Siren of the Everfree

by MrAskAPirate

First published

Part 2 of Legend of the Six. Twilight and her new friends undertake a dangerous journey into the Everfree forest, where nothing is as it seems...

They say that if you ever get lost in the Everfree forest, you may hear her singing. When you do... run.

After the Heartstone incident, Twilight Sparkle finds herself in need of a new direction; a new purpose... not to mention a new place to stay. A bolt of inspiration sets her and her new-found friends on a path that leads deep into the heart of the one place everyone knows you should never go...

Part II of Legend of the Six; a humanized fantasy-adventure that draws heavily on the mythos and lore of FiM to create a new and exciting tale of action, intrigue, and of course, friendship!

Cover art modified by the Great and Powerful MelloReflections; original was created by the amazingly talented bill-yi!

Chapter 1: A New Day

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~Siren of the Everfree~

I can’t believe I was ever so foolish. Granted, there was no way I could have known the details of your plan to lure out Equestria’s enemies with the Heartstone, but in hindsight it feels like it should have been so obvious. That’s the difference experience makes, isn’t it? The more of the world we see, the more we start to understand the big picture. I suppose you know that better than anyone, don’t you Princess?

Is that what you were trying to teach me that day? At the time I could only focus on myself; on how much it hurt to fail and be expelled from the Academy, but looking back I realize that was also the day my journey truly began. That was the day I stepped out into a bigger world filled with people, places and sights both wondrous and terrible. Don’t get me wrong: I still love my books, but there are some things that you just can’t learn in a cloistered classroom. It took me a while to figure that out too, but luckily my friends were there by my side to help show me the way.

That was the day I first met my closest friends too... well, with one notable exception. All my friends are special to me, but in some ways she was the most important. Everyone always looked to me as the leader, but there were so many times that her gentle grace and quiet encouragement felt like the only things that kept us going when the days grew darkest. I know now that it was fate and Harmony that arranged our first meeting, but back then it seemed like nothing more than a series of coincidences…


Dawn broke over Canterlot city in its usual, spectacular fashion. The first rays of the morning sun struck the highest tower of Canterlot Castle, where, if people on the streets below looked hard enough, they could catch a glimpse of Princess Celestia, her arms outstretched as the blazing celestial body heeded her call to begin its trek across the sky. As always, there was a sizable cluster of people gathered in Victory Square, immediately in front of the castle. The sheet of morning light slowly slid down the magnificent building, illuminating the many stained-glass windows and the exquisitely detailed metalwork that decorated it, and casting off a dazzling array of reflections and rainbows that danced across the plaza to the pleased sounds of the gathered crowd.

As the sun rose higher and the show came to an end among the brightening daylight, a round of applause and appreciative cheers rose up. Princess Celestia lowered her arms and gave her customary wave to the people below before turning and vanishing back into her ivory tower. The crowd dispersed, people smiling and chatting happily as they went about their daily lives, content that Equestria’s wondrous monarch would be watching over them on another beautiful day.

From the farthest edge of the wide, open plaza, Applejack watched it all with a scowl. After a moment she turned, repositioning the large burlap sack on her shoulder, and strode away.

When she’d first moved to Canterlot, she’d made a point of being in that crowd every morning. Even after everything her family had been through she still believed that the Princess was a caring and just ruler. Even if the nobles were petty and the merchants shrewd and shady, Equestria would always be a place where someone could get an honest chance and be treated fairly so long as Celestia sat on the throne.

Now, in light of recent events, the former farmer wasn’t so sure.

Applejack glanced at the folks she passed as she made her way to The Dancing Dame through the streets of Canterlot. She noted the smiles and overall cheerful demeanor that had always been a fairly common trait of the Equestrian people, particularly those who were the type to be up and about their business at the crack of dawn. Applejack normally liked seeing everyone so carefree and happy in the morning, but right now the smiles and upbeat attitudes just seemed… hollow, somehow.

It’d been almost two weeks since the night Spellbinder’s tower had collapsed. The final death toll had been announced at seventeen--much lower than had originally been feared, but still more than enough to mark the event as a terrible tragedy for many. Especially for Twilight.

Applejack’s grip on the sack tightened a little. Even after the announcement had been made that the Princess herself would be paying for the damages and reconstruction, people had been angry. They were angry that their peaceful lives had been disrupted, but it was an anger that had no real focus and would have dissipated quickly if Celestia hadn’t given it one. She made it very clear in a public speech in that very same plaza that the fault for the incident rested squarely upon the shoulders of an Academy student who had been expelled and had all ties to the school and the monarchy severed. She hadn’t named names, but people talk, and it wasn’t long before half of Canterlot was cursing the name Twilight Sparkle. The real villain, Spellbinder, hadn’t even been mentioned.

The worst part was that Twilight herself seemed perfectly fine with that.

The cowgirl kicked a small rock in her path a little harder than she had intended, skipping it noisily along the cobblestone street. A few passing faces turned her way, but the dark look she was wearing silenced anyone who might’ve spoken up. She pulled her Stetson a little farther down and kept her eyes forward.

It had taken some prying, but Twilight had eventually told her, Pinkie, and Spike everything: about the Heartstone, about Spellbinder’s betrayal, and a little bit about some vague threat that Equestria was facing because of it. Applejack had wanted to go forward with the truth, but the young mage had begged her not to. Despite Celestia more or less throwing her to the wolves, Twilight was still infuriatingly loyal to her. Having to keep what really happened a secret didn’t sit well with Applejack one bit--especially when the whole tower thing had been more her fault than Twilight’s--but while she didn’t like it, she could at least understand where her new friend was coming from.

A short time spent lost in her thoughts later, Applejack strode up to and unlatched the front door of The Dancing Dame. The inside of the grimy tavern was empty of patrons; not unexpected given the time of day. The chairs were all upended and resting on their respective tables or the bar, creating a forest of wooden legs that Applejack weaved carefully between. The place still held the acrid stink that came from too many drinks and too many unidentified bodily fluids staining the worn wooden floorboards no matter how many times they had been washed. It was a far cry from the sweet fragrance of an apple orchard on a spring morning, but for now it was still her place of employment, and thusly something of a comfort to her nonetheless. She hefted the sack onto an open place on the bar just as Tapped Keg emerged from the doorway that led to the kitchen and back rooms carrying a wooden rack of clean mugs.

“Mornin’ Keg,” she patted the sack. “Got that bag of grain you wanted.” Keg grunted once as he set down the rack with a rough clink and picked up the burlap bag before trundling into the back rooms again. “Yer welcome,” Applejack mumbled.

“Aw, don’t mind him; Keg’s always Grumpy McGrumperson in the morning!”

Applejack turned to see Pinkie Pie, her smile as broad as ever, stepping out of the stairwell that led to the Dame’s meager upper floor with a tray of food in her hands. The cowgirl grimaced. “I think he’s still a little ticked at me for runnin’ off and lettin’ the bar get all smashed up,” she glanced back in the direction Keg had gone.

“Don’t be silly! Keg loves us! Why else would he be so super-fantastically kind enough to let you keep your job and let Twilight stay here too?”

“Because you threatened to walk out on him otherwise, remember?” Applejack said. “He needs a top-notch entertainer a lot more than he needs another bouncer or a freeloader.”

“Hee hee, oh yeah!” Pinkie scrunched up her face and gave a short, snorting giggle. Applejack rolled her eyes, but then focused on the tray in her friend’s hands. On it was a mostly empty glass of water, a bowl of congealing soup that looked like it had barely been touched, and a small bread roll with only a couple of bites missing.

“She still ain’t eatin’ much, huh?” she asked. Pinkie’s smile grew a little less vibrant as she looked down at the food.

“Well, last night’s dinner was kinda ‘eh’ anyway,” Pinkie said, “so today I’m gonna whip up something super-extra-special for breakfast!” She tossed the tray to Applejack, who just barely caught it with only a small amount of spillage as Pinkie appeared behind the bar wearing an apron and with a comically-oversized chef’s hat perched on her pink curls. “I’m thinking… strawberry shortcake waffles with banana whipped cream and chocolate syrup! Ooh! And caramel candied bacon! Nobody can resist caramel candied bacon! She’ll have to eat!”

Applejack’s stomach twinged a little at Pinkie’s description of the free-form breakfast explosion. “Uh, that could be nice, I guess,” she set the tray down on the counter, “but how about we go with somethin’ kinda simple? If Twilight hasn’t been eatin’ much something that… flavorful might make her sick. Don’t we have any oatmeal or anythin’?” Pinkie stared blankly at her for a moment, blinking once as he mouth popped open in shock.

“Oatmeal?! Are you craz--hang on, I’ll go check.” She dropped down behind the bar and vanished, somehow making a supreme level of noise as pots and pans that Applejack was fairly sure shouldn’t have been under the bar clanged against each other. The cowgirl sighed and sat down on a nearby stool, resting her chin in her hand. Maybe if she got her usual daily dose of Pinkie’s antics all in now the rest of the day would be slightly less random. As Pinkie reemerged with some bags of ingredients and hummed a upbeat tune, Applejack’s eyes and thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to the partially-consumed tray of food, and then to the stairs that led up to her secluded friend.


