> Cutie Mark Adventurers
>  by Stainless Steel Fox
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Character Creation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom was at the Cutie Mark Crusaders Club House with a saddlebag full of food, and a heart full of hope. Just because the last thirty four meetings of their little group had produced lots of tree sap and no cutie-marks, that didn't mean this one couldn't be different. In fact surely it meant they were due a spot of luck.

Her other saddlebag had a hammer and a couple of other tools in it, as she'd noticed some of the boards on the balcony were getting a bit loose. Luck wasn't going to fix them, only hard work and horse sense. She should hopefully have time to get the minor repair job done before the others arrived.

She set to work with a will, a box of nails, and a hammer in her mouth. Earth ponies might not have unicorn magic, but they had their own ways of doing and making things. Much as she enjoyed helping her big sister around the farm, this was something she liked doing for herself. Seeing something come together the way it should be or making something work right always gave her a feeling of happiness.

It seemed to come naturally to her too, the same way Sweetie Belle could create songs at the drop of a hat, or Scootaoo pulled amazing stunts on her scooter. She just wished it was as easy for them to find their special talents. Speaking of which, she should really get ready for the Crusader meeting. She hammered in the last nail, flipped her hammer into her open saddlebag, and rubbed a hoof over the now smooth surface.

She had just donned her official cape when she heard a familiar buzzing of wings. She went outside onto the balcony to see Scootaloo arriving, but not on her ubiquitous scooter. She was flying only a few hooves above the ground, but she was definitely making air time. The apparent source of her upwards mobility was a small cloud, which was just big enough for her to stand on.

Sweetie Belle arrived at a gallop a moment later, her own saddlebags bulging and her cape flapping like Mare-do-well's. As she approached the club house she skidded to a halt, looking up at the elevated equine.

"Scootaloo? What're you doing up there!"

"Hoping no-pony notices me," The pegasus was a picture of gloom as she landed on the Crusader Club House balcony, or at least a very depressed sketch.

"I think she means we ain't ever seen you fly before," Apple Bloom told her. "Why aren't you on your scooter?"

"I'm not allowed, My parents are making me fly around on this cloud instead." Scootaloo sighed, then looked away, muttering something. "I… iveneverbeenabletofly."

"How's that again?" The earth-pony filly looked at the pouting pegasus with a curious expression.

Scootaloo seemed to shrink in on herself.

Quietly, and more slowly she repeated, "I've never been able to fly. I can jump up and hover for a few seconds, but that's about it! There's something wrong with my magic. It's there, but it doesn't work right. It's why mom and dad moved to Ponyville to start with. What kind of pegasus can't fly?"

"I thought you flew with your wings. Unicorns are the ones who lift things with magic." Sweetie Belle interjected as joined them on the balcony. She adjusted her cape with some deft levitation. "Yay! Those lessons with Rarity are paying off!"

"That's fine and dandy, but I reckon Scootaloo is the one who needs cheerin' up," Apple Bloom suggested. She turned back to the pegasus. "You were sayin'?"

Scootaloo gave another glum sigh as she stepped off the cloud. She pulled a bottle out of her saddlebags, laying it between her hooves. "Wings move you about, but magic keeps you up in the air. They figured my flight magic was just late coming in, like my mark, but the doctor in Cloudsdale says there's a real problem. Do you know how humiliating it was to be taken there in a chariot to see him?"

She popped the cork on the bottle with a hoof, and the cloud was sucked into it. "So I've gotta use this thing. It's a training cloud, a Cumulo-Nimbus 2000. It keeps me up in the air, and forces my own magic to start working by slowly giving me less and less support, or at least that's what the doc said."

"Well I think you being able to fly is really cool!" Apple Bloom said brightly. "It's like your scooter, only better. So why the long face?"

"My scooter I could pass off as just being a hobby, but any pegasus who sees me with that thing will know why I'm stuck on it. They're all going to be laughing at me." The pegasus picked up the bottle in her teeth and dropped it safely in a saddlebag, then pulled out something else. "Mom did get me these cool flying goggles, but that's not going to fool people about why I'm on that thing."

"Aw, don't worry, I reckon it'll fix up your own magic soon enough, and then you'll be an awesome flier, just like Rainbow Dash!"

Scootaloo winced, and dropped the goggles back in her saddlebag. "I don't want her to see me on it, ever! She'll probably never want to speak to me again! Why would the most awesome flier in Equestria want to hang out with a dorky pegasus who can't even fly?"

The young pegasus seemed on the verge of tears as she looked over at Apple Bloom, who decided she needed some more emotional first aid. The farm-filly shook her head. "Applejack would call that stinkin' thinkin'! You know Dash is the most loyal pony in Equestria. She won't abandon you because you're using that there cloud contraption."

Sweetie Belle put her own two bits in. "And just think of the awesome stunts you can pull with it! Like your scooter but even better! You even have the goggles for it!"

Scootaloo looked slightly happier as she thought about this. "Maybe that's why I haven't got my cutie-mark, my talent might be to do with flying and I've never flown!"

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. "Could be. We ain't gonna tease you about it, and we ain't going to let no-pony else do it, neither. Anyhow, if we can get our cutie-marks, that's one less thing they can be mean about."

Sweetie Belle perked up. "I can help! I've got something that's sure to find out what our cutie-marks are right away!"

That got her the attention of the other two fillies. Apple Bloom got in first. "You've thought of something we haven't tried yet?"

"But we've tried everything there is to do in Ponyville!" Scootaloo complained, "Well, I can try flying, but that ain't an option for either of you guys."

"And we're forbidden to go into the Everfree Forest again," Apple Bloom added.

The white unicorn just grinned as she led the way inside. "Which is why we don't go there. We can do it all right here inside the club-house!"

She unloaded something from her own saddlebags, a book. No, 'book' did not do this particular item justice. It was a tome, possibly even a grimoire. Massively leather covered it was, brass-bound with a metal latch and key arrangement, and chains, lots of chains. Mad Arabs would have taken one look at this thing and said 'Whoa dude, that thing looks ominous!'

Unfortunately, none of the ponies present was Saddle Arabian. Scootaloo just looked at it wide eyed and said, "Cool!"

Sweetie Belle was clearly straining to lift it her horn glowing and sparking a bit. She started humming the 'Stalliongrad Boat Song' which seemed to help, her horn's glow becoming brighter and more steady as the book rose smoothly. She managed to lower it to the floor safely, then turned the key and unlocked it, opening it out to a particular page.

"Looks like you really are getting the hang of your horn," Apple Bloom commented. "But why were you humming?"

Sweetie Belle blushed. "You and Applejack are to thank for that, by getting me and Rarity together after the Sisterhooves social. I finally got her to start showing me how to do magic. It's all about focusing on what you want your magic to do, and I found I could focus more easily if I hum or sing something. I won't get my own spells until I get a cutie-mark, but I can do the basic ones like lighting my horn, and moving stuff around."

"I gotta admit that's pretty neat, but where did you get the book?" Apple Bloom trotted over to look at the revealed page. It had some ornate script that she couldn't read and some stylised pictures. The text was also beautifully illuminated with intricate patterns and decorations.

"Rarity was over at the library when Twilight was doing some work with it, researching or translating or something. Big sis saw some of the writing had pictures, uh... illumination she called it, though it doesn't look like it's lit up to me. Though it is very pretty."

"Anyway, it gave her inspiration for a new set of dress designs, so she managed to borrow it. Then I noticed a page when I was helping, and realised it might be able to help us find our cutie-marks. So when she'd finished with it, I offered to take it back for her."

Apple Bloom looked a bit quizzical. "I ain't casting nasturtiums, Sweetie Belle, but why was Rarity okay with you taking the book back? Some of your previous attempts to help haven't worked out as well as they might."

"You know how she gets when she's 'in the zone'. She didn't want to break off and lose her inspiration." Sweetie Belle frowned at her friend. "Besides, now that I can use my magic, I do help out. I will too, I'll take it right back, just as I promised, after we use it ourselves. Look at this!"

