Why do you need such an artifact in the first place?”

Twilight shifted from one hoof to another, unsure of whether she should share their ultimate goal with him. However, after having revealed so much already, there was no point in hiding the rest. So, ignoring Rarity’s stare, Twilight briefly explained their situation to the dragon.

“Whoa, you must be pretty good with magic if you were the Royal Mage,” Spike said, giving Twilight an appraising look. The mare nodded with a slight blush on her cheeks. “So you need the Alicorn Amulet to get revenge on that Everlight dude?”

“That’s the plan,” Twilight confirmed. “Equestria’s future depends on it.”

“That does sound pretty important,” Spike said. “I’ll help you, but I have one condition.” He chuckled when Twilight and the others exchanged wary glances. “It’s nothing big, really. I just want you to take me to the surface.”

“What?” Rarity stared at the dragon in surprise. It clearly wasn’t what she had expected. “Why?”

Twilight herself was taken aback by his proposal. A torrent of thoughts flashed in her mind as she imagined the problems it would cause. Everlight’s ponies were looking for them as it was and with a dragon, even one as small as Spike, they were bound to draw some unwanted attention.

Even magic wasn’t the answer. She didn’t know any illusion spells to mask Spike’s appearance, even if dragons weren’t magic resistant in the first place. There was no way they could take Spike with them. The risk was too great.

“Why do you need our help?” Midnight wondered. “Can’t you go by yourself?”

“I can, but what would I do there?” Spike said, shaking his head. “I don’t know much about the pony world. One day somepony will find me and I’ll be locked into a cage again. I need your help.”

“But we can’t take you with us,” Twilight said, looking into Spike’s eyes. “You’re too noticeable. I’m really sorry, but you know how important our goal is.”

“But I’m sick of living in this hole!” Spike exclaimed, throwing his limbs up into the air. “There’s nopony to talk to save for some occasional dogs, and they hate me!”

Twilight briefly wondered about the talking dogs, but she stashed that bit of information for later, focusing on the present.

“I have the amulet in my lair,” Spike revealed as the ponies gasped in surprise. “I’ll give it to you only if you agree to take me with you.”

“Don’t you dare!” Rarity scowled, taking an angry step towards Spike and pointing her sword at him. “My sister’s life depends on that Amulet!”

“Calm down, Rarity,” Twilight snapped, yanking the sword out of her magic and throwing in on the floor. The lady glared at her as her face reddened, but Twilight ignored it, looking directly at Spike. “Look, how about I promise to return for you once we’ve dealt with Everlight?”

Twilight felt a pang in her heart as she noticed Spike’s eyes glistering with tears when the dragon shook his head stubbornly.

“I won’t hold out for this long,” he shot out desperately. “I didn’t realize how much I missed talking with ponies until I met you. I’ll go crazy in here!”

Midnight approached Spike and put his hoof on his shoulder. The dragon looked up to him.

“I understand how you feel,” Midnight said. “I do. But the ponies that are after us are dangerous. We don’t know if they’ll still follow us when we get back outside, but they’ll have a much easier time tracking us if we have a dragon along.”

Spike glared at the stallion for some time until his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“I wouldn’t want to put you all in danger… But would you swear to return for me once you’ve dealt with Everlight?”

“Of course,” Twilight nodded. “If we win, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you’ll get a free life on the surface. Right, Rarity?”

Rarity appeared thoughtful for a moment, but then she stepped forward. Spike recoiled slightly, but looked back into her eyes.

“On behalf of House Belle, I guarantee you safe refuge on the surface in exchange for the Alicorn Amulet,” the lady said, giving the dragon a warning look. “As long as you follow the Equestrian laws, of course.”

A frown appeared on Spike’s face as he considered the ponies’ offer. Then he sighed heavily.

“Well, I guess it’s better than nothing,” Spike said grimly. “Follow me then.”

***

Everypony was exhausted after everything they had gone through today, but they were determined to reach Spike’s lair as soon as possible and so, dragging their hooves on the floor, the party made their slow progress through the tunnels.

“Where did you find the Amulet?” Twilight asked Spike at some point. “Lord Moonlight’s journal never specified an exact place, just that he got rid of it somewhere deep. He thought nopony would find it.”

The dragon chuckled.

“He would think that,” Spike said. “I found it in a lava lake.”

Everypony stared at Spike in shock, but the dragon just shrugged. “What? I like to swim there sometimes. It’s pretty warm.”

“You can withstand lava?” Twilight asked in awe. “This is incredible!”

“Thank you,” Spike grinned. “Anyway, one day I just stumbled on it lying at the bottom of the lava. I wanted to eat the gem at first, but it didn’t even budge, so I realized it’s not just some piece of jewelry.”

“You eat gems?” Rarity asked incredulously, putting her hoof to her chest.

“Yep,” Spike confirmed to her horror.

Both Twilight and Midnight, however, exchanged an awed look. It was the first time the two unicorns had heard that dragons were able to eat gemstones. Twilight was half-tempted to take Spike with them right now, despite the risk. If only she could study him more!

She frowned, remembering Spike’s past. If she did study Spike, it would be only with his permission. In their desire to study him, the ponies at the Academy had forgotten that he was a living, breathing creature with his own wishes and desires.

“Besides gems and meat, what else can you eat?” Twilight asked Spike.

“Pretty much whatever you ponies eat,” Spike said and sighed. “I miss pancakes…”

“Can you eat rocks?” Midnight asked. Twilight perked up her ears — that was a great question.

“Well, I never tried actually,” the little dragon said, shaking his head. Having said that, he scooped up a rock from the floor and threw it into his mouth. Twilight heard a crunch and then Spike coughed. “Ew, no. It tastes terrible.”

Soon Twilight was so engrossed in the discussion that she had lost track of time. It was a nice distraction from what she’d had to experience in the last couple of days. Midnight seemed just as interested in Spike as she was, and together they were bombarding the dragon with their endless questions about his kind. He was only too happy to answer.

Twilight stumbled over Spike when he suddenly stopped, sending them both sprawling to the floor. She stood up with her face red from embarrassment and helped Spike to get up, apologizing hastily.

“It’s fine,” Spike waved his arm in dismissal. He pointed to his scales with a grin. “We dragons are pretty tough, as you well know.”

“Why did you stop here?” Rarity asked, looking around the tunnel warily.

“Oh, my lair is here.” Spike nodded at the inconspicuous wall. “It’s just hidden.”

Twilight stared at the smooth stone surface, trying to spot an entrance. She quickly noticed that the wall looked far too smooth to be natural. Approaching it, Twilight tapped on it with her hoof, producing a hollow sound.

“Amazing,” the unicorn said. “How did you do that?”

A smug smile grew on Spike’s face.

“I just collected some boulders and melted them together with my incredibly powerful dragon flame,” he said. He picked up a boulder lying at the edge of the wall, revealing a hole behind it. “I left only a small tunnel for myself.”

While Twilight examined the wall more closely, calculating how hot the flame must have been to melt the stone itself, Midnight approached the small hole. He lowered on his knees and looked inside.

“It’s too small for us to squeeze in, Spike,” the stallion said with disappointment.

The dragon looked from the hole to Midnight and his shoulder slumped. “Oh. You’re right. I really wanted you to see my lair…”

“Well, just get in there then and give us the Amulet,” Rarity said, shooting nervous glances at the darkness beyond their light’s reach. “I’m sick of this place.”

“So am I,” Spike said, losing what was left of his good mood. “Well, just wait here, I guess.”

Having said that, Spike dropped on all fours and scrambled into the small opening, barely squeezing through himself. Twilight suppressed a sigh as she watched him go — she wanted to see his lair too.

Twilight briefly considered teleporting inside, but the book where she had learned the spell gave a strict warning against blind jumps, giving her some brutal examples of things that could go wrong with it. The unicorn shuddered, imagining herself stuck in the wall or splitting.

Brrrrr.

She shook her head to get rid of the horrible image in her mind.

“Do you really think he’ll give us the Amulet?” Rarity asked.

“Well, I trust him,” Midnight answered with a shrug. “I think he’s a good guy.”

“I agree,” Twilight said, giving Rarity a firm look. “I hope you were telling the truth when you guaranteed his freedom in exchange for the Amulet?”

Rarity scoffed, returning Twilight’s look in kind. “Well, of course, darling. A lady of my position never gives false promises. As long as he honors his side of the deal, I will honor mine.”

The group watched in both directions of the tunnel in case some hungry creature stumbled their way while they were waiting for Spike to return. Suddenly, Twilight got an idea. Closing her eyes, the unicorn cast a limited version of her search spell.

She cried out in shock, falling backwards, almost blinded by a powerful glow in front of her. Twilight extinguished the spell as her companions rushed to her, drawing their weapons. Seeing that nothing was attacking her, they began shooting confused questions at her.

“Sorry for scaring you guys,” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “I just checked if the Amulet is really here. I’ve never felt so much power before…”

Just as she said it, everypony turned to the shuffling sound from behind them to see Spike climbing out of the hole. He stood up, dusted off his body and walked toward the group. Twilight’s eyes immediately snapped to the item he held in his claws.

She could feel its power. It reverberated in her horn, making it tingle and sending shivers through her whole body. Stopping before her, Spike reached out casually and offered the Amulet to her.

Twilight lifted up her hoof and froze.

It was hard to believe that this artifact of awesome power was finally within her reach. With its help, she would be able to restore the rightful rule of the king, Twilight was sure of it. Not everypony was able to unlock the Amulet’s full potential, but she was certain in her ability to do so.

Nothing would stand in her way while she wielded it, not even Everlight’s entire army of henchponies.

“Well?”

Twilight twitched, pulled out from her thoughts. She stared at the Amulet. For some reason, the unicorn was reluctant to touch it with her magic, as if afraid it would burn her. She gulped and reached out with her hoof. A jolt of power went through her body, making Twilight’s hair stand on end.

“That’s a nice gemmm you have there, pony.”

A screeching voice made her heart leap. Her ears swiveled as she turned to the direction of the voice and stared into the darkness. Something moved and the ponies gasped as a bulky figure stepped out from the shadows. More could be seen lurking behind the first.

What in the hay were those?!

“Diamond Dogs!” Spike exclaimed, answering her silent question. “What are you doing here?”

The beast stood up, towering over the group of ponies and watching them with his narrowed eyes. A crude metal armor covered some parts of his body. In his paws he was gripping a rusty mace.

“We were following the ponies’ scent, yesss,” the dog said, licking his lips with his large tongue. “Very delicious smell.”

Goosebumps crawled on Twilight’s back at the implications, but she quickly suppressed her fear. A lot of things had been trying to eat them lately and none of them had succeeded so far. With her horn ablaze, Twilight glared into the creature’s eyes.

“You’re not getting anything from us, dogs,” she said firmly, trying to ignore the creature’s fangs. “Turn around and leave.”

The dog barked loudly, making Twilight recoil. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was laughing.

“You don’t tell usss what to do, purple pony,” the dog said, stepping towards the group. The other dogs behind him followed into the light — a dozen of them at the very least.

Before they got too close, Spike spit out a torrent of green flame, setting the floor in front of them aflame. The lead dog jumped back with an angry hiss.

“Ha! You missed!” the dog said, grinning wide. His pals filled the tunnels with the sound of their barking laughter.

Spike turned to the ponies, wincing. “It takes hours to recharge my flame,” he whispered. “I really thought it would scare them off…”

“Should we run?” Midnight asked, his staff pointed at the approaching dogs.

Twilight didn’t answer as she went over their options. The dogs had found them by smell, so it was pointless to run from them. But fighting them was not a good option either — they weren’t just the mindless beasts the group had faced earlier. There was just one solution…

Twilight’s eyes flickered to the Alicorn Amulet still in her hoof.

She hadn’t planned to use it without understanding how it worked first. According to the books, some of its owners had burned themselves out the first time they had tried to use the Amulet by unleashing magic too powerful for them to handle. Though Twilight had some experience with powerful magic, the risk was still there.

Using it right now was just as likely to doom them as it was to save them. Steeling her expression, Twilight locked the Amulet around her neck.

But I don’t really have a choice, do I?

Chapter XVII - Secrets and Lies

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“What’s your favorite pie filling?”

Pinkie Pie trotted down the wet road, whistling a happy tune to herself. Her flat mane was gathered in a bun under her hood. Her traveling cloak saved her from the worst of the pouring rain, but her coat was damp anyway as her hooves carelessly splashed water and dirt all around. Some of it was landing on the stallion trotting beside her, much to his displeasure. Pinkie answered his glare with a playful wink.

“Why are you so damn cheerful?” Heavy Steps grumbled, ignoring her question. “The prince probably sent us on a wild goose chase…”

After setting out from Birminghoof earlier this day, Pinkie Pie and her companion had been traveling on the main road that connected Birminghoof to Canterlot. They had passed through a couple of small villages along the way but had found no signs of Twilight passing there so far.

“I’m sure we’ll find something in the next village,” Pinkie assured the stallion, feeling as confident as ever.

“You said the same thing in the last one,” Heavy Steps pointed out. “I don’t understand why you simply believed the prince.”

Pinkie shrugged, frowning her muzzle slightly. “I have my reasons.”

“What reasons?” Heavy Steps growled.

“I can’t share them yet,” Pinkie answered calmly. “Just trust me, okay?”

Heavy Steps sighed and fell silent as Pinkie Pie relaxed. She considered coming up with a lie to explain her actions to the captain, but nothing good came to mind. The real reason was out of the question, of course. After all, if he knew why she had believed Prince Blueblood’s claim of Twilight’s innocence, he would have tried to kill her himself.

Pinkie had firmly believed she had been doing a good deed for Equestria at the time, when she had accepted the contract to poison the king from an anonymous client, but Heavy Steps’ loyalty and love for the old ruler had shattered that belief, after already being weakened by her inner doubts. A truly bad king would not inspire love from his servants, only fear.

And now an innocent mare was being blamed for her own crime. That had never sat well with Pinkie Pie, even though she had assured herself that one mare’s life was nothing compared to the good of all of Equestria. That was why Pinkie had decided to look for Twilight. Not only to learn more about the king’s personality — though that was part of her reason — but to make up for basically ruining Twilight’s life. She may be a unicorn, but even unicorns deserved fair treatment. Otherwise, Pinkie wouldn’t be better than the nobles she hated so much.

She glanced at Heavy Steps, thinking about the irony of the situation. The stallion had come to her to find the one responsible for poisoning his beloved king, and he had found her. He just didn’t know it yet. Hopefully, he never would.

“So, what’s your favorite pie filling?” Pinkie repeated her earlier question.

Heavy Steps rolled his eyes. “Blueberry,” he finally answered.

The rain was over by the time they reached the next village. The sun was already close to the horizon, coloring the scattered clouds in red. Pinkie was distracting herself with random chatting, but the closer they drew to the city, the harder it was for Pinkie to keep her cheerful attitude. As they entered the village, her face turned into a frown.

After living in the capital for so long, Pinkie had almost forgotten how much worse life was for ponies under the nobles’ rule, but looking at the gloomy faces of the villagers, she was reminded of that fact. They couldn’t even move elsewhere. Not unless they paid a hefty sum or had some skills that were useful for the noble in charge. The cities were much better in that respect, but unfortunately earth ponies like Pinkie were a minority among their inhabitants.

“This doesn’t look so bad,” Heavy Steps stated.

Pinkie shrugged. The village actually looked much better than the ones they had passed through so far. There was something in the way the ponies here held themselves that made them look different from their counterparts from the other villages. Some of them even greeted Pinkie with a nod, which she happily returned.

With her spirits lifted slightly, Pinkie went looking for the local information hub — the village’s tavern. Such a place was always easy to find, especially in a small village like this one, and soon she was approaching the only two-story building around, assuming it to be the place she needed.

Her guess was confirmed when she saw a signboard thoughtfully illuminated by a torch saying Gloomy Horse, which hung over the entrance. Ponies’ voices carried from the inside in a constant buzz, suggesting that the place was busy. Pushing the door open, Pinkie and Heavy Steps walked inside.

Some of the patrons turned their heads to regard the newcomers, but quickly lost their interest, returning to their own business. There were some free tables in the hall, but Pinkie walked straight to the bartender — a peachy-coated middle-aged stallion.

“How can I help ya, lass?” he asked before Pinkie could even open her mouth.

“Two cups of your strongest cider, please!” Pinkie grinned, throwing a couple of bronze bits on the counter.

The pony nodded, snatching the bits while Pinkie sat on a barchair. While he went to fetch a bottle from a shelf behind him, Heavy Steps joined by Pinkie’s side. The bartender placed two large mugs in front of them a moment later. Heavy Steps glanced at his cup with raised eyebrows before raising his eyes to the P.I.

“We’re staying here for the night,” she answered his silent question. “Might as well relax. I haven’t had a good cider in weeks!”

Shrugging, the stallion took his mug and downed half of it in one go. A tiny shudder passed through his body as his ears stood up straight. Not to be outdrunk by a unicorn, Pinkie Pie followed his example, finishing the whole cup. Immediately, she felt a pleasant warmth spreading from her stomach to the rest of her body.

“Mhhh, that’s the good stuff,” Pinkie smiled, planting her mug at the bar table with a loud smack. “Give me another one, please!”

“You can thank the Apples here,” the bartender said, filling up her mug once again. “I honestly didn’t think they would pull it off it this year…”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked, arching her eyebrows almost comically.

“The damn army conscripted one of them a few weeks ago,” the pony explained with anger in his voice. “Right before harvest too. Big Mac and the rest had to work twice as hard to take care of their orchard, in addition to their village duty.”

“Oh, I see,” Pinkie nodded, her smile dropping. “That conscription sure was inconvenient for a lot of ponies, wasn’t it?”

The conscription that probably wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t poisoned the king.

“Eh, it could have been worse,” the bartender shrugged. “At least Lord Belle allowed us to keep most of the harvest to ourselves this year to make up for breaking our deal, may the Sun bless his generous soul. Our neighbors are not so lucky, unfortunately.”

“Your deal?” Heavy Steps asked.

The bartender quickly explained the arrangements the village had with House Belle concerning conscription. Instead of conscripting the ponies forcefully, the lord had allowed the villagers to decide for themselves who they were going to send to the army. Two or three ponies had usually volunteered each year, which was enough to satisfy his needs.

But the new regent needed much more than that.

“Lady Belle tried to protect us, but the soldiers didn’t listen to her,” the bartender continued, lowering his ears as he remembered those events. “They took more than a dozen at once.”

The two discussed it until Pinkie ran out of cider again. Glaring at her empty mug in indignation, she ordered the third one for herself. She checked Heavy Steps, but her companion was still at his second one, sipping it slowly as he listened to their conversation with a thoughtful expression.

“I’m looking for somepony, by the way,” Pinkie said at some point between the third and the fourth mug. Swaying in her chair slightly, she described Twilight to him. “She might have been here a couple of weeks ago.”

The bartender’s eyes narrowed, as he had undoubtedly recognized Twilight Sparkle – the most wanted criminal in Equestria – under that description. It was hard not to, considering that her wanted poster with a promised thousand golden bits reward was literally hanging on the wall right behind him.

“So, you’re looking for her, huh?” he asked, lowering his voice. “As a matter of fact, I remember a pony that might have been her. But I saw her just once when she paid for her room, so I can’t be sure. It was the day just after the king was poisoned.”

Pinkie leaned forward in excitement. “Is that all?”

“Well, she wasn’t alone,” the pony continued. “It’s not often a unicorn mare stops at my inn, but that day we had three — Lady Belle, her and some other mare that called herself her friend. They stayed in the room together.”

Pinkie raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise. Twilight had a friend with her? Blueblood had never mentioned that. “Do you remember what that friend looked like?”

“Well, she was a unicorn,” the bartender said thoughtfully. “Looked kind of similar to her, but her coat was light blue instead of purple and her mane was grass green. I thought they were sisters, but I never asked.”

A guess struck her through a drunken haze.

“Did you ever see them together?”

The stallion shook his head, confirming Pinkie’s guess. Grinning, she dropped a golden bit on the table. The bartender’s eyes widened in shock, but he wasted no time in snatching the coin. Pinkie jumped off her chair, landing gracefully despite the buzz in her head.

“A room for the night for me and my friend, please,” Pinkie said. “Keep the change.”

***

Having confirmed Blueblood’s words — at least considering the direction Twilight was going in — Pinkie Pie and Heavy Steps didn’t have to stop to chat in every village anymore. They were walking at a brisk pace and a day later they were nearing Waterhoof, the first proper town on their way to Canterlot.

The weather was the complete opposite of what it had been yesterday, with an autumn sun shining brightly over their heads. It was a warm, pleasant day that anypony would have dreamed of at this time of year. Pinkie’s mood, however, was anything but pleasant as she walked without her usual spring in steps, her tail dragging on the ground behind her.

She had always known that the ponies had a rough life out here in the countryside, but seeing it with her own eyes had really hit it home. There were a few exceptions to the general rule — villages in House Belle’s domain were a prime example that even nobleponies weren’t all bad — but those were few and far between.

Unfortunately, even their life had taken a turn for the worst after Everlight had assumed power. What made it even worse for Pinkie was the fact that she was directly responsible for that. Though she hadn’t known who had paid her for the contract at the time, seeing who had benefited the most from it had made it pretty obvious.

“Are we going to stop in Waterhoof for the night?” Heavy Steps asked, dragging Pinkie out of her gloomy thoughts.

“Sounds good,” Pinkie threw in absentmindedly.

“I agree,” Heavy Steps nodded. “I want to sleep in some comfort today.”

The mare snickered. “You’re funny if you think you’ll find a good place to stay there, but okay.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Waterhoof was a relatively large town with its own walls guarding its inhabitants from an outside threat, but its glory days had long since been over. Though Pinkie herself had never been there personally, she had asked around back at the inn about what was waiting ahead of them. The answers she had gotten weren’t promising.

“What in Tartarus is this shit?” Heavy Steps asked, pointing at the town’s gate with a deep frown.

Pinkie wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see a couple of club-wielding ponies instead of official town guards being posted there. They were sitting at one side near each other, too engrossed in their chatting to notice the two approaching guests.

“Most town guards were sent to the eastern border,” Pinkie explained.

“What?” the stallion gaped at her. “That’s insane! Who’s keeping the order now?”

“Those guys, I guess,” Pinkie nodded at the chatting ponies. Heavy Steps shook his head in bewilderment.

It was a mare and a stallion, both earth ponies, who were even younger than Pinkie Pie herself. As Pinkie and Heavy Steps approached the gate, the pair finally noticed them and moved to block their way. Pinkie Pie met their effort with a fake smile, but Heavy Steps didn’t even bother to hide his open contempt.

“Out of my way,” he threw at them without slowing down, but the ponies waved their clubs menacingly, forcing him to finally stop.

“Not so fast, old guy,” the young stallion said.

“Yeah, you need to like pay a toll to enter the town, you know?” his friend added. “It’s just a bronze bit, dontcha worry.”

Heavy Steps scowled and reached for his saddlebag, but Pinkie quickly pushed him out of the way before he could cause any trouble. She put a bronze coin on the outstretched hoof of the “guard”, making the pony grin with his yellow teeth. Pinkie forced a smile in response, even though her heart wasn’t really in it.

A moment later the ponies stepped away, allowing them to pass.

“That was blatant extortion,” Heavy Steps said, barely containing his anger when they had gotten far enough from the gate. The stallion looked around in distaste. “There is no “toll” to enter any town, least of all a dump like this one.”

Pinkie Pie had to agree with his assessment. The place was just as bad as advertised. Though they were walking on the main street, it looked no better than the worst neighborhoods of Birminghoof, which was a pretty low standard to reach.

“We could have wiped the floor with them,” Heavy Steps said, shaking his mane angrily. “You know that.”

“And deal with a bunch of their friends later?” Pinkie asked. “It’s easier to just pay them.”

Heavy Steps growled but couldn’t find any argument against her words.

They encountered a whole patrol of similar “guards” on their walk through the town, but those ponies paid them no mind, being more interested in laughing at their own jokes. The townsponies kept their distance from the group and so did Pinkie.

After asking a few passers-by for direction, Pinkie and Heavy Steps had finally found a suitable place at the edge of the town square. It wasn’t the best Waterhoof had to offer, but the more luxurious places were reserved for nobles and rich ponies. While Pinkie had the bits to spare — poisoning the king hadn’t been the first contract she had completed after all — she had different plans for her money than wasting them on extravagances.

Pushing the tavern door open, Pinkie strolled inside and headed for the nearest table. Heavy Steps followed her with a grimace of displeasure, which Pinkie chose to ignore. Slumping on the chair, the mare stretched her legs, weary after a full day of walking.

Even with her earth pony stamina she was having a hard time, but surprisingly Heavy Steps had been able to keep up with her pace with little effort. His Royal Guard training hadn’t all been for nothing, Pinkie guessed.

Barely anypony was inside the tavern, so the waitress took their orders and served them a fresh portion of rice with beans in no time.

“This is delicious!” Pinkie announced, devouring it with terrifying speed. Her companion shook his head as he calmly ate his own portion.

After the meal was over, Pinkie rented a room for the night. While Heavy Steps had gone to bed immediately, she decided to stick around to have some chat with the locals. It was one of her rules to pick up on the latest rumors wherever she went.

At first, she had heard just more of the same — some local rumors, a possible war with the griffons, theories about who had been behind the king’s poisoning… Most ponies didn’t really care about the latter, but the ones who did suspected that Everlight had been behind the whole thing. His swift rise to power right after King Hearth had been out of commission was highly suspicious for anypony who had a bit of a brain.

One story in particular, however, piqued Pinkie’s interest. It was about a strange unicorn mare that had desperately tried to hire a carriage to Canterlot a couple of weeks ago.

“She agreed to pay a hundred bits for that, can you imagine?” one of the ponies said. “If I’d known she had that kind of money from the start, I would have carried her on my own back!”

“A hundred bits?” Pinkie raised her eyebrows. “That’s insane!”

After learning what that mare looked like, there was no doubt in Pinkie’s mind that it had been Twilight in disguise. Pinkie shook her head in dismay. For somepony who should have been trying to lay low, Twilight had made a lot of ruckus here.

Hopefully, she wouldn’t get caught before Pinkie caught up with her.

***

Two days later, when Pinkie and Heavy Steps were on the last leg of their journey to Canterlot, a group of soldiers in light armor galloped past them. Of course, Pinkie’s ears had heard them long before that though, so they’d had time to hide in the bushes along the road.

“Why are we hiding?” Heavy Steps asked.

“Just in case,” Pinkie answered, her ears locating at the sound. “We did break into the palace and threaten the prince, you know.”

Heavy Steps nodded curtly, satisfied with the explanation. In truth, Pinkie didn’t really think the soldiers were looking for them — the prince would have done everything in his power to cover up Pinkie’s little intrusion — but you could never be too careful.

As it soon turned out, Pinkie’s carefulness was unfounded this time. The group of soldiers had just been an advanced patrol of a larger force of thousands of troops that were moving behind them at a fast trot. This was an army going to war, Pinkie realized as her stomach went cold.

“Damn…” Heavy Steps muttered. “Everlight is really doing it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Pinkie wasn’t surprised either. But even though everypony had guessed that war was coming with all the conscripting and raising taxes, it wasn’t easy to see it be confirmed with your own eyes. Especially if you were the one to put it in motion in the first place.

While Pinkie hated the griffons as much as the next pony, she knew what starting a new war with them would mean for Equestria. The griffons were too powerful an enemy. Her short trip through the countryside had only further proved that the country wasn’t ready for war.

“Even if we win this war, there will be heavy losses,” Heavy Steps said, agreeing with her unspoken thoughts. “The situation is the same for the griffons. We learned it painfully well in the last war — neither side can hope for an easy victory. King Hearth knew that.”

Pinkie nodded with a gloomy expression. If only she had considered the consequences earlier… But the pay was too good and poisoning the king had seemed like an appropriate punishment for what he’d done to the country. Who would have thought that whoever came to power after him would be even worse?!

After the army had passed by, Pinkie and Heavy Steps climbed out of the bushes and resumed their journey to the mountain that was looming in the distance. Neither of them talked for hours, both too deep in their thoughts.

***

“Have you ever danced with a donkey?” Pinkie asked with a grin. “I was told they were great dancers.”

It had been a day since the army encounter and Pinkie had recovered enough to resume her chatter. In fact, talking about nonsense was what made her feel better because it didn’t leave any space for the bad thoughts in her head. Heavy Steps’s grimace suggested that he wasn’t enjoying the chat as much as she was, but it was better than brooding over something you couldn’t change, in Pinkie’s opinion.

“No, I haven’t,” Heavy Steps answered curtly. “Whoever told you that is a fool.”

“Well, I’ve always wanted to try…” Pinkie drawled, checking the road ahead. “I wonder if there are any donkeys in Canterlot.”

“I doubt that,” Heavy Steps snorted.

They had been trotting in the shadow of Canterlot Mountain for a while now, coming ever closer to its base. Pinkie raised her eyes to once again marvel at the beauty of the white city reaching out from the side of the mountain, as if trying to grasp the very sky itself. The city had been built on colossal platforms — a feat of ancient craftsmanship that put everything else she had seen to shame. Colossal supports arched out from the mountain below, bridging it to the platform’s farthest edge. She could only imagine how breathtaking the view might be from atop that gilded city, looking out across all of Equestria below.

“This should have been the capital of Equestria,” Pinkie stated. “It’s far more impressive than our old Birminghoof.”

“It used to be the capital,” Heavy Steps shrugged. “I’ve always wondered why they moved it.”

“Beats me,” Pinkie said, not tearing her gaze from the sky.

It seemed like such a bad choice. Even the weather near Canterlot was much more pleasant than it was back in Birminghoof. Pinkie suspected that it had something to do with the cloud city above the mountain – Cloudsdale, one of the great Pegasus cities. A bunch of them were in the air right now, busy demolishing a few clouds in an otherwise clear sky.

“Pegasi,” Heavy Steps almost spat, narrowing his eyes. “They think they’re better than everypony else, that bunch. They forbade the pegasi to join the Equestrian army. We could have used some flying troops in the last war...”

“I didn’t see a lot of unicorns among the troops we saw yesterday either,” Pinkie snapped.

The stallion glared at her and opened his mouth as if to answer, but then shook his head in dismay. Pinkie breathed in and out slowly, forcing herself to relax. Heavy Steps wasn’t bad for a unicorn, otherwise she wouldn’t have tolerated his companionship. But sometimes he was just as arrogant as the rest of his kind.

Soon, Pinkie and Heavy Steps were in viewing distance of the first gate. Unlike Waterhoof, those gates were guarded by several proper guards with large spears, their armor shining with a polished gleam. As Pinkie and Heavy Steps slowly approached, the mare noticed something weird: while a group of unicorns passed without any issues, an earth pony was stopped and had to present some papers.

Pinkie Pie narrowed her eyes as she observed the scene, pondering its meaning. If they demanded some kind of documentation from every earth pony, that was going to be a problem.

While the guards were distracted, Pinkie jumped into the bushes. Heavy Steps walked a few more steps until he noticed his companion’s sudden disappearance. The stallion stopped, looking around in confusion.

“Come here, quick!” Pinkie called for him from the bushes.

Heavy Steps finally noticed her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, joining her in her hiding spot. Pinkie quickly explained her observations to him.

“I had no idea they were so strict about allowing earth ponies into the city,” Heavy Steps commented after she was finished. “There is no such thing in Birminghoof.”

“So much for being the center of culture,” Pinkie said, drooping her ears. “Oh well. Luckily, I brought my unicorn costume along.”

Heavy Steps’ brows rose in surprise as the mare produced a fake horn matching her coat color out of her saddlebag and fastened it to her forehead with a few barely noticeable tapes. She flashed a triumphant smile at her companion.

“Do you really think it’s going to fool them?” he asked, skepticism evident in his voice.

The P.I. nodded happily, putting a hood over her head.

“Now you definitely look like you’re hiding something,” Heavy Steps commented flatly.

Pinkie shrugged. The next moment she jumped out of the bushes back onto the road, ignoring a few strange glances from passers-by, and casually trotted towards the gate. Her companion followed right behind.

Pinkie tensed up internally, ready to spring into action if anything went wrong, but the guards barely spared them a glance when Pinkie trotted right under their noses, with them none the wiser about her true nature. A smile grew on her face.

“Well, that worked,” Heavy Steps said after they’d gotten far enough from the gate.

“It always works.” Pinkie’s smile widened as she revealed a hidden vial of strange liquid under her cape. “But I had some sleeping gas in case it didn’t.”

“Good planning,” the stallion nodded in approval.

They ascended the mountain for a couple of hours until they had reached the second gate. Before entering the city, Pinkie stopped to enjoy the breathtaking view from up here. It was almost like she could see all of Equestria at once with all its little villages and towns, fields and forests, hills and rivers… But it was just a small part of it, Pinkie realized with awe. Equestria was much larger than could be seen from one mountain.

Tearing her sight off the beautiful view, Pinkie headed for the gate. After crossing a small bridge, they had finally entered the great city. Pinkie’s fake horn worked just as well this time, allowing her to pass by the guards without raising any suspicion.

Being in Canterlot for the first time, Pinkie was amazed at its splendor. Her eyes gazed around in wonder as she trotted on the main street. The white marble of the old buildings shined beautifully in the rays of the setting sun. Even after Pinkie had left the main street, the city continued to impress her. The difference between Canterlot and Birminghoof was striking.

Even the ponies here looked different. Almost nopony bothered wearing clothes in Birminghoof, but here it was another story. A few ponies who were still out at such a late hour were wearing all kinds of things that put Pinkie’s traveling cape to shame.

“So, what’s our next step?” Heavy Steps asked.

“Find Twilight, of course,” Pinkie answered flatly. “That’s why we’re here, don’t you remember?”

The stallion rolled his eyes. “I mean, how exactly are we’re going to do it?”

“Well, it should be fairly easy,” Pinkie said. “We know her goal, we know her disguise and we know how she thinks. While we might be able to find her family in town and check on them, I don’t think Twilight would be foolish enough to contact them. Therefore, visiting the biggest library in the city should be our first priority.”

“If we believe the nonsense the prince was saying, that is,” Heavy Steps argued. “He may have been telling the truth about Twilight coming here, but I’m still not sure if we can trust him. He did free Twilight from prison, after all, even though he claims she’s innocent.”

“We’re going to discuss that once we find somewhere to stay,” Pinkie assured him.

After asking a few random ponies on the streets, they were given a direction to go if they wanted to find an affordable, but at the same time decent place, near the library.

At first, Pinkie continued to enjoy the scenery on their way there, but it lost its novelty pretty soon. All the streets resembled one another, only distinguished by some shops with fancy signboards from time to time. It was undeniably impressive, but Pinkie found herself missing the dirty and chaotic streets of Birminghoof.

“I hope it’s better than the last two,” Heavy Steps muttered as they entered the hotel.

His hope was well-placed this time. After Pinkie had rented a room with two beds from the mare at the counter, they wasted no time in settling there. Though its interior was rather simple, it was a whole level better than those they had stayed in before.

“It’s time to discuss it,” Pinkie announced, just when Heavy Steps was about to hit the hay after just having had a hearty meal and a hot shower.

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Heavy Steps asked, climbing onto his bed. He yawned widely. “I’m too tired.”

Pinkie shook her head. “I want to get it out of the way right now.”

The stallion sighed and turned on his stomach, swiveling his ears in her direction. “Go ahead, I’m listening.”

“Twilight Sparkle did not poison the king,” Pinkie Pie stated firmly, her eyes watching Heavy Steps’ reaction. His ear twitched.

“Yeah, that’s what the prince said,” he said with a frown. “But he lied or was lied to. I was there myself when she forced her way into the king’s chamber with a bottle of poison. We caught her in the act.”

Pinkie would have snorted if the situation wasn’t so serious. She had never intended for Twilight to take the blame — the mare was just there in the wrong place at the wrong time — but it was funny how her own actions had made her seem even more suspicious.

“Isn’t it weird that she had to force her way inside, when she was allowed to be in the king’s chamber in the first place?” Pinkie asked.

“I suppose,” Heavy Steps said, his frown deepening. “In fact, I thought she’d been inside all along when I saw her running towards us. But I guess I was wrong.”

“No, you weren’t,” Pinkie shook her head. “It’s obvious what really happened. When someone poisoned the king with the Deathsong poison, she just teleported out of the window, ran to the medical wing to get an antidote and then ran back to the king’s chamber to save him. Unfortunately, she was too late and now the king is in an eternal coma.”

“What?” Heavy Steps stared at her. He shook his head in dismay. “What a load of horseshit... You’re just making it all up, aren’t you?”

But Pinkie wasn’t making anything up — she had been there for some of the events and had learned enough from Heavy Steps’s perspective to paint a clear picture of what had happened. She wasn’t going to reveal her involvement to her companion though.

“They call me P.I. Pie for a reason.” The tips of Pinkie’s mouth lifted up slightly. “It’s all easily deduced if you think about it. You yourself said that Twilight and the king were close. It doesn’t make sense for her to have poisoned him. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t have rushed her way through a bunch of guards to feed him the poison forcefully. You told me how smart she is, remember?”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Heavy Steps winced as if from physical pain. “But if I assume that Twilight really is innocent, then who actually did it?”

“Beats me.”

“Lord— I mean, Regent Everlight was the previous visitor,” Heavy Steps said after thinking for a moment. “But the Deathsong poison works almost instantly and he was there almost an hour earlier.”

“Finding the one who gave the order is more important than finding whoever executed it.”

Heavy Steps nodded. “Of course. But I’m no investigator. I was hoping you’d find Twilight so I could beat the answers out of her.” A deep frown crossed his face. “But if she’s innocent as you say, why are we even looking for her?”

“I have my own reasons,” Pinkie reminded him. “But there are a lot of reasons for you too. You can help her with Blueblood’s plan of finding some artifact to defeat him.”

Heavy Steps let out a groan of frustration, punching his mattress. “That’s not what I wanted!”

“What did you want to happen if you found Twilight?”

“I would have turned her over to justice… After I had my way with her for what she did and found out if somepony put her up to this.”

Pinkie nodded. “Yes, but then what? What were you going to do if you learned that Everlight was behind the whole thing?”

“I… didn’t really have a plan,” the stallion admitted, drooping his ears. “But me and my boys would have come up with something once we knew for sure who did it.”

“Well, it’s sure as pie that Everlight did it,” Pinkie said, stomping her hoof on the mattress for emphasis. “If we want to stop him, our best bet for now is to help Twilight.”

Heavy Steps was silent for a couple of minutes, simply staring at the floor as he thought about Pinkie’s words.

“I think you’re right,” he said and sighed deeply. “I still want to talk with Twilight myself before I can be sure though. But I’m curious, why are you helping me?”

“I just want to help the simple ponies,” Pinkie told half the truth. “By helping Twilight to take down Everlight, I’ll make Equestria a better place.”

“Yeah, but you’d agreed to help even before we learned the truth from the prince,” Heavy Steps stated. “I’m grateful, of course, but I’m just curious.”

“Well… I admit, I had different motives when I agreed to help you,” Pinkie said, her brain working in overdrive to come up with a plausible explanation without revealing her personal involvement in the whole plot. “I guess I just like the challenge, you know? Just imagine the faces of those royal investigators when some earth pony succeeds where they have failed. But after we talked with Blueblood and seeing what Everlight’s rule is doing to the country, I decided to help Twilight instead.”

“Hmm, I see,” Heavy Steps nodded, seeming satisfied with her answer. Pinkie relaxed slightly. His questions were making her nervous.

“Time to sleep now,” she said, dropping her head onto her pillow and praying that Heavy Steps followed her example without any more questions. Luckily, he did and a couple of minutes later the peaceful snores of the two sleeping ponies filled the room.

***

Pinkie Pie’s eyes opened with the first rays of the sun.

Sneaking out of her bed without making any sound, Pinkie crawled towards the exit. She froze when the door squeaked slightly, but Heavy Steps continued sleeping, so she relaxed again. Once outside, Pinkie stood up and trotted to the bathroom, humming a cheery tune.

The shower was empty like she had expected. Smiling, Pinkie jumped into the cabin and turned the water on. She turned around, enjoying the hot stream falling down her sides and soaking her coat. It felt nice.

Lying on her back, Pinkie exposed her belly to the stream, giggling as the water tickled her sensitive skin. She adjusted her position slightly, allowing water to caress her crotch teats. A moan of delight escaped her lips as shivers went through her body.

Pinkie Pie loved showering so much.

Hoofsteps sounded from outside. Pinkie’s eyes widened in realization — she had forgotten to lock the door! A moment later it opened, and Heavy Steps walked into the bathroom with his eyes half-closed. His eyes snapped wide open as he noticed Pinkie lying in the shower cabin. They both stared at each other in utter silence.

Pinkie smiled first, feeling her cheeks growing even hotter than they were before. “The water is great today!”

The stallion almost stumbled as he backpedaled hastily, shutting the door behind him and sending her a bunch of apologies along the way. Giggling, Pinkie quickly left the shower to lock the door before returning to the same position. Her hoof reached out to rub between her legs…

An hour later, Pinkie and Heavy Steps were both done with their morning routine and heading downstairs. Pinkie hadn’t forgotten to put on her fake horn — the counter pony would be pretty surprised to see her suddenly transformed into an earth pony overnight. The hotel had a small buffet where they bought some snacks, but to get a proper meal the duo had to visit some nice cafe the counter pony had recommended. After that, they were finally ready for the work ahead of them for today.

The first stop on their list was the library.

Pinkie Pie was unusually silent on their way there, her brow wrinkled as she reflected on yesterday’s conversation with Heavy Steps — her motivation for finding Twilight Sparkle had indeed changed; she hadn’t lied about that.

Pinkie had made a terrible mistake by poisoning the king, there was no denying it anymore. Even though she was an assassin, she had never accepted a job where her target was a half-way decent pony. It was usually some corrupt noble targeted by another one just like them. Pinkie had always made sure of that.

But when she had accepted the royal job… She hadn’t done that. Why would she, when everypony knew that the king had been responsible for everything bad that was happening in the country? It had been a great opportunity to get some much needed money to send to her family and rid the country of a corrupt ruler.

She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Pinkie couldn’t suppress a sigh, drawing Heavy Steps’ curious glance.

Even if the king had been just as bad as everypony had claimed, Everlight was much worse of a ruler. She had to do everything in her power to stop him. She owed it to Equestria. But without Twilight’s help, accomplishing her goal would be much more difficult.

As good as Pinkie was, if her client hadn’t disabled the magical wards in the palace in advance, she wouldn’t have been able to poison the king and get away with it. Being a high-ranking member of the Royal Guard, albeit a suspended one, Heavy Steps had helped her to get past the wards and take out the guards when she had broken into Prince Blueblood’s chamber, but his defenses were nothing compared to the king himself. It would be foolish to think that Everlight’s would be any less so. If anything, he’d be even more protected.

“We’re here,” Heavy Steps announced, dragging Pinkie out of her rumination.

The mare looked at her companion in confusion before she understood what he had meant. She nodded and turned to look at the entrance to the Academy campus, which contained the largest library in the whole country. If there was any place in the city where Twilight would go searching for information, this was it.