Twilight Sparkle sat on her small, dilapidated room’s only chair; a rickety wooden affair that squeaked at even the slightest shift of her weight. At the moment it was silent, the only sounds present being Spike’s light, steady snoring and the soft, twinkling hum of Twilight’s magic as she levitated a trio of objects in the air above the small writing desk before her. The first was a book, its magenta-lit pages delicately flipping by one at a time. The second was a small cup filled with water that hung motionlessly, the liquid’s surface completely still in the grip of her levitation. The last item was the blanket from the room’s single bed, and it was also the one that held most of Twilight’s focus as she repeatedly folded and unfolded it with her magic. After another three repetitions, all three objects settled down to the desk, and Twilight let out a satisfied sigh as her magic faded away.

“At least that’s back to normal,” she muttered. While it was not uncommon for a wizard’s magic energy to be agitated and difficult to control after being exposed an outside magical force of sufficient strength, most cases only lasted from a few minutes to a few hours. The fact that her magic was only now settling down after two weeks was a testament to the sheer, untapped power of the Heartstone. Twilight swallowed involuntarily as she considered not for the first time how lucky she had been. Stories of magical burnout that permanently damaged a person’s ability to manipulate magic energy were the stuff of nightmares for any wizard.

Twilight bowed her head as thoughts of Trixie came to mind. The brash mage had overtaxed her magic and very nearly killed herself in order to teleport them safely out of Spellbinder’s tower, and Twilight still didn’t fully understand why. A soft knocking pulled her from her reverie.

“Twilight?”

“It’s open,” she said as she stood, eyeing the still-snoozing Spike curled up on her bed near her pillow. The door eased open and Applejack stepped into the room; she looked to Twilight briefly before spotting the sleeping familiar and grinning widely.

“Aw, he’s cute when he’s nappin’,” she shut the door gently.

“Yeah, and it’s a good thing too since he spends so much time doing it,” Twilight rolled her eyes, drawing a soft chuckle from Applejack.

“So how’re you feelin’?”

“Well,” Twilight hesitated, sitting down on the edge of the bed and idly petting her familiar, “better, I think. My magic is working normally again, so that’s a plus, and I managed to actually get a full night’s sleep. Thank you again for letting me stay here.”

Applejack shook her head. “I'd've had you back at my place but it's already a little tight just between me, Mac and Apple Bloom. Keg’s the one who you should be thankin’, though you might want to wait a bit longer; I think he’s still a mite sore about the whole fiasco. Speakin’ of, I gotta head back to the market to pick up more supplies for him. Pinkie’s whippin’ up some breakfast for you, but after you’re fed do you wanna tag along and keep me company? It’s lookin’ to be a real nice day out; great for stretchin’ your legs and gettin’ some fresh air.”

“Oh… well,” Twilight replied slowly, her eyes suddenly interested in anything other than Applejack. “Thank you, but I think that I’ll stay in today. I’m still a little tired, and… and Spike is exhausted! I wouldn’t want to leave him here all alone.” She offered a thin smile, but Applejack merely raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. After a moment, Twilight’s shoulders sagged and she let out an exasperated sigh. “I know, I know, I can’t stay cooped up in here forever, I just… I don’t know I’m supposed to do. The Academy was my home, and I don’t have any family left that I could turn to.”

“What about your brother?”

Twilight looked to Applejack with wide eyes. “How’d did you-”

“Weren’t that hard to figure out. I got one too y’know,” the cowgirl replied with a smile. “He seemed like a nice enough fella, and he was real glad you were okay.” Twilight frowned and looked away.

“He only acts like he cares because he feels guilty.”

AJ cocked her head and leaned back against the door. “What about?”

“Nothing.” Twilight said after a moment. “Sorry, it isn’t something I want to think about right now.” She stood and pulled open the room’s single squeaky window, letting in the morning’s full brightness before leaning on the sill and staring out over the street.

“Sorry, sugarcube, I didn’t mean to pry,” Applejack sighed. “Why don’t you c’mon downstairs and get some grub, then we’ll see if you’re feelin’ up for goin’ into town?”

“Okay,” Twilight said absently. “I’ll be down in a few minutes.” AJ turned and had just taken hold of the door handle when she hesitated.

“Y’know… me and Big Mac and Apple Bloom lost our folks right after Bloomer was born, and Granny Smith passed away around the same time we lost the farm,” Applejack said evenly. “Havin’ your whole world fall apart in front of you ain’t an easy thing to deal with. I don’t think I woulda been able to go on if it hadn’t been for my brother and sister.” She turned slowly so that she was facing Twilight again, though the mage was still staring out the window. “I know it ain't exactly the same, but… well, I still wanna be your friend. Pinkie does too. We’re here for you if you need us.”

An awkward silence filled the room. Applejack waited several long moments, but Twilight neither moved nor spoke. The cowgirl sighed again as she pushed the door open.

“Thank you, Applejack.”

Applejack turned around to find that Twilight was looking back over her shoulder with a soft, genuine smile. She responded with a grin of her own and a quick tip of her Stetson before she slipped out of the room for good.

Twilight turned her gaze back out the window, looking over the street and the handful of people as they went about their early morning business. After a moment Twilight reached up and put her hand into the neckline of her shirt, fishing around a bit before emerging with a small silver locket in her fingers. She popped the clasp on one side and opened it, revealing a pair of tiny, intricate ivory cameos, one of a man and one of a woman. She delicately traced a finger over the images before focusing on the latter.

“What would you do, Mom?”

Almost as soon as she asked the question, Twilight’s eyes widened and a grin broke over her features.

“Of course!”


Applejack sat back down at the bar to wait for Twilight. She could hear Pinkie in the kitchen, singing to herself as she cooked, when suddenly there was a rapid thumping of footfalls on floorboards above. It was loud enough that it drew the entertainer out into the main room as both she and Applejack turned their attention to the stairs. Twilight Sparkle appeared at the bottom of them a moment later, a backpack over her shoulder and a very groggy pseudo-dragon in her arms.

“I have a favor to ask,” Twilight said before either of the other girls could speak. “It might be dangerous, but I think in the long run it will help all of us. I know you don’t have any real reason to trust me, so if you don’t want to help I under-”

“We’re in,” Applejack cut her off with a grin, which Twilight eagerly returned.

“Really?”

“Absotute-a-lootaly!” Pinkie exclaimed, popping up next to Twilight as if she hadn’t just been across the room and wrapping her in a tight hug. “We’re super-happy to see you feeling better and we wanna keep it that way! No more Miss Mopey Moperson the Third for you, Twilight!”

“If there’s anythin’ we can do to help, just ask,” Applejack stood and walked over to the pair, joining their embrace. Twilight sniffed slightly, and despite the rib-crushing hug she was receiving from Pinkie the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes were welcome ones.

“Thank you, girls,” she extracted herself from the group and started for The Dancing Dame’s front door. “In that case, there’s no time to lose! We’re heading for the Mercenary Bazaar!” Pinkie and Applejack exchanged curious glances.

“Uh, can we ask why?”

Twilight Sparkle spun about with an uncharacteristic flourish. Her long, dark hair swept briefly in front of her face but did little to hide her wide, excited smile or the lively, infectious glimmer in her lavender eyes.

“We’re going to form an Adventurer’s Guild!”

Chapter 2: Mercenary Bizarre

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“I’m still a little confused,” Applejack said as she attempted to buckle on her leather cuirass while weaving through the busy, noisy throng of foot traffic on one of Canterlot’s side streets. They had stopped by the Apple family’s flat to pick up Winona and her other equipment, and then on Pinkie’s suggestion taken a ‘shortcut’ that Applejack swore was longer and more crowded than any main road she’d ever seen. “Why exactly are we headin’ to the Mercenary Bazaar if yer lookin’ to form a Guild? Don’t ya need to sign up with the government or somethin’?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Twilight called over her shoulder as she and Pinkie likewise threaded between people a few steps ahead of their friend. “All officially sanctioned Adventurer’s Guilds need to be licensed by the Canterlot City Guild Chartering Office. Unfortunately, we’ll need to raise some funds first because the licensing fee that the city charges is, uh, a little steep.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow and stepped around a pair of men pushing a dolly stacked high with burlap sacks. “How steep?” Twilight didn’t appear to hear her, as the mage’s eyes settled on an elderly man depositing a large bundle of sticks and branches in a refuse cart that took up nearly half the road.

“Excuse me, Sir!” She dodged around a woman leading a leashed goat and stopped next to the cart, looking through the broken wood discerningly. The old man only blinked a couple of times as she selected and tugged free a fairly straight branch that was nearly as long as she was tall. She held it close to her face and squinted, tracing a finger down its rough, mottled surface. “What do you think, Spike?”

The pseudo-dragon stretched his long neck out from his master’s shoulder and took a few tentative whiffs of the branch. “Mm, the tree this came from was kinda young. A decade old at most. It’s not gonna hold many enchantments.”

“Well, it’ll have to do for now,” Twilight decided, turning back to the old man who was eyeing both wizard and familiar curiously. “Sir, I notice you’re throwing this wood away; would it be alright if I took this piece?”

“Uh… sure?”

“Thank you very much!” Twilight grinned as she turned away to rejoin the others.

“Ooh, nice stick!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I had a really cool stick once, but my sisters teased me all the time because it wasn’t a rock.”