The three pictures on the page were the only comprehensible thing to the farm-filly and super-speedster. The first showed three unicorn ponies standing on a diagram, which was laid out on the floor underneath them. It had a central, triangular section, three small circles at the corners where the ponies stood, and a set of outer concentric circles, all inscribed with runes.

Below it was a bigger image of the ritual diagram, viewed from above. All the runes were clearly shown, and it was obviously designed to allow some-pony to draw out their one of their own. The final and most interesting picture was an earth-pony stallion in half-armour barding, with a cutie-mark glowing into existence on his flank.

"Uh, Sweetie Belle, I don''t want to rain on your apple-cart, but this looks like some kinda heavy duty hocus-pocus. Twilight already tried casting a spell to give me a cutie mark, and it didn't work. And let's not even talk about that business with the Heart's Desire plant. I'm just happy Zecora forgave me, and let me keep seeing her. Heck, she decided that if I was going to start mixing up stuff, she'd teach me how to do it properly. In return I help her out around the place, do chores and stuff."

"You can make magic potions?" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly.

"Not yet, maybe never, though she reckons earth-pony magic, being all about plants and the earth, might just do the trick. But for now I just make up herbal remedies, basic stuff but it still works. Granny Smith got in on the act and she's taught me some neat stuff too. But both of 'em say not to mess with magic unless you know exactly what you're doing."

"But I do! This is different!" Sweetie Belle enthused. "I translated some of it, enough to work out what it was, and it says this is a spell specifically designed to help a pony _find_ her cutie-mark, not force it. You draw the diagram, stand at the corners and you find out for sure exactly what your special talent is."

"You translated this stuff?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle did well in class, but this was a bit beyond a dictionary. "I don't think Miss Cheerilee covered this in class."

Sweetie Belle levitated a second smaller book out of her saddlebag, but this was a horn written journal with a card cover. It had loose notes stuffed into it like an overfilled sandwich and held there with sticking charms. On the front it said, 'Twilight's book of Ancient Equestrian Cutieform Runes and Spell Craft – property of Twilight Sparkle – Do not touch!'

"How'd ya get that in the first place?" Apple Bloom asked, noticing the cover.

"Spike got it for me..." The white unicorn looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, I might have let him think it was for Rarity, since he'll do pretty much anything for her. I'm just glad he didn't ask me why she wanted it. Anyway, we'll have it back before anyone notices, so that's not a problem."

"Alright! Then the faster we do this thing, the sooner we get our cutie marks!" Scootaloo exclaimed, having weather-cocked around when they got off her flying ability and onto cutie mark crusading. However, she wasn't all the way yet. "But doesn't it show you need three unicorns to power it?"

"Miss Cheerilee said how the ancient unicorns figured they were the only ones who did real magic. I'm betting that's why they drew it this way. Besides I noticed one of the other pictures in the book."

The pages flipped under the impetus of her telekinesis, to another picture which showed a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony standing on a ritual diagram. While similar to the first, it had some clear differences.

Sweetie Belle pointed with her horn. "Look at the runes!"

Scootaloo looked closely, brow furrowed. "It doesn't look wrecked to me."

"She said 'runes' not 'ruins'. She means them letter thingamajigs that look like pictures," Apple Bloom said, peering closely at the diagram.

"I knew that!" replied Scootaloo just a little too quickly. "I just thought it was an old book, and the picture might have faded!"

"Guys, I do mean the pictures, specifically the ones used in the circles the ponies stand in. I noticed it because it shows you have to put gems there."

"I'm guessing you've got the gems already?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Taken from my sister's reject pile. I'm not allowed to raid her chests, but these are all ones that she had left over when she'd finished an order. I've got plenty, so we should be able to find ones that match," Sweetie Belle replied. She pointed out a crescent shaped rune next to the gem on the diagram.

"Twilight's book says this rune can be translated either as 'moon' or 'magic' or 'unicorn'. So I looked up the runes for pegasus and earth pony..." The pages turned to a stylised solar symbol, a dot in a circle with rays coming off it. "This is the one for 'pegasus', it also means 'sun' and 'flight'." The pages turned again and a circle with a cross through it, which she tapped with her horn. "And this is 'earth pony' or 'ground' or 'strength'."

She went back to the main book and pointed out the symbols next to each pony, which matched the ones in the book. "I don't know exactly what this spell does, but look, the symbols match, so it must be possible to do it this way!"

Finally she drew a rolled up piece of paper out of the saddlebag. It had a modified version of the cutie-mark finding ritual diagram on. "So I thought, if we replace the unicorn symbol for pegasus and earth pony in your circles when we draw the one we're using, we can tell it to use that sort of magic instead."

"Oh yeah, Sweetie Belle's got it all figured out!" Scootaloo pounded her hooves in excitement. "Let's do it!"

Apple Bloom hesitated. "No offence Sweetie Belle, but maybe we should get Twilight to check this out? Even if it is just a look-see spell, we should be careful with it."

If the unicorn in question hadn't been white already, she'd have turned that colour at the suggestion. "No! I mean, we don't want to disturb her when she's probably writing a letter to Princess Celestia or something important like that."

Scootaloo smirked. "You mean if she found out you used her personal notebook she'll have your folks ground you for the rest of your life."

"Well, that too," Sweetie Belle admitted.

The earth pony filly considered it. "Well I reckon, if it only helps us find out what our cutie-marks are it couldn't hurt. Like you said, this ain't tryin' to force 'em or anything. We'll figure out our cutie-marks, then go out and do whatever our talent is till we get 'em."

"Enough talk, c'mon, we've got cutie-marks to find out! The sooner I discover my awesome flying talent, the better!" Scootaloo urged. "Cutie Mark Crusaders... uh... Cutie Mark Discoverers, GO!"

The trio cheered, gave each other a three way high one, five being out of the question for a species without hands, and set to work.

Sweetie Belle brought out a piece of dressmakers chalk and started drawing out the diagram on the floor of the tree-house, with Apple Bloom checking every line, while Scootaloo hovered over them. Gemstone after gemstone was checked against the diagram, and eventually a diamond, an emerald and a sapphire were chosen.

"Okay, it looks just like the picture in the book, exceptin' those rune-thingies you went and changed." Apple Bloom looked down at the big book, and Sweetie Belle's diagram, then back to the larger diagram on the floor. "Yup! It's all there. Now what do we do about it?"

"Uh... I guess we stand on our circles and wish really hard," Sweetie Belle said.

There was a whoosh, and Scootaloo landed with a thump on her mark. "I wish! I wish! I really really wish!..."

Apple Bloom closed the big book with a slap, and strode over to the circle with the earth symbol, and Sweetie Belle stepped onto hers. Apple Bloom concentrated, and hunched down, focusing only on the circle, willing it to work...

A mystic glow being emitted from the chalk lines, curtains of translucent light rising into the air, and eldritch yet eerily beautiful choral music forming spontaneously around them... all these things utterly failed to happen. There were just three fillies standing on a chalk diagram with various expressions that showed intense concentration, though an outside observer would have been hard pressed to distinguish it from extreme constipation.

Apple Bloom let things run for a few more seconds then sighed. "I guess we can count this one a bust too. Well, at least we didn't end up covered in tree sap."

Sweetie Belle stamped a hoof. "No! It has to work! I spent all afternoon on figuring it out! Maybe we need something to focus on... I know! I'll sing our theme song! That'll get us all focusing on the same thing!"

She started singing.

'We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,
On a quest to find out who we are,
And we will never stop the journey,
Not until we have our cutie marks!'

It's first rendition had been less than perfect, but when Sweetie Belle sang it that was a pony of a different colour or rather tune. Her companions were entranced as the rock music ballad started to swell around her.

'They all say that you'll get your mark,
When the time is really right,
And you know just what you're supposed to do,
And your talent comes to light.'
'But it's not as easy as it sounds
And that waiting is hard to do
So we test our talents everywhere...'

The other two joined in, but somehow this time, their voices harmonised perfectly. '..Until our face is blue!'

