From the Ashes

by Benjamin Lawe

Chapter 18: Lands of Snow and Cinders

From the Ashes

Chapter 18: Lands of Snow and Cinders

“Emergency!” a shrill, high-pitched voice echoed all through Canterlot, “It’s an emergency!”

The skeleton crew left to keep the city in order scrambled about in chaos. Pegasus guards flew about frantically, scanning the roads and alleys from above, while the others proceeded on the ground, checking on the citizens and their homes.

“H-he just walked right up to me...” one street vendor stuttered, the mare visibly shaken, “He was wearing a ripped-up cloak, and I couldn’t see his face properly. He cornered me and started asking me all these questions... but he wasn’t making any s-sense!”

“Calm down.” the unicorn guard interviewing her placed a reassuring hoof to her shoulder, “You’re safe. Now, you say he cornered you. What kind of questions did he ask you?”

“I don’t remember too well... but it was so strange.” she replied, taking a deep breath, “He demanded to know where he was... the date... even the time! I think he even stole a loaf of bread.”

“And you say you didn’t see his face?” the guard questioned, “Did he have any other identifying attributes? Anything that may help us find him?”

“Well, I think he was kind of old, and he had quite a limp, and... and...” she lowered her voice with a shudder, forcing the guard to lean in as she began to whisper, “I think I saw blood on him.”

“That’s very helpful information.” the guard replied, nodding to himself as he magically scribbled the words onto his notepad, “Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“Well, I know I said I couldn’t see his face...” she put a thoughtful hoof to her muzzle, “But it wasn’t just his limp making him stumble. It was like... well, I can’t say for sure, but I think there was something wrong with his eyes. It felt like he couldn’t see me properly.

“It’s hard to explain... since I didn’t see his face or anything.” the street vendor continued, struggling to articulate it, “It was just the way he moved and acted I suppose. There was something off about him, that’s for sure.”

As this questioning took place, a very similar exchange was occurring further up the street. By an alleyway, two guards stood by an old and frail looking unicorn, trying to sit the stallion down before he stumbled blindly into something.

“Are you sure you are alright?” the first guard asked, watching nervously as the old unicorn finally complied, “We can get a doctor or-”

“Nonsense.” he replied sternly, “I’m fine, and I certainly don’t need you mollycoddling me...”

The two guards swapped a look. Even as the old pony made to berate them, their eyes didn’t make contact, the spirited unicorn confusing the fire hydrant beside him for the guard who had shown his concern.

“Well, if you’re sure...” the second guard said tentatively, “Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?”

“Get on with it then.” the stallion replied, still staring at the fire hydrant, “I’m not getting any younger here.”

“We are currently looking for the stallion who assaulted you.” the first guard took the lead, “If you have any information that could help us locate him, we would appreciate it.”

“Ah, of course...” the unicorn nodded sagely, at the fire-hydrant no less, “Why, if I was a little younger, I would have shown him a thing or two.”

“Yes, that’s one we’re looking for.” the second guard echoed his partner’s point, its repetition apparently necessary, “Can you tell us anything that might help us catch him?”

“Ah, sure... I can.” he nodded again with self-satisfaction, the fire-hydrant impassive to his conceit, “I got a good look at that fellow, I’ll have you know.”

“You... did?” the first guard couldn’t mask his doubt, cocking his head at the old unicorn, “What did you, um... ‘see’?”

“He had a bit of a limp to him, and was wearing this cloak over his head that was all ragged and torn.” he replied, “At first I thought he was some down-on-his-luck traveller, and when he came up to me I thought he was looking for me to throw a bit or two his way...

“I might’ve done it too, but when he got closer, I could see quite the anger boiling in those blue eyes of his.” he continued, recounting the events in superb detail, “He didn’t attack me or nothing, and a good thing too, but he still robbed me.”

“Blue eyes, huh?” the second guard repeated, not sure how much stock to place in the word of the virtually blind unicorn, “Are you sure you were able to get a good look at him?”

“That’s what I said, wasn’t it?” the old stallion took obvious offense, thrusting his hoof accusingly at the fire-hydrant, “Blue eyes, tattered dark green cloak, and a faded brown coat. A grey mane too. I saw it all, I tell ya!”

“And he didn’t harm you in any way?” the first guard questioned, “Not in the head, or-”

“He did nothing but rob me you buffoon!” the unicorn cut him off, not ignorant to what the guard was implying, “He took my pocketwatch... my satchel... and worst of all, took the spectacles right off my nose!”

“Yeah, well...” the second guard made to say, but then stopped short, “Wait, what was that you just said?”

“I said, he took my glasses!” the old stallion replied, “What, did you think I was blind or something? They weren’t my best pair... not worth much money. He must’ve needed them for himself to want to take them.”

“Then that means, you could see him properly before he took them...” the pieces slowly fell into place in the mind of the first guard, “In other words...”

“Your description was... accurate?” the second guard finished his partner’s sentence, “Sorry sir, but if you could... would you mind telling us from the beginning?”

“Heh, youngsters these days...” the old unicorn shrugged to himself, “Fine, it can’t be helped. Now, listen here and listen good. I’ll tell you all about that troublemaker...”

Meanwhile, in yet another darkened alleyway, several blocks further to the edge of the city, the mysterious cloaked stallion clung to the shadows as he rested.

“They don’t seem to know what’s going on.” he said to himself, sitting down inconspicuously by a clutter of litter, “I suppose they really weren’t told anything about me...”

His muzzle jerked up as he raised his head, the stallion looking cautiously at the skies and the pegasi guards scanning the city from above. “This cloak is only going to do more harm than good at this stage.” he thought out loud, handling the frayed cloth with care, “If I wait for the time being, I should have no problem walking out of the city.”

With a flourish, the stallion removed the dark cloak from his back. Taking a moment to align his stolen spectacles, he moved towards the end of the alleyway, looking seriously out into the much brighter street.

Seeing the disorganised mass of guards scrambling about, Atlas Black’s eyes seemed to gleam subtly. “Looks like Luna kept her end of the bargain.” he almost sounded surprised, “Had anyone known I was alive, it would have been impossible for me to make it this far...

“Furthermore...” he continued, “Having this much freedom, anyone who might know the truth must be away from the city. Caliber, Luna... as well as anyone they may have trusted... if not here, then where could they have gone? Have they not learned from what happened the last time they left this city leaderless?”

Seeing an opening in the street before him, and checking to make sure no one was paying any kind of special attention to him or the alleyway, he stepped out casually into the full light of day, assuming the guise of a common Canterlot pony.

“Whatever.” he muttered to himself in exacerbation, “It is no concern of mine how the situation here has become so fortuitous. There’s a place I need to be.”

Meanwhile, at another location in the city, a pair of ragged and worn out ponies cut a swath through the city crowd. Steam pillowing out of the train behind them as it begun to inch away from the station and back towards where it had come from, the two who had just arrived looked back with tired relief.

“If I never see the inside of a box carriage again...” Slayde muttered, “It’ll still be too soon.”

“I hear that...” Pinkie voiced her own agreement, though she sounded far more dry than her usual bubbly self, “Next time I visit Appleoosa, I’m seriously going to consider an alternative mode of transportation.”

“Oi.” Slayde spoke up suddenly, rearranging the twin saddlebags weighing down on his rear, “We’re here.”

Obviously, he wasn’t talking to Pinkie. The bags he carried started to rumble all on their own, until a pair of familiar heads popped out from each one. Paragonia let his twin black wings droop out from the lid of the saddlebag as he scanned the scenery, but then his head jerked a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to observe his fellow ‘passenger’.