“It’s not a stick, Pinkie, it’s my new staff,” she explained as she stripped a few sparse twigs from the branch, “or at least it will be once I cast a few basic dweomers on it.”

“Twilight,” Applejack said as they resumed walking, “how steep a fee are we talkin’ here?”

“Hm? Oh!” Twilight refocused on their earlier conversation. “Five thousand bits.”

Applejack’s jaw would have hit the cobblestones had it not still been attached to the rest of her face.

“Five thousand?!” she stopped in her tracks. “Are you outta yer apple-pickin’ mind? I’ve been pullin’ every odd job I could for the past six months and I ain’t earned anywhere near that much! It’ll take us forever to collect!”

“But with three of us we can take on more difficult, higher-paying jobs, right?” Twilight stepped just off the the side of the road to remove them from the main flow of traffic.

“Ooh, ooh!” Pinkie bounced up and down. “Plus, most of the wizards around here work for guilds and are super-expensive to hire, right? We’ve got one who’s really mega-awesomely-spectacular at magic but doesn’t come with a mega-awesomely-badtacular price tag! Ta-da!” She finished by throwing her hands toward Twilight as if presenting her to an audience, accompanied by a small burst of confetti from her voluminous sleeves and a strange, high-pitched squeal that none of the others could readily identify.

“Sure, one that everybody in town blames for-” Applejack snapped her mouth shut before she could finish. Twilight’s eyes widened for a moment before her gaze dropped to the side. “I’m sorry, surgarcube, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s ok,” Twilight said. “You’re right, we probably shouldn’t mention who I am. Or anything about that night, actually.”

“Besides, Twilight’s not just good at magic, she’s the best at magic!” Spike cut in. “She’s way better than the all of the upperclassmen at the Academy put together!”

“Spike,” Twilight blushed.

Applejack put a hand to her chin. “Well, there’s almost always folks in the Bazaar sayin’ that they’ll pay more for a spell-slinger, that’s true, but I still don’t know Twilight. Five thousand bits is... shoot, I don’t think my family’s ever made that much all at once even from our best harvest seasons.”

“I know it seems far-fetched,” Twilight reassured, “but a certified Guild license carries a lot of weight with the nobility. With one, even a small Guild can charge thousands of bits for the simplest of contracts, and I promise the first thing we’ll do with the money we earn will be to buy back your family’s farm.”

Applejack’s eyes grew and focused on the mage. “You mean that? You’ll help me get Sweet Apple Acres back?”

“Ooh, ooh! After that will you help me open a candy shop? No! A bakery! Yeah, a big bakery with lots of bright colors and balloons and streamers and cupcakes and chocolate frosting!”

“What do you need a bakery for?” Spike asked. Pinkie looked at him with a deadpan stare.

“Duh! So I can bake things, sillyscales!”

“Of course I will, Pinkie,” Twilight laughed warmly. “After everything you two have done for me? It’s the least I can do to thank you.”

The normally stoic Applejack’s lower lip trembled as tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she quickly wiped a gloved hand across her face and broke into a wide, excited grin.

“Well what’re we standin’ around here for then? Let’s go and rustle us up some work!”


What Victory Square had in artistic beauty and a peaceful, regal air, the Grand Market countered by being a buzzing hub of commerce, food, and a friendly place to gather. Both were ranked among the top social hotspots of Canterlot, frequented by nobles, merchants, and commoners alike. A visit to Equestria’s capital was not complete without seeing at least one or the other, as they represented the grace, tradition, and open-hearted culture Princess Celestia had cultivated over a millennium.

The Mercenary Bazaar was a far cry from either of them.

Rather than a wide, well-swept plaza, the ‘Bazaar’ was less a specific location than it was a general vicinity in western Canterlot where hundreds of mercenaries, Guild representatives, and anyone willing to hire them gathered each day. Men and women of every size, shape, and race filled the streets and back alleys alike, each hunting down their next job among the various impromptu stalls as hawkers shouted over one another--and the crowd--to advertise what type of work they were offering and how much they were willing to pay. Equestrian merchants bartered with dark-skinned and striped Zebrican mercenaries, while a small band of Griffonkin lancers, their feathered wings tucked tightly against their backs in the crowded streets, haggled over the details of their partnership with a pair of towering, muscular Minoans.

The air was thick with energy and the smell of sweat, but also the robust aroma of smoked meat as it appeared that several vendors were selling food rather than employment. Still more merchants offered weapons and armor of all kinds, from simple clubs and oiled leather to polished, worked steel that glinted in the mid-morning sun and had most likely been forged in one of the handful of blacksmiths’ shops the girls had passed on their way through.

At the center of it all was an intersection of a half-dozen larger streets that afforded just a bit more open space than the rest of the Bazaar. Here, a large, rickety wooden stage had been erected, and those who had the coin to spare could buy time on it to auction off the work they needed done to the lowest bidder. The crowd that was gathered before the stage was mostly made up of Guild representatives vying to under-bid the others without dropping the price of their services too low to make a profit. It was only slightly quieter than the rest of the Bazaar, but it was here that Applejack turned to her friends and nodded.

“Well, where’d’ya wanna start?”

“It seems smaller than I remember, but so much more crowded,” Twilight said absently as she took in the sights around them with a slow turn of her head.

“Have you been here before?” Pinkie asked.

“A long time ago,” the mage replied. “Ok! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Spike, checklist please.” The familiar reached into Twilight’s bag and pulled forth a scroll, which Twilight grasped with her magic and unfurled in front of her, mentally ticking off each item as she read. “I think our best bet is to split up and start asking around for any work that sounds feasible. Remember not to agree to anything without knowing the job and how much the pay is. Try to pick jobs that won’t take too long for the three of us to complete; no long-term guard duty or anything like that. We’ll meet back here at the auction stage in, say, three hours?” She looked up from her list to see the somewhat bewildered stares of her teammates looking back at her. “What?”

“Are you always this... organized?” Applejack asked.

“Of course!” Twilight huffed. “Organization is extremely important and can ensure that even complicated tasks are completed quickly and eff-”

“Right, gotcha,” Applejack interrupted. “Meet back in three hours, you said?”

Twilight frowned. “Yes. Any other questions?” A hand shot up into the air. “Yes Pinkie?”

“I need to use the bathroom.”

“Uh,” Twilight blinked at her, “you don’t need to ask permission for that.”

“Oh. Okie-dokie-lokie; you sounded like a teacher taking a bunch of kids on a field trip and I wasn’t sure.”

Twilight’s eyebrow began to twitch as Spike and Applejack both put hands to their mouths in vain attempts to suppress their laughter. “Right. Oh, and don’t forget to mention that there’s a mage in our group. One who can fry people with magic. Especially when she gets angry.”

“Cranky wizard on board; got it. See ya later, alligators!” Pinkie said as she bounded away.

“Wha- I am not cranky!” Twilight shouted after the entertainer, but she was long gone. “Ugh. Spike, could you track her down and keep an eye on her?”

Spike blinked before taking a couple of cursory sniffs of the air in the direction Pinkie had gone. “Yeah, there can’t be too many people here who smell like buttercream and cinnamon, but I’m not following her into the bathroom.”

“No!” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m just worried she’s going to get into trouble and I’d feel better if you were with her, that’s all.”

“You got it!” Spike leaped from her shoulder and scampered off into the crowd, weaving between people’s legs with deft precision as he followed Pinkie’s trail.

“Are you gonna be alright on yer own?” Applejack asked, drawing a nod from Twilight. “Ok, I’ll meet you back here in a bit. Good luck!”

“You too!” Twilight watched Applejack wade through the crowd toward one of the side streets, her height and Stetson making her easy to follow until she slipped around a bend. Twilight looked to another side street and took a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing.”


“He’s brown, and about this tall. He’s got a little white patch of fur around his left eye and he loves cucumbers.”

“Wait a second, ain’t you the same lady who was missin’ her dog last week?” Applejack asked. The old woman just blinked at her. “Come to think of it, I tracked down this mutt for ya last month! Little varmint bit me! Twice!”

“Well did you remember to give him a cucumber and tell him he was a pretty boy before you tried to pick him up?”

Applejack frowned. “Ma’am, I think maybe you oughtta just get yourself a leash.”


“... and when I woke up the next morning there was a huge bite missing!” a skinny man wearing an apron and a baker’s hat said, his voice nearly breaking.

Pinkie Pie gasped with her eyes wide. “That’s terrible! Who dun did it?”

“That’s just it! I don’t know!” he continued. “There were a dozen other bakers in the competition; any one of them could’ve sabotaged my confectionary masterpiece!”

“Is that a dozen dozen other bakers, or a baker’s dozen dozen other bakers?” Pinkie asked. The man furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Nevermind that; what kind of payment are we talking about here?” Spike piped up.

“I had a lot invested in this competition,” the baker admitted. “I don’t have much money right now, but I make the best Canterbury creampuffs this side of Trottingham. If you find the monster that ruined my decadent dessert, I’ll give you free samples for life!”

Pinkie’s eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as she gasped loud enough to turn more than a few heads. “You’ve got yourself a--hey! Who turned out the lights?” Her wide hat had suddenly been pushed down over her face, courtesy of the pseudo-dragon chaperone riding on her shoulder.

“Yeah, as nice as that sounds, I don’t think it’s quite what we’re looking for. Sorry, buddy.” The baker nodded and walked off, his shoulders slumped.