They completed the song together with their backing track playing, and the chalk lines started to glow.

'We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,
On a quest to find out who we are,
And we will never stop the journey,
Not until we have our cutie marks!'

They came to a halt, but the glowing lines simply intensified, and shot up from around the three of them. Halos of light enveloped them with a shimmering sound, shot with sparks and sparkles of glowing energy that swirled around them like snow flurries. But bright at the light was, Apple Bloom's eyes sparkled brighter. "Zowie! It's working, it's really working!"

"Wow!" Scootaloo yelled, flicking back her cloak so her hindquarters were visible. "Cutie-marks here we come! Watch my flanks guys!"

"Maybe they'll appear in the centre," Sweetie Belle suggested. "All the power seems to be flowing that way."

Which was the truth. All the energy that had formed around the three started to swirl around the centre-point of the diagram, like a miniature tornado. It started getting faster and faster, and they felt a slight wind start to tug at their cloaks.

"Uh... Sweetie Belle, is it supposed to be doing that?" asked Apple Bloom nervously, as the intensity and speed of the swirling magic storm continued to grow, shot through with crackles and arcs of purple lightning.

"Aw, it's just getting ready to show us our cutie-marks," Scootaloo replied with bravado worthy of Rainbow Dash herself, even though her own crusader cloak was now whipping wildly in the wind and she felt a definite pull towards the centre.

"I don't like this..." Apple Bloom was actually sitting back in her circle, and pushing out with her fore-hooves to stop herself being pulled in.

Scootaloo's wings were beating like a hummingbird's as she tried to hold herself back. "It's... nothing... to... worry...about!"

Sweetie Belle reassured her, even as her horn glowed fiercely, trying to hold herself in place. "It's okay, it's shrinking..."

The swirling energies were indeed shrinking in on themselves, but as they did, they spun ever faster and more powerfully until they flashed, and shrunk to a glowing pinpoint, too bright to look at directly.

"Well that wasn't what I..." As Apple Bloom started to speak, the glowing point suddenly flared outwards in a wave of purple energy and engulfed them, and everything in the vicinity of the ritual diagram. It remained there, a glowing half dome for a few seconds, before there was another flash and it vanished, leaving behind nothing but a scorched and smoking diagram in the wood floor of the tree house.



Twilight Sparkle looked up from the spell book she was reading with a start. "Huh?"

Spike was carrying a stack of books over to a shelf. "What's up Twilight?"

"I don't know. I felt a great disturbance in the local magical field, as if some-pony had cast a hugely powerful spell, and suddenly vanished. No, it was more than one pony. But that's crazy! What would a group of powerful unicorn spell casters be doing casting a ritual in Ponyville..."

She trotted across to the doorway, strapping on a pair of saddlebags, and collecting some scrolls from her work bench. "Spike? Where's my book on ancient runes?"

"Uh... I don't know..." Spike said, starting to sweat and look around nervously.

"Yes you do," Twilight shook her head at his pitiful attempt at lying. He was about as convincing as Applejack. "It's the notebook that says under no circumstances should anyone but me touch it. Ring a bell?"

Spike gave up. "Oh, _that_ notebook. Rarity wanted to borrow it."

"But why..." Twilight's pupils shrunk in shock. "No, please tell me she didn't!"

"Didn't what?" Spike said worried now.

"Try to use one of the spells from the grimoire she borrowed! There's a reason it's called 'The Book of Ridiculously Dangerous Spells That No Sane Unicorn Should Ever Try!'" The purple mare opened the door and found herself face to face with Rarity.

"I'm dreadfully sorry to bother you Twilight, but I'm looking for that book again. I know I sent Sweetie Belle back with it, but now I find I've mislaid one of the patterns I made. So I need to borrow it again, just for a few minutes."

Twilight looked confused. "So you didn't borrow my private notebook as well?"

"Of course not darling. Why would I do that?" Rarity matched Twilight's confusion and raised it by puzzlement.

"But Sweetie Belle said it was for you..." Spike replied, looking down and bashfully digging a toe-claw into the wood of the library floor.

"Sweetie Belle?" Twilight queried, then exclaimed. "Sweetie Belle!"

"Twilight darling, you aren't getting all stressed over a late book are you?" Rarity asked. Remembering how she'd gotten over her friendship report, it was entirely likely this was another tempest in a teacup. However, this time Rarity resolved to be there for her, even if it was just to calm her down.

"I hope I am. I hope that's all it is, just a late book, a simple, no big deal, late book," Twilight's voice had the sing-song tone she only got when she was trying to reassure herself. "Where was she going to go afterwards?"

"I believe she was meeting her friends at the Cutie Mark Crusaders Club House this afternoon..."

"Uh oh..." Twilight looked around. "Where are my saddlebags?"

"You're already wearing them." Rarity was starting to feel worried too. "Twilight, is something wrong?"

"Oh no, I'm sure everything's fine! Absolutely fine!" The purple unicorn gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sure a book of ancient and dangerous spells, plus my own notes on how to decipher said ancient and dangerous spells, plus the Cutie Mark Crusaders can't possibly cause _any_ problems!"

She levitated Spike onto her back and winked out onto the street. Rarity tuned and followed her, panic now writ large upon her face as they headed for Sweet Apple Acres. The two of them galloping along drew stares and puzzled looks from the regular ponies of Ponyville, and attracted at least some attention from above.

"Hey guys!" Rainbow Dash swooped down, and sailed lazily on her back alongside the two unicorns. "What's all the hubbub about?"

"Something may have happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Whoa!" Spike replied as he held onto Twilight for dear life.

"Heh, what have the kids done this time?" Rainbow asked, grinning. The CMCs' attempts at cutie-mark-hood were generally good for comedy value. Not that she didn't wish them well, but the chaos they caused in the process was generally fun to watch.

"They may have sort of gotten hold of a spell book," said Spike, looking a bit embarrassed.

"They may have... cast a spell... I felt... a powerful spell... go off..." Twilight gasped in correction.

"Oh my poor sister... what has she done to herself!" Rarity managed some huffed out histrionics. "This could be... a disaster!"

Rainbow Dash looked confused. "I thought only unicorns could cast spells? Sweetie Belle isn't that powerful is she?"

Twilight shook her head. "It felt like... a multiplex spell matrix... of some sort. A... triune maybe! There was... more than... one pony... involved! There are... ways to use... other types of... pony magic... illegal ways... though that's... the least... of their... worries!"

They slowed down as they reached the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack was weeding one of the vegetable patches, and looked up as the trio came through the gates.

"Howdy folks! You three look plumb tuckered out. What can I do ya for?"

"Speak for those two, not me," Rainbow replied, back-winging to hover in mid-air. "They've got some crazy notion Scoots and the others are trying their hand at being Cutie Mark Crusader Wizards, or something."

"We have to get to that club house of theirs!" Twilight exclaimed.

Applejack stepped out of the vegetable patch and started off into the orchard. "Well c'mon then. I don't reckon there's any problem, but I guess we'd better check on them."

The farm-pony led the way, and they soon came to the tree house. She sniffed. "Now they know they ain't allowed to set fires in there! They could burn down the whole thing!"

Applejack lead the way up the ramp, calling out to the fillies in the tree-house as she went. "Okay, you three, whatya..."

She stopped on the veranda, looking in through the open door at the smoking ritual diagram, and lack of fillies. Rainbow Dash had flown up by the window, and was staring in open mouthed.

Twilight pushed past the stunned earth pony, and into the room, taking in the diagram, and the books still lying off in one corner. Her horn started to glow, then she stopped and edged round the diagram to flick over the pages of the big book with a hoof.

"What? What's happened to them!" Rarity yelled, genuine fear in her voice.

"Wait!" Twilight had done all her panicking on the way there and was now beyond it, in the calm pools of utter freak out. "Whatever you do, do not come in! Do not touch the diagram, and above all, do not use any magic in this area! Spike I need you to be outside, now!"

