Sins of the Ancients

by Tundara

Chapter Six: Tithing Day

Sins of the Ancients

Chapter Six: Tithing Day

"A Flame of the North will take The Purple Wizard beneath guiding wings,
Shattered, the end of the Great Oath will bring about a second Uprising."
-From the Prophecy of the Purple Wizard

Sleep was slow to release Twilight, same as every day for the past week, the early morning sun reflecting off the mountains across the lake and into Twilight’s window. Rubbing some of the vestiges sleep from her eyes with her palms Twilight rolled out of bed. As she had done every morning since arriving on the farm Twilight made her way to the mirror, reaching for a comb, ready to attack her messy bed-hair. By the time her dark brown hair had yielded to Twilight’s efforts the last straggling wisps of tiredness had faded.

Grabbing breeches and a shirt, both once belonging to Tom, the lanky teen having out-grown them, and tying her hair back Twilight headed downstairs. As usual, she was the last in the house to rise. The Conrad’s were all the sort of people who were late to bed, early to rise. Maybe it had something to do with the extremely long summer days, or maybe humans just didn’t need as much sleep as ponies. While seven hours seemed enough for the Conrad family, Twilight herself certainly felt it wasn’t enough. Just another question about humans to be added to her journal.

Her journal, given to her by Jasper on the second day, had already become the most precious object in her life. Notes and thoughts filled, and continued to fill, its pages with observations, random thoughts, and her lessons in magic. It was a much needed lifeline back to her old self that had helped contain the ever rising panic and anxiety creeping just below the surface of Twilight’s waking thoughts. In the evenings Twilight spent an hour just writing, her penmanship improving vastly in a short time, finding a calm in the storm her life had become. The shaky scribbles, which had not been legible even to Twilight, quickly grew more confident.

Hands were marvelous at fine manipulation Twilight learned, even more so than her telekinesis. Both had their strengths; hands fine control and strength, telekinesis range and the ability to handle many objects at once. It was just another adjustment to be made, one that may not be necessary for long. When asked about telekinesis Jasper had surprised Twilight by mentioning that he had seen other wizards perform the magic she described. He had told her a story about a friend far more gifted than her was that had been punished by being told to clean the kitchens. The friend had sat in the kitchen’s center, his magic manipulating all the pots, plates, cups, mops, and brooms in a dance of cleaning. To Twilight it sounded more like a ‘Come to Life’ spell, but it sounded similar enough to what she wanted that it gave her hope.

Besides, it would all be moot once she returned to Equestria and her own body.

Until then Twilight just had to keep her hope up and push ahead. A wide genuine smile crept up to Twilight’s eyes as she contemplated the step she was going to take that day towards the goal of returning home.

It was Tithing Day, and all the Conrad family members were going into town. Today there would be no working in the fields tending to potatoes, carrots, or apple trees. Just a day of selling produce, celebrating, dancing, singing, and in general having a good time. Twilight planed to take as many notes as she could to share, once she got home, with Pinkie about how humans partied. Hopefully the pink party pony would find the observations interesting.

Sitting down with a little thump Twilight was brought out of memories of the last Pinkie Party she attended by the sight of the Conrad family all dressed in their finest clothes. Tom and Jasper both wore dark tweed jackets that had been freshly cleaned and pressed. Perched on the two men’s heads were black bowler hats. Likewise their trousers were clean and showed no signs of hard work in the fields. Even their shirts were crisp and shining white, and their faces were red from shaving. Twilight had never seen either so clean. Even Laurence was in clean, though not as nice, clothes, the young boys face free of its customary cake of dirt.

April sat carefully in a new yellow dress with pink ruffles around the neck and shoulders looking at the plate of apples and breakfast cakes in front of her like at any moment one was going to leap up and attack her. She very slowly and with exaggerated care picked up a fork in a white gloved hand, leaning forward to cut one of the short round cakes covered in raspberry jam. Darting her gaze between her dripping food and the front of her dress April, still moving like she was in slow motion, took a small bite.

Clucking her tongue in disapproval Maggie frowned when she saw Twilight sit. The family matriarch wore a long sleeved dress of plain blue and matching bonnet. An example of the elegance of simplicity the dress had little in the way of ruffles or flash, rather toning down Maggie’s normally strong features into an air of respectable reserve. Twilight never would have guessed the stern streak the older woman possessed if she hadn’t seen her ordering and running the farm.

“Surely, you not be going to the Tithing in those?” Maggie said sipping at her tea.

Looking down at the plain work clothes she’d been given Twilight sighed, “I guess not. I didn’t realise it was such an, um, fancy event. I suppose I should change into my robes before going into town? If, um, that is, you don’t mind if I went with you? It’s not been said either way if I was going with you or not, but I was thinking I would be, in order to, um, petition the Lady in the Lake.”

“Of course you be coming with us, Miss Sparkle,” Maggie said at once, setting her tea down beside her already finished plate. “I be forgetting how little you be knowing of our ways sometimes. Actually, it be good you’re not bein’ dressed proper yet. April has a Tithing Day gift she got for you in the market yesterday. I think you will like it.”

Twilight looked over a half finished apple from Maggie to April then back to Maggie wondering what the older woman was talking about. Then it clicked, April had got her a dress of some sort for the festivities. At once Twilight felt a pang of guilt and regret pierce her belly. She already had enough guilt imposing on the Conrad’s over the last week, and now they were getting her gifts when she had no means to repay them. The guilt felt like it was compounding, increasing at an exponential rate.

“Oh, no, no-no-no, I couldn’t, you shouldn’t,” Twilight protested, looking in desperation between Maggie, Jasper, and April.