“Whadja do that for?” Pinkie said as she set her hat back in it’s proper place. “That was literally the sweetest job offer ever!”

“Ha ha,” Spike snorted and crossed his tiny arms over his chest. “Look, I like junk food as much as the next dragon, but we can’t trade creampuffs for a guild license.”

“I bet we could if we found a ‘guild licenses for creampuffs’ merchant.”

“... Let’s just keep looking, ok?”

“Okie dokie lokie, but I reserve the right to consume any and all creampuffs we find on whatever job we end up taking!”


“Did you just say ‘rats’?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. The stout, balding man before her nodded.

“But not jus’ any rats! Giant, mutant rats!”

Twilight considered this for a moment, hand on her chin. “I didn’t think they actually existed.”

“Most folks don’t. The poisonous gas in the swamp where they live has strange, mystical properties. It’s what’s made ‘em grow so big and makes ‘em bloodthirsty!”

“Bloodthirsty?” Twilight took a slight step back.

The man nodded again. “Uh-huh! They’ll rip out yer throat soon as look atcha! Assumin’ that the gas itself doesn’t suffocate ya before they find ya.”

“... Suffocate?”

“Anyway, it’s their feces that I want ya to collect. The mystical elements in the swamp gas concentrate in it, and-- hey, where ya goin’?!”


“So lemme get this straight,” Applejack gently massaged the bridge of her nose in an attempt to alleviate her growing headache. “There’s a fully grown, fire-breathin’ dragon takin’ a nap in a cave not too far from your home?”

“Our summer home, yes,” the male half of the couple before her answered. “We just purchased it a few months ago.”

“And he snores?”

“Terribly so!” the woman exclaimed. “Why, the noise is bad enough, but the smoke! Ugh! All my mother’s finely upholstered furniture has been ruined! Ruined, I say!”

“Why don’t ya just move away?”

“Our summer home is in a prime location just on the edge of Horseshoe lake,” the man scoffed. “The construction permits and land deed alone cost a fortune, and I am not about to lose out on an investment like that just because of some obnoxious, uncouth beast.”

“Ok, so you’re lookin’ for someone to take care of the dragon for ya then. Jobs like that ain’t exactly cheap.”

“Money is no object, and the sooner it can be done the better!” the woman said. “Before long it’ll be too cold to host any outdoor events there, and really, what’s the point of having a summer home without them?”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it sounds like we have ourselves a deal. I’ll have to see what my partners think though; killin’ a dragon is a mighty tall order for just the three of us.”

The couple went pale. “Killing? Whoever said anything about killing it?”

Applejack blinked. “Beg pardon?”

“We’re not barbarians!” the man said. “We want this issue resolved in a civilized manner. Besides, think of what all that blood would do to the property values!”

“Not to mention the smell!” the woman chimed in. “How could we even hope to host a garden party in a garden that smelled like rotting meat and brimstone? We’d be the laughing stock of the Canterlot elite!”

“What we want you to do is simply wake the dragon up and inform it that it is illegally trespassing on our land, and that it needs to go. I’ve heard dragons are intelligent creatures, so I’m certain it will understand.”

“... You want someone to wake up a sleeping dragon and nicely ask it to move because he’s trespassin’?”

“Exactly,” he said, and the woman nodded in agreement.

Applejack felt her headache coming back.


“They say the Swamp Elf is huge--as tall as a tree! It’s been known to hurl rocks great distances, and it has the evil eye! If it ever locks eyes on you...”

Spike and Pinkie let out a combined gasp.

“W-what happens?” Spike shivered as he clutched Pinkie’s hat tighter. “What happens if it locks eyes with you?” The bald mercenary they were speaking with grinned mischievously.

“They say-”

“Lemme guess, lemme guess! Um…” Pinkie hesitated for a split second. “Does it give you candy? Or does it grant you three wishes?”

The mercenary’s brow furrowed. “No, when it locks eyes with you-”

“Ooh, ooh! Does it break out into song and invite you into it’s home where it introduces you to it’s wife Lucinda and their two children: Janet and Baron Von Liverwurst the third? And then after you’ve all had a scrumptious dinner of deep-fried baked potatoes with a licorice glaze and salt water casserole spiced with cayenne pepper and just a hint of vanilla, all of you play the most awesomest of awesome party games like Pictionary and pin the tail on the pony?”

The mercenary just stared for a moment, his mouth slightly agape and unable to even blink. “You know what? Forget it.” he abruptly turned and hurried away.

“Aww! Aren’t you even going to tell me if I’m right?” Pinkie pouted as Spike crawled down onto her shoulder.

“What the heck is Pictionary?”

“I’unno,” she shrugged. “What the heck is an elf?”


“You must help us break the curse on our village!” a man, his shoulders stooped from age and with dark bluish-black splotches on his hands and face, pleaded urgently. “If it continues much longer we’ll surely all fall victim to it!” The exertion behind his cries caused him to waver slightly before the young man and woman at his sides, both of whom bore similar skin discolorations, reached out to steady him.

“Elder, please try to stay calm!” the woman said. “Your heart-”

“It doesn’t matter!” he shouted back, looking down on his blemished hands as tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. “I’d rather my heart gave out on me than to have to suffer this magical disease like so many of our people have… like my son did…”

“That’s not going to happen. As a wizard, I promise that I’ll do everything I can to lift this curse,” Twilight said firmly, “but I’ll need a place to start. Do you have any idea as to where it came from in the first place?”

“Well, we do have one theory,” the younger man said with a slight touch of hesitation.

“Sorta,” the woman cringed.

“What is it?”

“The only way to lift the curse and save our village is to destroy the moon!” the old man declared.

Twilight stared at him for a long, awkward moment as the young pair hung their heads to hide their reddening faces.

“Uh, come again?”

“Everything started a few years ago, shortly after a night when the moon glowed with an eerie purple light! The moon has clearly turned against us and the only solution is to blast it out of the sky forever!”

Twilight’s mouth fell open. “You… you can’t just destroy the moon! For one thing something like that just isn't possible, but Princess Celestia uses it to help control the tides, and it provides light at night so people can see what they’re doing! Destroying it would throw the entire world out of balance! And besides, I doubt that the moon itself is behind your troubles no matter what color it was. After all, correlation does not equal causation.”

“Oh,” the old man said, blinking as he appeared to consider Twilight’s words. “I’ve got nothing then.”

Twilight groaned and buried her face in her hands.


“Ya want me to do what now?”

“Are you deaf, girl?” a leather-faced woman with stringy grey hair said as she stuck her nose uncomfortably close to Applejack’s. “I want you to turn me into a rabbit! You know what a rabbit is, dontcha?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Well but-nothing! You said you had a wizard, surely she’s got some spell or some fancy-schmancy magical staff what will do the trick! What’re ya waitin’ for? Hop to it! I’ll be over at the marketplace buyin’ some carrots, so come find me there when you’re ready.” With that the woman turned and skipped away humming an off-key tune.

Applejack stood frozen in place, not even bothering to watch the woman leave. After a moment she shook her head and walked off in the opposite direction.

“Still not the weirdest person I’ve talked to today.”


“Gesundheit,” Spike said as Pinkie sniffed and shook her head to try and recover from the monstrous sneeze she’d just unexpectedly unleashed. “You getting a cold or something?”

“Nah, wheezy-sneeze is Pinkie Sense for ‘one of your friends thinks you’re a weirdo’.”

“I’m surprised you ever stop sneezing,” Spike rolled his eyes. He then pointed to a nearby vendor. “Hey, lets try that stall over there!” Pinkie veered toward the spot in question. The stall itself was filled with cages and glass containers of varying shapes and sizes, each holding one or more of a dizzying array of animals from lizards and rodents to fish and birds. The vendor, a portly man with a shock of brown hair on his head that looked a little too full and rich to be real, spotted their approach and smiled broadly.

“Welcome, My Lady! Welcome to Cyrano’s Marvelous Menagerie! I see that you are already the proud owner of an exotic pet! And what a fine pseudo-dragon he is, if I may say so myself!”

“Well, well, well,” Spike’s tiny chest puffed up with pride. “See? This guy knows I’m not just a talking lizard.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie beamed. “Spike isn’t mine though, he belongs to my friend Twilight.”

“Oh?” Cyrano’s bushy eyebrows rose. “In that case, can I interest you in a companion of your own? Perhaps a rare macaw from the jungles of Zebrica? Or a pair of well-trained ferrets?”

Pinkie’s eyes suddenly lit up as she leaned over the counter, invading Cyrano’s personal space in trademarked Pinkie Pie fashion. “Ooh! Do you have a toothless alligator?”

“Um,” Cyrano stammered, blushing slightly as the tip of Pinkie’s nose squashed against his. “No, I’m afraid that I don’t have any alligators of the toothless variety. Although…” He stepped back and lifted a large black box from beneath the counter and set it down before them. Pinkie and Spike leaned in closer and strained their ears as a faint buzzing sound emanated from it. “Just today I’ve come into the possession of something extremely rare and unique; something that I’m sure you’ll be interested in!”

He unlatched the case and slowly drew back the lid, allowing a small, round insect-like creature with comically large compound eyes and four membranous wings to hop forth onto the edge of the box. It’s wings fluttered for a moment as it looked up at them and made a soft trilling sound.