She was looking back and forth between the diagram and the one in the book. Spike jumped down when a lift was clearly not forthcoming, and went out onto the balcony, looking a little unhappy. Twilight suddenly spoke.

"Firstly, they should be completely safe, for now. Secondly, I don't know whether to write a letter of recommendation for Sweetie Belle to the School for Gifted Unicorns, or have you ground her until Celestia gets tired of raising the sun. I think I know what they've done but fixing it will be a lot harder..."

"Just tell us what's happened, sugar-cube!" Applejack had managed to barely miss panic by going straight from shock to being reassured that Apple Bloom was safe.

"Somehow Sweetie Belle found the Quest spell, and worked out at least some of what it was supposed to do."

"And what was it supposed to do?" Rarity asked, one eyebrow raised.

"If a pony was having trouble finding her cutie-mark, it would send her somewhere where she could find a task that would enable her to get it. It took three unicorn spell casters in a triune ritual diagram to cast it, and it would return her when she got her cutie mark, or at least that was how it was supposed to work."

Rarity sighed with relief. "Well that doesn't sound too dreadful... Wait, why was it in that book, you said they were..."

"'Ridiculously dangerous spells that no sane unicorn should ever try'." Twilight indicated the front page with a hoof. "Clearly, she didn't translate that bit."

"The problem was, balancing a triune ritual is tricky at the best of times, and you need a triune because few ponies would have the power to cast it alone. The combination of three unicorns' power is much greater than the sum of it's parts. Also, most rituals are for spells with a fixed power requirement, but because you don't know where the spell will send you, the power requirement here is variable. So the three unicorns have to balance it on the fly."

"Twilight, just skip the egg-head stuff and cut to the chase!" Rainbow Dash was still at the window, finally looking distressed.

Twilight took a deep breath. "All this means it's easy to put the wrong amount of power into it, or have different unicorns give varying amounts of power. Either makes bad things happen. For a transport spell like winking, too little power would mean bits being left behind, while too much would result in a bounce-back that would collapse the transposition matrix and de-cohere the subject's waveform."

Seeing the blank looks, she clarified. "Basically it would return the pony immediately, as a thin circular layer about five pony-lengths in diameter. As for the possibility of an unbalanced triune, different ponies putting in different amounts of power, it destabilises the ritual matrix, and all that power is expressed explosively. We're talking 'blast radius' here."

The other three ponies and one dragon were turning interesting shades of green by this point.

"Now hold your horses Twilight!" Applejack managed to get out. "You said they managed to work it right?"

"Since there isn't a crater a hundred pony-lengths wide, or a mess on the floor, then yes. They must have somehow modulated and stabilised the power input perfectly. Which is impressive, as unlike when I wink, they had no idea of the destination."

Applejack continued, "How? The only unicorn was Sweetie Belle, and I can't see her having the power to pull this off. No offence there, Rarity."

"None taken, I'm sure." Rarity concurred, "She's getting quite good at basic cantrips like Light and Cleaning, and she's getting a lot less clumsy when levitating things, but Applejack is right, Sweetie Belle hasn't got the power for something this."

"She didn't need it." Twilight pointed at parts of the diagram. "She figured out from the book that you could create a triune using a pegasus, an earth pony and a unicorn, known as a hetro-thaumic triune. The power output is orders of magnitude higher, because it draws in ambient magic as well, but the risk of instability goes up with it, unless the power is vested in a single body."

She nodded at the dawning realisation in their faces.

"Yes, it's a way to synthesize Alicorn magic. With that kind of amplification, even the result of combining three young fillies' magic would be enough to drive the spell. That's probably what saved them, the power flow is attractive, but the intensity was low enough that they could resist being sucked in. Three bodies occupying the same space... let's just say 'bad things' again and move on."

Rainbow Dash looked confused. "Okay, so they did the spell right. So we wait until they do whatever they need to do and return. No sweat!"

"No! Plenty of sweat!" Twilight exclaimed. "The three unicorns had another purpose, they acted as an anchor, a lifeline to pull the questing pony back. But since they were the ones who got sent, so they don't have that lifeline!"

"So we go find 'em," Applejack said, in tones that brooked no argument.

"Of course, but that's not going to be easy. The Quest spell doesn't have any limitations on range. They could be anywhere in the world, never mind Equestria, or even elsewhere."

"Elsewhere?" the farm pony asked.

"Other worlds, other dimensions, wherever there's a task that will bring out their talents. And since it has to be a task that will give all three of them a chance, I suspect it's going to be far indeed! All I can be sure of is that it will be within their abilities to complete safely, and will involve all of them."

Twilight was past panic, though not past distress, however she'd suppressed it for the moment. She'd laid out the problem and now she was in planning mode.

"Our problem is to find them and bring them back. First, finding them. We should be able to trace their location from the thaumic residue of the triune. Think of it like a set of magical hoof prints. That's why we can't use any spells in here, it might obscure the residual spell energies. It's also why I sent Spike outside, a flame-mail from Princess Celestia could have the same effect.

"When we isolate the dimensional resonance signature of the destination, the hard part begins. We will need to work up a way to send a party there, and more importantly with the means to make it back. While ponies of earlier epochs are supposed to have experimented with dimensional travel, our current knowledge is all theoretical.

"Princess Celestia may be able to help, but we'll need a lot of power and careful spell-crafting to create a safe way to go there and come back. It may be that only the Elements of Harmony will be able to generate that much power, so we'd have to be a part of the expedition."

"You can bet your bottom bit I'll be there anyway!" Rainbow Dash stated. "I gotta go find Scootaloo! I ain't leaving my number one fan hanging!"

"Likewise for Apple Bloom!" Applejack added.

Rarity posed proudly. "I must agree. Sweetie Belle is my sister, and by Celestia, nothing on Equestria or off it will stop me from finding her!"

"So c'mon!" Rainbow Dash said to Twilight. "Make with the magic!"

Twilight shook her head. "I can't do it that easily. Spike?"

"Yes Twilight?" The little dragon had just listened in, feeling guilty. He'd been the one to let Sweetie Belle have the notebook after all. Now he just hoped he could help fix things.

There was a catch in the purple unicorn's voice as she considered how disappointed her mentor would be for letting this happen, and there was guilt too, now that what had happened finally hit her.

"Take a letter to Princess Celestia, and make sure you have a sharp quill, this is going to be a long one..."
> First Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Uhh!" Apple Bloom groaned her way back to consciousness, and wished she hadn't bothered. She felt as if she'd been pulled backwards through a bit-sized hole. As she twitched, various aches and pains introduced themselves and settled in for a long stay without so much as a by your leave.

"What you said!" Sweetie Belle's voice moaned, then she squeaked, "Ahh! I've gone blind!"

Apple Bloom opened her eyes to see the white unicorn sprawled in front of her, cloak tail flipped forward over her head and wrapped up in her disarrayed saddlebags. Further exploration, based purely on moving her eyeballs around because they were the only things that didn't hurt when she did so, revealed the pair of them were in a forest glade, dappled sunlight streaming down through the trees and making interesting patterns on the leaf mould and occasional half hearted clumps of grass.

She jumped up, and immediately wished she hadn't, but ignoring the muscle pains, she stepped forward and pulled the cloak back from the head of the panicking unicorn.

"Help mee!... oh." Sweetie Belle calmed down as her head was uncovered.

Apple Bloom was also wearing her Crusader cloak and saddlebags. The farm-filly looked around but couldn't see far in any direction, as she quite literally couldn't see the forest for the trees. What she also didn't see in any direction was the third member of their trio. "Scootaloo! Scootaloo! Where are you!"

"I'm up here, you guys!" The two of them looked up to see the pegasus filly sprawled on a branch. "My everything hurts!"

She started to move, and Apple Bloom called out, "No, wait! You might..." There was a squawk and a thump. "... fall down."

"Did anybody get the cutie-mark of that cart driver?" Scootaloo asked as she peeled herself out of the dent she'd made in the leaf-mould.