“Oh, I almost forgot…” Pinkie murmured, diving into her saddlebag. A few seconds later she pulled her head out, holding a pair of glasses in her mouth. She put them on and grinned. “Much better.”

A security guard at the entrance let them through without any trouble after they had signed up for a library pass, only warning them not to wander off the path. Pinkie assured him that they wouldn’t. She kept her promise and, after a short walk through the park, Pinkie and Heavy Steps had found the library.

A large statue of a bearded unicorn in a cape standing in front of the building caught Pinkie’s attention, making her slow down as she gaped at it in awe. Starswirl the Bearded, it said on the pedestal below. Even as a statue, the unicorn gave off an aura of power. A shudder ran down her spine. Its pose made it seem like he was ready to leap off the ramp to perform great deeds.

Pinkie had always had a thing for statues — something about their hard, stony exterior reminded her of her sister Maud that she hadn’t seen in years. The two of them used to create small figures of ponies out of rocks when they used to be foals. But nothing like this statue, of course. She would have liked this one, Pinkie thought.

“Are you coming or not?” Heavy Steps hurried her up.

Breaking her gaze from the statue, Pinkie followed the stallion into the building. The building itself was large and imposing, with massive pillars at its front supporting the roof. The door between the two pillars in the center seemed small in comparison.

As they entered, Pinkie and Heavy Steps found themselves in a large hall, which was filled with dozens of rows of bookcases running through the whole length of the building. They were so tall that it would be impossible to reach the books from the top without a ladder, if you had no wings or magic at your disposal.

Locating the librarian behind a counter, Pinkie approached.

“Hello there, librarian,” she waved to a young mare who was standing behind the counter with a bored expression. “I’m looking for a friend.”

“This is a place of knowledge,” the librarian answered flatly. “My job is to help you look for books, not friends.”

“Just answer some of our questions, please,” Heavy Steps said, putting his hoof on the counter and leaning forward, looming over the mare. “I promise it won’t take long.”

The librarian’s eyes flickered from Pinkie to him, her ears falling back slightly. She gulped and smiled nervously.

“Eh, sure,” she said and chuckled. “I don’t see why not.”

Pinkie grinned and proceeded to describe Twilight’s disguise, asking if she had seen a mare like that around here. The librarian listened to the description with attention, sometimes throwing glances at the still looming stallion. When Pinkie had finished, the librarian shook her head.

“Nope, I’m sorry. I’ve never seen her,” she said, backing away a bit. “But I’m new here. Got the job just a few days ago. You’d have to ask the previous librarian if you want. But he was fired a couple of days ago…”

“Well, thanks for nothing,” Heavy Steps said, hitting the surface of the counter lightly, causing the mare to flinch.

“What was his name?”

“Eh, Midnight… Star, I think. I have no idea where he is now though.”

“Okay, thank you for your help anyway!” Pinkie flashed an encouraging grin at the mare and tugged Heavy Steps off the counter. “Let’s ask the ponies around here first before we look for this Midnight,” Pinkie suggested. The stallion answered with a curt nod.

After a whole hour of strolling between the rows of books and questioning dozens of students, Pinkie was feeling more annoyed than anything. She hid it under a cheerful smile, but her emotions were boiling underneath, ready to explode.

“Bucking nobles…” she muttered when she was out of their earshot.

Most of the students acted like they were doing her a favor just by talking to her, even though to an outside eye Pinkie was a fellow unicorn. Her accent, however, gave her away as a commoner raised in a backwater village — she had never bothered to change it, even after years of living in Birminghoof. Not all unicorns were like that, Pinkie reminded herself, glancing at Heavy Steps. Or they just hid it better.

Luckily, her suffering hadn’t all been in vain.

“She was here like I expected,” Pinkie summarized as the two of them stopped in an empty row. “And she was often seen with the previous librarian.”

“You think he knew who she was and was helping her?”

Pinkie nodded. “It’s possible. It’s also possible that Purple Smart gained his trust in order to get access to the closed section. She would need it to find what she was looking for.”

“Purple Smart?” Heavy Steps raised his eyebrows. Pinkie winked.

“Yep,” she said and whispered. “We shouldn’t speak her name in public, silly.”

“Okay… Anyway, the two of them haven’t been here since that Midnight was fired,” Heavy Steps said, frowning. “What if they’ve found what they needed already?”

Pinkie shrugged. “It’s possible. Our next step is to find Midnight Star and learn what he knows.”

“You’re right,” Heavy Steps nodded, his ears perking up. “We need to find out where he lives somehow.”

“They should have some information about their employees written down,” Pinkie said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think anypony would just share it with us.”

“Well, I doubt they have the royal palace’s level of protection. This should be a piece of cake for us, right?”

Pinkie grinned. “I like your attitude!”

***

Aside from the library, which was open to public, the Academy consisted of multiple structures spread out throughout the campus grounds. Thankfully, Heavy Steps had been a student here once, so he knew which direction they needed to go to find what they needed. Leaving the library behind, he led Pinkie to the main building.

Their way went through a beautiful park, which was still green despite late autumn setting in. Somehow it felt unnatural — Pinkie suspected some freaky magic was at work here. The mare winced slightly, unable to properly enjoy the walk anymore.

Heavy Steps had warned that only those with a special pass were allowed inside. He had dismissed Pinkie’s idea of stealing one, since the passes had been given to each pony personally and included a detailed description of said pony, so instead of heading directly to the entrance, the two casually walked around the building, looking for an alternative way in.

Soon, Pinkie’s trained eye spotted a good place — a window hidden from any random observer behind a couple of leafy trees. Flashing a triumphant grin, Pinkie skipped right to it and, standing on her hindlegs, looked inside.

“It’s some classroom,” she announced. “It’s empty. Now, go ahead.”

“What?” the pony asked.

“Check for any wards, silly.”

“You did a pretty good job yourself finding them back at the palace,” Heavy Steps answered. “With your wand, remember?”

“It’s almost out of charge,” Pinkie explained. “You do it now.”

“Fine,” the stallion relented, stepping forward. He closed his eyes, flaring up his horn, and stood still for half a minute as Pinkie patiently waited. “Just a simple motion alarm spell. Should I disrupt it?”

“Well, duh!”

Heavy Steps rolled his eyes and concentrated on his task. It took him another minute, but he had succeeded. Opening the window with his magic, he gestured for her to enter with a mocking bow.

Pinkie blew a raspberry at him and jumped inside in one swift motion, silently landing on the floor with a roll. Heavy Steps climbed in much less gracefully, tripping at the windowsill, but managed to catch his balance at the last moment.

“We’re inside,” he needlessly announced, shutting the window behind him.

The classroom they were in had rows of currently empty desks and not much else, except for a giant empty blackboard on the opposite wall. An empty bookshelf stood lonely by the wall.

“Where to, sir?”

“Tartarus if I know,” Heavy Steps shrugged. “The last time I was here was twenty years ago. But we should find the ER office pretty easily on our own.”

“I hope so.”

Opening the door, Pinkie exited the classroom and found herself in a long, brightly illuminated corridor. She looked left and right, but everything looked the same in both directions. Picking the one she liked best, Pinkie moved forward.

As they walked, the two searched for the office they needed. Lessons were in session at that time, so the corridor was empty save for a few stragglers who completely ignored them, rushing to wherever they were late to.

“Look, there’s a map!” Pinkie hopped in excitement as she had spotted a stand at the crossing of two corridors.

She hurried closer to examine it. The map displayed all three levels of the building, including an observatory tower rising from its center. The first two levels had mostly classrooms, but the third one was primarily an administrative one. After some searching, Pinkie had found the Equine Resources office. A happy smile grew on her face.

With a destination in mind, the two quickly made their way to the top floor, meeting hardly anypony on their way, until they were standing in front of the place they had been looking for. Pushing it open, Pinkie trotted inside with a friendly, wide grin.

A lone unicorn was sitting behind the table facing the entrance, who raised his head with a startled expression on his face. Most of the space behind him was filled with dozens of lockers.

“Eh, can I help you?”

“Yeah, we need your old librarian’s address, please,” Pinkie said calmly as she assessed the unicorn. “His name is Midnight Star.”

“And who are you?”

“We’re his fans,” Pinkie assured him, flashing a wide smile. She dropped five golden bits on the table, adding weight to her claim. The pony’s gaze was drawn to the money as if magnetized.

“I don’t know… Only the headmaster has access to that…” Five more bits fell near the first batch, spinning on the table. The clerk snatched them all in one fell swoop. “Well, I can’t say no to his fans.”

The stallion stood up with a sly smile and opened one of the lockers behind him. Pinkie and Heavy Steps patiently waited while he went through the files. With a triumphant exclamation, the clerk levitated one of the files and passed it to Pinkie Pie.

“Here you go.”

Pinkie nodded and went through it quickly, soaking in all the information. Her companion, who had been watching over her shoulder, grunted as if he had realized something. Pinkie shot him a curious glance. After memorizing the address, she returned the file.

“Thank you,” she bowed her head slightly. The clerk just waved his hoof.

The two quickly left the office and headed for the staircase going down. Pinkie was planning to leave the same way as they had entered. As they walked, she asked if Heavy Steps had noticed something interesting in the file.

“Midnight Star graduated at the same time as Twilight Sparkle,” he explained. “That’s how they know each other.”

“Ah, that,” Pinkie Pie nodded. “I noticed that too. Though we don’t really know if he’s helping her. They were seen talking, but there is no proof that he’s realized that it’s Twilight under her disguise.”

Heavy Steps nodded curtly, his expression falling a bit. Pinkie felt a pang of guilt for lowering his hopes like that.

“I think he does though,” she added to reassure him.

“I hope so.”

***

Twilight locked the Alicorn Amulet around her neck.

She bit her lip as a surge of power went through her body, making her hair stand on end. It ended as quickly as it began, leaving only the warmth of the Amulet against her chest in its aftermath. Twilight thought it pulsed slightly, but it could have been her imagination.

“Everypony, I got this,” Twilight said, stepping forward.

The dog stared down at her with a smirk as she approached, but Twilight wasn’t afraid. With the power of the Amulet at her command, she didn’t need to be afraid of anyone anymore – neither those dogs, nor even Everlight himself.

Twilight stopped in front of the dog leader, only now noticing that Midnight was still by her side, holding his staff. A shadow of fear surged in her mind, but Twilight suppressed it immediately. There was no reason to worry — she would keep her friends safe.

“I don’t want to kill you, dog,” Twilight said, calmly looking into the creature’s narrow eyes. “But I will if you don’t leave me and my friends alone.”

The dog leader barked with laughter, as if she had just told them the funniest joke. His comrades joined him a moment later. Twilight sighed. She hadn’t really expected them to listen to her, but a mare could dream. If they needed a demonstration of her strength, then a demonstration she would give.

“This is my last warning,” Twilight said, flaring up her horn.

Lifting the dog into the air with ease, the unicorn rolled him around like some ugly doll and then launched the beast into his comrades, making them drop like dominoes. What would have been difficult for her before, now took no more effort than picking up a glass of water. Twilight’s lips formed into a triumphant smile.

“I’ll eat your bones, purple pony!” the dog bellowed in fury, climbing back on his feet. “Kill them all!”

Twilight’s smile was gone.

The whole band took off roaring in rage, rushing at the two defiant ponies standing in their way. The time for threats was over – now it was time for action. Twilight wrinkled her brow as she mentally prepared a spell to meet the attackers. Midnight launched a fireball from his staff, setting one of them aflame, but the rest were upon them within seconds.

And then Twilight released her spell.

Twilight had theorized what a slightly modified cleansing spell would do when supplied with an abundance of magic. She had even done an experiment once to prove how dangerous it could be. It had been a success, but the spell had taken far too much energy to be effective. With the Amulet, though, this was no problem.

The dogs simply ceased to exist, obliterated by a wave of pure destruction unleashed from Twilight’s horn. The spell spread out like wildfire, melting away the stone walls of the cave itself like it was snow in an oven. The mare’s eyes widened — it was too much!

Twilight cut off the spell at once, staring at its result. Her horn was aching and she was feeling lightheaded, but at least the deed was done.

She had miscalculated, however, Twilight realized with a small tremble passing through her body. An unprepared unicorn would have died or at least been severely injured by letting so much arcane energy through their horn. Fortunately, Twilight’s natural gift for magic had saved her from such a fate.

She felt a pang of guilt for killing the dogs, but that feeling was quickly replaced by anger — she had warned them, hadn’t she? There was no reason to feel bad for destroying those who had wanted to eat her and her friends.

“Whoa, Twi, what was that?” Midnight asked, eyeing the new wide opening where the tunnel used to be. It stretched dozens of feet to all sides.

The others approached from behind, staring at Twilight in shock. Fear and uncertainty was evident on their faces.

“What? I’ve saved us from those monsters,” she said with annoyance. “The Amulet works perfectly well.”

As soon as she had said that, the ground trembled. The ponies looked around in alarm as multiple cracks ran along the walls and pebbles started to fall from the ceiling. Twilight cast a protective bubble around their group before somepony got hurt.

“What’s going on?” Rarity asked in a high-pitched voice.

Chills ran down Twilight’s spine as she realized what had happened.

“I think I’ve destabilized the cave with my spell…”

Twilight twitched when a large rock hit her shield, but then she took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax. It was nothing to worry about. Everything was under control. She could hold the shield all day with the Amulet’s power, even if the whole ceiling collapsed on their heads. She explained that to her friends before they could panic.

“Yeah, but how are we gonna get out?” Spike asked.

Twilight’s ears fell momentarily, but she lifted them again as an idea sparked in her mind.

“I’ll teleport us all out,” she said confidently. “Even you, Spike. All the way to the surface like you wanted.”

Midnight widened his eyes. “But it’s probably miles away! The magic usage would be insane!”

A large patch of the ceiling crumbled nearby.

“We don’t have any choice,” Twilight said, glancing up. “I can handle it with the Amulet, I’m sure.”

A panicked shrill sounded from the direction they had come from. Everypony turned their heads to see another band of dogs running their way, covering their heads from the falling rocks. Or it was still the same band, Twilight thought. They had probably split their forces to cut off their route of escape.

Twilight’s shield blocked the only path for them.

Everypony recoiled in fear as the dogs hammered at the magical wall with their clubs, trying to force their way through, but the shield held easily against their attacks.

“Get us out of here!” Rarity yelled, staring wide-eyed at the howling savages.

But Twilight couldn’t hear her. Her concentration was absolute as she was forming the teleportation spell in her mind, slightly modifying it to transfer her friends as well. Her eyes glowed with power as she charged up her horn with massive amounts of magic, while still maintaining her shield.

Finally, the spell was ready.

But there was just one problem.

Where should they go?

***

Pinkie’s ears went down as a loud bang from above reverberated through the air, causing the windowpanes to ring in protest. Both ponies stopped, exchanging confused glances. The doors along the corridor began to open, with wide-eyed ponies poking their heads out.

“What in Tartarus?..” Heavy Steps muttered.

Pinkie asked herself the same question.

“That doesn’t sound good,” the mare said. Another explosion sounded, shaking the dust off the ceiling. Pinkie scrunched her muzzle in concern. “Neither does that. I think we should leave now.”

Heavy Steps nodded and both of them moved to the staircase at an accelerated pace. More explosions were heard from above, accompanied by a mighty roar. Other ponies — mostly students, based on their age — had joined them, talking in worried voices, while trying to figure out what was happening as they hurried downstairs. Apparently, nopony wanted to stick around to see for themselves what the commotion was all about.

Pinkie and Heavy Steps were approaching the arch when a massive two-legged beast burst through it and stopped, staring at the students in front of it. The students froze, staring right back at the beast. Pinkie’s heartbeat accelerated like crazy, pumping adrenaline into her blood as she produced a knife out of her saddlebag, ready to leap into action.

She didn’t have to wait long.

“A diamond dog?” Heavy Steps raised his eyebrows, breaking the shocked silence.

A panicked yelp sounded from one of the students. The foolish unicorn had flared up their horn, which brought the beast out of its stupor. With an enraged roar, it waved its club wildly, hitting one of the students with a sickening crunch and sending her crushing into the others like some bowling ball. Pinkie winced — it had looked pretty painful.

And then panic broke out.

Pushing each other, the students scrambled away from the monster, forgetting all about their injured comrade. Cowards, flashed through Pinkie’s mind as she watched the mare trying to get back on her hooves, whimpering in panic as the beast raised his club for the finishing blow.

“Leave her alone!” Pinkie yelled, throwing a knife at the dog’s face.

The dog covered his face at the last moment and the knife ended up embedded in his paw. He shrilled in pain and rage, stumbling back as Heavy Steps yanked the mare away from the beast.

Two more bulky dogs descended from above, joining their squealing comrade, snarling at the two foolish ponies who dared to oppose them. Pinkie gulped, feeling her hooves go cold — she was good at fighting against ponies, but those monsters? She had no idea how to fight them.

How had a bunch of diamond dogs even gotten here?! Only an observatory tower was upstairs, according to the map.

“You, ponies,” one of the dogs suddenly growled, pointing his club at Pinkie. “Lead us back to the tunnels and we won’t eat you.”

Pinkie had been in a lot of weird situations due to her line of work, but even her brain was having trouble making sense of what was happening. “Eh, tunnels? What tunnels?”

“Our tunnels!” the dog roared, advancing towards Pinkie and Heavy Steps. The blood drained from her face.

The others were just a step behind, slamming their paws into the floor. Shoving her fear aside, Pinkie tensed up her hind legs, preparing to jump into action, but Heavy Steps had been faster this time.

Levitating a sword out of his saddlebag, the ex-guard leaped forward, thrusting his weapon into the beast’s wide chest. The dog squealed in agony as the sword passed through his rusty armor as if it were butter. Heavy Steps jumped backwards just in time to avoid a heavy club from the wounded dog, leaving his sword sticking out of his chest and then made the beast fall on his back with a magic blast.

The dog’s friends went berserk.

Pinkie grabbed another knife as her opponent rushed at her and rolled under his legs, cutting at his ankle along the way. With a painful howl, the dog turned around, swinging his club, but Pinkie’s strong legs had already launched her into the air, letting the crippling blow harmlessly pass below her.

She landed on the wounded dog’s chest, pushing Heavy Steps’ sword deeper into the wound. Wincing as the beast trashed in agony, Pinkie quickly ended his suffering with a stab through his neck.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

Feeling a movement to her side, Pinkie jumped, but she hadn’t been fast enough this time. A surprised gasp left her lips when she felt the beast’s paw gripping her hindleg and, before she had any time to react, it yanked at it with force.

The air escaped her lungs as her body slammed at the ceiling and at the floor in quick succession, but she had managed to save her head from trauma. Her back aching with pain, Pinkie stabbed the paw holding her, freeing herself from its grip.

She landed on her hooves, scrambling away from the dog while he held his bloodied paw and spared a glance at Heavy Steps, who was struggling with his own opponent. He was retreating as the dog swayed its massive club, but the stallion had avoided it so far. Pinkie’s heart tightened, expecting him to be hit at any second.

Making a quick decision, Pinkie leaped at his opponent’s back, slamming at it with all her weight. The dog stumbled and lost its balance and, before the beast could recover, Heavy Steps landed a series of hard blows to its head.

Pinkie’s ear caught a sound behind her, so she rolled to the side, a club smashing on the floor where she had been standing. She turned to face the last dog, who was raising his weapon once again, but before she could act, a ray of pure energy hit the club, yanking it out of his grip.

The dog stared at his empty paw in surprise, when the second ray hit its head, dropping the beast to the floor. It twitched a couple of times but didn’t get up anymore. Sighing in relief, Pinkie nodded to Heavy Steps thankfully.

“Good job, Heavy!”

It had suddenly become quiet except for the labored breathing of the downed dogs — those who were still alive at least — and the groans of the injured student. Pinkie took a few deep breaths, feeling her body shaking, while Heavy Steps retrieved his sword.

“What were those creatures doing in the Academy?” he asked, wiping the blood on his sword on the dead dog’s coat. “They usually live deep underground somewhere in mountains.”

“Well, they asked me about some tunnels,” Pinkie pointed out, her voice trembling slightly from the adrenaline. She took another deep breath and smirked. “And we are on a mountain, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Still, how did they get… Oh,” the ex-guard froze, staring to the side.

Pinkie’s heart almost leaped out of her chest as she followed his stare, fully expecting another batch of dogs to show up, but what she saw made her eyes widen in surprise nonetheless.

Two unicorns — a mare and a stallion — were carrying another mare between them, while an earth pony lingered at the back with a small scaly creature. All of them had a roughed-up appearance, as if they had spent the last week in the wilderness. They all stood in the staircase’s arch, eyeing the scene of the fight.

But what had really grabbed Pinkie’s attention was the unicorn they were dragging with them. The mare had a purple coat like Twilight Sparkle did and her mane matched hers as well. A black amulet with a red stone was locked around her neck. Pinkie had seen her when she had poisoned the king, so she recognized Twilight beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“How marvelous of you to slay those beasts,” the white unicorn said, smiling evenly. “They simply appeared out of nowhere and injured my poor friend. Now, if you’ll excuse us…”

The group continued downstairs, but Pinkie Pie and Heavy Steps hurried to catch up, so the ponies turned to face them again. Pinkie tensed up as she noticed a staff pointed at her. A forced smile returned to the white unicorn’s face.

“What’s the matter? We really are in a hurry—”

“You’re Lady Rarity of House Belle,” Heavy Steps blurted out.

Before he could even finish his sentence, Rarity’s fake smile was gone as both unicorns lit up their horns. The magical staff began to glow menacingly. “Who the Tartarus are you?”

“We’re here to help!” Pinkie exclaimed before the situation escalated, briefly glancing at the staff pointed at her. She began to explain rapidly. “He’s an ex-royal guard of the king and I’m a P.I. from Birminghoof. We were looking for you. Well, not for you, but certainly for Twilight! I had no idea you’d all be with her. Well, except for Midnight Star, we were looking for him too. We thought—”

“Shut up,” Twilight groaned, blinking rapidly as she cracked her eyes open. “Please, my head is killing me…”

Pinkie drooped her ears but stopped babbling.

“Twilight, darling, don’t move,” Rarity said, but Twilight shook her head stubbornly and stood up of her own accord, swaying slightly. “How do you feel?”

“Just perfect,” the mare snapped. She looked at Pinkie and Heavy Steps, her face a deep frown. “Captain Heavy Steps, right? I remember you, I think. You were the one who arrested me.”

Heavy Steps nodded. “I’m not here to do it again.”

“What changed your mind?”

“I did,” Pinkie raised her hoof with a grin. “I’m Pinkie Pie, a private investigator from Birminghoof. Heavy Steps kind of hired me to look for you, but I quickly figured out that you were innocent, especially after we had a chat with Blueblood.”

“You talked with Blueblood?” Twilight raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“That’s how we knew you were in Canterlot,” Pinkie nodded. “But what were you doing up there with those dogs?”

Twilight winced.

“Long story,” she looked over Pinkie’s shoulder at a small crowd that was gathering in the corridor. The ponies were whispering and pointing at Twilight. “We need to go before they call the guards here. But you’re not coming with us.”

“Yes, we are”, Pinkie argued, frowning. “We want to help you.”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take that risk. You’re staying here.”

Her horn flashed.

Pinkie tried to move but found that her limbs were not responding. She couldn’t even open her mouth to say anything. Only her eyes were still obeying her commands, flickering between Twilight and her friends in disbelief. She couldn’t have come all this way for Twilight to reject her help. She would need her help; Pinkie could feel it in her heart!

But the unicorn simply turned away and trotted down the stairs. Her friends hurried after her as Pinkie’s eyes helplessly watched them go.

Chapter XVIII - Wounded

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Applejack stared at the burning husk of the Luminous with dread.

Mere moments ago, her friend had been standing on its decks, but now the whole airship was gone. The explosion had ripped its hull from the inside, destroying what had survived after slamming into the ground. Applejack squeezed her eyes shut, feeling sick in the stomach as she saw somepony’s burning foreleg on the grass.

Hopefully, it wasn’t Fl—

Applejack’s heart leaped into her throat as the pegasus holding her lurched downward. She cried out, tightly gripping the pegasus’ forelegs in panic.

“Sorry, my wing… is hurt,” a strained, but strangely familiar mare’s voice explained. “I’m gonna land now, hold on.”

The pegasus rapidly descended. Applejack suppressed the urge to scream as the pegasus flapped her wings, each flap followed by a pained groan. The ground drew closer with alarming speed. Applejack braced herself for the impact, but at the last moment the pegasus went into a glide, drawing out the inevitable for a few more terrifying seconds until they finally crashed into the ground, tumbling over each other as they came to a stop.

Applejack groaned, her body aching all over.

“Are you ok?” the cyan pegasus asked, getting up on her hooves nearby. Applejack grunted affirmatively. “Good. Damn, my wing is really messed up now...” she hissed in pain, tucking her injured wing to her body. “I wasn’t supposed to lift any weights until it fully healed.”

The mare reached out to help Applejack, but she pushed her aside and stood up on her own, finally getting a good look at her savior. She recognized her immediately — Rainbow Dash, the pegasus who had been mad at her for beating her during their mock battle.

The other pegasi were landing too, carrying whom they had managed to rescue off the decks before the crash. Applejack looked around — there were about twelve ponies in total, including the four remaining pegasi. Not a lot was left from the five dozen that had set out from Stonehill. Applejack’s eyes burned with unshed tears at the thought of Flare being among those who had died, but she shoved her feeling of loss aside for later — the danger wasn’t over.

“They’re coming back!” somepony yelled, pointing behind her.

Applejack drew her sword and turned around, gritting her teeth. Rainbow Dash hurried to stand by her side with her hoofblades at the ready, scowling at the band of griffons closing in on them from the sky. They were still too far to be more than specks in the sky, but the number of those specks sucked the hope of winning right out of Applejack. Not that she had a lot of hope at this point.

But she refused to die cowering in fear. Furrowing her brows, Applejack swore in her mind to take out as many of those griffons as she could before her last breath.

Unfortunately, not everypony had her resolve.

“Everypony for themselves!” a voice screamed.

The will of the ponies finally broke. They simply scattered in a vain attempt to save themselves, screaming and weeping in panic. Applejack yelled for them to stop, calling for them to join her in her last stand, but they ignored her, galloping for the line of trees a couple of hundred feet away, desperately trying to reach it before the griffons arrived.

“Darn cowards…”

To give the pegasi their due, none of them had abandoned their position yet.

“Retreat to the forest!” one of the pegasi snapped.

“Rotten apples,” Applejack grumbled as the four of them blasted off.

Rainbow Dash had only managed to fly a short distance before crashing into the ground with a cry of pain. Applejack glanced at the approaching enemies — as strong as she was, even she wouldn’t last a second against so many on her own. It was pointless to stay, Applejack realized. Muttering more curses, the mare galloped after the fallen pegasus.

Suddenly, her leg was caught on something and Applejack stumbled, her face planting into the ground. Spitting grass and dirt, she climbed back onto her hooves, cursing whatever root had gotten in her way. She froze. Her eyes widened in a mix of happiness and disbelief as she stared at the reason for her fall — a dark purple unicorn mare.

“Flare!?” she blurted out.

Sergeant Sharp was lying by her side. Both were unconscious — Applejack’s mind refused to accept another possibility — and, from a quick look-over, had no obvious injuries except for Flare’s blackened horn. The latter looked rather disturbing, but Applejack had no idea how serious that really was.

“What are you— Oh,” Rainbow Dash stopped short, noticing the two ponies. “Weren’t they on the ship?”

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded. “Help me out here, will ya?”

Lowering her head, she put her forelegs under Flare and lifted her, allowing the mare to roll onto her back. She shifted from one leg to another, putting her friend in a more comfortable position. Rainbow Dash did the same with the sergeant. Applejack flickered her eyes upward — the griffons were almost upon them!

“Run!”

The two of them galloped as fast as they could without losing their passengers. Applejack panted, feeling her strength waning, but the adrenaline and fear for Flare’s life made her push herself beyond her limits. To her surprise, Rainbow Dash was able to keep up. They were almost at the tree line now. The griffon’s battle cry sounded overhead and Applejack lowered her ears. Something in that sound awoke a deeply buried fear of predators inside of her, giving her the strength for a final burst.

Applejack entered the forest like a hurricane, barely avoiding the trees on her way as she charged forward. She had tripped a few times but always managed to regain her footing. After a few minutes of a mad dash, the earth pony had finally allowed herself to slow to a canter. Applejack looked back and, to her relief, no griffon was in sight. She swiveled her ears, hearing the griffon’s shrieks in the distance.

As she now had time to check her surroundings, Applejack noticed the difference between this forest and the one near her village. The trees here were about twice as tall compared to the ones she was used to seeing. Hopefully, the local predators weren’t twice as large as well, Applejack thought nervously.

“You think we’ve lost them?” Rainbow asked, stopping and trying to catch her breath. Her knees buckled and she fell, practically crushed under the sergeant’s weight. “This guy is so heavy…”

“Sure hope so,” Applejack answered, squinting her eyes as she looked between the trees for any movement. “’Bout losing them, I mean. But I can still hear them. We need to keep moving.”

Rainbow groaned loudly.

“Oh, come on!” the mare tried to get up, grunting with effort, but failed. “Buck it, I can’t!”

Applejack sighed. “Fine, let’s take a short break.”

She could use one herself, Applejack admitted to herself in the privacy of her mind. Carefully lowering Flare onto the blanket of leaves covering the forest ground, Applejack dropped near her. She winced as some annoying twigs dug into her belly and wiggled, finding a better position.

Then her eyes fell on Flare.

To Applejack’s great relief, her friend’s chest moved up and down in breathing. Flare was alive against all odds. But how was it possible? Applejack recalled a strange flash of light right before the crash and Flare’s damaged horn. Could it have been her using some last-ditch spell to save herself? She had probably saved the sergeant too.

Applejack wanted to remove Flare’s battered armor to check for more injuries, but this wasn’t the time for it yet. Not when the griffons could still find them, though Applejack reckoned she would outrun them in this forest — the griffons might have been fast in the sky, but she doubted they would do that well charging through the dense thickets with their mismatched front and back limbs. Ponies had a natural advantage when it came to running.

“Break’s over,” Applejack said five minutes later. There was still no sign of the enemy, but there was no point in tempting fate.

“Fine,” Rainbow sighed. “But I’ll carry the mare now.”

Applejack frowned, but then nodded reluctantly. She didn’t want to part with Flare, but Rainbow wasn’t strong enough to carry the sergeant for long.

The two ponies continued deeper into the forest. Applejack grunted under the strain — the sergeant was much heavier than her friend — but kept pushing forward, hoof by hoof. Her opinion of Rainbow Dash’s strength grew. The pegasus was stronger than she looked, being able to gallop with such a weight for as long as she did.

“We need to find my squad,” Rainbow Dash said eventually.

“They could be far away from here by now.”

Rainbow Dash’s ears drooped, but she shook her head.

“Nah, they wouldn’t have left one of their own,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. “We pegasi don’t do that. They’re around here… somewhere.”

“They may have just assumed you were dead and moved on,” Applejack responded flatly. Rainbow responded with a glare but said nothing. She had probably realized the truth in those words.

They walked in silence after that. Applejack didn’t mind it as she was busy monitoring their dusky surroundings, swiveling her ears at every sound and looking through the trees. She was hoping to find any of their fellow survivors but was ready for any griffon that came out of the woods. So far, she had found neither.

“Goddess fucking tits!” a voice exclaimed over her ear.

Applejack cried out in alarm, tripping over a root. The sergeant flew over her head, landing in front of her like a sack of potatoes. Except that potatoes never cursed. Rainbow Dash turned sharply, pointing her hoofblade at the “sack”, but lowered it when she saw who it was.

“What in Tartarus is— where are we?” Sergeant Sharp jumped on his hooves, his eyes shooting around wildly. “Why are we in a forest? Is this some kind of dumb afterlife?”

"'Course not, sir,” Applejack said, gently laying her hoof on his back. “Are you alright?”

The sergeant shrugged. “If we’re not dead then… how did we get here? I thought we were about to crash.”

Applejack explained everything that had happened and how they had escaped the griffons. She also shared her guess about Flare somehow saving them both. The sergeant glanced at Flare on Rainbow’s back with surprise, his eyes drawn to her blackened horn. They widened slightly before he looked back at Applejack.

“I see,” he said and his face hardened. “Well, that kind of injury is not good. She needs medical attention and rest, otherwise she’ll die.”

“What should we do then?” Applejack asked, a feeling of despair gripping her heart.

The sergeant frowned and sat on the ground, rubbing his forehead.

“Let me think for a bit. This damn headache…”
Applejack shifted from one hoof to another as she considered the situation herself. She saw no good outcome. Stalliongrad was their best option, but even that wasn’t good enough. They had covered the distance from Stalliongrad to the forest in a span of a few hours on the airship, but it would take days to cover the same distance on hoof, especially if they had to move carefully. Flare didn’t have days. Stonehill was closer, but Applejack didn’t like their chances of getting through the griffon’s blockade.

She shared her thoughts with the others and the sergeant nodded in agreement.

“We’re going to Stalliongrad,” he said decisively. “This is the only way for us and Flare to survive. We’ll keep to the edge of the forest, using it as a cover for as long as possible before we move into the open. But we should be near Stalliongrad by then. The griffons would be occupied with our army, so I doubt we’d encounter them wandering that close to the city.”

“Yes, sir.”

Applejack sighed, giving Flare a worried look. She hoped the mare was strong enough to survive the trip. It would be a cruel twist of fate for Applejack to find her after thinking her dead, just to lose her again mere days later.

“We need to find my squad,” Rainbow Dash threw in. “They’ll carry us out of here in a jiffy.”

“It’s a bad idea,” Sergeant Sharp said, shaking his head. “We’re just as likely to get lost here ourselves.” The sergeant looked around with a frown and added, “If we aren’t already.”

Rainbow shuffled her wings. “Damn wing…” she muttered, wincing slightly, before addressing the sergeant. “I can’t just abandon them.”

“They kinda abandoned you,” Applejack pointed out, causing the pegasus to droop her ears.

“My squad didn’t know my wing was hurt,” the pegasus argued.

“They could have returned for you when you fell,” Applejack noted.

Rainbow Dash’s face twisted in anger. “They probably didn’t see what had happened,” she said and stomped her hoof. “Your mud crawler pals are the ones who really abandoned us!”

Applejack flickered her tail in anger. She didn’t like what the pegasus had called them, but she agreed with the sentiment nonetheless. “Calm yer tail down, Rainbow,” she said. “I’m not trying to blame nopony. What I’m sayin’ is that we can only count on ourselves here. If we find somepony on our way — good, but we don’t have the time to go around looking.”

“We need to lay low for now,” the sergeant said. “The griffons may still be around.”

It took a little more convincing, but eventually Rainbow accepted the plan. Afterward, the ponies settled for some rest. Applejack was getting more on edge with every minute of delay, but she had agreed with the necessity of it, being exhausted herself after a day full of fighting and running for her life.

“Let’s get her out of this armor,” Applejack said, approaching Flare. “We don’t know what other injuries she might have.”

Rainbow grunted in agreement. With the sergeant’s help, they quickly stripped the battered armor off the mare, carefully putting it aside. Applejack’s eyes ran over her slightly chubby body — she should really do some more exercise once she recovered — searching for injuries.

The left side of her body had a nasty bruise, accompanied by a bunch of smaller ones visible even through her dark purple coat, but the armor had done its job well, having protected her from any punctures. A sigh of relief left Applejack’s lips. She didn’t have to worry about that, at least.

“I think there’s something wrong with her legs,” Rainbow said, causing Applejack to tense up again.

The mare stared at her friend’s legs, trying to see the problem for herself, and gasped. Both Flare’s left foreleg and hindleg were swollen and darker than the rest of her body. Applejack was surprised she hadn’t noticed it right away. Perhaps she was more tired than she had realized.

“They’re broken,” the sergeant commented.

“I can see that,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “We need to make a splint.”

Luckily, finding the necessary materials wasn’t a problem. Rainbow fetched some firm branches and the sergeant constructed two crude splints out of them, using a little bit of rope he had in his saddlebag. They carefully applied the splints to the mare’s legs, trying not to cause her too much discomfort, even though she was deeply unconscious.

“There’s nothing more we can do,” the sergeant said after they were done.

After that, the ponies simply rested. Applejack settled on a nice spot between the roots of a tree near Flare, watching over her as she reflected on the situation they had gotten themselves in. With nothing to distract her, some dark thoughts grew in Applejack’s head. What if Flare didn’t survive? What if they all perished in this Sun-forsaken forest? What if—

Applejack snorted in annoyance, shaking her head. She shouldn’t work herself up like that. It would only make her feel worse, without anypony being better for it. Getting up, she approached Rainbow Dash, who was sitting nearby staring into the trees. The pegasus was likely having similar thoughts, if her tense posture was any indication.

“I haven’t thanked ya for savin’ my life,” Applejack said as she sat down by her side. “I’m grateful.”

“You’d better be,” Rainbow grumbled, twitching her ear. “I didn’t injure my wing for nothing.”

Applejack lowered her ears.

“It’s not like I’m blaming you,” Rainbow reassured her, having noticed her reaction. “To be honest, my wing was in bad shape already. But I couldn’t just let you ground-pounders die, you know. You’re all ponies too, even if you can’t fly on your own.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Applejack said, not sure how to take the pegasus’ words. “Anyway, what happened to your wing?”

Rainbow Dash’s shoulders slumped. “The griffons,” she said curtly.

Applejack realized right away that she had touched a nerve. There was obviously more to the story, but Applejack quelled her curiosity. It wasn’t worth upsetting the mare. Rainbow would share the story on her own eventually and if she didn’t, Applejack wouldn’t push her.

“Have you two known each other for long?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack briefly wondered who she had meant, but then her eyes fell on her still unconscious friend. Her chest tightened at seeing her injured.

“Not really. I just met Flare a month ago and she seemed so bucking annoyin’,” Applejack said with a hint of a smile at the memory. “She was pesterin’ me for days to no end. The only thing I wanted was for her to shut up… Now I can’t bear the thought of never hearin’ her voice again. She’s like a part of my family at this point.”

Rainbow Dash’s ears drooped as she sighed deeply. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. It would suck to lose somepony like that.”

Applejack’s eyes widened slightly at the realization.

“Ya lost a pony close to you,” she voiced her guess. “Back in Stonehill.”

Rainbow Dash nodded silently, raising her eyes to the sky. They glistened in the dim light that managed to get through the dense canopy.

“I’m so sorry,” Applejack said, arching her eyebrows.

She didn’t have to imagine how Rainbow Dash felt — she had experienced the horrible feeling firsthoof when she had thought that Flare had died in the crash. But unlike Applejack, Rainbow’s friend had stayed dead, so she was stuck with that weighing on her forever. Applejack inched closer to Rainbow, their bodies almost touching, and looked at the sky with her.

“Those bucking griffons will pay for that,” Rainbow whispered. “I’ll make them pay for everypony they’ve killed.”

Applejack grunted in support, not wishing to upset the pegasus. But in truth, she realized the futility of revenge. After Stonehill, she no longer saw the griffons as the bloodthirsty monsters of tales but rather as living creatures just like ponies. The war was claiming lives from both sides and it was foolish to crave for more. All it would bring was more friends lost and more lives ruined.

But Rainbow wasn’t ready to hear that right now. If Applejack was being honest with herself, she wouldn’t have been either if the wound of losing her friend was still fresh on her mind. Not knowing what else to say, Applejack simply patted the mare on her back. Her wings jerked as she brushed one of them.

“Careful there,” Rainbow warned, giving Applejack a sharp glance.

Applejack chuckled nervously. “Sorry.”

The group spent the next hour assessing what they had left at their disposal – and it wasn’t much. While all the ponies still had their weapons and armor, along with their field saddlebags, nopony was carrying much food except for Flare, who had some loaves of flatbread stored in hers, in addition to the standard daily ration. The water was soon going to be an issue too.

“Don’t worry, I’ve seen a couple of small rivers from the airship,” Sergeant Sharp said. “As for food — we can eat grass. I know, it won’t be pleasant, but it’s something.”

Soon after that, the sergeant ordered them to move out. Applejack was happy to oblige.

“Be on your guard,” Sergeant Sharp warned. “This forest has a bad reputation and we were warned to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.”

Applejack swiveled her ears around nervously.

“I think we can handle some wolves,” Rainbow Dash said, crushing a branch under her hoof. “Like that.”

“There are also rumors of strange ponies living in this place,” the sergeant added, giving Rainbow a withering stare, which she brushed off. “I suggest you take it seriously, pegasus. Wolves are the least of our concern.”

“If you say so, unicorn.”

***

Despite the sergeant’s dire warnings, they had encountered no danger on their way throughout the whole day. Either the forest was not as dangerous as the rumors had claimed or, more likely, it was because the group had kept itself near its edge. Applejack was content either way.

She’d had enough fighting today to last her for years.

Rainbow and Applejack were carrying Flare together between them on a makeshift stretcher made from a spare blanket, being careful not to disturb her broken legs. Every once in a while, she would check on her friend’s condition to make sure she wasn’t getting any worse, but even though the mare remained stable, Applejack’s worry only grew. With each passing hour, Flare was ever closer to death.

The sun was approaching the horizon, but in the forest, it had gotten dark long before that. Despite Applejack’s pleas, the sergeant thought it was too risky to light up his horn, so they had to walk in complete darkness, barely able to see their path. Their speed had slowed down to a crawl and eventually they had to stop completely, for fear of breaking their neck by stumbling on some root.

“It’ll get easier once the moon rises,” Sergeant Sharp said. “We’ll continue our advance then.”

“We can continue it now if you use your darn magic,” Applejack snapped. “Sir.”

She could only see him from his rear but knowing him, she guessed the stallion had a deep frown on his face. That fact didn’t intimidate her in the slightest.

“Show some respect for my decisions,” he said with an edge in his voice, turning to face her. Applejack’s guess had proved true. “My light would be visible to anyone for miles – griffon or otherwise. We can’t risk it.”

Applejack flicked her tail angrily, but she had to admit that the sergeant had a point there. As much as she wanted to get Flare some help faster, it would all be for naught if they were killed in the process. She looked up, trying to see the night sky through the canopy. Hopefully, the moonlight would really be enough.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Applejack sat on the ground and took a sip from her flask. They had been able to find a stream on their way, so the water was plentiful. The food was too, if somepony had the gall of calling that food. Fiddling in her saddlebag, she grabbed a mouthful of dry grass she had stored on their way.

“I hate this stuff,” Rainbow Dash commented. “It’s disgusting.”

“At least I won’t be hungry,” Applejack pointed out. The wild grass was not that bad really, she thought as she chewed slowly. Tasteless and bland, sure, but edible.

“We’re not in a position to choose,” the sergeant agreed with her. “If you don’t eat it, you’ll eat nothing.”

“Eating nothing is better than this. Why are we eating this trash anyway? Berries and stuff grow in forests, right? Maybe even some mushrooms. I should go look.”

“In this darkness? Have you gone mad?”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “I can see just fine in the dark,” she said, standing up. “Don’t worry, I’ll get some for you too.”

“Splitting up is a bad idea,” Sergeant Sharp said. “You will stay here.”

“I don’t obey your orders, unicorn,” Rainbow Dash snapped, glaring at the sergeant with a challenge. “I’m not even in your army.”