“Hey, it’s kinda cute for a bug!” Spike said as it flew up and lighted on his arm, nuzzling against his scales. “I think it likes me! Pinkie, can we-”

“NOPE!” Pinkie shouted suddenly, grabbing the insect, stuffing it back into the box, re-locking said box with a padlock and length of chain that had certainly not been there a moment ago, and shoved the entire thing back into a confused Cyrano’s arms. She turned and started running away from the Menagerie at a speed that forced Spike’s back legs and tail to fly out behind him as he struggled to keep a grip on her hat. “Nope, nope, nope, nope, NOPE!”


“A particularly aggressive pack of timberwolves has taken up residence in the northern forests of my fiefdom,” A nobleman, well-dressed in striking scarlet and gold hues, explained to Twilight. “A reward of ten thousand bits will be yours as payment for removing them.”

“Ten thousand?” Twillight’s eyes nearly bugged right out of her head. “That’s an astounding sum for simple monster hunting. With that kind of money, why not contract with a Guild?”

“Yes, well,” the nobleman glanced to the side, running a hand through his wavy blonde locks, “I am not on the best terms with the local Adventurer’s Guilds. I’ve been a vocal opponent of the way they operate and influence city politics, and it would be unseemly for me to request their aid now.” He refocused his dark-reddish eyes on her. “So? Will you accept the task, or not?”

“Oh!” Twilight nodded. “Yes, I think we will! I just need to tell my friends, but I’m sure they’ll agree.”

“Agree to what?”

Twilight turned and grinned as she spotted Applejack and Pinkie Pie, Spike still riding upon the latter’s hat, making their way toward her, but her smile quickly faded.

“What’s wrong? Applejack, you look like you’re about to hit something and Pinkie… Pinkie you actually look tired.” She paused. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“We didn’t have much in the way of good luck tryin’ to find us a job,” Applejack said, accompanied by a slow, nodded agreement from Pinkie and Spike.

Twilight’s smile returned as she gestured to the nobleman at her side. “Well, our luck just turned around. I’ve got us some simple, straightforward work that will pay double the bits we need!”

Applejack’s eyes widened as the nobleman offered a small but polite bow. “Yer kiddin’ me! Really?”

“Heehee! I knew you could do it, Twilight!” Pinkie perked up instantly.

“So what’s the job?” Spike asked, leaping to his masters’ shoulder.

“We just have to-”

“Excuse me,” the nobleman cut in with a raised hand. “What did she call you?”

The color drained from Twilight’s face. “Um… what did whom call who?”

“The pink-haired girl. She called you Twilight just now.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you her? Are you Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight swallowed as Applejack shot a glare at Pinkie, who sputtered.

“No! No I didn’t! I called her… Flybright! Y-yeah!” She bounced over to hug Twilight. “This is Flybright Darkle!” She slid over to the noble and lightly elbowed him in the ribs in a knowing manner. “Dunno who this Twilight Sparkle person you’re talking about is, but she sure sounds shifty! Hehe, glad we’re not doing business with her, am I right?”

The nobleman glowered, his presence suddenly turning venomous as he ignored everything but the mage. “One of the warehouses you destroyed belonged to a close business partner of mine. His son was inside.”

A soft, strangled gasp escaped Twilight’s lips.

“Now hold on there a second, that ain’t-!” Applejack began, but Twilight held up a hand to silence her. The mage attempted to match stares with the nobleman, but after only a short time she faltered, averting her eyes and bowing her head in defeat. His grip on the sword at his hip tightened. Applejack grit her teeth and fingered Winona’s handle while Pinkie and Spike looked on with worry for an unforgivingly long moment. Finally, the nobleman stepped around Twilight, making no apology when his shoulder collided with hers, and strode off.

“Few would complain if I were to kill you where you stand, but the public eye is the last place I wish to be at the moment. Consider yourself lucky.” He scoffed, almost as an afterthought. “Here I was trying to get rid of beasts, and I nearly hired a monster.”

Pinkie Pie frowned as he disappeared into the crowd. “Don’t listen to that stuffy snob Twilight! You don’t look anything like a monster!”

Twilight managed a weak smile as the tension left her shoulders, causing them to sag slightly. “I think I need to sit down for a minute.”

The four friends made their way to the opening of a nearby alley where an assortment of barrels and crates provided a number of places to take a load off. Applejack remained standing, while Pinkie and Twilight found themselves a pair of barrels that were a comfortable height to sit on.

“I’m gettin’ mighty tired of hearin’ folks blame you for somethin’ that I did,” Applejack said firmly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Princess Celestia instructed me to keep the whole matter as quiet as possible,” Twilight shook her head. “Even telling you guys what she said was probably going too far. Besides, it was my fault that any of us were even there that night. No one else should have to suffer for my mistake.”

“And whaddya call us havin’ to watch as folks spit on you, huh?” Applejack shot back with an unexpected venom. “Is that s’posed to be fun for us?”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

Applejack sighed, breaking into a sad smile. “Sugarcube, I know you’re new to this whole ‘friendship’ thing, but part of having friends means that ya don’t have to deal with your troubles all by your lonesome, y’know? We don’t need to go around spoutin’ anythin’ about treacherous wizards, magical gems or whatnot, but at least let me take some of the blame.”

“Me too,” Spike smiled from her shoulder.

“Me too, me too!” Pinkie gasped, drawing confused stares from the others. “What? I don’t wanna feel left out.” She pulled Twilight into a sideways hug. “Problems are just like parties: the more people you have the better they get! And we’re a party now, so whenever one of us is feeling down in the dumps, it’s up to the rest of us to help get them feeling spiffy again!”

“But,” Twilight stammered, “you see how people are treating me… do you really want them to start doing the same to all of you?”

“If we’re plannin’ on makin’ a Guild with you then it’s gonna happen sooner or later anyway,” Applejack said. “‘Sides, troubles never seem as bad when you’ve got folks willin’ to share ‘em.”

Twilight stared at her two smiling friends for a moment before a grin crept onto her own features. She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly. “Thank you.”

“E-excuse me...”

The three girls and the pseudo-dragon turned to face a short, spindly man who stood in the alley entrance. He was dressed in the quality silks of a merchant, had a thin bespectacled face and short, well-kept brown hair. His hands shook a little as he wrung them together. “I apologize for intruding, but I overheard what that man said. Are you really Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight shared a knowing glance with her friends as she stood and stepped up to face the man directly with Applejack and Pinkie Pie at her sides. “Yes, I am.”

“You got a problem with that?!” Pinkie Pie all but shouted in the man’s face as she zipped right up to him and poked a finger into his chest. The man cringed and threw up his arms to shield his head.

“No! No no no, no p-problem! Please don’t hurt me!”

“Pinkie, calm down,” Applejack tugged the pink-haired terror back by her collar. “We ain’t gonna hurt ya buddy, unless you’re here to start somethin’.”

He shook his head frantically. “Oh, not at all! I want to hire you!”

Four sets of eyes blinked. “You do?” Twilight herself asked.

“Most definitely! I’m desperately in need of someone like you.” He adjusted his glasses as he looked the whole group over. “Actually, all three of you look like you would be perfect...” his gaze lingered on Pinkie. “... mostly.”

“Perfect for what?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“The short answer is that I’m looking for women who can handle themselves in a fight, and who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty. If you want a more detailed explanation, could I ask you to accompany me to a tavern just down the street? I have another potential hire waiting there for me and time is a factor so I’d rather not have to explain everything more than once.”

The four friends exchanged concerned glances. “Could you give us a moment?”

The man nodded, and Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie turned towards each other and gathered into a huddle.

“I don’t like it,” Applejack spoke first. “Where was this guy earlier when we were lookin’ for a job? It could be a trap to lure Twilight someplace outta sight and do her in.”

“Maybe,” Twilight nodded, “but we’ve been all over the Bazaar and come up empty. If he’s telling the truth we could be blowing our last chance by turning him down.”

“He does seem kinda nervous, but maybe he’s just scared of Twilight,” Spike added.

“Gee, thanks Spike,” Twilight frowned. “Pinkie, what do you--Pinkie?” She blinked at the suspiciously empty space next to her that the entertainer should have been standing in.

“So is your job offer for realsies, or are you a sneaky meanie-pants trying to hurt my friend?” Pinkie asked the man.

“Pinkie!” Applejack, Twilight, and Spike exclaimed in unison. The man frowned.

“I understand how unusual this must seem, and I certainly don’t blame you for not trusting me,” he said as he scratched the back of his head. “To be honest, part of me isn’t sure that hiring someone with your reputation is the right thing to do, but I’m completely desperate at this point.” He looked up and for the first time looked Twilight straight in the eye. “Please, Twilight Sparkle, I need your help!”

Twilight’s mouth opened slightly, but she otherwise maintained her composure at the man’s sudden and seemingly sincere outburst. She glanced at Applejack, who merely shrugged.

“Aw, c’mon Twilight, who could turn down a face like this?” Pinkie asked as she stood beside the man and grabbed his cheeks, pulling to accentuate his pleading frown while making a similar expression herself. Twilight suppressed a giggle.

“All right, the least we can do it hear about your offer. Lead the way, mister…?”