Jasper made a point of not looking at Twilight, instead turning his own gaze from his tea to his sons, while Tom shot up from the table giving his sister a scowl before leaving the room muttering something about hitching horses to the wagon. Laurence wasn’t interested in anything other than his jam covered cakes and fidgeting with his white stockings. Maggie’s face was impassive, a stern marble sheet that refused to betray her inner thoughts. April just smiled and leaned forward.

“Of course I should,” April said, “How can you be the ‘Purple Wizard’ if you wear black? That just makes no sense at all, right Papa?”

“Nope,” Jasper said, his tea once again capturing the majority of his attention.

“See? And when me and Mama were in town yesterday and I saw them I just knew they were perfect! And besides, it is better to give, than to receive. Come on, you have try them on! You’ll look just so amazing.”April jumped from her chair, grabbed Twilight by the elbow, and pulled her up the stairs.

Pushing the door to her room open with one foot April gave Twilight a wide smile. Inside April’s room Twilight saw the purple clothes hanging next to the bed. Twilight’s mouth fell open as she gazed at the soft lavender hues that matched her own coat back in Equestria. Unlike the robes Jasmine wore, and by extension Twilight, these robes looked far more form fitting, especially around the mid-section. The sleeves flared a little in a way that would let Twilight tuck her hands away or allow them freedom of movement as she chose. A stiff material in the shoulders gave them a little pointed look.

With a gentle push in the small of Twilight’s back April said, “Go on, put them on.”

Twilight didn’t need further prodding, all thought’s of protest fleeing before the excitement of recapturing a part of her true identity.

Far more adept after a week as a human, Twilight shucked off her dirty work clothes and started putting on the robes. Unlike Jasmines, the new purple robes were light and airy falling somewhere between the heavy wool Jasmine had worn and a cotton sundress. There was just enough stiffness and weight to keep Twilight warm in the cool damp of early morning or evening while also being able to breathe in the summer valley heat. Jasmine’s robes had more pockets, a lot more in fact Twilight realised. She would have to put some of the odd sundry items Jasmine kept in pouches that would hang from the belt. Going to her room, April in tow, Twilight looked at herself in the tall mirror, appreciating how robes had both a practical air as well as accentuated her femininity. Rarity would have approved with her whole heart, Twilight decided. She could think of no higher praise.

“I absolutely love them,” Twilight breathed, running her hands down the soft fabric, a large smile splitting her face. “Thank you so much, April. I don’t know how I’ll repay you.”

April laughed tossing back her pony tail, “There is no need. You’re like the big sister I never had. I wanted to give you something nice before you left.” She then surprised Twilight by wrapping her in a long hug.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere. Not yet anyways, I think. Unless this Lady in the Lake can send me home right away. She can’t, right?” Twilight asked turning to give April a hopeful like, silently pleading for one of the girl’s chipper predictions that would say this was the day Twilight would be going home.

April scrunched her brow together laughing, “I don’t know. I haven’t seen it if she can. I don’t see everything that’s going to happen. Just glimpses of what I need to see. But I don’t think she does send you home even if she could.” April scoffed her foot against the floor boards muttering an apology for not being able to help more.

Putting a determined look on her face Twilight told April that the girl did her best and that the robes were a precious gift. Twirling Twilight couldn’t help but feel her spirits lift. She would find a way to repay April, Twilight promised herself.

“Here, let’s get all your pockets stuffed. I want to see what you’ll look like as a wandering sage,” April laughed again going to the pile of Jasmine’s possessions on the chest at the foot of Twilight’s bed. Twilight had purposefully avoided going through Jasmine’s things. It just felt wrong to be poking through another’s possessions. Even the pack had remained un-opened. April seemed to have no such qualms, narrating everything she found as she went through the pile, “Sandle wood, cedar balls, a vial of black powder, string, lock-picks, travelling ink pot and quills, come on Twilight, I can’t do this alone.”

Sighing Twilight came over to April and was immediately assaulted by little hands that poked and shoved items away into pockets and pouches. Twilight couldn’t follow what was going where, or even what half the objects were. After a few minutes the pile of odds and ends had disappeared, mostly into pouches hanging from Twilight’s belt, only Twilight’s personal journal remaining. April plucked the journal from the dresser, hanging it from Twilight’s left hip by a leather strap.

“There, perfect! A true wandering wizard, if I ever saw one.”

A polite cough from the door stole Twilight’s attention before she could reply to April’s enthusiasm. Standing in the doorway, Jasper gave a slight nod before gesturing down the hallway.

“Come on, we don’t want to be late.”

Nodding Twilight started to follow April and Jasper, and then stopped, grabbing the pack as an after-thought.

Twilight and April were both ushered quickly down and into the back of the wagon, next to a large hog Jasper intended to put in one of the many competitions. The hog gave the two girls a long slow look, a long disinterested look, before turning back to pen it had lived its life. A pang of sympathy for the animal lodged itself in Twilight’s chest. She knew that this hog was nothing like the hogs that lived on Sweet Apple Acres. Actually, Twilight had no idea just what the hogs that lived on Applejack’s farm did. She made a mental note to ask the farm pony when she got home.

Bumping down the narrow dirt track that lead from the farm to the town Twilight allowed herself to fall into memories of her home. She was surprised when a half hour later she received a poke in the ribs from April. The girl was pointing to the approaching town murmuring in excitement.