While Paragonia was and had been pretty worse for wear ever since the incident at the palace, Philomena was a whole other story. Virtually featherless, her pale neck flopped like spaghetti as soon as she emerged from the saddlebag. With a sickly cough, her beady eyes did all the work, bouncing comically about in their sockets in an attempt to absorb all the surroundings as fast as possible.

“Okay, that’s enough sightseeing for you two.” Slayde commanded, “We’re not done until you two are safely back in the palace. Which means I don’t want you to draw any attention to yourselves.”

Philomena’s head rotated slowly, staring blankly at the unicorn. For his part, Paragonia also stared at Slayde, not especially eager to stuff himself back inside the cramped saddlebag.

“Oh, get over it you primadonnas.” Slayde snapped, lacking the energy to take any more of the pair’s antics, “Let’s just buck up and finish this off. I’m as eager to be done with this as you.”

Finally obliging, the two retreated back into the confinement of the saddlebags. Without a word, Slayde took the lead, walking off in the direction of the royal palace.

“You can say whatever you want...” Pinkie Pie panted, referring to the unicorn’s earlier comment, “But I’m totally exhausted...”

“Stop complaining.” Slayde grunted impatiently, his own poor health making him no stranger to his partner’s tiredness, “We’re almost home.”

“You’re almost home.” Pinkie Pie retorted as they walked, sounding more deflated than spiteful, “It feels like ages since I left Ponyville! Don’t get me wrong, I love a little excitement in my life, but I miss Sugar Cube Corner... I miss Gummy and the Cakes...”

Suddenly, and to Pinkie’s surprise, Slayde stopped in his tracks, a serious look in his eyes. She made to ask him what had caused him to stop, or why he was making that kind of face, but he didn’t give her the chance before he spoke first.

“Something’s wrong.” Slayde commented, “Look. The guard are all over the place. Something has definitely happened.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, the conclusion not as obvious to her, “I don’t...”

She trailed off as she took a better look around. Armoured pegasi flew low over the buildings, as if searching for something, while on the ground, pairs and small groups of unicorns walked with hastened steps, looking through shop windows, patrolling the streets, and even questioning some of the local ponies.

“It’s odd.” Slayde spoke up again, “It doesn’t look like a huge disaster or anything has happened... but their scrambling like it’s something serious. I wonder who’s in charge?”

Slayde saw fit to give his own questions a little bit of thought, but as he raised a hoof to his muzzle to ponder, Pinkie’s voice pulled him back off track.

“Hey mister!” she called, stopping and waving over a passerby, “Has something bad happened?”

Slayde cast a sideways glance as Pinkie Pie stopped the old pony in his tracks. He responded well enough to Pinkie’s out-of-place mannerisms, obliging her as he came closer.

“Yes?” Atlas Black’s expression was totally impassive, “Were you asking me something? My hearing isn’t what it used to be, young lady.”

In the background, Slayde’s mind registered the old earth pony’s face. He was convinced he recognised him, but perhaps due to some combination of his poor health and fatigue, no matter how he tried, he couldn’t place it.

“We just got here, and it looks like something weird is going on.” Pinkie Pie started from scratch, a personable smile covering up her tiredness, “Did something bad happen?”

“Something certainly has stirred up the guard, as you can clearly see.” Atlas spoke directly to Pinkie Pie, “From what I’ve gathered, it’s a 'someone' that they’re searching for, but as for the crime, it only seems to be a few minor instances of theft and public disturbance.”

“That doesn’t sound right...” Slayde’s response was slow, the face of Atlas Black still trying to register in his memory, “If it was only something like that, there would be no reason to make an uproar like this...”

“Yes, you’re right.” Atlas voiced his agreement, turning from his stare at Pinkie for the first time, “Might you have some relationship with the guard yourself?”

“Y-yes.” Slayde faltered, not knowing why he felt on edge, “I’m a night guard... though I’m not on duty at the moment.”

Silently, Slayde cursed himself. Wasn’t that supposed to be a secret? More than that though, he couldn’t understand this feeling. It felt like, if he had lied, the old earth pony would realize it. But even if that could possibly be true, why did the thought cause him to shiver? For this encounter with a stranger, there couldn’t possibly be any lasting consequences. Unless...

“Indeed, especially for a guard such as yourself, this situation must seem curious.” Atlas broke Slayde’s train of thought, “It seems to me that the guards don’t know why they have been organised. I wonder who is in charge... and more so, I wonder what they are looking for.”

“Wowzers, you’re pretty smart aren’t you?” Pinkie Pie marvelled at his apparent deductions, brought back to life somewhat by the encounter, “Anyway, thanks for cluing us in!”

For a few deliberate moments, Atlas simply started back at the bright earth pony, the light bouncing off his stolen spectacles serving to mask his gaze. As Pinkie’s grateful smile faded into a curious frown, it was only then that he responded.

“Don’t mention it.” he turned with a huff, already on his way again, “Now then...”

“Please wait a moment.” Slayde called to him, stopping him only after a few steps, “Just one last thing before you go...”

Atlas obliged, stopping dead in his tracks. However, he did not turn around, nor acknowledge Slayde or his request.

“I don’t mean to be rude...” the unicorn gulped nervously, still struggling with recognising the same face he’d seen a hundred times on the wanted posters he and Ceasler would put up, “But I have to ask. Who the heck are you?”

The tension in the air was palpable. Despite the everyday bustle of the city going on around them, a silence seemed to hang as Atlas still refused to turn. Seeing Slayde’s eyes narrow seriously, even Pinkie Pie felt the atmosphere shift.

And then, Atlas simply resumed walking. “My apologies.” he said clearly as he departed, “But for both our sakes, I think it would be better if I don’t answer that.”

Watching as his figure grew smaller in the distance, Pinkie turned on Slayde, curious as to why he had seemingly let the matter drop. But what she saw surprised her. The unicorn was scowling, not through menace, but as if pained.

He didn’t get it either. The conflict clear on his face, Slayde couldn’t understand why he couldn’t muster up the will to insist against the pace of a single old stallion. He couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t able to recognise his face, nor could he understand where this overbearing feeling of intimidation was coming from.

“Slayde?” Pinkie leaned in close, rightly concerned, “What’s the matter? Are you getting one of those headaches again? Should I get help?”

“No... there’s nothing wrong.” Slayde shook it off, more ashamed now than confused, “Let’s keep moving. We need to get these two to the palace, and now I want to talk to whoever’s in charge and find out exactly what’s going on here.”

As he spoke, he immediately turned and begun walking, not waiting for Pinkie to respond. She lingered for a few seconds, looking back to where Atlas had gone. Oddly, he was nowhere to be found. She had only taken her eyes off him for a few seconds, and in that time, he had seemingly vanished...

“Come on.” Slayde insisted, “It’s not far to go now.”

“O-okay.” Pinkie shook her amazement off, trotting to catch up, “That old guy sure was weird.”

In the following silence, unbeknownst to either Pinkie or Slayde, a tiny head popped out from the fold of the saddlebags. Paragonia, stirred by some happenstance, found himself staring back toward the direction from which they had come, and, more importantly, the direction that Atlas had gone.

He lingered outside the saddlebag for a few long moments, his stare transfixed as if his beady black eyes could see something that simply wasn’t there. Quietly, a low grumbling coo emerged, expressing some kind of ambiguous discomfort.

Hearing the creature’s unique sound, Pinkie was quick to see that Paragonia had re-emerged from the saddlebags. “Hey, what are you doing?” she whispered, somehow able to be authoritative and amiable at the same time, “You need to keep your little head down until we get a safe place.”

