> Torchbearer
>  by TracTix
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> I. Embarkation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


I.


Twilight stood in the room, gazing out at the city through the window. The last rays of the sun had long ago disappeared and night was upon them, lanterns here and there providing dots of light. Luna’s moon and stars hung suspended in the sky, white orbs against a black backdrop.

The sound of knocking drew Twilight’s attention to the door of the room, which swung open to reveal a teal Crystal Guard. The stallion cleared his throat before saying, “Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Prince Shining Armor request the presence of you two in the throne room.”

“We’re leaving soon, aren’t we?” Spike guessed.

“They did not say,” was the reply. “They also requested you to bring your saddlebags.”

Her saddlebags were on the ground, packed with supplies such as maps and books. Twilight levitated them onto her back before following Spike, who in turn was following the Crystal Guard, out of the room. The sound of hooves and feet striking the floor echoed as they walked through the vast halls of the Crystal Castle, the temporary residence of the Equestrian monarchs as well as the Elements of Harmony and Spike. They had been here ever since Canterlot had become unsafe, which was a good two months ago. 

Has it really been that long? Twilight wondered. Two months of living in the Crystal Empire, miles away from any city of Equestria. The remoteness was actually why they had all came here in the first place; the farther away from ponies, the better. 

They reached the doors of the throne room. The rest of Twilight’s friends were already there, each accompanied by their own Crystal Guard. They struck up a short conversation as the stallions opened the massive doors.

“You all ready for this?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a bit late to be saying no now, don’t ya think?” Applejack responded.

Rarity was more straightforward. “Yes, dear, of course we’re ready.”

“Your Majesties; the Elements of Harmony and their friend Spike!” a Crystal Guard holding the door announced. That was their cue.

They filed into the throne room. Celestia, being the senior ruler of Equestria, stood in the center. Luna flanked her on her left, while Cadance and Shining Armor occupied the space right of the sun princess. The Crystal Guards gave a bow to the monarchs and stepped off to the side as the Elements and Spike lined up in front of them. Twilight gave a quick wave at her brother and sister-in-law. 

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student,” Celestia said. “It seems like Equestria must call upon you and your friends once again.” She paused. “I have no doubt that you seven, who have proven to be more than capable, will be able to succeed in this task. But it is what you feel that is the most important.”

“Are you seven confident enough in yourselves, and each other, for the journey ahead?”

Rainbow Dash flew up and puffed out her chest. “Absolutely, Princess!”

“Good.” Celestia nodded to her Royal Guards. “Bring them out.” 

“Of course, Your Majesty.” They hurried away, coming back with a familiar blue-and-gold chest as well as what oddly seemed to be a pile of jewelry. Eight of the Guards then stood at attention beside the items, all of them earth ponies.

“Because this trip will take many days and cross many miles, we have decided to send some Royal Guards with you,” Luna said. “They will assist and protect the seven of you on your journey.”

“But where is their armor?” Rarity inquired. The usual golden chest plates and helmets were absent from these Guards.

“They will not wear them while they accompany you,” Luna replied. “This way, it will be easier for all of you to avoid being recognized.”

Applejack gave a confused look. “Umm…pardon me, Yer Majesty, but Ah don’t see how a few missin’ helmets will hide us.”

“That’s where these come in,” Shining Armor spoke up. He used his magic on the pile of jewelry, levitating one of them into the air. It was a necklace with a magenta crystal hanging from it, the crystal not unlike the substance that the Empire was made out of.

Shining Armor explained the item. “This is a camouflage amulet, something me and Cadance have been working on for the past week. Once you wear it, others will just see another everyday pony when they look at you.”

“But how?” Twilight asked. “I thought only illusion magic could change your entire appearance.”

“This crystal here is the answer to your question,” Cadance said as she used her magic to levitate another amulet from the pile. She moved it closer to the Elements and Spike who gazed at it curiously. “We found that the crystal of the Empire acts like a battery that stores magic. These amulets are made of the same crystal, and I cast some spells on them so that they now use the magic stored inside for illusions. All they need to keep running is a daily infusion of magic, which Rarity or Twilight can provide.” 

“Why don’t you try them on?” Celestia offered.

“Oh oh oh! Me first, me first!” Pinkie Pie burst out. She hopped forward, and Shining gave her one of the amulets. She clipped it on around her neck, and asked to her friends with excitement, “How do I look? Am I short? Tall? Fat? Green with seven legs?”

Her six friends slowly shook their heads. “You…look the same,” Spike said in a rather puzzled tone of voice. “Nothing changed.”

Pinkie gasped. “Really? Wow! That must mean I already am in disguise!” Another gasp. “But if this is my disguise and this is how I’ve looked since forever, then that means I’ve been in disguise since forever which means that –”

“Pinkie, relax,” Shining chuckled. “You have to tap the crystal twice in order to activate it.”

“Oh! I didn’t know that.” She raised a hoof and tapped the amulet, the crystal making a tink tink sound. As soon as the second tink reached the ears of the assembled ponies and dragon, Pinkie was enveloped by a blue flash of light. Fluttershy, being Fluttershy, jumped back and let out a small “Eep!”

When the light cleared, the familiar form of the party pony was gone. Instead, a peach-colored crystal pony with a brown mane occupied the space where Pinkie was.

Rainbow Dash cackled. “That is so awesome!”

The rest of the amulets were distributed among the Elements, Spike, and the Guards that would accompany them. Blue light flashed again and again as the ponies and dragon activated the crystals. For a few minutes they let themselves forget about the challenge ahead and study their new forms. Cadance had certainly done a good job with the illusion magic, even managing to render wings and horns invisible. All they had to do was not use these invisible appendages, and their appearance as crystal ponies would be flawless.

Spike was admiring Rarity’s new look – rose red with a lavender mane – when he noticed Rainbow Dash glancing his way and giggling.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Rainbow snorted before turning away with a hoof covering her mouth.

Spike gave a sigh of exasperation. “Rainbow Dash, quit it and tell me what’s going – wait a minute…”

Spike was sure that his right arm was in front of him; he could feel it! His eyes begged to differ, though, as he couldn’t see a purple arm or claw in front of him. He lifted his left arm and waved it around in front of him with the same lack of result. The only explanation was that the illusion magic had rendered the limbs invisible. But why?

“Aw, where did this cute fluffy thing come from?” Fluttershy cooed as she bent down in front of Spike.

Fluffy?!

Spike looked down in a panic only to freak out even more. Where there were once scales was now light blue wool! His feet were gone, replaced by grey hooves. The illusion magic had turned him into…

“An ewe? How did it get in here?”

“Augh!” Spike jumped back from Fluttershy. “Stop! I’m not a sheep!”

Twilight was shocked. “Spike? That’s you?”

“Of course it is,” Spike grumbled. “Though I wish it wasn’t.”

“Looks like you’re going to pull the wool over a lot of eyes,” Rainbow Dash snickered.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “I get it! Good one, Rainbow!”

“Relax, Spike,” Celestia reassured the peeved dragon. “This disguise is only needed until you get to the train station.”

The sound of the rapid echoing of hooves drew everypony’s attention to the throne room doors. Somepony was approaching, and fast. They were greeted by a Crystal Guard who came galloping into the chamber. 

“Your Majesties.” He stopped in front of and bowed to the monarchs, then paused for a few seconds to regain his breath. “The train is prepared. It is time to leave.”

Twilight turned to her brother, unsure of what to say. She settled with, “Well, big brother, see you in two weeks.”

Shining Armor responded with a simple “See you.”

The two siblings stood their awkwardly. Then the prince said, “Oh, come on over here, Twily!” 

Twilight grinned and trotted towards him. The siblings shared a hug, embracing each other tightly.

“You be careful out there, sis,” Shining Armor said with a firm voice.  

“Don’t you worry, BBBFF,” she replied. The acronym made Shining crack a smile.

She let go of her brother, turning to face Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. She raised a hoof to her forehead. “We won’t let you down, princesses!” 

Celestia gave a soft chuckle. “And we believe you, my little pony.”

Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, and their escort detail saluted as well. They then turned around and left the throne room.

The Crystal Empire was perhaps the city least changed by the events of the past months. Being one of the last clean zones in Equestria was the biggest factor, of course. But life in the Empire also remained relatively normal due to the crystal ponies being reassured that the Elements of Harmony would protect them.

This statement was false, unfortunately – a necessary lie, but a lie nonetheless. The truth was that the Elements couldn’t do anything to guarantee the Empire’s safety. The princesses and prince had created the fib in order to keep the spirits of the crystal ponies up for as long as possible. If the Empire’s citizens were happy, then this would be reflected across all of Equestria, where the feeling was sorely lacking. 

It was because of this presumption that Twilight and her friends had to sneak out of the Empire undetected. If a resident saw the Elements leaving the city, it would take only minutes before a mob of ponies would be at the castle demanding to know why their safety net was leaving.

The group emerged underneath the Crystal Castle and entered the streets of the Empire. Being nighttime, the roads were lit by lampposts that lined the edges. The sources of light also illuminated the buildings and houses of the Empire, but only partially. The result was a city of crystal that faded up and away into the night – a slightly surreal scene.

“This way,” the lead Guard said. He stood in a pool of light cast by one of the lampposts.

“Shouldn’t we stay out of the light?” Fluttershy spoke up. “To, um, avoid being seen, I mean.”

“On the contrary, ma’am,” the stallion replied. “The last thing we want to do is raise suspicion by avoiding lit areas.”

They walked down the road, glancing at the houses around them. Many of them were completely dark, their residents tucked in for the night. The street was empty as well due to that same reason; nopony besides them were out at this hour. 

That changed when the group reached an intersection. 

“Careful, everypony,” a Guard whispered. “We’ve got two ponies approaching from the left.”

Rainbow Dash flew up a few feet for a look. “They look pretty far – hey!” she objected as Applejack and Twilight hastily yanked her back down.

“Rainbow Dash, do not use your wings!” Twilight hissed. “If somepony sees you in the air, our cover is blown!”

“Oh…right.” She sheepishly rubbed her neck. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“Pretend we’re just some ponies moving things for a friend,” the lead Guard ordered. “Those two will definitely want to know why we have a chest with us.”

“Hello there!” one of the approaching ponies called out.

The lead Guard waved back. “How are you ladies doing this evening?” he politely asked as the duo drew closer to the group.

“Very well, thank you,” the light-yellow mare responded. “Where are all of you headed?”

“Amethyst Boulevard,” the Guard smoothly lied. “We’re moving some things for a friend.”

The other mare, a pink one, frowned. “It seems a little late for something like that.”

“We finished most of the moving during the day,” the Guard explained. “This chest here is the very last item.”

“I see,” the mare nodded. Then she laid her eyes on Spike – or rather, the ewe that Spike was disguised as.

“Who’s this little fellow?”

“That’s, um…” Twilight racked her brains for a name. “Fluffy! My pet ewe.”

She could feel Spike’s glare drilling into her.

The pink mare bent down for a closer look. “I’ve been meaning to get an ewe, but I just can’t seem to save enough bits for one.” She extended a hoof to pet the creature, but the ewe quickly retracted from her.

“Sorry, she’s a bit shy,” Twilight offered lamely.

“She seems nice, though,” the pink crystal pony complimented her. 

She stood up. “Well, we best be getting on our way. I’m sure your friend doesn’t want to be kept waiting.” Her light-yellow friend took the lead as they began leaving. “Hope to see you all around.”

The group responded in unison with a “Goodbye”.

The two parties continued on their separate ways. Once he was sure that the two crystal ponies were out of earshot, Spike turned to Twilight. “‘Fluffy’? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“Hey, I’m sorry! I just went with whatever my mind came up with first.” She let out a deep breath. “I was so nervous when that mare tried to pet you. I thought for sure she would realize that the ewe was a fake.”

“Let’s just get to that train,” Spike grumbled. “I can’t wait to get out of this dumb disguise.” 

Thankfully, the rest of the trek to the train station was free of any more incidents. At the door of the building, one Guard produced a set of keys, ignoring the sign that read “Closed – be back soon!” With a click, the door unlocked, and the group entered the station.

“Okay, everypony, we’re safe now.” The lead guard tapped his camouflage amulet, returning to his normal appearance with a flash of light. The others did the same, Spike doing so with obvious relief. Once everypony was back to their true forms, the group exited the station and onto the platform.

Their train was the Royal Express, a vehicle reserved exclusively for royal transit around Equestria. It was also the same vehicle that had brought them here to the Crystal Empire. The Royal Express was much smaller than the standard Friendship Express, made up of only the locomotive and four cars: dining, sleeping, passenger, and storage. Crystal Guards, the ponies who had prepared the train for its passengers, stood at attention around it.