Sitting against the lake, the town of Great Bear normally sported a population of less than a thousand. With all the people from the out-lying farms and villages in the valley it had swelled to over four times its normal size. Stalls had been set up in the center of a tent city and in a wide corridor nestled against the town’s south side and the gentle roll of the lake. The town itself was composed of wood structures painted in reds, whites, and yellow that reminded Twilight of Appleloosa with their cedar roofs and cedar sides. There was a quaint and honest air of simplicity that clung to the town mixed with a hint of excitement and promise from the festivities.

Twilight had learned that the town had been formed a little over a hundred years ago by refugees wanting to find a quiet place away from the fighting and intrigue across the mountains to the east. The valley had been wild and untamed, home to creatures mundane and mythical. Most of the valley was taken up by the lake, a long body of water stretching twenty eight leagues in length, but barely one across at its widest point. Over a dozen villages and towns dotted the lake’s shore, Great Bear being the largest. As the refugees from the east and traders from the south met and settled the valley they began to clear out the dangerous animals and creatures that had called the valley home, mostly huge brown bears and mountain lions with the occasional wolf pack or chimera, with varying degrees of success. Great Bear was the most successful, clearing the large heart shaped bowl area of the valley next to the lake near its middle.

It had been in this period that the great dragons had taken notice on the humans encroaching onto their lands. Instead of driving the humans away, as had been draconic policy for millennia, the dragons had approached the budding villages. Offering protection and guidance in exchange for an annual tithe the dragons swore an oath to the villages to watch over the villagers, while the villagers swore that they and their descendents would honour the dragons. For over a hundred years the Compact of the Protectorates, as it became known, had held.

Five Dragons for five Protectorates.

Both sides lived up to their oaths. The dragons swept the areas they claimed clear of the most dangerous threats creating a safe nest for the villages to grow. In return the humans tithed and honoured the laws the dragons set. At first dragon hunters had on occasion entered the valleys looking for a prize that would catapult them to legendary heights. Most found all the possessions taken in the night. With little more than underclothes they’d escape back east or south humiliated. Some returned, not willing or too stubborn to learn their lessons. Those men tended to be found in their camps with slit throats. Twilight had been shocked to learn the depths of the villager’s commitment to their dragon protectors. The villager’s loyalty was absolute, and they loved the dragons as much as any pony loved Princess Celestia in Equestria.

Twilight found it an amazing tale. She had always found dragons fascinating, but in Equestria so little was known about them. Finding books on the raising of dragons had been a struggle over the years as she tried her best to teach and help Spike. Mostly she had to rely on intuition and guesswork. Equestrian dragons shared their knowledge and culture orally, and almost never with a pony. To hear about a society built around the co-operation, if not worship, of dragons was fascinating. Twilight couldn’t wait to see the Lady in the Lake. Excepting the great dragon migration, this would be her third time seeing a fully grown dragon up close.

It would not be long until the Lady arrived Twilight realised as Tom brought the wagon to a slow rumbling halt near the stalls. The Tithe was to start at noon. It was a lengthy process as each household was granted a single request along with its tithe. Usually it was little things, asking permission to clear land for fields or orchards, sometimes a desire for a dispute to be arbitrated. Other times the requests could be more extravagant. Like the time a minor human lord from the south had wanted to construct a castle on the cliffs overlooking Great Bear.

Twilight looked over her shoulder at the dark grey walls of the abandoned castle in the distance. She knew little other than the request had been granted, the dragon could hardly refuse the chest of gold and jewels, all turned over to the towns to help build roads and a larger ferry, as well as the prospect of having an deterrence for the surrounding lands from invading. Whenever asked about the castle, Twilight could see a couple squat round towers peaking over tree tops when she was in the south fields, Jasper had grown quiet and sullen saying that it was cursed and no one went there anymore.

Hoping for more of an explanation Twilight had tried Maggie and April. Maggie had outright refused to speak about the place. April had said something about the screams being silent now that the child had left, for the moment. Giving up Twilight had more pressing questions and things to learn about.

“Okay, you three going to be alright while I get little Wilbur here registered for the hog judging? I have a good feeling we’ll be getting the blue pin this year,” Jasper exclaimed, bringing his horse alongside the wagon before sliding off onto the dusty ground.

“You say that every year, father,” Tom grunted jumping down before offering a hand to his mother. “We’ve never made it past qualifiers.”

“I’m telling you Tom, this year is ours. This year is ours!” the farmer repeated with extra emphasis.

“Sure thing, father,” Tom said, still not convinced.

Ignoring his son’s pessimism Jasper turned to Twilight, April and Laurence.

“April, you look after your brother and Miss Sparkle, you understand?” Jasper gave his daughter a stern but not unkind glare. “Your mother and older brother are going to busy with the stall and getting ready for the tithe and don’t need to worry about you three, understand?”

“Yes, papa,” April said thumping her fist to her chest and giving a quick curtsey.

“Good, now run along and have fun.”

“Yes, papa!” April shouted over her shoulder already tugging on her brother’s and Twilight’s hands so they followed her.

Trailing behind April, Twilight was quickly swallowed by the surging crowd. She had been to plenty of fairs and carnivals in her time in Canterlot, but Twilight had never seen such diversity in sights and smells. Games, food stalls, fortune tellers, and competitions greeted Twilight at every turn. Then there were the people. Humans of every shape and size dressed in every hue of the rainbow so there were as many colours as any gathering of ponies. But most amazing of all was how almost every human had a weapon of some sort. On the farm Twilight hadn’t realised just how deep the human connection to knives, axes, and swords seemed to run. Jasper and Tom had to be the only adults in Great Bear who weren’t wearing a sword or long knife on their belts. Even most of the women had a knife, enough for Twilight to surmise it was the rule rather than the exception.