Paragonia, still fixated on whatever sense had captured him, didn’t immediately heed Pinkie’s instructions.

“Do as she says.” Slayde commanded, not quite looking back to the creature sticking out from the saddlebags he carried, “You stand out too much. Especially in this chaos, we want to avoid drawing undue attention to ourselves.”

“Hey, Slayde...” Pinkie begun, capitalizing on Slayde’s talkativeness, “About that old guy from before. Do you think-”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” he cut her off with purpose, “We’ve got a job to do, so let’s not worry about other stuff until it’s done. Okay?”

Pinkie couldn’t help it. Like Paragonia, she had her own unique senses, and she couldn’t shake that something was well and truly off about that old stallion. But even as she ventured yet another glance at the way he had gone, Slayde was right. The moment had passed, and the mystery would remain.

“Fine.” she finally responded, “If you say so.”

* * * *

For a lonely town in the middle of a lonely, inhospitable marsh, it was off the map for a reason. It was often referred to as Meetlemarsh, which was a generalisation for the region at large, but in truth, that was a mistake. Sticking rather crudely by the road leading into the town was a sign made of black wood, a product of the local trees. It had faded with age, and while it may have once read ‘welcome to’, or ‘keep out of’, the one word that was needed was still clearly legible.

“Cinderwood.” Spellbound said under her breath, she and the others stealthily surveying the town from afar, “For a town to actually be all the way out here... if this was the first I’d heard of it, I’d probably think it was just some kind of rumour.”

“That’s what makes it so perfect as a hideout.” Shining Armor commented, “Out of contact, off the map... and an earth pony settlement. It’s a haven. Even if the princess had infinite resources at her disposal, finding this place would have taken a miracle.”

“We have Atlas to thank for that.” Caliber replied, “If what he said was true, they should have no idea we’re coming.”

“I don’t know what kind of history you two have, but I’m warning you Caliber...” Spellbound said cautiously, “That guy’s got his own agenda. He can’t be trusted.”

“I don’t know all the details, but it seems as though our aims are aligned for now.” Shining Armor retook control of the conversation, “In any case, we should fall back and devise a strategy. If they don’t know we’re here, sitting up here in the line of sight won’t do us any favours.”

“Good idea.” Spellbound nodded solidly, turning to address the bulk of the guards behind her, “Hear that? Back it up for now.”

As the mass of guards shuffled back slowly, keeping themselves quiet, Shining Armor moved through, seeking someone particular in their ranks. She tended to stick out, so finding her only took a moment.

“Pastel Pride, I’d like your help.” Shining Armor surprised the earth pony as he came up on her, the skittish librarian having been doing her best to remove herself, “Caliber, Spellbound and I need to come up with a plan, and I would like you and the girls to listen in and help us out with some of the details.”

“O-okay?” Pastel fumbled, not understanding if he was asking her or ordering her, “I guess I- uh, we could do something like that...”

“Good.” Shining Armor replied with a smile, “I’ll gather my people, so could you collect Fluttershy and Rarity and bring them to us?”

“Um, sure.” Pastel was still tentative, “I’ll go do that then.”

And with that, the earth pony stumbled off, changing directions several times within a few steps as she realised that she didn’t know where to look. Turning away with a light sigh, Shining Armor trotted off, the task of finding Spellbound and Caliber much easier.

The two of them stood alone, still staring out over Cinderwood. But while Caliber’s eyes were set on the dark, foreboding town ahead, Spellbound’s stare was stuck on Caliber. When she finally broke away, she looked downward in shame, and with a weary sigh, she made to speak-

“You don’t need to say it.” he said distantly, beating her to it, “Even now that I’m seeing it with my own eyes, I still don’t want to believe it.”

“You can‘t blame yourself.” Spellbound didn’t look up, “It isn’t anyone’s fault but theirs.”

Caliber stayed silent, whatever thoughts occupying him clearly unpleasant. It was normally hard for Spellbound to see through the pegasus, but this time, it was written all over his face.

“This can be fixed.” Spellbound spoke again, taking a firm step forwards, “The captain got through to Luna. She knows what happened here, and she’s on her way.”

“I’ve been thinking that she made the right choice.” Caliber replied distantly, “If I was in command right now... I don’t- I don’t know what I’d do.”

Without another word, Caliber finally tore himself away from his stare and turned on the spot, making his way to Shining Armor and the others with slow steps. Not following, Spellbound let loose with another weighty sigh, and took one last long look at the town below her.

Even from this distance, looking back to Cinderwood rekindled that feeling of dread that had followed with the scout’s return. As much as she didn’t want to believe it then, she couldn’t deny it when it was right before her eyes. They had been too late.

With almost mechanical steps, several villagers wandered aimlessly about the town, their bodies made not of flesh, but of stone, and their eyes, once full of life, were now like blank spheres of marble. Some stood still and stared like they were trapped in some kind of deep thought, while others shambled about, getting in each other's way as if they were lost in a place that had once been their home. It made Spellbound’s stomach churn. Below her was an entire community, hypnotised, distorted, and aimlessly waiting for some force to tell them what to do. The only thing keeping her from despair was the hope there was a way to fix it all.

“Keep your head on straight Spellbound.” she told herself as she too turned and made to rejoin the others, “You won’t be helping anyone if you can’t keep it together.”

There were a few things already going on when Spellbound returned to Shining Armor. He and Caliber were in the middle of a discussion with a nervous Patel Pride, with Rarity and Fluttershy apparently only there for moral support. Caliber and Shining Armor obviously had a lot of questions, and it was her poor old friend Pastel that they were after.

“Okay, so with all that considered...” Caliber was in the middle of saying, “Explain for us again the enemy presence we can reasonably expect in this town.”

“A-ah... okay.” she murmured nervously, “I’m not saying I’ve got all the information or anything... but if this is their hideout, then Truant should be here, and Haywire too. The twins are dead... and Atlas is locked up tight, so that should be all of them, assuming they didn’t have any other vicious criminals we never heard about on their payroll.

“But, um, that’s not counting...” Pastel made to continue, but stalled as she sensed the atmosphere, “Well, I don’t know what kinda population this town has, but if what the scouts said was true-”

“Okay, we understand.” Caliber interrupted, his tone empty, “But no matter what, I refuse to consider those unfortunate souls my enemies...”

Shining Armor slowly turned his gaze back towards the town, Caliber’s conflicted words still painful for everyone to hear. Naturally, they all felt the same as Caliber, in one way or another, but none considered it a failure as much as he.

“Something in particular still bothers me.” Shining Armor changed the topic, this time focusing on Fluttershy and Rarity instead of Pastel, “Even after the princess explained it to me, I’d like you two to walk me through your experience with Truant at Appleoosa.”

“Oh?” Rarity was surprised to be suddenly included, but as the question sunk in, her expression darkened considerably, “Ah... that. You’ll have to forgive my tone. It is not a pleasant memory.”

“It was awful.” Fluttershy took over for her friend, “He uses some kind of dark magic... and is unbelievably cruel. We wouldn’t have gotten away without Mr. Ceasler and Slayde, and even then... he came back, and hurt Rarity... Applejack... and Twilight! If it wasn’t for Philomena... I don’t even want to think about what might have happened.”

“That reminds me...” Shining Armor looked over his shoulder, specifically at Caliber, “Where are we at with the fallout at Appleoosa? Did we find out about your people?

In response, the pegasus kicked at the ground. “No confirmation yet.” he said sourly, obviously not hopeful in that regard, “Luna sent their friend Pinkie Pie out there to check, but there’s no official word yet. But if those two, or even Philomena, if they were fine we’d have heard about it by now.”