“Strong Charger, you’re up first,” the lead Guard announced. The job of driving the train would alternate between the Royal Guards as the trip progressed. As Strong Charger made his way to the locomotive, the two Guards with the chest entered the storage car while the Elements, Spike, and the other five stallions went into the sleeping car.

“Rest up, madams and sir,” the lead Guard advised. “We have a good day of travel ahead of us before we reach Haliflanks.”

“Thank you, sir,” Twilight said. The Guards nodded before leaving the mares and dragon to themselves. Twilight guessed that they would be on watch outside the car’s doors.

She unclipped her camouflage amulet and swung her saddlebags off before jumping into one of the beds. The lead Guard was right; they would need all the rest they could get before reaching Haliflanks. After that, their journey would begin in earnest.  

> II. Caballio non grata
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


II.


The train car jolted yet again as the Royal Express chugged eastward. Twilight barely noticed it. The unicorn, despite her best interests, was still awake. Her mind was far too active with constant thinking and pondering to deactivate and let her fall asleep.

She flipped on her side. Above her head was the window, and behind the window was the landscape of Equestria whipping past in a blur. It was still dark, so she could see little more than the black outlines of hills and mountains against the nighttime sky.

Twilight let her mind dredge up the memories of the last time she and her friends had left the Crystal Empire. It was right after they had helped defeat King Sombra and restore the Empire to its past glory. She remembered how eager they were to be returning to their homes in Ponyville.

And then the letter came…


                    


My faithful student Twilight:

First, let me congratulate you on a job well done. I have received word of the success of you and your friends in the Crystal Empire, and am pleased to say that you have passed the test with flying colors. 

I am writing this letter to say that you and your friends do not have to stop in Canterlot. Instead, I have another assignment concerning a situation in Ponyville. It is one that requires urgent attention, and I’d like to tell you everything about it in this letter – indeed, you’d probably like the information as well – but I simply don’t have enough time. Fear not, though; I will be at the Ponyville train station when you arrive. There, I will explain everything. 

I look forward to seeing you and your friends. Signed, your loving teacher, Princess Celestia.

The sharp squealing of metal against metal caused Twilight to look up from her reading. She could feel the train beginning to slow down, hisses of steam accompanying the sound of the brakes. Twilight and her friends rocked backward as the train, with a final clank and hiss, came to a full stop.  

“Ponyville! All off for Ponyville!” came the conductor’s cry.

“You still reading that?” Spike motioned at the letter which was still floating in front of Twilight’s face. She telekinetically let go of it, allowing gravity to pull the manuscript towards the ground. Spike deftly caught it before it hit the floor of the train car. “What is this, your seventh time looking over it?”

“I want to make sure I’m prepared,” Twilight said in defense. Spike rolled his eyes, muttering what suspiciously sounded like “You think too much.” Twilight decided to ignore him. 

“Come on, you two!” Applejack called from the door of the train car. She and the other Elements were already leaving. “Don’t wanna keep the princess waitin’, do we?”

That got Twilight moving. She trotted over to the door and descended the steps, her friends waiting for her outside. The moment her hooves were on the wooden planks of the platform, she swivelled her head around to look for Celestia. 

“There she is!”

The princess of the sun was waiting at the end of the platform. Behind her were the steps that led to ground level. Two pegasus Royal Guards flanked the monarch, their faces neutral as always. The group hurried over to Celestia. 

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia greeted. “I trust you received my letter?”

“Of course I did, princess!” Twilight answered. “But what’s going on in Ponyville? You said that you had another assignment for us.”

“That I did,” Celestia said. She began to turn around. “Follow me. I will tell you everything.” 

Celestia left the platform with the Elements and Spike tagging close behind. The two armor-clad Guards escorted the group on either side. Being the personal student of the princess, Twilight took the lead while the others hung back a bit.

“Shortly after I found out of your success in the Crystal Empire, I received word from Ponyville that an unknown creature had stumbled into the town from the Everfree Forest,” she began.

“A Royal Guard found out and told you?” Twilight guessed.

“Not exactly,” Celestia said. “A local mailmare arrived at the Royal Castle with a letter detailing the incident. Perhaps you know her; she had eyes that…aren’t easily forgotten, so to speak.”

“So what was this creature?” 

“The letter described it as an odd-looking black pegasus with holes in its legs and hooves. Once I realized what it was talking about, I decided to visit Ponyville without any delay, but not before notifying you and your friends.”

Twilight recognized the description too, as did her friends. “Wait…are you saying a changeling walked into Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash said in a shocked tone of voice.

Celestia nodded. “I was surprised as well, my little pony. Like many others, I thought they had all been banished when Cadance and Shining Armor used the power of love at their wedding.”

“Isn’t that thing dangerous?” Applejack said. “Shouldn’t you be shippin’ it to a jail in Canterlot or somethin’?”

“I would, but this changeling is an odd one,” Celestia explained. “I was told that when it arrived in Ponyville, it did absolutely nothing to conceal itself. As well, it apparently passed out a few minutes after being spotted.”

“Where is it now?” Fluttershy asked. 

“I had it sent to the local hospital, though the ponies there didn’t like the idea when I told them what it was.”

Twilight had been uncharacteristically quiet during the revelations of the past minutes. Her face was furrowed in a mask of thought and concentration. Something that Celestia had said was bugging her.

“Princess Celestia, you said that the letter described the changeling as a pegasus, right?”

“That is correct, Twilight,” Celestia answered without hesitation.

Twilight could feel a paradox-induced headache coming on. “But…but that can’t be right! How can the changeling be a pegasus when it has both a horn and wings?”

“You will see once we get to the hospital,” Celestia said. “Like I have said, this changeling is very different from the ones we encountered in Canterlot.”

“And let me guess: you want us to look after it,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You don’t have to do that,” Celestia said. “A check-up and report every few days will do.”

The Ponyville Hospital was located on the edge of town. As a result, it took the group a couple more minutes to reach it. The Royal Guards took the lead, being their duty to clear the way for the princess. The stallions opened and held open the doors of the main entrance, allowing the mares and Spike to continue without missing a beat.

In the lobby of the hospital, a white earth pony with a nurse’s hat perched on top of her head sat behind the reception desk. The mare looked up, eyes widening at the sight of Celestia. She quickly got up from behind the desk and greeted the princess.

“Princess Celestia! Back so soon?”

“Yes; I’d like to show my student and her friends the changeling,” Celestia said.

The nurse, whose name Twilight believed to be Redheart, glanced at the Elements and Spike. “Dr. Stable is out currently; would you like to wait until he gets back?”

“No, that’s fine. They can follow your lead instead.” Celestia turned to face the group. “I’ll leave you seven with Miss Redheart. Right now, I have to return to Canterlot. No doubt my advisors will want to hear about what I’ve learned.”

“See ya, Princess!” Pinkie said.

The others waved goodbye as Celestia and her Guards exited the hospital. They then followed Redheart who had been patiently waiting for them. Deeper into the hospital they went, numbered doors coming and going in a steady stream. 

“Here we are,” Redheart announced. She had stopped in front of a door labelled “ICU 1”. The nurse opened the door and entered the room, the others filing in behind her.

Before them was the changeling, lying with its eyes closed on the hospital bed. The sheets were pulled up to its neck, almost giving an impression that the creature was in a morgue. Its chest rose and fell, however, indicating that it was still among the living. Its wings, translucent panes of blue, were folded along its sides, and its dark mane was flattened against the bed. A tube snaked down from an IV bag and into one of the changeling’s forelegs, pinkish liquid dripping through.   

But what grabbed their attention the most was the changeling’s forehead. The spot where its horn was supposed to be was bare, a light grey discoloration being the only thing that hinted of its former presence. Twilight could now see why the letter had described the creature as a pegasus instead of a pegacorn. 

“Has it been like this since it wandered into Ponyville?”

Redheart nodded, a sour expression on her face. “We think it’s suffering from a coma, though we’re not sure of the cause behind that.” Twilight opened her mouth to ask another question, but was anticipated by Redheart. “And before one of you ask, no, we also don’t know how it lost its horn.”

“The poor thing,” Fluttershy said, her face a mask of concern.

Rainbow Dash rounded on her friend. “Poor thing? Come on, Fluttershy! That changeling deserves it!”

Fluttershy gasped at the harsh words. “Rainbow Dash, how can you say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because those things tried to take over Equestria?” the cyan pegasus replied sarcastically.

“That was in the past,” Fluttershy shot back. “Just because they were nasty to us doesn’t mean we have to be the same way.”

“Right…” Rainbow Dash drew out the word, obviously unconvinced. 

“If you two are done…” Twilight interjected. Her friends, getting the hint, ceased their bickering. Twilight turned back to Redheart. “Can you tell us anything about how the changeling might have lost its horn?”

Redheart bit her lip in thought. “We decided to blame trauma in the end; it sounded like the most reasonable explanation. But if you’d like to decide for yourself, I do know that Dr. Stable has a book in his office on medical conditions and such. There should be something in there about broken horns.” 

The mentioning of a book had caused Twilight to perk up. “That sounds perfect!”

“His office is nearby,” Redheart said. She let the Elements and Spike exit the room first before closing the door behind them. Redheart hadn’t been exaggerating when she said that Stable’s office was close to them; it was only two doors down from the ICU.

Upon opening the door, a square of light fell through the doorway and into the office. It was assimilated into the scene when Redheart flicked on the lights. Stable’s office, being a doctor’s, was incredibly neat and orderly. Directly in front of the group was Stable’s desk with some papers and pencils. An examination table was pressed up against the wall to their left, two chairs beside it. On the opposite side was a countertop with various medical devices laid on top of it, as well as a small bookshelf bolted to the wall above.

The book Twilight selected from the shelf was one titled “Study and Treatment of Medical Conditions – Sixth Edition”. It was massive, one of the largest books that Twilight had ever seen. She levitated it over to Dr. Stable’s desk and opened it. The pages and her horn glowed magenta as she flipped through the book, letting her researching skills take over.

“Horn…horn…aha! Here it is,” she said triumphantly. The others gathered around her as she read aloud the following passage: 

HORN FRACTURE

ETIOLOGY: 

“Etee – what?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“Etiology,” Twilight repeated. “Basically, it means why this condition occurs.”

Trauma is the most common cause of fracturing and is typically due to an object impacting the horn with high 	force. Because trauma is rarely delivered to a specific calibrated location, fractures will vary widely from case to 	case. Keratoporosis, a rare but very serious condition that structurally weakens the horn, will cause more severe 	fracturing than normal when the horn suffers trauma.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

A normal unfractured horn will have several grooves running around it horizontally. The number varies 	depending on age; one for foals, two for fillies and colts, and three for mares and stallions. A fractured horn, in 	addition to these normal grooves, will have several lines running at random angles around it. The visibility of 	these lines will vary depending on the extent of the fracturing. In the most severe cases, a fractured horn will 	have various pieces of it broken off. 

DIAGNOSIS

One should first ask the patient of the events leading up to the injury in order to get a better understanding of its 	severity. Physical examination will typically be the method of diagnosis due to the horn being a visible 	appendage of the pony body.

TREATMENT

Once horn fracturing is diagnosed, the horn must be placed in a cast or brace similar to ones for fractured 	bones. Once secured, the horn should be left to heal by itself. If the fracturing is more severe, magic may be 	used to further ensure stability. In an extreme case where an entire piece of a horn has broken off, magic must 	be used immediately to graft the piece back on.

Twilight looked up from the book. “What do you think?”

“I think the changeling tripped and fell on its horn and broke it!” Pinkie offered. “Like this!” she said before comically falling on her head. 

“I don’t know about that, Pinkie,” Spike said. “If it did, shouldn’t there be a little bit of horn left over? That changeling had nothing.”

“What other possibility is there?” Rarity said. “The book didn’t state any others.”

“It didn’t,” Twilight agreed. “But it also says here that trauma is the ‘most common cause’. That doesn’t mean it’s always the reason.”

“Still, I agree with Pinkie and Rarity. The changeling probably hit its horn on something in the Everfree and broke it.”

She shut the book, a resounding thump emerging from hundreds of pages falling on each other. 


                    


Twilight rolled over in her bed. I should have known, she thought. I should have known that answer was too convenient. 

Her mind had slowly been numbed by fatigue during her recollections, and before she knew it, her eyelids had slid shut. Darkness immersed her, and soon, her snores joined those of her companions.


> III. Trains
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


III.


“Aris…hey, Aris, get up.”

“Mmph?” Aris’s face scrunched up as he tried to block out the voice.