Mentioning her surprise to April sent the girl into a titter of laughter.

“Yeah, Papa is a bit different there. He doesn’t like knives, especially just wearing them for no reason. Tom once came home with a proper rapier. He got a good hiding for that and had to sell the sword. But enough of that, here we are!” April stopped in front of a stall selling candied apples sandwiched between a band playing a bouncy tune and a stall selling some sort of meat sizzling on metal skewers over an open pit of red coals.

“Candy Apples? Awww, I thought you were taking us somewhere fun, April!” Laurence grumbled shooting his sister a dark look.

Rolling her eyes April dragged her brother and Twilight forward, and then around behind the Candy Apple stall. “Not that, this!”

Scrunching her eyes against the glare of the sun reflecting off metal Twilight found her stomach perform an excited flop. The tent in front of them was midnight blue and covered in stars and the moon in various phases. On top of the pole holding the tent was a large silver half-moon bigger than a dinner plate. Stitched onto plain white canvas over the flap leading into the tent was a simple banner with the words, ‘Luna Moon’s Den of the Mystical’. Twilight noted with a tinge of almost annoyment that mystical was spelled incorrectly. But to see the name of the younger Princess of Equestria sent a bevy of conflicting emotions through Twilight.

She knew there was almost no practical way the tent, or its occupant, could have any relation to the Luna of Equestria. But there was still the faint desire and hope that maybe it did. Maybe Luna had crossed worlds looking for Twilight. It was a stupid naive hope, but it didn’t stop Twilight from so desperately hoping it was true.

Laurence seemed to think that was much better than Candy Apples, rushing into the tent ahead of his sister. April gave one of her customary laughs jumping after her brother. Twilight paused looking up at the sign before reaching for the tent’s flap to join the two young Conrad children. She was halted almost immediately by a hand clamping over her mouth and dragging her backwards.

Twilight tried to scream, but found it impossible, as the hand pressing across her mouth was joined by another on her waist easily lifting her off the ground. Kicking and scratching proved to only annoy her assailant. Twilight felt utterly powerless and confused as she was carried deeper into the shadows between the tents. Jaw held shut, kicks ineffective, Twilight wondered what was going to happen to her. She was brought to the edge of the tents at the edge of a small wooded area away from the lake that the crowds were slowly drifting towards.

“Okay Ko’, we should be fine here,” said a soft woman’s voice behind Twilight and her captor.

Brain already racing trying to figure out who would even want to foal-nap her, the voice clicked the memories into place. It had been a week, and had only heard it a handful of times, but Twilight recognised the clipped chipper tones of Sun.

“Sun?” Twilight gasped as the hand over her mouth vanished.

“Naturally,” the impish woman said stepping around her large partner.

Twisting her head up Twilight was greeted, as she expected, by the stern chiselled chin of Kodiak. Her brain almost ground to a halt at the impossibility of seeing the two so-called adventurers. A dozen different questions leapt to Twilight’s throat, and promptly tripped over each other coming out as a short gargling squeak. Opening and closing her mouth a couple times like a fish as Sun and Kodiak both smiled down at her, Twilight tried to get her thoughts in order.

“But, how? The avalanche? You two were up right in it, weren’t you?”

“Oh, that,” Sun dismissed, rolling her eyes like it was only a minor annoyance. “I really didn’t expect it to get so big. Sorry.”

“I tried to warn you,” Kodiak stated, arms crossed and a biting scowl on his face.

Sun shook her head and chuckled patting Kodiak on one of his huge biceps. “Yeah, sure you did Ko’, between clubbing that one guy with his own arm and throwing the other off a cliff, you warned me all about causing the avalanche.”

Mouth falling open Twilight couldn’t understand what she was hearing. Both were being so nonchalant about the whole thing, especially when it had cost two of their friends their lives. It was just too much for Twilight. With a dull thud she landed on her backside in the dirt.

“What about Eric and Vernon?” Twilight asked, “They...”

“Yeah, we know,” Sun muttered her face finally growing dark and gloomy. “That was a rum deal if ever there was one. But it will all work out, I am sure of it.” She was quiet for a few more moments, her eyes looking at something distant and in the past. Kodiak remained an impassive statue. “Anyways, we need to get moving. I have a spot booked on the evening ferry for all of us. Just need to wait out the locals party and we should be golden.”

Getting slowly to her feet Twilight shook her head, “That’s good I suppose, but I don’t think I will be going with you.”

Sun and Kodiak both broke out in peals of laughter, high and piercing for Sun, a low deep rumble from Kodiak. Twilight wondered if it was because she was sitting in the dirt and having to look up at even the diminutive Sun that neither took her seriously.

“No, really, I’m staying here. A nice family has taken me in and I just can’t leave without paying them back!”

“That’s cute, Twilight, that you want to pay this family back, but trust us, you’ll be doing them a favour leaving now rather than sticking around. If it wasn’t for me and Ko’ screening you this last week that nice little family would probably be hanging in the barn from their ankles with second smiles carved on their necks right now.”

“What?” Twilight shouted the question. She felt like she had just been punched in the stomach. “Why, what, who, what?”

“If you hadn’t noticed, there are some rather not nice folks after you,” Sun stated, arms crossed. “So, we hide out here until we can cross the lake, and scamper as fast as we can back south. Hopefully Jasmine’s dad will want to get his daughter back and will spring for an arch-mage, rather than tossing us in cells. Though I suppose her could do both,” Sun mused, eyes again going distant as she pondered over different possibilities.

“Jasmine spoke of him as a man of little love, nor honour, I still think it wiser to head north.”