“The Pegasus Militia is part of the Equestrian military,” the sergeant glared back. “So you fall under my command. As a sergeant, I outrank you.”

“Keep telling yourself that, mud crawler.”

“Watch yer tongue, will ya?” Applejack said, climbing back on her hooves. “No need to insult him.”

Sergeant Sharp scowled. “You’ll be court-martialed when we get back.”

“We’re all on edge here, Sergeant,” Applejack said calmly, walking to stand between the two ponies. “Why don’t we all calm down, alright?”

The sergeant’s scowl deepened. “I won’t tolerate insolence, Private Applejack,” he said firmly, furrowing his brows. “Especially not from some pegasus brat.”

“Who are you calling a brat, pricklehead?!”

Applejack felt the heat rising behind her cheeks. Why couldn’t the two just stop provoking each other?! “Shut up, Rainbow Dash!” she barked. “We’re not the enemies here!”

“Am I supposed to take his insults then?”

“It was you who started it,” Applejack noted, flaring her nostrils. “Why can’t ya just accept the sergeant’s command?”

Rainbow Dash cried out, “Oh, for feather’s sake! You don’t have a clue, do you? I’m so fed up with both of you!” Having said that, the angry pegasus stormed off past Applejack and Sergeant Sharp deeper into the forest. “See you in Stalliongrad.”

Applejack stared in frustration at her colorful tail vanishing behind the trees.

“Good riddance,” the sergeant said, scrunching his muzzle in disgust. “She won’t make it there on her own.”

Applejack growled and bucked a tree behind her, dropping a shower of leaves on her head. She couldn’t decide if she was angrier at Sergeant Sharp or Rainbow Dash for their dumb squabble. She looked the way the pegasus had gone, torn in indecision.

“Darn it, sarge, I can’t let her go there alone,” Applejack said. “She may be a fool, but she saved my life. We need to stop her.”

The sergeant shook his head, looking at Applejack with disapproval. “No. Let her go, Private.”

“Just watch over Flare, will ya? I’ll be back soon.”

Ignoring the sergeant’s baleful glare, Applejack trotted along Rainbow’s trail. She had put a lot of faith in the sergeant by trusting him with Flare, but she had saved his life on the airship. He would take care of her until Applejack’s return. The stallion had done a lot of rotten things in the past, but he still had a good heart – somewhere very deep.

Applejack focused on walking. Though she couldn’t see much, her ears were located forward, catching Rainbow’s loud hoofsteps up ahead. Applejack cursed under her breath at the pegasus’ foolishness as she raced to catch up with her.

Rainbow moved fast and it had taken a couple of minutes of reckless cantering in the near darkness, falling over a couple of times as she stumbled over some tree roots, for Applejack to catch up with the mare. Finally, her rainbow tail was in direct view. Leaping forward, Applejack caught it in her mouth. The pegasus shrieked, flaring her wings and bucking back.

“It’s me, you idiot,” Applejack said, letting her tail go as she barely avoided a hoof to her face. “Where do ya think yer goin’?”

“To Stalliongrad,” Rainbow said, turning around sharply. “Why are you here? Go kiss your sergeant’s flank.”

Applejack felt her anger boiling up inside. Having saved her life or not, nopony talked to Applejack that way. She took a deep breath, bottling up her emotions. She wouldn’t take the bait.

“We shouldn’t fight each other, Rainbow Dash,” she said, keeping her voice level. “We must stick together.”

Rainbow huffed, staring back into Applejack’s eyes. “You just don’t get it,” she shook her head in dismay. “No pegasus would serve under a mu— ground pony. It’s against our traditions.”

“Doesn’t your whole Militia take orders from Equestria?” Applejack asked in confusion.

“No!” Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof. “The Militia is an Equestrian ally, but we take no orders from you.”

Applejack shook her head. She had heard something different about the pegasi’s status, but there was no point in bringing it up now. It didn’t really matter in their current situation.

“Look, I understand,” she said. “Ya won’t take orders from the sarge, that’s fine. But ya don’t have to go all the way to Stalliongrad alone. It’s too dangerous.”

Rainbow snorted. “Please. How is that dangerous? We’ve been here the whole day and found nothing. Your sergeant is just a pussy, that’s all.”

“He’s anythin’ but a pussy,” Applejack frowned. It was harder and harder to keep her temper in check. “I think we should listen to him on this one. I don’t like this forest myself.”

“You just listen to whatever he says, don’t you?” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What if he tells you to raise your tail? Would you just—”

Applejack’s hoof shot up like lightning, hitting Rainbow square in the jaw. Now she had crossed the line. The pegasus stumbled backward, but one hit wasn’t enough to put her out of the fight. With a scowl on her face, she reared up, swinging her forelegs at Applejack, causing her to backpedal.

She leaped forward the next moment, tackling her opponent. Rainbow grunted as she hit the ground and headbutted Applejack in the face, but the earth pony ignored the blood trickling down her muzzle, landing a series of mighty punches on Rainbow’s body. Her light armor wasn’t enough to absorb all the impact and the mare gasped for air.

Panting, Applejack stood up over her and looked down at the pegasus. Her anger slowly subsided and she felt a pang of regret for losing control. But Rainbow shouldn’t have said—

She gasped sharply as Rainbow’s hind leg hit her from below, smashing into her most tender spot. Her knees buckled and she crumbled on the pegasus, groaning as her hooves gripped her hurting lady bits, trying to soothe the agonizing pain. It hurt like hell!

She felt Rainbow Dash squirm from under her and rolled on the forest ground, moaning slightly. She turned on her side, curling into a ball, and just lay there for a while with her eyes shut. The pain was diminishing slowly.

“Eh, Applejack?” she heard the pegasus’ voice above her. “Are you alright? Look, I didn’t think… It was dumb. Okay, I was dumb. I’m sorry. I wasn’t really planning to hit you there, I mean, not really. Does it hurt much?”

Applejack snorted suddenly, surprising both Rainbow and herself. She raised her eyes to look at the pegasus’ confused face. “Nah, it feels good,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Wanna try?”

“I’ll pass,” Rainbow chuckled nervously, flattening her ears.

Slowly, Applejack shifted into a sitting position. The pain was still there, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. Her eyes burrowed into Rainbow’s, who quickly lowered her gaze.

“I’m sorry again, alright? It was just in the heat of the moment…”

Applejack rubbed herself, wincing as she felt that her lower lips had swollen up a bit. Rainbow’s hoof had hit hard. It would be difficult to walk for a while, she imagined. Hopefully, nothing more serious would come from it. She suddenly caught Rainbow staring at her hooves. The pegasus’ cheeks reddened and she mumbled something, averting her eyes.

“Ya were a fool, alright,” Applejack confirmed, feeling her own cheeks burning. “But I shouldn’t have snapped at you, either. Ya just hit a sore spot… Twice now, I guess.”

She chuckled humorlessly.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked, her eyes looking away.

Applejack gingerly got on her hooves and stepped from one hindleg to another. She winced, tucking her tail between her legs. Rainbow’s kick was still very fresh on her. She shot the pegasus a glare and the mare flattened her ears in shame.

“Yer stupid comment about raisin’ my tail,” Applejack explained with a shrug. “I’ve kind of had a bad experience with that at the boot camp.”

Rainbow Dash gaped for a couple of seconds before facehoofing.

“I’m such a fool! I’m really sorry. My dumb tongue…”

“That’s alright, Dash. Just forget about it. Are ya ready to go back now?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head. “I’m just angry at your sergeant, but I shouldn’t have left you like that. You have no chance without me.”

Applejack chuckled. “If ya say so, Dash. Just try to keep from insultin’ him. It doesn’t help.”

Rainbow frowned. “I will if he does.”

“I think ya both need to cool off,” Applejack said. “Let’s go back.”

The earth pony looked around, squinting her eyes. For the love of the Sun, she couldn’t remember which direction she had come from. Judging by Rainbow’s alarmed expression, she couldn’t either. Everything looked the same in that darkness.

“Oh, snap…”

After a quick discussion, the two had chosen the direction that seemed right. Rainbow Dash walked first, her superior vision helping her to find a path among the trees. Applejack was on high alert, constantly swiveling her ears so nothing would get a jump on them. A couple of times she thought she’d heard something, but there was no way to tell for sure.

“I don’t think we’re going the right way,” Rainbow Dash admitted after ten minutes of walking. She punched a tree in frustration, “Damn, everything looks the same in this darkness!”

Applejack felt a sinking feeling in her gut. Her thoughts went to Flare and Sergeant Sharp, wondering how the two were holding out. She suppressed a spark of anger at Rainbow. They wouldn’t be here if not for the rash pegasus running off.

“I thought ya had great night vision,” she said with a note of accusation in her voice.

“Well, yeah, but it’s much darker here under the trees than it would be up in the sky,” Rainbow explained, shifting nervously. “I didn’t account for that.”

Applejack groaned.

“We need to wait for the moon to rise then,” she said, slumping her rump on the ground. “No point goin’ ‘round like blind kittens.”

Rainbow Dash sat close to her. “Even if we could see the way better, how are we going to find the others?”

“That’s a good buckin’ question,” Applejack said, glaring at the pegasus. She took a deep breath to calm down. “I think we need to retrace our steps to where we brawled and go in circles from there. We weren’t far off from the others.”

Rainbow agreed with her idea and the two settled to wait. Applejack couldn’t help but worry what Sergeant Sharp would do if they failed to find him until morning. She had a disturbing thought that the pony would just dump Flare as ballast and try to reach Stalliongrad alone.

To distract herself from worrying too much — and kill the time — she told Rainbow about her family and their little village, remembering the good old days with warmth in her chest. It had ended a little more than a month ago, but it felt like forever.

Applejack finished her story on the day that everything had changed.

“So they, like, take you into the army and you can’t do anything about that?” Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrows. “That’s insane.”

“House Belle used to let us choose who wanted to go before the darn regent seized the power,” Applejack said with a sigh. “But most Houses do just that, yeah. Our village is lucky to have the Belles, I guess. I reckon it’s different in Cloudsdale?”

“Well, duh!” Rainbow said, throwing her hooves up. “Not everypony is fit to be a warrior, after all. We have enough volunteers, so those who don’t want to join the militia are free to do whatever they want. We still have to get some basic training though. You know, in case of an emergency.”

Applejack was nodding in approval as she listened. She liked Cloudsdale’s system much better than the Equestrian one. It only further showed how different the pegasi lived from everypony else, probably because the nobles had a hard time reaching them on their cloud cities.

“Rotten apples,” Applejack muttered. She had always liked being an earth pony, but in moments like these, she couldn’t help but feel envious of the other pony tribes.

But it wasn’t all that bad for the earth ponies, she encouraged herself. They still had Stalliongrad to look up to. From all the rumors and from what she had personally seen in the city, it was a good place to live if you were one. Though Applejack doubted it had the same level of freedom as the pegasus city-states. There was also Agritania, which was west of Equestria, but except for the fact that it was primarily an earth pony kingdom, Applejack knew little about it.

Meanwhile, Rainbow continued to talk about Cloudsdale. For somepony who had spent her whole life in one tiny village, hearing about life in the pegasus city was mindblowing. Applejack was trying to imagine what it would be like living so high above the ground, never touching the ground or walking among the greenery, but her imagination failed her.

“I’ve been to the ground every once in a while,” Rainbow Dash explained. “But yeah, most of the pegasi never need to go down here. We’re just fine living on our clouds.”

As Applejack had learned, Rainbow had grown up in a family of weather ponies. A lot of pegasi did work related to the weather to some degree, but Rainbow Dash was more interested in a military career. Though her folks had been trying to get her into the family business, Rainbow had signed up for the militia at the first opportunity.

“The training was harder than I’d expected,” she said with a fleeting smile, “But I liked it. I became the fastest pegasus in the training camp, you know.” She winced. “A lot of good it did to Snowfield…”

“I’m sure ya did everythin’ ya could,” Applejack said softly, realizing that she was talking about her fallen friend.

“I’ve killed the griffons who did it, but it’s not enough,” Rainbow whispered. “It’s not nearly enough.”

Applejack was at a loss for words. There was nothing she could really say to make her companion feel better. Instead, she carefully put her foreleg over Rainbow’s withers, making sure not to touch her wings this time. The mare tensed up for a second, but then relaxed and let out a deep sigh.

A twig snapped behind them. Both ponies jumped on their hooves, facing the sound with their weapons drawn, and stared into the shadows.

“Something is out there,” Applejack said, pointing forward. Her eyes searched between the trees, but it was impossible to distinguish anything.

The two spent a few minutes in tense silence, listening to the sounds of the forest.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe it was just the wind,” Applejack suggested.

“Maybe,” Rainbow said, her ears swiveling around constantly. “Don’t worry. Nopony can sneak up on this pegasus. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox—”

In the middle of her speech, a shadowy figure stepped out from behind a tree directly in front of them. Applejack stumbled backward, muttering curses, while Rainbow Dash jumped up with a shriek, flaring her wings.

“Stay back!” Rainbow yelled in a high-pitched voice, pointing her hoofblade at the stranger.

Applejack, having recovered from the shock, joined Rainbow by her side with her sword and stared at the figure, trying to see who it was.

“I mean you no harm,” a soft female voice said as the figure took a step back. The words were definitely in Ponish, but a strange accent made her speech almost unrecognizable. “I’m here to help you.”

“Who are you?” Applejack asked without lowering her weapon. “I can’t even see you properly.”

“Oh, sorry,” the mare said and stepped out from the tree’s shadow, making herself more visible.

It was a pegasus mare with a braided mane that fell almost to the ground. Her body wasn’t covered by any barding and she had a short spear hanging on her harness by her side. It was hard to distinguish her colors, but it was on the light side of the spectrum. Her wings were half-spread, twitching slightly as if she was ready to take off at any second.

“You’re not one of us.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I just want to help,” the mare repeated, drooping her ears. “I’ve been watching your group from afar all day.”

Shivers ran down Applejack’s back. She’d had a feeling that something had been following them earlier, but she’d written it off as being too unnerved by the strange forest.

“How can you help?” Rainbow asked. “And why are you offering your help just now anyway?

“I’m sorry,” the pegasus flinched, “I wasn’t supposed to show myself to you. But I saw your friend — Flare, isn’t it? — was hurt and I can’t just do nothing.”

“Did the griffons send you to spy on us?” Rainbow said, flicking her tail in agitation.

“No, no, not the griffons,” the mare shook her head rapidly. “My people have nothing to do with them. We live in this forest peacefully and it is my job to make sure nopony disturbs our peace. That’s why I was watching you — to make sure you weren’t going to our village.”

“And what if we were?” Applejack asked flatly.

The timid pegasus drooped her ears. “I would have warned you not to.”

“I see.”

Applejack could feel that the pegasus was being sincere. Slowly, she sheathed her sword. A wild hope stirred in her chest — was she really going to help Flare? Rainbow Dash, however, seemed less than sure.

“And now you’re offering to help us?” she asked skeptically. “Why should we believe you?”

“We can’t throw away this chance, Dash,” Applejack glared at her companion, forcing her hoofblade down. “She said she wanted to help Flare.”

“Maybe she’s just out to rob us,” Rainbow said, throwing a gaze full of suspicion at the yellow pegasus. She seemed to shrink under her heavy gaze. “Yeah, maybe not.” Rainbow’s ears perked up. “Wait, if you say you were watching us, what about the other survivors? Have you seen them?”

The mare nodded, making an affirmative sound.

“My companions and I split up,” she explained. “I went to follow you, while the others are watching the main group.”

“Were there any pegasi with them?” Rainbow asked, her voice full of hope.

“Yes, three pegasi and four earth ponies.”

“Can you get us to them?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I don’t think so. I left them many hours ago. They could be anywhere by now.”

“Torn feathers.” Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof on the ground.

Meanwhile, Applejack recalled how many ponies she had seen surviving the crash. Excluding their group, there were supposed to be ten ponies in total. The numbers the stranger had told them didn’t add up, so Applejack shared her thoughts out loud.

The pegasus looked away.

“The griffons caught them,” she said simply.

“Ah.” Applejack felt a pang of regret at losing three more of her comrades. “Anyway, if ye’re goin’ to help us, will you lead us back to our friends? I mean Flare and the sarge. We’re kind of lost.”

The pegasus nodded, finally tucking in her wings. “Yes, you’re not that far.” She stepped from one hoof to another nervously. “I saw you two fight, by the way. And the kick you got. I— I can take a look to make sure everything’s okay back there.”

Applejack’s cheeks burned red as she tucked her tail between her legs. “Eh, no, thanks. It’s not that bad now, really. I don’t even feel no pain, almost.”

“Oh, okay,” the mare nodded. “Sorry. Let’s go find your friends, then.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to argue, but Applejack raised her hoof.

“We’re takin’ this risk,” she stated firmly. “If there’s a chance she can help Flare, I can’t ignore it.”

Rainbow Dash closed her mouth and nodded curtly. “I understand. Fine then, but I’ll watch her every move.”

“I’ll try to help in any way I can,” the pegasus said. “Follow me, please.”

Having said that, the mare turned around and walked slowly. Applejack followed directly behind. Rainbow Dash closed the procession, watching their backs.

“You still haven’t told us your name, by the way,” she grumbled. “I’m Rainbow Dash. She’s Applejack.”

“Oh, I’ve heard your names already,” the pegasus admitted, her tail twitching nervously as she did so. “Mine is Fluttershy.”

***

“We’re almost there,” Fluttershy said mere five minutes later.

For Applejack, the forest looked exactly the same, but she trusted Fluttershy to know her way around. She told the others to stop and beckoned them closer.

“I should go first and warn the sergeant,” she whispered. “He may start shootin’ with this horn of his if he sees a stranger with us. I don’t want to risk it.”

“Sounds good to me.”

While the others waited behind the trees, Applejack continued on the path alone and soon entered a small clearing where the sergeant was. He raised his head at the sound, his horn aglow.

“Have you found the pegasus, private?” he asked, recognizing Applejack.

“You could say that, sir,” Applejack flickered a smile, coming closer. She decided to take the bull by the horn. “Remember how you told us about some ponies who live there? Well, we’ve met one. She offered to help Flare.”

The sergeant was up on his hooves in a second, wielding his sword in his magic aura.

“Help Flare, you say? And you led her here?”

Applejack nodded, taking an involuntary step back. She was glad she had decided to approach the sergeant alone. “Yeah, we did. She and Rainbow are waiting nearby.”

“I’ve heard nothing good about the ponies who live in this forest,” Sergeant Sharp said, reaching Applejack in a few steps and looking at the trees behind her. “They’re savages.”

Applejack shook her head stubbornly. “She didn’t seem dangerous to me, sir. I believe she really does want to help.”

The sergeant nodded but didn’t sheath his sword.

“Go ahead then,” he said. “Tell her to come out. Introduce us.”

The mare narrowed her eyes. “How do I know ya won’t just kill her like ya did with that mad fellow back in Stonehill?”

The sergeant furrowed his brows. “I’m not some bloodthirsty bastard. I take no pleasure in killing. If she really wants to help as you claim, I won’t do anything. But if I think she’s a threat—”

“She’s not,” Applejack cut him off. “Don’t do anything, sergeant. Please.”

Keeping her eyes on the pony, Applejack called out for the others to come out. Fluttershy and Rainbow emerged from behind the trees, the forest pegasus’s eyes not leaving the sergeant’s sword. She glanced at Applejack and the mare gave her an encouraging nod.

“Eh, hello there,” she said, waving her hoof in greeting. “If you can put your weapon away, please? I’m not here to fight you.”

“No,” the sergeant answered flatly.

Fluttershy gulped. “Oh, okay.”

The ponies stood in silence, facing each other.

“Time’s a-wastin’,” Applejack broke the silence first, making Fluttershy twitch.

“Oh, right,” the pegasus said and hurried to the injured mare.

Applejack eyed the sergeant, but he just watched. There wasn’t much to talk about as they all observed Fluttershy fussing over Flare. It went on for a couple of tense minutes until Fluttershy turned back to the others. Applejack eyed her intently.

“I think I can help,” Fluttershy said.

“What are you waiting for then?” Rainbow voiced Applejack’s thoughts.

“I don’t have what I need to do it,” she shook her head, drooping her ears. “I’m afraid we need to get her to my village.”

Applejack frowned. “I thought you said you ponies never let strangers disturb your village.”

“It’s true,” Fluttershy nodded. “But I’m sure I can convince them to make an exception. At least I hope I can.”

Some doubts weighed heavily on Applejack’s mind as she considered Fluttershy’s words. While she believed Fluttershy had good intentions, she had never met her co-villagers.

“Are they, like, going to kill us or something?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Fluttershy blanched. “Moons, no!” She shook her head. “I don’t know. I mean, nopony has really brought strangers to our village before. But we’re not bad ponies. I’m sure it would be fine.”

“Well, that’s good enough for me,” Applejack said, steeling her resolve.

“But not for me,” the sergeant intervened. Applejack looked at him warily, ready to spring into action if he made a move against Fluttershy. “I refuse to put my life at the mercy of some forest ponies.”

“I’m not letting Flare die,” Applejack said firmly. “I’ll take her there alone if I have to.”

“You won’t be alone,” Rainbow Dash said.

The sergeant shook his head. “You’re still under my command, Private Applejack. You’re not going anywhere.”

The mare tensed up, turning to face the sergeant fully. She felt the anger boiling up inside her. “Flare saved your life, Sergeant.”

“And I’m grateful for that, I truly am. But going with her—”, he pointed at Fluttershy with his sword, “—is a bad idea. I’d rather lose one soldier than let us all perish.”

Applejack stared at the sergeant aghast. She could see his point from the logical side of things, but the thought of sacrificing Flare to avoid the risk made her sick.

“She saved your life!” Applejack repeated, feeling her tail swaying in anger. “That’s why she’s dying right now. I thought you had a heart in there somewhere, darn you. You don’t want to risk it yourself, fine, but just let me go on my own.”

The sergeant’s cold expression cracked slightly. He winced and looked away. “I’m just being realistic here,” he said. “There’s no point in losing both of you. If that pegasus really wants to help as she claims, let her take Flare on her own. If she saves her life — good. If not — well, we tried.”

Fluttershy cleared her throat. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to carry her all the way to my village alone…” she stared at the ground in shame. “Even if I could, the forest gets more dangerous the deeper you go. I would be easy prey to any predator.”

“How convenient,” the sergeant snapped.

“I’m going with Fluttershy, sir,” Applejack said, her decision final. “And you won’t stop me.”

The sergeant’s expression hardened. “That’s treason, then. You gave the oath to serve Equestria. You gave the oath to follow the rightful orders of your superiors. If you break it, you’ll be considered a deserter and dealt with accordingly.”

Rainbow Dash snorted.

“What a joke,” she said. “You force ponies to join against their will. An oath given under pressure does not have any weight.”

The sergeant looked at the pegasus with a scowl. “An oath doesn’t have any weight? Well, I expected nothing less from you, birdie.”

As the two exchanged a round of insults, a frown of doubt crossed Applejack’s face. The sergeant was right, of course. She had sworn to do all that not so long ago. And Applejack always kept her word. But when her best friend’s life was on the line…

No, there was no doubt in her mind what her decision would be.

Sure, her family might face repercussions if she was reported as a deserter. The sergeant had warned the new conscripts about that. In the case of a pony conscripted from a village belonging to one of the noble houses, the House in question was supposed to pay a huge fine to the army. Whether they took it from their own purse or just took the bits from the deserter’s family was at their sole discretion. Of course, Applejack had no illusions about what the most common practice was.

The truth, however, was that Applejack’s family had collected enough bits from their orchard business to be able to afford the fine. It would set back their plans to buy out their land for years, but if that meant saving her best friend… Applejack was ready. The bits they lost could be earned back, but Flare’s life would be lost forever.

An unbidden thought entered her mind.

There was another way, she realized. After The Luminous’ crash, everypony on board would be assumed dead. The only pony who knew otherwise was Sergeant Sharp and Rainbow Dash. Applejack’s brow creased as she considered her next move.

“So, ye’re not goin’ to let me save Flare?” she said, interrupting the growing argument. The sergeant looked at her.

“I’m sorry, but no. I’ll be happy if she survives until Stalliongrad, but you’re not going to any forest villages.”

Fluttershy cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, but I don’t think she’ll survive another day. Is your Stalliongrad close?”

With their pace it wasn’t, Applejack thought grimly. It helped her finally make the decision.

Drawing her sword, she swung it in one swift motion, hitting the sergeant’s sword with such a force that it tore off from his magic grip and sank deep into a tree. Fluttershy shrieked, diving into the ground. Without giving the sergeant a chance to recover, Applejack smacked his horn with her other hoof to stop any spell, sending him reeling.

“No magic,” Applejack said, the cold blade of her sword touching the sergeant’s throat. Sergeant Sharp’s eyes were wide with shock, but his expression quickly changed to rage.

“What in Tartarus are you doing, you madmare?!” the sergeant growled, his nostrils flaring as he breathed heavily.

Applejack briefly wondered about that herself, wondering if she had made the right choice. There was no turning back from this point. She was already a deserter. But was she a murderer?

“Whoa, there,” Rainbow Dash muttered from the side.

“I’m just saving my friend,” Applejack explained, with her voice trembling. Her foreleg twitched, bringing the blade even closer to the stallion’s throat.

She still wasn’t sure what to do with the sergeant. If he lived, her family back in her village would surely suffer. On the other hoof, Applejack was not a cold-blooded killer. And despite his many flaws, the sergeant wasn’t a bad pony.

“I thought I’d made a good soldier out of you,” the sergeant spat on the ground. “But I was wrong. You’re nothing but a traitorous bitch.”

His words stung a bit, but Applejack ignored it, knowing in her heart that it wasn’t true. Her true allegiance lay with her family and she had never betrayed them.

“I don’t want to kill you,” she said, not lowering her blade. “I’m just going to leave, alright? You go to Stalliongrad on your own.”

Applejack saw Rainbow approach carefully.

“And they call me a hothead,” she said.

“Wouldn’t ya do the same if the lives of your friends and family were on the line?”

“Got me there,” Rainbow said, taking a step back. “Well, I don’t care how you ground ponies do things in the army, so whatever. It’s not my problem.”

Applejack nodded in appreciation. Her eyes met the sergeant’s glare, which seemed to burrow right into her soul, but she held her own.

“Why don’t you just kill me, you pussy?” he goaded her, inching his throat closer to the blade. “You’re the daughter of a whore.”

Applejack felt her temper flare at the mention of her mother. “I don’t want to kill you,” she growled. “Flare saved your life. I don’t want to take it away. Just go.”

The sergeant glanced at Flare. “Don’t think I forgot about that. She’s a good soldier. Unlike you.”

Applejack sighed, lowering her sword and taking a step back. She eyed the sergeant carefully, ready to defend herself if he tried a counterattack. Luckily for both of them, he didn’t.

“Flare was planning to desert once we’d reached Stalliongrad, you know,” Applejack said. The sergeant narrowed his eyes. “Just go, okay?”

“Okay, you’ve won,” Sergeant Sharp nodded and she relaxed slightly. The anger was gone from the sergeant’s face, replaced by disappointment. “I had high hopes for you, Applejack. Despite our rocky start — my fault, I admit — you proved to be a good soldier. I never thought a mare could be one, but you proved me wrong. Or so I thought. A truly good soldier always carries out their orders, no matter how they feel about them. A truly good soldier does not break their oath on a whim. In the end, you turned out to be just another emotional bitch.”

The sergeant’s horn flared, surprising Applejack, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down to see two knives sticking out, going in just at the sides of her armor plate. Blood was trickling out of the wounds. Her knees suddenly went weak and buckled under her. Shocked, Applejack raised her eyes to look at Sergeant Sharp.

“You left me no choice,” he said, grabbing the knives in his magic and yanking them out. Applejack cried out as a gush of blood sprayed from the wounds. “The only punishment for deserting is death.”

Applejack felt her consciousness slipping away as the sergeant walked closer, but her anger held her back. Not at the sergeant, but at herself. She should have known. Now Flare would die because of her softness. She herself would die.

“Rotten apples,” she muttered.

She didn’t feel any pain, just the growing cold. In the last moments before the darkness claimed her, she heard a muffled scream and saw a rainbow streak flash before her eyes. Then her eyes closed, and everything went black.

Chapter XIX - Family Reunion

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As soon as Twilight had left, the students approached Pinkie and Heavy Steps. While the mare still couldn't move a muscle, she was fully aware of her surroundings and listened as the ponies fervently discussed what had just happened.

“That pony looked just like Twilight Sparkle on the posters,” somepony said.

“Yeah,” the other agreed. “What was she doing here?”

Pinkie's tail twitched.

The students tried to guess Twilight's motives, soon coming to the obvious conclusion that her appearance was somehow related to the diamond dogs’ attack. Pinkie agreed — the two events couldn't have been a coincidence. But why did Twilight bring those monsters here? The students’ leading theory was that she was conspiring with them, but that was ridiculous. The dogs were almost feral.

“I've never seen those two around,” a student said, poking Pinkie's side. She winced inwardly. “They took out those dogs like they were nothing. Who do you think they are?”

“How would I know?” another student, a mare, said. “That stallion is so hot though. Just look at him!”

Pinkie side-glanced at Heavy Steps and saw the mare practically groping his flanks. Poor stallion! A moment later her friend pulled her off to the side.

“He’s conscious, you fool,” he whispered loudly. The mare's face comically twisted into an expression of horror. “He's just paralyzed.”

Pinkie would have giggled at the mare quickly disappearing behind the crowd, if she wasn't paralyzed herself. Luckily, the spell’s hold on her had already begun to weaken, much to her relief.

She welcomed the feeling of thousands of tiny pinpricks running all over her body with joy. With her runic amulet, the spell shouldn't have affected her at all, but this was Twilight Sparkle she was dealing with. From what she had learned about her, the pony was a magical prodigy.

Pinkie groaned as the spell finally wore off, and she stumbled, barely catching herself before she hit the floor. She jumped from one hoof to another to restore the blood flow. Everypony went silent, looking at her with interest.

“Are you alright, miss?” one of the students asked in concern.

Pinkie shrugged. Her muscles felt a little stiff, but the feeling was quickly going away the more she moved around. She walked in front of Heavy Steps and looked him in the eyes. His pupils shrank, focusing on her.

“I have to go now, okay? Wait for me at the place we spent the night, I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.” Having said that, Pinkie addressed the ponies around her. “Make sure he's okay, okay? Okay.”

Not waiting for an answer, Pinkie pushed past the crowd and bolted downstairs to catch up with Twilight Sparkle. The random ponies on her way weren’t a problem as she slipped around or jumped over everypony on her way, not letting them delay her even for a second.

If Twilight thought she could get rid of her so easily, she was up for a big surprise!

***

“I’m sorry, but I can’t take that risk. You’re staying here.”

Her horn flashed.

Twilight felt a pain in it as soon as she had cast the spell, but there was no time to dwell on it, so she turned around and trotted down the stairs with determination, barely noticing the students scrambling out of her way. They followed her with their eyes, but Twilight couldn't care less — her only goal was to leave this place before the authorities arrived to investigate all the ruckus.

In hindsight, she realized that there were much safer locations to teleport to than her old Academy. Lucky Moonlight's house, for example. But when you're about to be buried under tons of rubble, and rabid bipedal dogs are breaking through your shield, your thoughts tend to be in disarray.

“Twilight, darling,” Rarity said, catching up to the unicorn. “I believe you’re drawing too much attention in that ensemble. And not the good kind, I'm afraid.”

Twilight looked down on herself and winced in disgust. She had been parading in her natural colors all along. Not to mention her bloodied barding that was wrapped around her body. Why hadn’t the others warned her sooner?! Twilight huffed in annoyance and trotted faster, suddenly conscious of the stares she was receiving.

There were a lot more ponies on the first floor, but most of the students were too busy talking to each another to pay Twilight much attention at first. That began to change, however, as she walked further down the corridor. She noticed some heads turning her way, whispering and pointing hooves.

“We need a place where we can change,” Twilight whispered to her companions.

Nopony argued with that. Twilight looked around as she trotted, searching for a bathroom and, having found the corresponding pair of doors, barged inside the one with a mare symbol on it. Midnight followed her after a moment’s hesitation.

Though the room seemed empty, Twilight walked to the center and flashed all the cabins open with her magic to make sure nopony was hiding inside. Her horn twinged in pain even after such a weak spell, but before Twilight could think about it, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air.

Twilight winced, flattening her ears, as she stared at the mare who had the misfortune of relieving her bladder at just that exact moment. She hadn’t actually considered what she was going to do if anypony was inside. The mare, in turn, stared back and, having finished her business, galloped out of the bathroom with her tail between her legs.

“Awkward,” Rarity stated the obvious.

***

Pinkie finally caught up with Twilight and her friends on the first floor. She shook her head in dismay — Twilight still looked like Twilight, which wasn't exactly smart, considering her posters were all over the city. At least her cutie mark was hidden by her barding, though a battered piece of armor presented a problem of its own. The ponies were already whispering and pointing at Twilight as she walked past them.

Pinkie slowed down to a trot, calming her breathing, her eyes glued to Twilight. Her heart was beating in her chest like a drum, but it was slowing down now. Her mind, however, was still racing as she thought of a way to help Twilight keep her identity hidden. Maybe a distraction?

Before she could come up with something, Twilight and her companions disappeared behind one of the side doors. Half a minute later a disheveled mare burst out of it as if the demons of Tartarus were on her tail.

“Huh.”

***

“We need to blend in,” Twilight said, approaching the mirror and unstrapping her armor by hoof and mouth, the mishap with the mare forgotten. “Hurry up.”

Rarity was busy washing her face without Twilight’s prompting, and the others joined her, scrubbing their coats from days’ worth of sweat, blood and dust. Midnight took off his badly damaged cape, shoving it into his duffel bag. Rarity’s sword and Lotus’s dagger went in there as well. Unfortunately, Midnight’s staff was too long to fit inside.

“I hope that’s all,” a childish voice grumbled. “It’s getting a bit tight in here.”

Twilight gaped at the green head with spikes as it poked out of the duffel bag. The little dragon had been so quiet throughout everything that had happened that he had completely slipped Twilight’s mind up until now.

“My barding has to fit in there,” Twilight said, recovering. “That thing cost us a small fortune. I don’t want to leave it here.”

“Fine…” Spike climbed out of the bag and waited as Twilight carefully stored her armor piece in it after scrubbing the blood off it. There was just enough room for the dragon left afterwards. “I can barely move!”

“At least you don’t have to carry that bag around,” Midnight grumbled in response.

Turning away, Twilight looked into the mirror at her weary face and sighed. She had seen better days. Her eyes flicked to the black amulet on her neck. It had the form of a triangle with black wings and a unicorn head on its top. A red gemstone rested in its center. The amulet emanated soothing warmness, which spread through Twilight’s body. It was nice to simply stand and gaze at it.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Midnight’s voice broke her trance.

“I’m fine,” Twilight waved him off and resumed washing herself, but her thoughts were still with the amulet.

Its power was not something to take lightly. The books had warned her to be cautious with the artifact, and yet she had been reckless enough to almost cost her and her friends their lives. She wasn’t ready to confront Everlight yet; that much was clear.

Done with washing, Twilight summoned her magic to change her coat to a light blue color. She waited for her horn to stop throbbing and then did the same with her mane. The hardest part was making her cutie mark look like a sole white star, rather than a constellation of her own six, but even that was something she was able to manage. A triumphant smile grew on her face despite the pain.

Cutie marks were tricky.

Changing them with magic wasn’t all that hard, but it quickly reverted to its original shape unless you supported it with a constant trickle of magic. Twilight had learned the trick after Midnight had recognized her cutie mark back at the library and had used it ever since.

“I think we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Twilight said.

One by one, they left the bathroom.

***

Pinkie Pie nodded in approval.

Twilight and the rest were doing a great job. Nopony was paying attention to them now. Pinkie followed them with a look of determination in her eyes. She had no idea what she was going to do to win Twilight’s trust, but she felt like she was about to find out.

***

“We’re almost there,” Midnight said, making his way straight for the exit door on the other side of the foyer.

As soon as the words had left his tongue, the door burst open and a group of ponies in Academy Security uniforms marched in. The eyes of everypony in the room turned to the new arrivals. Twilight and her friends stopped in their tracks, exchanging worried looks.

“Attention, everypony,” their leader addressed the room in a crispy but loud voice. “I kindly ask all of you to proceed outside in an organized fashion. This is not a drill. We’ll explain everything later.”

Twilight sighed in relief. She and her friends headed for the exit along with everypony else, when one of the students rushed to the security pony and whispered something to him. Twilight couldn’t hear their words, but the stallion’s eyes widened, and he stared at the student for a few seconds.

Twilight had a bad feeling about this.

The head of security gestured to his subordinates and they blocked the door. The students grumbled.

“Attention again, fillies and gentlecolts!” the security head raised his hooves, yelling above the crowd. “The dangerous criminal Twilight Sparkle was seen here, so nopony is allowed to leave the building until we find her!”

Twilight’s heart dropped to her hooves — she was going to be discovered! Her breathing quickened, but nopony had noticed her reaction as the room exploded in a flurry of emotions, ranging from shock to outrage.

The security pony was still saying something, but Twilight and her friends hurried back to where they’d come from while everypony’s attention was focused on the speaker. Reaching the end of the corridor, Twilight hushed everypony inside an empty classroom, locking the door behind them.

“Well, that sucks,” Midnight said.

Twilight nodded grimly as she approached the window and peeked through. It was at the front of the building, facing the main path to the gate out of the campus. A couple of security ponies were patrolling the territory. Another security pony galloped past them and yelled something.

“Damn it,” Twilight muttered, getting away from the window. He had probably alerted them to her presence.

Spike’s head popped out of the duffel bag.

“What happened?”

Midnight quickly explained the situation to him. The dragon scowled.

“I hate those security guys,” he said, puffing a stream of smoke out of his nostrils. Rarity winced, stepping further away. “I saw what you did with those dogs, Twilight. Can’t you do the same here?”

Twilight shuddered visibly. “The dogs were trying to eat us, Spike!” She said, giving him a hard look. “I’m not going to kill ponies just to get away. Besides, I can barely cast a spell right now. I think I overloaded my horn.”

“Oh, bummer.”

The group tried to come up with an escape plan, but while they talked, more of the city guards started to arrive at the campus. Twilight glanced out of the window and folded her ears, seeing a dozen of them marching through the main entrance.

The longer they stayed here, the harder it would be to escape.

“We can’t hide in this room forever.” Twilight said.

Nopony argued with that, but going out wasn’t a better option. If only Twilight could teleport… She had enough mana for the spell thanks to the amulet, but she wasn’t able to channel it through her horn without damaging it even further. It was like trying to push a big rope through a needle hole.

“We have no choice but to fight our way through,” Midnight said, stomping his staff on the floor. A few angry sparks came out. “There are not that many guards outside. I say we leave through the window, run to the fence and climb over it, fighting anypony on our way. That’s our best option.”

Rarity shook her head, looking outside. “I can see at least ten ponies on patrol, most of them unicorns. They’d just stun us from the distance.”

“My shield should hold for a bit, I think,” Twilight said without much certainty. “It’s a risky plan, but I think Midnight is right. I don’t see another way.”

“I do!” Pinkie Pie said.

Wait, what?! Twilight jumped in shock, feeling her hair stand on end and stared at the pink mare standing in their midst. Midnight pointed his staff at her with wild eyes, his horn ablaze. “Relax, guys. I told you I wanted to help, remember?”

“How in Tartarus did you get here?” Twilight asked incredulously. “You were supposed to be paralyzed for hours!”

The mare smiled smugly.

“I had help,” Pinkie said, pointing at a small green locket around her neck. “Zebrican rune magic! Works like a charm. Because it is a charm, get it?”

Twilight’s eyes snapped to the locket, a thousand questions on her mind. Zebrica was a faraway place from Equestria, populated by zebras, creatures with their own magic and culture. They were rare visitors in Equestria and seeing some of their actual work was a golden research opportunity! With regret, Twilight tore her eyes off the locket.

“I see,” the unicorn nodded calmly, though she was anything but. “Still, how did you get inside without anypony noticing? And where’s your royal guard friend?”

“You were so busy talking, a manticore could have slipped inside,” Pinkie answered with a smirk. “And my friend doesn’t have my charm, so he’s still stuck. Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Anyway, do you want to hear my plan or not?”

A deep frown appeared on Twilight’s face. She didn’t trust the strange mare or her pal, but they were in a situation with nothing to lose. Besides, Twilight used to have the same doubts about Rarity, and the lady had proved to be trustworthy.

She felt somepony’s hoof touching her withers. “I think we should give her a chance, Twi,” Midnight said. “We’ll watch her if she tries something funny.”

Pinkie made a silly expression with her tongue rolling out. Everypony stared at her in confusion, and she giggled. “Sorry, just trying something funny.”

“She could have alerted the guards to our presence, Twilight,” Midnight continued, rolling his eyes at the mare’s antics. “If she wanted you to be captured, she had her chance.”

Twilight sighed. “Fine. But if you do something I don’t like, I’ll use something stronger than just a paralyzing spell on you, got it?” Twilight glared at her for a few seconds until the mare nodded. “Now, tell me your plan. What’s your name again?”

“Pinkie Pie, the P.I,” the mare said with a grin. “But my friends just call me Pinkie. So, my plan is…”

***

Pinkie’s plan turned out to be rather simple. In fact, it was so simple that Twilight was surprised she hadn’t come up with it herself. After a short discussion ironing out all the wrinkles, everypony agreed it was a good idea.

“We need to make sure nopony notices what’s going on,” Midnight said. “You think you can do your silence bubble spell, Twilight?”

The unicorn considered it for a moment. Usually, such a spell would be foal’s play, but in her current condition…

“I’ll do it,” Twilight said firmly, not letting even a hint of doubt slip into her voice.

“What about the windows?” Spike asked. He had left the duffel bag for now and was sitting on the teacher’s desk. “They may notice if you use your flashy unicorn magic.”

Twilight groaned in frustration but nodded to Spike in thanks.

“We’ll block them with those desks,” she said.

“Desks on the windows? Sure, that’s much better,” Spike chuckled. Twilight glared at the dragon.

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” she said sharply. “Does anypony have a better solution?”

Nopony did.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll work,” Pinkie grinned as she was about to sneak into the corridor. “See you later.”

Soon after she had left, Twilight started pacing around the classroom as her imagination supplied her with various ways the strange mare could harm them. Twilight’s rational side argued against it — it made no sense for Pinkie to do such a thing — but little about that pink pony made sense.

She was a complete stranger who somehow knew more about Twilight’s plan than even what she had told her friends. She claimed to have talked with Blueblood and she had a Royal Guardspony on her side. What were the chances of some random private investigator doing all that?

“Twilight, darling, you need to calm down,” Rarity blocked Twilight’s path. “We have to be at our best right now.”

Twilight pursed her lips and nodded curtly. Rarity was right, of course, but it was easier said than done.

They waited for five long minutes in relative silence. Time seemed to drag on and on, and the tension grew with every second. Everypony’s eyes were focused on the door, expecting something — anything — to happen, but when it cracked open, everypony was still startled.