“Come on, let’s move.”

Reluctantly, Aris opened his eyes. He rubbed his face with one hoof as Golden Sword, his superior, watched him. Aris stretched as he tried to get rid of some of the stiffness in his body. 

“Ugh…what time is it?”

“Time for your shift,” Golden replied. “You’re supposed to be on VIP duty, remember?”

“Yeah…” Aris furiously rubbed at his eyes.   

“Here, I got you this,” Golden said. Aris felt something being pushed into his hoof and looked down at the object: an apple. “Not much of a breakfast,” Golden said with a shrug, “but it’s still food.” 

“Thanks,” Aris mumbled. He took the apple as he got up from his couch-turned-bed. Meanwhile, Golden woke up the other three stallions in the car. They, like Aris, had difficulty escaping sleep, but Golden’s orders soon had them up and about. They filed out of the train car to their positions.

“We’ll be in the other cars,” Golden said a bit redundantly. Aris nodded, and the senior Guard left as well. The door slid shut behind him, and Aris was alone.

The sleeping car, where the VIPs were, and the passenger car, where the Guards had set up camp, were side by side. The result was that Aris only had to walk a car’s length to get to his post. He didn’t even enter another car; he just had to stand watch in front of the door that led to where the VIPs were resting.

He let out a soft groan. VIP duty, to him, was the worst job he could have pulled for the train ride. Protection duty gave him another Guard to talk and pass the time with, and locomotive duty provided the distraction of physical labor. But VIP duty? The post was little more than standing in front of a door all by himself.

He took a bite out of the apple Golden had given him, welcoming the juice that hydrated his mouth and throat as he swallowed. A single lamp in the corner cast long shadows across the train car, but Aris wouldn’t need it for long. According to the clock hanging on the wall, Celestia would raise the sun soon. 

This was how Aris rang in the day: munching on an apple while listening to the steady rumbling of a train. He tried to remember a time when he had spent a night on a moving vehicle – tried, and failed. The scene was far from elaborate or normal.

He took one last bite out of the apple and tossed the remains of the fruit into a nearby wastebasket. The core made a satisfying thunk as it bumped into the basket’s walls. Lots of things aren’t normal, Aris thought. 

As he stood at his post, the orange glow of the sun steadily grew behind the blinds of the car’s windows. After an hour, Aris pulled the blinds up, squinting a little when sunlight streamed in. He flicked off the lamp in the corner. His little bout of exercise over, Aris resumed his post beside the door. 

It was another hour before the door slid open to reveal one of the VIPs. It was the pink earth pony with a poofy mane – Pinkie Pie, Aris remembered.

“Good morning, ma’am,” he greeted.

“Morning, mister!” she chirped back. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Aris said. Pinkie hopped away from the door. 

“I’m so excited for today! You know why? ‘Cause I get to learn all of your names and become friends with you all! Which I normally would have done yesterday when we first met, but I couldn’t since we were doing the super-secret sneaking around. But we’re done with that, and now I can learn all about you eight!”

“Umm…” Aris wasn’t sure how to respond to what he had just heard. But before he could dwell on the issue, Pinkie bounced over to him. “So I’ll start with you! What’s your name?”

“I’m Aris,” the Guard told her.

“Aris? That’s a cool name! It’s only one word, right? I’ve never met a pony with only one word in their name. Except for Spike. And Rarity. And Applejack, and Fluttershy – which sounds like two words, I know, but they’re put together as one – and Cheerilee, and Scootaloo, and…”

Aris, poor him, was completely lost at this point. Luckily, some of the other VIPs chose that moment to enter the train car. His ear caught the words “…just a few more minutes, Twilight…” coming from the sleeping car before the door slid shut again.

“…and Daisy, and Junebug, and Noteworthy…”

“Just what are ya doing, Pinkie?” the VIP named Applejack said.

Pinkie stopped her listing of names. “Oh, hey girls! Meet Aris,” she said as she pulled the Guard towards her. “We just became friends!” 

Wait, what? Aris thought. Friends? We just began talking three minutes ago!

Aris’ face must have given something away, as the orange pony said, “Ah think you’re makin’ him a tad uncomfortable, Pinkie.”

Pinkie’s eyes got huge. “Oh no!” She jumped away from Aris.  “Is Applejack right? Am I making you feel bad? Because I’m really really sorry if I am, it’s just that I want to become friends with as many ponies as possible.”

“Uh…no, it’s okay,” Aris said, not wanting to hurt Pinkie’s feelings. “But how about we take things a bit slower? Get to know each other better before saying we’re ‘friends’?”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie was grinning once again. She stopped. “Oops! I forgot something. Gimme a second,” she said before disappearing back into the sleeping car.

Once Pinkie was out of the car, Applejack apologized to Aris. “Sorry ‘bout that, Aris – Ah mean, sir,” she hastily corrected.

“Aris is fine,” he assured her. “But is Pinkie always that…energetic?”

Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus, let out a snort of laughter. “Sometimes she’s even more hyper than that.”

Aris raised an eyebrow. He had a hard time imagining Pinkie more hyper than she just was. “In any case, can you tell her to not be so…upfront, shall we say, with my colleagues? I know several of them are real sticklers for formality and would probably not like Pinkie jabbering at them.”

“Of course we can, sir,” the white unicorn named Rarity said.

“Aris,” he absently corrected.

The door opened and out walked Pinkie, Spike, and Twilight.

“Hi, girls,” Twilight said. “And sir,” she added upon seeing Aris.

“Aris. Just Aris,” he said for the third time that morning. “Did you get what you were looking for?” he directed at Pinkie.

She tilted her head. “What was I looking for?”

“You said you forgot something,” Aris said.

“Oh, right!” Pinkie happily shook her head “Nope!”

Aris blinked. “Okay then. Anyway, are any of you hungry? I’m sure some of my colleagues have prepared breakfast in the dining car.”

“That sounds good,” the yellow pegasus – Fluttershy, is it? Yes, Fluttershy – said.

Aris led the way. Behind him, he heard some of the group talking to Pinkie in low murmurs, likely relaying his message about his fellow Guards. He didn’t hear any protests from Pinkie, so it seemed like the mare had understood.

Like the sleeping car, the dining car was adjacent to the passenger car. Golden Sword and White Star were already in there. Aris noticed that several tables had plates and utensils laid out on them for the VIPs. As well, one table had various foods placed on top of it. From what Aris could see, the foods included fruit, pastries, and, just for Spike, a bowl of gemstones.

“Good morning, madams and sir,” Golden said. “Had a good night’s sleep, I hope?”

“Yeah, it was nice,” Spike said, already eying the gemstones.

As the VIPs settled down to eat, Aris continued on. The next car was the storage car, where the crates of food were located. The apple he had eaten earlier had done little to ease his hunger.

“Hey, Aris, catch!” Strong Charger called out as Aris entered the car. The Guard threw something at Aris, who instinctively raised a hoof to snatch the object. He caught it, and looked at the item: another apple. 

He looked around. Strong Charger and Rough Spirit were lying on the floor next to an opened crate of fruit, chewing away at its contents. Iron Mace and Long March, meanwhile, were standing on either side of the chest they had brought on board last night.

“You’re not eating?” Aris said to Iron and Long.

“We already did,” Long said. “We might be on protection duty, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything besides stand here.”

“Funny. I thought being on duty meant just that,” Aris joked. Strong snorted.  

“Come on, have a rest.” He pushed a crate away and patted the now-empty spot on the floor beside him. Aris settled down.

“The others and I were just talking about home,” Strong told Aris.
“Home?”

“Yeah, home,” Rough Spirit said. “Today’s the Summer Sun Celebration, after all.”

“It is?” Aris shook his head. “I completely forgot.”

“Well, Happy Celebration,” Strong said. He passed out more food for his friends.

They sat in silence for a little while as they ate. Rough swallowed. “So, Aris, what about you? Got anypony close back home? A fillyfriend, perhaps?”

“Not especially,” Aris said. “I haven’t met my special somepony yet – don’t laugh – and all of my family live outside Canterlot. My parents are all the way in Vanhoover.”

“Vanhoover, huh? Lucky,” Long commented. “Northwestern Equestria’s probably the best place to be right now.”
“I also have a brother; last time I heard from him, he had moved to Ponyville.”

Silence ensued. The others glanced at each other. Then Iron tentatively spoke up. “You mean ‘had’, right?”

Aris shook his head. “That’s what everypony asks me when I tell them. I know Ponyville was ground zero, and I heard about the losses there, but…I still hope that he got out in time.”

Long nodded in sympathy. “That’s the worst part of this mess,” he commented. “You can’t get any news about your family or friends, but at the same time you can’t go see them for yourself.”

Aris heartily agreed with Long. He opened his mouth to voice his opinion, but, feeling something odd, instead uttered, “That’s weird. You all feel that?”

“Feel the same as Long? You bet we do.”

“No, not that. The train; it’s slowing down.”

The telltale screech of locomotive brakes confirmed Aris’ observation. Rough got up and made his way to the other end of the storage car. He opened the door to the locomotive and called out, “What’s wrong? Why are we stopping?”

“There’s a train up ahead,” Steel replied from the locomotive’s cab. “Looks like the Friendship Express; it’s probably been sitting here for who knows how long.”

“Can’t we just drive it out of the way?”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Steel replied. “One or two months without any maintenance are sure to cause some problems.”

Rough groaned. “So what we do? Push it?”

“It might still be in working condition,” Steel said. “But we’re just outside of Whinnypeg, too. Quite a lot of ponies living nearby; we’ve got to make sure we aren’t seen.”

“You just had to add that, didn’t you?”

“Hey, I’m just the messenger,” Steel said apologetically.

The Guards went back into the dining car to inform Golden and White of the situation. Iron and Long were the exceptions, since the two were on protection duty and forced to stay with the chest. When Rough told Golden the news, the senior Guard immediately began devising a plan.

“The Friendship Express? Hmm…Steel, are you sure that we can move it out of our path?”

“Considering that we’re near a train station, there should be a switch that leads from this track to another.”

“But the locomotive might not be functional?”

“We can still give it a shot, sir,” Steel offered. “But in the event that it doesn’t work, we’ll have to do something else to move it.” 

Golden mused some more. However, Twilight spoke up.

“Sir, Rarity and I are unicorns. We could help with our magic if the train can’t be driven.”

“She has a point,” Aris said. “Using magic has got to be easier than physically moving the train.” The other Guards eagerly nodded. However, Golden wasn’t having it.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but we can’t let you go outside. It’s too risky; you might be recognized by somepony.”

“But we still have the camouflage amulets, don’t we?” Twilight pressed. “Surely they can do the job if they got us past those two crystal ponies last night. Plus, magic will finish the job much quicker than if your stallions tried to do it by themselves.”

Golden thought over this. Twilight’s logic presented a convincing argument. Finally, he accepted her offer. “All right, we’ll do as you wish, ma’am. But remember this: under no circumstances are you to get careless out there. I can’t stress how fatal it’ll be if we lose one of you.”

“I know, sir,” Twilight reassured Golden. “But I’ll need to charge the amulets that belong to you and your stallions. You six will use them as well, right?”

“Five; I’ll be staying behind to look over your friends,” Golden said. “But yes, my stallions will use the amulets. You’ll find them in the passenger car.”

The Elements and Spike left the car to do their work with the amulets. While he waited, Aris took a look at their surroundings through the windows. The train station Steel had mentioned earlier was the closest structure to them; indeed, the only structure near them. Everything else was grassland for as far as the eye could see. They were lucky that the station wasn’t in Whinnypeg itself and was only on the city’s outskirts.

“They’re taking their time,” Rough commented. 

White Star raised an eyebrow. “As if you know how magic works.”

“I don’t,” Rough admitted. “But I do now that it’s been almost ten minutes for seven pieces of jewelry.”

As if she had heard, Twilight came back into the car with Rarity and Spike in tow. The amulets were piled up in the baby dragon’s arms. “Sorry about that, sirs,” she apologized. “But I also had to adjust Cadance’s spell on the amulets. They were still creating illusions of crystal ponies.”

“Are they good now?” Strong asked.

“Yep. Here, try them on.” The amulets glowed magenta as Twilight levitated them to the Guards. Aris clipped his on and tapped the crystal twice. Once the activation flash cleared, he looked down at his right foreleg to see if the adjusted illusion spell worked. The limb was now brown, showing that Twilight had succeeded.

Golden opened and held the door that led to outside. “Let’s go, madams and stallions. We’re on a tight schedule.”  