“It’s still to early to say for sure.” Spellbound commented, trying her best to lift spirits in these bleak circumstances, “Don’t count them out just yet. I’ve met those two. They’re tough.”

“Anyway, back to Truant.” Shining Armor retook command of the conversation, “Pastel, what did you say the odds are that he’s here?”

“E-eh, well, as I said, I’m not an expert on those guys or anything...” she struggled, always prefacing her responses to avoid accountability, “But if Atlas wasn’t jerking you guys around, and this really is their hideout, then there’s nowhere else for the guy to be.”

“If that’s true, then I really need to reconsider what we’re dealing with.” Shining Armor lent in slightly, “Rarity, aside from my sister, I heard you experienced the most of his magic and abilities.”

“Fair to say.” Rarity’s tone was still laced with malice, “Your sister helped me to understand and use totem magic, but it didn’t do much good. He was just far too overwhelming. He could summon up black orbs to suffocate us, projectiles, and the last thing I saw was when he got fed up and caused a huge explosion.

“And also, while I don’t entirely understand how...” she continued, pursuing her lips as she tried to determine a way to phrase it, “He implied that he could read minds or emotions. It was how he explained finding us, and how he threatened to use us to find the others.”

“Truly, that must have been quite the ordeal.” Shining Armor bowed his head slightly, “I can understand if you’re upset to hear we may be confronting him here, but rest assured, I will ensure your safety.”

“We all need to be careful.” Fluttershy warned him, being uncharacteristically cryptic, “He’s not just a bully, or just cruel. He’s evil.”

“Understood.” Shining Armor nodded firmly, but then his eyes gleamed as a small grin emerged on his face for the girls to see, “I hope you realize, I have every intention of bringing him to justice.

“For, like you, I can not forgive the harm he brought to your friend, or as I know her, my sister.” he continued, his obvious passion for the matter flaring, “So don’t worry about him. He’ll be too busy dealing with me.”

“I don’t mean to put a damper on your heroism captain, but Truant isn’t the only consideration here.” Spellbound interrupted boldly, “Pastel also said we have to account for Haywire.”

“Forgive me...” Rarity spoke up suddenly, “I’ve heard the name before, but who exactly is Haywire?”

“He’s the number one bounty head.” Caliber answered, “But he doesn’t even register as a direct threat compared to Truant. With what little anyone knows about that maverick, he’s not a fighter. No, he’s considered dangerous for an entirely different reason...”

“And also, I’m much less certain that he’s here at the moment.” Pastel Pride added her view, “I mean, while Truant’s a unique exception, Haywire is supposed to be a pegasus, and isn’t invested in what Terra’s trying to do. They’re mostly at odds, and Haywire has his own agenda, so it’s more likely he’s off doing his own thing.”

“If that’s all true, then what is their relationship?” Spellbound asked the obvious question, “I mean, its easy to understand that they wouldn’t like or trust one another. There must be some kind of mutual benefit.”

“His bounty was assigned because of his inhumane and since outlawed scientific practices.” Shining Armor replied, trying to make the connection, “To my knowledge, he was the sort that was infamous for pushing the boundaries, and ended up in some pretty dark territory.”

“So you think that’s the link then?” Caliber asked, understanding where the captain was going with this, “If Terra has some kind of use for his methods, we should be pretty worried about what’s been going on between them.”

“Indeed, he’s the number one bounty head for a reason.” Shining Armor nodded in agreement, “We might not know what his aims are, but Luna mentioned he some kind of interest in her and her sister. We’re asking for trouble if we don’t keep this guy in our sights.

“Not that we need any extra reason to arrest Haywire, but keep your eyes peeled.” he continued, making his concern official, “If he’s here, don’t let him slip away. It would be wise to consider him as much a threat as Truant, if not greater.”

Rarity bit her lip, caught between Shining Armor’s previous comments as well as her own personal experience with Truant. And while she didn’t know anything about Haywire other that what they’d just told her, he didn’t seem to measure up as dangerous against her memories of Appleoosa.

“I thought you mentioned he wasn’t a fighter?” she responded, sharing her confusion, “How could he possibly be more of a threat than that terrible unicorn?”

“Because, having an unknown in this equation is not good.” the captain answered, his tone serious, “They don’t hand these bounties out for no reason, and I don’t like the idea of an awful pegasus like that teaming up with Terra.

“Also, the princess passed me on a warning from Atlas Black.” he continued, including the others in the conversation, “We’ve been told that we can’t afford to let him do as he pleases. While we don’t know to what extend he’s been involved so far, I think he’s had more than enough time outside a dungeon already.”

“To be honest, I’m kind of hoping he isn’t here.” Spellbound admitted, “With the resources we have at the moment, we can probably only deal with one big shot at a time.”

“As long as we’re talking resources...” Caliber took over for her, “There’s not much we can afford, period. Our only real option at the moment is stealth.”

“Thanks to your pegasi, we already have a layout of the town to consider.” Shining Armor nodded once, though he didn’t seem to either agree or disagree, “But we don’t know much about what’s happened to the townspeople. Stealth might not be effective.”

“What do you think we should do then?” Spellbound asked, maintaining the middle ground, “The element of surprise is all we’ve got. And if stealth won’t work, and the townspeople are hostile, we can’t work with much.”

All these things considered, Shining Armor took a moment to think. The ponies around him watching and waiting quietly, the captain tapped at his muzzle slowly, letting everything fit together inside his mind.

“So long as we’re undiscovered, and no longer on the clock, we should take some time to gather intelligence.” he finally commanded, having decided on the best course of action, “Caliber, take your pegasi and get as many eyes on the key structures as possible. Anywhere Terra’s people might be holed up, we might be able to get a location on the key players.

“Spellbound, I want you to take the rest and spread out also.” he continued, surprising the unicorn by putting her in a leadership role, “Study the movements and behaviour of the townspeople. If there are any patterns, features, or anything else worth knowing about them, it could be important in our plans.

“Finally, you three.” Caliber concluded, rounding on Pastel, Rarity, and Fluttershy, “I need you to stay here with me. We still have a few things to talk about.”

His commands acknowledged, the full mass of guards was divided into its two groups. Caliber and his pegasi on the left, and Spellbound and the others on the right. Also, as they had just been directed, Pastel, Rarity, and Fluttershy stood around Shining Armor.

“Captain...” Spellbound spoke up, “What about you?”

Looking briefly to the girls by his side, Shining Armor lifted his head. “I need to reach the princess.” he replied steadily, “She’s on her way, and I believe she may have a few things to say about the situation before she gets here.

“Anyway, you all have your jobs.” Shining Armor thrust a hoof out, ordering them to disperse, “Keep your heads down people, and report back here in thirty minutes. We’re going to need all the information you can get.”

* * * *

At a different time and place in Mistmantle, a few minutes before the ruinous quake had struck Mistmantle, a few different things were going at different locations. Quicksilver and Tager were still staring out, awaiting the disaster, while Marco and the others fought against the shaking earth as they made for the edge of town. The town itself, however, was still. The population knew well what to do in an emergency, the streets deserted as they all hunkered down in the safety of their sturdy homes.

And although it wasn’t visible from the outside, a spark of activity was going on right in the centre of town. In the wake of the crisis, the observatory was alive with the desperate efforts of Sunny and his scientists.

“Forget it, just throw all of them in there!” Sunny roared, his command over the situation tight, “If you’ve re-calibrated them, get them with the others! Quickly! We need to move!”