“They’re coming,” Pinkie whispered loudly, rolling into the room like a bowling ball. “Four of them, so be ready!”

Twilight suddenly felt doubtful. It was four guards against them — a baby dragon, Lotus the Maid, Lady Rarity and Twilight, who was barely able to use magic. Midnight was their strongest fighter at the moment with his magical staff. Pinkie Pie remained a mystery, but considering what she and her friend had done to the diamond dogs, she was a formidable fighter in her own right. Was that enough?

“I’m not sure we can beat them,” Twilight voiced her concerns, causing the others to shift nervously. “We need to run before it’s too late.”

“It’s already too late,” Pinkie announced, her voice serious. She rummaged through her saddlebags, finding some weird-looking horseshoe-like contraption. “Don’t worry, we just need to take them by surprise. Easy as pie.”

Having said that, Pinkie leaped onto the desk and from there launched herself at the ceiling hindlegs first. To everypony’s surprise, she didn’t fall down but just stood there, defying the laws of gravity. Positioning herself right above the door, she looked at the others.

“What? Never seen a spider-hoof?” When everypony shook their heads, Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You,” — she pointed at Lotus — “take a seat over there and pretend to be working on something. Ignore them when they come in. Everypony else, hide somewhere and wait for my signal to attack. Okay?”

Everypony including Twilight followed Pinkie’s orders to the letter and waited. A few minutes later, the door opened again and a pony head in a gray helmet poked inside. It scanned the classroom and noticed Lotus.

“Miss?” a mare’s voice called out. “We need you to follow us to the auditorium, please.”

Lotus ignored her just as Pinkie had ordered, pretending to be lost in concentration. Her back was turned to the guard and her head was lowered so that the guards wouldn’t notice her distinctive lack of a horn. Twilight could see a frown through the guardsmare’s helmet.

“Miss?” she repeated, stepping inside fully. She was wielding a short spear. Lotus’s ear twitched, but she kept up her act. The guardsmare began to approach her. One of her friends entered as well, standing near the door. There were supposed to be four of them in total, so Twilight knew that two of them were still lingering outside. She bit her lip in worry while she prepared to cast her silence bubble spell.

She tore her gaze off the guards to look at Pinkie and noticed her gesturing wildly. The mare pointed at herself and then at the door. A moment later, Twilight nodded in understanding. Pinkie grinned. The next second she dropped like a rock.

“Here we go,” Twilight whispered, releasing the spell.

On cue, Midnight and Rarity flung the desks to block the view from the windows. The first guardsmare was just turning around with her spear at the noise, her mouth opened in a silent scream, when Twilight launched another desk into her, sending her crashing into her companion. Twilight winced — it looked pretty painful.

Both guards tried to get up but were assaulted by a barrage of paralyzing spells from Midnight and Twilight. The anti-magical wards on their armor were quickly overcome by the combined power of the two, and they fell unconscious.

Twilight almost followed their example, wavering on her hooves as she clutched her head. Midnight supported her from the side. Twilight glanced at the door through tears in her eyes, wondering if Pinkie needed any help, but the mare entered a moment later, dragging another unconscious guard with her. Twilight sighed in relief.

Pinkie looked at the others with a huge grin planted on her face and said something. The mare frowned, pointing at her mouth and raising an eyebrow at Twilight.

Oh, right.

Twilight dismissed the silence bubble, and the pain in her horn eased immediately. She rubbed it gently, feeling its hotness with her fetlock. No more casting for today, Twilight decided. She caught Midnight’s worried glance and forced a reassuring smile.

“I said, we did it!” Pinkie repeated. “Let’s dress up!”

The unconscious ponies were hastily dragged inside and freed from their garments. Unfortunately, the gender disposition of the group turned out to be all wrong. The guards had only one mare among them, so Twilight took her armor for herself. Midnight, as the only stallion in their group, took one set as well. That left one useless set of armor.

“Would be a perfect fit for my friend,” Pinkie murmured, putting on a security pony uniform. It was stallion-sized as well and hung on her in places, but it wasn’t as noticeable after Rarity tightened it up with a quick spell. “Too bad somepony had to paralyze him.”

Twilight snorted, giving Pinkie an annoyed glance. That guard was the one who had arrested her in the first place, even though she was innocent. It wasn’t Twilight’s fault she hadn’t trusted him right off the bat.

“It’s going to be alright, girls,” Rarity intervened. “We’ll make do with what we have.”

Pinkie nodded.

“We need to make sure our coats match theirs, Twilight,” she said, pointing at their captives. “That way we can pretend to be them!”

It was a good idea, but Twilight wasn’t up for casting anything for a while, so she explained the spell to Midnight and after a few failed attempts he got the gist of it. Twilight was surprised by how quickly he had learned it, but maybe she shouldn’t have been. After all, only the most talented ponies went through the advanced course at the Academy.

Before leaving the classroom behind, Midnight also cast another paralysis spell on each of the guards and piled up their bodies in a corner. Twilight and Midnight walked in the lead in their city guard’s disguise, while Pinkie was by their side in her campus security uniform.

Rarity was playing the role of a student while Lotus, being the only earth pony among them, was her servant, which was actually true. Unfortunately for her, she also had to carry the massive duffel bag with their supplies and Spike hiding inside as well as Midnight’s staff. Twilight was sweating under her heavy armor as she imagined all the ways their endeavor could go wrong.

Soon they were in the foyer.

A group of city guards reinforced by a few campus security ponies hung around the entrance. They looked at Twilight and she barely stopped herself from bolting off — their eyes seemed to be looking right through her disguise, seeing her for who she really was.

That was impossible, Twilight assured herself. They couldn’t see her face fully under her helmet, and her color was different. There was no way they could have recognized her. No way. Twilight took a deep breath through her nose and stared dead ahead as they approached the guards.

One of them — the sergeant, based on his stripes — looked Twilight and her group over.

“Where’s your other pony?” he asked Midnight, who also had the sergeant’s stripes on his armor.

“Eh, he went to take a leak,” the stallion answered in a strange voice and went into a coughing fit. “Sorry. I must have caught a cold or something.”

“Don’t even think about a sick leave, pal,” the guard chuckled. He turned his attention to Rarity, sizing her up. “Who’s she?”

“We were told to escort her and her servant outside,” Midnight explained. “She’s late for some event or something.”

Huffing, Rarity stepped forward with her chin raised high while waving her mane. Twilight’s eyes widened in horror, and she barely stopped herself from dragging the lady back. Rarity wasn’t supposed to do anything. It wasn’t part of the plan!

“I suggest you hurry up, darling,” Rarity said, ignoring Twilight’s silent pleas. “It would be unfortunate if I missed my scheduled meeting with the mayor. He would be most disappointed, as I’m sure you understand.”

The guard was silent for a moment; his expression couldn’t be seen clearly under his helmet.

“I understand, milady,” he nodded, turning back to Midnight. “Did the colonel give her clearance?”

“Of course,” Midnight confirmed. “She’s all clear.”

“Well, I guess it’s alright then,” the sergeant said and moved out of the way. “Have a good time, milady.”

Twilight exhaled in relief.

Rarity scoffed, not bothering to answer the lowly guard, and slowly walked through the doors like she owned the place. Midnight gave an apologetic shrug to the sergeant and followed the lady, the others moving a step behind him. When the doors closed, Twilight’s knees almost gave out on the spot.

“I can’t believe it actually worked,” she whispered, and Pinkie gave her a wink.

“See? I told you it would,” the pink mare smiled. Then she looked at Rarity. “Good job playing a snooty noble, by the way. You were a natural at that!”

The unicorn glared back at her with disdain. “Excuse me?”

“It’s a compliment, silly,” Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I’m saying you’re a good actress.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Well, thank you then, darling.”

“Quit it,” Twilight snapped, suddenly annoyed at their chatter. “We’re not out of the woods yet. Let’s go.”

The two fell quiet and the group walked to the main exit. The guards patrolling the ground barely spared a glance in their direction — their attention was focused on the campus building. The plan was working perfectly, but for some reason it made Twilight even more nervous.

Her eyes darted around, trying to see any problem in advance, but everything seemed to be in order. They were approaching the exit and nopony had called out to them in alarm. Nopony had tried to stop them. Perhaps the plan would indeed work perfectly.

As if answering her thoughts, one of the guards at the gate removed his helmet, and Twilight’s heart took a sudden leap off a cliff. She just froze in the middle of the path, staring at his face in a mix of surprise and fear. She should have accounted for the possibility of him being here!

“Twilight, move,” Midnight whispered urgently. “We’re starting to draw attention.”

Twilight realized that the guards at the checkpoint were staring at them. Gulping, she forced herself to move forward step by step. Her breathing quickened, and her feelings were in turmoil – all because of one snow-white stallion.

Her brother.

He stood proudly, his sapphire mane with a cyan stripe flowing freely in the wind. His azure eyes watched Twilight and her group as they came closer. When they had gotten close enough, he gestured for them to stop.

“State your intentions, troops,” Shining Armor asked.

Twilight paled. She tried to keep her face expressionless, but she had a suspicion that her brother had caught on to her nervousness. He was good at that kind of thing. Good thing I don’t have to open my mouth, Twilight thought, while Midnight repeated the tale they had fed to the previous guards.

But unlike them, Shining Armor wasn’t buying it.

Unlike her brother, Twilight had never been good at reading ponies’ emotions. Her brother was the sole exception to that rule. She could see his pursed lips and his slightly narrowed eyes — a telltale sign that Shining Armor suspected something was up.

“What’s your name and rank, guard?” he asked after Midnight had finished talking.

“Eh…” Midnight seemed to have lost his voice as he desperately tried to remember the guard’s ID. A small medallion containing it was hanging on his neck, but looking at it now would be a dead giveaway. “Sergeant Brazen Tongue, sir.”

“I see,” Shining nodded, turning his eyes to Twilight and gazing at her for a few long moments. She avoided meeting his eyes. “And who would you be?”

Twilight felt sweat appear on her brows. Her whole body itched horribly under the armor, but she stood as still as a statue, desperately trying to come up with something to get herself out of this predicament without talking. If she opened her mouth, her brother would recognize her voice immediately.

But would that really be so bad?

“We’re in a bit of a hurry, darling,” Rarity stepped in, providing a much-needed distraction. “You see, the mayor—”

“I’ll get to you in a second, miss,” Shining Armor interrupted her, not breaking his eyes off Twilight.

Rarity snorted but backed off.

“My name is Private Silver, sir,” Twilight finally answered, easily recalling the guardsmare’s name.

Her magenta eyes met with her brother’s sky-blue ones, and she saw them widen in recognition. He knew who she was now. The question was what he was going to do with it. He was the guard, and she was the wanted criminal. She loved her brother and knew he loved her in return, but was that enough for him to break his oath of service?

She stared at him, unblinking, hoping for the answer to be yes.

“Ah, Private Silver, of course,” Shining Armor drawled slowly, and Twilight almost sagged to the ground in relief. She even allowed herself a thin smile.

“I can’t let you leave the Academy grounds though, sorry,” Shining Armor said, and Twilight’s smile was gone in an instant. “Please, return to the campus.”

Twilight calmed down slightly as her mind analyzed her brother’s words. He refused to let her through as she had hoped, but he didn’t turn her in either. Shining Armor didn’t want to risk his career by allowing a dangerous criminal such as herself to escape, but at the same time, he wasn’t going out of his way to catch her. His neutrality was painful, but Twilight understood his position.

She sighed. Well, time to execute plan B.

“Lieutenant Armor, sir,” one of the guards stepped forward, his eyes focused on Twilight. “Don’t you think this whole situation is suspicious?”

Twilight ignored his gaze, looking at her friends instead. She gave them a tiny nod.

“What do you mean, sergeant?” Shining Armor asked calmly.

“Well, for one, I know Private Silver personally, and that’s not her,” the guard answered, lighting up his horn. The other guards behind him tensed up, looking between him and Shining Armor. “We’re here after Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn of considerable magical skill. Hiding beneath a disguise is well within her capabilities. As her brother, you—”

“Code Sparkle!”

Everypony turned to look at Twilight, and she smiled, bracing herself for what was coming. Hopefully her friends would remember to close their eyes…

A blinding flash of light came off her horn a moment later. Like levitation, hornlight was one of the most basic spells available to a unicorn. It required a tiny amount of magic to use. All Twilight had to do was turn it up to eleven, and the result burned even through her closed eyelids. Twilight was afraid to imagine what it had done to the poor guards.

The spell lasted for less than a second, but Twilight felt as if she had dipped her horn into hot lava when she stopped. She opened her eyes to see a bunch of guards yelling in pain, covering their eyes. Shining Armor was one of them.

Twilight briefly considered leaving him there, but she almost immediately felt ashamed for even having that thought. That annoying sergeant was onto him, so he was already in trouble. Leaving him with the rest of the guards would only lead to his imprisonment, and she wasn’t going to let that happen.

“Shining, follow me, please,” Twilight said, grabbing her brother by his hoof.

Together, they ran into the city.

***

The chase lasted for hours.

Shining Armor led their group after he had recovered. He knew the city well, skillfully navigating its streets and avoiding the patrols until they had ended up in a small isolated street at the opposite end of the city. Here, the exhausted ponies were finally allowed to catch their breath.

“I think we’ve lost them. Now, Twilight Sparkle, you’re going to have to explain everything to me,” Shining said in a voice that sent chills down Twilight’s spine. He had been silent throughout their escape, giving only curt orders about which way to turn, but Twilight knew something like that was coming.

“Just give me a moment…”

She fell onto her haunches, panting heavily. Even though she had ditched her stolen guard armor early on, the whole running business was still pretty exhausting. Unlike her brother, she had never been good at physical activities. Only Shining Armor and Pinkie Pie looked almost fresh after hours spent gallivanting around the city.

“Are you actually Twilight’s brother?” Rarity asked, examining the stallion.

Twilight looked around, noticing the tense looks her friends were giving Shining Armor. It was understandable, considering Twilight had never mentioned him being a city guard before. They had every right to be nervous.

“Yes, he is my actual brother,” Twilight answered before Shining could open his mouth. “He’s also a city guard! Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Rarity let out a sigh of exasperation, while the others accepted her explanation with a simple nod. At this point, Spike’s head popped out of the duffel bag.

“Have we escaped yet?” he asked, twisting his head around. “My legs are getting all stiff in here.”

Shining Armor gaped at the creature.

“Is that a baby dragon? Damn it, Twily, how did you get a baby dragon?”

Twilight smiled briefly, but then her expression darkened as she remembered the situation they were in. They may have escaped from the Academy, but now the whole city was going to be on high alert looking for them. They were far from safe here.

“No, Spike, we haven’t. Get back in your bag.”

Spike followed her orders with a loud groan, and Twilight turned her attention back to Shining.

“Long story short — we found Spike in the tunnels under Canterlot.”

Shining Armor raised his eyebrows. “In the tunnels?”

“Yep,” she nodded.

Twilight briefly explained her search for the Alicorn Amulet, starting with the night the king was poisoned to meeting Rarity in the Library and then having to go into the tunnels to escape from the ponies who were after her. Her brother listened without interruption, looking from one pony to another as they were introduced into Twilight’s story. She finished by telling him about their narrow escape from the depths of the mountain.

“That’s quite a tale, I say…” Shining murmured, eyeing the Amulet on Twilight’s neck warily.

Twilight’s ears fell. “You don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say that,” Shining Armor shook his head. “It’s just a bit wild, that’s all. You’ve been through a lot.” Having said that, he approached Twilight and surprised her with a hug. “I thought I’d never see you again, Twily.”

Twilight let herself relax in her brother’s hug and then returned it with as much strength as she could muster.

“I missed you too, BBBFF.”

They held each other for a while until Shining Armor finally released her.

“I’m sorry for not letting you through back at the checkpoint,” he said. “I couldn’t do it without exposing you at the same time. Well, you saw how that turned out.”

“The guards in the building let us through just fine,” Midnight pointed out.

Shining Armor let out a long sigh. “Those slackers… I was trying to get rid of such an attitude in my unit.”

“Well, it’s good that not everypony is as competent as you are, darling,” Rarity smiled. Twilight frowned, noticing her alluring gaze. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it out in the first place.”

“That’s one way to look at it, Lady Rarity,” Shining said, smiling back. “Anyway, the sergeant was put into my unit to watch me just in case they encountered such a situation. I guess they were right to worry, huh?”

“I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble,” Twilight said, lowering her gaze. “I figured they’d be watching you. That’s why I avoided contacting you all that time.”

Shining put a foreleg over her withers and gave it a squeeze.

“It’s not your fault, sis,” he said. “I never believed that you were behind the king’s assassination attempt. Mom and dad didn’t either.”

“Mom and dad!” both exclaimed simultaneously.

Everypony looked at them in alarm.

“We need to get to them right now,” Twilight said, jumping onto her hooves, her exhaustion temporarily forgotten.

Shining Armor nodded grimly.

The group was on its way immediately. As they walked, Twilight explained the situation to her friends. Her parents would be in more danger than ever because Shining Armor had joined their little group. One of the reasons why Twilight had never tried to contact them before was the fear that Everlight had already done something to harm them by the time she had reached Canterlot. It had been easier to pretend that everything was fine and work towards bringing Everlight down, rather than face reality, whatever it might have been.

Twilight was happy to learn that her fears were unfounded, but now, however, there were going to be some repercussions for sure. She would not let that happen.

“Great, we’re on the run again,” a voice grumbled from the duffel bag.

Twilight ignored it.

Soon they were just a couple of streets away from her parent’s house. At least that was what Shining Armor said — Twilight barely recognized the neighborhood herself. Not because it had drastically changed, but because she had always been too busy with her studies to explore it.

“Hold here,” Shining Armor raised his hoof when they were a street away. He looked at Twilight. “Our house is being watched. We need to take them out first, quietly.”

Twilight furrowed her brows, observing the street in front of her. It wasn’t one of the main streets, so there weren’t too many ponies around. She couldn’t see anypony who stuck around for too long. “Do you know what they look like? I don’t see—”

“They’re not outside, silly,” Pinkie Pie interrupted her, a wide grin on her face. “If I were them, I would rent a place nearby with a perfect view of the house.”

Shining Armor nodded, giving her a surprised look.

“She’s right, actually,” he said. “It’s the place opposite to ours. You haven’t mentioned her in your story, by the way.”

“Oh, I’m a new character in it,” Pinkie explained. “I’ll go deal with those spies now so that Twilight has something more to tell about me later.”

Having said that, the pink mare practically vanished into thin air. Twilight blinked in confusion, turning her head around and catching a glimpse of her tail on the roof before it disappeared. She’s fast, Twilight thought with amazement.

“That’s impressive,” Shining Armor commented flatly. “But can she deal with them on her own?”

“Well, she was the one who dealt with the diamond dogs I brought to the Academy,” Twilight shrugged, chuckling nervously. “That’s how we met her for the first time, actually.”

Her brother widened his eyes slightly. “Wait, that was your first meeting?”

“Yep, that was it,” Twilight said. “She and her friend met us there and offered their help. She said that she’s a private investigator.”

“She knew all about our plan concerning Everlight,” Rarity pointed out. “Even more than Twilight herself told us, I might add.”

Twilight winced at the jab. She hadn’t told her friends about Blueblood’s involvement for what was a good reason at the time, and with all the craziness later it just didn’t seem important. It wasn’t because she didn’t trust them.

“Don’t worry, darling, I understand,” Rarity waved her excuses away. “I was just stating a fact.”

“Interesting,” Shining Armor said. “I’ll keep an eye on her until I’m sure we can trust her.”

As the ponies waited for Pinkie to return, they talked about their next step. The first order of business was finding a safe place to wait until the commotion caused by Twilight had quieted down.

“That’s the first place I would check,” Shining Armor dismissed the idea of renting a room in some hotel. “We need something else.”

Everypony mulled over the problem. Twilight glanced at Midnight, wondering about his place, but then remembered that he lived with his parents. She didn’t want to endanger them as well. Rarity’s cottage was out of the question too, for obvious reasons.

“We can hide in the tunnels again,” Spike suggested from the duffel bag. “I don’t want to go back, but it’s better than being caught.”

Rarity huffed.

“No, thank you. I’ve had enough of that dreadful place to last me a lifetime!”

“Yeah, we barely escaped the last time,” Midnight supported her.

“You’ve got to tell me more about that place once we’re safe,” Shining Armor muttered, shaking his head. “Anyway, there are some places out in the slums where the homeless stay. We could spend a few nights there. Not the best option, but it’s something.”

“We don’t look like homeless ponies though,” Midnight pointed out, and Shining’s expression fell. “Sorry.”

“Nah, you’re right. It was stupid. We need something more private anyway.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up with an idea.

“I think I know just the place for us,” she said, throwing a glance at Rarity. “Nopony would think to check that one, that’s for sure.”

Rarity blinked in confusion, but then her pupils shrank. “You’re not thinking what I’m thinking, are you?”

“Exactly that.”

“Care to enlighten us, sis?” Shining Armor intervened.

Twilight gladly shared her idea with everypony. Shining Armor was thoughtful for a few seconds and then nodded in agreement.

“That could work,” he said.

Rarity stared at him in horror.

“I’d rather sleep in the tunnels again than be in one house with that ruffian!”

“Well, nopony’s stopping you,” Twilight snapped.

Rarity huffed and turned away, her expression a cold mask. Twilight ignored her, tired from her complaints. The next few minutes went by in relative silence until Pinkie Pie finally appeared from behind the corner, whistling an upbeat tune.

“The path is clear!” she announced.

Shining Armor went in to confirm her words first, before allowing everypony to approach their parent’s house. It was a nice two-story cottage built out of gray stone like most of the houses in Canterlot. There was nothing special about it, except for it being Twilight’s family home.

Her family had moved here after the king had taken Twilight under his wing, so to speak. They used to live near the slums prior to that, but thankfully, Twilight had been too small to remember any details. Shining did, but he preferred to keep those memories to himself.

“That’s going to be quite a shock for your parents, I imagine,” Rarity noted as Shining Armor opened the door.

The stallion entered first and everypony followed him into the living room. Two middle-aged ponies — a gray mare with a mane of purple and white, and a dark azure stallion with a blue mane — were sitting on a sofa, engaging in a conversation. They looked at the newcomers in surprise.

Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat.

“You’re home early, dear,” the mare said, getting up from her sofa. “And with guests, no less! My name is Twilight Velvet,” she introduced herself with a smile. “My husband is Night Light. Welcome to our home!”

Twilight stared at her mom, tears welling up in her eyes. She had kept herself from thinking about her family too much — what was the point if she had been unlikely to ever see them again — but now she realized just how much she had missed them.

“I know who you are, mom,” Twilight said, offering a thin smile. She gestured for Midnight to remove their disguise. “It’s me.”

Twilight Velvet gasped, while her father shot up from his couch as if he had been sitting on a hotplate. Both were on her at the same time, locking her in a tight hug. Twilight couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, letting them roll down her cheeks freely.

The hug lasted for some time until they finally released her.

“We feared we’d never see you again, dear.”

“I’m glad we were wrong,” Night Light added with a warm smile. “But isn’t it dangerous for you to come to us, though? Shining told us we were being watched.”

“Not anymore,” Pinkie Pie assured them with a wink.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light gave her a confused look.

“Look, I’m going to explain everything later,” Shining Armor said. “Right now, I need you to pack up your necessities and go with us. We’re all in danger.”

His words had dampened the mood of the reunion.

“What… what do you mean, son?” Night Light asked, drooping his ears. “What happened?”

“It’s my fault, dad,” Twilight said, slumping. “I dragged you all into this…”

“It’s not your fault, Twily,” Shining Armor said, nuzzling her neck. “We’re a family, and we’re going to deal with this together.”

Midnight and Rarity joined her by her sides, their silent presence giving her the comfort she needed. Twilight nodded, suppressing a sob. “Thank you.”

“Now, let’s hurry up, everypony!” Shining Armor ordered.

***

Half an hour later, they were moving through the streets of Canterlot once again. Plenty of city guard patrols were out and about by that time, no doubt looking for them, but Midnight’s disguise had proved to be enough to avoid their attention.

“I don’t know who you are, but thank you for helping my daughter, dearies,” Velvet said, addressing the group. “I was afraid she was all alone out there.”

“It’s been my pleasure,” Midnight said with a smile.

Rarity bowed her head slightly. “You’re welcome, darling.”

Pinkie and Lotus remained quiet.

Twilight shot the pink unicorn a side glance, wondering what was on her mind. She had been acting unusually quiet lately. Not that Twilight had any frame of reference to determine if that was unusual, but she had been acting upbeat ever since she had joined them. Not anymore, though.

“So, how do you know my daughter?”

“I know her from our time at the Academy,” Midnight started first, “I was working there in the library after my graduation, when I heard the news. I didn’t believe it, of course, so when I saw Twilight at the library, I decided to help.”

“You went to the library?!” Velvet gasped, staring at Twilight. “When the whole country is looking for you?”

“Oh, calm down, mom,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I was wearing a disguise just like now. The only reason he recognized me was that I exposed my cutie mark. I’m much better at this now.”

“It still seems foolhardy, Twi,” Night Light intervened. “Your mark is on every poster. You were lucky only he recognized it.”

Twilight sighed, pointing at Rarity, “Well, she did too, actually.” Velvet widened her eyes in horror. “But it turned out well! She’s helped us a great deal!”

As they walked, Twilight shared some of the details about what had happened to her since she had left for Birminghoof. She spared them the details of her torture at the hooves of Everlight, but she included the bit about Blueblood saving her. Rarity and Midnight listened in too, since she hadn’t shared that part with them before.

“We’re close,” Shining Armor said when Twilight was halfway through her story.

Twilight nodded and promised to continue her story later.

She looked around, noting that they were deep in the poor neighborhood by now. A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the old cottage that belonged to Lucky Moonlight. It looked just like the last time Twilight and Rarity had been here.

“This place is repulsing,” Rarity said, glaring at the cottage through narrowed eye slits. “Its owner is even more so.”

“It’s the best thing we’re going to get,” Twilight said with a pang of annoyance, approaching the door. “So, shut up.”

Rarity stared at her in shock. It felt good to put her in her place. The lady’s attitude was getting on her nerves.

Twilight frowned as a disturbing thought entered her mind. She glanced at the Amulet on her chest with worry. Everything she had read about it had warned her about its negative influence on a pony’s mind. What if it had already started?

“Sorry about that,” Twilight murmured apologetically to Rarity as she knocked on the door. “I don’t know what got into me.”

“That’s alright, darling,” Rarity said, eyeing her warily. “We’re all on edge.”

Everypony crowded behind Twilight, waiting. It took a few more knocks until the door finally opened, revealing an old unicorn. He squinted his eyes at Twilight and the small crowd behind her, blinking in confusion.

“Who in Tartarus are you all?” he said, backing away slightly.

“My friend and I asked you some questions about the Alicorn Amulet a few weeks ago, remember?”

Lucky’s eyes widened in recognition.

“It’s you again!” he exclaimed, thrusting an accusing hoof into her chest. “I could swear you had a different coat color the last time… Anyway, what do you want?”

“My friends and I need to stay at your place for a bit,” Twilight said, batting his hoof away. “We’ll pay you handsomely for that.”

Lucky scowled. “You. Stole. My. Book!” he yelled, poking his hoof at Twilight again after each word. “It was valuable to me, you know!”

Twilight’s face burned with shame — she had indeed taken his book without asking — but it wasn’t like he was using it anyway. It was rotting in his basement, for pony’s sake! She hadn’t stolen the book; she had saved it. Lucky, however, refused to see things her way.

“Give me my book back or get the fuck out!” the stallion yelled at her face.

Twilight winced from his alcohol breath assaulting her sense of smell. She backed away, almost falling down the stairs, and Shining Armor stepped forward.

“Listen here, pal,” he growled, grabbing the stallion’s hoof in his magic. “We’re staying at your place either way. Getting paid for that or not is your own choice.”

Having said that, Shining forced his way through, levitating a struggling Lucky into the air. Everypony followed them quietly.

“It’s a home invasion!” Lucky screamed. “I’ll get you all in jail!”

Shining Armor dropped him into the main room, and the unicorn quickly scrambled to his hooves, his face twisted in rage. He was breathing heavily as his eyes went from one face to another, his expression slowly changing from rage to uncertainty.

Lucky was badly outnumbered.

“So… you’re gonna pay me, you say?”

***

There was enough room for everypony in the cottage. It badly needed some cleaning up, but a few hours later they had managed to bring the place into a somewhat decent condition. Lucky kept out of their way most of the time, having locked himself in his bedroom.

“Now, that’s not so bad after all,” Rarity said, replacing the old drapes with the ones she had found in one of the lockers. They looked like they had never been used.

“They’re gorgeous,” Spike said, and Rarity glanced at him suspiciously.

“Yes, they are.”

Twilight’s parents handled Spike’s introduction in stride. After everything that had been happening to their family lately, the presence of a baby dragon seemed almost normal in comparison. It helped that Spike acted nothing like his bigger counterparts in old stories, being polite and even helping to clean the house.

While the others were working, Twilight was spending most of the time resting on the floor, which was preferable to lying on the run-down couch with strange dark spots on it. She had tried to help too, but her friends insisted that she needed rest. After a bit of arguing, Twilight had relented.

“How do you feel?” Midnight asked, scrubbing the floor nearby.

“Better, I guess,” Twilight answered, toying with the Amulet in front of her. She had taken it off at some point and was surprised how much easier it had become to think after that. “I’ll need to study the Amulet more before I try to use it again.”

Midnight nodded. “I’ll help you in any way I can. You’ll need to rest your horn for a while.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Before the day came to an end, Midnight and Lotus made a trip to the nearest store, returning with loads of food, since Lucky’s supplies consisted mostly of various unnamed bottles and a few stacks of dry grass. Twilight felt sick just from looking at it.

“Twilight, dear, the food’s ready!” her mom’s voice called.

“Coming!” Twilight yelled back, closing the history book she was reading with slight regret.

As soon as she had entered the dining room, however, any regrets she might have had were washed away by the delicious smell. Her stomach growled in excitement, and she blushed when everypony turned to look at her. It had been days since she’d had a decent meal.

“That smells great, mom,” she smiled.

“Oh, I just helped a bit,” Velvet waved her hoof. “It was all Lotus! The dear knows how to cook.”

The earth pony beamed with pride as everypony gave her their thanks.

During the meal, Twilight finished the story of her adventures so far, downplaying the most dangerous parts for the sake of her parents. Judging by the look on their faces, it didn’t seem like they quite believed her though.

“Oh, dear…” Velvet shook her head. “I knew you were in trouble, but that… Monsters, diamond dogs, the regent’s goons after you…”

“Technically, the goons were after me, darling,” Rarity corrected her and looked at Twilight. “Speaking of them. How are we going to save my — and Lotus’ — sister now that you’ve got the Amulet?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I figured I’d ask Everlight once I broke into his palace or something.”

“But what if he does something to them?” Rarity asked. “We need to find them first. You promised, remember?”

Twilight sighed. “Yes, I did. But how are we going to find them? Those ponies could have taken them anywhere by now. I’m not a detective, Rarity. I’m sorry. If I knew where your sister was, I wouldn’t hesitate to fight those guys again.”

Rarity pursed her lips, shaking her head. She knew the truth in Twilight’s words herself, but it was hard to accept that her sister’s life depended on the whims of their enemy.

“So, both your and Lotus’ sister were kidnapped?” Pinkie Pie asked. Rarity nodded briefly. “You know, I’m a P.I, right? Half of my jobs have been to find a victim of kidnapping.”

Twilight and Rarity looked at her slowly, and the mare grinned. Suddenly, she snapped off her horn. Everypony recoiled in shock — somepony even fell off their chair — while Pinkie just giggled madly.

“Forgot to tell you, I’m an earth pony, actually,” she said as her mane seemed to puff up a little. “It was just a disguise. You should have seen your faces!” Pinkie’s face turned serious the next moment. “Anyway, nopony deserves to lose their sibling. I’m going to help you find your missing sisters, I promise. Consider P.I. Pie to be on the case!”

Chapter XX - The Element

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Fluttershy didn’t understand what had happened at first.

There was a sudden flash of magic and a few seconds later Applejack had fallen to the ground with two handles sticking out of her chest. Fluttershy gasped as her wings flared up of their own accord, lifting her away from potential danger into the tree crown. She gripped a branch tightly, observing the shocking scene unfolding below.

Applejack was grasping at her chest, illuminated by the unicorn’s glowing horn. The stallion said something as he approached and Applejack cried out in pain when he yanked his blades out of her. Every fiber of her being demanded that Fluttershy ease the mare’s pain, but the only thing she could do was helplessly watch as the pony she had promised to help was being slaughtered.

Fluttershy had considered intervening. She had been taught how to protect herself against dangerous creatures of the forest, so she knew how to use her spear. But one look at the unicorn’s intimidating bulk and his metal armor, along with his glowing horn, had made her body tremble.

An enraged scream sounded from the side and a moment later a blue shape smashed into the unicorn, causing him to stumble backwards. Quickly regaining his footing, he swung his dagger in front of him, preventing the rainbow-maned pegasus from advancing.

“Have you gone nuts?!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, spreading both of her wings in agitation. Fluttershy winced — she knew that one of her wings had been injured.

“This is a damn mutiny,” the unicorn snapped back and Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she noticed his second weapon — a knife — launching into Rainbow’s exposed side.

Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut, but there were no screams of pain like she had expected. The sound of a fight was what she heard instead. Still gripping the branch tightly, Fluttershy dared to open her eyes to see the unicorn and the pegasus struggle.

At that moment, Fluttershy was glad she hadn't intervened — she wouldn’t have stood a chance against this unicorn. Rainbow Dash, however, was a different matter. She was circling her opponent, raining down a hurricane of strikes at him as the unicorn’s weapons were dancing in his magic, flawlessly blocking Rainbow’s hoofblades.

But one moment he slipped. Rainbow seized the opportunity to leave a deep gash on his foreleg. The unicorn lost the grip of his magic, dropping his weapons, but jumped back just in time to escape the second hoofblade from piercing his neck.

His horn flared up, hitting Rainbow with a blunt wave of energy and launching the mare into a tree. She slammed into it with her back, grunting in pain, but managed to land on her hooves. Shaking her head, Rainbow took a fighting stance once again.

“Why are you fighting me, you dumb twat?” the unicorn asked, picking up both of his weapons again. “You barely even know her!”

An animal-like growl escaped Rainbow’s throat as she leaped at her enemy. The struggle resumed with new strength.

Even without using her wings, Rainbow Dash was as quick as lightning. Her opponent was barely able to defend himself against her aggressive attacks, having abandoned any notion of counter-attacking long ago. It was blatantly obvious that in close quarters the unicorn was inferior to Rainbow Dash. It was only a matter of time until his defenses finally fell.

Unfortunately, the stallion seemed to see that too.

Jumping back in a brief moment of respite, he yelled: “Catch that!” and hurled his knife at Applejack’s unmoving form.

Fluttershy clutched her mouth to stiffen a gasp, but Rainbow Dash’s reaction was faster. Throwing herself after the knife, she caught its handle with her mouth before it could further harm Applejack. Rainbow landed with a roll, turning to meet the unicorn’s inevitable attack, but it didn’t follow.

Instead, Fluttershy saw his tail disappearing behind the trees.

Rainbow Dash leaned to the ground as she steadied her breath, while her ears swiveled around at every little sound. A few minutes passed like that, but there was no sign of the unicorn returning. Even Fluttershy with her enhanced night vision and hearing saw no sign of him.

After another minute of silence, Rainbow finally turned her attention to her bleeding friend. Retracting her hoofblades, she rushed over to her and began removing Applejack’s armor, muttering something Fluttershy couldn’t quite catch.

Now, injuries were something Fluttershy could help with.

Releasing the brunch she'd been clinging to, the pegasus gently glided to the ground. Rainbow’s ears perked up in alarm and she turned to the mare sharply, causing Fluttershy to freeze in fear, but Rainbow quickly relaxed when she recognized her.

“Help me,” Rainbow ordered curtly, her words snapping Fluttershy out of her stupor.

“Okay, sorry!”

Working together, they released Applejack from her armor in no time in order to have access to her wounds. Fluttershy gulped when she saw what they were dealing with.

It was just as she had feared.

Though her chest plate had saved Applejack from a stab directly to the heart, the two deep wounds in her chest were pretty severe. The coat around them was soaked with blood. She was slowly bleeding out — there was already a small red puddle on the ground underneath her. Her breathing was short, suggesting that one of her lungs had likely been damaged.

Fluttershy knew how to tend to injuries — she was an apprentice to Gentle Touch, their village’s healer — but she had never dealt with something quite this serious in practice. Not to mention that she had only basic medical supplies with her. Still, she reckoned it was enough to stabilize her patient.

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy dropped her saddlebag on the ground and fully focused on her goal. Rainbow Dash did what she could to help, but it fell to Fluttershy to clean Applejack’s wounds and apply some temporary stitching and bandages. Finally, she fed the mare a healing remedy. It was only good for healing small bruises and cuts more quickly, but it was better than nothing.

“You think she's gonna live?” Rainbow asked after they were done.

Fluttershy sat on her haunches, wiping sweat from her brow. “I hope,” she said, looking over her work. “I've done what I could.”

“We should get her to your village,” Rainbow Dash stated matter-of-factly. “Her and Flare both.”

Fluttershy looked away with a sigh. “I know, but we can’t carry them both.” Glancing at Rainbow’s athletic form, she added, “Maybe you can, but I don’t think I’m up for it.”

“We can make a stretcher or something to drag them with us,” Rainbow suggested. “It’d be much easier that way.”

“I suppose we could try,” Fluttershy shrugged.

The two went to work without wasting any precious time. While Fluttershy gathered some sturdy branches for the framework, Rainbow rummaged through their saddlebags in search of a rope to tie them all together. Unfortunately, what she had found wasn’t nearly enough.

“Fucking sergeant!” Rainbow exclaimed, kicking a tree hard in her frustration. Fluttershy drooped her ears slightly. “He had a whole skein of rope in his bag! I hate him!”

With that plan failed, there was only one option left.

“I’m going back to my village to ask the Elder to send help,” Fluttershy said quietly.

Rainbow Dash turned to glare at her. “Why didn't you do that sooner then?!”

“I’m not sure I can convince the Elder,” Fluttershy answered, lowering her gaze.

“You were pretty sure you could before!”

Fluttershy winced, looking away. “No, I never was. It just would be harder for him to turn you away when you’re already on our doorstep. But sending our ponies to carry you to our home… I’m honestly not sure if he will agree.”

“Well, take a risk,” Rainbow Dash said harshly. A few seconds later her expression softened. “I mean, please, Fluttershy! I don’t want Applejack to die on me too.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Fluttershy assured her, spreading her wings and bending her knees. “I promise I’ll be back by the morning. Even if he doesn’t send anypony with me, I’ll be back.”

Having said that, Fluttershy gently took off. As she got just above the treetops, she tied up her remaining bandage on one of the branches to mark the spot and, after orienting herself by the night sky, flew in the direction of her home.

***

The moon was rising over the horizon, casting its gentle light over the dark forest as Fluttershy raced over it. Though her eyes were sensitive enough to see without the moon’s help, she appreciated it nonetheless. Slowing down a little, she looked up and whispered her thanks to the glowing sphere in the sky and its dark mistress.

A slight frown creased her face at the sight of the moon’s surface where the image of Nightmare Moon used to be. Everypony knew the story, so there had been a small panic in her village a few months ago when it had disappeared. Contrary to everypony’s expectations, the days and nights had continued as usual, but Fluttershy still had a feeling of incoming doom every time she looked up.

Right now, however, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

Two lives depended on her, so Fluttershy focused on flying. She worked her wings as she had rarely done before. It had taken her only half an hour until she saw familiar landmarks. Throttling her speed, Fluttershy gracefully slid between the trees, touching the ground with a soft thud.

Even though her home village was nearby, it was forbidden to fly over it. Fluttershy didn’t know why, but it was said that doing so would result in certain death. Though she was in a hurry, Fluttershy felt no desire to test that theory.

Tucking in her wings with a sigh, the pegasus proceeded on hoof.

A few minutes later a sound of movement from behind the trees made Fluttershy reach for her spear in alarm, but she relaxed when one of the sentries from her village stepped out. His bright orange eyes with black slits reflected the dim light of the moon. The two exchanged nods of greeting.

“I've never seen you flying in such a hurry, Fluttershy,” the sentry said. “Is something wrong?”

The sentry was a winged pony like Fluttershy, but that was where their similarities ended. In place of a pegasus’ feathered wings, he had leathered ones like those of a bat. His pointed ears swiveled around constantly, assuring that nothing would sneak up at him.

“I— I must speak to the Elder about that,” Fluttershy said, trotting past the batpony. “Sorry.”

“Okay then,” he answered with a nod. “Good luck.”

Fluttershy thanked him and was on her way.

She knew the road by heart, but even so, it took her another half an hour to cross the swamp to reach an island in its center where her home village lay. In the centuries since it had been founded, only a few selected outsiders had been allowed to visit Hollow Shades.

Fluttershy sincerely hoped that today would be one of those times.

She felt the solid ground under her hooves as she finally reached the outskirts of her village that occupied the majority of the small island. Most of the dwellings were carved inside the massive trees that naturally grew here, but there was a number of traditionally built houses. Fluttershy trotted past them, heading directly to the Elder’s treehouse.

Despite the late hour, her fellow pegasi and batponies were out and about. Fluttershy exchanged greetings with those she knew, but she didn’t stop for a chat as she usually would, getting a few surprised glances in return. Soon she was standing in front of the Elder’s door.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Fluttershy tapped on it.

“Come in, Fluttershy!” a deep voice from inside the treehouse yelled.

Fluttershy did as she was told, finding herself in a small, dim-lit foyer. Some glowing moss was spread out on the ceiling, providing enough light to see that the Elder was not there. Fluttershy swiveled her ears until she heard something from deeper inside the house and went in the sound’s direction. She found the Elder busy in the kitchen.

“How did you know it was me?”

“You’re the only one who knocks so softly, my child,” the elder chuckled. “I barely heard you.”

The Elder of Hollow Shades was a batpony with a graying mane, but his stature was still impressive despite his age. His dark green coat looked even darker in the dim illumination of the kitchen. A sacred golden necklace on his neck was the only sign of his elevated status.

“Sorry,” Fluttershy said, leaning her ears back slightly. “I’ll… try to knock more loudly next time.”

“It’s alright, child,” the elder chuckled, chopping something on the tabletop. “What brings you here tonight? Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol?”

Fluttershy gulped, her eyes suddenly drawn to her hooves.

“That’s why I’m here, Elder,” Fluttershy whispered, daring to glance at him. The Elder raised his eyebrows and Fluttershy continued. “Something happened.”

A concerned expression appeared on the Elder’s face. He laid down his knife and approached Fluttershy, gently lifting her chin. Their eyes met.

“Tell me what happened, child.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath, gathering her courage, and started from the beginning, telling him about the airship crash and how she and her companions had followed the survivors through the forest. The Elder was nodding in approval until Fluttershy got to the part where she had started to feel sorry for a gravely injured survivor.

“We cannot afford to feel sorry for outsiders, Fluttershy,” the Elder shook his head, giving the mare a disapproving gaze. “Save your kindness for our fellow ponies, not for some strangers from beyond. They would not feel sorry for us.”