The group of seven hopped down onto the grass. Golden closed the door behind them. Steel and Strong, being the ones who knew how to operate a locomotive, immediately headed for the head of the abandoned train. White, Twilight, and Rarity followed them. Meanwhile, Aris and Rough followed the tracks to find the switch that Steel had mentioned.

“Up ahead,” Rough said. Aris could see the track branch off into two paths. One track, the one that went straight ahead, led east. The other track curved left and led south. Quickening their pace, the two Guards soon arrived at the junction. There was a lever connected to a curved rail that lay in the middle of the track: the switch that Steel had talked about. 

It was then that the two were faced with a new problem.

“You know how to work this, right?”

“I thought you did!” Rough shot back. He grabbed the lever. “Anyway, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.” He tested the switch by moving the lever back and forth, which in turn shifted the rail left and right. 

“I think it should be on the left,” Aris said. “It’ll connect with the main rail which should make the train go left.”

“Your call,” Rough said. He shifted the lever to slot the rail in place. 

Since they would have to move the switch again once the abandoned train was out of the way, Aris and Rough chose to wait beside the junction for the others. They watched the Friendship Express, which soon let out a puff of steam.

"We're in luck!" Aris said.

The train didn't move, however. Aris could see a somepony stick his head out the locomotive's window and talk with the others. Steel and Strong must have run into a problem.

"Time for Plan B," Rough said.

The Guards continued spectating the train. Aris saw two figures on the ground crouch slightly, as if bracing for something. Then an impressive sight unfolded: a magenta aura enveloped the locomotive which slowly began moving forward.

"Wow...I admit, I didn't think those two could do it," Rough said.

"Twilight is Celestia's personal student," Aris said.

As the Friendship Express got closer, Aris could see that the two unicorns were working as a team to move the train. The locomotive was the biggest burden and therefore being taken care of by Twilight. Rarity supported her by pushing the caboose of the train. Both mares had their teeth gritted in concentration and exertion, sweat glistening on their faces.

Aris and Rough stepped off to the side to give the train some clearance. To their delight, the Friendship Express turned left onto the southern track once it came across the junction. Aris’ hypothesis had been correct. The train cars, slightly faded in color from the elements, rolled past them. 

The final wheel of the caboose rolled off the eastern track, and Twilight and Rarity ceased their magic with obvious relief. Steel and Strong hopped down from the locomotive’s cab and trotted over to their comrades. 

“That was fantastic!” Strong said. “Thanks for your help, ladies.”

“Any…time…dear,” Rarity replied in between deep breaths.

”Do you two need help getting back?” White asked.

“We’ll…manage,” Twilight said.

Rough slid the switch to its original position, and the group headed back to the Royal Express. Despite Twilight’s statement, the Guards kept a close eye on the two mares. They were passing by the train station when White halted. 

“Hold up,” he said.

“What’s wrong?”

“I thought I saw something…” His head turned as he scanned the scene. 

“There, in the station!”

Aris quickly turned left, just in time to see the shadow of a figure move behind one of the windows. He and the other Guards continued to watch the structure, but the figure did not reappear. Then the door slowly opened, and a small head stuck out.

It was, to their surprise, a filly. Aris guessed that she was no older than four or five years of age. Her coat was orange, and a ragged yellow mane showed signs of grime. 

Most important was the discoloration on her forehead.

“Everypony get back!” White barked. “We can’t stay here.” He pulled Twilight and Rarity with him as he continued on towards the Royal Express. His fellow Guards followed suit, except for Aris. He stood where he was, unable to look away from the small pony. 

“Aris, come on!” White shouted. Aris detached his eyes from the sight, hurrying away. Once he was back with the group, White shot him a glare. 

“What were you doing?” he scolded. “You could have destroyed the mission right there and then!” White suddenly backed away from Aris. “She didn’t get near you, did she?”

“No, she didn’t,” Aris said. White cast him a suspicious look, but took his word for it. He rapped on the door of the passenger car, which Golden opened.

“The track’s been cleared, sir,” White said. “We’re free to move, but we were spotted by a young filly on our way back here.”

“She didn’t recognize any of you, did she?” Golden demanded as he helped the group into the car.

“Not that we could tell, sir,” White said. “She also didn’t get near any of us, so rest assured that we’re all perfectly fine.”

“I certainly hope so,” Golden said. “But we’ll find out in a few days, won’t we?”

“Sir, you have my word that we’ll be just like we are today.”

Six minutes later, the Royal Express began moving once again. The train slid past the station, then disappeared into the horizon as it continued on to Haliflanks.

The filly watched all of this. And when the last sign of the train had vanished, she turned her eyes on the crate of food that sat on the ground. 

> IV. Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


IV.


It takes one day to travel by train from the Crystal Empire to Haliflanks. As a result, night had fallen once again when the Royal Express rolled into the coastal city. This was not a coincidence, however; Haliflanks was among the ten largest cities in all of Equestria. Bordering the Atlantrot Ocean, it was one of Equestria’s gateways to Zebrafrica and the Griffon Empire. Countless ships sailed through Haliflanks every year to and from those foreign nations. 

A ship was also why the group was here.

Haliflanks was the best city for sneaking onto a ship and sailing away to the humans. Manehattan and Baltimare, the other two cities on Equestria’s east coast, had sprung up and grown around their docks and industrial areas. The residents of these cities paid the price; many ponies living near the industrial areas complained about the noise coming from trains and ships. When the ponies of Haliflanks saw this, they began extensive planning to avoid a similar situation in their city. The solution was a simple one: build and develop the city to the north of the docks. By doing this, the docks of Haliflanks were exclusively located on one end of the city. There were fewer disturbances to residents compared to Manehattan and Baltimare, and Haliflanks revelled in this fact.

It was convenient for the Elements and the Guards as well. All the rail lines leading to the docks were away from residential areas, which greatly minimized their chances of being sighted. 

In the passenger car were Twilight, Spike, and the other Elements. Aris, who was on VIP duty that night, was with them as well. They were waiting for the other Guards outside to signal that it was safe for the Elements to exit.

“What’s taking them so long?” complained Rainbow.

Applejack quit fidgeting with her camouflage amulet and looked up. “They’re probably just bein’ thorough. Right, Mister Aris?”

Aris nodded. “Golden’s a meticulous pony, that’s for sure.”

A click drew their attention to the door that led outside. It opened, and the senior Guard in question stood there, holding a lantern between his teeth. He moved it to his hoof.

“The captain still hasn’t arrived,” he informed them. “But the area’s clear; you can come on out.”

They filed out the door, the gravel lining the train tracks crunching beneath their hooves when they hopped down onto it. Around them were the warehouses of the docks, meant to store goods and items until they could be transported out. It seemed fitting that one car down, the other Guards were busy unloading crates from the Royal Express’ storage car.

Twilight continued scanning the scene, but there was little else other than the warehouses. A few more minutes later, however, a small pinprick of light appeared near one of the warehouses. Twilight looked over at Golden who had noticed the glowing dot as well. He waved his lantern at the other light, which paused for a moment before moving towards them. 

Once the other light drew close enough, Twilight found that it belonged to a mixed group of unicorns and earth ponies. They all wore white hats with black brims except for the lead unicorn. The brown mare, who was telekinetically holding a flashlight, sported a saddlebag as well as a blue hat with yellow lettering on it. Twilight couldn’t read the words in the half-darkness, but she had an idea of who these ponies were.

Golden deactivated his camouflage amulet, and the others followed suit. The newly-arrived cluster of ponies stepped back a bit, no doubt surprised by their transformation. The senior Guard set his lantern on the ground and stepped forward, extending a hoof in greeting. The unicorn with the blue hat shook it. 

“Captain Autumn,” Golden said. “Glad to see you’ve made it.”

“Likewise,” the captain replied. “Sorry about the delay; the inspection process took us longer than we thought.”

Golden gave a look at the ponies behind Autumn. Twilight guessed that they were her crew members. “I take it these ponies healthy?”

“Of course they are. After all, they wouldn't have been let through if they weren't.” Autumn took out a scroll from her saddle bag. “Here’s the verification document.”

Golden took the manuscript and unfurled it. He read it silently, his mouth forming the words as he did so.

“‘These eight ponies have been deemed free of infection’?” Golden glanced up and did a quick count. “But there are only six of you here.”

“I sent a stallion over to our ship to keep watch,” Autumn explained.

Golden frowned. “That still leaves one pony unaccounted for.”

Autumn shifted her hooves. “Well…Sea Breeze changed his mind at the last minute; said that he wanted to stay in Equestria for as long as he could. We tried talking him out of it, but…his decision was final.”

Golden gave the scroll back to Autumn. “That’s okay, as long as we can still get to the humans.”

“We can do that,” Autumn said as she put the scroll back into her saddlebag. “It shouldn’t be too hard for my crew to make up for one pony.”

The captain looked at her crew and motioned at the Royal Express’ storage car with her head, a silent order for them to help the Guards with the crates. With the exception of the unicorns, they had to balance the crates on their backs – a tricky task, but not one that was new to them. Once every crate, as well as the all-too-important chest, was out of the car, everypony began the trek towards their ship. 

The vessel was back where Autumn and her crew had come from. The captain lit the way with her flashlight, illuminating a long stone road that led to the waterfront. The reflective surface of the ocean was overlaid by dark rectangular shapes: the wharfs of the docks. In normal times, countless ships would be tied up at these concrete structures. Now, there was only one vessel present. 

Autumn headed towards the ship, raising a hoof in greeting towards the crew member stationed on the wharf. A wooden gangway led up to the vessel, creaking as everypony followed Autumn up it.

Twilight reached the top of the gangway, but her hoof slipped and she began to fall forward. At the last second, a hoof reached out and steadied her. Twilight looked up; it was Autumn who had helped her.

“Thanks,” she said with a sheepish grin.

“No problem,” Autumn smiled back. She pulled Twilight up and onto the ship. 

“Welcome aboard the Bluenose.”


                         


“Finally, some open space!” Rainbow shouted with glee.

She and Twilight were standing on the Bluenose’s forward deck, the wind slapping at their manes. Rainbow flexed her wings and prepared for takeoff, but Twilight stopped her.

“Rainbow, I know you’re excited to do some flying, but don’t forget what Golden said. Stay in sight of the ship, okay?”

“Don’t you worry, egghead,” Rainbow said with a wink. “I am the best flier in Equestria, after all.” With that, she shot up into the sky.

The Bluenose was two days into its voyage, and Twilight was surprised at how well everypony was settling in. Applejack and Pinkie had become unofficial cooks aboard the ship, and Fluttershy had taken a liking to a gull that had landed on the Bluenose during their first day at sea. Even Rarity had found something to do – to her, and everypony else’s, surprise, one of the roles on the ship consisted of mending uniforms and clothes. The seamstress had immediately volunteered for the job. Spike had signed up as well, but Twilight suspected that it was an excuse to spend more time with Rarity.

The only pony that had had a rough time was Rainbow. Two days in a ship’s narrow corridors were eternity for somepony used to vast open skies. In fact, that was why Twilight was standing on the Bluenose’s deck – only today had Rainbow been allowed to fly, but not without somepony else accompanying her.

As for her, Twilight Sparkle, she had spent the time exploring the ship and absorbing the fresh information about it. According to Autumn, the Bluenose was meant to carry coal and iron from Zebrafica and the Griffon Empire. Though it carried the substance, the blue-and-white ship did not run on coal. Instead, magic supplied by crew members powered the ship. The unicorns with this job had shown Twilight the generator that converted magic to electricity.

Twilight frowned. That’s odd, she thought. Rainbow had stopped flying and was hovering in the air. Surely she wasn’t tired already?

Then she streaked downwards, heading directly for Twilight. The unicorn jumped back a bit despite this being a familiar sight. Rainbow slowed and stopped, hovering in front of Twilight.

“We need to get to the captain,” the pegasus blurted out.

“The captain? Why?”

“I saw some storm clouds,” Rainbow said. “Huge ones. They’re coming straight at us!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and she nodded. The two mares ran and flew their way to the Bluenose’s bridge where Autumn was. The captain, who was studying some papers on a table, glanced up when they burst in.

“Oh, hello,” she greeted them. “What brings you two here?”

“Rainbow saw –” Twilight began, at the same time Rainbow uttered “There’s a huge –”. The two stopped and looked at each other.

“You can tell her,” Twilight offered.

Rainbow turned back to Autumn. “What we were trying to say is that I spotted a storm while I was flying. It’s pretty large, and right where the ship is headed.”

Autumn’s eyes widened. “A storm? Oh no…” She frantically looked back down at the papers. “Rainbow, in which direction exactly did you see the storm?”

“Um…about twenty degrees south of east,” she said. 