Apple Bloom said, "That's not the problem, I think that spell sent us somewhere else, just like when Twilight winks from one place to another. These ain't apple trees!"

The farm filly felt the earth beneath her hooves. Some people might think that even a nifty strength and toughness boost was a pretty feeble special ability compared to pegasus flight or unicorn magic, but earth ponies also had this. Ultimately, both strength and toughness came from a connection with the earth beneath them, and that connection went both ways.

An earth pony on natural ground rarely got lost, and could sense the lay of the land in the immediate area, knowing where the water sources were, and the high and low ground. Every place had it's own special feel, but this was alien, unlike anything she'd felt before. The closest she could come to it was when she'd been in the Everfree forest. More importantly, she couldn't get a direction back to Ponyville. They must be really far away. The only good part was that her aches and pains were starting to fade, seeming to flow away into the ground.

Her musings had only taken only moment, but they were soon interrupted. Scootaloo rounded on Sweetie Belle. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't found that stupid spell...!"

"Me!" Sweetie Belle replied heatedly. "I didn't know it was going to do this! Besides you wanted to do it too!"

"That was when I figured it would show us our cutie-marks, not send us off on a wild goose chase!"

"That's crazy! There aren't even any geese here to chase, and besides we tried that already, remember last Tuesday?"

"Do I! I was washing duckweed out of my mane all evening!"

"Wash?" Sweetie Belle glared at the leaf mould covered pegasus. "Well you could do with another one!"

They were halted by a loud thumping rattle, and some nuts dropping around them. Apple Bloom had kicked one of the trees to get their attention. She wasn't up to Applejack's standard, but Sweetie Belle wasn't the only one practising with her big sister. Her aches had faded away, and she felt pretty much okay, apart from the sense of differentness in the land under her feet. She could still draw on it's strength though.

She called out, "Now both of you just simmer down, either all of us are to blame or none of us are! Sweetie Belle found the spell, true, but we all wanted to try it, and Scootaloo, you were the most eager. I let myself think it would work out too, despite sayin' we shouldn't mess with magic again... It makes no matter anyhow, we're here now, and our task is to get home."

The interruption had cooled the other two's tempers. They looked at each other, and then Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo said, "But we don't even know where here is!"

"Then I figure we'd best find out," Apple Bloom replied. She wasn't going to tell them yet just how lost they were, but she gave them her best guess. "Maybe we ended up in the Everfree again, this place feels kinda like it. I reckon the ground slopes upwards, that-a-way, so we should go have a look at the lay of the land."

"Or I can do this!" Scootaloo pulled out the bottle from her saddlebags and popped it open, and seconds later was standing on her training cloud. She dipped her muzzle into her saddle bag again and came out wearing her flying goggles. She slid them down over her eyes, her wings beat rapidly, and the cloud ascended into the sky, or rather into the tree-tops.

"Huh, I'd forgotten she could do that." Apple Bloom said. "That could come in kinda useful for finding our way back to Ponyville."

"You think we're really far away?" Sweetie Belle looked nervous.

"Aw, I'm sure we're just a couple of miles away, and we'll be home in time for tea," the earth pony filly reassured her, not wanting to make her feel worse with what she really thought.

"Even if we ain't, I've still got an apple pie and some bottles of juice that need seeing to! With your magic, my strength and Scootaloo's new flying ability, we can handle anything that happens."

"Aaaah!" The pegasus in question dropped out of the sky, looking panicked. "The sky! It's all wrong! There's a moon up there, two of them, and neither of them is Luna's!"

Apple Bloom looked up at the pegasus, confused. "I think you hit your head on a branch on the way up. What would the moon be doing up in the daytime anyway?"

"No! Go see for yourself!" Scootaloo pointed in the direction of the rising land. There's some kind of break in the forest that way, I saw it before I saw the freaky moons!"

Apple Bloom sighed. "Okay, let's go."

She led the way through the trees, seeing occasional signs of animal tracks and the distant chirping of birds. This place was more like a wilder version of White Tail Woods than the Everfree forest, though she wasn't going to take any chances. Sweetie Belle followed her closely, while Scootaloo hovered overhead.

They broke out of the tree-line onto a promontory over a steep sided ravine that cut the ground in front of them. It was a beautiful day, a blue sky with small puffs of white cloud floating lazily in it. The sun was high up behind them, casting short shadows at their hooves, though whether it was late morning or early afternoon they didn't know.

Beyond the ravine the forest started again, covering rising hills that stretched to higher ones on the horizon. But that wasn't what held their attention. There were two crescents in the sky above it, horns facing downwards and to one side. One was slightly bigger than Luna's moon, the other half again as big. The smaller one had a slightly crimson tinge to it, faded by the blue of the atmosphere to a pale purple.

Apple Bloom's jaw dropped, and Sweetie Belle collapsed as her legs gave way under her. The earth pony pulled herself together and made one of the most unnecessary comments of her short career. "Looks like you were right! I don't think we're in Equestria any more, Scootaloo..."

"Told ya!" The floating pegasus said smugly, pushing her goggles back up on her forehead. That was quashed by the sound of someone starting to cry. Sweetie Belle had her hooves to her face, and was bawling.

"I... I... did this! How will we ever get back to Equestria now! I don't care if she grounds me for ever, I just want to see Rarity again!"

Scootaloo would have had to be far less sensitive than Rainbow Dash at her worst to ignore her friend's distress. She landed and laid down beside her, putting a comforting wing across her. "Hey! It's okay, we'll figure something out..."

Apple Bloom felt like crying herself as she was hit by a massive surge of homesickness, but she needed to be strong for her friends, she needed ideas, she needed... "Princesses!"

"What you sayin'?" Scootaloo looked up from where she was comforting Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom grinned. "If Princess Celestia was here, she'd be able to send us home, right? Or Princess Luna, I mean you saw her on Nightmare Night, scary but awesome, and really nice once she got into the swing of things."

"Yeah, but they ain't here!" Scootaloo responded.

Suddenly Sweetie Belle pulled herself up, still sniffling but looking far happier. "I understand, this this place has it's own sun and moons! All we need to do is find the Princesses who control them and ask _them_ to send us back!"

"Just what I was thinkin'!" Apple Bloom beamed.

Scootaloo got up herself. "Yeah, me too... which still leaves us with finding those Princesses."

Apple Bloom stepped forward to the very edge of the promontory. "Well, first we find a town, which means we need to find a road... Like that one down there."

At the bottom of the ravine was a road of sorts, a track of pounded down earth that had been paved after a fashion with pebbles and rocks, not properly cobbled, but definitely cared for, and well used, if the wagon tracks that showed along the edges were any indication.

The ravine was more of a massive cutting in the earth off to their right, going off into the distance. The forest stopped at the top on both sides, which had to be at least forty five degree slopes, with only tough grass and the occasional shrub growing on them. Rock outcrops jutted out at intervals, like the one they were on which was almost a wall stretching out from the hill side.

Off to the other side, the ravine widened out considerably to gentler slopes, with the forest coming down far closer to the road way, except where tree stumps showing an avenue directly on either side had been cleared. The road there had been partly corduroyed with the felled and split timber, giving it a yellowish hue from their vantage point. They could see the forest gave way to more open plains a few miles further on.

Apple Bloom mused, "If I wanted to build a town, I'd do it in the open. So, I'm guessing we follow the yellow plank road."

"Follow the yellow plank road?" asked Scootaloo.

"Follow the yellow plank road!" replied Sweetie Belle. "Hmm... Why do I feel there's a song to be made about that?"

Scootaloo had noticed some movement in the trees down there on their side and moved up on her cloud to get a better look. "Uh, I don't think those guys would be an appreciative audience."

She pointed with a hoof, and the other fillies saw what she was talking about. Back from the road, there were clear patches in the forest, indeed at one point there was a small tarn, a still pool formed by a dip in the earth, which under other circumstances would have seemed inviting. However, at the moment on the far shore they could just see a group of creatures that looked a little like Diamond Dogs, only possibly even uglier and with green skin.