Fluttershy fell silent, scrapping the floor with her hoof. The Elder was not going to like the rest of the story.

“What happened next?”

“I… I revealed myself to them and offered my help.”

“You did what?!”

Fluttershy took a step back from the Elder, unable to even look at him. The Elder quickly composed himself and ordered her to continue, so she told him the rest of her story.

“That’s why I’m here now,” Fluttershy finished. “Please, they will die without our help,” she pleaded, even though she could guess what the response was going to be.

“That's absolutely out of the question,” the Elder said firmly, stomping his hoof for emphasis.

Fluttershy’s heart dropped.

“Please, Elder, I promised I would help them,” Fluttershy forced herself to look him in the eyes, and the Elder met her with a stern gaze.

“We do not help strangers, Fluttershy,” he said, shaking his head. “Neither do we harm them. We just make sure they don’t find our home, that’s all.”

“But we can help them, Elder,” Fluttershy said, standing up a little straighter.

“Yes, we can,” the Elder nodded curtly. “But we won’t. This is how things are.”

“But they don’t have to be!” Fluttershy stomped her hoof in anger, surprised at her outburst. Even the Elder looked shocked for a second before composing himself again. “We don’t have to let those ponies die. It’s just wrong.”

The Elder scrunched his muzzle, looking away. “Maybe it is, child, but our safety is more important. Our village must remain hidden from the outside world.”

Fluttershy shook her head. She shared the Elder’s concerns, but there were ways to help those ponies without giving away their village’s location. The reasons he had given her were mere excuses.

“Maybe that’s why we have to hide from the outside world,” Fluttershy said with a sigh. “If you don’t want to help them, I will do it myself.”

As Fluttershy turned to leave, the room lit up by a warm light emanating from behind her. She looked back in surprise and froze, unable to believe her eyes, her task temporarily forgotten.

The Elder’s necklace was glowing in a gentle light.

The necklace wasn’t a simple trinket. It had been passed on from Elder to Elder for generations from the founder of Hollow Shades himself — General Shadow. He in turn had been gifted the necklace from none other than the Goddess of the Sun after having helped her to defeat Nightmare Moon, her fallen sister who had succumbed to madness.

“Holy teats of…” the Elder whispered.

Fluttershy’s appalled stare flickered towards him before returning to the necklace. The Elder slowly removed it from his neck and held it in his hoof. Its glow intensified, making it painful to look at, but both of them stared at the divine artifact in awe nonetheless.

“W-what does it mean?” Fluttershy asked in a shaking voice.

“We both know what it means, child,” the Elder said, approaching her. The necklace glowed yet brighter. “Take it.”

Fluttershy was taken aback by his words, but then she nodded and reached out to take the necklace off his hoof. The moment she touched it, a strange warmth spread out from the necklace throughout her body. She yanked her hoof away in surprise.

“Don’t be afraid, child. It’s not going to hurt you,” the Elder said softly. “It has chosen you.”

“But— why me?”

“I have a few guesses, child,” the stallion said, shaking his head. “You remember the founder’s words, don’t you?”

Fluttershy nodded. She, along with everypony in Hollow Shades, remembered his words well. Closing her eyes, she recalled them in her memory. Only a pony with true kindness in their heart will be able to wield this Element. The necklace — or the Element as he had called it — apparently thought that she fit that description.

Fluttershy gasped as she remembered the rest of the founder’s words.

“Does it mean I have to go on a pilgrimage now?”

“Indeed, my child!” the Elder nodded rapidly. “We have been waiting for this moment for generations! I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime…”

Fluttershy’s head was spinning from all the sudden developments, but she remembered the original reason why she had come to the Elder. For the moment, it was more urgent than the necklace and her looming pilgrimage. Flattening her ears, Fluttershy looked at the Elder.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for that right now. I need to go help those ponies.”

“Wait,” the Elder stopped her as she was about to leave. “I'll agree to help them.”

Fluttershy’s eyebrows shot up.

“It is the Goddess’s will, don’t you see?” the Elder explained with a strange smile. “She has given us a sign! Take the necklace, please.”

“Well, okay.”

Fluttershy reached out again and took the necklace with a shaking hoof. The warmth spread through her again, but this time the mare ignored the feeling. She was unsure if she deserved such an honor, but who was she to argue with the will of the Goddess and her Element?

Under the Elder’s watchful gaze, Fluttershy locked the necklace on her neck. She gasped in fear as it shrank slightly, shining even brighter for a second, but after that its light dimmed until it went out completely. Fluttershy exhaled in relief — she didn’t fancy the idea of walking around glowing like a Hearth's Warming Tree.

“This… is incredible,” the Elder whispered. “It truly has chosen you.”

Fluttershy looked at him and noticed an awed expression on the stallion’s face. His eyes were on the necklace, so Fluttershy followed the direction of his stare, craning her neck to take a peek at it herself. What she saw made her gasp.

Where once there had been a smooth golden surface, a pink gemstone was now embedded in it.

A gemstone in the form of three butterflies — Fluttershy’s cutie mark.

***

It had been mere hours since Fluttershy had left, but it had felt much longer for Rainbow Dash. The pegasus paced around the small clearing in the faint moonlight, frequently checking up on Applejack to make sure she was still breathing, but there was nothing more she could do for her, and it was driving her nuts.

Rainbow Dash was used to solving her problems on her own, rather than having to depend on somepony else. Especially if that somepony was a pony she had just met.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was plaguing her thoughts. Soon after her fight with the sergeant had ended, the full weight of her actions had dawned on her. She had assaulted an Equestrian soldier, which was an act of treason. If the sergeant managed to reach Stalliongrad, her military career would be over, if not worse.

Despite the possibly dire consequences, Rainbow was surprised to realize that she felt no regret over the decision itself. Her only regret was that she had failed to finish the sergeant off. Rainbow and Applejack were far from friends, but what the sergeant had tried to do was simply wrong. A pegasus commander would never have done that; she was sure of it. Rainbow shook her head in disgust.

After a while, Rainbow finally sat with her back to a tree, keeping Applejack and Flare in her field of view. Without the sound of her hoofsteps, the eerie sounds of the nightly forest hit her with full force. Her ears swiveled to every little crunch or distant howl as she tried to determine if she should be concerned or not.

After all, she had never been in that forest before.

As time went on, however, Rainbow slowly relaxed, and as she did, the events of the long day began taking their toll on her. Her head was dipping lower and lower as she struggled to remain awake, but it was a losing battle. She jerked up and sat straight for a while after her face had hit the ground, but five minutes later her loud snores filled the forest.

***

Fluttershy and five other ponies — pegasi and batponies alike — made their way through the swamp. They moved as fast as they could in such a terrain, hurrying to help the strangers. Fluttershy only hoped that Rainbow and the others were alright. It had been a while since she'd left them.

Nopony had questioned the Elder’s orders when he had summoned them, but Fluttershy saw the surprise in their eyes at being given such a task. What truly shocked them, however, was the fact that she was wearing General Shadow's necklace. Even though it had changed its appearance, everypony recognized it for the sacred relic it was.

As soon as they had left the Elder’s treehouse, the ponies bombarded Fluttershy with questions. The revered looks the ponies were giving her made her feel uncomfortable, but she still told them everything she knew on their way through the swamp.

“Why do you think the necklace chose you?” somepony asked.

Fluttershy shrugged, thinking back on her conversation, and shared the Elder's theory with the rest.

“So you have to be nice to everypony to have the necklace choose you?”

“I guess so,” Fluttershy said, feeling her cheeks burning. “But I don’t think it’s that simple. We have plenty of nice ponies in Hollow Shades.”

“Everypony knows you’re the nicest one, Fluttershy,” a pegasus behind her said, and Fluttershy’s blush intensified. Luckily she was in the lead, so nopony could see her red face.

The rest of the journey through the swamp was filled with similar conversations as ponies discussed Fluttershy’s upcoming pilgrimage. She felt uncomfortable about them discussing her fate so openly, but at least nopony was complaining about being dragged from their own business to help some strangers.

Once the ponies started flying, the conversations became sporadic. It was hard to talk with the wind blowing on your face as you raced through the night.

“How are we going to find them in here, Fluttershy?” one of the pegasi asked, catching up with her.

Rather than answering, Fluttershy flapped her wings harder, lifting herself higher above the treeline, and searched the sea of trees below her. They were at the very edge of the forest with seemingly endless planes beyond its borders stretching as far as she could see. There were no clear landmarks to orient oneself on, except for the white bandages Fluttershy had tied to a tree, but she couldn’t see it right now.

Rejoining the others, Fluttershy explained what to look for and they split up, their eyes searching for the telltale sign. It was a good thing that everypony in Hollow Shades had perfect night vision, Fluttershy thought. But even so, it was taking a disturbingly long time for them to find what they needed.

Just when Fluttershy started worrying that she had messed up the direction somehow, a yell broke the silence of the night.

“Found it!”

***

“Found it!”

A sudden sound made Rainbow Dash jump to her hooves in an instant, drawing her hoofblades from her vambrace on her forelegs. She took a fighting stance on her hindlegs, unfolding her undamaged wing for balance, and searched for the source of the scream. A moment later she noticed a dark pegasus figure, illuminated by the moonlight from behind, descending from the sky.

Rainbow’s heart surged with the hope that her squadmates had finally found her, but that notion was quickly squashed as she took in the pegasus’ appearance. It wasn’t a militia member. The stallion had a spear in his hooves pointed at her, and the garments he wore were the same as Fluttershy’s.

The two stared at each other for a few tense seconds until Fluttershy herself landed near the stallion.

“The Elder has agreed to help,” she explained, walking up to Applejack and checking on her. Then she went to Flare to repeat the same procedure.

“That’s good,” Rainbow nodded, relaxing her posture, and dropped on all fours as she retracted her hoofblades.

Fluttershy’s comrades were arriving one by one while the mare was fussing over Rainbow’s friends. Rainbow Dash eyed the new arrivals warily. From what Fluttershy had told them about her fellow villagers, she wasn’t eager to trust them. Then her eyes widened in shock.

Batponies!

“Whoa there!” she exclaimed, rearing up and extracting her hoofblades again.

The ponies reacted with pointing their spears at her, but Rainbow wasn’t worried. She could take them all if it came to that. It would be difficult even for her, but possible if she moved fast. Even if she failed, which was unlikely, it was better to go down fighting rather than be captured by those night demons!

“We’re here to help, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said soothingly, stepping in front of her before the cyan pegasus could spring to action. “What’s wrong?”

“Batponies!” Rainbow exclaimed. Her eyes darted from one pony to another, expecting them to attack at any second.

“They’re all nice, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy assured her. “They came with me. No one is going to harm you or your friends. Don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid!”

Yet, despite her words, Rainbow Dash’s heart was fluttering in her chest like a panicked butterfly. Batponies were the creatures of legends and horror stories. They were the spawns of Nightmare Moon herself, a creature from the darkest depths of Tartarus. Nopony had seen them in Equestria for centuries and some even considered them a myth, and yet here they were, casually standing right in front of her with spears.

Rainbow shifted slightly, sizing up Fluttershy. She didn’t seem like a fighter — she would go down easily.

“You should trust me, Rainbow,” Fluttershy pleaded. “I've risked a lot by revealing myself to you and offering my help. Your friend doesn’t have much time. If you want us to help her, lower your blades, please. No one is going to hurt you, I swear.”

Rainbow Dash scowled, her eyes darting towards Applejack. She didn’t want her to die, but could she trust those batponies to help them? They might only want her for some dark ritual for all Rainbow knew. And yet, they could have easily taken her in her sleep just a few minutes ago if that had been their intention.

Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy’s face, trying to find any sign of deception there, but seeing none.

“Rainbow, please! I know you outsiders probably view the batponies as monsters, but that’s not true. They’re ponies just like you and me. Let us help you.”

With a frustrated groan, Rainbow retracted her blades again and lowered herself on all fours. Fluttershy sighed in relief at that.

“I’m keeping my eyes on them,” Rainbow said, glaring at the batponies behind her. They returned the gesture in kind.

“Of course.”

After that, Rainbow watched for a few tense minutes as the ponies carefully put Applejack and Flare on stretchers, securing them with ropes. Each stretcher then was picked up by a pair of ponies. One was left unoccupied, however.

“This one is for you,” Fluttershy said, pointing at it.

Rainbow Dash flickered her tail. “How did you know I couldn’t fly?”

“I know a wing injury when I see one, Rainbow.”

“I see.”

Rainbow stared at the stretcher uncertainly. If she agreed to be carried on it, she would leave herself at their mercy. Rainbow Dash hated the very idea of that, but leaving Applejack alone with those ponies seemed just as bad.

“Get on it, will you?” the pegasus standing next to Fluttershy gestured with her spear.

Rainbow glared at her, but after an encouraging nod from Fluttershy, she slowly approached the stretcher and lowered herself onto it on her belly.

“I’ll be fine,” Rainbow stopped Fluttershy with a gesture when she was about to secure her with a rope.

“Are you sure about that?”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

She didn’t want to be left completely defenseless. Rainbow reckoned that even with her injured wing, she would at least be able to glide to the ground if worse came to worst.

“Well, okay then,” Fluttershy said. “Hold tight.”

Fluttershy and another pegasus picked up her stretcher between them and the whole group took off. Rainbow Dash’s wings twitched on reflex as she moved through the air, fighting the urge to spread them wide open.

“How far is your village?”

“A few hours away if we hurry,” Fluttershy answered.

Rainbow Dash groaned. She wasn’t looking forward to that.

***

“Rainbow, are you asleep?”

The pegasus cracked her eyes open to see a concerned female face looming over her. Rainbow stared back at it in confusion. It took her a moment to remember whose face it was. Fluttershy, a pegasus who— Rainbow’s eyes widened in shocking realization — she had fallen asleep in the air!

“Eh, no! Of course not,” Rainbow sputtered, rolling off the stretcher and flipping her mane. “I was just thinking. About stuff. Really hard, you know?”

The second pegasus who had carried Rainbow’s stretcher snorted, invoking the mare’s glare. It only made his grin wider.

“Oh, I see,” Fluttershy said, flickering a quick smile herself.

Rainbow pursed her lips indignantly.

While Fluttershy went to check on the wounded, Rainbow looked around. They were still in the forest as far as she could tell. Why had they landed early then? Rainbow tensed up, giving the batponies nearby a suspicious look. Their eyes glowed at her from the dusk and she flinched, suppressing her desire to extract her hoofblades.

“Are we far from your village, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, flicking her ear.

“No, but we have to go the rest of the way on hoof,” the pegasus explained, having finished her checkup. She approached Rainbow and looked her in the eyes. “We need to cross the swamp, Rainbow. Follow our steps exactly, please. It’s dangerous to wander off the path.”

Rainbow had no idea what she'd meant by "the swamp", but she nodded as if she had understood.

She got the chance to fill the gap in her knowledge pretty soon.

The swamp was a nightmare. Rainbow heeded Fluttershy’s warning as best she could as they made their way through the stinky wet mess. If it wasn’t for Fluttershy’s guidance, Rainbow would never have been able to survive there. Even with her help, she had misstepped a few times, soaking her legs in the cold water.

“Why couldn’t you just fly over it?” Rainbow asked in frustration the first time it had happened.

“We would die if we tried,” was Fluttershy’s only answer.

Rainbow kept pressuring her, trying to get a clearer answer out of the mare, but Fluttershy either didn’t want to share the information or she simply had no answer herself. It took a threat from one of Fluttershy’s companions for Rainbow to drop the issue.

They walked the rest of the way in almost total silence.

“We’re almost there,” Fluttershy said suddenly.

Rainbow perked up, staring into the darkness ahead, but saw only the massive trees of the forest. Well, at least it wasn’t the swamp — Rainbow was sick of that place.

A few minutes later Rainbow finally felt some solid ground under her hooves. She suppressed her disgusting desire to kiss it and simply enjoyed the pleasant sensation of firmness. It had nothing on the gentle softness of the clouds, but it was still infinitely better than this treacherous swamp.

“Let’s go,” Fluttershy hurried her along.

Soon, Rainbow realized that the trees she'd walked past were not simple trees — they were houses. There were a couple of more traditional wooden buildings here and there, but as far as she could see, the majority of the village’s houses were carved inside live tree trunks. Everything was lit by moonlight — there was no illumination apart from that. The village was unlike any settlement Rainbow had ever seen before! Although, truthfully, aside from Cloudsdale, she had only been to Stalliongrad and Stonehill so far.

The most shocking revelation, however, was seeing pegasi and batponies living here together.

They all stared at their procession as Rainbow and the rest walked through the village. At first, Rainbow Dash had assumed they were looking at her, but soon she noticed that their attention was focused on Fluttershy. Or, rather, a new necklace on her chest. The yellow pegasus squirmed uncomfortably under their gazes but kept moving forward.

Soon they had reached one of the traditionally built houses, and Fluttershy hushed everypony inside. She visibly relaxed as soon as she had gotten away from all the prying eyes, letting out a sigh before pulling herself back together.

“Get the patients onto those cots,” she told the ponies carrying the stretchers. “Be careful.”

Rainbow glanced around the room she was in. It looked remotely like a doctor’s office back in Cloudsdale, but unlike it, the furniture here was crudely made and the whole place was gloomy — the only sources of light were some weird glowing heaps of something on the ceiling.

“What’s going on, Fluttershy?” a dark-coated pegasus asked, walking in from another room. He looked at Applejack and Flare as they were laid out onto the cots, before turning his attention to Fluttershy. His mouth opened in shock. “Is that— Is that what I think it is?”

Fluttershy flickered her gaze at her neck and nodded. “Um, yes. I’ll explain later. We have two ponies in need of your attention.”

The dark-coated pegasus nodded, turning his head to the wounded. His eyes narrowed.

“Are those outsiders?”

“Yes. The Elder is aware of the situation,” Fluttershy said as she started removing Applejack’s bandages. “Please, I need your help, Gentle Touch,” She glanced at Rainbow. “You and the rest wait outside, please.”

Rainbow wanted to protest, but she instead nodded curtly and exited the building. Even she realized it was a bad idea to argue with the pony who was trying to save your friend’s life. The five other ponies followed her outside. Rainbow Dash tried to ignore them as she sat by the door, preparing to wait for however long it took.

While she waited, Rainbow Dash observed the village. She searched for anything suspicious, but so far the ponies here seemed pretty normal. Mundane even, if she ignored the fact that it was night out. There wasn’t a single sign of any blood sacrifices or dark rituals taking place as she would have expected to see in a batpony-populated village.

Rainbow almost felt disappointed. Almost.

“So, do you all just live here together or something?” Rainbow broke the silence. “Batponies and pegasi, I mean.”

The five ponies exchanged glances before one of them, a batpony, answered. “Yes, we do. We call our village Hollow Shades.”

“Neat.”

The silence stretched on for a few more minutes.

“And you never go outside? Do you even know what’s happening in Equestria?”

“Of course we know,” the same batpony said with a snort. “We’re not some savages. The Elder often sends somepony to gather information about you outsiders. He shares what he learns with the rest of us.”

The batpony suddenly tensed up, looking somewhere behind Rainbow Dash. The mare followed her gaze, seeing an elderly batpony approaching.

“Let me guess, it’s the Elder?”

The batpony nodded quickly.

“Welcome to Hollow Shades, stranger,” the Elder said once he had gotten closer. He spoke with the same accent as Fluttershy and the rest, but it was much clearer. “I am the Elder. We’re doing you a great honor by allowing you into our home.”

Rainbow bowed her head slightly. “Thanks, I guess. I’m Rainbow Dash.” She was silent for a few seconds as she eyed the Elder. “Thank you for helping my friend, by the way. I owe you one.”

“You can thank the Goddess of the Sun for that, child,” the Elder said. “It is by her will that you and your friends are here.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Eh…”

“So, how are they doing?” the Elder asked.

Rainbow shrugged, glancing at the door of the clinic. “I don’t know. Fluttershy asked me to wait outside. She’s there with some other guy.”

“Gentle Touch,” the Elder nodded. “He is our best healer; Fluttershy is his apprentice. Your friends are in good hooves with them.”

“Good to know.”

“Now, I wish to ask you some questions,” the Elder said. “We’re helping your friends, so it’s only fair for you to help us in return.”

Rainbow Dash tensed up slightly. “What do you want?”

“Please, let us go to a place more appropriate for having a conversation.”

“Nope,” Rainbow shook her head. “I’m going to wait right here until I know my friends are okay.”

“Admirable dedication,” the Elder said with a forced smile. “But I give you my word that you’ll be told as soon as there is any news about your friends.”

“Thanks, but no,” was Rainbow’s answer. “I’ll wait right here.”

“You'll do as the Elder says!” somepony behind her snapped. Rainbow turned to glare at the pony and saw him lowering a spear at her. His four comrades followed his example. Rearing up, Rainbow extended her hoofblades, ready for a fight.

“Everypony calm down,” the Elder said, and the ponies next to Rainbow relaxed their posture slightly. “You can wait here if you want; it’s not an issue. I can talk to you here. You five are free to return to your own business.”

The five ponies lowered their spears, exchanging glances. They didn’t seem in a hurry to leave.

“Are you sure you want to be left alone with her? She might be dangerous.”

“I’ll take that risk,” the Elder said calmly. “Leave us.”

Rainbow flashed a triumphant smile at the five as she retracted her blades.

They left grumbling, leaving Rainbow alone with the Elder. The mare’s smile disappeared, and she eyed him tensely as he sat on the ground near her. She had to admit, it was pretty bold of him to be left alone with a total stranger.

“Sit, please.”

Rainbow did as she'd been told, keeping her eyes on the Elder. It was weird to be sitting so close to a batpony. His slit-pupil eyes put her on edge, but Rainbow was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. As long as his ponies were helping her friends, of course.

“Are you willing to answer my questions?”

Rainbow nodded. She wasn't planning on telling him any secrets, but sharing some general information was the least she could do.

“Well then, my first question is…”

***

Applejack slowly cracked her eyelids open, only to shut them immediately when a bright light assaulted her sensitive eyes. A few moments later she made another attempt, squinting at her surroundings as she tried to understand where she was.

A ceiling hung above her, so she concluded that she was inside a house. The ceiling, however, looked like it was carved out of one solid piece of wood. It was weird, to say the least.

Applejack tilted her head to explore the rest of the room. It was a simple bedroom that looked rustic even by her standards. There was a small table beside the bed she was occupying, a chair and a cupboard by the wall. It didn’t tell her anything about her whereabouts.

She shut her eyes as she gathered her thoughts. The last thing she remembered was that blasted sergeant stabbing her twice and then gloating about it. She had thought herself a goner right then, but she had managed to survive the injury, apparently.

Unless this was the afterlife.

The thought made her nervous. Lifting her foreleg, Applejack moved her blanket aside and stared at her bandaged chest. She touched it carefully, feeling slight pain as she did so. No, it didn’t feel like the afterlife.

She was thirsty, Applejack realized.

She looked around, but there was no glass of water conveniently waiting for her, so she slowly rolled to her side, wincing as a mild stab of pain shot through her chest, and climbed off the bed, making a loud clank when her hooves met the wooden floor.

Her ears swiveled at the sound of hurried hoofsteps outside and a moment later the door burst open. Applejack tensed up, flicking her eyes around the room in search of something to use as a weapon, but relaxed when she saw a familiar rainbow-maned pegasus trotting inside.

“Applejack! What are you doing out of bed?!”

“I’m thirsty,” Applejack explained, taking a few steps forward and stumbling as her head spun.

“Fluttershy said you’re not supposed to be walking for at least another week,” said Rainbow, rushing to Applejack and grabbing her before she fell. “Get back into bed. I’ll get you some water.”

Applejack nodded in reluctant agreement, gritting her teeth. With Rainbow’s help, she was put back into bed.

“What happened, Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked. Her eyes widened in sudden realization. “Where’s Flare?!”

“Relax, Applejack, Flare’s okay,” Rainbow waved her hoof. “She’s in the other room.”

Applejack searched the pegasus’ face for any sign of a lie, but the mare seemed to be telling the truth.

“Is she awake?”

“No, but Gentle Touch thinks she’s going to recover soon.”

“Who the hay is Gentle Touch?” Applejack asked with a frown, looking around the room again. “Where are we anyway?”

“Gentle Touch is the healer here, in Hollow Shades,” Rainbow explained. “We’re in Fluttershy’s village. She asked the Elder to help, and he agreed because she made some necklace glow, I think.”

“Ye're makin' no sense, Rainbow.”

“Hey, I’m just saying what they told me!”

Applejack nodded. It wasn’t really important at the moment. What was important was that Flare was still alive and, according to Rainbow, recovering. Applejack felt like a mountain had fallen off her shoulders at the news. She moved to get off the bed again to see Flare for herself, but Rainbow pressed her back.

“You’re in no condition to stand, Applejack,” Rainbow said in response to her glare. “I told you I’d get some water.”

“Forget about the water! I want to see Flare.”

Rainbow frowned. “Look, she’s not going anywhere. She’s still asleep.”

Applejack fell silent for a moment. “Still want to see her. Make sure she’s okay.”

“Alright, fine!” Rainbow groaned. “I’ll help you walk then if you’re so stubborn.”

Applejack nodded. Throwing her foreleg over Rainbow for support, she got off the bed once again. She winced as moving her forelegs disturbed the wounds on her chest, but she gritted her teeth, suppressing a groan.

“Are you okay?’

“I’m peachy,” Applejack snapped. “Let’s just go.”

The two slowly moved towards the door. Even with Rainbow’s help, it was hard for Applejack to walk. She had never felt so weak before, but on the other hoof, she'd never been stabbed twice. Or at all. She frowned as she thought of the pony who had stabbed her.

“What about the sergeant though? Why didn’t he finish me off?”

Rainbow flickered a smile. “What do you think?”

“Ya stopped him?” Applejack raised her eyebrows. “But why?”

Rainbow almost dropped Applejack as she flared her wings in anger. “Do you really think I’d just let him kill you like that?”

“Well,” Applejack drawled, drooping her ears slightly, “We don’t really know each other, ya know? Ya were plenty mad at me ‘cause I beat ya in that training back on the ship. And we'd just fought each other before that—”

“It doesn’t mean I wanted you to die!” Rainbow exclaimed, stopping just before the door and glaring at Applejack. Her tail flickered left and right angrily, hitting Applejack’s thighs. “What do you take me for?! That bastard stabbed you because you wanted to help your friend against his orders. It— it was wrong. I couldn’t let him.”

“Did you kill him then?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, he ran away with his tail between his legs. Coward.”

“Ya’ll be in a heap of trouble if he gets to Stalliongrad, ya know?”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that part,” Rainbow said with a sigh, flattening her ears. “I’ll probably be thrown out of the Militia. Or worse…”

“I’m sorry for gettin' ya into this,” Applejack winced, looking away.

“Not your fault,” Rainbow answered flatly. She opened the door, and they walked into a small corridor together. “I was the one who made the decision.”

“Ya saved my life,” Applejack said quietly. “Twice. I won’t ever forget it.”

“Just don’t do anything to make me regret it,” Rainbow grumbled. “I kinda ruined my military career because of you. And my wing is still hurt.”

Applejack nodded. “I won’t; I promise. And if ya ever need something, I’ll be happy to do whatever I can. I’m sure Flare would feel the same way.”

“Okay, okay, I appreciate it. Just don’t go all mushy on me,” Rainbow said.

The two stopped in front of a door at the other end of the corridor. Applejack looked back at the door into her own room. It was a short distance away, but it had taken so long to walk it.

“She’s in there.”

Rainbow opened the door and helped Applejack inside a room that looked exactly like the one she had woken up in.

Applejack’s eyes quickly scanned it, stopping on a lone figure lying in bed. Her heart beat faster in elation. Any lingering doubt she still had despite Rainbow’s assurances finally disappeared as Applejack approached the bed.

Only Flare’s head was sticking out above the blanket. Her horn was bandaged, but otherwise the mare seemed like she was just sleeping. Her chest went up and down as she breathed steadily.

“Told you she was fine,” Rainbow said.

Applejack smiled. She turned to Rainbow and squeezed her in a hug, forgetting the pain in her chest as she did so. The pegasus gasped in surprise but then returned it carefully.

“Okay, that’s enough,” she said a few seconds later, breaking the hug. “I told you no mushiness, remember?”

Applejack’s smile grew bigger. “Sorry, I’m just glad to see Flare okay.”

“You should thank Fluttershy for that,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “If it weren’t for her, you would all have bought it out there.”

“I’ll thank her when I see her,” Applejack assured her, returning her gaze to Flare. She just looked at her for some time, listening to her breathing. As her initial euphoria passed, however, the true weight of her situation began to set in.

Though she and her friend were still alive, she was now officially considered a deserter from the army. That was if the sergeant lived long enough to report them. If he did, her family would feel the consequences of her decision. Applejack had been prepared for it when she had spared the sergeant's life, but considering what had happened afterwards…

I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance, Applejack thought angrily. But I won’t make the same mistake twice.

Having promised herself that, Applejack thought about the near future. She had to send a message back home to let her family know she was okay, maybe even pay them a quick visit, but there was no going back to her old life now. She had to stay with Flare for the time being. The mare would be happy to hear that. They’d find a way to survive together, and then she’d find a way to help her family.

Applejack glanced at Rainbow Dash, who sat in silence, wondering what she was going to do. After all, she was facing the same situation as Applejack was. Just as she had opened her mouth to ask, Flare stirred in bed.

Her eyes snapped open and shot around the room wildly, before focusing on Applejack’s face.

“A-applejack?” she asked in confusion. “We— what happened? The crash…”

Applejack smiled warmly. “Relax, everything is okay now. We survived. Everything is fine.”

Flare seemed to have been calmed by those words. She nodded with a weak smile, and her eyes closed shut again. A moment later she was asleep once more, snoring peacefully.

“Well, you saw that your friend is okay,” Rainbow said, looking away and blinking fast. “I’ll help you back to your bed.”

“Nah, I think I’ll stay here for a while.”

Rainbow Dash nodded with a sigh.

“I understand.”

“By the way, didn’t you promise to bring me some water?”

Rainbow Dash only groaned in response.

Chapter XXI - Sisters

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Pinkie Pie got out on the streets just before sunrise.

She wore no disguise except for her gray cloak, which contrasted with the vibrant pink of her coat underneath. There weren’t a lot of ponies on the street this early, but the few that Pinkie did see looked like unpleasant fellows. She didn’t think they would give her trouble, but she was ready for it nonetheless. Unlike Birminghoof, Canterlot didn’t know her and her reputation. Not yet.

Soon Pinkie left the shady neighborhood behind, heading towards the Academy. As she got closer, she recognized some streets from her earlier visits. After that, it was easy to find her way to the hotel where she and Heavy Steps had been staying the night before.

Pinkie Pie worried about the unicorn. They weren’t the best of friends, but she would feel bad if he had gotten in serious trouble because of her. After all, she did kind of abandon him back at the Academy. She’d had a good reason, but it still lay heavily on her consciousness.

Checking the hotel from the outside, Pinkie located the window she needed and, after making sure no prying eyes were upon her, climbed the wall as easily as if she was a monkey rather than a pony. Pinkie had told her companion to rent their old room, so she peered into it while holding her breath, hoping for the best.

She sighed with relief at finding the massive body of the unicorn that was sprawled on the bed as he slept. It was Heavy Steps all right; that pony was hard to confuse with anypony else. Save for Shining Armor, he was the largest unicorn Pinkie had ever seen. He looked as strong as any earth pony. If he actually was one, Pinkie may have considered asking him out.

After fiddling with the window for a few moments, Pinkie got it open and slipped inside, landing softly like a cat. Heavy Steps didn’t even twitch. A mischievous grin sprouted on Pinkie’s face as an idea struck her. Crawling, Pinkie approached the bed and climbed on it. It squeaked, causing her to freeze, but Heavy Steps just let out an annoyed snore, still being asleep. Widening her grin, Pinkie stood above him.

She lowered her face closer to his, taking in a deep breath.

“Heavy, wake up!”

The stallion’s eyes flared wide open and he bucked with his hindlegs, but Pinkie had already jumped away, landing on the floor with a soft thud, giggling. Heavy Steps stared at her with wild eyes, his horn aglow, as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Damn you, Pinkie!” he breathed out, lowering the knife he was levitating in front of him. “That wasn’t funny.”

Pinkie burst into laughter so hard that her mane broke free of her ponytail, burgeoning up in a heap on her head. Heavy Steps glared at her for a full minute until she had finally calmed down.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t stop myself,” she said, not looking sorry in the least, as she tried to put her mane back in order. "You should have seen your face!"

Heavy Steps grumbled something under his muzzle and fell back on his pillow.

“Where in Tartarus have you been?” he asked. “I barely managed to get away safely. Have you caught up with Twilight at least?”

“Yes, indeedily,” Pinkie nodded happily, shutting the window behind her. She sat on her haunches and quickly brought Heavy Steps up to speed, retelling him her adventures from the moment she had left him. “So then I offered to find the missing sisters!”

“I never took Everlight for an honorable pony, but this is low even for him,” Heavy Steps said, scrunching his muzzle as if he was smelling something vile. “Kidnapping fillies to blackmail his political opponents? That is disgraceful.”

“Indeed it is,” Pinkie nodded solemnly, her cheerful mood evaporating. “Although there is no direct evidence that he is the one behind it. Lady Rarity believes so, but nobles always squabble with each other. It could have been any of their other rivals.”

“House Belle is one of the most powerful houses in the kingdom,” Heavy Steps said, “Only a fool would do something like that to them. A fool or somepony sure enough of their power to be willing to face the consequences.”

“We’ll know for sure once we find them.”

“I share your desire to help, but that’s not why I came to Canterlot,” Heavy Steps said firmly. “I want to speak with Twilight Sparkle first to make sure she’s innocent.”

Pinkie sighed in exasperation. “I thought we’d been over this already.”

“And I told you I can’t be sure until I speak with her myself,” Heavy Steps repeated. “Granted, she never seemed like the type of pony to do something like that… If I hadn’t caught her holding a bottle of poison over the king, I wouldn’t have doubted her innocence for a second. But I did. There was nopony else in the room except for her. Even with all your arguments, it’s hard for me to ignore such proof.”

“There was another pony in the room,” Pinkie said, looking away. “Twilight told me. Sh— The pony, I mean, escaped through the window. It was open when you got in, wasn’t it?”

Heavy Steps thought for a few moments before nodding slowly. “That’s true. I remember that. I found it strange at the time but didn’t think much of it. I mean, even a pegasus couldn’t have gone through it — the defensive enchantments had been put over the whole chamber by the best mages of the Unicorn Union. Only high-ranking members of the Royal Guard would have the keys to disable them.”

“Everlight is the Grandmaster of the Unicorn Union, isn’t he?”

“Yes...”

“He was meeting with the king just before Twilight, wasn’t he? He had the opportunity to remove the enchantments to allow the assassin to sneak inside while Twilight was there. Maybe he wanted to set her up all along.”

While most of what Pinkie had said was from her personal experience, the last part was just an educated guess. It made sense. Twilight’s evening meetings with the king were a constant, and Pinkie’s only window of opportunity to do the job was set up specifically at that time. That was no mere coincidence.

“That… does make sense, actually,” Heavy Steps nodded thoughtfully. “I want to believe in Twilight’s innocence, really. She always seemed like a good young mare with a bright future ahead of her. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

“I’m glad you’re starting to see this!” Pinkie grinned.

“Yeah.” The stallion climbed off the bed. “But if Twilight wasn’t the one who poisoned the king, then who did Everlight hire?”

Pinkie shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “We’ll ask him. But first, we must find the kidnapped ponies.”

“Of course. Securing the help of House Belle is going to be useful.”

“That’s not why I’m doing it,” Pinkie frowned.

“I know. But it’s true.”

“I guess...” Pinkie agreed reluctantly. She stood up, walking towards the door. “Let’s go. I’m going to introduce you to the others if you promise to be nice to Twilight.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Heavy Steps assured her. “But we’re still going to have a talk.”

***

Lucky’s house had changed drastically over the last few days. Everypony had lent their hoof to make it happen. All it had taken was a fair bit of cleaning up, but the result had definitely been worth it. The place no longer resembled some drunken lair. It was a far cry from Twilight’s home, but at least they had a place to recover after everything that had happened.

The owner of the house didn’t cause any trouble for the group. Lucky preferred to spend most of his time cooped up in his room with a bottle of booze – of which he seemed to have in abundance – venturing outside only to use the bathroom or to grab something to eat. Twilight tried to avoid him, and the stallion seemed to do the same.

All of that was far from Twilight’s thoughts now as she poured over the book she had taken from Lucky – Real Modern History by Elegant Lore. Of course, Twilight would have rather studied the Alicorn Amulet, but with her horn not fully recovered, she had to entrust Midnight with that job, under the condition that he wouldn’t put it on.

The book had proven to be a good distraction. Twilight had picked up where she had stopped the last time and had been reading for hours on end. She was so engrossed in reading that she had even missed her mom calling her out for breakfast. That was why it was a total shock for Twilight when the familiar aura of her mother’s magic surrounded her, easily lifting her into the air.

“Mom!” Twilight exclaimed indignantly, flaying her legs helplessly as she tried to grasp her book. “Stop it! I’m not a filly!”

“It is the only way, Twilight,” Velvet told her, carrying her to the dining room. “You can read your book later.”

“You don’t understand, mom!” Twilight argued with her, tempted to use her own magic to break free, even though she knew she shouldn’t. “I’ve found some new information on the Elements of Harmony!”

Her mom gave her a confused look. “Elements of what now?”

Twilight sighed in exasperation. “It’s a set of powerful artifacts I was searching information on. I was hardly able to find anything about them in Starswirl’s Library, so this book is just a treasure trove of knowledge! At least compared to the rest of them.”

“But you’ve found the Alicorn Amulet already, dear,” Velvet said, finally setting Twilight on the floor as they approached the dining room. “Why do you care about those Elements now? They’re practically useless.”

Twilight opened her mouth in outrage as she tried to find the words to express her bubbling emotions, when she noticed a smirk on her mother’s face. Her anger deflated and she even forced a thin smile.

“Very funny, mother.”

They entered the dining room together. Most of their little band was present, save for Pinkie Pie, Shining Armor and the newest addition – Heavy Steps, who were all busy with their search for the kidnapped sisters. Twilight was glad — even though the pink mare was on their side, she still felt uneasy in her presence. Even little Spike didn’t have that effect on Twilight, despite being a dragon. If anything, he fascinated her.

Breakfast flew by as Twilight shared what she had learned about the Elements and Equestrian history from the book with the rest. While Midnight, Spike and even Rarity listened with eager interest, her parents were far less enthusiastic about her discoveries.

"The Elements were first mentioned at the beginning of the book, stating that they had been used by Princesses Celestia and Luna to defeat the powerful Discord, who had taken over Equestria, thus ending the Age of Chaos," Twilight said. "The artifacts are mentioned multiple times throughout the book, but the author never elaborated on them until closer to the end.

“So, at some point after banishing her sister to the moon, Princess Celestia gave up her throne and left,” Twilight continued in excitement. “But we already knew some of it. Before leaving though, she gave each of the Elements to a pony she considered worthy. The book explains that a pony must possess a specific virtue to be able to wield one of the Elements — Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty, and Magic. Unfortunately, the book didn’t say who those ponies were, and that happened centuries ago. The Elements could be anywhere in the world by now.”

“I’m sure you’d be able to wield the Element of Magic, Twilight,” Midnight said. “I’ve never seen anypony as good with it as you are.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said, her cheeks reddening slightly. “But I don’t think we’ll ever be able to test it. Our chances of finding the Elements are next to impossible.”

“Yeah,” Midnight nodded, disappointed. “At least we’ve found the Alicorn Amulet. Anyway, I would like to read that book. I can’t believe the Church of the Sun would hide so much from our history.”

Night Light shifted on his chair, narrowing his eyes. “Perhaps we shouldn’t trust some random book Twilight found in a basement.”

Twilight winced. In her excitement to share her findings, she had forgotten that unlike her, her parents were devoted followers of the Church of the Sun. Of course, they wouldn’t like that the book described the Sun Goddess, Princess Celestia, as just a pony with her own successes and failures, rather than the infallible goddess the Church claimed her to be.

“I believe the book is authentic, dad,” Twilight said, picking her words carefully. “It expands on what we already knew about that age, adding an additional layer of context.”

“Twilight, dear,” Velvet caught her attention, “If that book is so good, why wasn’t it re-printed or at least added to the Library?”

“The author’s note in the beginning explains that the Church was opposed it,” Twilight explained.

“I wonder why,” Night Light chuckled humorlessly. “Maybe because it’s full of lies about our Goddess?”

Twilight sighed. Arguments like that had never ended well. Her skepticism had always conflicted with her parents’ views on the Sun Goddess, and now that she had found the book, it had only confirmed her own doubts about the Church’s version of Equestrian history.

“Let’s not argue about this today, dad,” she said.

Night Light grumbled something under his breath, but nodded in agreement, under a pointed stare from his wife. The conversation at the table pretty much died after that. Rarity tried to revive it with some small talk, but her efforts were in vain. Luckily, the meal was almost finished by now.

Having finished her meal, Twilight went back to reading.

***

Rarity was restless.

She was struggling with the same problem she’d had back at her own cottage – there was nothing to do. They’d been working on bringing this place into a livable condition in the first few days, but as they had settled into a new routine, Rarity’s anxiety had returned with full force.

With nothing to distract herself, her thoughts kept wandering to Sweetie Belle. Was her sister okay? Were those vile brutes treating her well? Rarity hoped for it with all of her heart – Everlight needed them both alive to use them against their father. She wondered if he had already started with it, using Sweetie Belle alone.

Hopefully, Pinkie was as good as she had claimed.

The mare had spent most of her time out of the house for the past few days, conducting her investigation. Her visits were sporadic and she had little to say besides sharing a few leads and properly introducing her companion. Rarity had asked if she needed any help, but Pinkie assured her that she had it under control.

Meanwhile, Rarity had to do something to occupy herself with. Perhaps she should go out? But it was dangerous outside. Even though there was no chance anypony was going to recognize her in her disguise, it was a bad neighborhood for somepony like her. Although Rarity supposed she didn’t have to go alone...

Getting off the sofa she was lounging on, Rarity walked to the kitchen. Midnight and Lotus were busy there like she had expected, doing the dishes. Rarity stopped at the door, admiring the two from behind – both ponies had excellent hindquarters.

“Need something, Lady Rarity?” Midnight turned his head, distracting Rarity from her rather inappropriate thoughts.

“I do, actually,” Rarity smiled. “I was wondering if you would be so kind as to accompany me outside.”

“What for?”

“I’m in dire need of some fresh air. I’m sure you’re also tired of sitting here.”

Midnight frowned as he finished the last dish and passed it to Lotus, who wiped it dry with a towel.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea right now?” he asked.

Rarity flicked her mane, giving Midnight a half-lidded gaze. “Oh, posh! I’m sure everything is going to be just fine. We’re going to be disguised, aren’t we?”

“Eh, I guess,” Midnight said, blinking uncertainly.

“I have the utmost confidence in your magic, darling.”