“And how far away do you think it was?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Three hundred kilometers? I’m not sure; it’s hard to judge with no landmarks.”

“Three hundred…” Autumn mused. Meanwhile, Twilight looked at Rainbow with disbelief. “How did you know all that?”

Rainbow gave her a funny look. “I’m a pegasus. We’re supposed to know direction and distance like the back of our hoof. How do you think we can fly around the country without getting lost?”

“And seventeen degrees…” Autumn mumbled. She shook her head, evidently stressed.

“Is it really that bad?” Twilight asked.

“It’s worse,” Autumn replied. “Come over here. I want to show you something.”

Rainbow and Twilight walked over to the table where Autumn was. Laid out on it was a large map of the Atlantrot.

“Right now, our position is here.” Autumn placed her hoof down between Equestria and the Griffon Empire. “This is the route we’re supposed to go on.” She slid her hoof diagonally until it came to a spot southwest of Zebrafrica. “Now, while it may seem straightforward on here, in reality it’s not.”

“This area here –” Autumn moved her hoof in a circle “– is the area we’re about to enter. It’s known by us sailors as an iceberg zone.”

“An iceberg zone? Why are we even supposed to go through it?” Twilight said.

“It’s the quickest route from Equestria to where the humans are. And from what I’ve been told, the quicker you can complete your mission, the better.”

That was certainly true. Autumn continued on. “If what Rainbow says is true, this iceberg zone is also where the storm is. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that those two are a potent mix.” She continued studying the map. “We can try to go around the storm,” she said. “I doubt we’ll completely avoid it, but at least we won’t be in the center.”

Twilight had a brainwave. “Wait! Rainbow, you can control weather. Can’t you just fly to the storm and get rid of it?”

Rainbow shook her head. “It’s way too big. The storms in Equestria are nothing to compared to what we’re about to go through. Plus, I don’t have my lightning-proof suit, and I don’t feel like getting zapped by some lightning.”

Twilight deflated, but Autumn patted her on the back. “Don’t worry about it; it’s good that you two came to me. Now we’ll have plenty of time to prepare.”


                         


Another crack of thunder split the air, an accompanist to the persistent pelting of rain.

Except for Autumn, her crew, and a few of the Guards, everypony was in their cabins. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t managed to completely avoid the storm. Autumn had estimated that they would have to endure the weather for three to five hours.

From the cabin’s bathroom came the sound of retching and coughing. The Bluenose was being tossed around by storm-driven waves, and some of Twilight’s friends hadn’t taken it too well.

Twilight heard the sound of running water, and Rarity stumbled out of the bathroom. She had been hit the hardest out of the seven of them. The other two victims were Fluttershy and Applejack, who were lying miserably in their bunks.

“Feel a bit better, Rarity?” Spike asked.

“A bit, but certainly not a lot,” Rarity groaned. She slowly made her way to her bunk and collapsed into it – hardly “ladylike” behaviour, but the unicorn was too sick to care.

“How long’s it been, Twi?” Applejack called out.

Twilight pulled out a watch, courtesy of Pinkie. “Almost two hours. We’ve still got a ways to go.”

“Figures,” Applejack grimaced.

The ship suddenly shook, and with startled cries, everypony was thrown off-balance. At the same time, the cabin went dark, and they heard a loud bang coming from the deck below them. 

“Somepony turned off the lights!” Pinkie’s voice cried. 

“Hold on,” Twilight said. A magenta glow slowly grew in the cabin as Twilight lit her horn. 

“Everypony okay?” she asked as she levitated a fallen lantern off the floor. She set it back on its table and flicked it on, letting the device take over the job of illuminating the room.

“What…what happened?” Spike rubbed his head. The baby dragon had fallen onto the floor.

“It felt like we hit something,” Rainbow commented as she helped Fluttershy back up.

Twilight thought of something. “Rainbow, remember what Autumn told us earlier today? How we’re in an area with icebergs? Maybe we hit one!” She headed towards the door.

“Where’re you going?” Pinkie asked.

“To find out what happened,” Twilight responded. “Anypony else want to come, too?”

“I’ll go with you.” Rainbow joined Twilight. The others stayed where they were, either because they didn’t feel well enough to get up or because they wanted to stay behind.

The two mares opened the door, only to find that the lights in the corridor were off as well. Twilight fired up her horn again as she lit the way. As they walked through the Bluenose, they found that the entire vessel had been plunged into darkness. Not a single light was working aboard the ship, and coupled with the narrow corridors, the feeling was a spooky one.  

“The captain should be up at the bridge,” Twilight said as she glanced around. “She’ll know what happened.” She looked behind her only to find that Rainbow had stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

Rainbow cocked her head. “Listen. You hear that?”

Twilight strained her ears, trying to pick up what was bothering the pegasus. After a minute, however, she shook her head.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly. You know how the ship’s supposed to have a rumbling noise? Well, that noise is gone.”

Rainbow had a point. The rumbling noise, which came from the engines, had been audible twenty-four seven for the past two days. 

“Let’s just keep going,” Twilight said, not liking what the absence of noise was hinting at.

They reached the stairwell that led to the upper decks, among them the bridge. However, they were surprised to see Autumn descending the stairs, a flashlight in front of her.

“Captain! We were just about to see you,” Twilight said.

Autumn continued her descent, the other two mares following her. “Want to know what happened, don’t you?”

“Twilight thinks we hit an iceberg,” Rainbow said.

“It wasn’t an iceberg – it was a wave,” Autumn replied. “A freakishly large one, too. It managed to tilt the whole ship. In fact, I bet you two felt it.”

So that was the shaking, Twilight thought. “But we also heard a bang when the wave hit,” she said. “Do you know what that was?”

“Yeah, and why are all the lights off?” Rainbow added.

Autumn shook her head. “I’m in the dark too, literally. That’s why I came down here.”

They reached the lower deck. It was dark down here as well, except for the faint glow of a lantern spilling out of a doorway. Twilight recalled that the door led to the engine room. The three mares went in, and were greeted by a unicorn crew member stamping his hooves and cursing in front of the generator.

“Drifter!” Autumn barked. “What in Celestia’s name is going on in here?”

Drifter stiffened upon hearing the captain. He turned around, and upon seeing the mares, he went red.

“Ah…pardon me, captain, and madams.”

“What happened?” Autumn repeated. “What’s with the tantrum?” 

“Well, I was about to give the generator more juice,” Drifter said, motioning at the machine. “Then the ship rolled, and it completely messed me up. I accidentally overloaded the generator – it’s fried now!” 

“It’s…you what?!” Rainbow cried.

“Calm down, Rainbow,” Autumn ordered.

“He…he fried the generator? But then that means…”

“I’ll talk about it with him,” Autumn said briskly. “But until this gets sorted out, you two should get back to your cabin.” She returned her attention to Drifter. “As for you, go activate our backup. We need the lights back on.”

The crew member meekly nodded. Twilight took the opportunity to leave, dragging the fuming Rainbow out of the engine room with her.

> V. Negotiations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


V.


“All right, gentlecolts. Here’s the situation.”

Golden and White stepped back from the table as Autumn unfurled a huge map of the Atlantrot. The Bluenose was, at last, out of the storm, and power had been restored to the ship. The captain had called the two Guards to the bridge to work out what to do next.

“The good news is that we still have some power, as you already know,” Autumn said. “Our backup generator is taking care of that. The bad news is that we’ll only have enough to run the ship for two days – maybe three, if we conserve it.”

“But I thought these magic-powered generators could work forever,” White said. 

Autumn shook her head. “A backup generator is supposed to be a failsafe for instances when unicorns of a crew can’t or won’t work. That’s why it doesn’t use magic – it uses coal.” She shrugged.  “I’m sure you know that our coal supply is much more limited than our magic.”   

Golden spoke up. “Well…can we still make it to the humans?”

“On a few days’ power? Maybe, but it’s not guaranteed.” Autumn turned to the map and planted her hoof on it. “The storm pushed us off course a bit, but I can say for certain that we’re in this area.” 

“Now, we have two options.” Autumn slid her hoof southeast. “We can continue on our planned route and hope that we reach land before our backup generator gives out. However, if it does give out before landfall, we’ll be at the mercy of the currents. Celestia knows where we’ll end up.”

Her hoof travelled north. “Our other option is to divert our course to the Griffon Empire. It’ll take us away from the humans, but the country is closer, and the trip is one I can guarantee we’ll make.” She stepped back. “Personally, I think we should go for the griffons.”

“I disagree,” White said. “We should go for the humans. What does the Griffon Empire have to offer us? They’re in the same boat as Equestria.”

It was up to Golden. He continued studying the map. It was a tough decision; run the risk of becoming stuck in the ocean, or willingly enter a country dealing with its own problems?

My job is to ensure this mission succeeds, Golden thought. Which means my job is to protect the Elements of Harmony, and to minimize the risk to them.

“What’s your call, sir?” White asked. 

Golden made up his mind. He looked up from the map.

“We’re going to visit the griffons.”


                    


Gael inhaled deeply, the salty coastal air filling his nostrils.

He was poised on the edge of the sea cliff, two hundred metres above the water below. White froth drifted against the base of the cliff, while the rest of the ocean stretched for as far as he could see, meeting up with the lighter blue of the sky on the horizon. It was his second day living beside the coast, and he was still fascinated by the size and extent of the ocean. 

Gael took another deep breath, and then tipped himself over the edge.

For two seconds, he existed in a state of free-fall, pure adrenaline coursing through him. He then unfurled his wings, gliding away from the cliffs and over the water. Waves rushed past below him as he sped across the ocean. It was awesome, to say the least. 

Gael let out a shout of exhilaration. He had wanted to do this – he needed to do this – ever since he had reached the coast. After a month of carefully weaving through cities and towns, scavenging for supplies, and avoiding other griffons, it was wonderful to just relax and enjoy himself.

He had good reason to do so, too. Yesterday was the day that he had crossed into Ibeira, the most southern province of the Griffon Empire. He was halfway into his journey – a couple more weeks, and it would be completely over.

Gael felt himself slowing down. He pointed himself upward and climbed away from the water, intending to do a dive to get some speed back. But as he gained altitude, he noticed a white scar on the ocean to the right of him. It was similar in color to the whitecaps of waves, but snaked across the surface of the water in a straight path. 

His curiosity piqued, Gael veered towards the trail of white to take a closer look. It was wide, a good few decametres across. The strangest thing was that it pointed right in the direction of the lighthouse that Gael was living in.

Seems like the wake of something, he thought. A whale, maybe? He hadn’t seen any of the large animals, but it wasn’t impossible that they were around.

Or…could it be a ship?

He shot down that theory almost immediately. Don’t be absurd. After the Clip had surfaced, the ports of the Griffon Empire had been closed in an effort to contain the sickness. All ships had been either taken away by the government or sunk to the bottom. Only a couple small vessels, such as fishing boats, had survived, and they were certainly not large enough to create a wake like this. 

Gael decided to fly on. He did some more gliding, and the occasional loop, before turning back towards the lighthouse. The griffon flew along the coast, following the downward slant of the land. The lighthouse then came into view, a black-and-white column protruding from the ground. 

To Gael, the lighthouse was the ideal structure to live in during these times. It was far away from any cities or towns, which also meant that it was far away from other griffons. It also had the advantage of height. The lantern room at the top was an excellent place to observe the surrounding area. The setup made it virtually impossible for a Clipped griffon to get near the lighthouse without Gael knowing about it first. 

However, as he crested the hill atop which the lighthouse stood, he was shocked by what he saw. A large blue-and-white ship was in the bay off the nearby beach, and three griffons were on the shore. One of them was dragging a small rowboat onto the beach. The other two…

The other two were walking towards the lighthouse.

Gael immediately dropped down onto the ground. So his second guess had been right after all. But why was a ship here, of all places? How was it here? Vessels its size had been among the first on the chopping block.

And there was also the issue of those three griffons. Luckily, they hadn’t seen Gael, and the griffon continued observing them as they slowly made their way towards him and the lighthouse. There was something odd about them – their legs moved in a jerky, almost mechanical fashion. Even from this distance, Gael could tell something was wrong with them.

He’d hoped that the ship belonged to other, healthy griffons that could help him. But these griffons were not normal, with their odd behaviour. Granted, he didn’t remember the Clip causing erratic movement like in those griffons, but Gael wasn’t going to take any chances.

He had to move before they saw him.  

Gael carefully flew upwards, making sure the lighthouse was between him and the two griffons. He landed on the balcony and pushed in the door of the lantern room. The giant electrical light reflected distorted versions of Gael’s image as the griffon passed it.