Watching over everything on the catwalk above the lab proper, Sunny wiped the sweat from his brow. Below him, all of the scientists at his disposal rushed about in a barely-organised mess, stacking, checking, and essentially throwing hoof-fulls of strange, square, flat gizmos into the small opening in the middle of the laboratory floor, a barely used passage that led to an outdated basement level.

“Sir!” a particularly flustered scientist beside Sunny insisted, “Are you sure this is going to work? The tremor tablets haven’t made it past testing yet... and they were only designed to counteract certain kinds of ground tremors! We don’t know what kind of earthquake this is, or what will happen if we combine multiple tablets-”

His urgent protest was cut off as a particularly strong burst of shaking caused he and Sunny to wobble, reaching for support as the quake subsided.

“Please reconsider!” he continued, somewhat panicked, “This observatory isn’t built like the other structures! At this rate, staying here is suicide!”

With a nervous chuckle and a slight degree of hesitation, Sunny nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, can’t argue with that.” he muttered, before putting a hoof on the railing and raising his voice so as to address the whole building, “Alright, last call! Pack it up fellas, we’re getting out of here!”

Not waiting around for a response, Sunny turned away from the full group, surprising the scientist beside him by rounding on him and addressing him directly. “Do me a favour.” he said without losing step, “You lead the evacuation. Get our people indoors, but away from the observatory.”

“But sir...” he muttered, surprise and fear rendering his voice barely audible, “What about-”

“That last part is very important.” he cut him off, “Get them away from here. If this all goes the way I think it does, this observatory will be a place you don’t wanna be near.”

“What about you?” the scientist repeated what he meant to say earlier, “You sound as if you’re not leaving...”

“I didn’t get you guys to pile up those tremor tablets gizmos for fun.” he replied deadpan, “And since it’ll take more time than we have right now for me to explain what I’ve got planned, just do what I say. You’ve got to go, and I’ve gotta stay here with my finger on the trigger... uh, so to speak.”

“I can’t say I understand...” the scientist was slow to respond, “But sir...”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby.” Sunny shook his head, “Your concern is flattering, really... but I’m not going down with this ship. I’ll just be the last one out, that’s all.

“Seriously though, hurry it up.” he continued, his tone shifting, “The longer you guys stay here, the more things there are that I have to worry about.”

With a brief pause, the previously meek scientist looked out from the catwalk and over the lab, seeing that his colleagues were done with their task, and all but ready to evacuate.

“If you’re sure, then we’ll be going.” he finally said, backing up slowly, “But be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah...” Sunny waved him off sarcastically, keeping an air of mockery until he was out of sight, “I’ve already gone and made that promise.”

Maintaining a cool gaze over the lab as it emptied, the occasional hesitant look coming back his way as the building emptied one by one, Sunny finally sighed as he thought back to his exchange with Applejack and the others before he headed back here.

“What am I remembering that for?” he shook his head, turning on the spot and taking the stairs back down to the lab floor, “I’ve still got stuff to do.”

When he was in position, staring down into the darkened opening to the underground floor, Sunny could see the modest pile of curious gizmos that had been so hastily brought together, and now lay dormant.

As he stared, another burst of violent shaking ran through the ground, causing Sunny to wobble and loose plaster to shower from the ceiling.

“It won’t be long now.” he said to himself, taking a much needed breath, “I just hope to hell this works.”

As the final seconds ticked by, Sunny stood still as the observatory around him shook harder and harder, the whole thing threatening to come crashing down even without the impending earthquake coming to tear it apart. Knowing that the crack was only a moment from reaching the edge of town, Sunny steeled himself, and, with his breath held tight, let his horn glow bright in the empty lab.

Below his position, the stack of tremor tablets lit up with the same glow of his horn. And, with a series of tiny clicks, whatever curious contraptions responsible for their inner workings kicked individually to life at the command of Sunny’s magic.

The idea behind the tremor tablet was a simple one. Developed at the request of a far off region, whose mineral rich mines were too dangerous to access due to consistent ground tremors, they were designed to react to, and counteract the effects of small earthquakes. Sunny had no delusions. Even with all the tremor tablets in the world, they wouldn’t make a difference in trying to stop the quake threatening to demolish his town. However, as he had instructed his colleagues, all these tremor tablets had been re-calibrated. And that meant, instead of functioning as designed, they were now geared to produce an output. They were set to cause an earthquake.

As far away from the middle of his lab as possible, Sunny gripped the stairwell that led up to the catwalks with all his might. He wasn’t yet sure if this strategy was insane or genius, but what he was certain about was that surviving it would take a miracle.

So, as seen from above, the observatory formed the epicentre of a whole new explosion of shifting rock and splitting earth. While it wasn’t much compared the destruction closing in on the town, it was a genuine earthquake, splitting the main street from end to end, perfectly along the empty road, and miraculously avoiding all the surrounding structures.

Technically, that wasn’t entirely true. As the initial force of the quake subsided, and the ground below was separated by the deep cracks extending from one end of the town to the other, the building from which it originated, right in the centre of it all, crumpled and collapsed inwards. All things considered, the observatory got off easy, splitting as cleanly as one could expect, right down the middle, as if some giant knife had cut into it.

The impact of this second earthquake, as mighty as it was in its own right, could not even be felt at the outskirt of town. Twilight, frozen in time, slowly realized that she was too late as Quicksilver offered himself before the utter destruction of the Howling Front’s rage. With her friends secure inside the structure she had forced her way out of, and Quicksilver defiant to the last, she could only watch in horror at what was about to unfold in front of her.

And so, with the zig-zagging and malicious advance of the windigo’s violent attempt to raze the mountain town of Mistmantle now finally upon their doorstep, Sunny’s scheme kicked into action. With the quake he had caused, the random destruction that was ready to assail Mistmantle had a path already laid out for it. Thus, like tearing through a sheet of perforated paper, all that tremendous power was forced to follow the crack that was already there.

This had two effects. One, since the earthquake Sunny had manufactured went straight from one end of the town to the other, what would have chewed the town to pieces by way of its random pattern had no choice but to follow the line, with all its force channelled into the path between the buildings. This resulted in the town being split cleanly in two, with the random pattern of the crack resuming only on the other side of the town.

The second, and unfortunately unavoidable effect, was that all that energy had to go somewhere. Having been forcefully focused along what was temporarily a moderate crack in the ground, the degree of the split instantly became infinitely more severe. In a similar fashion to the fate of the first mountain split by the windigo, Mistmantle, and the entire mountain it was a part of, was now two. The crack that had momentarily formed a line between two halves of the town was now an unfathomable gorge.

But with that cost paid, it was over. The quake continued on its random destructive path for a while after being channeled through to the opposite side of town, but that was no longer anyone’s concern. The Howling Front had, once again, passed.

Silence ruled in the moments following the calm. Twilight and Quicksilver were motionless on the ground, flecks of snow sticking to them as they recovered from being so suddenly thrown around violently by the humongous tear.

Twilight must have been knocked out, for, as her senses came back in a dizzy haze, her friends were standing around her. She quickly gathered that she must have only been out for a couple of seconds. Quicksilver was across from her, sitting in a defeated heap, clutching a head that, like her, must have been slammed to the ground when the impact hit.

She saw Marco and Tager together, standing on the edge of the newly formed gorge, seemingly staring into its depths. Because the ground had shifted considerably now that the mountain was essentially in two pieces, her current angle didn’t let her see into the gorge.

“Twilight...” a tiny voice said from outside her field of vision, “Are you okay?”

Torrin, at eye level with the kneeling Twilight by way of his small stature, was the picture of concern. Applejack was right behind him, and visibly concerned as well, the only difference being that her attention was split between her friend and what had become of their surroundings.