“Early Shipment,” he said with a small grin. “I tell my friends to call me Early, but they usually just call me whenever they feel like it.” Applejack’s raised eyebrow was the group’s only response. “Sorry, little joke… um, follow me.”

Chapter 3: Setting the Stagecoach

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The tavern that Early Shipment led the girls to, dubbed The Vulgar Monkey if the broken sign dangling over the door was to be believed, was a nondescript affair. The look and smell were familiar to the four friends who had recently spent most of their time in The Dancing Dame. Being the middle of the day there were a few patrons with plates of roasted meat or bowls filled with some kind of stew on their tables, but for the most part the tavern was empty. The main room was somewhat small, but there were a number of curtained doorways lining both side walls, each leading to a small, semi-private room of their own.

As they entered, Early nodded to the hefty female bartender, who grimaced in response and tilted her head toward one such room.

“Didn’t realize Keg’s twin sister was in the same business as him,” Spike joked in a whisper. Applejack chuckled while Pinkie’s eyes widened.

“Kegger’s got a sister!? No fair, how come I haven’t met her?”

“Shh!” Twilight hissed as Early pulled back the side room’s curtain and held it open for the girls. Twilight swallowed and hesitated for a brief moment before stepping through. She half expected a dozen armed thugs to pounce on her the instant she was inside, but instead she was greeted by the sight of a large table filled with an assortment of foods: loaves of bread and biscuits, several pitchers of drinks that varied between water, wine, and what looked like a stout ale. A large turkey sat at the center of the spread, minus one leg, and was flanked by a tall, steaming pot of stew and an equally large wooden bowl with a variety of apples, oranges and other assorted fruit.

The thing that truly caught and held her attention, however, was the wild mop of vibrant, polychromatic hair on the head of the room’s lone occupant, who was currently sitting with her back to them.

“Well go on in, Twi, don’t jus’ stop in the middle of the-” Applejack said as she and Pinkie stepped around the mage, her jaw dropping when she spotted the seated woman. “You!”

Rainbow Dash twisted around in her seat, the missing turkey leg in one hand and a half-eaten bread roll in the other, her cheeks bulging out slightly as she chewed and swallowed. “Oh, hey guys! How’s it hangin’?”

Twilight raised her staff--which she knew from experience would be of little help, especially since she had not yet taken the time to enchant it--as Applejack reached for Winona. Spike let out a somewhat underwhelming growl while Pinkie produced what looked like a party popper and aimed it at Rainbow. The seated woman took another bite of her turkey as she watched the display with a passive, unreadable expression.

“Um,” Early spoke up from the back of the group, “I take it you know each other?”

“Somethin’ like that,” Applejack said tightly. “Last time we met she tried to kill us.”

“Hey, you guysh were breakin’ into tha plaesh I was hired ta guard,” Rainbow said around her food before washing it down with a swig of foamy ale. “Last time I checked that’s still what guards do, right?”

“Good point,” Applejack admitted with a nod.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked. “Did Spellbinder send you?”

“Pff! As if!” Rainbow spat. “That jerk skipped town without paying me a single bit! I don’t work unless I get paid, and I don’t give anyone the chance to jip me twice.” The others continued to stare at her, their expressions unchanged. She sighed and set her food down on a plate before repositioning to sit with her legs on either side of the chair, her folded arms resting on the back.

“Look, I’m a merc. I work for money, and this guy told me he was hiring,” she pointed to Early. “I’ve already told him I’m awesome enough to handle whatever the job is on my own, but if you guys want in that’s cool with me.” She grinned devilishly. “Just try not to cramp my style, ok?”

Twilight’s staff drooped for a moment as her expression went from one of anxiety to one of consideration, but quickly rose back into place as she shook her head. “How can we be sure you’re telling the truth?”

“Guess you can’t,” Rainbow shrugged and tilted her head to one side whimsically. “It’s up to you, egghead.” Twilight’s hands wrung at her staff for a tense moment as she stared hard at the swordswoman.

“I think we can trust her,” Applejack said.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, drawing a nod from the cowgirl. “What about you, Pinkie?”

“Sure!” Pinkie said with her usual enthusiasm. “I’m always up for making new friends! The more, the funnier!”

“I think that’s supposed to be ‘the more, the merrier’,” Spike suggested. “I dunno Twilight, I’m still not convinced, but I’ll go along with whatever you think is best.”

Twilight nodded, slowly lowering her staff. “Ok. I guess for now there’s no reason to be enemies.” She extended a hand. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

“Rainbow Dash,” she returned a handshake somewhat slick with turkey grease, “but of course, heh, you knew that already.”

“Uh,” Twilight intoned as she flexed her slimy hand, eyes darting around for something to wipe it on. “Right. This is Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and my familiar Spike.”

“Oh, I’m so glad!” their host said with a clap of his hands.

“Soglad?” Pinkie Pie asked, “I thought you said your name was Early?”

The merchant blinked at her. “What? No--I mean, yes, my name is Early, but I was just… um…”

“It’s ok, she does that,” Applejack said. “Now, why don’t you tell us what kinda work you need done?”

“Oh, certainly! Please, sit down; I’ll explain as we eat.”

The four seated themselves, with Applejack and Early taking seats flanking Rainbow Dash, while Pinkie and Twilight took up places on the opposite side of the table so they could all face one another. Spike cleared a small place for himself near Twilight and happily began sampling the fare as the others dug in, with the exception of Early who began his tale.

“First things first. I’m a merchant who, up until recently, ran a very brisk trade route between Canterlot and Las Pegasus. Normally it’s quite safe, but for the past few months it’s been-”

“Ran into some bandit trouble, huh?” Rainbow interjected as she helped herself to another roll. “Sounds like easy-peasy money to me.”

“No, that wasn’t-”

“Not bandits?” Rainbow perked up a bit, “Some kind of monsters?”

“Well, I’m not sure if-”

“Ooh, ooh! My turn!” Pinkie Pie piped up. “Is it… zombies?”

“Z-zombies?!” Spike whimpered, clutching his tail as his tiny eyes widened.

“Um, can I-”

“Spike, there’s no such thing as zombies,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Necromancy isn’t real; it’s just an old wives’-”

A shrill whistle cut the air, silencing the room. Applejack removed her fingers from her mouth and looked over them all.

“Can we let the man finish his story?”

“Sorry,” Twilight blushed as Spike nodded. Pinkie pouted but remained silent, and Rainbow Dash just grumbled slightly and resumed chewing. Early cleared his throat.

“Thank you. As I was saying, for the past few months the main road between Canterlot and Las Pegasus has been blocked due to flooding.”

“Floodin’?” Applejack said. “The rains ain’t been that heavy this season; leastways not this far north.”

“Now who’s interrupting?” Rainbow said under her breath, only to receive a surprisingly quiet shush from Pinkie Pie.

“Neither in the south,” Early agreed with Applejack, “but part of the road runs through a low-lying coastal marsh. The rains combined with some unusually high tides have made the area impassable. There are a handful of other routes, but only the one road is frequently patrolled by the Guard, leaving the rest, erm, less than safe.”

“Ah, there we go,” Rainbow nodded. “I knew there’d be bandits involved somehow.”

“So you just need us to protect your caravan through one of these other routes?” Twilight asked, drawing a grimace from Early.

“I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple either. Initially we just hired a few extra guards, but after losing two consecutive caravans on different routes, my business partner and I had our backs against the wall. Half my clients started looking elsewhere; I needed to get a shipment through if I wanted to stay in business.” He paused to swallow. “There was only one road between Las Pegasus and Canterlot that I could be reasonably sure was free of brigands.”

“Hold up, pardner,” Applejack straightened up in her seat. “Are you talkin’ about what I think yer talkin’ about?” Early swallowed again and gave her a grim frown.

“What? What’s he talking about?” Spike asked, even as Twilight’s eyes widened.

“Oh my stars, you can’t mean…” she breathed quietly, serving only to increase her familiar’s agitation.

“What does he mean? Somebody please just say it; the suspense is killing me!”

Early closed his eyes and took a single, steadying breath.

“The Everfree Way,” he said. “I sent a caravan through the Everfree Forest.”

There was a sharp clatter as the turkey bone Rainbow had nearly picked clean fell from her grip and onto the plate in front of her, but no one turned to look in her direction. Every wide eye in the room was focused on Early, whose head bowed under their incredulous stares. The room was entirely silent for a long moment until Pinkie, a stunned look still on her face, took a large, noisy bite out of an apple. The sound both broke the silence and opened the floodgates.

“That’s gotta be the most dumbass idea I’ve ever heard!”

“Are ya plumb crazy?!”

“Spike, could you pass me the butter there by your foot?”

“Y-yeah… sure Pinkie…” the little dragon said in a daze as he absently shoved the small dish toward the grinning performer’s waiting hands.

“Mister Shipment,” Twilight stood and placed both hands on the table, “the Everfree Forest is the only untamed wildland in all of Equestria, and for good reason! It’s home to some of the most ferocious creatures known to man, and is considered too dangerous for anyone! Even research missions sent by the Academy to gather samples of the indigenous plant life only venture a few dozen feet past the treeline at most, and even then they’re escorted by no less than a platoon of Royal Guards!” She shook her head. “How could you possibly justify sending people into such a terrible place? It’s… it’s like signing their death warrants!”