A hatch on the floor led to the rest of the lighthouse below. Gael gripped the handle and slid it open, exposing the hollow inside of the lighthouse tower itself. The scraping of metal on wood echoed in the empty space. Gael deftly swung himself through the hatch, his claws gripping the edge of the floor, and dropped through.

He fluttered down, following the central support pillar, and landed at the bottom of the tower. This was the central hub of the lighthouse; from here, he could visit any place in the structure. 

Gael hurried into the living quarters. Grabbing his bag, he began stuffing his supplies into it. Maps and papers were crumpled by tin cans as Gael worked. His usual habit of neat, tidy packing was ignored – time was of the essence here. 

A loud rapping noise sounded from the door that led outside. Gael quickly looked up from his bag. 

They’re here already?

The knocking stopped, only to be replaced by the jiggling of the doorknob. It was locked, thankfully, but Gael knew that brute force would soon come into play.

He threw the last can of food into his bag and scrabbled at the clasp. The bag bulged, however, due to his hurried packing, and the clasp refused to close. 

“Come on,” Gael muttered to himself.

He yanked violently, and the two halves finally met. The griffon slung the bag under his wing, glancing at the door. Heavy thumps had begun to come from it as the other griffons tried to break it down, but Gael had prepared for such a situation. When he had arrived at the lighthouse, he had barricaded the door with wooden planks as well as some furniture, all reinforced by a metal bed frame. 

So imagine his surprise when, with a crack, the door broke open.

No way. No way that’s possible. 

Gael was stunned. He’d been sure that the barricade would hold out for at least five to ten minutes. He remembered how difficult it was to assemble it, pushing and shoving everything into place. But these griffons had broken through in less than two minutes. 

Gael snapped into action. The barricade’s remnants – two sofas in particular – were still hindering the progress of the griffons on the other side. There was still some time for Gael to escape.

He quickly dashed into the tower, ducking off to the side so that he wasn’t exposed through the doorway. Behind him, there was one final scrape on the floor as the other griffons finally got through the barricade. Gael could hear the sound of their claws and paws striking the floor as they entered – but they sounded wrong. The noise was more sharp and louder than what Gael was used to hearing.

First that walking, and now this weird noise? Surely the Clip can’t change the way your claw- and pawsteps sound.

Ignoring the thought for the time being, Gael silently unfurled his wings. His plan was to fly to the ceiling and hide up there. He didn’t plan on leaving the lighthouse yet. Opening the hatch would make noise – noise that would surely be heard.

Gael could hear the griffons talking amongst themselves as he ascended. Their voices were indistinct, too soft for him to make out any words. However, one voice grew louder, and Gael caught his breath. One of the griffons must be entering the tower!

Gael suddenly felt horribly exposed. Maybe he should have made a run for it after all; the other griffons would have heard the hatch, but at least they wouldn’t have seen him.

It was too late for second thoughts, though. As Gael hovered, trying to make as little noise as possible, one of the griffons appeared in the doorway directly below him. 

He – or she? – had brown wings and fur, and a white head. A Yatilian, Gael figured. But what happened next proved that the griffon was anything but from Yatil.

“Nothing here, Golden,” the griffon said in Equestrian – in Equestrian! “Just an empty tower.”

Gael had studied Equestrian before, but hadn’t expected to use it outside of work and the occasional vacation. Now, he was thankful that he had taken the lessons. He didn’t understand all the words, but knew enough to get what was being said.

The other griffon paused, probably listening to his partner’s response. Then: “Nope, no stairs, either. Like I said, it’s empty.” 

He paused again, seemingly about to leave the tower. But it was only to let his colleague – Golden? – join him in the doorway. The second griffon glanced at the walls of the tower. 

“This is pretty big,” Golden said. He entered the tower itself, walking around the central pillar. “We could fit most of our supplies in here, along with ten, maybe twelve, ponies.”

“So everypony except for us Guards,” the first griffon clarified.

“That’s our job, Aris,” Golden said. “Put other ponies first.”

He arrived back at the doorway, his circle completed. “Speaking of which, we should get back to the ship. Making the move from there to here will take the rest of the day, I think.”

The two disappeared from sight as they left the tower. Gael stayed where he was, his wings fluttering softly, until he heard the front door slamming shut. He breathed a slow sigh of relief. Luck had held out for him.

Gael grabbed the hatch handle and slid it open, then hauled himself up into the lantern room. There was one last thing he needed to do.

Not wanting to be seen through the windows, Gael went prone on the floor. He watched as his two visitors made their way back to the beach. They stopped for a few minutes, talking with the griffon – no, pony – who had waited for them, then got into the rowboat. Gael watched as the little vessel moved across the water, until it disappeared behind the much larger ship.

He stood up, still reeling from what he had discovered. Ponies. Those griffons were really ponies in disguise. The ship was theirs, but they were going to move to the lighthouse. Gael also knew that there were at least fourteen ponies that were going to come ashore, and at least two of them were so-called “Guards”.

What could they be here for? Surely they know about the Clip? Gael asked himself. Or maybe they’re here to help us with aid, or evacuation, and that’s why they’re moving onto shore.

Evacuation… Gael looked at the Equestrian ship again. Could the ponies…could they get me out of here?

The griffon gave it some serious thought. The idea was tempting; he could be out of the Griffon Empire in days instead of weeks, and be an ocean away from the Clip instead of a mere sea. 

He swung open the window of the lantern room. Stepping out onto the lighthouse’s balcony, Gael let the breeze clear his head as he worked out how to approach the ponies.

The most difficult part would be getting them to talk with him in the first place. Gael assumed that they knew about the Clip and would take precautions against it. Avoiding contact with strangers would be one such precaution. He had to prove to them that he was healthy.

That shouldn’t be too hard, Gael thought. All I have to do is show that I can still fly, right?

But even if he managed to talk with the ponies, there was no guarantee of them letting him aboard, or even giving the idea any consideration.

Unless…unless I have something to bargain with, Gael realized. And he did have something that would be useful to the ponies.

He looked out at the bay. That was quick, he thought. The ponies were already rowing back to shore.

Gael stayed where he was. He wasn’t going to fly out there to greet the ponies – the chance of them seeing Gael and running before he could talk was too high. He had decided to wait in the lantern room until the ponies were near the lighthouse, then drop down and talk.

The ponies, still in their griffon disguises, were getting out of the rowboat. Gael could see them taking out some square objects – their supplies, perhaps? There were four of them this time. One stayed with the rowboat, like before, while the other three approached the lighthouse. 

As they neared his position, Gael could see that they were carrying crates on their backs. However, from his viewpoint, the crates were partially in their backs; another flaw in their disguises. 

The ponies were almost at the lighthouse’s door. Gael took a deep breath, hoping that he wouldn’t mess this up.

He spread his wings as he jumped off the balcony. His shadow crossed the ground, causing the ponies to look up. Their confused expressions became panicked once they saw Gael hovering above them.

“No! Calm down! I’m not infecté.” Gael’s Equestrian threatened to jumble up in his mouth as he rushed through it. “I can fly. I’m sick not – er, not sick. I’m not sick! I can still fly!” He waved his claws in front of him to emphasize the point. 

Despite his outburst, the ponies were still backing away from him. Gael had to do something, fast, before the situation was lost.

“Do you need help? I can help! You and the other ponies!” he shouted. Please, let this work.

The ponies stopped. One of them said something to the others, which began a conversation amongst themselves. They were too quiet for Gael to hear what they were saying, and the griffon awkwardly hovered in the air, waiting for them. Finally, one of them answered Gael.

“You wrong. We griffons like you,” he said in awkward Gryphus.

So they’re trying to deny it. “No, you aren’t. I know you are all ponies; after all, you understand my Equestrian.”

The pony muttered something under his breath, then turned back to his colleagues. They had another discussion before the first pony stepped forward.

“Okay, you’ve got us,” he admitted in Equestrian. He moved a fake claw towards his neck. “Guess we won’t need this for the time being.” A flash of blue light erupted around the pony, causing Gael to fly backwards a few metres on instinct. 

What just…

The light cleared, and the pony was now just that – a pony. His disguise had been deactivated, somehow. His colleagues did the same trick, and Gael was soon hovering above a trio of white ponies.

The first pony motioned at Gael. “You can come down here now, but keep your distance!”

Gael did as the pony instructed. “I’m not sick, you know. I can still fly,” he said for the third time.

“We just want to be safe,” the pony replied.

Can’t argue with that, Gael thought.

The pony continued. “Now, what’s this ‘help’ you’re offering?” 

“Well, I can act as a guide for you ponies,” Gael said. “I’ve been around the Clip for almost –” 

“The Clip?” the pony interrupted.

“The sickness,” Gael clarified. “I’ve been avoiding it for weeks now. I know the towns, the safe places, everything. And, I can help you ponies get to wherever it is you want to go.” 

“Hmm…” There was another brief talk among the trio. “What do you want in return?” the first pony asked.

He’s a smart one, Gael thought. “In return? Once you’re done here, you take me back to Equestria with you.”

“That’s –” The third pony began to protest, only to be hushed by the second. More quiet conversation followed, but the whispers were fiercer this time, the ponies more animated. The tendrils of doubt slowly crept into Gael’s mind.

Maybe it wasn’t enough, promising to be a guide, he thought. But that’s all I have! What else can I offer? Food? Shelter? They’ve already got that on and in their ship.

Gael stayed where he was, flapping his wings. He felt like he was in court, his imminent future being determined by complete strangers. The anxiety was overwhelming.

Finally, the ponies finished talking. The first one motioned at Gael, who leaned forward, awaiting the pony’s response.

“All right. We accept your offer.”

> VI. Unfortunate Developments
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


VI.


Twilight stepped aside as a crew member brushed past, a glowing box floating in front of him.

“How many do we have left?” Autumn asked, standing across from Twilight.

The unicorn controlling the crate of supplies glanced back. “This is the last one. We’re all done.”

“Great!” Autumn turned to Twilight and the other Elements. “We’ll start moving you and your friends soon.”

It was late in the afternoon, and the Guards and the Bluenose's crew were busy ferrying the ship’s contents to shore. This morning, after a delay of twenty-four hours, word had come back confirming that they would be staying in the nearby lighthouse, and a huge effort was underway to unload the entire ship by the day’s end. The backup generator had given out last night, and nopony wanted to stay on a dark and stuffy ship overnight.

Twilight gazed at the lighthouse through the hatch in the Bluenose’s hull. She had heard that the Guards had spent all of yesterday hammering out a deal with a local, a griffon that had promised to help them. That was the reason for the delay. Twilight thought it was a bit odd, since Golden had made it clear back in Whinnypeg that they were not going to get near anypony outside of their group. 

Then again, we are stuck in a country on the other side of the ocean, she thought with a grimace. 

“Twilight Sparkle, Spike, and Pinkie Pie will be in the first group,” a Guard beside the hatch announced.

Applejack looked at the trio. “See ya’ll on land soon!”

They headed towards where the Guard was standing. The rowboat that would carry them was floating in the water beside the Bluenose’s hull, and the Guards that would be doing the rowing were already in the boat. Twilight could see them moving around some crates and making room for the two ponies and dragon that were going to come aboard.

The setup’s biggest obstacle was the uncomfortable drop from the hatch to the rowboat. It didn’t matter with the crates, as crew members could easily lower them in, but the gap was too much for a pony to attempt without risking the rowboat tipping over. The crew’s crude solution was to use a plank of wood as a ramp, propped up between the rowboat’s hull and the hatch’s floor. The Guards had the double task of holding down the ramp while making sure that the rowboat was staying still.

A Guard in the boat motioned at the ponies and dragon standing in the hatch. “We’re ready!”

Pinkie looked around. “Wait, am I first? I am first! Neat!” She hopped out the hatch and began her characteristic bounce down the ramp. The Guards gave a panicked shout, thinking that Pinkie was going to tip the ramp – and boat – over. Incredibly, though, the wooden plank barely shuddered as the earth pony bounced down it.

“What is it?” Pinkie, hearing the shouts of the Guards, had stopped on the ramp, her head tilted quizzically to one side.

“Erm…nothing,” the Guard holding the ramp said, still in disbelief. “Carry on.”

In the hatch, Twilight and Spike, who were used to Pinkie’s logic-defying acts, shared a small grin.

Pinkie got into the boat, and a Guard quickly moved to the opposite side to counteract the new weight. Twilight nudged Spike to go next.

Spike, being smaller, easily travelled down the ramp. He even sprinted a little, and hopped into the boat. The Guard holding the ramp waved at Twilight – now it was her turn.

