//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Beyond Imagination 
// by Argent 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4

        There was a soft knock on the door. “Wands, are you in there? I think you should come see this.” Wanderlust was lying in one of the ship’s small bedrooms, staring at the ceiling. What he’d seen while fighting Flamerage had been playing over and over again inside his head all night, plaguing his thoughts and keeping him from sleep.
        “What is it, Allegro?” He asked without rising.
        “It’ll make more sense if I show you.”
The unicorn sighed. I need more time to think. “Just a second.” He dragged himself off the bed and pushed the door open. The other pony was standing in the common room at the center of the ship. It was round and sparsely furnished: only a table, a few pillows on the floor for sitting and a small kitchen along one wall. There were a few doors set into the walls that led to other bedrooms.
“Celestia, Wands, couldn’t you have at least taken a minute to fix your mane or something?” There was something about Allegro’s smile that made the unicorn want to hit him.
“I haven’t gotten much sleep. You said this was important?”
“Yeah, Dawn found something up front.”
“What exactly?”
“It’s a map.”
“You woke me up for a map? I have one of those in my pack, wherever you and Dawn put it.”
“You are grumpy today. Trust me, it’s worth a look.” Wanderlust sighed and followed. A minute or two later, they were wedged into a small room near the front of the ship with Dawnfire, clustered around a circular projector next to a small control panel.
“Look at this.” Dawnfire touched a control and an image of the ring appeared floating in the air in front of them.
“I’m not seeing what’s so special about this.” Wanderlust replied after a quick examination. 
“What’s wrong with you today?”
“He didn’t get his beauty sleep. Celestia knows he needs it.” Allegro chimed in. 
Wanderlust pressed a hoof to his face. “I’m sorry, I’m a little on-edge right now. I just don’t see what has you two so excited. We already have a map.”
“Not like this one. I was messing around with it a little and found a switch that does this.” Dawnfire pressed another button and the image zoomed in tremendously. Wanderlust’s neck straightened and his ears perked up. “Are you glad we woke you up now?”
“Is that...no, there’s no way.” He was staring at a silver, teardrop-shaped ship gliding over the ring.
“I checked: there’s some sort of delay, but that’s definitely us. We think there might be cameras mounted on the shadow squares.”
“There’s no possible way that a camera could see something that far away in this much detail.” Wanderlust objected. “It must be some sort of trick.”
“Ponies couldn’t build a camera that could do that.” Allegro said, “We couldn’t build this ring, either. I’m starting to question whether there’s anything that’s beyond the capabilities of whoever built all this.”
“Now you’re just being silly. It’s not like this ring was built by gods or something.”
“Is it so hard to believe? I know that you’re having as difficult a time wrapping your head around the scale of it as I am. It would take two or three lifetimes to walk across Equestria and it’s so small an area that it just gets lost in the ring.”
“I’ve had my fill of false gods lately, Allegro.”
“Both of you stop it.” Dawnfire snapped. “That’s not the issue here. This is what’s important.” She spent a few seconds finicking with the controls and the view changed to a floating city. “This is just a few degrees to port of our course.”
“You’re thinking it would probably be a good place to stop and resupply? Maybe see if we can get any information on what’s up ahead?”
“Glad to see your mood hasn’t damaged your common sense at all, Wanderlust. What do you think?”
Wanderlust thought for a moment and the ship gently tipped to the left. “I agree. Any idea who built it?” He craned his neck to try and get a better look. “Wouldn’t be pegasi: that all looks like stone and pegasi would build on clouds.”
“My money would be on griffons: nobody else could live there with the dragons around, it’s too exposed. They almost certainly didn’t build it, though, they just moved in.” She paused for a moment, “What do you mean that pegasi would build on clouds? How is that even possible?”
The other two ponies exchanged a glance. “Dawn, have you ever tried walking on a cloud?”
“Of course not! I’d fall right through. How stupid do you think I am?”
Allegro and Wanderlust exchanged another glance. The unicorn spoke as his companion began to snicker, “That can wait until later. Dawnfire, we should grab our gear and talk things over: we only have an hour or so until we reach the city. Allegro, you should probably stay and keep an eye on the ship.” He started out of the map room with the pegasus in tow, leaving the giggling earth pony behind.