“I…” Early stammered, slight tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done. Looking back, it was far from the smartest decision I’ve ever made... but you have to understand, I was desperate! My company’s reputation had gone from sterling to nothing in a matter of weeks! I was willing to risk anything, and the first few caravans did make it through!”

A second crescendo of silence swept through the room.

“Wait… what?” Twilight asked. “You… they survived?!”

Early nodded. “Please, sit. I will tell you everything I know.”

Twilight did as she was asked, and after taking a long drink of water, the glass quivering in his grip, Early sighed.

“The first caravan I sent into the Everfree was armed to the teeth with a dozen mercenaries per wagon. Over a hundred in all. I offered them exorbitant pay; half up front and half upon the shipment’s safe arrival in Canterlot. I’m ashamed to say that I expected many of them would not make it out alive... imagine my shock when they emerged from the woods having lost only a single man! They reported some scattered animal attacks, and an encounter with a lone manticore, but nothing like the terrible stories we’ve all grown up hearing.

“I was overjoyed, despite the immense financial cost of the first trip. Knowing that the forest was safe to traverse was an incredible boon because the route is much shorter than the main road, which skirts around the Everfree’s borders, and the perceived danger seemed to be keeping the bandits out as well. Two more shipments passed through just the same, and I cut back slightly on the number of guards so that I could still make a profit. We lost one or two men each time, but I was paying well, and neither Canterlot nor Las Pegasus is lacking in mercenaries for hire.” Early paused and looked down at the liquid in his glass. “With the fourth caravan, though, things started to get… complicated.

“At first it was just a few more animal attacks; nothing truly dangerous, but it was only the beginning. Half of the fifth caravan was lost when a fire broke out during an attack by a pack of timberwolves; the guards were trying to scare the beasts away with torches and set one of the wagons aflame. The next shipment was even worse. The handful of guards who arrived in Las Pegasus, having abandoned the wagons entirely, said that they’d been beset by the forest itself. Animals of all shapes and sizes accosted them for every moment of the day and night, and the trees themselves came alive and wove their roots through the wagon wheels when the men were not looking. The final caravan left Las Pegasus just over a week ago, and I-I’ve heard nothing since.”

“How terrible!” Twilight said, her face sharing the same sullen look the others--Pinkie included--now wore. “Have you alerted the Royal Guard? Has no one gone in search of them?”

“That’s part of the reason why all of you are here,” Early said with a nod. “The Guard and the Adventurer’s Guilds that I’ve approached have all turned me down; they say the forest is just too dangerous, so freelancers like yourselves are my only hope. The job I’m asking you to perform is two-fold. I plan on sending one last caravan through the Everfree Forest, and would like you all to act as additional guards. Secondly, I’d like you to find out what happened to the previous caravan, if you are able. Will you help me?”

The room was silent again, as the girls exchanged glances. Rainbow Dash seemed indifferent, while Pinkie, Spike and Applejack looked to one another with uncertainty. Only Twilight appeared lost in thought, her head bowed slightly and her fingers on her chin.

“Man, you just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Rainbow shook her head. “You know the place isn’t safe and you just keep throwing money at it. Quit while you’re ahead, pal.”

“Don’t ya think that’s a little harsh?” Applejack turned and glared at the swordswoman. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with an honest businessman protectin’ what’s his.”

“It is if it’s a lost cause and gets people killed,” Rainbow shot back. “C’mon, it’s the Everfree Forest; folks go in, but they don’t come out. Today’s the first time I’ve heard of anybody making it all the way through.”

“Well that just means it’s not as dangerous as we thought,” Pinkie grinned. “I mean if you go from ‘nobody makes it out alive’ to ‘sometimes people make it out alive’ that’s a big improvement, right?”

“I think I’d rather stick with ‘don’t go in the first place and definitely stay alive’,” Spike said, drawing a nod from Rainbow.

“That’s what I’m saying! Listen to the lizard!”

Dragon!

“Whatever.”

“I understand how ludicrous my request may sound, given all you’ve heard,” Early said, “and truth be told it probably would be smarter for me to simply cut my losses and move on, but I… I can’t. Not until I find out what happened to him.”

“Him?” Pinkie echoed.

“My business partner, who I mentioned before? He… he’s also my brother. I handle the financial side of things, while he drives the caravans.”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “And he vanished right along with the last one?” Early nodded silently.

“Oh, that’s so sad!” Pinkie said. “We have to help, girls! How can we not?”

“Easy, we just say ‘no’,” Rainbow shrugged. Applejack scowled at her.

“How can you be so dang cold? Weren’t you the one who nearly got us both killed tryin’ to save your two buddies?”

“That’s different,” Rainbow locked eyes with the cowgirl, but after a tense moment it was clear she didn’t intend to elaborate.

“Why us?” Twilight said, softly at first, but loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. She straightened up when she realized the focus had shifted to her. “You said you needed women who knew how to fight,” she looked at an increasingly pale Early. “What haven’t you told us yet?”

Early swallowed hard. “I-it started with the man we lost on the first caravan. He wasn’t killed by any animal--at least, not while defending the wagons. He simply vanished. The other guards say he left the camp one night to relieve himself and never returned. They searched for him a little, but there was nothing; no blood or signs of a struggle... it was as if he had just wandered off into the forest. Also, some of the men reported that they thought they heard a woman singing.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Rainbow shook her head.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time either; I was just overjoyed that the shipment was safe… but it kept happening. Every caravan had at least one, sometimes two or even three men disappear without a trace, and more and more started talking about hearing a woman’s voice singing. Rumors and superstition took over, and soon every one of my brother’s men was whispering about the Siren of the Everfree.”

“Ooh, I love sirens!” Pinkie grinned. “Back in Ponyville they used to ring the big bronze bell on top of town hall whenever there was an emergency. This one time I was throwing an anniversary party for Mister and Missus Cake, and-”

“No, Pinkie, not that kind of a siren,” Twilight waved her off. “A Siren is a creature from Marecedonian mythology, usually depicted as a beautiful mermaid that lured sailors to their deaths with a hypnotic song.” She turned back to Early. “That explains why you wanted to hire women; according to lore only men are susceptible to a Siren’s call.”

“Why would somthin' like that have set itself up in the forest?” Applejack scratched the side of her head. “Ain’t exactly full of sailors.”

“Or water deep enough to swim in,” Rainbow added.

“Well, it’s probably not an actual Siren; they are mythological, after all,” Twilight said, “but it certainly sounds as if something is acting like a Siren. I suppose we’ll find out when we get there.”

“Wait, what?” Applejack blanched. “Y’mean you actually wanna go?”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t see that we have much choice. We had no luck trying to find work in the Bazaar, and I don’t think that tomorrow will be any better. As dangerous as it sounds, this may be our only option.” She turned back to Early. “Assuming, of course, that the payment is sufficient.”

“I can offer you five hundred bits each for successfully escorting the caravan to Las Pegasus. If you can bring my brother back, or if you can at least find out what happened to him, I’m willing to double that.”

“Whoa, that’s a serious chunk of change,” Rainbow said as Applejack let out a low whistle. Early nodded.

“I find myself in a position where I have little choice but to bet everything on this last shipment,” he admitted. “If this doesn’t work my business is effectively finished anyway, but more importantly I can’t even begin to put a price on the chance that my brother is still alive, even if it is a slim one at this point.”

“Optimistically, that’s three thousand--more than half of what we need,” Twilight said softly, causing Spike to snort in her direction.

“Hey! What about me?”

“You and I are sort of a package deal,” she smiled and scratched her familiar’s head briefly, “I don’t really think it’s fair to charge double.” Spike crossed his arms and grumbled a half-hearted consent. “So are we all agreed?”

“Absotute-a-lutely!” Pinkie bounced up and down in her seat. “The evil creepy forest part still sounds scary, but I’ve never been to Las Pegasus before! I hear it’s the Entertainment Capital of Equestria; imagine how many people I could make smile there if I put on a show!”

“We ain’t goin’ there to get on stage, Pinkie,” Applejack said. She then let out a small sigh and looked to Twilight. “I’m in if you’re sure this is what you wanna do, sugarcube.”

Twilight nodded. “Spike? What do you think?”

“What, I don’t get a share of the pay but I get a vote?” he quipped, causing Twilight to blink.

“Oh. Good point; forget I asked.”

“Hey!” he started to protest as the others stifled their laughter, but Twilight had already turned back to Early and extended her hand.

“It seems we have a deal, Mister Shipment.”

The merchant grinned--the first honest smile he’d worn since the girls had met him, and reached over to eagerly return the gesture, grasping Twilight’s hand with both of his and shaking it firmly.

“Thank you; thank you so much!” He turned his attention to Rainbow. “And you, Miss Dash?”

“Hm,” Rainbow Dash put her feet up on the table and reclined by tipping her chair back, “Nah, I think I’ll pass, thanks.”

“No surprise there,” Applejack crossed her arms with a snort. “What the matter, money not good enough for you?”

“I like the money just fine, but I like being alive just a tiny bit more.”

“Aw, c’mon Dashie!” Pinkie Pie startled the swordswoman by popping up behind her and nearly toppling her chair over entirely. “It’s like a mystery adventure, it’ll be fun!”