“Ugh, we’ve been through this Ko’. The shamans of the north will not be able to help with some mind-body-soul switching spell thing. Besides why would they even want to help Twilight? She’s a southerner, if you hadn’t noticed. Your and our people tend to not get along at the best of times, big guy.”

“Jasmine is of the south, Twilight is not. Helping her return to her home would be the right thing to do. Any shaman would be willing to help.”

“And the Ancients could fly,” Sun snorted, disgust leaking from her posture to her eyes. “No, It was already decided that we’re going to go back south.”

Kodiak didn’t look ready to end the argument, but his response was curtailed by a new voice echoing into the trees, a voice Twilight recognised. In a flash of silver Kodiak’s axe was in hand, the large man stooping down to glare back towards the tent-city.

“Twilight? Where are you?”

“Kodiak, settle down, it’s just the kid that’s been following Twilight around like a lost lamb,” Sun said, laying a hand on her partners arm and pushing his weapon down. Grunting he slid the axe back onto his belt. “We don’t want to cause a scene, Ko’. Twilight, go and keep the kid quiet, and be careful. We are not the only ones here who have been looking for you. Just keep your head down and we’ll find you tonight. Understand? And no heroics, please? If not for yourself then at least for the kid and her family.”

Shocked at the turn about, Twilight didn’t know exactly what to say or do. Until a moment ago she felt almost like she was still in the midst of being foal-napped, by friendly people who wanted to protect her, but foal-napped never the less. To suddenly have Sun literally pushing her back towards the tents sent a shiver of suspicion up Twilight’s spine. After a moment she decided to just go with Sun’s plan, with a minor adjustment.

Twilight had no desire to leave the family when she was so indebted to them and their generosity. Not unless a way home presented itself. Or the Lady in the Lake wouldn’t teach her magic, than she’d have to go south to the academy. At which point traveling with Sun and Kodiak actually made a lot of sense. Twilight started to wonder just why she suddenly didn’t want to leave the Conrad family. Finding a way home had been almost all she had thought about over the last week. Was it just that she wanted to repay her debt that made her not want to leave the family? The doubts, once begun, were hard to stop. Yes, she wanted to go home, more than anything in her short life, but she also didn’t want to leave Jasper, Maggie, April, Laurence, and even the sour Tom. The difference a week of smiles and laughter can make.

Unable to sort out her feelings Twilight stumbled out of the trees, pushed by Sun’s insistent hands. Almost at once April spotted Twilight, the girl racing forward, her brother in her wake. April had a hurt look on her face as she approached Twilight, silently accusing her of abandonment. Putting on a fake smile Twilight waved to the two Conrad children moving forward to meet them half way.

“Where’d you go, Twi’?” April gasped as she came to a halt in front of Twilight, deeps breaths showing that she had been running for some time. Twilight’s suspicion was confirmed as April added, “We’ve been looking all over for you. Papa would be furious if we lost you.”

Laurence bobbed his head in agreement with his sister.

Before Twilight could respond to April’s question a fanfare of music erupted from the town and tent-city. Gasping April looked up to check the sun and then looking towards the lake.

“Come on, Twilight, we don’t want to miss the Lady arriving. You’ll never see anything like it outside the valley.”

With April once more in the lead the three took off back towards the festivities. The music seemed to be gaining in volume and tempo, building towards a roaring crescendo. Thousands of voice joined the music to the stamp of feet and the clap of hands. Twilight could feel her heart pressing with excitement as they rounded the tents and approached the beach. Everyone had gathered in two quarter circles next to the beach, a short platform separating them. Men had taken off their hats, many waving them in the air to whoops and hollers while the band on the stage worked their instruments into a glorious explosion of noise. Breath coming in ragged gasps Twilight slowed looking for a sign of the dragon. All she saw was a huge crowd of humans and the band, but no dragon.

Then the sun was blotted out. Looking up Twilight slowed and then stopped. She knew that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A low gasp passed Twilight’s lips as she looked for the first time on a dragon of this world.

A great, and massive, form hovered, silhouetted by the rays of the sun, it’s shadow covering the town. Wings nearly eighty feet in length each took slow measured strokes of the air sending a gentle gust of wind across the assembled people in time. Long and sinewy, the dragon’s tail flicked and twisted like a massive whip, the barb at the end cracking the air with a thundering boom. As the false thunder passed the music ended, in its place a deep throaty chant filling the air.

Hic videre magna draco venit!

A thousand voices together in rapture called out to the dragon. Twilight felt more than saw April and Laurence joining the roar, a roar that was reciprocated by the massive creature slowly descending. No longer have to glare against the sun Twilight took in the sinewy bulk of muscle and power. The shape was familiar to the few dragons Twilight had met in Equestria, but where those dragons had been somehow slow or clumsy despite their formidable strength, the Lady in the Lake had an air of grace, like a scaled cat with wings rather than a lizard.

Domina in lacum! Domina in lacum!

Drifting closer to the ground, the Lady in the Lake again roared, this time adding a gout of navy blue flames that stretched hundreds of feet in length. Heat washed over Twilight even as the roar caused her to stagger back a half step. Hind feet touched the still water, silver talons as long as a man was tall piercing the surface with barely a ripple. Sand shot across the crowd from a last mighty flap before the blue and bronze wings tucked against the dragons sides. Even folded they were longer than the rest of her body. The earth trembled as hundreds of tons landed in what Twilight thought of as a controlled crash. Yet the grace and strength seemed enhanced as massive muscles flexed and rolled beneath armoured blue-bronze scales while the Lady in the Lake dropped onto all four of her paws.