Dawnfire shot him a glare on their way out, “I agree, you should probably stay here. For your own safety.”
The armory was a small room filled with lockers near the back of the ship’s lowest level. Dawnfire and Wanderlust could just barely use the room at the same time without constantly bumping into each other. “How in the world is this thing still in one piece?” Wanderlust exclaimed, pulling his barding out of one of the lockers.
“Apparently it’s more resistant to dragon’s breath than your face.” Wanderlust was not amused. “Sorry, low blow. Honestly, would you believe that it fixed itself?”
“You’re kidding.” He replied as his barding snapped shut.
“Says the one who was trying to convince me that I could walk on a cloud.”
“We really need to talk about that later. Are you serious that it fixed itself?”
        “If it has earpieces and they work, it fixed itself because it sure as hell didn’t when we dragged you here.”
        “Maybe Allegro isn’t as crazy as I thought. Any insights on what we’re walking into? You’re the expert out here, after all.”
        “A few. Give me some help with these guns while I talk.” Wanderlust complied, lifting the harness onto her back and starting on the straps. “Assuming they are griffons, they’re not going to be very friendly. Especially not towards ponies. Just stay close, let me do all the talking and keep your eyes open: I wouldn’t be surprised if they jumped us. Cruel, stupid, arrogant beasts the whole lot of- feathers; watch the feathers!” She exclaimed, hitting Wanderlust in the face with one of her wings.
        The unicorn apologized and quickly fixed the offending strap. “Are you that certain they’ll be like that? I mean, all griffons can’t be horrible.”
        “I’ll revise my opinion when I meet an exception. In any case, we don’t need to bring much: just your weapons, some spare power crystals and something to barter with should be enough. I just hope we actually can find something to eat there. I suppose we can always land and find grass if we can’t, though.”
        “What do you mean? They must have food for sale. I mean, they have to eat, don’t they?”
        “Wanderlust, griffons tend to primarily be carnivores.”
        “I’m not familiar with the term.”
        “They eat meat.” Wanderlust dropped the bag he was holding, spilling gems all over the floor. “What?”
        “Meat? As in they eat other living things?”
        “You didn’t know?” The pegasus seemed surprised. 
        “Of course I didn’t know! I’ve never met a griffon before. Do you think I would’ve agreed to walk into a den of the things if I’d known they’d try to eat me?”
        “To the best of my knowledge, most of them don’t eat ponies.”
        “Most?” Wanderlust’s voice was nearing a shriek by this point. “That’s not good enough, Dawn. I’m not going in there. Nopony’s going to eat me.”
        “You’re right. Nobody’s going to eat you because last time I checked, guns beat claws and beaks.” Dawnfire reminded him, exasperated. “Now get a hold of yourself and help me with this combat knife.
        “Right. Right, I have weapons.” The unicorn said, trying to reassure himself. “I still don’t like it.” He muttered as he strapped the knife to Dawnfire’s leg.
        “I never said you had to, Wands. Let’s get up top.”
“One practical consideration,” Wanderlust said as they passed through the door. He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Allegro blocking their path.
“I’m coming with you.” The earth pony stated.
“No you’re not. We’re walking into an unknown city, probably filled with griffons who hate our guts just for being ponies and you’re not armed.” Dawnfire objected.
“I don’t care. I’m coming with you.”
The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Wanderlust spoke up. “Grab your gear. We’ll meet you up top.”
“Thanks, Wands.” The earth pony said as he stepped around the other two and into the armory.
“This is a horrible idea.” Dawnfire hissed as soon as they were out of earshot.
“What do you have against Allegro?”
“Nothing. To be honest, I like the guy.” The pegasus admitted. “But taking an unarmed pony into a nest full of griffons is one of the quickest ways I can think of to get him killed. It would be better to just leave him here, for his own safety and ours.”
“I’m not leaving him cooped up here for the next six months.” Wanderlust replied. “Without his help, I would have died after I killed Flamerage.”