“Yeah, not exactly my idea of fun,” Rainbow frowned, “and don’t call me Dashie,”

“Whatever you say Dashie!” Pinkie blinked once and then grinned sheepishly. “Whoops! Sorry.” She slunk back to her seat, followed all the way by a stern glare from Rainbow.

“Look, if it’s all the same to you, I’m gonna head out,” Rainbow said as she stood and hooked her thumbs in her belt. “Thanks for lunch, and good luck with the whole forest of death thing.”

Early stood and offered a slight bow while the others watched with a mixture of expressions as Rainbow strode to the door, scooping up one last apple on her way. Just as she pushed aside the curtain that led to the rest of the tavern, Twilight leaped to her feet.

“Wait!”

“Huh?” she asked as she turned back. “Why?”

Twilight blushed a little as every eye in the room focused on her; not because of the sudden attention, but because she realized she didn’t actually have an answer.

“Um,” she stammered, her eyes searching the table frantically as if some item of food or drink would provide her with something--anything--that would help convince Rainbow to come with them.

“Sometime today?” Rainbow crossed her arms with a frown.

“It’s just that… you’re right,” Twilight finally said. “You’re right, Rainbow. The Everfree Forest is dangerous; probably one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria. I honestly don’t know what our chances are of making it through, but I do know that they’d be a lot better if you came with us.”

“Well of course they would be; I’m awesome!” Rainbow scoffed.

“Then prove it,” Twilight said with a sly smile. “Prove to us that you’re really as good as you say you are.”

In a split second and with barely a single stride Rainbow was standing in front of Twilight, and despite being only an inch or so taller the sheer, iron force of her presence made it seem like she was towering over the diminutive mage. The two stared into each others eyes, Rainbow’s simmering gaze locked in battle with Twilight’s passable attempt at a calm veneer for an uncomfortably long moment. The rest of the room held its breath right up until Rainbow’s face split into a wide grin.

“It takes some real nerve to call me out like that. You’ve got guts, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “Okay; I’m in, but you better remember,” she leaned in, close enough that their noses nearly touched, “don't cramp my style, understand?” Twilight managed a nod and another weak grin. As Rainbow walked back to her place at the table, the mage slowly let out a breath she had been holding as well.

“Okay, well,” she turned to Early, “It looks like we’re your new guards.”

“Excellent!” Early said, clapping his hands together. “I can’t begin to thank you enough; this means so much to me.” He paused and bowed his head slightly as he started pacing. “I will need to get the rest of my guards together. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours to load everything up, but the wagon teams…” He shook his head as he trailed off. “So many preparations!” He turned for the door as if he were about to leave, but spun back around in a single motion. “I believe I can have the caravan ready to go by tomorrow morning. I’ll handle the provisions and supplies you’ll need for the journey, so would all of you please meet me at Canterlot’s east gate, say, an hour after sunrise?”

Twilight nodded. “The east gate, tomorrow, one hour after sunrise.” Early smiled and bowed again hastily before bolting from the room, leaving four women and a pseudo-dragon to exchange curious glances over the substantial amount of remaining food.

“Wait a minute,” Spike asked, “did… did he just stick us with the bill?”

The girls’ eyes widened.

“Not it!” Rainbow Dash said after a moment of stunned silence, followed by the sound of wood scraping wood as chairs were hastily shoved backwards and out of the way in a mad scramble for the door.


“Aaand we’re startin’ off fifty bits in the hole,” Applejack groaned, having felt too terrible about running out on the bill at The Vulgar Monkey to let it stand. “Thanks for spottin’ me, Pinkie. I promise I’ll pay you back soon as I can.”

“No worries!” Pinkie said as she skipped along ahead of the others on their way back to The Dancing Dame. “I consider it our very first charge to the Guild Expense Account! Though I guess I’ll have to save my receipt until we actually have a Guild Expense Account… or a Guild, for that matter.”

“I’m sure Early will reimburse us if we remind him tomorrow,” Twilight said without lifting her eyes from the cobblestone street in front of her. Applejack frowned slightly and slowed her pace to fall in beside the mage.

“You sure you’re ok with this job? It feels like we’re sorta throwin’ ourselves in the deep end of the lake, know what I mean?”

“I do,” Twilight nodded. “Every time I think about where we’re going it sends a shiver down my spine.”

“We can still bow out if you want. As much as I want to get my farm back, it ain’t worth somebody losin’ their life.”

“I understand, but this seems to be our only realistic option.”

“‘Realistic’?” Applejack snorted. “How in tarnation is walkin’ into the place you called one of the most dangerous in Equestria ‘realistic’?”

“You’re right about that, but without any other choices…” she trailed off. “Be that as it may, you and Pinkie are more than capable of protecting yourselves, and you know better than any of us how good Rainbow Dash is. This ‘Siren’ aside, I’m fairly certain we could handle the likes of animal or monster attacks.”

“I bet none of Early’s caravans ever had an awesome, fire-breathing pseudo-dragon and his wizard along for the trip either,” Spike added from his relaxed position on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Great, we’ve met her twice and Rainbow’s attitude is already rubbing off on my familiar,” Twilight rolled her eyes. Applejack chuckled.

“He’s got a point, though. I can whup a bandit or chase off a critter well enough, and I’ve tangled with the odd timberwolf or two, but I ain’t never messed with the likes of real monsters before,” she admitted. “To be honest, I don’t think I’d even consider goin’ into that forest without a wizard or ten watchin’ my back.” She paused for a moment. “Thanks, Twi. Y’know, for bein’ willin’ to go through all this to help me get the farm back.”

Twilight exchanged smiles with the farmgirl, who then resumed a walking pace more comfortable for her long legs and pulled ahead to where Pinkie was happily greeting every random passerby she came across.

“Speaking of Rainbow Dash...” Spike asked softly as soon as Applejack was out of hearing distance. “What’s the deal? When she almost walked out you nearly had a panic attack.”

Twilight’s eyes widened a little, but then her lips turned up into a small, knowing smile. “You felt it too, huh?”

“Of course I did,” he waved a claw in the air vaguely. “I’m your familiar; we share that emphatic bond thing.”

Empathic bond, Spike, not emphatic,” she corrected with a sigh. “I… just feel that it’s very important that Rainbow Dash come with us to the Everfree, that’s all.”

“But why though?” Spike pressed her. “Sure she’s good in a fight, but she doesn’t seem very reliable. What makes you want to keep her around so badly?”

“That’s just it,” Twilight’s pace slowed by a half step as she bit her lip, “I don’t know.”

“Say what now?” Spike tilted his head.

“Back there, when Rainbow Dash was about to walk out, I suddenly had this overwhelming sensation of… wrongness, I guess; I don’t know how else to describe it. There’s no logic to it. I don’t know her very well, and I’m not even sure yet if I trust her,” Twilight said, “but no matter what I just can’t shake this feeling that she belongs with us.” Suddenly her eyes widened. “I think I’ve felt it before too.”

“When?”

“Do you remember the thief from Spellbinder’s tower?” she dropped her voice low. “The one who took the Heartstone?”

“Oh, her,” Spike’s eyes developed a far away look as a silly grin took over his scaly features. “How could I possibly forget a creature that gorgeous?”

“It was the same feeling. When she was about to leave something in me just sort of twisted up into a knot, and I called out to her.” Twilight shook her head. “I think she was as surprised as I was that I knew her name.”

Rarity,” Spike cooed. “Even her name makes my scales tingle.”

“Focus, Cassanova,” Twilight poked him in the stomach gently. “At the time I thought I was just worried about losing the Heartstone, but now… now I’m not so sure.”

“So what do you think it means?”

“I honestly have no idea,” she admitted, leading to a long pause. Twilight looked up from the road in front of her and spotted the others just as they turned onto Mane Street a block or so in front of her, engaged in some form of animated discussion. Pinkie was grinning and bouncing up and down as usual, and despite Applejack shaking her head there was a warm smile on her face as well. Twilight couldn’t help the corners of her mouth from curling up to match.

“Y’know, for someone who never wanted friends, you sure seem to be collecting some pretty good ones so far,” Spike said with a sly wink.

“I can’t disagree,” she nodded. “Would you do me a favor, and not mention what we were just talking about to anyone yet? I don’t want to worry them.”

“Are you sure, Twilight?” Spike frowned. “It seems like it might be important, and even if it isn’t shouldn’t we tell them?”

Twilight nodded again. “I will, I promise. I just… I want to think about it a little more first.” She took a quick, head-clearing breath. “Besides, we’ve got more important things to focus on right now. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “So… since Early said he was taking care of all the supplies, we don’t have to make any checklists or anything to get ready, right?”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous Spike! Of course we do!” Twilight laughed. “There’s no way I’m going on the most dangerous trip I’ve ever taken without a checklist.”

Spike let out a groan that could be heard halfway down the street as he flopped down on Twilight’s shoulder in defeat.

“Come to think of it, I’m sure Pinkie and Applejack won’t make their own checklists, so we’d better make some for them. And one for Rainbow Dash as well. Oh! And a master list for Mister Shipment; I’m sure he’d appreciate having a proper catalogue of all the supplies, equipment, and trade goods in his caravan so he can be sure they all make it through safely!” She let out a girlish squeal. “Ooh, this is going to be so much fun!”

Spike’s second groan could be heard all the way to Victory Plaza.