Dux, salvator, custos, mater!

Lifting her long tail so it danced like a hundred foot long snake behind her back the Lady in the Lake took two long strides forward sending rolling waves lapping up the beach. Her triangular head, rimmed by a dozen silver horns of greater lengths running from her jaw up behind her head, hovered over the stage on a rather short and slender neck. A long smile played at the Lady in the Lake’s lips revealing her arsenal of teeth, most glinting like daggers, with her fangs as long as Twilight's arms, to the crowd. Twilight could feel her wonder already transformed into primal fear as every fiber of her being screamed to run away, to flee as fast as she could from the dragon. The Lady in the Lake had to be nearly a hundred and fifty feet in length from the tip of her snout to the end of the barb on her tail, with an even greater wingspan. But the crowd continued to chant as if unfazed by the massive dragon.

Audi nos cantare laudem!

“Welcome, my little ones, to the day of Tithing. Present thyselves before me, and upon my Oaths, I shall hear your words.” The dragon’s voice rumbled like the crash of waves on a stormy shore, her silver eyes sweeping over the crowd.

Suppressing the urge to run Twilight found herself being pulled along by April towards the crowd, and the dragon. “Come on, we need to find father. Don’t want to be late,” April said, full of giddy energy.

Doubts about how good an idea it was to petition such a monumentally huge creature screamed in Twilight’s head. How April found her family in the throng of milling people Twilight didn’t know. Yet it was only a few minutes before Twilight was standing in a daze next to Maggie. From overhead the dragon’s voice boomed out every so often, greeting tithes and passing judgement. Mind too muddled with conflicting emotions Twilight didn’t pay attention, instead projecting all her effort on not turning and running away.

It seemed like hours before Twilight felt herself again being guided forward, this time by Maggie, Jasper on her other side with the three children following behind their parents.

“Don’t be worrying none, dear,” Maggie whispered in Twilight’s ear. “She really be a gentle old soul, wouldn’t harm a fly unless the fly be foolish enough to be attackin’ her. Just stand straight and be lettin’ Jasper do the talkin’.”

Gulping, Twilight gave her head a vigorous nod. She was more than content to let Jasper do the talking. All Twilight wanted in the world was to be away, far-far away, preferably with a good text on the inner workings of magical mechanics and spell matrixes.

“Good farmer Jasper Conrad,” the dragon said, voice ruffling the human’s hair and cloths.

“My Lady,” Jasper responded falling into a deep bow along with his family.

It took Twilight a half second to remember to curtsey as well. Squinting her eyes Twilight imagined the dragon’s head snapping forward at a perceived insult. There was no roar or the snapping of teeth. There was nothing other than a short pause as the dragon ever so slightly inclined her head in response to the bows.

“Present thyself, Jasper Conrad.”

Jasper took another step forward, Tom following closely with a small chest.

“In addition to a portion of my crops I wish to offer this chest of live oak from the lands across the mountains and far to the south and east, along with its contents of coin.”

Placing the chest on the stage, Tom flipped the lid open revealing a small pile of gleaming gold coins. A murmur broke out from the crowd. Twilight sensed something unusual was happening. The dragon narrowed her glowing silver eyes, staring at Jasper with an intensity that could melt steel.

“Thy petition must be extravagant indeed. It is plain that such a tithe is greater than all thy previous years combined. Speak, what is it that thy desires?”

“I desire nothing this year, your grace. I secede my petition to Miss Twilight Sparkle.”

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE?” The dragon shouted, her voice like the crumbling of a mountain, smashing and rolling over the entire valley.

In that moment Twilight wished she just crawl into a hole never to be seen again. The dragon’s eyes flashed with anger and surprise, fixing her gaze on the trembling purple form beside Maggie. Thin tendrils of smoke curled around her teeth as a silence fell over the crowd greater than any Twilight had experienced before. Two hands pressed into the small of Twilight’s back propelling her a couple steps forward.

Remembering what April had told her about how to approach the dragon Twilight took another step forward, bowed again, and then looked the Lady in the Lake in the eye. She had stared down dragons before, though certainly not so large, and mad gods and goddesses, surely she, Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, could talk to this dragon. Gulping back the last of her anxiety Twilight forced herself to speak praying to Celestia that her voice wouldn’t waver or crack.

“Your grace, I request that you teach me in magic.”

Twilight was amazed that her voice didn’t falter.

“So, it is time then. The Purple Wizard has arrived. She will save us, or doom us all.” The dragon shook her massive head, before turning her gaze to Jasper. “Good farmer Jasper, thy generosity is truly boundless to offer such a tithe, but I cannot accept it.”

A look of shock crossed Jasper’s face and the silence of the crowd was broken by a hundred gasps. For a tithe to be rejected had to be a rare occurrence Twilight reasoned. The Lady in the Lake gave a low rumbling laugh as she again turned her gaze onto Twilight.

“As for thy, Twilight Sparkle, thy come before me and request the Rite of Apprenticeship with no tithe of thy own, instead relying on a simple farmer and his family. Truly, I am shocked. Legend spoke of thy gall, but this is beyond the pall of all decency.”

“I didn’t know about that,” Twilight shouted, jabbing a finger at the chest. “If I had known I would have begged Jasper not too...”

“So, thy is ignorant rather than heartless? Truly, I know not which is the worse offense!” The dragon roared, letting out a small puff of dark blue fire.