“I could have helped you just as well as he did.” Dawnfire objected.
“And who would have watched your back while you pulled me out of there?” Dawnfire sighed but didn’t reply. As close to an admission of defeat as I’m likely to get. “He saved my life. For that, I’m willing to let him do most anything he wants. Besides, he could always find other ways of helping.”
“Fine.” The pegasus grudgingly admitted, stopping and pointing a hoof at Wanderlust. “But his safety is your responsibility. I’m not having his blood on my hooves.”
“Gladly.” The unicorn replied immediately.
That seemed to satisfy the pegasus, who started walking again. “So what were you going to ask back there?” She inquired as they emerged into the sunlight. 
“Right.” It had completely slipped the unicorn’s mind. “How do you know they’ll speak our language?”
“Dragons.” Dawnfire replied simply. Wanderlust cocked his head quizzically and she elaborated. “Dragons have magic that allows them to send messages instantly over almost any distance, right?” Wanderlust nodded. “So no matter how far apart they are, they’re all communicating in the same language. The dragons own most of the ring, and as a result, to trade you have to work through them, or their servants. Anyone who serves the dragons learns to speak their language. As a result, anyone who wants to do any sort of trade learns, too.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” 
“Right. What doesn’t make sense is why you speak it.” The pegasus said, giving her companion a strange look. 
“Why not?” Wanderlust asked before he had a chance to think. The realization hit him as soon as the words escaped his mouth. “Because we’ve never had any contact with the outside world. There’s no reason we would ever have learned their language.” I can almost see the strings, but I can’t tell who’s pulling them. What in Celestia’s name is going on here?
“Exactly. Still, that’s a mystery that can wait, at least for the moment. How far out are we?” 
Wanderlust had to think about that for a few seconds. Too much on my mind today. “About five minutes. I’ll slow us down long enough to hop off, and then set the ship to circle.” The unicorn took a quick moment to check his weapons. “Any last-minute advice?”
“Don’t make eye contact, let me do all the talking and if shit hits the fan, remember two things: griffons kill with their beaks, not their claws, and they respond to a show of force.”
Wanderlust pawed the ship’s hull nervously. “You don’t think it’ll come to that, do you?”
“I told you, I really hate griffons.” For some reason, she had her eyes closed. Wanderlust took that as a sign to keep his mouth shut. 
Soon enough, their destination came into sight and the unicorn cut their speed to get a better look. The city was indeed floating several hundred feet above the ring’s surface. Most of the buildings were carved from some sort of white stone and a waterfall cascaded off the side of the structure towards the ground far below. In a way, it reminded Wanderlust of Canterlot. 
“Beautiful.” Wanderlust started at the sound of Allegro’s voice. He hadn’t realized that the earth pony had joined them. “I’ve heard some nasty things about griffons, but if they can build something like this, I can’t believe that they’re too bad.”
“Just wait until we get closer. Besides,” Dawnfire muttered, “I already told you that there’s no chance in hell that they built it themselves: they’re scavengers, not architects.” 
As they approached something that could have been a dock, Wanderlust couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss, but he couldn’t put a hoof on what it was. Slowing the ship to a stop, the unicorn dropped the safety field and stepped across to a stone platform protruding from the edge of the city. After turning to make sure that his companions had both followed, he sent their ship speeding away and returned his focus to the city.
As the wind shifted, it finally struck him what was off about the settlement: it was filthy. Where Canterlot was lovingly, immaculately maintained, the griffon city was covered in dirt and grime. Black streaks from the smoke of countless cooking fires marred the stonework. As the three ponies approached the archway that marked the entrance to the city-proper they had to pick their way around piles of refuse and waste. Worst of all, the air was thick with the scents of unwashed bodies, open sewers and decaying food.
“Stay close.” Dawnfire ordered the other two as they passed under the archway. Wanderlust certainly had no intention of doing otherwise. As soon as they entered the confines of the city walls there were griffons everywhere. They’re bigger than I expected. Glancing down an alley he saw two young griffons playing inside the rotting carcass of something that might have at one point been a cow and started retching. “And keep your eyes straight ahead.” Dawnfire snapped. “We already stick out like a sore hoof, we don’t want any more attention, dammit.”