“T-thank you,” Midnight stammered. He sighed then. “Fine, I guess it’s alright if we go outside for a bit. We need to tell Twilight, though.”

Rarity didn’t see the need — it wasn’t like she answered to the mare — but she didn’t argue as the two went looking for the unicorn. It didn’t take long to find Twilight at her usual spot in the living room, hanging over her ancient book. Once in a while, Twilight tore her attention off it to scribe something into one of the numerous scrolls that were spread out on the floor around her.

Twilight didn’t notice Rarity approaching and ignored her attempts to get her attention until the third time Rarity had cleared her throat. Lifting her gaze over the book, Twilight regarded them with an impatient glare.

“What?”

Midnight flinched at the anger in her voice, but Rarity stepped in to explain their plans. Twilight barely seemed to listen, and once Rarity had finished, she just muttered her agreement and waved them off, returning to her book. Rarity frowned at such a rude display and even opened her mouth to berate the mare, but Midnight stopped her by putting a hoof on her withers and leading her away.

“She’s always like that when she’s focused on a book,” he explained with a sigh when they had finally gotten outside.

“I see,” Rarity nodded with a neutral expression. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Well, shall we?”

Midnight nodded, and the two trotted down the street, with Rarity leading the way. They were going nowhere in particular — she just let her hooves carry her wherever they wanted. It was nice to finally be outside of those four walls, enjoying the wind caressing her coat and mane, breathing the fresh air… Rarity scrunched her muzzle as she took a lungful of air. The atmosphere in the slums was hardly fresh.

“Where are we going, Lady Rarity?” Midnight asked five minutes after they had left the house.

“We’re just exploring the neighborhood, darling,” Rarity answered, glancing at him. “Why?”

“I figured that since we’re out, I should visit my parents,” Midnight said with a shrug. “Let them know I’m alright, you know? I haven’t been home for almost a week; they must be sick with worry.”

Rarity nodded in approval. “Of course, darling,” she said warmly. “Family is important.”

She let Midnight take the lead and followed him to his parent’s place. It was pretty far, but Rarity didn’t mind the walk in the slightest — after all, it was exactly why she had wanted to go outside. It was pleasant so far. She couldn’t call the weather warm, but her coat provided her with sufficient protection, and with the midday sun glowing overhead, it was easy to forget what time of year it was.

“So, Midnight, are you from a minor noble house?”

Midnight nodded curtly, drooping his ears.

“Don’t fret, darling. I’m not going to judge you for it,” Rarity assured, giving him an encouraging smile. He gave her a nervous look, his ears perking up slightly. “Even House Belle started out small. Silver Belle was granted nobility by the Sun Goddess herself right before she left, but we used to be a relatively minor house for centuries after.”

“Well, we won’t be so lucky,” Midnight sighed with resignation. “I think we’re the poorest noble house in Canterlot.”

“I’m pretty sure House Moonlight is a few steps below yours.”

Midnight chuckled. “I guess you’re right. But you get my point.”

“I do,” Rarity agreed. “But you shouldn’t think so lowly of yourself. As I said before, you’re quite gifted. How many noble-born unicorns went through the advanced course at the Academy besides you and Twilight?”

Midnight mulled over the question for a couple of moments. “Nine.”

“Nine unicorns out of all of Equestria,” Rarity pointed out. “I’m sure you’ll go far in life.”

“I doubt that. I don’t have any connections. I tried to apply for some jobs, but no one wanted me except for the Library,” Midnight slumped. “And now I don’t even have that.”

“Have you thought about going to Birminghoof? There are plenty more opportunities in the capital for a unicorn such as yourself.”

“Oh, I went there firsthoof after my graduation,” Midnight said and sighed heavily. “Didn’t go so well, either.”

“How so?”

“I’ll tell you later, okay? I don’t feel like talking about it right now.”

“Okay,” Rarity nodded, though a frown of concern was evident on her face.

Sensing the stallion’s mood, Rarity shifted the conversation to more pleasant topics. She told Midnight more about her own House’s exploits and shared a couple of her most entertaining stories from her social life in Birminghoof.

“So, those two nobles almost had a duel because each of them thought that his opponent was trying to steal you from him?” Midnight asked in confusion.

“Yes, quite so,” Rarity giggled. “I was more than a bit tipsy at the time, and they both had the same coat color. It’s not my fault I was confusing them with each other that whole ball!”

Midnight flickered a smile, “I was never at a ball myself, you know,” he said. “They don’t happen that often in Canterlot and if they do, my family is never invited.”

“Oh, I’d be happy to invite you to one of ours once this whole business with Everlight is over,” Rarity said. “Can you dance?”

“No,” Midnight admitted.

“Not to worry, darling,” Rarity said firmly, checking the stallion out. “You look able enough. I can teach you some moves when we get back to the house, if you want.”

“Okay,” Midnight nodded, twitching his tail nervously.

The two continued their idle chat as they crossed the town. While Rarity appeared relaxed, her eyes were picking up all the minor details around her — she wasn’t going to be caught off-guard.

Twilight had really poked a beehive with her blunder at the Academy.

The two ponies were throwing nervous looks at the numerous city guard patrols. Rarity hadn’t seen this many the last time she’d been out in the city. Sometimes, ponies who looked similar to Twilight were stopped right on the street and thoroughly examined, before they were led somewhere else.

Rarity and Midnight were lucky not to pique anypony’s interest as they made their way to their destination. For once, Rarity was glad her pristine white coat was hidden by Midnight’s dyeing spell — otherwise, she was sure to catch some unwanted attention. Combined with her unique mane style, it was quite eye-catching.

Once they were near his parents’ house, Midnight announced to Rarity that he was going to tell his folks the truth.

“Are you sure it’s wise to bring your parents into the loop, so to speak?”

Midnight frowned. “I don’t like lying to my parents. I’m not going to tell them everything, of course, but they have the right to know what’s happening.”

“I see,” Rarity said, not entirely convinced. “Well, it is your decision. As long as you don’t give away our plans or our safe house, I’ll support it.”

“I won’t,” Midnight assured her.

***

“You’ve had any luck?” Shining Armor asked as soon as Pinkie Pie had joined his table at the café.

“Nope,” Pinkie shook her head and grabbed a bunch of fries off his plate. She gladly chewed on them, blissfully ignoring his annoyed look. “Maybe Heavy Steps has found something.”

“Maybe,” Shining Armor shrugged. He hadn’t really been expecting any results on the second day of their search, so he wasn’t too disappointed.

Pinkie believed that the kidnappers were using a rented house to hold their victims while they searched for Rarity. Sweetie Belle, as important as she was to her sister, wasn’t the heir of the House. While Everlight could still use her life as a bargaining chip, his true goal was Rarity herself.

Following that lead, Shining, Pinkie and her companion Heavy Steps had checked a couple of dozen houses all over the city. There were only so many houses fitting the description in Canterlot, and it would take a few more days to check the rest.

Pinkie had ordered a snack of her own and was munching on it when her friend finally arrived. Shining and Heavy exchanged polite nods as he joined them by the table.

Shining still wasn’t sure what to think of the ex-Royal Guard. Though he had claimed to have overcome his earlier suspicions about Twilight, Shining could feel the underlying tension when the two had first met. Still, Heavy Steps had pledged his support to her cause, and Shining intended to give him a chance to prove it, even though he was going to watch him and Pinkie Pie closely for a good while.

“I think I might have something,” Heavy Steps announced. Shining and Pinkie leaned closer to him, eagerly waiting for him to elaborate. “One of the places I checked had a whole bunch of protective magic around it. High-level spells, similar to the ones protecting the palace.”

“That’s great, Heavy!” Pinkie grinned, gobbling up another pancake in the meantime. “We’re going there right away!”

“What’s our plan, exactly?” Shining asked. Heavy Steps nodded in support.

“We’ll make sure this is indeed the place our kidnappers are using, and if it is, I’m going to deal with them.”

Both Shining and Heavy frowned. Shining was the first to voice his concerns. “Alone?” he asked dubiously. “From what Twilight told us, we’re dealing with a group of skilled mages. And you’re not even a unicorn.”

Pinkie’s cheerful expression melted in a heartbeat, revealing a cold stony face. She gave Shining a withering glare that made even the experienced ex-guardspony nervous.

“No, I’m not,” Pinkie confirmed flatly. “What’s your point?”

Shining glanced at Heavy Steps, but the stallion just shrugged helplessly. “Eh, I mean no offense, but how are you going to take them out without magic?”

A menacing grin formed on Pinkie’s muzzle. “I have my ways.”

Heavy Steps chuckled. “She does. She took out me and my squad with some weird device when we invaded her house”

“But you were the Royal Guard!” Shining Armor shot up his eyebrows.

“Not my best moment,” Heavy admitted, looking away in shame.

“I see,” Shining Armor said, not sure what to think. Either the Royal Guard was not what it was made out to be or Pinkie Pie was more formidable than he had assumed. The way she had dealt with the ones observing his parents’ house pointed towards the latter.

“Anyway, I wasn’t planning on dealing with those guys completely on my own, silly,” Pinkie said, returning to her cheerful attitude as if nothing had happened. “We’ll do it together.”

***

Rarity would never have thought that Midnight’s family house was owned by nobles, although her experience with Lucky had taught her that not every noble was as rich and powerful as the ones she had associated herself with in Birminghoof. It was still jarring to see a noble family living in a simple commoner-like house that made up the majority of Canterlot.

A middle-aged shadowy-blue mare with an orange mane showing streaks of gray opened the door soon after Midnight had knocked. Rarity assumed that it was his mother — Dawn Star. The mare eyed Rarity intensely before returning her attention to her son.

“Midnight,” she nodded to him briskly. “So nice of you to pay a visit.”

Midnight chuckled nervously. “Sorry for disappearing on you like that,” he said. “I’ve been busy these last few days.”

“I can only guess,” Dawn answered flatly, shooting another glance at Rarity.

She took it as a cue.

“Allow me to introduce myself — my name is Lady Rose,” Rarity said with a small curtsey, using her fake alias. “I’m a friend of your son’s.”

“Nice to meet you, Lady Rose,” the mare answered politely, bowing her head. “I’m Dawn Star. Please, come in.”

The ponies trotted inside as Rarity’s experienced eyes took stock of the interior. It was certainly better than Lucky’s lair, but it had seen better days. While the furniture would have been expensive in its prime, it was worn out by time and long usage.

Dawn Star led them to the sofa by the coffee table and offered Rarity a seat, taking one herself. Rarity couldn’t help but notice the grace with which she moved – she was probably a great dancer, unlike her son. Midnight sat on a chair opposite to them.

“Where’s dad?” he asked.

“He’s still at work.”

“Right,” Midnight said, shuffling in his seat. “There’s something important I wanted to tell you. Both of you.”

Dawn’s eyes widened as her eyes flicked between Rarity and her son. “Oh my. Are you two… together?”

“Of course not!” Midnight winced at the suggestion. Rarity narrowed her eyes. “She’s just a friend, but that’s not important. I wanted to tell you that I’m not going to be back home for a while.”

“What? Why?”

Midnight sighed. “I’m helping Twilight Sparkle.”

Dawn Star gasped. “The wanted criminal?! Why would you do that? The whole city guard is looking for her!” she turned her gaze to Rarity. “Are you a criminal too?”

Rarity snorted angrily. “I can assure you – I am no criminal. Neither is Twilight Sparkle, for that matter. She has been wrongly accused and your son, as well as me, is helping to restore justice.”

“There is no such thing as justice in this country,” Dawn Star snapped, turning her attention back to Midnight. “I don’t care if she’s guilty or not, you should stop with this nonsense at once. It’s far too dangerous. You will both be executed as her accomplices when they catch you!”

Midnight shook his head, determination in his eyes. “I’m sorry, mom, but I can’t just leave Twilight on her own. She’s my friend.”

“Since when?!”

“Since the Academy! She was in my class for years.”

“I see. Are you the only one who’s helping her?”

“No…”

“Then you’re staying home,” Dawn stated with an air of finality, hitting the sofa’s surface for emphasis. “Your father is coming home soon, and he’ll be having a good talk with you, boy.”

“I’m not a boy anymore!” Midnight exclaimed, jumping off his chair. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I came here to warn you, not to ask for permission.”

The argument went back and forth for a few minutes while Rarity sat back and watched without interfering. She was no stranger to arguments within a family, but she was an outsider in this one. And while she took no joy in watching the drama develop, it beat sitting in Lucky’s cottage with nothing better to do.

“That’s it, I’m leaving!” Midnight said, sending the coffee table flying in anger. “Come on, Rarity!”

Rarity winced slightly at him revealing her real name, but Dawn Star didn’t seem to notice. The mare advanced at Midnight with her horn glowing, glaring at her son. Perhaps the situation needed Rarity’s involvement after all.

“May I have your attention, everypony?” Rarity asked in a loud and clear voice. Both ponies turned to her slowly. “This is getting out of hoof. Are you really going to fight each other now?”

Dawn Star’s horn stopped glowing and her expression softened. She took a deep breath. “You’re right, Lady Rose.” She looked at her son. “If I can’t convince you to stay out of this, at least wait for your father. Maybe he can.”

“No,” Midnight shook his head, using his magic to put the table back in its proper place. He had a look of shame on his face. “I’m sorry for getting mad, but I won’t stay. I’ll be back soon, I promise. We’re not going to hide forever.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I can’t tell you that, mom,” Midnight said apologetically. “But what we’re going to do is important. I promise I’ll be careful.”

Dawn Star did not look happy at his words, but she knew there was no way she was going to stop Midnight now, so she swallowed whatever arguments she had in mind and simply gave her son a firm hug. “Are you sure you won’t wait for your father?”

Midnight winced. “I’m sure. I don’t want to argue with him too. Just tell him I love him.”

“I will,” Dawn said, releasing him from the hug to look into his eyes. “I hope you’re not making a mistake, Midnight.”

“I know I’m not.” Midnight said firmly. “I love you, mom. Goodbye.”

***

As Midnight and Rarity walked through the city once again, Rarity couldn’t help but notice that her companion was feeling down after what had happened. She attempted to start a conversation a couple of times to distract him, but the stallion’s answers were brief and simple. That didn’t stop her from trying though.

“Can you please stop talking for now?” Midnight finally asked her, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Well, I’m sorry for trying to make you feel better,” Rarity snorted indignantly.

“I’m sorry,” Midnight said, drooping his ears. “As I said, I’m just not in the mood. My whole life is falling apart. I don’t have a job, I don’t have a marefriend, and I’ve now become an outlaw… Maybe my mother was right.”

“I understand how you feel,” Rarity said. “I, too, am struggling to remain positive. But I truly believe that everything will turn out for the best. If it makes you feel any better, I can ask my father to offer you a job once everything has settled down. A unicorn of your abilities would be useful for our House.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“As for a marefriend, I’m sure such a handsome stallion as yourself would have no trouble finding one,” Rarity said, winking.

Midnight stumbled on the road, but quickly straightened himself. “Ha-ha. Right. No one would ever be interested in me.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Rarity asked, making a show of checking him out. A slight blush appeared on Midnight’s face. “You’re pretty good-looking for a stallion, darling. What you need is a tad more confidence.”

“Stop it,” Midnight asked, wincing. “I know you’re just trying to cheer me up.”

“I am.” Rarity moved closer to Midnight so their sides brushed at each other. “But I don’t have to lie to do that.”

Midnight recoiled, almost crashing into another pony. Rarity stifled a giggle but pretended to look offended. “Am I so hideous that you’re afraid to even stay near me?”

“Of course not,” Midnight said after apologizing to the poor pony. “You’re beautiful, Lady Rarity. You just took me by surprise.”

Rarity beamed at the compliment. “Oh, do you think I’m beautiful?”

Midnight avoided Rarity’s gaze as they resumed walking. “Well, yeah. Obviously.”

They continued to chat as they made their way back to Lucky’s cottage. Rarity kept close to the stallion, making sure to brush at him at every opportunity — it was entertaining to watch his reaction. Rarity briefly considered upping her teasing to the next level but quickly decided against it.

At least not while in public.

Perhaps later when she was giving him the dancing lessons she had promised. Perhaps she was going to go even further than teasing. Rarity smiled at the thought, feeling a pleasant warmth spreading from her loins, but then suppressed the feeling. It was harder to control herself while in heat.

***

“Was that really necessary?” Shining Armor asked, his tail twitching anxiously.

Pinkie Pie nodded curtly. She knew it wasn’t nice to break into and enter somepony else’s house, but it had indeed been necessary. The trio had settled in a place on the opposite side of the street from the house they suspected the kidnappers were staying in, observing it from the attic.

“We can’t let them see us,” Pinkie added.

Shining Armor frowned but didn’t argue.

The owners weren’t home at the moment, but if they were to suddenly return, Pinkie had some sleeping powder stored in her saddlebags. Or her companions could use their magic to stun them. It would save her a couple of bits for the powder.

While Pinkie didn’t like unicorns and their freaky magic, she couldn’t deny that their abilities were pretty useful in a lot of situations. Right now, for example, Heavy Steps was examining the layer of protective spells around their target house. Despite Pinkie’s boasting earlier, she knew she had no way of overcoming it without a unicorn’s help.

“That’s some damn fine work,” Heavy Steps said, having finished his scanning. “They have a sound-dampening spell around the house, as well as a physical barrier along the walls. Even teleporting through it is impossible. Not that I could pull it off anyway.”

“Huh,” Shining Armor looked at the other stallion in surprise. “It would take a pretty strong unicorn to keep this up at all times. Unless they brought along a power crystal, of course.”

“Those things are expensive,” Pinkie commented thoughtfully. “They could have bought that whole house for the price of one.” A grin appeared on her face. “I’m pretty sure they are indeed our kidnappers. Can you get through their defenses quietly, Heavy?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps, but it would take time.”

“You had no trouble with stuff like that when we sneaked into the palace,” Pinkie reminded him.

“As a captain, I knew the right key to disable them,” the unicorn explained. “I don’t have that advantage here.”

Pinkie frowned, disappointed. “Go ahead then.”

“Okay,” Heavy Steps nodded, focusing on the house across the road.

While they waited, Shining and Pinkie discussed their plan, trying not to disrupt the unicorn’s concentration. His eyes were closed, and he mumbled something from time to time as he sat there with his horn glowing. Sweat rolled down his face.

It went on for half an hour with no visible results, but nopony dared to interrupt him. Usually, when Pinkie needed to get through the arcane defense of some noble’s house, she masqueraded as one of the servants. It would take days or even weeks of preparation. But for obvious reasons, that strategy was useless here, so Heavy Steps was their only hope. Though if they had the luxury of time, Pinkie would have waited for Twilight to get better.

“Can’t you help him?” Pinkie asked Shining after a while.

The stallion shook his head. “I know the basic spells they taught me in guard training, but I’m not as good at magic as Twilight.”

“I see.”

After another half an hour, Heavy Steps finally opened his eyes, gasping for air. After gulping down a whole flask of water, he spoke, “I think I did it,” he said in a hoarse voice. “It was a lot harder than I thought, but I think I managed to alter their spell so it will let us through.”

Pinkie’s left hoof twitched unexpectedly, followed by a couple of more physical sensations. Strange feelings like those usually helped Pinkie to predict what was about to happen. She felt her stomach drop as she realized what this particular combo had meant — somepony with unfriendly intentions was waiting for them.

“We’re busted,” Pinkie announced with frustration. Both unicorns looked at her in alarm as she elaborated. “They probably noticed you mingling with their spell. Good job.”

“Well, shit,” Heavy Steps frowned. “How do you know?”

“I just do. But don’t worry, guys. We’re still going to do this; it’s just going to be a bit harder.”

As she stood up, Shining blocked her way. “Have you gone crazy? If they know something is up, there’s no way we can pull this off quietly. With the state the city is in, if something goes wrong, the guard is going to be upon us within minutes!”

“We can’t give them any time to prepare now that they know somepony is looking for them,” Pinkie said with conviction. She walked around Shining Armor and looked back. “Are you with me or not?”

***

By the time Midnight and Rarity had made it to Lucky’s cottage, the mare was doing her best to pull Midnight’s attention towards her. It was certainly better than letting him dwell on his depressive thoughts. While Midnight didn’t exactly look comfortable with her bold advances, he never asked her to stop, which Rarity took as permission to continue. It was for his benefit too, after all.

“Would you like to start our dancing lesson right away?” Rarity asked as they walked through the front door. "It’d be a good way for us to unwind."

Night Light, Twilight’s father, emerged from behind the corner and, after seeing the familiar faces, left again. Rarity had barely paid him any attention as she awaited Midnight’s answer.

“Maybe later,” he said, looking away. “I’d rather read a book right now. Sorry, Lady Rarity.”

Rarity nodded, forcing a smile onto her muzzle.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. See you later!"

Having said that, Midnight trotted away as she stood there watching. Rarity sighed. She had been so looking forward to giving those dance lessons and what might have followed, but now she would have to endure her frustration on top of her boredom. At least nothing could stop Rarity from enjoying a pleasant view of Midnight’s rump as he walked away.

The rest of the day dragged on as slowly as Rarity had feared.

She even went so far as to help Lotus in the kitchen, though the mare didn’t trust her with anything more than cutting up some simple ingredients. After that was done, Rarity just strolled around the house, making small corrections to the furniture placement and cleaning up whatever they had missed the first time.

“Bored?”

Rarity started, flattening her ears, and turned towards the voice. The green baby dragon they had found in the caves was standing at the end of the corridor, leaning against the wall. The strange creature was creeping her out, but he had shown no signs of aggression so far, so Rarity chose to be polite.

“Indeed,” she nodded tensely. “I’m not used to staying indoors for such a long time.”

“I was pretty bored too back in the caves,” Spike said, walking closer. His quick two-legged gait was a strange sight to behold. “I spent most of my free time napping and exploring.”

“I see.”

An uncomfortable silence followed.

“I’m sorry that you fell into one of my traps, by the way,” the little dragon finally said.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rarity waved her hoof dismissively. “You didn’t know I was going to fall into it, did you?”

“Of course not!” Spike said, shaking his head vigorously. “I never thought a pony would go so deep into the caves. Especially a pony like you.”

“A pony like me?” Rarity raised her eyebrow.

Spike fidgeted in place.

“Eh, I mean, if I was expecting someone, it would have been some mighty hero covered with scars, not a pretty mare like you.”

A genuine smile grew on Rarity’s face. Perhaps this dragon was closer to a pony in spirit than she had assumed if he could appreciate her beauty. “Why, thank you, darling. It’s nice of you to say so.”

Spike grinned in return.

The two walked together into the living room, chatting. Twilight and Midnight were occupying it, each reading their own book in their separate corners on the floor, but the couch was free. They sat near each other as Spike shared the numerous difficulties of living in that cave with Rarity.

The little dragon turned out to be surprisingly pleasant company. He seemed to be genuinely interested in what Rarity had to say, whether it was about the dressing styles of Birminghoof’s nobility or stories about her family.

“Professor Butterfly was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a family,” Spike mentioned at some point, sighing heavily. “I still miss her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Spike,” Rarity said, reaching out a hoof to gently pat Spike’s head near his green spikes. He was so unlike any dragon she had ever heard of. If he didn’t have the scales, it would have been easy to imagine him as a young colt.

“But at least I’m with you guys now,” Spike said. “I know you have a difficult mission, but I’ll help you however I can, as long as you let me stay with you.”

“Oh, darling, why would we ever make such a wonderful dragon leave?”

***

Pinkie Pie and her companions were standing under the window of the kidnappers’ house. She had taken some of her expensive potions to increase her strength and speed for the upcoming task, and she was ready to go in.

“Tell us where they are,” Pinkie whispered to Heavy Steps.

The stallion’s eyes glowed in an arcane light as he gazed at the wall. As he had explained earlier, the spell he was using allowed him to see the magic density and thus determine where everypony was.

“I can see nine magic imprints in the basement,” he said. “One of it is the power crystal though — nopony has that much magic. That would make it eight ponies down there.”

“Good job, Heavy.”

Standing on her hindlegs, Pinkie peeked through the window. As far as she could tell, the room was empty. Her senses hadn’t picked up on anything, either. The window was closed, but Pinkie had been expecting that, so she simply carved a hole into the glass with her tool and then jumped inside, landing in a roll. She had done it all soundlessly.

Her companions were less stealthy once she had opened the window for them, but Pinkie’s senses were quiet, so she wasn’t overly worried about being noticed. Crossing the barren room in a few strides, Pinkie put her ear on the door.

“We need to set up an ambush near the basement and lure them out,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Both stallions nodded curtly and followed her into the corridor. Their hoofsteps were barely audible, thanks to the soft hoofpads Pinkie had provided for them just for the occasion.

As they walked, Pinkie couldn’t help but grow worried. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to sneak into an enemy’s lair, but never before had her opponents been a group of high-level unicorns. Except for the time when she had poisoned the king, but she’d had weeks of preparations for that and hadn’t needed to take them all out. Although she didn’t have two ex-guards on her side back then, either.

“Wait a second,” Pinkie said as a sudden realization hit her. “If you can see them with your spell, they can probably see us too.”

“Shit, you’re right,” Heavy Steps muttered as Shining Armor winced. “We won’t take them by surprise.”

“I hate unicorns…” Pinkie sighed. “Well, it’s too late to turn ba— Look out!”

Pinkie dropped to the floor, barely avoiding a magical projectile overhead. While they were chit-chatting, the kidnappers had taken them by surprise! Shining Armor reacted fast as another projectile splashed on his shield of purple energy.

Pinkie could see the three unicorns down the corridor as they bombarded Shining’s shield with one missile after another. The walls shook around them, but to Pinkie’s surprise, the shield still held somehow.

But where was the fourth one?

“Hold them off!” Pinkie ordered to her companions as she sprinted in the opposite direction, holding a dagger in her mouth.

If her guess was correct, one of the kidnappers was going to attack them from behind. It was a smart move on their part, but Pinkie was going to make sure it would fail. Her senses tingled, so she stopped just before turning around the corner.

She knew the enemy unicorn would be there.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Pinkie leaped forward, throwing her dagger blindly. Despite being surprised, the unicorn managed to deflect her attack with a burst of magic.

“Hello there!” Pinkie exclaimed, rolling out of the way of his counterattack spell, which blew a hole in the wall behind her. “Surrender or die!”

The unicorn didn’t answer, attempting to grab her in his telekinetic grip. That proved to be a big mistake. Moving as if through water, Pinkie jumped out of his hold and tackled him to the floor. Another spell harmlessly passed over her head, but Pinkie gave the unicorn no opportunity to improve his aim, burrowing a second dagger deep into his eye.

He died instantly.

“Bad choice,” Pinkie told him calmly, wiping her knife on his coat. He didn’t complain.

Then she trotted in the direction he had come from. She didn’t bother staying quiet anymore — the sounds of the battle nearby provided a good cover for her steps. Soon Pinkie found three of the enemy unicorns still trying to overpower Shining’s shield, which was now reinforced by Heavy.

Pinkie approached them with a grin and leaped at the back of the one closest to her, striking his horn with enough force to prevent him from using magic. The unicorn tried to struggle, but without magic, he was no match for Pinkie’s earth pony strength as she strangled him unconscious.

Her attack had created a good distraction just as Pinkie had hoped, allowing Shining and Heavy to launch a counterattack. Spells flew back and forth above Pinkie’s head in a frenzy, destroying everything on their path. Pinkie crawled away – she was good at melee, but magic duels were beyond even her abilities.

Or maybe not, Pinkie thought, throwing another dagger at one of her adversaries.

The unicorn was too focused on deflecting Shining’s attacks to notice the dagger, until it had buried itself in his neck. With his concentration broken in such a rude way, he was thrown back by Shining’s spell with such a force that he broke through the wall, disappearing into the rubble.

Pinkie winced — even if he had survived the knife, he wouldn’t have survived that. Not that she cared much about somepony like him.

The remaining unicorn refused to give up. He was fighting both Shining and Heavy, avoiding and deflecting their spells, and even managing to launch some of his own. At some point, the corridor caught fire.

Pinkie knew they had to finish this quickly — the guards were bound to be here soon to investigate the ruckus that had undoubtedly been reported by their neighbors.

She threw her last dagger at the enemy, but it flew right back at her. Pinkie widened her eyes and dashed to the side, but she wasn’t fast enough as the dagger sliced along her foreleg. She hissed in pain, cursing the unicorn. Before she could attempt anything else, however, he suddenly disappeared with a flash.

“Damn, where did he go?” Shining exclaimed, spinning his head around.

The trio exchanged glances. “The hostages!”

They rushed to the basement, though being the professionals that they were, it wasn’t a blind charge, but rather an organized advance with Shining Armor in the lead, ready to cast his shield again at a moment’s notice.

It proved to be a good idea.

As soon as he had reached the basement, a small explosion crashed against the shield that he had erected just in time. Pinkie and Heavy felt a hot wave wash around them, but Shining’s magic had protected them from the worst.

“Not a step further or I’ll kill them,” a cold voice called out.

Pinkie winced as she looked over Shining’s shoulder.

The prisoners were here. A filly, an earth pony mare, and a unicorn stallion were chained up to a wall like some dogs, while the fourth one, another unicorn, was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room. They couldn’t be anypony other than Sweetie Belle, Aloe and Rarity’s guards, whose names Pinkie didn’t care enough to remember. All of them were bruised with their coats covered in blood, save for the little filly, who seemed to be unharmed.

Rarity’s guards were glancing between her group and the kidnapper with apprehension, while Aloe and Sweetie Belle wore frightened expressions. Pinkie grinned at them with what she hoped was a cheerful smile, but for some reason, it seemed to scare those ponies even more.

“You let them go unharmed,” Pinkie said, producing another dagger from under her cloak. “It’s three against one.”

“Please, you’re no match for me,” the unicorn sneered. Pinkie narrowed her eyes, holding back her rage. “But let’s make a deal: I’m taking the filly with me, and you can have everyone else.”

His offer was unacceptable, but Pinkie still pretended to consider it in order to buy herself some time to think. She knew she had to do something drastic to save the situation, but what? The unicorn had proved immune to her ranged attacks. But what if she attacked him from up close?

“I accept your deal,” Pinkie said, stepping around Shining Armor. “Let’s shake our hooves on it.”

“Stay where you are!” the unicorn warned her and Pinkie froze, having crossed only half the distance to him.

It was good enough.

Pinkie closed her eyes and focused, feeling the potion she had drunk before the attack burning up in her veins. Its effects wouldn’t last for more than a few seconds at that rate and the aftermath would be unpleasant, but it was the only way. Pinkie opened her eyes again, watching in slow motion as the unicorn’s eyes were widening and a faint glow was growing around his horn. He knew that something was up.

Then Pinkie charged.

The unicorn was unable to react in time as Pinkie slammed into him with her whole body. Her muscles strained and she felt some of her bones cracking from the impact, but she knew the less sturdy unicorn had it much worse as he got smashed into the wall behind him.

Pinkie stood in the middle of the room shaking, looking at the broken body of the unicorn on the floor. He wasn’t moving. Satisfied, Pinkie bent over and threw up.

“What in Tartarus did you do?” Shining Armor asked, approaching slowly.

“I did say I had some tricks up my sleeve,” Pinkie explained, panting and wincing from the pain in her foreleg. There was no time for first aid. “Let’s hurry, the guards will be here soon.”

Shining nodded tensely as he and Heavy went to release the prisoners. It didn’t take them long as they simply blasted the locks instead of looking for a key. Soon everypony was freed.

Feeling somewhat better, Pinkie approached Aloe, who was gripping the filly in her embrace. They both raised their eyes, fear easily readable in them, but despite that, Pinkie put on her best friendly smile.

“Your sisters asked me to find you,” she said. “Don’t worry, you’re going to see them soon!”

The filly stopped sobbing, looking at Pinkie with her big, wet eyes. “Are you taking us to Rarity?”

“Yep! Let’s go!”

***

Rarity wandered around the house aimlessly, going from room to room and sometimes moving furniture from one place to another if she felt it was in the wrong position. Spike was following her steps, sometimes complimenting her work, but Rarity knew he was just flattering her.

She had tried to lend a hoof in the kitchen, but Lotus and Velvet were doing just fine, and they had made it clear that her help was not required. Twilight and Midnight were both too busy with their books to pay any attention to her, either. Even Twilight’s father, Night Light, had nothing Rarity could help him with.

Rarity felt useless.

If every day was going to be like that, she wasn’t sure she was going to keep her sanity...

“We’ve already been here, Rarity,” Spike said as Rarity opened another door.

“Oh, I’m aware, darling,” she answered with a nervous chuckle. “I’m just checking if I missed something the first time.” After a moment of staring into a small guest room, Rarity closed the door. “Nope.”

She paused, wondering what to do next. Perhaps she could persuade Midnight to postpone his reading session in favor of the dance lesson she had promised him. However, when she went downstairs, Rarity suddenly heard voices from the entrance.

Was Pinkie Pie finally back?

Rarity hurried to meet her, hoping to get some news about her sister, stopping at the sight of a small crowd. Pinkie Pie was in front of it with a big smile on her face, which widened when she saw Rarity. Rarity’s heart leaped in sudden hope. Could it be—

“Rarity!”

Sweetie Belle sprinted between Pinkie’s legs like a little rocket. Rarity only managed to sit on her haunches and spread her forelegs as the filly jumped into her hug. She gripped Sweetie back tightly, looking at her with misty eyes and whispering words of comfort into her ear.

After a while, Rarity had finally recovered enough to meet Pinkie’s eyes. She and her whole family were in Pinkie’s debt, she realized. Rarity would make sure to reward the mare properly once she had the means, but for now, a simple nod of gratitude was all she was able to give.

Lotus and Aloe had a similar reunion nearby. At this point, everypony including Lucky was here to see what the commotion was about. The room was getting a bit crowded. Rarity exchanged a nod with her guards, happy to see them alive, and then she noticed an unfamiliar pony with an inhibitor ring on his horn. Her eyes narrowed.

“I captured one of the kidnappers for interrogation,” Pinkie said, pointing at that pony. Then she addressed Shining Armor, “Lock him up somewhere — we’ll be having a chat with him soon.”

The captive remained silent as Shining led him away. Rarity followed them with her eyes, picturing all the pain she wanted to put him through for kidnapping her little sister. As they disappeared behind a door, she returned her gaze to Sweetie Belle, examining the filly more closely.

“Are you hurt, darling?” Rarity asked, nuzzling Sweetie’s neck.

The filly retracted, seemingly conscious of such a display of affection in front of everypony. “Nah. They didn’t hurt me… Only Aloe and the guards.”

“They will never hurt anypony ever again,” Pinkie assured them. Rarity suppressed a shudder at the sudden coldness in her voice. Sweetie Belle drooped her ears, looking at the pink mare warily.

“Good,” Rarity spoke neutrally and turned to Twilight, who was talking with Midnight. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but now that my sister is back, I must know how soon we are going back to Birminghoof.”

“It depends on how soon I’ll be able to use my magic again,” Twilight answered, her ears wilting. “It might be another week or two, I think.”

Rarity shook her head. “That’s unacceptable. My family will be sick with worry if I’m not heard from for such a long time. My father is being careful, but there’s no telling what he might do if he thinks that Everlight had me and my sister killed.”

Sweetie Belle shivered beside her, and Rarity comforted her by gently stroking her mane.

“I don’t think we can leave any sooner,” Midnight said. “You’ve seen how things are here in Canterlot — the guard is still on full alert. They’ll be checking everypony leaving the city for illusion magic and such.”

“That won’t be a problem when I recover. I can teleport us all past the gate,” Twilight added confidently.

Rarity kept her composure, even though she wanted to stomp her hoof in frustration. Not only would her family worry more with every day of her being missing, but she would also go insane with boredom if they stayed in this house for another few weeks!

But there was no arguing with Twilight and Midnight’s arguments. Although there was something she could do. “I’ll send him a letter then. I have just enough bits for a pegasus mail service.”

Twilight nodded. “Fine by me.”

A few hours later, after a good meal and some rest, a group of ponies with grim faces had gathered in the basement where their captive was being held. He raised his head to look at them as they walked in, but if he was afraid, he didn’t show it. Instead, the unicorn sighed as if disappointed.

Rarity twitched her ear in annoyance — she was hoping to see him cowering in fear, but he looked almost bored instead.

“You’re going to tell us who you’re working for,” Shining Armor said, his voice flat.

The prisoner shrugged. “Sure. I work for Grandmaster Everlight of the Unicorn Union.”

Shining Armor’s face lost its composure, displaying confusion. Rarity herself was taken aback at the prisoner’s unexpected cooperation. She had assumed he would be silent, imagining with a little bit of sick pleasure how they were going to force him to talk, but the unicorn had defied her expectations.

“What? I don’t want you to torture me or anything," the unicorn explained. “Just make my death quick when you’re finished with me.”

Shining Armor nodded, regaining his composure quickly. He wasted no time asking all the questions he had, and the prisoner told them everything they wanted to know without any hesitation or a second thought. There was no way to know if he was lying, of course, but what he had told them so far matched with what they had already figured out on their own.

Everlight had entrusted this group with the task of capturing Rarity and her sister alive. When Rarity had escaped, they had interrogated her servants to find out where she might have been hiding. They would have killed them otherwise, if not for Blazing Shield feeding them some elaborate lies to send them on a wild goose chase in an attempt to buy them some time.

If not for Pinkie’s timely rescue though, it would have been all for nothing.

“I had no idea the Unicorn Union trained assassins…” Midnight muttered.

“I’m not an assassin,” the captive answered, looking offended. “I’m a battlemage of the Order. Kidnapping is not my usual job, but when the Grandmaster gives you an order, you will follow it.”

“Why would he send you, rather than hire some professionals?” Shining Armor asked.

“To kidnap the daughter of a powerful lord? There are not enough madponies in Equestria willing to do it, even for the bits he would pay,” he answered. “I guess I can see why now…”

Soon the interrogation was over.

Shining Armor and Pinkie exchanged glances and the latter stepped forward, a knife appearing in her hoof. Rarity, who had been looking forward to seeing the prisoner die, suddenly felt squeamish at the prospect. Perhaps killing him was too much. After all, they hadn’t harmed Sweetie Belle, had they?

But they had tortured Aloe and the others in order to find her. They would have killed all three of them without hesitation if they hadn’t needed them. Not to mention that, according to the prisoner, Everlight had had them hunting down his enemies all over Equestria and beyond. There was no telling how many ponies had died because of them. No, there was no doubt in Rarity’s mind that this pony deserved to be sentenced to death for his numerous crimes.

But even so, Rarity could barely bring herself to watch.

“Wait, are we going to kill him?” Twilight Sparkle asked, realizing what was going on.

Everypony’s eyes turned towards her. “Of course,” Shining Armor confirmed, shifting nervously. “You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to.”

Twilight frowned, drooping her ears. “Do we really have to? I mean, I know he’s evil, but—”

“Any fair court would sentence him to death for his crimes,” Heavy Steps said. “Aren’t you planning to do the same to Everlight yourself?”

Twilight slumped. “I guess so… I don’t know. I’m not really into killing ponies… I mean, I had to kill one of them when we escaped, but I try not to think about it…”

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Midnight comforted her, laying a hoof over her withers. “Let’s go upstairs, okay?”

The mare nodded and both ponies promptly left the basement. Rarity chose to stay behind.

“You promised to be quick,” the prisoner said impatiently. “If I am to die, don’t drag it out.”

Pinkie nodded grimly. Without preamble, she drove a knife right into his heart. He twitched slightly and his eyes rolled up. It was over so quickly that Rarity hadn’t realized what had happened. Once she had, she felt sick in the stomach, and only her experience with drinking too much at parties helped her to hold it inside.

Rarity shut her eyes, taking a deep breath, and when she opened them, she tried to avoid looking at the dead body sprawled on the floor with a pool of blood underneath. Now that she thought about it…

“What are we going to do with the body?” she voiced a question on her mind, her voice trembling only a tiny bit.

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie said, carefully wiping her bloody knife on the body’s coat. Her lifeless gaze sent chills down Rarity’s spine. “Pinkie knows how to take care of it.”

Rarity didn’t want to think about where Pinkie had acquired that knowledge.

***

The sun had long since set over Equestria, and yet the welcome embrace of slumber continued to evade Rarity’s mind. She’d had trouble sleeping after witnessing the death of another pony up close, even though that pony had been an enemy who had kidnapped her sister and had been ready to kill her loyal servants.

It did make it easier to handle, but not by much.

Even more troubling was how Pinkie had gotten rid of the body. Luckily, Rarity hadn’t been there when they had split it into pieces and dispersed them around the city. It was effective but highly disturbing.

At least Sweetie Belle seemed to be having none of the issues her sister was having. The filly had fallen asleep the moment her head had hit the pillow. The poor dear probably hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep in captivity. The four of them, including the two maids, were sharing one room, since there weren’t enough bedrooms in Lucky’s house for everypony. While Rarity and Sweetie had taken the only bed, Lotus and Aloe had had to settle on some pillows on the floor.

Sliding off the bed, Rarity landed on the floor with a loud clank. Damn those hooves! Luckily, nopony was woken up by her clumsiness. Slowly moving one leg in front of another, Rarity approached the door and slipped outside. She walked towards the kitchen.

She might as well get some midnight snack while she was awake.

As it turned out, Rarity wasn’t the only one with that idea. Entering the kitchen, she found Midnight making some toast at the counter, humming some tune. His back was turned to Rarity and he hadn’t heard her yet.

“Can’t sleep?”

Midnight twitched, almost losing control of the knife in his magic, and he turned around sharply.

“You startled me…” he grumbled. “No, I guess I can’t. I keep thinking about that pony we killed today.”

“Me too,” Rarity said, walking to stand beside him as he returned to his task. “Would you mind making one for me?”

“Sure.”

As Midnight worked on another toast, Rarity made two cups of tea for both of them. After it was done, they moved to the dining room and sat at the table, facing each other. Lifting her cup, Rarity took a small sip and winced slightly. The tea was not of the quality she would have liked, but at least the toast was great.

“Your toast is delicious,” Rarity said, chewing slowly.

“Oh, that’s nothing,” Midnight shrugged. “Anypony can make a toast.”

“Not as good as yours, probably,” Rarity said with a smile, lifting her back hoof under the table and resting it on Midnight’s chair. Unlike her, he was sitting on his haunches. “You have my thanks, darling.”

Having said that, she moved her hoof forward, pushing into a bulge between the stallion’s legs. Midnight’s ears shot up with his mouth open in shock as he stared at Rarity. She smiled coyly without removing her hoof. Instead, she moved it up and down, feeling the bulge growing with the soft frog of her hoof.

“S-stop it, Lady Rarity,” Midnight ordered in an elevated voice, though he remained rooted to his seat.

“Do you really want me to?” Rarity asked, lifting one eyebrow quizzically. “I will if you ask me one more time.”

Conflicting emotions were fighting on Midnight’s reddening face as Rarity kept rubbing. By now the bulge had grown into a fully-fledged erection that she continued to stroke back and forth with the side of her hoof. Holding herself steady, Rarity extended another leg, gripping Midnight’s member between them.

“So, should I stop, darling?” Rarity asked, certain of what the answer was going to be. She was not disappointed when the stallion shook his head.

“Why… Why are you doing this?” he asked though.