Twilight was heavier than Spike, and didn’t have the ability to defy physics like Pinkie. She was going to have to be more cautious than the others. The unicorn carefully laid down a hoof on the ramp, making sure it was stable. It held, and Twilight continued, glancing down at the plank as she did so. 

However, when she was halfway to the boat, a strong gust of wind picked up. Twilight twisted her head as her mane billowed to the side, shaking her head a bit to mover her bangs aside. 

Then a shout from the boat drew her attention.

She looked up. The wind had caused the rowboat to shift, and the ramp was slipping off. The Guards were hurriedly trying to push the boat back into place, but the stallion gripping the plank was already straining to hold it up. 

Twilight looked behind her, wondering if she could get back into the ship in time. But it would take much too long to turn and run. She was going to fall into the water if something didn’t happen soon.

Thinking fast, Twilight charged up her horn for a spell. Just before the plank completely slipped from the Guard’s grasp, she teleported into the rowboat. 

The boat rocked from the sudden weight, but Twilight had calculated correctly. She had appeared in the middle of the boat, preventing it from tipping over. The plank fell into the water with a splash.

Autumn, hearing the sound, appeared at the hatch. “Did you just lose somepony?” she shouted.

One Guard pointed at the wooden plank floating in the water. “The boat shifted from the wind, Captain. Miss Sparkle here was just about to get dumped into the drink; good thing she teleported.” 

A cyan head peeked out from behind Autumn. “What just happened?”

“Nothing. Everything’s fine,” Autumn reassured Rainbow with a wave of her hoof. The pegasus disappeared from sight. “You all going to depart now?” the captain said to the occupants of the rowboat.

“Yep. Come on, Rough, let’s move.” Strong moved to one side of the boat, picking up the oar sitting across the benches. Rough mirrored his actions. With a final wave at Autumn, the group departed. 

Pinkie sat on her bench, her head zipping from side to side as she drank everything in. Spike, being smaller in size and weight, was comfortably perched at the bow of the rowboat. He shielded his eyes with a claw as he gazed ahead.

“Look, Twilight!” Spike pointed ahead of them. “There’s the other boat.”

Twilight’s hoof lifted to her brow. The Bluenose had two rowboats that were ferrying supplies, and to speed things up, they alternated between shore and ship. The vessel Spike had spotted must be returning to the Bluenose.

Strong and Rough waved at their fellow Guards in the other boat. They waved back, and their vessel began shifting direction. The two boats pulled alongside each other after a few minutes.

“These are the last supplies, I take it?” a Guard in the other boat guessed. He motioned at the crates behind Twilight. 

“Yeah, they are. I think you and Steel are going to ferry the rest of the Elements,” Strong said. “How’s that griffon doing?”

“He can still fly, so we’ve declared him healthy and lifted his probation, lucky for him,” Steel replied. “Golden’s still telling us to be careful – but hey, when hasn’t he?”

Strong chuckled at the jab at their superior. “True, true.”

“Don’t get me wrong, though; Golden’s definitely softened up,” Steel continued. “He even let Long here conduct a full-out questioning session with the griffon.”

“We got some interesting stuff,” Long spoke up. “But I’ll leave that to Golden and White to tell you about. We’d best get a move on.”

“Sure thing.” The two parties exchanged a final wave before continuing on their separate ways once again.

As the boat moved through the water, Twilight’s mind digested what the other Guards had said. 

They got some ‘interesting stuff’? she thought as she brushed her bangs aside. Like what? Maybe how we’ll get another ship? I hope so.  

The shore grew closer, and the boat made landfall with a gentle bump onto the sand. Spike hopped down from his perch and waded through the shallow water. Strong and Rough began unloading the crates, and Pinkie and Twilight followed Spike up the beach.

The wet sand squelched underneath Twilight’s hooves as she walked, leaving behind circular prints in the beach. Spike was busy scooping up the sand in his claws, letting the grains filter through. 

“A real beach on the ocean! Wow, I think we’ve visited something like this only once before,” he commented. The baby dragon brushed some sand off his claws. 

Pinkie was excited for a different reason. “Can you believe we’re going to meet a griffon, Twilight? He’s going to be the third one I’ve met since well, ever! I just hope he isn’t a mean-meanie-pants like Gilda was. Oh, that reminds me of Gustave! Remember him, Twilight?”

“Gustave? Yeah, I remember him. He was one of the other bakers for the national dessert competition, right?”

“Yep! Actually, he was kind of mean when we first met him, but I liked him in the end. I hope this griffon’s like him!”

This griffon…“Spike, do we actually know the griffon’s name?” Twilight asked. 

The baby dragon cocked his head to one side. “Now that I think about it, no, we don’t.” 

Twilight added that to her mental checklist. “Guess we’ll have to ask for ourselves.”

They climbed the hill that the lighthouse was sitting on top of, stopping outside the lighthouse’s entrance to let the Guards catch up with them. The two stallions were at the base of the hill. 

“Whoa!” Rough’s crate tilted to one side as he began climbing. The Guard quickly shot a hoof up to steady it before it could fall off his back.

“Easy, Rough, easy,” Strong cautioned. “You got it?”

Rough nudged the crate before continuing up the hill. “I’m fine. Don’t mind me.” 

The two Guards reached the others at the top, and Strong pounded on the door with a hoof.

“Golden! It’s Strong and Rough! We’re here with some of the VIPs!”

The door opened with a click. “Then let’s not keep them waiting, shall we?” Golden replied.

They entered the lighthouse through what Twilight guessed were the living quarters. She was surprised at how much space there was inside. It was almost as big as the first floor of the library back in Ponyville, and Twilight recognized familiar household objects such as a stove and a dining table. 

“’Scuse – unf – us, please,” Strong blurted out as he adjusted the crate balanced on his back. The others cleared a path for him and Rough, and they disappeared into a room on the left. Twilight glanced in, and found that the room was stacked full of supplies. She saw Aris and another Guard standing beside the chest in the middle of the room.

“Wait; so if this place is going to be filled with our supplies, where is everypony going to stay?”

“Right in here,” Golden replied, opening a door ahead of the group. They walked in, and looked up…and up.

“This tower’s empty right now, but once we move bedding and mattresses from the Bluenose, it’ll serve us nicely.”

“Wow! This is ginormous!” Pinkie said. She tilted her head upwards. “Echo!”

They wandered around, taking in the massive artificial cavern. Sunlight filtered in through a row of five windows, so it wasn’t completely dark in the tower. 

Spike looked around, and he frowned. “Where are the stairs? I thought you could go to the top of a lighthouse.”

“Stairs? Aren’t they over…” The sentence died in Twilight’s mouth. Spike was right; the only thing that led upwards was a column in the middle of the tower. 

Pinkie giggled. “You’re funny! Griffons don’t need stairs.” She sprung up onto her hind legs and flapped her forelegs. “They just fly around everywhere.”

“That…actually makes sense,” Twilight admitted. 

The squeal of metal caused the group to look upwards. A square hatch was opening in the ceiling far above, allowing more sunlight to beam in. Then a silhouette of a head appeared, and an accented male voice called down to them.

“Qu'est-ce que c'est? What’s going on?”

“That’s the griffon,” Golden said to the mares and Spike. “I’m showing around some ponies!” he shouted back.

“More ponies? Do not leave yet – I would like to meet them,” the griffon replied. 

They could see the griffon shifting around the hatch. He then dropped through, wings spreading out on either side of him as he glided down to the group below.

The griffon landed beside Golden, folding his wings once his claws and paws were on the ground. He extended a claw in greeting. “Hello! I am Gael,” the griffon said with a smile. He was grey in color, not unlike Gustave.

Finally, a name, Twilight thought. She shook Gael’s claw. “Pleasure to meet you, Gael,” she said. “My name’s Twilight Sparkle. And this is Pinkie Pie –”

“Hi!”

“– and Spike.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight could see Golden’s mouth tug down into a sliver of a grimace. 

“Wait. Are you…are you a dragon?” Gael asked Spike.

“Yep!” Spike grinned. “I’ve got the scales, the fire-breathing, everything.”

“Wow! I have never seen a dragon before.” To the others, he added, “Not many griffons get the chance to see one.” He turned back to Spike. “I have so many questions for you.”

“Well, you’d better save them for later,” Golden cut in. “We’ve still got ten or so other ponies to ferry over here.”

Gael’s head bobbed. “Of course. Well, I will look forward to when we can talk some more later.” He flapped open his wings. “Goodbye for now!” 

Gael flew back up to the ceiling. He squeezed through the hatch, and closed it behind him. 

“He seems like a nice guy!” Pinkie said. “But I wonder why he’s all the way up there.”

“It was just a precaution,” Golden explained. “We didn’t know if he was sick or not, so we had him stay up there until we were sure he was healthy.”

That’s what Steel was talking about in the boat, thought Twilight.

Golden began moving out of the tower, and the other three followed him. But Twilight barely noticed herself moving. Meeting Gael, and talking about the sickness, had brought up some memories…


                         


“Here’s another one: The Beginnings of Equestria.” Spike looked around the library. “That’s under Pony History, right?”

Twilight nodded as she levitated a trio of books towards a shelf. Reshelving Day had come again, and the pair was busy sorting out the hundreds of books of Ponyville’s library.

“Daring Do and the Trek to the Terrifying Tower. I think Rainbow Dash said she wanted to read this again.” Spike set the book off to the side before reaching into the pile for another. Just then, a sharp series of knocks drew their attention to the door.

“Miss Sparkle?” a muffled voice uttered from the other side of the door.

Twilight cut her telekinetic hold on the books and walked over to the door. She opened it, and was surprised to find a Royal Guard standing outside.

“Miss Sparkle, Dr. Stable would like you to come to the hospital. It has to do with the changeling.”

“What happened?”

“It died,” the Guard said bluntly.

Twilight blinked. “Excuse me?”

“It died,” the Guard repeated.

Twilight was startled at how casual the Guard was with the news. “Oh…okay. Um, can you give me a minute?”

The Guard nodded, and Twilight closed the door. Spike got up from the floor. 

“I don’t have to come, do I?” he asked nervously.

“Of course you don’t have to!” Twilight said. “You’re a baby dragon, after all.” She rubbed her face. “I don’t want to see a dead changeling, either, but the Princess will want to know what happened.”

“Speaking of which…” Spike produced a blank scroll and a quill. “Do you want me to send a letter to her?” 

“Ah, good thinking, Spike.” The dragon began writing as Twilight dictated the letter to him.

“Dear Princess Celestia. A Royal Guard has just arrived at the library, and has told me that Dr. Stable would like to see me. Apparently, the changeling we hospitalized one week ago has died. I don’t know anything other than that, but once I come back from the hospital with more information, I will send another letter to you. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike finished writing, flourishing with the quill a little at the end. He rolled it up, inhaled, and incinerated the letter with green flame.

“It’s on its way,” Spike announced.

“Great.” Twilight moved towards the door. “I’ll be back soon, hopefully.”

Twilight walked out of the library, answering the Guard’s “All set?” with a “Yep.” She shut the door behind her, and the two ponies began their walk to the hospital.

“Are my friends going to meet up with us?” Twilight asked the Guard.

“We didn’t call the others in, no,” was the response. “It’s the middle of the day, after all, and I’m sure they’re all busy working.”

“Or eating,” Twilight commented, glancing at a group of ponies conversing in a café. 

“Plus, pulling them out of work could get some questions from other ponies,” the Guard continued.

“Dr. Stable doesn’t want the news to get out, huh?” 

“Not without Princess Celestia’s permission.” They turned left onto a side path. “The doctor’s also afraid of what the news will make ponies think of the hospital. After all, a patient dying doesn’t look very good for your image.”

Twilight nodded. This changeling’s death was sure to cause a stir among the town; if the news ever got out, that is. 

They reached the hospital doors. Entering the lobby, they found a bespectacled light brown unicorn with a stethoscope hanging around his neck. The unicorn raised a hoof in greeting.

“Thank you, sir,” he said to the Guard. The armor-clad pegasus nodded, then left. 

“Sorry about dragging you down here on such short notice,” Dr. Stable directed at Twilight. “Does the Princess know about what happened yet?” 

“I just sent a letter to her a few minutes ago,” Twilight said. 

Stable nodded. “That’s good, that’s good.” The doctor began down a corridor, and Twilight followed him.

“I’ll start from the beginning,” Stable said. “You know how we do – sorry, did – three checkups on the changeling every day. Well, Nurse Coldheart was the pony who did the morning checkup today. According to her, the changeling was already…uh…gone when she entered.”

“How’d she know for sure?”