“Sorry.” Wanderlust muttered when he could finally talk again. 
“Have you ever seen somewhere like this, Wands?” Allegro asked quietly only a few minutes later as they wound their way through the streets.
“Never.” The filth that blanketed the city and the smell that accompanied it were simply overwhelming the unicorn. Dawn was right, they didn’t build this city. If anything this amazing really belonged to somepony, they’d bother to take better care of it. “How can anypony live like this?” He thought outloud, earning a glare from a passing griffon. 
“Are you trying to get us killed, you idiot?” Dawnfire hissed at him. “AnyONE, Wanderlust. Ponies may be the majority in some places out here, but we sure as hell aren’t in charge. If you act like we are, there are going to be problems. Don’t insult their home, either. In fact, just keep your mouth shut until we get out of here; I’d like to get back to the ship alive.”
“But-”
“Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut. You have no idea what you’re doing out here, and that goes double for you, Allegro.” Wanderlust opened his mouth to protest but Dawnfire glared at him until he closed it again. The pegasus led them down a narrow alley and the three ponies silently wound their way through the filthy, labyrinthine streets until Dawnfire apparently found what she was looking for and ducked into a tiny shop, the two stallions in tow. 
At the chime of the bell above the door, an elderly griffon behind a high counter looked up with a smile that quickly turned to a sneer. “Ponies.” He spat the word like a curse. “Haven’t seen any of your kind around here for a long while. Go home before you end up as somebody’s dinner.”
“We’re looking for food and information.” Dawnfire said, ignoring the griffon’s less-than-friendly greeting. 
“I don’t see how that’s my concern.”
“Wanderlust, pouch, please.” The unicorn dutifully floated over the pouch of trading supplies Luna had given him and Dawnfire stuck her head in, emerging with a small gold bar between her teeth that she tossed onto the counter. “That should make it your concern.”
The griffon barely gave it a glance. “I wouldn’t get out of bed for a trinket like that.”
“Take a closer look.” The pegasus ordered. “That’s pure, not some slag a drunken minotaur smelted behind his hut.”
The griffon picked up the bar, looked at it closely, bit it and finally spoke again. “So it is. That buys you service, at least. What do you need?”
“Food and information.”
“I can guarantee the first, money up-front for the second.” Dawnfire tossed two more gold bars onto the counter. “I have some salt-pork in the back if you’re interested.” Wanderlust nearly gagged. 
“Not the right kind of food. Do you have any garnishes? Apples? Carrots?”
“Right, of course, your kind only eat the trash parts of the meal.” He stepped into the back room and emerged a minute later with a large sack that he handed to Dawnfire.
“Wanderlust, take this and check it over,” She mumbled around the bag, “while I talk information.” The unicorn gave her a glare, but complied and magicked the sack away from her. “We need information on the ring’s control center: who’s there, how it’s defended, if there are any back ways in.”
“I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree. I don’t even know where the damned thing is.”
“Who would?”
“There’s a city called Archive about a week’s flight starboard and spinward. If anyone would know, they’d be there. Of course, it’s across the Dead Lands. Nobody’s made that trip in years.”
“We’ll manage, thanks. Wanderlust, does everything seem to be in order?” He nodded: the sack was mostly full of apples. “Good doing business with you.” Wanderlust followed as she moved quickly out the door. “Allegro, come on!” Dawnfire snapped. The earth pony, who had been curiously examining a display case full of what appeared to be various tools designed to care for talons, scampered quickly after them. “I swear, it’s like looking after a foal.” She muttered, making Wanderlust smile for the first time since he’d gotten up.
“He seemed eager to help.” Allegro noted as they moved back through the crowded streets.
“He should have been: I paid him enough to buy that shop and everything in it five times over.”
“What?” Wanderlust exclaimed. He was fairly certain that his mother had more gold in her jewelry than had been in those three tiny bars, and his parents weren’t exactly wealthy. 