“Because I think we both need to relax and just have some fun,” Rarity answered as both of her hindlegs moved back and forth at an increased pace, enjoying the cute look on the stallion’s face. “And because you’re really cute. It won’t lead to anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh,” Midnight said, drooping his ears slightly. Rarity comforted him by fondling his balls with her magic. A typical unicorn could barely feel the objects held in their magical grip, but Rarity’s control had always been so precise that she was able to feel them even better than with her own hooves. “I… No offense, but I kind of like somepony else.”

“None taken, darling,” Rarity smiled. “Twilight is a lovely mare.”

Midnight’s face grew so red that Rarity briefly worried that he was going to explode. She slowed her pace for a bit.

“How do you know?”

“Only a blind pony wouldn’t notice that,” Rarity said with a smirk. “I know a crush when I see one. Although usually it’s directed at me...”

“I don’t want to ruin my chances with her,” Midnight said, suddenly jumping off the chair and looking away. “Sorry.”

Rarity stood up as well, trying to hide her frustration from showing on her face. She had worked herself up too much already to simply stop now. She glanced at her chair briefly and sure enough, there was a damp spot where she had been sitting. Rarity made a mental note to clean it up after they were done.

If they were going to do anything at all.

“There’s nothing to worry about, darling,” Rarity said, going around the table as the stallion backed away into the wall. She stopped in front of him, her face so close to his that she could feel his breath. “It’s okay for ponies to have sex before they commit to a relationship.”

“But what if Twilight gets mad at me?”

Rarity sighed. “There is no reason why she would,” she said. “I don’t think she even knows about your crush with the way she’s so focused on her quest.”

“I know, but I’m too afraid to tell her outright—”

Rarity’s tongue shot forward, licking the tip of Midnight’s muzzle. “You just need more confidence,” she said. “Mares like that. I can teach you what else they like.”

“I guess—” Midnight was interrupted midsentence with a kiss. Rarity’s tongue slipped into his mouth and she felt his own pushing against hers. They continued their struggle until Rarity broke away in need of air. Midnight panted as he stared at her with wide eyes, unsure of what to do. His eyes widened even more when Rarity turned around, flicking her tail aside and practically shoving her marehood against his muzzle.

“You know what to do,” she said coyly.

Midnight did, indeed.

With an animalistic growl, he grasped the mare’s flanks with both hooves and dove his face between her haunches. Rarity gasped, feeling his tongue running along her sensitive lips. Her pussy clenched of its own accord at his inexperienced but enthusiastic licks. Midnight went on her like a thirsty pony on water. It wasn’t something Rarity had expected, but the surprise was a welcome one.

Rarity nickered slightly and bit her lip as he ate her out. They were in a house full of ponies — she shouldn’t be too loud. Now that she thought of it, they should probably move to a more private place—

Her thoughts lost any coherence when Midnight had finally found her tiny clit, running his tongue around it in circles. Rarity’s knees bent, but she kept her hindquarters upward, moaning through clenched teeth. She gasped as he began sucking on it.

It didn’t take Rarity long to reach her climax under Midnight’s continuous assault. She felt her pussy spasming as the waves of pleasure shook her body. She couldn’t suppress a loud moan of lust. Hopefully, nopony had heard it.

But Midnight wasn’t done just yet. Rarity felt a thrill of anticipation as he mounted her, pushing her front half into the floor with his weight.

“Sorry,” he whispered, using his magic to lift her on her hooves.

Rarity opened her mouth to answer but gasped as his firm member entered her at the same time. She shuddered, still sensitive after her last orgasm. Her aroused pussy allowed for an easy way in as Midnight thrust back and forth, slowly building up speed.

She could hear his heavy breathing as he pounded her eagerly, making a wet splash every time his member filled her. Rarity clenched her inner walls for a tighter grip, and Midnight responded with pushing his muzzle into her mane, suppressing a groan.

“I’m close,” Midnight warned her.

“Don’t pull out,” was Rarity’s answer.

After a few frantic thrusts, Rarity felt his member spasming, filling her with his seed. She rubbed her clit with her magic, sending herself over the edge as well. Midnight stopped thrusting as both of them shuddered in a simultaneous climax.

When it was over, Midnight gently pulled out, helping Rarity to remain on her hooves. She could feel his seed slowly dripping out of her pussy, staining the floor. Rarity sighed in satisfaction.

“Thank you, darling,” she said in a frail voice. Midnight grunted something in response.

“I hope nopony has heard us,” he said, looking towards the door nervously.

Rarity smiled. “Let them envy us if they have.” Her smile widened at Midnight’s worried look. “Oh, relax. These walls are pretty thick.”

“If you say so…”

Rarity looked around the kitchen and winced — their body fluids were staining the floor. Now that her arousal had passed, she didn’t fancy the idea of making a mess in a place where they usually made food. Although Midnight certainly had had fun eating her…

But first things first. Rarity’s horn glowed as she cast a spell she knew very well. A blue light flickered around her nether regions, eliminating the unwanted possibility of her getting pregnant with Midnight’s seed, which was a real danger given her estrus.

“What was that?” Midnight asked curiously.

He paled when Rarity explained. “Damn, I hadn’t thought about that…”

Rarity chuckled at that.

The two took some time cleaning up the kitchen and, after Rarity had promised to discuss what had happened here tomorrow, they went back to their rooms. Rarity didn’t have problems falling asleep anymore.

Chapter XXII - Recovery

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Flare had fully woken up the next day.

Applejack raced to her room as soon as Rainbow had told her the good news. Raced was a relative term though, as she moved at a snail’s pace, but Applejack refused Rainbow’s offer to help. She wanted to overcome her temporary weakness on her own.

She regretted her decision almost instantly, but she refused to admit it to Rainbow Dash. Gritting her teeth, Applejack slowly forced one leg in front of the other until she had finally made it to Flare’s room.

Giving Rainbow a triumphant smile, she burst into the room and fell face-first on the floor with a painful yelp.

“Applejack!” Flare exclaimed, watching the mare in shock. “What’s wrong?”

Applejack tried to wave off Fluttershy and Rainbow, who rushed to her aid, but they were having none of it this time, helping her back on her hooves and leading her closer to bed.

“Just got a bit banged up fightin’ the sarge,” Applejack said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I never trusted that bastard!” Flare said, furrowing her eyebrows angrily.”

“Please, Flare, you shouldn’t be putting yourself under any stress right now,” Fluttershy intervened, putting a calming hoof on Flare’s shoulder. “You need to conserve your strength.”

“I’m calm,” Flare said, taking a deep sigh. “I didn’t think he’d survive the crash.”

“We think your magic saved him, actually,” Rainbow blurted out. “We found you near the wreck along with him, totally unharmed! Him unharmed, not you. You know what I mean.”

“And I think I saw some flash right before the crash,” Applejack added. “Probably your magic.”

Flare nodded and closed her eyes. Soon her face changed into a frown.

“I think I must have accidentally teleported myself,” she said slowly. “I’ve heard that some unicorns can do that, but I’ve never learned it. I have no idea how I pulled this off, but I certainly wasn’t planning on taking that bastard along with me.”

“Ya were practically touchin’ yer horns together right before the crash,” Applejack pointed out. “Tryin’ to stop the ship or somethin’. Maybe that’s why he got pulled into your spell.”

“Maybe. But it shouldn’t have happened. It’s all my fault...”

“It’s not your fault, sugarcube,” Applejack said firmly. “‘Sides, it wasn’t that bad. We both survived, didn’t we?”

“What do you mean ‘not that bad’?” Rainbow asked in bewilderment. “He stabbed you twice! Almost in the heart! If it wasn’t for Flutters here, you’d be serving as food for those damn griffs right now.”

Applejack sighed in frustration.

“Thanks, Rainbow. Real helpful.”

“Oh, you were trying to— Sorry. I’ll just wait outside, okay?”

Rainbow promptly retreated, leaving the three mares alone. Applejack turned to face Flare’s troubled gaze and grimaced. Damn that Rainbow and her big mouth...

“Fine, it was pretty bad, okay? But as Rainbow said, Fluttershy patched us both up. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy smiled meekly.

“Tell me everything that happened,” Flare demanded. Fluttershy opened her mouth to argue, but the mare lifted her hoof, glaring at her. “Fluttershy here has already told me all about her village, but she failed to mention how badly you were injured. I want to know the full story.”

“Ya sure? Fluttershy said you don’t need any stress right now. I imagine my tale is pretty darn stressful.”

“I’ll take that chance,” Flare assured her, ignoring Fluttershy’s pleading gaze. “Lay it on.”

And that’s what Applejack did. She even told her about the incident between her and the sergeant in the barracks, since there was no point in hiding it now. Flare was livid by the time she had finished.

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I’m going to find him and cut off his balls!”

Fluttershy winced, but Flare didn’t seem to notice, adding more and more vivid descriptions of what she was going to do to the sergeant. Applejack had no warm feelings for the stallion, but even she felt her skin crawl as she tried to imagine some of them.

“I think we got the point, Flare,” she said, interrupting her friend.

The mare blinked and then slumped onto the bed, having wasted her energy. “Fine… I’m sorry you had to go through that because of me, Jackie.”

“I would gladly do it again,” Applejack said, looking her in the eyes. “You’re my friend.”

Flare sighed, smiling weakly. “Thanks…”

After that, they switched to less disturbing topics.

“Say, Fluttershy, how did you know what to do to save me?” Flare asked at some point. “I don’t imagine you’ve got a lot of unicorns in my condition. It happens pretty rarely.”

“We don’t have any unicorns here,” Fluttershy said. Flare seemed surprised by her words, but Applejack just shrugged. They didn’t have a lot of those in her village either — they tended to live in the cities. “Nor do we have earth ponies. You two are the first of those I’ve seen in my entire life. But I’ve read the journal, so I knew how to treat your wounds in case it was ever needed.”

***

“Rainbow, are you here?”

Applejack perked up her ears, but there was no answer. She muttered a few obscenities in frustration — the darn pegasus was out again. Applejack couldn’t blame her — she would have joined her if she could, in fact — but it was annoying.

“I’ll have to do it myself then,” Applejack told herself.

Maybe it was better that way. It was a bit embarrassing having to rely on somepony’s help for something as simple as going to a bathroom. Fluttershy had suggested using a bedpan, but that was even worse! Applejack was not that helpless.

Carefully slipping off the bed, Applejack stood on the floor, her legs shaking. She waited a minute for it to subside. As soon as it did, she moved forward but tripped and almost fell on the third step. Applejack winced, imagining the pain she would have felt if she had disturbed her injuries. She continued walking more slowly. The bathroom was just across the corridor, but it may as well have been across the village for how much effort it took Applejack to reach it.

After doing her business, Applejack was torn between visiting Flare or going back to her room. She chose the former — it was further away, but the trip was worth it. By the time she had reached Flare’s door, Applejack was gasping for air as if she had been running for miles. She hated being this weak. Taking a minute to recover, Applejack knocked, hoping for Flare to be awake.

“Come in!”

Applejack exhaled in relief and walked inside. “Howdy, Flare. How do you feel?”

“Applejack!” Flare exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here? You’re too weak to walk!”

“The Tartarus I am,” Applejack argued, dragging her hooves toward Flare’s bed. “See? I’m walking.”

“More like crawling,” Flare retorted, narrowing her eyes. “I hate what the sergeant did to you…”

“I’ll be fine,” Applejack assured her. “How are you, though?”

Flare shrugged, rubbing her horn and wincing. “I still can’t use my magic, but Fluttershy told me it’s only temporary. I also have to stay in bed for a few days before trying to walk. I hate it.”

“So do I,” Applejack agreed, collapsing on her haunches. “But we’ll get better. And when we do, what are we going to do then?”

“We’ll leave this place, of course.”

“That’s not what I meant. What are we going to do now that we’re outlaws?”

“I was going to stay in Stalliongrad for a while to earn some money, before moving somewhere else. We can do that together now.”

“Stalliongrad sounds good,” Applejack agreed. “But they’ll be looking for us, though.”

“We’re just two lowly soldiers, Jackie,” Flare shrugged. “They won’t be looking too hard.”

“I sure hope so…”

They talked about Stalliongrad and what to do there for a while, until a knock at the door interrupted them. It was Fluttershy, and she was relieved to find Applejack in the room.

“I was worried when I found your room empty.”

“I wanted to visit Flare,” Applejack explained, rubbing her neck. “Sorry for scaring ya like that.”

Fluttershy nodded

“That’s okay. I was going to change your bandages,” she said. “Are you ready?”

Applejack nodded, forcing herself to stand up. “Knock yourself out, doc.”

***

Applejack was nervous going out of the house for the first time. It was morning, which made it easier, since most of the batponies were asleep, but she was still on edge. She knew in her mind that no batpony would hurt her — Fluttershy had told her that a thousand times — but it was hard to overcome that irrational fear after all the stories granny had drilled into her mind.

“Are you scared?” Rainbow asked, bumping Applejack on her shoulder.

“What? ‘Course not,” Applejack snorted as if hearing a joke. “Let’s go.”

Putting on a determined expression, Applejack marched forward with confidence. Her chest still hurt a bit as she walked, but at least the weakness was mostly gone. Frankly, Applejack was surprised to be alive at all after seeing her injuries with her own eyes, so being able to walk without any help this soon was a darn miracle.

“They all live in those weird trees here,” Rainbow explained to her as they strolled through the village. “I wonder how they made them so thick.”

“Magic,” Applejack shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. Truth be told, all those trees freaked her out.

There weren’t a lot of ponies out in the street, but all of them were pegasi. They stared at her as she passed by them, as if they had never seen an earth pony before. She supposed they didn’t have her kind in Hollow Shades. No unicorns either, as far as she could see. Now that Applejack thought about it, she recalled Fluttershy mentioning that some time ago.

Applejack tried to ignore the attention, simply enjoying being out in the fresh air. She was sick of staying in the house. It was good exercise too — there wasn’t a lot of room to walk within just four walls.

“Do they have farms here or somethin’?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know. Never saw one myself.”

“Huh. I wonder what they eat.”

“Meat, probably.”

Applejack shuddered involuntarily, feeling her ears leaning down, but then forced herself to relax. She had met the Elder and while he was nothing but polite, she couldn’t help but notice his fangs when he spoke. Applejack knew they weren’t likely to eat her, but even the possibility was making her uncomfortable.

“Gotta say, it feels nice to finally stretch my legs,” Applejack said, distracting herself from her thoughts.

Together they circled the whole island where the village was located a couple of times. Usually, Applejack wouldn’t even break a sweat, but now a simple walk would leave her exhausted. As Fluttershy had explained, she had lost a lot of blood. It would take a while for her to regain her strength.

“Let’s go back now,” Applejack said. Rainbow nodded, taking the lead. She spent most of her time outside, so she knew the village like the back of her hoof now. “So, do you think they’ll let us go?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Why wouldn’t they? It’s not like they can keep me once my wing is good enough to fly.”

“Didn’t they say it’s dangerous to fly here?”

“Only if you go high. I can fly right over that swamp, no problem!”

“If you say so.”

They continued their walk in silence. Even once Applejack had left this village, there wasn’t a home for her to go back to anymore. She briefly considered asking to stay here, but it wouldn’t be fair to her family. She had to earn the money to help them — it was the least she could do after letting them down by deserting. There was no telling how much they would have to pay for her crime. Luckily, Flare had agreed to help too.

The mare herself was waiting for them outside of their treehouse, sitting by the door. Flare had been asleep when she had left. Applejack greeted her with a smile, happy to see her friend out and about after she had almost died a week ago.

“Howdy, Flare!”

“Sup.”

“Hey, guys,” Flare waved, flickering a weary smile. “Where have you been?”

“Just walkin’ around, you know?” Applejack explained, rubbing her chest as she did so. “Exercisin’ and all.”

“I see. Anyway, I’ve made some breakfast for us,” Flare said. “I hope you’ll like it — it took me a lot of effort with just my hooves. I have no idea how you two live without magic.”

Applejack shrugged. Fluttershy had strictly forbidden her to use magic for at least a month. The damage Flare had suffered hadn’t just affected her horn — she had almost fried her whole body with an overexertion of magic. If it hadn’t been for Fluttershy’s timely intervention, she would have died in a few more days.

“You unicorns should use your hooves once in a while,” Applejack pointed out. “You rely on your magic too much, if you ask me.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”

“But it’s so useful! I can do things you can’t even dream of doing with your hooves,” she said and sighed. “How am I going to play with my knives now?”

Applejack patted her friend on the shoulder. “Your magic’ll be back before ya know it, sugarcube,” she tried to console her.

“Thanks, Jackie,” Flare said, standing up grudgingly. “Let’s go eat now. I hope you like scrambled eggs. They’re probably cold already though… I was going to warm them up, but I forgot I don’t have my magic.”

“Cold breakfast? Are you kidding me?” Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration, for which Applejack shot her a glare.

“It’s alright, Flare.”

After breakfast was over, Rainbow Dash went back outside, leaving Applejack and Flare alone. Both of them were too tired to join her. Applejack sighed — she didn’t like loitering around, but there was nothing she could do in her condition. Flare was dealing with it much better.

“Wanna play cards?” she offered.

“I guess so. It’s not like we have anythin’ better to do.”

Fluttershy had provided them with a deck after Flare had complained about being bored. The cards looked unusual, but the symbols upon them were still recognizable. Applejack was surprised the locals had them at all — she guessed they had some contact with the outside world after all.

“So, I’ve been thinking,” Flare said, struggling to hoof out the cards, “Fluttershy is leaving for some quest soon, right?”

Applejack nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“I think we should offer to come with her, wherever she’s going.”

Applejack wasn’t surprised by Flare’s suggestion. She had thought about it herself ever since Fluttershy had told them about her new necklace and what it meant. It was the least she could do to repay their savior.

“Maybe,” Applejack said as she studied the cards she had gotten. They were pretty good. “Do you think this Element of hers is really a gift from the Sun Goddess herself?”

“I don’t know,” Flare shrugged, making the first move. “I never cared much about religion.”

Applejack grumbled. She, like everypony else in her family, worshiped the Sun Goddess. She wasn’t a fanatic like some ponies she knew from her village, but she was a firm believer. Without the Sun Goddess, life itself would be impossible. Who else would be raising and setting the sun every day?

“Where d’ya think she’s goin’ with it?” Applejack asked after a couple of rounds. “She mentioned some island.”

“I’ve heard there’s some big monastery dedicated to the Sun Goddess on the island south of Fillydelphia.”

“Makes sense.”

“Yeah,” Flare said, looking at Applejack. “So, are you okay with it? I know you want to earn some money for your family.”

Applejack sighed. “I do. I don’t know, Flare. I want to help, but I have a duty to my family. I’ve already let them down once. I don’t want to do it again.”

“Sorry,” Flare said, flattening her ears. “If it wasn’t for me—”

“It’s not your fault, sugarcube,” Applejack stopped her before she could blame herself any further. They played in silence for some time. “I was meaning to ask ya, Flare, but how exactly are we gonna get the money I need?”

Flare’s ears flickered down briefly and she forced a smile. “I don’t want to go back to stealing, but we do need a lot of money to help your family like you want. It’s the only choice we have.”

Applejack sighed. “I was afraid you’d say somethin’ like that. I don’t want to steal somepony else’s money, ya know?”

“Me neither, Jackie,” Flare answered. “But we can always find some bad ponies to steal from. Most of the nobles are pretty rotten.”

“I guess…”

Soon after they had finished the game — Applejack had lost — Fluttershy came to check on them and change Applejack’s bandages. The pegasus was quick and professional as always.

“How did you get so good at that?” Applejack asked as she was finishing up.

“Oh, I’m not that good,” Fluttershy answered quietly. “I’ve just had some practice. Our ponies often get hurt in the forest.”

Flare snorted. “Don’t be so modest, Flutters! I was meaning to ask you, by the way, how did you know how to help me? You don’t have any unicorns here.”

“I… I’ve read about it,” Fluttershy admitted. “My family has an old journal with all kinds of notes on medicine. It belonged to our ancestor. I think he was an army medic. Your condition was actually pretty common among the unicorns in the army while fighting their battles.”

“Huh, interesting. So you guys used to be a part of Equestria once?”

“Yes. Our founder, General Shadow, fought in the war against Nightmare Moon. That’s why the Sun Goddess gave him this.” Fluttershy pointed at her necklace. “After the war, he and some of his troops decided to settle here.”

“I’ve got to ask you about that later. Right now, though, Applejack and I want to talk to the Elder.”

“What do you want to talk about?”

Applejack and Flare exchanged glances.

“We wanted to come with you on your pilgrimage, Fluttershy,” Flare said. “It’s our way of saying thanks for saving our lives.”

Fluttershy fidgeted uncomfortably as she always did when somepony mentioned what she’d done.

“I just did what anypony would have done,” she replied meekly.

“None of that, Fluttershy!” Flare said firmly, making the mare flinch. “From what I’ve heard, your people weren’t exactly happy with that. Rainbow said the only reason we’re still here is because of that thing around your neck.”

Fluttershy glanced at her butterfly-shaped necklace, drooping her ears. “I’m sorry… My people are not bad ponies, they just don’t trust outsiders.”

“That’s why we’re thanking ya, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “And that’s why we wanna help ya. Will you accept our help?”

Fluttershy looked from the one to the other.

“If that’s what you really want, then yes,” she said and then lowered her gaze. “But I’m not sure if the Elder will agree to that.”

“Why don’t we go and talk to him then?” Flare suggested.

“Right now?”

“Yeah, why wait? Let’s go!”

“He’s probably asleep right now,” Fluttershy explained. “You’ll have to wait until the evening.”

“Oh, right. I forgot.”

The evening couldn’t have come sooner.

When Fluttershy had finally returned to say that the Elder was ready to meet them, Applejack and Flare were crawling up the walls out of boredom. Rainbow Dash had stopped by earlier to get some food, but she hadn’t stayed inside for long after Applejack had told her their idea.

“I’ll think about it, okay?” she had said, before leaving again.

The Elder’s house wasn’t far, but in Flare’s weak state it took the group a while to reach it. Rainbow Dash joined them halfway there.

Her sleek pegasus body was rippling with muscles as she pranced towards them. The mare smelled of sweat and her mane was ruffled — she had probably just finished exercising. Applejack was so enthralled with her that she didn’t realize Rainbow was saying something.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, looking away. “What were ya sayin’?”

“I know I’m awesome, but your staring was kinda creepy,” Rainbow said, giving her a flat gaze. Applejack chuckled nervously. “I said that I’ll pass.”

“What?”

“I thought about what you’ve said, and I’ll pass,” Rainbow explained. “I’ve decided to go back to Stalliongrad.”

Applejack looked at her in surprise. “Are ya sure? They’ll throw ya in jail or somethin’ for fighting the sarge. We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah, it’s a risk, but I can’t just leave like that, you know?” Rainbow said, swishing her tail in agitation. “I’m not a deserter like you two — no offense — I never wanted to leave the Militia.”

“But you are a deserter now,” Flare pointed out.

Rainbow snorted angrily. “I’m the best flier there is. Maybe they’ll give me another chance. I mean, your sergeant is not even part of the Militia! So what if I fought him? It’s no big deal!”

“Ya know as well as I do what’s gonna happen, Dash,” Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash shook her head stubbornly. “Look, I know it probably won’t end well, but I’ve got to try. Maybe the sergeant didn’t even make it to Stalliongrad. I’ll just say that I hurt my wing so I couldn’t get there sooner. I mean, it’s true.”

“Fat chance,” Flare said, earning a glare from Rainbow. “What? I’m just being realistic. It’s too late to go back now. I’m alive thanks to you, so I’m fine if you join our little band of deserters.”

“I’ll take my chances with the Militia first, thanks,” Rainbow said.

“Your funeral.”

The rest of the way to the Elder’s house was spent in intense silence. Fluttershy was waiting for them near the entrance.

“He’s waiting for you,” she said, letting them in.

Applejack nodded in response, following her into the dark insides of the treehouse. She couldn’t help but feel nervous as she could barely see her surroundings. Those damn batponies could use a lamp or two. Luckily, there was more light in the living room. It was still gloomy, but she could see the Elder’s face clearly as he sat on the sofa.

“Fluttershy has told me why you’re here,” he said instead of a greeting.

“Yeah. Flare and I want to help Fluttershy, if that’s okay with ya.”

“What about you, Rainbow Dash?” the Elder asked, looking at the mare in question. “Don’t you want to help too?”

“I’m all for helping and stuff, but I have a duty to the Militia,” Rainbow Dash explained, “I’ve wasted enough time here. I want to leave as soon as my wing is good enough to fly.”

“Fair enough. As for the rest of you, I appreciate your offer, but I have enough volunteers from my own people to help Fluttershy on her journey. Why should I choose you over them?”

“No offense, but I doubt they have our experience with the outside world,” Applejack said. “Besides, the more ponies Fluttershy has with her, the better.”

“We know more than you think, outsider,” the Elder replied. “The ponies I’m sending with Fluttershy will guide her where she needs to go. They’ve been there before. And I trust them, unlike you.”

Applejack’s ears fell. If what the Elder had said was true, there was no way she was going to convince him. Neither she nor Flare even knew where their destination was! It wasn’t the end of the world, but Applejack didn’t like feeling indebted to anypony.

“Well, we’ve tried,” Flare slumped, as if all the strength had suddenly left her.

“Is there anythin’ at all we can do to help?”

“Rainbow Dash has already told me everything I needed to know about the war,” the Elder shook his head. “It’s enough.”

Applejack couldn’t help but shoot a glare towards the mare, even though she knew it wasn’t really her fault.

“Um, if I may?” Fluttershy asked, getting everypony’s attention. “I... I think there’s a reason why they’ve survived. If the Element hadn’t started glowing when it did, you wouldn’t have let me save them.” The Elder looked uncomfortable at that admission, but Fluttershy continued. “Maybe it was the Goddess’s way of saying that she wants them to go with me.”

The Elder looked thoughtful.

“I hadn’t considered it from that perspective, my child,” he looked at Applejack and her friends appraisingly. “Maybe there’s merit in your words.”

“There is,” Fluttershy said more firmly, “What are the chances of them being here at the same time I was chosen by the Element for the first time in generations? Fate itself has brought them here.”

“Maybe so,” the Elder said. “But you would have to delay your journey until they have recovered. They’ll hardly be of use if they can barely stay on their hooves.”

“You’ve been waiting for generations. What are a few more weeks compared to that?” Flare pointed out. “Haste makes waste, as they say.”

Applejack could see that their arguments were swaying the Elder. Tartarus, even she thought there was something in Fluttershy’s words.

“I will consider what was said here,” the Elder said after some thought. “Return to your house. I will tell you my decision tomorrow.”

“Fair enough,” Applejack nodded.

Flare grunted something under her muzzle but nodded too. All four left after that and made their way through the village, which looked more alive than ever with all the batponies out and about. Applejack’s tail flicked nervously as their glowing eyes watched them from the shadows. She walked faster, despite the weakness in her limbs.

“Boy, that Elder is a dick,” Rainbow, who had been quiet for the whole conversation, suddenly stated. Turning to Fluttershy, she added, “Was he really gonna leave them to die?”

“Like ya would have survived on your own yourself,” Applejack muttered, rolling her eyes.

“The Elder doesn’t want to expose our village to the outside world,” Fluttershy said. “He just wants what’s best for us. I saw your reaction when you saw the batponies for the first time. What do you think would happen if everyone learned of our existence here?”

“I see your point,” Rainbow admitted, lowering her eyes. “Still don’t like that guy…”

***

Fluttershy came by the next morning bringing some news — the Elder had allowed them to go with her if they were able to leave in two weeks.

Applejack had mixed feelings about that. On the one hoof, she was happy to repay her debt to the mare. On the other, it would delay her from helping her family. But maybe it was fate that had brought her here. Flare thought it was a bunch of hooey, but Applejack wasn’t so hasty to dismiss that theory.

When the evening had come, Fluttershy led Applejack and Flare to another meeting with the Elder. Rainbow Dash hadn’t been invited. As the two arrived, Applejack noticed that it was much brighter in the room than the previous day. Two pegasi were waiting for them along with the Elder — Wind Chaser and Bane.

“Those two are my best scouts,” the Elder said. “They’ve been to the place Fluttershy’s going.”

Wind Chaser was a gray-coated mare with a lean build. Her orange mane was tied up in a tight bun. She looked at the newcomers coldly, barely giving them a nod as she was introduced. Her blue-coated partner with a red mane had an impassive expression on his face, so Applejack couldn’t tell what was on his mind.

“You’re going to set out in about two weeks,” the Elder said, looking at Applejack and Flare. “Fluttershy says it’s enough for you two to heal for the journey.”

Applejack nodded, glancing at Flare. Applejack was sure she would be strong enough, but Flare? She wouldn’t be able to use her magic, that much was certain. As for her physical strength… Hopefully, Fluttershy was right.

Meanwhile, the Elder had spread an old map on his table and began explaining the route. As they had guessed, their destination was the island south of Equestria called Sun Island. An ancient order of the Sun Goddess resided there, and they were supposed to know what Fluttershy needed to do with her gift. Other than that, little was known about that order. They were a secretive bunch.

The island was too far from the mainland for an average pegasus to reach it with their own wings. Not without great risk, at least. To get to the island safely, they needed to find a ship going in that direction.

“They have a constant flow of ponies coming from afar to visit the ancient monastery, so you should be able to find something without any trouble.”

The meeting went on for a few more hours, in which they had seemingly covered every detail. Applejack and Flare had given some useful suggestions to which the Elder had agreed, much to Wind Chaser’s ire. One of them would be hiding their wings under a cloak — the pegasi weren’t all that common on the ground, so a large group that wasn’t a part of the Militia was going to draw some unwanted attention.

When Applejack had gotten home, she discovered that Rainbow Dash was still awake.

“Are ya sure you don’t want to come with us?” Applejack asked.

“Yep,” Rainbow answered flatly. “Stop asking that.”

“That’s dumb, you know that?” Flare intervened. “By the time you reach Stalliongrad, it’ll have been a whole month since you left. What are you going to say to them?”

“The truth!”

“Oh, they’re going to like that,” Flare snorted. “You attacked an Equestrian soldier to save some mudcrawler and then spent a month in some dark village in a forest.”

“I would have left a long time ago if not for my wing,” Rainbow retorted, her tail flicking wildly. “A wing that I hurt saving your friend!”

Applejack immediately regretted asking the darn question as the two kept arguing back and forth.

“Tell ya what,” Applejack finally said, causing both mares to look at her. “I think your idea is dumb, but I ain’t gonna stop ya. Maybe the sergeant never made it back, who knows. The road was pretty dangerous.”

“Well, I’m going to make sure he’s not around first then!”

“Huh. What are ya gonna do if he is there?”

“I’ll think about it if that happens,” Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe I’d contact the militia anyway. Maybe I’d look for you. My wing will have healed by that time, so I’d easily be able to catch up with you. But I think I should first try the Militia.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” Flare rolled her eyes.

“I have family in Cloudsdale, have you thought about that?!” Rainbow yelled. “If the Militia thinks I’m some kind of traitor, there’s no way I’ll be able to go back there. You know how that feels, Applejack.”

“I… hadn’t thought of it that way,” Flare admitted, drooping her ears. “Could have saved me a lot of time if you’d just said that first.”

“I thought it was obvious!”

Applejack stood between them before they could start arguing again. “Knock it off, both of ya.” She looked at Rainbow apologetically. “I’m sorry for pesterin’ ya like that. If there’s a chance ya can set things right with the Militia, of course ya should take it. Sorry for gettin’ you involved.”

Rainbow snorted angrily but shook her head. “I told you I don’t blame you. But thanks, I guess.”

***

The next few days passed by in a blur. Every day was a similar routine for Applejack — she woke up, ate some breakfast, did some exercises and then explored the village with Flare. She didn’t see a lot of batponies during the day, which was just fine by her.

The rest of the inhabitants, however, weren’t making her feel at home, either. They weren’t openly hostile towards her, but they sure stared a lot at first until they had gotten used to them — She and Flare were the only ponies in Hollow Shades without wings.

“I walked ‘round your village, but I’ve never seen any farms,” Applejack mentioned to Fluttershy once. “Where do ya get all the vegetables?”

“Oh, we do have farms,” Fluttershy answered. “We can’t feed everypony by hunting, and there’s only so much you can gather in the wild.”

Applejack frowned at the word hunting, but it wasn’t surprising given her earlier suspicions about the batponies’ diet. It was a disturbing concept, though. Ponies eating meat just didn’t seem natural to her. She was wise enough to keep her mouth shut, though.

“I couldn’t find anythin’,” Applejack said instead. “Are they outside, I guess?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy nodded. “There’s not enough room on this island to do farming. You used to be a farmer yourself, right?”

Applejack smiled, “I did, indeed.” Her smile fell a little. “It was a simpler life. Anyway, how do you grow your crops?”

The two spent a good while discussing the differences in their farming methods. To Applejack’s astonishment, they had no big fields of crops, stretching far and wide. It would have been impossible to do so in a forest while remaining hidden from the air, as Fluttershy had explained. Instead, the batponies had cultivated some wild fruit-bearing trees, creating something like a big orchard indistinguishable from the forest around it.

“Makes sense, I guess,” Applejack said, but then frowned. “But wouldn’t your whole village be visible from the air?”

“The fumes from the swamp keep us hidden,” Fluttershy said. “Haven’t you noticed the fog overhead?”

“Oh.” Now that Fluttershy had pointed it out, Applejack realized she hadn’t seen the sun even once here. She had assumed it to be due to bad weather. “Anyway, could I see your… farm?”

“It would take hours to cross the swamp…” Fluttershy argued.

“I could use some legwork,” Applejack shrugged.

It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to fold. Applejack offered Flare to go too, but the mare refused, calling Applejack crazy, so they left without her. A couple of pegasi that were always around Fluttershy when she was meeting with Applejack and her friends followed them.

Crossing the swamp was harder than Applejack had imagined. But it had been even harder for the ponies who had carried her through here when she had been on the verge of death, and if they had done it, then so would she. As Fluttershy had predicted, it took them about an hour to get to the other side, and then some time to circle the swamp to reach the farms.

“Here we are,” Fluttershy proudly announced.

Applejack looked at her in surprise and then took a longer look around. The trees here were different from all the rest. They were smaller in size, but they bore no fruit. It wasn’t surprising, considering what season it was — everything had been harvested long ago. Fluttershy confirmed her guess.

Throughout the tour, Fluttershy had shown her where they grew more common cultures like potatoes and tomatoes at small clearings amidst the trees. Applejack didn’t think it was all that effective, but Fluttershy had assured her that they grew enough to feed the entire village through winter. She hadn’t mentioned it explicitly, but Applejack reckoned that having most of their population be predators helped with that.

“Are farms different in your lands then?” one of the pegasi escorting Fluttershy asked for the first time since Applejack had met him.

“You could say that,” she nodded.

Applejack then told him about her village and especially her family’s orchard. Her mood plummeted as she remembered her family situation — they were likely to lose all the money they had collected for buying the ownership of the orchard because of her. Only Fluttershy seemed to notice her distress.

“What’s wrong, Applejack?”

Applejack briefly considered lying, but what was the point? She sighed and explained to them who actually owned their land, and how she had failed her family.

“I don’t regret helping Flare, don’t take me wrong, but I wish things had turned out differently.”

“Somepony else makes you give them your harvest?” the pegasus asked in shock. “But that’s so unfair!”

Applejack chuckled. “My sister thought so too,” she said. “I mean, yeah, it’s true. But our village is lucky compared to others. We don’t have to give as much.”

“The Elder is right to hide us from you outsiders,” the pegasus said, shaking his head.

Applejack had no answer to that.

Soon it was time to go back.

“It’s mighty impressive considering ya don’t have no earth ponies,” Applejack said. “Thank ya for showing me this.”

Fluttershy smiled. “You’re welcome.”

***

By the end of the two weeks, Applejack and Flare were ready for the journey. Flare was able to move around freely, even though using magic was still beyond her grasp, while Applejack was close to regaining the strength she’d had before her injury. Fluttershy was surprised at her speedy recovery, which showed she had little experience with earth ponies.

Tomorrow was the day.

“I’m going with you tomorrow,” Rainbow Dash announced at breakfast. “No point in traveling alone.”

“Are you still sure about going to Stalliongrad?”

“I am.”

“Just askin’.”

Applejack didn’t want her to take that stupid risk, but she understood why she wanted to. As it was, either of them would be apprehended and likely executed if the authorities found them. Neither of them would be able to get back to their families without great risk. If there was a chance Applejack could have avoided becoming a deserter, she would have taken it too. Of course, if the sergeant had made it back and reported them, that chance was rather slim. But if he hadn’t…

“How about this — Flare and I go to the city with ya to see if the sarge is around.”

“We what?” Flare asked in surprise, looking up from her plate.

“I need to be sure if the sarge has made it there,” Applejack explained. “I’ll sleep better at night knowing for sure.”

“Does that mean you’ll leave me if he hasn’t reported you?” Flare asked, drooping her ears.

“No,” Applejack shook her head. “I don’t want to go back to the army. If the sarge didn’t make it, I’d be assumed dead, so my family would be fine, but I would still need the money to help them. I’m staying with you either way.”

“Oh, good,” Flare relaxed. “But how are you going to explain our detour to the others?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“You can go with me if you want,” Rainbow shrugged. “Just don’t try to stop me.”

The rest of the day went into the final preparations for the journey.

By the early evening, the whole village, including Applejack and her friends, had gathered in the little square in front of the Elder’s house to send Fluttershy and her escorts off. Applejack stood with her friends near Wind Chaser and Bane as the Elder addressed the crowd of batponies and pegasi alike.

As soon as he had finished, the celebration started.

Applejack observed it without getting involved — the villagers kept their distance from her little circle of friends. She tried to not let it get to her. At least Fluttershy herself showed up to chat from time to time. Applejack appreciated the effort.

As it turned out, the ponies of Hollow Shade knew how to sing and dance. It somewhat reminded Applejack of a fair in her village, until she saw the roasted boar they had brought in as the main course. The strong smell of meat had made her queasy, so Applejack and her friends finally decided to head home to get some much-needed rest for tomorrow’s big day. It wasn’t like anypony would miss them.

“I don’t understand what’s the big deal with meat,” Rainbow shrugged. “Why do you hate it so much?”

Both Applejack and Flare looked at Rainbow in confusion.

“Um, we’re ponies,” Flare said slowly as if talking to an idiot. “We don’t eat meat.”

It was Rainbow’s turn to look confused. “Really? Never?”

“‘Course not,” Applejack said, eying the pegasus suspiciously. “Do you?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, not normally. It’s unhealthy to eat it too much. But once in a while? Sure.” Rainbow stopped, noticing her friends’ weird looks. “What?”

“Nothin’,” Applejack said, looking away. “Pegasi are weird…”

Applejack was awake bright and early in the morning. Her saddlebags had been prepared in advance, so all she had to do was put them on, and she was ready to go. After waking up the others and having a short breakfast, they went to the Elder’s house where they were supposed to meet the others.

Applejack was excited to finally be leaving after being stuck in this place for weeks. She had spent half of that time cooped up in the house doing nothing but thinking about things, most of which had been depressing. At least back in her village she’d always had something to do to keep her mind from wandering.

The Elder was already waiting for them.

Fluttershy arrived a few minutes later. The last ponies to arrive were Wind Chaser and Bane. Wind Chaser gave Applejack and the rest a cold nod before addressing the Elder. “We’re ready to go, Elder.”

“Let’s go then,” the Elder agreed.

Everypony was silent as he led the group to the edge of the village, stopping where the swamp began. That was as far as he went. After giving some last-minute encouragements to Fluttershy, he simply turned around and left.

Rainbow Dash flipped her tail impatiently.

“Well, what are we waiting for?”

Wind Chaser snorted in contempt but didn’t say anything as she walked forward, taking the lead. The rest followed her.

Their journey had begun.

Chapter XXIII - Tricky Business

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Rarity woke up feeling dirty.

Judging by the dim sliver of light from the draped window, it was early dawn. Rarity glanced around the room, noting with relief that everypony was still asleep. She would be mortified for them to see her drenched with sweat after the amorous night on her once pristine coat.

Rarity had been too exhausted to bother with a proper bath before bed. The cottage’s water system was in desperate need of repairs, so the water would have to be heated up the old-fashioned way. She did at least wash her nethers. A shudder went through the mare’s body as she remembered the icey cold touch of water in her most sensitive place, but it was better than sharing a bed with her innocent sister while her pussy was dripping stallion gunk.

Wincing at the unwelcome mental image, Rarity slipped off the bed, hoping to sneak out again without waking anypony, but luck wasn’t on her side today.

“Good morning, Lady Rarity,” Lotus greeted her from behind. Rarity sharply turned to see Lotus getting up with a mighty yawn. “Do you need anything?”

Rarity forced a polite smile, giving her maid a nod.

“Prepare me a bath, please,” she said. No point in doing it herself after being exposed.

“Right away, Lady...” Lotus began and stumbled when she finally got a good look at her mistress. “...Rarity.”

An intense blush covered her face and she hurried out without speaking another word. Rarity rolled her eyes, following her maid a more leisurely pace. Lotus hasn’t worked for her long enough yet to get comfortable with Rarity’s lifestyle.

An hour and a lot of labor later, Rarity admired herself in the mirror. Her white coat was sparklingly clean and her purple curls were bouncing up and down as she walked. Unfortunately, all of her perfume had been left back at her cottage, but after spending days in the dusty caves, Rarity was content with a simple shampoo. After a few finishing strokes against her fur, Lotus put the brush down.

“All done, Lady Rarity,” she announced, beaming with pride.

“Thank you, darling.”

Rarity turned sideways, examining her sides. The maid did a great job. She could almost forget what had happened in these last few days.

“You must be starving now,” Rarity said, glancing at Lotus. “Let’s go get us some breakfast.”

Lotus nodded happily and the two walked to the kitchen. The house was just waking up. Rarity exchanged greetings with Heavy Steps and Night Light along the way, but neither was the pony she was looking for.

He wasn’t in the kitchen either.

Rarity scrunched her muzzle upon entering. Even now she could smell sex in the room, though it wasn’t that surprising since it had happened mere hours ago. Judging by Lotus’s flaring nostrils and lowered ears, she noticed the smell too. Rarity gave her a wink and the mare blushed as on cue. Rarity snorted.

Twilight Velvet turned to them from the kitchen table where she was chopping some vegetables.

“Good morning, girls. Breakfast is not ready yet, but I would appreciate the help.”

“Oh, I’m sure you don’t want me anywhere near the stove,” Rarity said, putting her hoof to her chest. “I’m a terrible cook.”

Velvet frowned slightly, but Lotus stepped forward.

“I’ll be happy to help you, Miss Velvet,” she said.

Rarity quickly left the two alone, wondering if Lotus was going to gossip about her activities with Velvet. She didn’t really mind – as long as they didn’t involve Midnight, of course – but she would likely have to endure a lecture from Velvet in that case. The mare did not seem to have the highest opinion on Rarity as it was.

Probably because of the way her husband and son were glancing at her sometimes. But that wasn’t her fault, now was it?

Unsurprisingly, Rarity found Midnight in the living room poring over Twilight’s favorite book. The mare herself was nowhere to be seen. Midnight was too engaged to notice Rarity until she loomed over him and cleared her throat a couple of times.