No longer afraid, but rather incensed at the dragon’s words, Twilight stared into the Lady in the Lake’s eyes. Doubts still surfaced. April had been so certain that the Lady in the Lake was going to teach Twilight. Sending her own anger to meet the dragon’s own, Twilight didn’t see how it was possible. It had been a stupid foolish idea. Learn magic from a dragon? What had she been thinking?

What happened next came so fast that Twilight couldn’t tell what came first and last. A collective gasp exploded from the crowd to Twilight’s right. Something collided with her, sending her tumbling across the stage. The Lady in the Lake roared in a fury so great that the earth seemed to recoil in pain. Someone was shouting a name, but Twilight couldn’t make out whose over the roar and stampeding of thousands of feet.

Rolling onto her back and sitting up Twilight saw Tom laying where she had been standing moments before, a red pool spread beneath him. April jumped forward screaming her brother’s name, while Maggie looked in shock between her son, Twilight, and the crowd. Jasper seemed equally paralysed, his face a blank white slate, while Laurence sat covering his ears and crying. Scrambling forward Twilight and April reached Tom at the same time.

‘Please, don’t be dead, please, don’t be dead,’ Twilight chanted in her own head as she checked Tom. Twilight didn’t have time before two groups burst from the crowd. On one side the short and tall forms of Sun and Kodiak, from the opposite side over half a dozen men in brown cloaks carrying crossbows. The crowd was in a state of panic, many people tripping and trampling each other as they ran in every direction except towards the stage and enraged dragon. Jasper and Maggie both had broken out of their shock and were stepping towards Twilight, April and Tom as the cloaked men raised their crossbows.

“Oh Celestia, no,” Twilight whispered, her heart hammering like a woodpecker in her chest.

Eyes wide Twilight saw as if in slow motion the crossbows firing. Jumping forward she wrapped herself around April, praying for a miracle to save them. In that moment she would give anything to save April, anything in the world that was within her to give. The spark, so distant for so long, twisted and flared beneath Twilight’s breast and out into the sky. It wasn’t half a blink later that a short staccato of elastic pops issued around Twilight and April. Daring to open her eyes when she felt no pain, Twilight saw to her complete surprise the shimmering purple of her magical shield spell surrounding her and April. The shield lasted only another two heartbeats before fading away. Beyond it Twilight saw a sight that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Jasper, Maggie, and Laurence were sprawled on the stage, a growing tide of red leaking towards Twilight and April. For two interminably long moments, two moments that seemed to stretch on into infinity, all Twilight could do was stare at the three inert forms. She needed to act now, Twilight realised snapping out of the shock, while the brown cloaked men were either re-loading their weapons or too far away to catch her. Scooping up April, Twilight rose on shaking legs, and dashed for the side of the stage towards Sun and Kodiak. The only thought in her mind was getting April away from the brown cloaked men.

Looking over her shoulder Twilight saw the cloaked figures melt into the squirming mass of panicking people. Above the Lady in the Lake roared in impotent fury unable to unleash any of her many potent weapons for fear of hurting the innocent. Blue fire seared the air, talons slashed the beach, and her tail slammed into the lake sending torrents of water rushing outward.

“I WILL HUNT ALL DOWN WHO DARE DEFILE THIS SACRED TRUST,” she bellowed in unmatched anger, “THERE IS NO CAVE DEEP ENOUGH, NO MOUNTAIN TALL ENOUGH, NO LAND FAR ENOUGH AWAY TO ESCAPE ME!”

Never in Twilight’s life had she seen another in such rage. She would have stopped to marvel and tremble in fear if she didn’t have April screaming and thrashing in her arms. All her thoughts turned to protecting the girl, staggering as the ground trembled again under blows from the enraged dragon. Kodiak raced up to Twilight, the large man covering the short distance between them in a few loping strides. Bending low he scooped April from Twilight’s arm, twirled the still screaming girl over one shoulder, and swept Twilight up, tossing her over the other shoulder. He was off at once hardly having slowed to pick the two girls up. In a matter of moments he passed Sun, the small woman twisting and racing after her partner, her short legs working in a blur to keep up.

The panic crowd parted before Kodiak like water against the prow of a steam-ship. He hardly slowed as he bowled over men, women, and even a few children. The crowd was slow to disperse, the state of pandemonium and confusing forcing people in every direction. Bursting out the far side of the crowd Kodiak finally slowed as he approached three horses tethered to a tree. Swinging a dazed Twilight and now silent April onto the back of one horse, he cut the tethers rather than spend a moment undoing the leather straps, swung up onto his own horse, and with a kick of his heels sent all three of the animals surging down the lake as Sun did a flying leap on to her own horse.

Racing down the lake all four heard and felt the Lady in the Lake take to the sky, each down-stroke of her wings sending clouds of dust and sand into the air. Roaring fire and rage she began to circle, the perfect hunter in the search of elusive prey. Twilight prayed she wasn’t on the list to be hunted down.

Comments

[Tundara]

Sorry this chapter took longer to write than I anticipated. I've been working through a bout of depression and anxiety this last while and doubting a lot of what I had planned for this story. I also lost one of my pre-readers/editors to the black hole of Sailing and Not-Having-Internet leaving me with just one, who mostly reminds me of all the commas I let languish in limbo.

Hopefully we're past the bulk of laying out the setting and characters. From here on there should be more of the adventure and less of the exposition.

This chapter surprised me as I was writing it in a few places. There were some events I was debating what to do, particularly with the fate of Laurence. In the end I think it worked out. And I apologise for the cliff-hanger ending. I am a cad and a villain, I know.