“Gold is always in high demand. The dragons love it for some reason.”
“Was it really necessary to pay him that much?” The unicorn asked.
“You don’t lie to someone who throws that kind of money around casually. Wealth normally implies power.” 
“Dawn, do you have any idea where we’re going?” Allegro interrupted. He had a good point: Wanderlust found it impossible to tell one narrow, grimey street from another. If Dawn didn’t know where they were, it could take them days to find their way out. 
“Ask Wands. His cutie mark is a compass, I’d imagine he’s good at direction-finding.”
“They’re not always literal, you know.” Wanderlust replied crossly. “Yours is a flame, are you good at being combustible?” 
“No, but I have been known to set fires from time to time.” The pegasus replied with a wicked smile. 
“Mapmaking or exploration, depending on who you ask.” Wanderlust said with a sigh. “I couldn’t navigate my way out of a paper bag, at least not without a map, so I really hope you weren’t counting on me to get us back.”
“I grew up in a forest hiding from dragons and griffons, Wands. I either had to develop a good sense of direction or die. I’ll get us there.” The rounded a corner and found themselves facing the entrance arch. “See, I told you. Now get the ship ready to meet us.” A pause. “Be ready for trouble.”
“What do you mean?” Allegro asked, confused.
“It’s empty.” It had taken Wanderlust a moment to make the connection, but the square, which had been teeming with griffons when they had arrived, was now deserted. “That’s not a good sign.”
“Not at all. Fight first, ask questions later. If all else fails, make a break for the exit.”
“Shouldn’t we at least try to talk our way out of this?” Allegro pleaded. “We don’t even know for sure if anything’s going to happen.”
Dawnfire cast an exasperated glance back at the earth pony. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Just stay close to Wands and if things hit the fan, be ready for a fight.”
They made it halfway across the square before griffons started coming out of the side alleys. “One to the right.” Wanderlust glanced over his shoulder. “Two more behind us.” 
“One more to the left. Leader and two escorts up front. Don’t talk.”
“It’s been a long time since I last saw a pegasus around here.” The speaker was the apparent leader of the gang. He was a massive brute, standing half a head taller than the others, letting him tower over the ponies. Covered in golden brown feathers and wearing a suit of crude armor that Wanderlust realized, with barely-concealed horror, was made out of animal hide, he cut an impressive figure. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an earth pony up this high, or a unicorn, for that matter. At least not one with a face like yours. God damn, you are one ugly son of a bitch.” Wanderlust tensed and gritted his teeth, fighting a sudden surge of rage. 
“You should see the other guy.” Dawnfire said, her voice cold and steady, keeping a leg raised in front of the unicorn. “If you’ll step aside, we were just on our way out.”
“That’s not happening. You see, there’s a price on your heads, a big one. We intend to collect, so put down your weapons and we won’t have to rough you up first.”
“You don’t want to do this.” Dawnfire warned.
“I definitely do. You’re worth more than this whole city to somebody. If you resist, things will get ugly: they want you alive, they didn’t specify unharmed.”
“Take the three up front, I’ve got the others.” Before Wanderlust could react, Dawnfire shot to the left in a flurry of feathers. 
The unicorn leapt forward a second later, trying to close the short distance to the leader. His weapons out and his barding engaged, he threw himself at the massive griffon in an attempt to knock it to the ground. His opponent side-stepped and raked at the pony’s face with talons that skidded off the protective field. 
Wanderlust sailed past the griffon, hit the ground and rolled to his hooves. Focused on the leader’s two companions, he was just barely aware of the staccato crack of plasma fire echoing across the square: Dawn wasn’t holding back at all. One of the two griffons was in the air, propelling itself towards Allegro, who was frozen in the middle of the square. Wanderlust fired a careful shot, tearing through the griffon’s wing and sending it headfirst into the paving stones, screaming in pain. He sidestepped the second as it charged him, kicking it with his hind legs as it passed and sending it sprawling. 