They wore patched together rags and clothing, if they wore anything at all, but they did mostly have helmets of a sort, and some form of worn leather armour. Some were carrying spears, while others had big knives. Several of them were rolling roughly spherical boulders as big as themselves through the clearing towards the roadway. To Apple Bloom they seemed familiar for some reason, though she could swear on a stack of apples higher than her head that she hadn't ever seen them before.

"I don't like the look of them!" Sweetie Belle shivered. "They look mean!"

"Just because they look mean, doesn't mean they are," Apple Bloom replied, trying to calm things down. She'd told her sister once that she wasn't a baby any more, and now was the time to prove it. "Remember how everyone was scared of Zecora, and how she turned out to be real nice?"

"She wasn't carrying big sharp pointy things," said Scootaloo feelingly.

"Well they're down there and we're up here, so that ain't a problem!" Apple Bloom stated confidently.

Just then two of the creatures burst out of the tree-line behind them, one carrying a spear, the other a club. Sweetie Belle jumped away with a squeak.

It was clear the pair were almost as surprised by the existence of the three ponies as they were about the newcomers. However, they recovered from their shock quickly and with a few phrases full of harsh consonants that passed for a conversation, they started moving forward, weapons ready.

"Hey now, we don't want any trouble," Apple Bloom said, standing her ground but not trying to act offensive. "We only just got here ourselves, can you... whoa!"

The one with the spear suddenly dashed forwards and thrust at her with it. Despite her earlier comment she'd fortunately been ready to move if they weren't friendly. She easily dodged the thrust, though the edge of her cape caught on the tip and ripped.

Apple Bloom had kept up with her martial arts, even after it had become clear that she'd never get her cutie mark in it. She'd shown no particular talent for it, in fact her first attempts at martial arts with Rainbow Dash had been pretty disastrous. However, she'd stuck at it, and gotten pretty good just through continuing to practice.

It was good exercise, and after the pegasus oriented Wing Chun style Rainbow Dash had tried to teach her proved to be a poor fit for an earth pony, she'd found the more ground based Northern Shire-lin style being taught at the same training hall. It focussed a lot on using the earth as a fulcrum and hind hoof moves, which were something she could practise by helping her big sister buck apple trees.

All this meant that when she was attacked, her training took over and she dropped under the thrust, spinning on her fore-hooves to present her hind legs to the creature. It didn't stand much taller than a full grown pony up on their hind hooves, so with a "Hyah!" she kicked out with a rising double hoof strike that caught it right in the bread basket. It choked and folded forward over her, dropping it's spear as she followed up with a rearing backwards head strike, catching it under the chin and sending it tumbling over backwards.

The other one turned to help his ally, raising his club to strike down on the fighting earth pony. However, he suddenly found that his club was stuck up there as a light green glow formed around it. He was so busy heaving at it, he didn't see Scootaloo drop from her cloud to land with all four hooves on his head, giving his helmet a good hoof clopping, making it ring like a fire bell.

He collapsed unconscious alongside his playmate, as Scootaloo bounded off his falling form. She did a neat somersault in mid-air as she dropped to land with all four hooves spread wide, panting and looking for more enemies. "You okay Apple Bloom?"

"Fine apart from a cloak that'll never be the same again." Apple Bloom stood over her attacker. In practical fact she was feeling a little unsteady on her legs. That creature had tried to _kill_ her! However, she wasn't going to show it to the others, they needed confidence. "That was some pretty fast thinking and a smooth move! I guess these guys aren't friendly after all."

"They aren't now, that's for sure!" Scootaloo replied. She pulled out her storage bottle and used it to summon the cloud down, but re-stoppered the bottle before it was actually sucked in. "I did what I could, but it was Sweetie Belle who kept his club from swinging."

Apple Bloom looked over at the sweating unicorn who looked as if she'd gone through an even tougher workout than Scootaloo. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I!" admitted the young unicorn. "I just couldn't let it hurt you, and I guess my magic did what I told it."

"Lucky for us it did..." Apple Bloom was beginning to come down off her own adrenaline high. "... but I gotta wonder, what were these two goons up here to do anyway? It wasn't to attack us, they were as surprised as we was."

Scootaloo had gotten back on the cloud, and looked down towards the ravine. "I don't know, but some-pony else's coming!"

Apple Bloom started looking round for another attack, then moved over to the lip of the outcrop and looked down where Scootaloo was already staring. A group of big carts, canvas topped cargo wagons drawn by pairs of horses, was making it's way in single file along the road.

Her heart lifted, there were civilised folk here! They must be like the Saddle Arabians, they had trading caravans that travelled around, didn't they? Maybe one of the cart pullers could direct them to the Princess. While she noted there were other creatures sitting up on the carts, like taller, thinner and above all pinker versions of the bipeds she'd just fought, she wasn't interested in any pets the local horses had.

Then she connected the dots, and they formed a most ominous picture. "That's what those green goons were here for, as look-outs! They were going to warn their friends down below when those wagons came!"

"But why?" Sweetie Belle asked, "Are they hoping to surprise them?"

"Yep, but not in a good way! You roll one of them rocks down that slope, it'll hit a wagon with a fair smack, wreck the wheels, or someone's legs depending on what's under it."

"But why would they be that cruel?" The unicorn looked shocked and confused in equal measure.

"Hello!" Scootaloo exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "They just tried to skewer us! Duh!"

Apple Bloom answered more clearly, "I think they want to steal what's in the carts, well, they ain't playing hide and seek anyhow. We can't just let them get away with it!"

"How do you suggest we stop them?" asked Scootaloo, sarcastically.

Apple Bloom decided to take the question seriously. It was all coming together in her head, like fixing one of the farm's apple carts. Planning it made her able to ignore how scared she was of _what_ she was planning. But the same courage and determination that had sent her into the Everfree to find out the truth about Zecora was at work here, and she tried not to show her fear.

"Sweetie Belle, you get down to those carts and warn them what's coming. Get 'em moving as fast as you can! And take my saddlebags, I'll be travelling light! Scootaloo and I will head on down there and try to stop those green guys rolling the rocks down on them."

"Are you out of your apple picking mind?" Scootaloo waved a hoof at the two unconscious ones. "We barely beat two of them, and you're expecting us to fight the whole gang?"

"Uh huh, I ain't that crazy, but if we can just distract them for long enough for the carts to get past, we can run for it. You've got your cloud, and I reckon I can outrun anything that's only got two legs. That's why Sweetie Belle's carrying the warning, we're both faster than she is. Besides, if Applejack was here, there's no way she'd let this happen without trying to stop it."

"Apple Bloom, you're not Applejack!" Scootaloo yelled out, "You're just a filly, and so am I!"

"I KNOW!" Apple Bloom looked right at the pegasus, her confident demeanour finally cracking a bit. A small part of her wanting to call her friend a chicken, but knowing she was just as scared as Scootaloo must be, she couldn't. "I know... but I can't stand aside and let it happen neither, and I'm all I've got to do this with..."

Scootaloo looked into her friends eyes and saw the fear she felt reflected in them. She gulped and said quietly, "Uh huh. You've got me as well."

Her expression turned determined, and she pulled down her goggles. "Alright, let's go show these green meanies what Equestria girls can do!"

Apple Bloom managed to grin back at her as she unslung her saddlebags and passed them to Sweetie Belle. "Yeah! Maybe distracting green guys is our special talent!"

The two took off down the slope to the right after Sweetie Belle, who'd peeled off as soon as she could find a way down to the roadway.

The other two ponies went on, weaving through the tree trunks at a gallop. As they ran, Apple Bloom tried to think of a way to stop the rocks. Big Macintosh would have been able to break them with a buck, and possibly even her sister could have done the trick, but even with all the strength she could draw from the earth, she wouldn't be able to duplicate it...

Of course, the rocks weren't rolling themselves, what she needed to do was stop the rollers! She called up to Scootaloo, "Keep them looking up!" as they approached the area where the green guys were pushing the rocks. There were nine of them, three to a rock, and they'd almost gotten to the edge of the forest, where the dip down to the pool formed a ridge with the slope down to the roadway.