“Oh, Rarity. Hi.”

“Hello, darling,” Rarity nodded in greeting, noticing his sullen voice. “How was your sleep?”

“I barely slept at all,” he answered, looking away as his ears fell. “Was thinking about what happened. I think it was a mistake.”

“Why would you think so?” Rarity asked, frowning.

“It just feels wrong, doing it with someone you don’t love...”

Rarity wasn’t surprised by his answer. She suspected Midnight was the type to feel that way and, if she wasn’t in heat, she wouldn’t have seduced him. Although now that her thoughts weren’t affected by hormones so much, she remembered about all the other available stallions in the house – her rescued guards, Heavy Steps, Twilight’s brother… Rarity was sure she could have wooed any of them if she wanted, but she chose Midnight instead.

She had a thing for teasing ponies and Midnight was such a good target. Maybe combined with her heat it caused her to get carried away… But Rarity wasn’t about to admit it to Midnight when his self-esteem was at the bottom of the ocean already.

“There is nothing wrong with two consenting adults having a good time with each other,” Rarity said instead.

“I guess,” Midnight shrugged, “But I would still prefer someone I love.” He leaned closer to Rarity, lowering his voice to a whisper, “You know who I mean.”

“Indeed,” Rarity nodded with a smile, but then turned serious. “If you want it to go somewhere though, you should tell her.”

“I thought about that, but I don’t think it’s a good idea right now with all that’s going on.”

“I disagree,” Rarity said. “I think it’s better to not have regrets if something bad does happen. You need to act before it’s too late. At least talk about it with her to decide what to do together.”

At that moment Twilight walked into the room and the two fell silent. Midnight eyed her nervously. Luckily, Twilight didn’t seem to notice the abrupt end of their conversation. After exchanging greetings, Rarity left the two alone.

“Please consider what we’ve discussed, Midnight,” she said trotting out of the room.

***

“What do you think of the book?” Twilight asked, noticing the open tome on the couch as she approached.

“It’s great just like you said,” Midnight answered, staring at her intently.

Twilight levitated the book aside and climbed on the couch in its place. She turned her head to Midnight who kept looking at her. Was there something on her coat? Twilight glanced at her chest, but it was the same smooth fur as always.

“What?” She asked Midnight, slightly annoyed.

“Nothing,” he said, finally looking away. Twilight shrugged and levitated the book in front of her eyes, quickly turning the pages until she had found the one she had stopped at. She couldn’t wait to—

“Twilight,” Midnight interrupted her thoughts. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Talk then,” Twilight said, flicking her tail at that delay.

“I like you.”

Twilight lowered the book to stare at the stallion.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” Midnight said, not averting his gaze. “I… I love you.”

Twilight opened her mouth in shock.

She wasn’t expecting that. Although now that she thought about what had happened with that factor in mind, Midnight’s actions made more sense. He had always been friendly to her at the Academy and he had agreed to help when she had showed up being accused of attempted murder. He had even chosen to risk his life in the caves with her…

And she hadn’t realized that until now. “Oh. I see.”

Midnight’s face fell and Twilight realized her mistake. She wasn’t experienced at romance stuff, but her neutral answer probably wasn’t something a pony wanted to hear after such an admission. She imagined her professor reacting that way after she had explained the solution of a particularly hard magical problem, and she winced.

“Sorry, I mean, you… How do you know?”

Midnight creased his eyebrows in confusion.

“I guess I’ve always known that.” After that, an uncomfortable silence lasted for a whole minute before Midnight continued, “So…”

“Yeah?”

“What are we going to do about that?” Midnight asked, staring at the floor and dropping his ears as if afraid of her answer. “Do… do you even like me that way? Or at all?”

Twilight chewed her lower lip as she thought of what to say. “Of course I like you, at least as a friend, but romantically? I don’t know.” Midnight’s ears fell flat on his head, but Twilight continued. “I mean, I never really thought about relationships, especially in these last few months. I don’t even know how it all works!”

“So is that a no?” Midnight said in an emotionless voice.

“No! Ugh! I mean no to what you just said!” Twilight stopped and took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m willing to find out. If I like you as more than a friend or not, I mean.”

“Really?” Midnight asked with new hope in his voice.

“Of course,” Twilight assured him, raising the tips of her mouth in the barest a smile. “But I think we should wait until after we’ve dealt with Everlight, you know? I don’t think now is a good time for dating.”

Midnight didn’t look happy at Twilight’s words, but at least he didn’t seem as devastated as before.

“Well, I guess that’s reasonable…”

“Thank you for understanding,” Twilight smiled, embracing Midnight in a sudden hug. He returned it a moment later, squeezing her tightly. “Not so tight!”

“Sorry,” Midnight chuckled, stepping back.

“It’s fine,” Twilight said. “Once this whole mess is over, I’d be more than happy to have a date with you and maybe take our relationship to the next level, but for now let’s just be friends. Is that okay with you?”

Midnight nodded.

“Well, now that that’s settled, can we talk about the book?” Twilight sat back on the couch, inviting Midnight to join her. “I’m dying to know what you thought about the Nightmare War, if you got to that part.”

“Well, it sure is different from what the official history says, but it does make more sense...”

***

Rarity was heading off to the post office for the second time in the last couple of days, expecting it to have the answer to the letter she had sent a day before to her father. She’d had to spend most of her remaining bits to pay for a pegasus courier, and her father would undoubtedly do the same.

In Rarity’s opinion, such urgency was justified.

Silver Armor, one of her guards, was accompanying her on her trip today, despite his minor but numerous injuries. Unbeknownst to him, Pinkie Pie was trailing them at some distance. The truth was, Rarity and the others doubted the guards’ loyalty. After all, they were basically mercenaries, and Rarity was working with Twilight, a wanted criminal with a big price on her head.

Rarity had talked with them, of course, explaining that the mare was innocent, and they had agreed to keep quiet for a sizable bonus to their payment, but as a precaution it had been decided to watch them every time they left the house.

Unlike his charge, Silver was wearing no disguise. He was a simple guard, and the last pony who was able to recognize him was feeding the rodents in the dark alleys all over the city.

Though days had passed since Pinkie had killed the last kidnapper, the memory was still vivid in Rarity’s mind. She felt her coat standing on its end every time Pinkie approached with her unnatural smile. What was worse – the pink mare seemed to enjoy causing that.

Finally, Rarity and her guard had reached the post office. After walking inside and introducing herself under her alias, Rarity was given the letter waiting for her. It was from Sullen Hill, but Rarity knew it as one of her father’s fake names.

Rarity suppressed her desire to read it right away, not wishing to linger at the office for longer than necessary. Putting the letter in her saddlebag, she bid her farewell and headed back to Lucky’s cottage. Still, Rarity was too impatient to wait even that long, so once she saw a nice quiet cafe, she immediately dove inside, claiming a secluded table by the window.

Having ordered Silver and herself a cup of tea with some snacks, Rarity levitated the letter in front of her eyes and finally began to read.

It was mostly what she had expected.

Her mom and dad were happy their daughters were safe and furious at what Everlight had tried to do. He also wrote that this had only proven the necessity for Rarity and her sister to remain hidden. Their own manor, though heavily guarded, was not safe from Everlight, whose assassins had managed to infiltrate the royal palace itself. He was sending two of his personal, trusted guards in addition to Silver and Blazing to find a new place for them to stay in Canterlot. He hadn’t mentioned it specifically, but Rarity still felt guilty for ruining that strategy the last time.

At least Sweetie Belle was unharmed, otherwise Rarity wouldn’t know how to live with herself.

Sighing, Rarity kept reading. The letter advised Twilight and her company to go to Birminghoof as soon as possible. Lord Belle would provide a safe place for them to stay as well as his assistance in dealing with Everlight. A check for a sum of bits for the necessary expenses was attached to the end of the letter.

Finishing the letter, Rarity tucked it away and glanced at Silver Shield, but he was silent as usual, watching the cafe for possible threats. He had barely even touched his tea. He had shown no signs of a possible betrayal so far. Relaxing slightly, Rarity contemplated what she had read as she sipped the surprisingly good tea from her cup.

Cashing the check wouldn’t be a problem. Rarity didn’t even have to go in person – anypony could go in her stead. The real issue was her father’s expectation for her to stay in Canterlot.

That prospect didn’t sit well with her.

Well, her father hadn’t ordered it specifically, so technically she wasn’t disobeying. She was going to leave Sweetie Belle, her maids and the guards here and go with the rest to Birminghoof. It wasn’t like she had been able to protect her sister the last time… she had made it worse even. Rarity’s ears flickered down briefly before a determined expression settled on her face.

She’d be of better use in Birminghoof, working against Everlight directly. Her father may not approve, but the future head of the House would not hide in some hole while the others did all the work for them!

Rarity got up sharply, starting her guard, paid for their tea and trotted away, trying not to think of the dangers her decision was putting herself in.

***

Later that evening, Twilight and her allies had gathered in the dining room to discuss their strategy.

Twilight felt a little bad for locking Lucky in his own room, but they couldn’t risk him eavesdropping on their plans. Sweetie Belle and the maids weren’t present either, and neither were Rarity’s guards, who had been ordered to watch the house’s surroundings.

As the last pony settled, Twilight cleared her throat.

“As you probably know, Rarity’s father is the head of the powerful House Belle,” Twilight began, receiving some nods and grunts of agreement, “He is also Everlight’s enemy and therefore one of our most important allies. He was reluctant to help us directly, but after learning more about our plan and our success in finding the Alicorn Amulet, he offered to provide a safe place for us in Birminghoof, as well as his assistance in overthrowing Everlight. I intend to accept his offer, but I can’t make decisions for the rest of you. What do you all think, everypony?”

“I think we shouldn’t trust another noble with this,” Pinkie said in a surprisingly solemn voice, glancing at Rarity. “I know plenty of places in Birminghoof for us to hide. This Lord Belle just wants to use us and then get the power for himself. That’s how they work.”

Rarity’s face darkened and she opened her mouth to retort, but Twilight raised her hoof. “Even if that were true, somepony would have to take over after Everlight is dealt with. From what I know of him, Lord Belle would be a much better choice than, say, Prince Blueblood.”

Pinkie narrowed her eyes but then nodded reluctantly.

“I can see your point, I guess. I’ve been wrong about nobles before…”

“It’s in his interests to help us now, but we should not trust him blindly,” Shining Armor noted, ignoring Rarity’s hot glare. “I’ve dealt with plenty of nobleponies in Canterlot as a guard. A bunch of snakes… Most of them wouldn’t hesitate to betray their own mother for their own benefit.”

“My father always keeps his promises,” Rarity retorted with an angry huff. “The nobles who break them would lose all trust among their peers. They would never grow powerful.”

“Not if they keep it a secret,” Shining Armor answered calmly. Rarity turned away with a snort.

“I promise that we’ll be careful,” Twilight said, “But Lord Belle has the means to help us. Even with the Amulet, I can’t just barge into the Royal Palace and cut my way through the guard, looking for Everlight. I don’t want their blood on my hooves. We need to plan out our actions carefully.”

The meeting continued for some time.

A lot of ponies, including Twilight’s parents, were reluctant to trust Lord Belle, but in the end Twilight had managed to convinced them that it was necessary. Even Pinkie Pie had agreed that his help would increase their chances.

“So, when are we leaving Canterlot?” Midnight asked.

“I think we should leave tomorrow,” Twilight answered, eager to finally test the Amulet properly. There would be plenty of time for that on the road. “I’m sick of this place.”

“You’re not the only one,” Rarity muttered.

“I hope you have a plan to get us past the gate guards,” Shining Armor frowned. “Our disguises won’t stand a chance against their examination. And I’d prefer not to fight my former comrades if it can be avoided.”

“Remember when I told you about teleportation?” Twilight asked, smiling when Shining’s eyes widened with understanding. “My horn is feeling much better, so I think I can pull it off with the whole group at once.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Velvet asked in concern. “I don’t want you to overstretch yourself again. You know how dangerous it can be...”

“It won’t happen this time, mom,” Twilight assured her. “I know my limits well by now.” She rubbed her horn slightly as she said that. “Besides, I was being distracted by the diamond dogs trying to eat me when it happened.”

Velvet didn’t look entirely convinced by her argument. “Well, let’s hope no one else will try to eat you again…”

“So, is everypony in favor of this plan?”

“This teleportation spell… Is it hard to learn?” Shining Armor asked instead.

“Well, it’s pretty complicated. Why?”

“I want to learn it so I could help you get us out,” the stallion said. “You don’t have to do it all alone. I think Midnight should learn it too. He was in your group in the Academy, right? He must be a capable one.”

A slight frown appeared on Twilight’s face. “That’s a good idea, but it would take weeks for you to learn it. I don’t want to stay here that long.”

“I see,” Shining nodded, disappointed. “Still, I think it would be a useful spell to know. Can you at least start teaching it?”

“Sure, I can explain the basics to you after this meeting.”

“Can I join too?” Heavy Steps, who’d barely talked so far, asked.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, considering his request. She still hadn’t quite gotten over the fact that this stallion had been the one who had put her in a cell despite her pleas. She’d had to endure a day of torture she would never forget at the hooves of Everlight’s stooges. If Blueblood hadn’t broken her out…

Pinkie Pie had also mentioned Heavy Steps’ original intentions towards her, so Twilight couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Even though the ex-guard claimed he was on Twilight’s side now, he could simply be biding his time… What if he teleported to her while she was sleeping to exact some misguided revenge for “poisoning the king”?

You’re getting paranoid, Twilight, she told herself. I’m sure he just wants to do his part.

“Okay,” she said out loud, keeping her voice neutral.

She noticed that Shining Armor was watching the stallion intently, likely judging his intentions as well. Twilight had told Shining all she knew about Heavy. It made her feel a bit better knowing her big brother was watching her back.

“So, who’s going with us to Birminghoof?” Pinkie asked suddenly.

“Sweetie Belle, the maids and Rarity’s guards are staying, but everypony else is coming with us.”

“That’s still a lotta ponies,” Pinkie said, shaking her head. “What would you think if you saw a bunch of dangerous-looking ponies on the road? They’re gonna think we’re some bandits!”

“We look nothing like bandits.” Rarity scrunched her muzzle. “If anything, they’d assume we’re a group of mercenaries.”

“They may still report us to the local guard.”

“She’s got a point,” Heavy Steps agreed. “Ponies in the country are nervous. We don’t need that risk.”

Twilight sighed.

“Fine. What do you propose then, Pinkie?”

“I dunno,” the pink mare shrugged with a grin. “I’m good at finding plotholes, not at solving them.”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Anypony else? Any ideas?”

“I suggest we leave all the civilians behind,” Heavy Steps offered, waving his foreleg at Twilight’s parents. “If we run into trouble, protecting them would be a liability.”

“What?! There’s no way I’m letting Twilight go alone into that vile city again!” Velvet exclaimed, throwing daggers at the stallion with her eyes. Night Light nodded silently in support. “We can take care of ourselves, you know.”

Twilight, on the other hoof, wasn’t so quick to dismiss his proposal. She’d never really wanted to take her parents to Birminghoof, where they’d likely be in more danger than here, and had just been thinking about how to bring it up to them. This presented the perfect opportunity.

“Sorry, mom, dad, but I think he’s right,” Twilight said and the two looked at her in disbelief. “Rarity, is it okay if they stay with your sister?”

“Of course, darling,” Rarity answered immediately. “I’m sure she’d be delighted to have some more company.”

“That’s settled then.”

Twilight’s parents weren’t too happy at that settlement and turned to Shining Armor for support, but he was on Twilight’s side. “Sorry, but you’d really be safer that way.”

They had no choice but to fold under the united front of both of their children.

“What about me?” Spike suddenly asked.

Everypony looked at the corner of the room where he’d been sitting quietly for the whole meeting, surprised. Twilight had forgotten he was even here and, judging by the other’s reactions, she hadn’t been alone in that.

“You can stay with mom and dad,” Twilight said. “I’m sure they won’t mind.”

Mom and dad looked like they very much would, but before they could say anything, Spike continued.

“Can I go to Birminghoof instead? I can help with whatever you’re planning.”

“How?”

“I’m magic resistant and fireproof,” Spike said, spitting a little ball of fire in the air. “And my flame can melt stone.”

“It does sound useful,” Pinkie rubbed her chin, looking at Spike with interest.

“Okay, you’re coming with us then,” Twilight decided. He could easily be hidden in a saddlebag anyway.

Velvet and Night Light sighed in relief.

“Even with fewer ponies, we would still get unwanted attention as a group,” Shining Armor pointed out.

“Then that’s a risk we’re going to take,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I think we—”

Before Twilight finished, the door opened and Silver Armor walked in. Twilight closed her mouth, looking at the guard quizzically.

“We have potential trouble,” he announced calmly, causing everyone to tense up, expecting the worst. “A big wagon pulled by a blue mare has stopped in front of the house. She doesn’t look like a guard, so I would guess she came for Lucky.”

“Are you sure she’s not with the guard?” Night Light asked sharply. “Maybe that’s a prison wagon for us!”

“The guard wouldn’t have been so obvious about it, dad,” Shining objected. “But we should still prepare for the possibility. Mom, dad, Lady Rarity, I suggest you all go to your rooms and prepare your things in case we need to leave quickly. Pinkie and Spike, do whatever, but don’t get in our way. Everypony else, follow me.”

His words put everyone into a frenzy of activity. Twilight caught sight of Pinkie slipping out of the window as she followed her brother to the foyer. Midnight, Heavy Steps and Silver were walking by her side as they approached the front door.

Holding her breath, Twilight peered out of the small window.

There was indeed a wagon standing in front of their cottage, but it didn’t look military. It looked like one of those caravan wagons the circus ponies used to travel. Twilight had seen one years ago when her parents had taken her to a show. This one was colored purple and had signs of wear and tear. One small window on the side had its shuts closed.

Nopony was in sight.

“Where is she?” Twilight asked, eyeing the wagon nervously.

“No idea,” Silver answered. “Maybe she went inside.”

“Right,” Twilight said, taking a few deep breaths. “It makes sense. But what should we do about her? Why is she visiting Lucky?”

“Ponies like him don’t have a mare like that as a friend,” Silver commented, watching the outside through another window. “She could be a relative though. They do look similar.”

Twilight frowned in concern. Relative or not, their little band was in danger of being discovered by that mare. How would she react if she saw a whole bunch of unfamiliar ponies here? Badly, if Twilight had to guess. They couldn’t let that happen. Twilight gulped, looking at her brother, and was slightly assured by his calm expression.

“Get Lucky here, Silver,” he ordered curtly, addressing Silver. “We’ll ask him directly.”

Rarity’s guard nodded and disappeared back into the living room.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Twi?” Midnight asked after a few minutes of silence. After she looked at him in confusion, he elaborated, “Your disguise.”

Twilight widened her eyes slightly. She had completely forgotten they were still keeping her identity a secret from Lucky. Judging by Shining and Heavy’s sheepish expressions, they had forgotten it as well.

“Thanks for the reminder,” Twilight smiled at her friend.

She hastily cast a color spell on herself, making her fur turn light blue and then tied her mane in a bun. It was good being able to use magic again. With her disguise done, Twilight relaxed and glanced out of the window again.

The mare in the wagon was yet to make a move. Twilight hoped she would just leave, whoever she was, and save them the trouble, but she knew it was foolish to rely on that. Although as Twilight gazed upon her wagon, a stray idea entered her head.

A wagon would be a good way for them to travel. Not only would it hide most of her group from prying eyes in need, they could also load it with supplies to avoid stopping in the settlements along the way. With all the things they had to carry, there was precious little place for food in their saddlebags.

“Got an idea?”

“Yes!” Twilight beamed at Shining and hastily shared her thoughts with her companions.

Just as she was finishing, Silver returned with Lucky in tow. The stallion glared at Twilight, and the mare looked away in shame. Though they had paid him quite a lot, Twilight still felt guilty about taking over his house like that, even if Lucky was an unpleasant drunk.

“Do you know who that belongs to?” Shining asked, pointing at the window.

“That’s my bitch of a daughter!” Lucky answered without even bothering to take a look. “I saw her goddamn wagon from my room. The nerve this girl has to come here...”

Fuming, the stallion moved toward the exit, but Shining Armor blocked his way.

“Where do you think you’re going, old guy?”

“I’ll tell her to fuck off!”

Shining Armor gazed at him, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Twilight could guess his thoughts – she didn’t trust the stallion either. He needed to be supervised.

Twilight took another deep breath to calm her nerves. “I’m coming with you.”

“I can come instead,” Midnight offered.

“A mare would be less suspicious,” Twilight argued. “She’d just assume I’m his housemaid or something.”

Lucky snorted, making Midnight glare at him.

“Good thinking, eh… Dawn,” Shining Armor said, stumbling on her fake name. “If there’s trouble, just wave.” Then he looked at Lucky. “And you’d better keep quiet about the rest of us if you know what’s good for you.”

Lucky grumbled something unkind but nodded in acceptance. Twilight gestured for Lucky to move. Together the two left the cottage and approached the wagon. When they had gotten close, its door finally opened, and a blue unicorn mare in a coned hat stepped out with an unfriendly sneer on her face.

“I told you to stay away from my house,” Lucky snarled. “Get the Tartarus away from here.”

“Well, I’m not in your house,” the mare answered, rolling her eyes. “I can stay here as long as I want.”

“We’ll see about that!” Lucky said, stomping his hoof angrily as his horn glowed.

His daughter’s horn lit up in return, and the two glared at each other, daring the opponent to make the first move. Twilight winced, already regretting coming here. A public fight was the last thing they needed. As a guard, Shining was trained to deal with conflicts, but Twilight had no idea what to do.

“Stop it!” Twilight ordered in her best attempt at a commanding voice, but the two just glared at her angrily.

“Who’s this harlot?” the blue mare asked, looking back at her father. “She’s far too pretty to be your marefriend, you old goat.”

“How dare you!” Lucky exclaimed while Twilight frowned.

“I’m his housemaid,” Twilight said sharply. “I’m not a harlot.”

“Well, you must be pretty desperate to work for him,” Lucky’s daughter glanced at Twilight with pity. “I can’t imagine he’s paying you well.”

“It’s none of your damn business,” Lucky growled. “Leave before I burn your stupid wagon.”

“Over my dead body!”

As they exchanged threats and insults, Twilight stepped back. Lucky’s strategy to make the mare leave wasn’t working, that much was clear. Even worse, the whole situation had already begun to attract some unwanted attention from passer-by.

Twilight had to take action before this escalated any further.

“I said stop it,” Twilight repeated firmly, grabbing both ponies in her magic and giving them a hard shake. Furrowing her brows, Twilight thrust her hoof at the blue mare, making her flinch. “You. Why are you here?”

“Put me down this instant!”

Sighing, Twilight levitated them inside the wagon and a moment later followed them, closing the door behind them. The feat of levitating the two grown ponies had barely caused her any hornache. Releasing her grip on the ponies, Twilight repeated her question.

“Trixie’s here to take what’s hers,” the mare answered almost regally.

“I’ll give you nothing, you little brat,” Lucky said, causing another round of insults, but Twilight’s horn flashed brightly, stopping them mid-word. They eyed her cautiously.

“What exactly do you need?”

“Trixie needs her ancestor’s journal to find the Alicorn Amulet,” she said. Twilight assumed that by Trixie she had meant herself.

“I already gave the journal to her,” Lucky revealed with a smirk, pointing his hoof at Twilight. Twilight winced, and Lucky seemed to have realized his slip. “I mean—”

“What? You gave my journal to a maid?!” Trixie stared at Twilight in a mix of anger and confusion. “Why?!”

“No! Lucky is just kidding,” Twilight denied the accusation with a wide smile. “Right, Lucky?”

“Oh, yeah,” the older stallion quickly bobbed his head, but Trixie looked far from convinced. She lit up her horn, glaring at Twilight in rage.

“Trixie demands her journal back or there will be consequences!”

Twilight considered simply giving her the thing – it was useless to her now anyway – but then she thought of a better idea. Enveloping her horn with her magic, Twilight easily extinguished Trixie’s weaker magic with brute force before addressing the mare.

“What if I offer you a deal instead?”

Trixie’s horn flared in struggle, but Twilight kept her from forming any spells.

“Stop doing that!”

“Not until you’re willing to listen.”

Trixie growled angrily but stopped her futile struggle, nonetheless. If looks could burn, Twilight would be a pile of ash right now. Twilight tried to ignore it, focusing on her next words.

“I’ll give you the journal in exchange for your wagon.”

“I’d never give up my wagon!”

“Then just give me and a couple of my friends a ride to Birminghoof,” Twilight quickly conceded.

Trixie huffed angrily but didn’t say anything as she considered Twilight’s offer.

“Well, I suppose I could do that, if that’s what you want…” Trixie said slowly, “But don’t expect me to pull it all the way. You or your friends would have to take turns. And I want the journal right now.”

Twilight smirked. “Do you take me for a fool? I’ll give you the journal only once we get to the city.”

“Fine,” Trixie said, pursing her lips tightly. “But I’d also need some bits.”

“Do you want that journal or not?”

Twilight imagined she could hear Trixie’s teeth gritting even from the distance, but the mare was smart enough not to argue. It seemed she really did want that journal. Twilight almost felt bad for her, knowing that it was useless now.

“Go back home, Lucky,” Twilight ordered, looking at the stallion intently. She didn’t want him to know any more details than he already did. Lucky complied without complaint, leaving Twilight and Trixie alone in the cramped wagon.

“There’s no way you’re his maid,” Trixie said as a matter of fact. “Who are you?”

“My name is Dawn, and that’s all you need to know,” Twilight answered.

As the mares discussed the finer details of their deal, Twilight wondered if she was doing the right thing. If she gave her the journal and by some miracle Trixie made the same discovery as her, she would go into the dangerous caves and likely perish. And even if she survived, Twilight had already found the Amulet.

Twilight couldn’t do it.

“On second thought, I don’t think our deal is going to work out,” Twilight said, much to Trixie’s shock.

“What?! Why? I thought we had a deal!” She raged, flailing her hooves wildly.

“Sorry, Trixie. It’s for your own good, trust me.”

“Why do you even have the journal in the first place?” Trixie asked and then gasped in realization. “Do you want to find my Amulet for yourself?!”

Twilight nodded.

“I do. There’s no chance I’ll give you the journal. Go away, please.”

“Give me my journal!”

“No.”

Screaming in rage, Trixie tackled Twilight, taking the mare by surprise. She yelped, trying to protect her head from a whirlwind of punches as Trixie pummeled her, demanding the journal. Pulling her hindlegs underneath Trixie, who was lying on top of her, Twilight pushed desperately and managed to throw her off.

Not giving her a chance to recover, Twilight cast a sleeping spell on her. The mare growled as she resisted the magic, slowly rising up from the floor, but Twilight poured more and more power into it until finally Trixie’s eyes rolled up and she dropped, snoring loudly.

Twilight sighed in relief, almost dropping down herself – even though she knew the spell, this was the first time she had actually cast it, and she hadn’t been sure it was going to work. But it was the only spell that had come to her that wouldn’t seriously injure this pony who, after all, was only guilty of showing up at the wrong time.

Even if she was a total madmare.

Twilight rubbed her foreleg and winced. She’d have a lot of bruises tomorrow.

“I should have sent Shining instead...”

Lifting Trixie in her magic, Twilight teleported the two of them to the living room. The short-range jump caused her horn to tingle uncomfortably, but it was nothing compared to what she had experienced before.

“I’m back, everypony,” she announced.

After a sound of rapid hoofsteps, Shining and the others burst into the room. They stopped, looking from Twilight to Trixie’s snoring form in confusion. At least Lucky and Silver weren’t there, Twilight noted, relaxing a bit. Trixie and Lucky may have been on bad terms, but Twilight didn’t want to deal with him if he got mad over her knocking out his daughter. Even if she had attacked first.

“I take it diplomacy has failed?” Shining asked tensely, eyeing Twilight’s battered forelegs.

“You could say that.” Twilight quickly recounted what had happened.

“Well, it could have been worse,” Midnight said, examining their new captive. “Are we going to keep her in the basement until we leave?”

“I think so, yeah. I’ll put both her and Lucky to sleep for a couple of days. That should give us enough time to get away in case they report us to the guard.”

“Using the wagon is a good idea, by the way,” Heavy Steps said, nodding at Twilight with approval. “We can take hers, now that she no longer needs it...”

“Wait, you want to steal her wagon?” Twilight asked incredulously, her ears lowering. She remembered well how Trixie had reacted to the mere suggestion of selling it. She shook her head. “No.”

“The idea is worth considering, Twily. I don’t think we’ll find any alternatives on such a short notice.”

Twilight looked at her brother, shocked that he supported Heavy’s offer.

“We don’t have a set date, you know,” Twilight countered. “We can stay for a few days longer until we find one if we choose so.” “Why wait when we have the darn thing right here?” Heavy Steps waved in the vague direction of the wagon.

Twilight shook her head stubbornly. It was the wrong thing to do, no matter how compelling they had made it sound.

“I agree with Twilight, if anyone’s interested,” Midnight mumbled loud enough for all to hear.

“We’ll leave her some bits as a compensation, if that makes you feel better,” Shining Armor said. “The longer we delay, the worse Equestria gets.”

Twilight grunted affirmatively. That was a good point. It had been barely two months since the regent had all but usurped the throne, and he had already plunged the country into war. It was too late to stop it, but there was no telling what new disaster would be waiting around the corner if Everlight remained in power.

“I suppose,” Twilight said reluctantly. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her emotions. “Fine, we’ll borrow her wagon, but only if we don’t find anything else. Shining, you know the city best. Would you please go look for something?”

“Right now?”

“Of course.”

Shining shrugged and left.

“Let’s get her to the basement,” Heavy offered.

Twilight nodded, and together they carried the unconscious mare downstairs where their previous prisoner used to stay. Twilight felt her ears drooping as she thought about what had happened to him. Had it really been necessary to kill him? Twilight wasn’t certain anymore. Sure, he probably would have killed her without remorse if they had switched places, but that didn’t mean they had to do the same.

No matter what, Twilight was going to make sure that Trixie and her father wouldn’t share his fate.

***

Rarity’s new guards arrived the next day as expected.

As it turned out, they had arrived the previous evening and had already found a new house to rent. Rarity, Lotus and Sweetie Belle had left with them immediately, accompanied by their old guards, while the others were preparing to leave Canterlot. Twilight’s parents had stayed too, wishing to spend a few more hours with their children.

Since Shining Armor had failed to find another wagon, Twilight had had to agree to borrowing Trixie’s. The mare herself was still in prolonged sleep down in the basement along with her father, who had joined her this morning. Both were going to wake up a day later, no worse for the wear, at least physically. Emotionally, that was another story.

Twilight had left them a note and a bag with enough bits to buy a new wagon, which was generously provided by Rarity – Heavy Steps had thought it would be a waste, but Rarity had taken Twilight’s side. However, Twilight suspected that Trixie wasn’t going to be happy anyway.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s going to be alright,” Twilight said to Aloe, trying to sound reassuring.

The maid was going to be the one to get the wagon past the city’s gate. Out of them all, she was among the precious few who hadn’t been seen at the Academy or wasn’t related to Twilight’s family, so she was going to be their safest bet. Pinkie Pie, who hadn’t been seen without her disguise, had refused the task, claiming that she really hated pulling wagons.

“What if they know it’s not my wagon?” Aloe asked, rubbing her foreleg with another. “What if they ask why I’ve got so many supplies?”

“Oh, they’ll most certainly ask that,” Twilight said, regretting her choice of words a moment later. “Um, I mean we talked about that, remember? You’d tell them that you’ve bought supplies for your village. Simple.”

The wagon was relieved of Trixie’s numerous possessions, which were now stored in the living room, and instead loaded with a week’s worth of supplies for six grown ponies and one baby dragon. They had all agreed it was best if they avoided staying in the towns and villages along the way.

“I’ll do what I can, Miss Sparkle,” Aloe sighed and murmured under her muzzle, “Though this wasn’t in my job description…”

Twilight patted her awkwardly, not knowing what else to say. She couldn’t blame her, not when she herself was busy imagining the countless ways their plan could go wrong.

Everypony was in the living room, talking among each other as they waited for Rarity’s return. Twilight and Aloe weren’t the only ponies who were feeling nervous – the whole room was almost crackling with tension. Shining paced back and forth, his hooves providing a constant, almost mesmerizing series of clicks.

When Rarity finally returned, it was close to the evening. She was alone, save for one of the new guards accompanying her. Twilight was thrilled to see her – the waiting was over! The others seemed just as jubilant. Rarity was even taken aback at such an enthusiastic welcome.

“What took you so long?”

“I was making sure the new place was safe for Sweetie,” she said, vaguely waving her hoof around. “It’s marvelous, though not as spacious as even this cottage. But there’s enough space for Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, if they don’t mind sharing a room.”

The couple was quick to assure Rarity that they didn’t. Everypony but Shining and Twilight chuckled at that.

“This fine gentlecolt will escort you there right away then,” Rarity said, nodding at the guard. “You should say your goodbyes.”

Velvet and Night Light nodded solemnly.

Rarity and the others went outside, giving Twilight’s family some privacy. Nopony talked at first. Twilight looked at her distressed parents, and her heart clenched. She had assured them that she’d be back, but in truth nothing was guaranteed, and they all knew it. They’d already been through losing her once, and now Twilight was throwing not only herself but also her brother in mortal danger. She didn’t know if there were words to make them feel better.

Velvet broke the silence first.

“Be careful out there, okay? Both of you.”

“Of course, mom,” Twilight assured her, a tingling in her eyes. Shining Armor just nodded.

“I wish I could go with you,” Night Light said, sighing. Velvet put her hoof on his withers, and he nuzzled her foreleg. “But I know I’d just be a liability. I don’t know any powerful magic like you two…”

“Well, that’s why you have us,” Shining said, grinning weakly. “Between the two of us, this regent stands no chance.”

“I hope you’re right,” Velvet smiled in return, but Twilight could see barely hidden concern behind it. Unable to bear it, Twilight approached and embraced both of her parents in a hug. Shining joined them a moment later, enveloping all of them with his long forelegs.

“You be careful too,” Shining said, not breaking the hug yet. “They’ll be looking for you. Try not to leave the house.”

“We’ll be careful,” Velvet assured him, with her husband grunting in agreement.

Twilight was the first to squirm out of the hug. Despite the storm of emotions raging inside her, she managed to keep her voice almost level.

“It’s time to go.”

Having said that, Twilight turned away sharply, hiding her unbidden tears, and trotted outside.

***

Twilight, Spike, Shining and Heavy were walking through a crowded street, all of them sprouting changed mane and coat colors as they followed the wagon up ahead. Spike had to be squeezed into a saddlebag again, though this time it had been emptied for him to fit inside more comfortably. Despite his size, the little dragon was rather heavy. Shining had offered to carry the saddlebag for her, but Twilight had refused. She was the one who had let Spike come along, so he was her responsibility.

They had decided to split into groups and were moving towards the gate by slightly different routes. Perhaps it had been overly careful of them, but Shining didn’t want to take any risks on such a crucial day. Midnight was leading the second group with Rarity and Pinkie.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but that caused Twilight to sweat even more. It had been going well back at the Academy too until it had all gone to Tartarus. What if the guards stopped them for a random check? It was the first time Twilight had left the house since the whole disaster, so she didn’t know if her little disguise was enough. Her breathing quickened.

Realizing what was happening, Twilight stopped herself from spiraling into panic by sheer force of will. It wasn’t going to help her if something went wrong. In fact, something may go wrong because she panicked and did something stupid.

Soon Aloe had made it to the gate. A few patrols they had met along the way allowed the wagon to pass by unchallenged, but it was too much to hope that the gate guards would be that lax. One of them gestured for Aloe to stop and approached, asking her something.

Twilight craved to hear what they were talking about, but she remembered Shining’s warning. The guard’s armor had some basic charms to alert them if somepony was casting complicated spells in their direct vicinity, so Twilight and the rest just observed them from down the street, hidden by a corner.

One of the guards went to check the insides of the wagon and Twilight got ready to teleport Aloe out in case something went wrong. A few minutes later the guard calmly emerged from the wagon. Twilight exhaled in relief. After exchanging a few more words with Aloe, the guard nodded to his comrades, and they stepped away for the wagon to pass.

Twilight waited for a few more minutes just in case, before telling her companions, “Looks like it worked.”

“No shit, Sparkle,” Heavy muttered, earning a glare from Shining.

“Now let’s find the others,” Twilight added, ignoring them both. “They’re supposed to be here by now.”

They found Midnight and the others waiting on the adjacent street. There weren’t a lot of ponies on the streets that close to the city walls, so Twilight spotted them easily. After making sure no guards were in sight, Twilight approached.

“Everything’s good?” she asked Midnight.

“Everything’s great!” Pinkie answered instead. “I haven’t noticed anypony following us, so we’re good to go.”

“Okay. We should find some seclu—”

“Way ahead of you!” Pinkie interrupted, pointing at the entrance to the alley nearby. “Check this out. It leads to a dead end, so nopony should go there. What do you say?”

Twilight gritted her teeth at the interruption, but the mare was right – it did appear to be a perfect place. Forcing an angry smile, Twilight nodded to Pinkie in thanks and led everypony into the alley.

Despite it still being day, it was pretty gloomy there because of the buildings hiding the sun. Twilight stopped at the very end and turned to face her companions.

“Are you all ready?”

Amidst everypony nodding and voicing their agreement, Twilight noticed one with an unsure expression on his face. The mare looked at him, raising her eyebrows in silent inquiry.

“I hate being a downer, but are you sure in your location?” Midnight asked, slightly lowering his ears. “From what you’ve told me, you need to know it well...”

“I have a good memory,” Twilight assured him as her horn lit up. If she had gotten them on target from under the mountain while being attacked by angry dogs as the ceiling was crumbling over them, this was going to be a piece of cake.

At least that was what Twilight told herself as she checked and rechecked the spell in her mind. Its structure seemed flawless, but without mortal danger looming over them, Twilight still hesitated. Taking a deep breath, Twilight enveloped her companions in her magic and finally released the spell.

An immeasurably small moment later, Twilight’s group materialized on a small meadow near the road where she and Midnight used to practice their battle magic. Trixie’s wagon was already waiting for them on the side of the road as planned.

Their flashy appearance startled the poor Aloe, who neighed fearfully and tried to bolt before Twilight levitated her into the air.

“It’s just us, Aloe,” Rarity told the maid, who stopped struggling and just stared at them.

“S-sorry, Lady Rarity,” Aloe muttered as Twilight lowered her to the ground. “I wasn’t expecting you to just appear out of nowhere.”

“But I warned you that we were going to teleport here,” Twilight said, frowning.

“I didn’t know what that word meant…” Aloe admitted, casting her eyes down. “I don’t know anything about unicorn magic.”

“Ah.” Twilight looked away sheepishly. “Sorry, then.”

It was easy to forget that not everypony in Equestria had received an education like her. Or read a book. Or even knew how to read for that matter. Teleportation wasn’t a widely known concept even among unicorns – Twilight herself had never heard about it in all her years at the Academy. She had first read about the spell in King Hearth’s Royal spellbook. It was an ancient tome with plenty of interesting spells. Unfortunately, she’d had no time back then to memorize more than a few.

“It’s fine, Miss Sparkle, really,” Aloe murmured. “I’m just jumpy after that awful kidnapping.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Aloe,” Rarity said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Let’s hope the rest of your stay in Canterlot will be more pleasant.”

Aloe nodded.

“Anyway, I need to get you back to the city,” Twilight said. “Will you find your way back on your own?”

“I can always ask for directions,” Aloe answered confidently. Then her ears fell. “Are you going to… teleport me back?”

“Yes. It’d be strange if you walked back through the gate without the wagon.”

Aloe shivered slightly and asked, “It won’t hurt, right?”

“You won’t feel a thing,” Twilight reassured her with a smile. Without warning, Twilight’s horn lit up and both mares disappeared in a burst of light to appear back in the alley. “See?”

Aloe blinked in confusion, looking around at the house walls.

“Is that all?”

“Yep. We’re back in the city. It wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No… Thank you, Miss Sparkle.” The maid bowed her head slightly.

“You’re welcome,” Twilight smiled. Each time the teleporting came to her more easily. She wondered if she’d be able to get Aloe back to Lucky’s house in one jump without the Amulet, but this wasn’t a good time to test her limits. “Well, I should go now. Bye!”

Having said it, Twilight teleported back to the wagon to the ponies waiting for her. Their escape from Canterlot wasn’t over yet.

***

Climbing down the mountain road had taken them less than an hour.

Another obstacle was waiting for them down there – the outer gate. But that one would be easy to deal with. Pinkie’s earlier scouting had revealed that it wasn’t as strictly protected as the main one far above. The guards here were pretty lax, letting the ponies leave Canterlot without any problems. They probably reasoned that if the ponies had already passed through their colleagues, why would they waste their time by checking them all over again?

To Twilight’s relief, that proved true with their wagon.

Twilight, Spike, Shining and Rarity hid themselves inside the wagon as the most known among the group as Heavy Steps pulled them all past the second gate. Twilight was tense all the while, keeping her offensive spells at the tip of her horn until they’d gotten far enough.

About ten minutes later the wagon stopped.

“The free ride is over,” Heavy Steps yelled from the outside. “Get out.”

Instead of climbing out like her companions, Twilight teleported directly outside, startling him and Midnight.

“Sorry,” she said with a sheepish smile.

“I’ve gotta learn it too,” Midnight muttered, but Twilight managed to catch it.

“Oh, I just remembered that I haven’t taught you this spell yet!” Twilight exclaimed, remembering her earlier promise. With Trixie and all the preparations, she – and everypony else, it seemed – had totally forgotten about that. “I’ll do that when we stop for the night.”

“I don’t know if you’ll still have the strength after a day of walking,” Heavy Steps said, shaking his head. “But if you do, count me in.”

“Sure.”

Not wishing to linger so close to Canterlot, the group continued down the road. As everypony around her chatted, Twilight was deep in thought. After weeks of struggle, she was finally going back to the capital to put an end to Everlight’s illegitimate regency. The very idea sent her heart trembling. What if she failed? What if she succeeded, but some of her companions died? What if she died, but her friends won without her?

Her fate and the fate of all of Equestria depended on her.

There was no pressure at all.

Age of Decay

by Victoria

Chapter I - The King's Favorite

Chapter II - Who Framed Twilight Sparkle?

Chapter III - Noble Intentions

Chapter IV - Soldiering On

Chapter V - On the Road

Chapter VI - In and Out

Chapter VII - Boot Camp

Chapter VIII - P.I. Pie

Chapter IX - A Helping Hoof

Chapter X - Lucky Find

Chapter XI - Stalliongrad

Chapter XII - The Night of Terror

Chapter XIII - Beneath the Mountain

Chapter XIV - Rainbow Fails

Chapter XV - Going Down

Chapter XVI - Dungeons and Dragons

Chapter XVII - Secrets and Lies

Chapter XVIII - Wounded

Chapter XIX - Family Reunion

Chapter XX - The Element

Chapter XXI - Sisters

Chapter XXII - Recovery

Chapter XXIII - Tricky Business