That just left the leader. “Allegro, come here.” Wanderlust commanded as he advanced on the massive griffon. “Call them off.” The unicorn ordered when he was close enough. Seconds after Allegro joined him, there were two claps of thunder from outside his field of vision, Dawnfire’s weapons again. He had no idea what she was doing behind him, but he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off the last griffon. “I said, call them off. Either do it or die.” 
“That won’t be necessary, Wanderlust. The problem’s been resolved.” Dawnfire reported calmly from somewhere to his right, just outside his field of vision. 
“Celestia, Dawn!” Allegro gasped. 
Wanderlust couldn’t help but look, hazarding a quick glance at the mare, who was half-covered in blood. “Dawn, are you okay?”
“None of it’s my own. One was too close for guns: I’ll need your help cleaning my knife after we get out of here.”
“You killed them?” Allegro asked, horrified.
“I’m not in the habit of giving my enemies second chances. Wands, keep him covered and take his head off if he tries to fly away.” Wanderlust reluctantly turned back towards the griffon as Dawnfire approached it.
“Who put the price on our heads?” The pegasus demanded, standing only a foot or so away from the massive griffon.
“I don’t know.” Wanderlust was far from an expert on reading the emotions of griffons, but this one was obviously on the verge of panic. 
“I don’t believe you.” She was circling the griffon now, still dripping blood. “Tell me or I kill you.”
“I thought ponies were supposed to be peaceful.”
Dawnfire lunged into the air and hovered level with his face, her combat knife held to the griffon’s throat. “Do I look peaceful to you? Now tell me where you heard about this bounty, or I gut you like a pig.”
“It’s just word of mouth! I heard it from a friend, he heard it from a friend, whoever was going to pay would supposedly show up after somebody caught a brown unicorn traveling with a black pegasus and a blue earth pony. I don’t know any any more than that, I swear!”
The pegasus withdrew the knife just an inch. “So the bounty was just for the unicorn?”
“There was a bonus for the others, but yeah, most of it was for him.” 
Dawnfire landed and walked back towards Wanderlust. “Well, Wands, looks like you pissed off somebody in a big way. Too bad he can’t tell us more.” She said with a shake of her head towards the griffon. “Finish him off so we can leave.”
“What? No!” Allegro shouted. “Are you insane? He’s no threat to us anymore.”
“Mercy will get us killed out here. Leaving him alive sends the wrong message to anyone watching and trust me, there are others watching.”
“What kind of monsters do you think we are, Dawn?” Allegro asked. He took a few steps closer to Wanderlust. “You don’t have to do this, Wands. He’s not a threat, you can just put down your guns, walk away and we can get out of here.”
The unicorn stood for a second, staring into the griffon’s eyes before he holstered his weapons. “I don’t kill anyone who’s helpless.” He retrieved the sack of food from where he had dropped it at the beginning of the fight and started to walk away.
“Thanks, Wands.” Allegro said, falling in beside him. “I was worried there for a sec-” The sharp crack of a discharging plasma weapon interrupted him. The earth pony rounded immediately. “What did you do?” He yelled. “You had no right! What would he have done to hurt us? What justification could you possibly have for gunning him down in the middle of the street?”
“He attacked me. Noone gets to just walk away from that.” Dawnfire replied simply. Allegro stood in the street staring at her, shaking, for a few seconds before he turned around and walked away without a word. “Come on, Wands, time to go home.” The pegasus said as she walked past. 
Wanderlust stood there for another minute, alone, staring at the body of the massive griffon as it lay in the street, smoldering. Finally, with a sigh, he turned to leave. And I hadn’t thought my day could get any worse.

*

        “I’d forgotten how high a griffon’s blood pressure was. I nick one artery...”
        “Please, Dawn, don’t bring it up. I’m having enough trouble with all this blood without you talking about it.” The two were in the ship’s armory. Dawnfire was stripping off equipment and Wanderlust was doing his best to scrub the blood off of it. The pegasus, only having hooves available for the task, was unable to do so herself. Allegro was locked in another room, seething. They hadn’t seen him since he had angrily thrown his barding into the armory and stormed off. 