[Necrovore]

I think you might want to change some of the measurements for the dragon.
Each wing 100 feet long, 200 foot total wingspan. Reasonable enough
100 foot long tail.
150 feet from snout to tip of tail.
50 foot body?
You then mention the wingspan being as wide as the snout to tail measurement, suddenly missing 50 feet.
Teeth and talons of the same length, both described as being as long as Twilight is tall.
Put her at ~5 feet as I forgot if you specifically mentioned her human height earlier in the story.
5 foot teeth in a 50 foot body would have the same proportions as a 5 foot tall being with 6 inch long teeth and claws.
Possible, but one very tooth filled grin.
"Oh my! Grandma, what big teeth you have."

[Tundara]

464233

Hmmm, this is what I get for doing the measurements off the cuff. Thanks, I'll have to do some actual free-hand drawing and figuring of *shudder* numbers. Oh numbers, how we hate each other. Actually, I'm surprised my editor didn't catch that. Usually he loves pointing out glaring inconsistencies. He must have been too busy making me laugh until my sides hurt as he twisted the entire chapter into sounding like bad clop-fic. I'll figure it out and edit in the proper dimensions first thing in the morning. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Tundara]

464233

Thanks to my insomnia I decided to get cracking on this now. I hate to do this, as it says there is a flaw with the description in the story that I am resorting to out of story explanations, but here are the real dimensions. Most of what is, now, in the story is accurate, but it's also perposefully vague as well to allow readers to fill in the blanks.

Thank you for pointing this out. This is the kind of thing I could read a hundred times and go, 'Yup, all looks good!' Some of the edits feel a bit sloppy. Actually, the whole sequence is feeling sloppy to be honest.

[Necrovore]

464315
Hmm...Might want to look again after you get some sleep.
You still have the 50 foot body with a 100 foot long tail, a tail twice as long as the body can work if it is something like feathers extending out, but muscle and bone of a moving tail, a bit awkward balance wise for flight The description of the fang length is a bit complex for that part of the story though certainly a more fitting length. Just noticed the sentence about clouds in the sky right as Twilight looks up at the dragon could probably be worded better. The ratio of wingspan to body length should be something to think about. Off the top of my head wingspan for many creatures seems to be significantly larger then the length of the creature, to the point where it is a third again as wide as the creature is long, so 200 foot for a 150 foot long dragon. If you increase body length to match the tail, the wingspan could end up being ~270 feet.
Just pulled up the dragon quest episode and about 2:30 in you can see a shadow of a dragon flying overhead that gives a good indications of the proportions between tail, body, wingspan, and the measurement you left out entirely of neck length.

[Tundara]

465420

Actually, the tail is supposed to be that disproportionately long. Equestrian dragons and this settings dragons are very different. I was hoping focusing on how long the tail and wings were in relation to body size would help highlight those differences. I'm going to have to hit this entire part of the chapter with the revision hammer I see. Perhaps I should cut out all the numbers and measurements and just go full 'poetic description'. Alliterate the stuffing out of the description! Wings like, uh, sails! A body like a mountain! Tail like... uh.. erm... Okay, so I am terrible at alliteration, which is why I rarely try to use it.

[Necrovore]

465491
Damn, overly long tails, now I just have the image of Dragonflies in my mind...though in that case the wingspan is still significantly larger then you have it You probably should add a description of the neck though, as in a lot of art it is as long as the tail, and if that isn't the case it should be explicitly stated.

[Tundara]

465568

Hmmm, good idea. I debated putting in a description of the neck and didn't as I found I was already becomming concerned about the repetitiveness of the description.

Thanks, I really appreaciate you comments and help.

Edit: Tweaked the description of the teeth, added a mention of the neck. Hopefully that's everything and I can stop hanging my head in shame.

[Necrovore]

465586
"Then the sun was blotted out. Looking up Twilight slowed and then stopped. She knew that there was a cloud in the sky. A low gasp passed Twilight’s lips as she looked for the first time on a dragon of this world."

Should that be 'wasn't a cloud in the sky' ?

[Tundara]

465650

My editor/pre-reader is sooooo fired...

[Gyvon]

This story is criminally under-rated.

[Tundara]

466203

Thank you!

The rating has puzzled me no end, I'll be honest. Been a bit confused and disheartened at times. But I just have to try harder in the future.

I've been putting a lot of effort into the next chapter and want to get it out by Friday before the new episode to make up a little bit for how late I was with this chapter.

[Zobeid]

The rating is a mystery to me too. I wonder if something is wrong with the site? I just now hit the thumbs-up button myself, which the site showed that I hadn't done before -- even though I'd already faved the story long before now, and it's a mystery why I would have done that without giving it a + as well.

Now a nitpick....

> “Sandle wood, cedar balls, a vile of black powder, string, lock-picks, travelling ink pot and quills...

I think "vial" is the word you were looking for. Also, if that "black powder" is what I think it is, then "gunpowder" would be a more proper word. People didn't start calling it black powder until after smokeless powder was invented.

[Zobeid]

Incidentally.... For a while it seemed like the story was starting to drag a bit, but you really cranked up the action here at the end of this chapter. Lots of things happening that I like.

If there's anything nagging me now, it's wondering what's going on back in Ponyville....

[Tundara]

468620

Thanks, Zobeid. Nice catch with vile/vial.

On the matter of the "black powder", and I am not saying if it is or isn't what you think it is, but no character would think to call it "gunpowder" as there are no guns. Twilight wouldn't know what gunpowder is either, at least not by that name. She'd know of the chemical compound and it's properties, probably, but not associate it with 'metal tube that launches deadly projectiles, aka, guns'. But that's my own personal take on our favourite adorkable librarian/scientist/wizard. I hope that clears it up a little.