Scootaloo went on ahead, wings buzzing madly and yelling "Hey bozos! I do the rock and roll around here!" She buzzed their heads, flying along the row of pushers at high speed. While they were still reacting, Apple Bloom raced out of the undergrowth and in front of their legs, kicking and stomping exposed feet and ankles with every step.

Her strategy worked to a point, the ones pushing the rocks collapsed howling and clutching their pained and even damaged feet. This was not a good idea as the carefully rounded rocks, deprived of their support, started rolling backwards. Apple Bloom even managed to circle back behind the last one in the row and give it a good buck in the right direction.

It rolled back down towards the pool enthusiastically, it's erstwhile masters yelling and howling and jumping or dragging themselves out of the way. She didn't stop, moving onto the second to give it the same treatment. But when she headed for the third, she had to avoid a sword slash that trimmed her mane and would have trimmed her head if she hadn't ducked at the right time.

The rest of the attackers had gotten there and swarmed around both sides of the remaining rock. Apple Bloom ran away, towards the road and open space, three of the leaders following her. She saw Scootaloo sweep across in front of her and catch a branch above her head height, hauling it off to one side.

Apple Bloom dived under the tree, and as her pursuers followed her, Scootaloo released the branch. "Catch!"

It snapped back and caught all three in their heads, sending them reeling backwards and dropping their weapons as they clutched their faces. Scootaloo cheered as she soared away on her cloud, "Woo hoo! The Cutie-Mark Crusaders! We have branches everywhere!"

The two ponies left them behind, and burst out of the trees onto the stump littered slope that led down to the road to see the wagon train just starting to make it's transit.

Apple Bloom looked behind her, only to see the rest of the group appear after them. Worse still, they were surrounding the last boulder, and heaved it over the ridge onto the downward slope. It started rolling, and Apple Bloom tried one last thing. New growth had sprung up upon the once logged slope, and a sapling had grown beside two stumps directly on the path the rock looked to be taking, which would drop it right onto the lead wagon. She dashed over and kicked it with all her might just above the base.

She hated to do it to a living tree, but it was the only thing she could think of. It snapped, and fell across between the two stumps, forming a natural barrier, just as the rock, now rolling at some speed, hit it. The springy sapling trunk bent and strained, then crunched as the rock rolled over it.

The rock rolled down unobstructed, though slower than it would have been, and smashed into the first cart's rear wheel. Sweetie Belle had been running alongside it and barely escaped becoming mashed unicorn. As Apple Bloom feared, the entire wagon train ground to a halt.

Her last ditch effort had cost her, as it gave time for the leading attackers to catch up with her. They surrounded her as she barely avoided a deadly swipe of a club. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Scootaloo swooping in and yelled, "No Scoots! Get away!"

But the pegasus was heedless, diving in and trying to strike one with a hoof. She missed, but as she rose away one of them dropped his spear and reached up, grabbing hold of her tail. She frantically beat her wings, but he slowly started dragging her down.

Sweetie Belle watched in horror as she saw her two friends get captured. She desperately wanted to save them, but she wasn't any kind of fighting pony, and there were too many of the bad guys. She didn't notice that some of the people on the carts pull out bows and start shooting, all she was focussed on was her need to help her two fellow crusaders.

Suddenly she felt her magic pulse deep inside her horn, words coming to her mind unbidden, musical notes to a song that she'd never heard before, but somehow knew by heart. Her reflex fear of singing in front of a crowd made a brief appearance, but was quickly swept under by the memory of her big sister saying unicorn magic always happened for a reason, and her desire to save her friends.

She started singing, and music swelled around her as her horn started to glow like a beacon. The tune was a rock ballad to bring tears to Scootaloo's eyes, if they hadn't already been there from the yanking of her tail.

"You've got the touch!"

The two ponies glowed in response.

"You've got the power! Yeah!"

Sweetie Belle stopped worrying and let the music carry her along. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom's fear was suddenly swept away, replaced by a cool confidence. Apple Bloom was no longer surrounded, just in a target rich environment, and Scootaloo realised that the guy holding her had made himself defenceless. They both felt ready and able to fight an Ursa Major. They leapt into action as Sweetie Belle hit the first verse.

"After all is said and done,
You've never walked, you've never run,
You're a winner!"

Apple Bloom bounced into the air, weaving between the weapons and kicking off one creature's face to jump onto another one's head, while Scootaloo stopped resisting the one pulling her tail and let him drag her down, guiding her path to slam both hooves into his forehead.

"You got the moves, you know the streets
Break the rules, take the heat
You're nobody's fool!"

Apple Bloom leapt off her foe to do a diving hoof kick into the stomach of one of the following ones. As his head came down, her fore-hoof came up into an upper cut to his chin. Scootaloo used her opponent like a spring board and jumped up onto her cloud, only to dive it right into the centre of the group that had been surrounding Apple Bloom.

You're at your best when when the going gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough!"

Scootaloo weaved between heads and bodies through openings that you would have sworn were too narrow for her, drawing club swings and sword strikes that ended up hitting the guy next to them rather than the pegasus.

"You got the touch!
You got the power!"

Apple Bloom had also jumped up again, this time diving between two assailants who had swords ready. They struck but she spun in mid air to roll between them sideways, evading the hard driven swords and kicking out fore and back hooves to produce some hard driven strikes of her own.

"When it's all breaking loose
You'll be riding the eye of the storm."

Scootaloo was doing just that, dive bombing some of the other attackers with her cloud, jumping off to strike their heads and leaping back on before they fell over. Weapons tried to connect, but were either evaded or occasionally diverted by a mysterious purple glow. Sweetie Belle was in the groove and doing more than just singing.

"You got the heart!
You got the motion!
You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch!"

Apple Bloom slammed into another opponent, but mistimed her attack slightly as the music went instrumental. One hind hoof knocked his weapon out of his hand, but it's fellow only grazed his torso. She barrelled into him, twisting to get away but he grabbed her from behind, both arms around her belly. She struggled and tried to break free, and she did stop him doing anything other than hang on.

"You never bend, you never break
You seem to know just what it takes
You're a fighter!"

Apple Bloom saw another green guy with a spear coming at her while she was pinned, and her fore-hooves slammed down on the arms of her captor while her hind hooves raked down the insides of his legs. It let go and she pushed herself to the side just as the spear was thrust at her.

"It's in the blood, it's in the will
It's in the mighty hooves of steel
When you're standing your ground!"

Scootaloo had taken station between the attackers and the caravan, using her height and manoeuvrability to kick down upon anyone who tried to pass her. A spear point tried to stab her, but she simply vectored to the side and kicked out, snapping the spear head off. The guys trying to get past her were thinning out as arrows from the caravan started to hit their marks.

"And you never get hit when your back's to the wall
Gonna fight to the end and you're taking it all."

Apple Bloom had gotten backed up against a tree, three of the creatures with spears closing in on her. Unwilling to get too close to the hooves that had felled so many comrades, they chose to throw their spears. She rolled out of the way of one, flattening herself to the ground as a second one passed just over her.

"You got the touch!
You got the power!"

The trio closed in, thinking they had her down, but she sprung up onto the shafts of the spears, using them as a springboard to leap over their heads and kick the middle one in the back of the head as she went, slamming him face-first into the tree she'd just left.

"When it's all breaking loose
You'll be riding the eye of the storm!"

Scootaloo zoomed forward to cover her friend as she grabbed a fallen club in her mouth and galloped down the slope towards the remaining creatures. Better than half of them were down, and others were injured, either by the efforts of the two ponies or the arrows from the caravan. Scootaloo dropped down beside her. "Hop on! I'll carry you!"

"You got the heart
You got the motion
You know that when things get too tough
You got the touch!"

Apple Bloom couldn't ride the cloud directly, but she could rest on her friends back without interfering with her wings so she bounded on. As they passed over the disintegrating front line, she dropped the club which smacked one of the remaining bad guys in the back. He wore a fancier helmet, and his collapse took what little heart the creatures had left out of them.