“I’m fine.” she said simply, betrayed somewhat by her wobbling legs as she made to stand, “How... how long was I out?”

“Barely a minute...” Applejack breathed, relieved slightly, “Just long enough for us to get our bearings back...”

“Urgh, my head is killing me.” Twilight put pressure on her temples, “What the heck happened?”

“I can’t rightly say.” Applejack admitted, obviously fuzzy on the details, “I scrambled out after you, and I saw that big quake coming... I swear I saw my life flash before me, and then there was this massive crash out of nowhere. It all was happening so fast. I’m just glad you’re okay...”

“It was Sunny.” Quicksilver spoke up from his position, his tone soured only by his apparent injury, “I didn’t expect him to stay quiet... but to think this is what he had planned? That idiot.”

In response, Twilight made to ask him some more specific questions, but just looking at him, she could tell he was going to have none of it. Having said that much, he visibly retreated inside himself, not even slightly interested with engaging those around him.

“Torrin, can you stick with Twilight for a bit?” Applejack said from Twilight’s right, “I’m just gonna talk with these two for a sec.”

Indicating Marco and Tager, Applejack didn’t wait for a reply before moving to join the two by the edge of the gorge. Twilight however, ignoring the ache of her rattled head, stood up as well, committed to join in on whatever discussion there was to be had.

“Somehow, the worst possible situation was avoided...” Marco was in the middle of saying, his voice distant, “And at the last possible moment too. Sunny really pulled through.”

Even Tager, who had little interaction with the scientist, and thus very little faith in his plans, marvelled at the gorge at her feet. “Ain’t this what they call ‘tearing along the seams’?” she thought out-loud, “Amazing. He saved the town by destroying it his way.”

Their steps advertised by the crunch of snow beneath their hooves, Marco and Tager turned their heads to see Applejack, Twilight and Torrin approach from behind, stopping just short of being able to see down into the gorge.

“It’s not something any of us would have thought up, that’s for sure.” Applejack spoke up, referring to Tager’s comment, “We were all too busy thinking of some impossible solution... while he figured out what he could sacrifice to save his people’s lives.”

“There’s a lesson in there somewhere, but what you just said makes me uneasy.” Marco grimaced, acknowledging Applejack, but turning his attention to the unicorn next to her, “Twilight. You’re thinking what I’m thinking right?”

“Yeah, I think I realize what he did.” Twilight nodded, looking into the distance, or more specifically, the direction of the observatory, “He generated an earthquake to create a fault line along the main street of the town...

“That decision made sure no homes got caught up in the damage, but there’s still that one place right in the middle of town.” Twilight gulped, eerily analytic of the situation, “No, it probably wasn’t a decision at all. Sunny would have had to use the facilities of the observatory to force an earthquake to occur.”

“So... if the observatory was swallowed up by the gorge...” Marco asked the obvious question, “What do you think happened to Sunny?”

As the question faded out into silence, a low grumble and a slight shifting of earth took place beneath their hooves, but it stopped just as suddenly as it begun. Just a reminder that they were on unstable ground.

“Knowing him, he would have made sure he was the only one in the observatory.” Twilight finally replied, “And with what I know about their unique science of weather, I don’t think it would have been possible to trigger an earthquake after he was out of harm’s way.”

“The ground’s not gonna hold forever...” Applejack pointed out, the nervousness clear in her voice, “What’re we supposed to do?”

“That should be obvious.” Marco replied steadily, swapping a look with the overwhelmed Quicksilver, “The windigo may be gone, but we can hardly call this a victory if someone dies for it again.”

“So, what?” Applejack wasn’t sold, “We find where the observatory fell and hope Sunny is still okay?”

“No.” Quicksilver answered coldly, surprising everyone by rising up from his position and joining the group, “You lot go find that idiot, and drag him out of the wreckage before this whole gorge comes crashing down. I will-”

“Us?” Twilight was taken aback by the unicorn’s attitude, “He’s your friend isn’t he? What could be more important at the moment than-”

“He’s right.” Marco cut her off, “This is as much an opportunity as it is a disaster. Terra’s seal is likely to be down there too... and Celestia along with it.”

“How can you be so certain?” Twilight questioned, “Sunny should be our priority, especially when we don’t have any evidence Mistmantle was where the seal was placed, or that this gorge has exposed it-”

“Normally, I’d agree with you.” Marco accepted, yet didn’t falter, “And I don’t know what to tell you... but I can feel it. Like instinct. It feels like there’s something down there... something massive... and it’s-”

“Have you lost it?” Tager chirped, “And here I was beginning to think you were the only one with half a brain rattling around in there.”

“I- I think I know what you’re talking about...” Torrin spoke up nervously, even more timid than usual, “It’s like... weird. Kind of like when you’re looking up at a really tall building and it makes you feel funny.”

“You too?” Twilight asked quizzically, “Are you sure it’s not to do with your foresight or-”

“Sorry, but I feel it too... I think.” Applejack was slow to voice her agreement, “Like... like standing on the edge of a cliff. It makes my head feel light, and my skin all prickly...”

“One after another... these earth ponies are all losing their marbles.” Tager observed crudely, “I don’t feel nothing. Quit being weird.”

“Then perhaps you phrased it appropriately.” Quicksilver indicated Marco, “Instinct. Particularly, earth pony instinct. An interesting topic, but its mostly clouded in rumour and hearsay. No proper study has shown anything of the sort to exist.”

“Well, aren’t you full of useful information?” Tager remarked, cocking her head at the unicorn, “Are you the same guy that was getting all preaching and hot-blooded just before?”

“I was being emotional then... and it did not benefit the situation.” Quicksilver didn’t deny her comment, “But being analytical helps me keep my head, especially now that there’s the mystery of the gorge to consider, and Sunny could be injured or dead...”

“And I’m still scratching my head as to why we haven’t acted on that already.” Applejack didn’t want to see the discussion trail on while there were other priorities, “Can’t this wait until later?”

“Absolutely not.” Marco stopped her in her tracks, “It may not be certain, but if all these things are linked the way I think they are, this may be our one and only chance to get Celestia. If we get her back, it’ll be over for Terra.”

“But...” Torrin begun, “What about the prophecy-”

“Screw the prophecy!” Tager snarled, “What’s it done for you guys anyway? This way reeks of excitement... and you better not be forgetting why I even signed on for this in the first place-”

“Okay, we get it.” Twilight cut the pegasus off confidently, “It just means we split up. Marco, you and Tager can go your own way. Everyone else... this gorge won’t hold forever. We need to find Sunny, as well as get everyone out of town safely.

“At the very least, it’s safe to assume Sunny is alive.” she continued, not losing any momentum as she indicated Marco and Applejack’s headgear, “His transmogrification magic is still in effect.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I would prefer to go with these two.” Quicksilver took stance by Marco and Tager, “If this is to do with what has been happening to my home all these years... I must get to the bottom of it. As for Sunny... I feel as though I can trust you with his safety.”

Instantly, Twilight made to object, with ideas of a friendship between Sunny and Quicksilver at the ready, but before she could, she was stopped by the tugging of tiny hooves against her own.

Silently and conspiratorially, the colt jerked his head at the significant sight. At first, Twilight was clueless as to what he was trying to hint at, but it finally struck her. Tager, Quicksilver, and Marco... a pegasus, unicorn, and an earth pony... and, at least in her mind, the first, second, and third hero. Far be it from her to break up this formation.

“Fine...” Twilight surrendered with a drawn-out sigh, “Applejack, Torrin, and I should be enough to take care of things up here.”