        “Sorry. Aww, it’s all over my wings, too. I’ll need to take a shower after this or it’ll start to stink.” Wanderlust gagged. “Again, sorry. I just haven’t had a rush like that in ages.” She stretched, hitting Wanderlust in the face with a wing. 
        Brushing away the offending appendage he said, “You call killing seven griffons a rush? What do you have against them, anyway? It has to be more than a general dislike. More to the point, how can you be so casual about all of this?”
        “It was either that, or be wracked with guilt every single time, and I wouldn’t have lasted long if I’d had to deal with that. As for griffons, that’s personal.”
“Care to elaborate?” Wanderlust asked as he scrubbed one of the plasma weapons. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere for a while.” Oh, Celestia, it’s everywhere, he thought in dismay, fighting another wave of nausea.
Dawnfire took a deep breath. “I told you that Flamerage destroyed my home. What I left out was that I watched as his soldiers, mostly griffons, killed my parents, only feet in front of me. They died helping me to safety.” She paused and closed her eyes. “At least my father’s end was quick. They didn’t grant my mother even that small mercy.”
“Celestia, Dawn. I’m so sorry, I had no idea.” He reached out and set a hoof on her shoulder. “If there’s any way I could help...”
“It’s in the past. It’s nice to have someone to talk to occasionally, though.” They sat in silence as Wanderlust continued cleaning her equipment. 
When the last piece was finally in its proper place, Wanderlust spoke again. “After you’re done cleaning up, meet me on the deck. There’s something I want to show you.”

*

        “Hey, Wands.” Wanderlust jumped a little at that: he hadn’t heard Allegro approach. Standing and watching shadows slide across the ring, he had let himself drift off. 
        “How are you feeling?” The unicorn asked cautiously. He hadn’t seen the earth pony in hours.
        “I just saw Dawn murder seven griffons in the street. How do you think I feel?” Allegro sounded miserable. “My first instinct was to convince you to leave her behind.”
        “Absolutely not.” Wanderlust replied instantly.
        “I know, I know.” The earth pony sighed. “We need her: we’d be wandering around lost without her help. But we still need to do something. You saw her today: that was murder, pure and simple. We can’t just sit back and accept that.”
        “Right.” Wanderlust replied uncertainly. “But what?”
        “I don’t know. It’s not as if we can control what she does. She seems a little less crazy than she did when we met her though, maybe we should just give her more time, keep trying to nudge her in the right direction? I mean, it won’t change what she’s done.” The pony sighed. “Then again, there’s nothing we can do to change what she’s already done. The best we can hope for it to try and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
        “This is the first time in her life she’s not on the run.” Wanderlust conceded. “I suppose she might just need some time to adjust.”
        “I’ve noticed she seems the most normal when she’s spending time around you, actually.” The earth pony said tentatively. 
        “Very funny. I’m amazed you can even make those jokes now: I thought you were about ready to kill Dawn earlier.” Wanderlust remarked, baffled. 
        Allegro looked away guiltily. “My temper did get the best of me there for a minute. In the end, though, I just want to help her, if there’s any way I can. Just like I want to help you.” He paused for a moment. “That wasn’t a joke, though, and I’ve noticed you seem a little happier when the two of you are together, too.” 
        “Just your imagination.”
        “If you say so. I’m not going to stop pushing you towards the idea, though.”
        “You realize that one of these times she’s going to hear you and there won’t be a thing I can do to save your life?”
        “Totally worth the risk.”
“What’s worth the risk?” Dawnfire asked, emerging from the control room. 
“Nothing important. Don’t worry about it.” Allegro responded with an innocent smile.
The pegasus raised an eyebrow. “Right.” She replied dubiously. “About earlier, are you...”
“I don’t like it,” The earth pony replied, the humor gone from his voice. “and I still say that it wasn’t necessary, but there’s no point in us killing each other over it. Could you at least try to get out of the next trouble spot without killing anypony, though?” He asked hopefully.
“I won’t make any promises. Our survival comes first.” Dawnfire replied, making the earth pony’s ears droop. “You said you had something to show me, Wands?”