“Coldheart tried to take the changeling’s pulse. When she got nothing, well…” Stable shrugged, his sentence trailing off.

The pair reached the familiar door of ICU 1. 

“Go on in,” Stable said as he held the door open.

Twilight entered the room. Her first thought was: Well, it doesn’t look much different than before.

It was true. The changeling still lay on the bed, eyes closed, just as it had for the past week. The only difference now was that it lay completely still, and the various tubes that had been hooked to it now hung limply off to the side.

Twilight involuntarily shivered. 

“Creepy, isn’t it?” Stable commented.

She nodded in agreement. It felt odd being in the same room with a dead pony. Twilight wanted to reach out and touch it, as if contact with another pony would break the unnatural stillness of the changeling.

She jumped a little when Nurse Redheart entered the room.

“Twilight Sparkle? There’s a visitor in the lobby demanding to see you.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “Me? But I thought nopony knows I’m here.”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call him a pony,” Redheart replied.

So that would be... Twilight abruptly pushed past Redheart, ignoring the nurse’s surprise, and hurried back to the hospital’s lobby. 

“Spike!” The baby dragon was bent over and breathing heavily, visibly exhausted. “What are you doing here? I thought you said you didn’t want to come.”

“Yeah, but…Princess’s letter…came here as fast…” Spike squeezed out between his huffing and puffing. He held up a claw, a scroll securely grasped in it. Twilight telekinetically lifted the letter from his grasp and began reading. It 
was a short letter:

My dearest Twilight;

This is very unfortunate news to hear, and is a development that we must pay the upmost attention to.

I won’t be able to visit Ponyville for myself to see the changeling; court duties are keeping me busy. However, I have sent one of Canterlot’s finest pathologists to investigate the changeling’s passing. You and the doctor should expect 
her to arrive in about half an hour of sending this letter.

Signed, your loving teacher, Princess Celestia

“What’s it say?” Stable and Redheart had caught up to Twilight, and the doctor pointed at the letter.

“Princess Celestia is sending a pathologist,” Twilight told him. “She’s supposed to be here in half an hour.”

“Half an hour?” Stable twisted his neck upwards to look at the clock. “It’ll be one by the time she comes.”

“We’ll have to wait, then,” Twilight said.

“I have to go check up on some other patients of mine,” Stable said. He shrugged. “Sorry that I can’t talk with you some more. But we’ll meet up again once that pathologist arrives.”

“Okay, Doc,” Spike said. Stable nodded, and then left the two to themselves. 

It was then that Twilight realized she and Spike had no idea where to go. The walk back to the library would take twelve minutes both ways, leaving only a few moments in between. And she didn’t know where they could go in the town.

“There’s a cafeteria in this hospital, right?” Spike asked Redheart.

“Yes, there is.” The nurse lifted a foreleg as she sat back down at her desk. “Go down that hallway, and you should find it on your right.”

“Okay. Thanks!”

“Hungry, aren’t you?” Twilight commented as they left Redheart behind.

Spike opened his mouth to answer, but a low gurgling from his stomach did the talking for him. 

The hospital cafeteria was small, composed of four tables and a serving counter that took up an entire wall of the room, behind which stood a blue earth pony. There was also a yellow pony with a light-blue mane at one of the tables, facing away from Twilight and Spike.

The pair strode over to the serving counter.

“Hello!” the mare behind the counter greeted them. She brushed some loose strands of her turquoise mane away from her face. “Are you two ordering something?”

Twilight looked at the menu posted on the wall. “I’ll have a daisy sandwich. Spike, what do you want?”

“Is there anything with gems?”

Her eyes scanned the menu. “Doesn’t look like there is. Do you want some hay fries instead?”

Spike shrugged. “I’ll take that, sure.”

“One daisy sandwich and one basket of hay fries, please,” Twilight said to the mare behind the counter. 

The mare opened a refrigerator behind her and plopped the two items down on the counter. “That’ll be seven bits.”

Twilight’s hoof automatically reached up for her saddlebag, but realization then struck her. She felt like giving herself a good smack – how could she have forgotten such a basic fact? 

Twilight gave a sheepish grin at the mare. “I just remembered: we didn’t bring any money with us.” 

The mare frowned. “Well, sorry, but I can’t give you your food if you don’t have any bits for it.”

“I’ll pay for it,” a voice behind Twilight and Spike said. They whirled around to find that the yellow pony had left her table and was now standing behind them.

“I’ll pay,” she repeated. 

“No, no, you don’t have to,” Twilight said.

The pony was adamant. “I insist you let me help you. It’s the least I can do for you two, considering what you’re dealing with.”

What we’re dealing with? Does she mean the changeling?

The pony took Twilight’s silence as agreement. She squeezed past, and the clinking of coins followed. “There we are. Seven bits.”

A blue foreleg swiped across the counter, the gold discs sliding away. “Are you feeling okay, Coldheart?” the mare behind the counter asked. “You’ve been acting a bit strange since you found –”

Coldheart waved a hoof in dismissal. “I’m fine, Winter. Don’t worry about me.” Despite what she said, Coldheart’s eye giving a slight twitch.

Twilight levitated the basket of hay fries down to Spike’s claws before taking the plate with her sandwich. The pair followed Coldheart back to her table.

“How did you know who we were?” Twilight asked as she sat down.

“All of us nurses know about you,” Coldheart replied. “Dr. Stable made sure we did, in case you visited while he was out. Go on, dear, eat up.” She pushed Twilight’s sandwich towards her.

Twilight lifted her food off her plate. “The doctor told me about you, too.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah.” Twilight paused for a moment as she swallowed. “He told me you were the one that found the changeling.” 

“Then you know why I wanted to help you out.” She gave a slight shudder. “Seeing a dead pony is just unnerving; touching it is worse. It feels…different, somehow, almost colder.” 

The three sat in silence for a while, none of them sure how to continue. Then Coldheart sighed. “I’m sorry; I must have completely ruined your appetite talking about this.” Her chair scraped on the floor as she stood up. “I’ll leave you two alone now.”

“Thanks for paying for our food,” Spike said. Coldheart gave a slight nod before hurrying away.

“I feel bad for her,” Twilight said. “She’s obviously real shaken up about the changeling.” She chewed slowly before swallowing. “Walking into a room, expecting somepony to be alive, only to find that they’re not…” Twilight quit talking before she made the mood even gloomier.

The unicorn and dragon finished eating in silence, each of them left to their own thoughts. Twilight glanced at the clock. 

“Looks like that pathologist from Canterlot should be arriving soon.” She pushed back her chair. “Come on, Spike, let’s go.”

“Just a sec,” he replied. Spike snapped up one last hay fry before hopping down onto the floor.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this since the Princess’s letter came,” Spike said to Twilight as they walked back to the lobby. “What’s a pathologist?” 

“They’re ponies who help doctors figure out if a patient has a disease or not,” Twilight lectured. “That’s the basic definition. There’re actually several different kinds of pathologists, though the one we’re going to meet will probably be an anatomical pathologist.”

“Okay…” 

“You didn’t understand that, did you?”

“No, I did!” Spike defended himself. “Just not the last part,” he added in a mutter.

They reached the hospital lobby, and found Dr. Stable conversing with another unicorn that was dark brown, almost black. The newcomer had a briefcase on the floor next to her. Upon noticing Twilight and Spike, Stable waved them over.

“Dr. Lieza, this is Twilight Sparkle, and her assistant Spike,” Stable said to the unicorn. 

Lieza extended a hoof in greeting. “I’ve heard a lot about you two,” she said with a warm smile.

“You have?”

“Of course!” Lieza said. “All of Canterlot does, you two being so close to the royals and all. I’d actually like to chat sometime.”

“Heh…” Twilight had no idea they were that famous. They weren’t even the ones that had saved Canterlot from the changelings; that title belonged to Cadance and Shining Armor. Perhaps it was a matter of them being more accessible than the newlyweds.

“Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked,” Lieza said, telekinetically lifting her briefcase. “The changeling?”

“This way,” Stable said as he began to walk away.

Spike spoke up. “Umm…can I stay back here? I don’t really want to see a dead body…”

Stable grimaced. “How could I forget? Yes, of course you can stay back here, Spike. We won’t be long.”

Spike nodded, and the others continued on to ICU 1. 

“I’ve already put a gurney in here for moving the changeling,” Stable said, pointing at the wheeled stretcher in the hallway.

“Prepared, I see,” Lieza commented.

Once inside the room, the pathologist immediately began examining the changeling.  

“It’s been lying here ever since it died?” she questioned. “You haven’t moved it?”

“I originally planned to, but then thought against it.” Stable adjusted his glasses. “I didn’t know if you needed to see it undisturbed or not.”

Lieza set down her briefcase to move the blanket of the bed, fully exposing the changeling. She flitted around the bed, pausing every now and then to take a closer look at the body.

“Could you help me move the changeling, Doctor?” she said to Stable. “I’d like to see if there’s anything on its back.”

Stable closed his eyes as he focused. As Twilight watched, the changeling was enveloped in the magic of the two doctors. The deceased creature floated above the bed, then flipped face-down.

“Thanks,” Lieza said. She went back to examining the changeling. Its wings rustled as she lifted them up, interest evident on her face.

“Impressive how these flimsy things can support all this weight,” Lieza mused. “They must move incredibly fast to do so.” She released the wings, letting them fall back down. “Or, if changelings have one, the cigamal lobe is more involved in flight than a pegasus’s.”

“Hmm…you’re awfully excited over this,” Twilight commented. 

“It’s my job,” Lieza responded. “Plus, this is a changeling, something most ponies have never heard of.”

The pathologist straightened up. “Well, I’m done here,” she announced. “There’s nothing suspicious yet – I should find more in the autopsy itself.”

“I’ll get the gurney,” Stable said. He quickly ducked out of the room before coming back with the wheeled stretcher. The doctor rolled it over to the bed. 

The changeling levitated again as Lieza and Stable moved it onto the gurney. The doctor covered the body with a blanket before wheeling it into the hallway, and the other two unicorns followed him. 

“You’re done?” Spike asked them when they emerged into the lobby. The baby dragon was sitting on one of the chairs, idly swinging his feet back and forth. He gave a nervous look at the gurney and its concealed cargo.

“Not quite,” Stable said. “We’re going to go downstairs, and then we’ll be done. Okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Spike said. 

To the left of the hospital lobby was a stairwell that led down to the basement. A ramp accompanied the stairs to the side. The three unicorns made their way down, Stable and the gurney descending along the ramp.

The basement of the hospital was a sharp contrast to the rest of the building. Instead of being a cheerful green, the walls were stark white, and bare electrical lighting took the place of sunlight. Instead of hardwood, the floor was composed of grey tiles, chilly under Twilight’s hooves. She could tell that this place wasn’t visited very often by ponies.

“In here,” Stable said. He had entered the first room on their right. Above the doorway was a brass sign with the word “Morgue” stamped onto it. Inside, Twilight found the room to be something straight out of a laboratory. Two tables occupied the middle of the room, both covered by white cloth, and one wall of the room was composed entirely of sinks. Pipes and tubes hung everywhere, and stainless steel cabinets lined the room.

“Wow. This place looks brand-new!” Lieza said.

“Probably because it’s barely been used,” Stable quipped. 

The two doctors lifted the changeling off the gurney and onto one of the tables. Stable then went to a cabinet and began rummaging through it. Twilight stood by the doorway, taking it all in. 

“Where are they? It’s been too long…” Stable muttered to himself, the clinking of metal audibly coming from his cabinet.

Finally, he produced a metal box from the cabinet. “Here you go, Dr. Lieza. Our autopsy tools.” The box rattled as he set it down on the second table. “Not a lot, may I add, but enough for the job.”

“That’s perfectly fine,” Lieza said. She lifted her briefcase. “If they aren’t enough, I’ve brought along some tools of my own.”

So that’s what’s she had in there, Twilight thought.

Stable joined Twilight beside the doorway. “Well, we’d best let you start working, Dr. Lieza.” 

Lieza nodded. “If I need anything, I’ll go upstairs and call for you.” 

“Should I come back later?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t think you need to.” Lieza glanced at the changeling. “Autopsies are long; most of them take five hours, at least. You can come back tomorrow morning for anything interesting I find.”

“Okay,” Twilight said she began out the door. “See you tomorrow, then.” 

Lieza raised a hoof in farewell. “Have a nice day!”

Twilight and Stable returned the gesture before leaving the morgue. Behind them, Lieza opened the box of tools Stable had given her. A collection of metal rose into the air, divided into a dozen pieces, and settled down on the table.

After selecting a scalpel, she went to work.