“I’d best try and get to Sunny while you two coralle the townsfolk.” Applejack pitched in, “I shouldn’t have much trouble climbing up and down, or doing some heavy lifting.”

“And getting the ponies here organised and to safety should be quick enough with Torrin and a little co-operation with the town.” Twilight nodded to her friend, her confidence building, “There shouldn’t be any problem-”

As she said the words, another light tremor ran through the earth below, telling of another slight shift in the gorge below them.

“Then enough waiting around already.” Tager took the event in stride, her wings twitching as her blood heated up, “Even if it’s with these two eggheads, I’ve been waiting for a proper adventure!”

“You sure about this Quicksilver?” Marco questioned, fastening his saddlebags, their contents prepared for any kind of confrontation, “There’s a possibility that we’re walking into danger.”

“I can handle myself.” the scientist remarked coolly, going so far as to lead the way, “All the better if this leads me to someone I can hold accountable-”

“You guys!” Applejack called, seeing that the trio was already on their way, “Be careful, you hear? Do you best to work things out down there... but make sure you come back, alright?”

Tager and Quicksilver continuing forward without a care, Marco was the one to stop and turn back. Torrin, Twilight, and Applejack watched as, silently, Marco smiled a thin smile and dipped a hoof into the fold of one of his saddlebags.

“You got it.” he said, producing Luna’s amulet and clasping it around his neck, “We’re not taking any chances this time. So you focus on what you gotta do, and don’t worry about us.

“Because this time around...” he continued, turning boldly on the spot, “It’s our turn to take ‘em by surprise.”

* * * *

The day at a close, it was a setting sun shining on Canterlot. The frantic searching that had been going on earlier was long done with now, having been for naught. Slayde and Pinkie had also made it to the palace without any additional difficulties and handed over Philomena and Paragonia, and while Pinkie Pie remained in the palace taking a well earned break, Slayde had wanted some answers and gone off on his own.

So, left by herself, and unburdened by some kind of a mission for the first time she could remember, Pinkie had sat down in a deflated heap the moment Slayde left her, seizing the furniture that had been nearest to her. Looking around, she felt like she was in some kind of foyer-like area of the palace. She didn’t care anyway. The moment her eyes closed, she was out like a light.

Time passing unannounced as she rested without interruption, the first noise to be heard in the foyer for the longest time, other than her soft snoring, was the scrape of metal steps on the marble floor.

Not enough to rouse the exhausted Pinkie Pie, the steps got closer and louder until whoever they belonged to stopped right in front of her sleeping figure. Clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of interfering with her rest, the armoured pony fidgeted slightly, leaning in precariously as if his getting closer would somehow wake her up on its own.

“Stop that.” a bold voice from the other end of the foyer ordered, causing him to pull back, “You’re just going to scare her.”

Truly, a more obvious thing could not be said. Blinking his yellow, snake-like eyes in innocence, as if to prove his partner’s point, the devilish-looking jailer flicked his bat-like wings unconsciously. He and his partner, owing to their fearsome appearance, were Luna’s favored dungeon masters, rarely exposing themselves to the world outside Canterlot’s underground.

“Well, this was your idea, wasn’t it?” the more nervous guard replied, “You should know that I’m uncomfortable in these wide-open spaces! Why don’t you wake her then?”

“Fine.” his partner sighed impatiently, closing the distance with quick steps, “The sooner the better.”

Now next to his more skiddish counterpart, the bolder of the two guards was now staring down at the still sleeping Pinkie Pie. Barely even pausing to consider the situation, he nudged the corner of the chair she sat in with a swift kick and spoke.

“You’re Pinkie Pie right?” he asked as she roused, less of a genuine question and more of matter of course, “Sorry to disturb you, but we’ve been meaning to find you.”

Returning to the world with a slow stretch, Pinkie’s first action was to rub at her tired eyes. But soon after she removed her hooves from her eyes and saw who it was that was in front of her, they shot open, the pink earth pony unsurprisingly startled by the intimidating appearance of the two jailers.

“Uh, hi.” the nervous guard betrayed his fearsome first impression with a tiny wave, “Sorry to, um, disturb you. I’m Dusk Runner, and this is my partner, Guts Goldhound.”

“H-hello?” Pinkie’s voice escaped her as a whisper, put somewhat on edge by this sudden encounter, “Can I help you or something?”

“No.” Guts tone was like ice, “We’re here to help you. Please come with us.”

“Jeeze, Guts, now who’s scaring her?” Dusk Runner saw Pinkie Pie shrivel in response to his partner’s cold reply, “Sorry Pinkie, but we know... well, mostly, what’s been going on, and we’re trying to help you out.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Guts agreed, his malignant tone and the words he spoke a total contrast to one another, a likely result of having little experience holding conversation with anyone that wasn’t behind bars, “You must be exhausted. We’ve set aside some space here in the palace for you to get set up. A proper bed and facilities.”

“Uh...” Pinkie was, of course, tentative, “Sorry, but, who did you say you guys were?”

“I am Guts Goldhound, this is Dusk Runner.” he answered robotically, stiffly indicating himself and his partner, “Feel comfortable referring to us as Guts, or Dusk, respectively.”

“What he means is...” Dusk took over for Guts, his more personable side letting him see through to Pinkie’s true meaning, “We’re guards, just not like the type you’ve probably seen around here. Most ponies get scared just by looking at us, and we’re more comfortable in close environments, so we try to keep to ourselves in the city’s secret places.”

“Oh!” Pinkie changed tune instantly, bounding out from the chair she sat on, “I’ve heard about ponies like you before! Cool... so you guys are the ones who look after the secret stuff? Wait, what’d you want with me?”

“Since the incident this morning, things have been disorderly here at the palace.” Guts answered, his tone warming up along with Pinkie’s, even if it was only slightly, “For your comfort, and as a precaution, we are to take you to a reserved room here in the palace, and stand guard.”

“Stand guard?” Pinkie’s energy levels tapered off, “But what for? Isn’t this the palace?”

“Don’t worry.” Dusk tried to reassure her, “Like he said, this is just a precaution. Anyway, please follow us.”

On either side of her, the two jailers walked slowly out of the foyer, escorting the somewhat reserved earth pony towards the staircase in the next room. She was as comfortable as could be following their lead, given the circumstances, but she couldn’t help but be hesitant. As much as she avoided judging anyone by appearance, the fact remained that these two were just plain scary-looking.

“Hrm... well it’s not like I mind or anything.” Pinkie followed, trying to shake off her trepidation, “Was this Slayde’s idea or something?”

“Slayde?” Dusk repeated, “Was he the unicorn guard who arrived here with you earlier?”

“What, so he didn’t ask you two to look after me?” Pinkie asked curiously, her original question answered in a sense, “Then what’s he doing?”

“He had a brief talk with the higher-ups, before being ordered to report in at the hospital.” Guts answered, apparently more knowledgeable than his partner about Slayde, “He’s in for an overnight stay, at the very least. Rest assured, the main reason is due to overexertion. He’ll be back to full health soon enough.”

“Yeah, I was getting worried for a bit there when he found me in Appleoosa.” Pinkie replied, quietly relieved, “So, if he didn’t, who asked you two to look after me? Was it Luna or something?”

For a second, the two guards were silent. Curiously, Pinkie watched as they swapped a glance. Then, suddenly, they stopped walking. Pinkie too, skidded to a halt along with them.

“No one did.” Guts finally answered, “We decided to take some measure of initiative and see to your protection ourselves-”

“Guts...” Dusk’s tone was cautious, “Are you really sure about this?”