“Right, give me a minute.” Wanderlust scanned the sky, picked out the biggest, fluffiest cloud he could find and brought their ship to a stop next to it.
“It still freaks me out that you can do that.” Allegro muttered.
“Not half as much as it does me.” The unicorn replied before turning to Dawnfire and motioned to the cloud. “Go ahead, hop on.”
The pegasus cocked her head and looked at him like he was insane. “You’re joking, right? You know I’m not that stupid.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
“I fall straight through and make a complete fool out of myself.”
“Then you fly back up here and kill me with your bare hooves, and then probably kill Allegro, too, since he saw the whole thing.” That made her smile. “Trust me on this one.”
She took a few tentative steps towards the edge as Allegro leaned over towards his friend and whispered, “Are you sure this will work?”
“Of course it will. I’ve seen pegasi do it a thousand times back home.”
“What if things work differently out here? I really don’t want to die.”
“I’m pretty sure that clouds work the same way everywhere, Allegro.” Still, both of them held their breath as she set her first hoof on the cloud and didn’t relax until the pegasus bounded up to stand completely on top of it. With a rapidly growing smile she bounced around until, giggling like a filly, she dove in head-first, scattering a puff of cloud into the air.
“We’ll leave you two alone for a minute.” Allegro said with a grin. “Wanderlust, could I talk to you?” The sound of giggling faded as the two of them entered the control cabin. “You’ll certainly be on her good side for a while. I’ve never seen her look that happy.”
“Me neither. Maybe it’ll take the edge off her bloodthirsty side.”
“I doubt that.” Allegro’s grin faded. “There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?”
“It’s nothing.” The earth pony just looked at him until he relented. “I saw something while I was fighting Flamerage.” It only took him a minute to recount the story.
“The mind does strange things under stress, Wanderlust. It wasn’t real.”
The unicorn pointed to the symbol hanging above the door. “He was wearing that. I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t imagine it. There’s something strange going on here, Allegro. I feel like I’m being led around by the nose, and it scares me that I can’t see who’s doing the leading.”
“You’re being paranoid, Wands. Nopony’s leading you anywhere. I almost wish they were, we’re dangerously on our own out here.” 
“If you say so.” Wanderlust replied, not believing it for an instant. “Come on, let’s go make sure Dawn hasn’t completely forgotten about us.”
“Wait.” Allegro said, stopping his friend at the door. “You were right to walk away earlier, but I’m sure Dawn will be trying to convince you otherwise every chance she gets. Promise me you won’t let her get inside your head.”
“Allegro, this is sill-”
“Promise me.” The earth pony interrupted.
“Fine, I promise.”
“Thanks, Wands.”

*

“Have you heard about the headmaster’s new project?” Wanderlust was standing on a cliff, a tower of stone that stretched into the distance to both sides. Spread below him he could see a patchwork of farmland dotted with clean, white buildings; a pattern repeated as far as the eye could see. Turning, he saw that he was standing in a square rimmed with towering buildings of smooth, black stone. He blinked and the area was suddenly full of ponies, almost all unicorns, bustling to and fro, lost in conversation.
“They’re on the other continent right now. Over three thousand casters working in concert. It’s the most intricate project ever attempted here.” He still couldn’t place the voice. Wanderlust walked tentatively through the plaza, seemingly unnoticed by the other unicorns. He was shocked when one actually walked through him.
There was suddenly a bright, white light shining from behind him over the walls. He turned to see a wall of roiling light cresting the horizon, rolling towards him with terrifying speed. He tried to run, but his hooves wouldn’t respond to his commands. In seconds, the light reached him and there was only darkness.
“An entire planet lost,” There was a new voice, now. Authoritative, demanding, it cut through the darkness, “upwards of five billion dead so quickly that there was no time for a warning. Not a single soul made it out alive and the planet is now but a dead husk. That, Members of the Council, Your Majesty, is why Triumph is necessary.”

*

        Wanderlust bolted straight up in his bed, covered in sweat. Instantly he could sense something was wrong with the ship. Through the door he heard Dawnfire shout, “Wake up, Wanderlust! We’re under attack!”