“Pinkie, the truth is, there’s a reason why the incident this morning was so severely disorganised.” Guts skipped past Dusk’s question, turning and facing Pinkie Pie directly, “As my partner mentioned earlier, ponies like us look after the secret places in this city, and it was our job to guard a particular prisoner.

“The individual that the guard was searching for was that prisoner.” he continued, his honesty shining through his stern tone, “He somehow escaped. The chaos that resulted was due to the fact that the princess went to extreme lengths to keep his existence a secret. Likely, this is the reason why he was able to avoid recapture.

“Thus, as we are the only ones in the city that know who that prisoner was, or even that there was such a significant breakout, we have decided to take it upon ourselves to see to your protection.” Guts concluded his explanation, “In truth, we only know of this secret by circumstance, and that Luna has only shared the truth with a small circle of trustworthy individuals. If the princess knew I was telling you any of this, or that we decided to act on our own, I am not sure that she would approve.”

Pinkie stood there, soaking it all in. The obvious question bordered on her lips. “So, why?” she asked, “Why are you telling me this stuff?”

“Because, Atlas is clever... too clever for us to work out.” Dusk was the one who answered this time, “And now that he’s free again, there’s no telling what he wants to do next.

“And, as you’re the only one in the city right now, apart from Slayde, who has any relationship to anything that has been going on lately, and for as long as we don’t know what Atlas is up to, we want to cover all the bases and ensure your safety.” he continued, trying not to worry the earth pony, “Look, it’s all very unlikely. He shouldn’t know who you are... or have any reason to be anywhere near the city, but we’re not going to pretend to know anything about him.”

“Okay... I think I get it.” Pinkie Pie nodded, “Sorry if I’m being a hassle... it’s just been, like, a crazy day.”

“If anything, we’re just here to help you rest easy.” Guts got the message, “Don’t let our worries become yours. Now, let’s get you to the room.”

Satisfied with their explanation, Pinkie followed along confidently as they continued on to wherever the two guards were leading her. After reaching the staircase, they ascended two levels, and, with that little bit of exertion enough to kick the life back out of her, Pinkie felt some measure of relief that these two were showing her to a proper room with a proper bed. Them guarding it would just be an added plus.

“Here we are.” Dusk broke through Pinkie’s trance, stopping her in front of one of the many doors along the hallway leading out of the stairwell, “This is the one. We’ll be sitting just out the front here, so don’t worry about anything.”

“Okay... thanks, you guys.” Pinkie said with a yawn, “If you don’t mind, I’m just gonna head right in. This pony’s about to crash...”

“Understood.” Guts replied simply as he held the door open for Pinkie, “If you need us for any reason, we’re at your disposal.”

“Got it...” she slowly replied, her head poking out as she slowly closed herself inside, “And thanks again.”

Staring at the closed door, Dusk and Guts, now alone, each let out a weighty sigh. Without a word, they positioned themselves on either side of the doorway, putting their backs to the wall and their faces forward. Not unlike the formation they normally took down in the dungeon, the only thing missing was their interlocked tridents barring the door.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad.” Dusk said, following up on his heavy sigh, “Although, being in this enormous corridor still makes me uncomfortable.”

Guts looked about himself before voicing his agreement. “There’s no helping that.” he said matter-of-factly, “But you’re right, that went significantly smoother than we expected.”

“I guess not everyone up here is so bad after all.” Dusk joked, a nervous relief present in his voice, “She was being pretty nice to ponies like us...”

“No comment.” Guts rolled his eyes silently, not one to indulge gossip, “Let’s just focus on keeping guard.”

The pair’s chatter inaudible from inside the spacious room, Pinkie sauntered sleepily through the luxurious environment, disregarding furnishings that would cause even Rarity to swoon as she homed in on the only thing she cared about.

Finding the gigantic bed dominating the bedroom, she dived unceremoniously into a pile of decorative pillows, settling instantly on top of the covers. Clutching a nearby ruffled and tasselled pillows, Pinkie Pie tucked it under her head, and, finally settled, let her eyelids meet.

Having found the necessary comfort, she was asleep as soon as her eyes closed. Clearly, whatever concerns that Dusk and Guts were worried would unsettle her weren’t enough to keep her up. Obviously, nor was the idea of having two scary-looking dungeon masters standing watch outside her room.

And so, the physical and mental exhaustion of her quest in Appleoosa finally catching up to her, Pinkie Pie was absorbed immediately into the world of dreams.

She awoke with a harsh sneeze some time later. Renegotiating herself on top of the covers, she wiped at her nose unconsciously as she rolled onto her back. However, when an unexpected chill crept up on her, she sat up and forced her still tired eyes open.

Getting her eyes back in working order was a slow process. But as she regained her vision, the first thing she noticed was that it was dark. Although it felt like it was only a few seconds ago that she came here, it was obvious even to her tired mind that she had been sleeping solidly for quite some time. It was nighttime already, and pretty late into it at that. She could have been asleep anywhere from three to five hours.

As she begun to consider why she had roused, that unexpected chill returned, in the form of a slight breeze. As it caused her to sneeze once more, she quickly realized that sleeping exposed on top of the covers had not done her any favours.

Getting off the bed with a tired groan, she staggered out of the bedroom. Soon enough, she found the culprit, a wide-open window on the far side of the next room. Her still sleepy mind not caring for anything other than getting back to sleep, she slowly made her way over and closed it.

She stared through the glass for a moment, looking out over the darkened streets of Canterlot. She had never seen them from up high before, and despite herself, the view was quite stunning, which wasn’t exactly unexpected considering she was in the royal palace at the moment.

The spectacle was enough to stall her thinking, as only after a few moments did she begin to wonder why the window had been open. She hadn’t remembered seeing it like this when she first came in here, but to be fair, she really didn’t pay much attention. Perhaps the room hadn’t been used for a while, and it was being aired or something...

Only then did Pinkie Pie notice. In the reflection of the glass, as well as bordering on her peripherals, she registered the faint wavering glow of yellow light behind her. Turning on the spot, she clearly saw its source, a solitary candlestick, placed on a small table at the side of the room from which she entered. And behind it, the still silhouette of an intruder seemingly sitting down in a chair.

“Dusk?” Pinkie Pie asked as she squinted at the figure, not able to make it out with such a small light source, “Or is that you, Guts?”

She continued to stare, but whoever it was, they didn’t reply, or even move for that matter. As her confusion developed, Pinkie’s unique senses begun to tingle.

“H-hello?” she tried one more time, her caution mounting as she begun to recognise the feeling welling up in her stomach, “Who’s there? Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you.” the gruff voice finally replied, his shadow shifting as he moved to lean forward slightly, “But please, not so loud...”

Now alert, Pinkie Pie focused her senses, trying to force the stallion to take shape in her eyes. As he lent in just that little bit further, and the soft light of the candle’s flame bounced off his spectacles and back at her, her eyes flashed with recognition. She now remembered this feeling. It was the same as what she felt earlier, back on the streets of Canterlot, when she stared out after that strange old pony she and Slayde had bumped into.

“Can you sit?” Atlas Black asked quietly and disarmingly, indicating the empty seat opposite him with a gentle nod of his head...

“I just want to have a little talk.”

Comments

[Benjamin Lawe]

3433968
Good question. That song (and this is all going off my memory here) is named navras because of its relationship to a particular Hindu mantra. The definition of 'Navaras' that i worked with in naming that city was also a Hindu term, which references how some art styles represent philosophy and include spiritual symbolism in its figures and themes.

I wanted the name of the city to reflect Neptune's character, which has so far been all about wisdom and spirituality. This might make more sense later on :P