"You're fightin' fire with fire
You know you got the touch!"

Apple Bloom dropped off Scootaloo's cloud in front of them, landing on all fours and then rearing up on her hind hooves. She stood there and made a 'come on' motion with one fore-hoof, but none of her opponents seemed to want to play any more.

"You're at your best when when the road gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough!"

They looked at the lone earth pony ready to take on all comers, the pegasus flying over head and the arrows that were still flying from the caravan, and fled, dragging some of their wounded with them. Sweetie Belle could tell she was reaching the coda, but it seemed to have been enough.

"You got the touch
You got the power!"
"You got the touch,
You got the power."

The glow faded from around the two fighting ponies, and Apple Bloom dropped back down on all fours, while Scootaloo swooped down beside her. Sweetie Belle was running up the slope to join them.

"Wow!" The pegasus gasped, looking up and down her earth pony companion. "I never knew you could fight like that!"

Neither did I!" Apple Bloom looked just as surprised. "I think we had a little help from Sweetie Belle. You could hear her totally amazing singing?"

"And I felt like I could go toe to toe with a dragon with one wing tied behind my back."

Sweetie Belle arrived. "You're both okay?" she blurted out anxiously.

"Right as rain, and I'm guessing that your song had something to do with it!" Apple Bloom replied cheerfully.

Scootaloo grinned. "That was awesome! I knew you could sing, but casting magic with it? That was unbelievably cool! And in front of everyone too! Hey, maybe that's how you got the transport spell to work in the first place..."

Sweetie Belle blushed at the compliment, then her eyes widened and the pupils shrank as she had a sudden moment of comprehension. Her cloak wasn't covering her flank, so both her friends could clearly see it start to glow. The glow faded to reveal a design, a golden set of paired quavers, narrowly outlined in black to make them more visible against her white pelt, and a swirl of gold and silver six pointed sparkles surrounding them.

Both the other ponies' eyes bugged out at the appearance of their friend's cutie-mark. Apple Bloom stuttered out, "Sweets... Look..."

The unicorn looked at her flank, then did a double take, and then started bounding around like an insane space hopper. "YES! YES! I have a cutie-mark! Music is my talent!"

Scootaloo said, "We really should have guessed, considering your awesome singing voice!"

"Not just music, but using your singing to juice up your magic," Apple Bloom added. "Like Scootaloo said, that's unbelievably cool!"

Both of them instinctively checked their own flanks, and sagged a little when they saw only bare pelt.

Sweetie Belle landed, and noticed her friends' disappointment. She suddenly felt a bit guilty for being so happy, then realised something.

"Guys, it's okay, you'll get your marks too. Don't you see? The spell worked! That's why we were sent here, to find out our cutie-marks by having to _use_ our special talents! You two just haven't done whatever it is you're good at. "

"I thought I was, doing those flying fighting moves. Maybe I'm just not good enough..." Scootaloo sighed.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Part of that was Sweetie's spell. I guess your cutie-mark is something you get through your own efforts, or not at all. But she's got to be right, maybe our tasks are at the wagon train."

"Then we better go see 'em!" Scootaloo replied eagerly.
> Second Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They galloped down into the shallow ravine to the stalled caravan, or rather Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle galloped, while Scootaloo flew ahead on her Cumulo-Nimbus 2000 training cloud. She swept up to the head of the wagon train, and past the front of the horses pulling it, then did an Immelmann turn that would have warmed the heart of Baron Von Richthofen, and came to a stop a couple of feet away from the horses' heads, at eye level. She pushed back her goggles.

"It's okay guys, those baddies are history!"

The two draught horses were nervous but they were well trained, and didn't react. Neither did the driver, but more from shock than anything else. Scootaloo wasn't too happy at the lack of reaction, and moved the cloud a bit closer. "Hey, maybe I didn't expect to be showered with praise, but a simple 'thanks' would be kinda nice!"

Having something so close was too much for one of them, and he whinnied and reared up. Scootaloo back winged, hauling her cloud up and back out of the way. "hey, watch it! Now that's just rude!"

"Save it Scoots, I don't think anyone's home!" stated Apple Bloom, examining the pair as she arrived. "No cutie-marks, no conversation, and they smell like the bad end of the barnyard. I think they're just animals! Like in Humans and Horses."

"You play Humans and Horses?" exclaimed Scootaloo, smirking as she laid full length on her cloud, forelegs crossed under her chin.

"What's wrong with that? Twist has been running a campaign since before the three of us met!" The earth pony exclaimed. "We don't play as often as we used to, but I still do it. I have a human paladin all the way up to 15th level."

"Humans are only filly tales, sissy stuff!" responded the orange pegasus, in a tone that clearly stated she was too grown-up for such things.

Sweetie Belle had noticed the bipedal forms sitting behind the horses, but hadn't really paid attention. Also, after shouting a warning to the caravan as a whole, she'd had to turn back to focus on helping her friends by tripping up the attackers with her telekinesis, and singing the song that seemed to have helped them to fight.

She hadn't really noticed the half dozen appearing from along the stalled caravan line carrying bows, and she'd been further up the slope so none of them had come near her. Now she looked back along the caravan line, and started to get worried. "Uh, you might want to re-think that! Those sure look like humans to me!"

"Just because they stand up-right, and have hands, and no coat of fur, and really short manes, and practically no ears… and are wearing clothes, even though this can't be a fancy occasion…" Scootaloo tailed off. "Okay, maybe they _are_ humans, but that's okay, we haven't stolen a princess. Humans only get mad at you if you steal their princess!"

Apple Bloom chuckled. "I thought you didn't read filly tales?"

"We should… say something!" Sweetie Belle interjected, slightly nervously. "What if one of them is an evil witch, or a grand vizier, or something? I wouldn't want them mad at me! I don't even know which are the stallions and which are the mares?"

"Human mares are lumpy up front." Scootaloo had decided that having been revealed as a secret filly-tale reader, she might as well get what mileage she could out of it. "And they generally have longer manes, and fancier costumes, but not always."

"Alright!" Apple Bloom set herself, and stepped forward to look up at the human who was sat on the front of the front wagon.

"Sorry, about that, sir or ma'am as the case may be. We're kinda confused right about now, and our manners have gone straight out the barn door with it."

She tapped her chest with a hoof. "I'm Apple Bloom, and these are my friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Together, we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Are you really humans? And are you a good human, or a bad human?"

Dayton Marrel had been a carter for twenty years, and owner of his own string of carts for the last six. He'd travelled all over the realm, from the Free City of Greyhawk to the High Tops, and seen all kinds of people and creatures on his travels.

None of this had prepared him for meeting a mini-unicorn, an equally miniature pegasus, and a pony, all of whom wore clothing, talked and seemed to think _he_ was the mythical creature. Oh sure, there were tales of unicorns and pegasi, but he'd never seen one, or talked to anyone who'd seen one for real, except when they'd gotten into the winter wine.

The fact that the pegasus seemed to have her own private cloud didn't even make it to the top of 'things my brain is having difficulty accepting' right then. While he was aware that there were spells that could probably do something similar, bulk freight didn't pay enough margin to hire even a low ranked mage.

Which brought him back to the fact that these three had taken on a goblin raiding party to protect his caravan. While he'd hired a pair of guards, and some of his own people had hunting bows, he had no illusions as to the havoc it would have wreaked if it had gotten in among them. He managed to pull himself together enough to reply.

"I'd like to think people would say good. My name's Dayton Marrel, this is my wife Maia..."The middle aged woman who'd been sitting up on the buck-board beside him smiled somewhat bemusedly, "... and this caravan train is mine."

He handed the reins to his wife and lowered himself down, not wanting to scare them. Some of the other carters were moving forward to look but he waved them back. "Thank you for your help. Those goblins would have taken this whole train to pieces."

It was an inane thing to say, but his normal way with words had deserted him. Still it seemed to satisfy the three ponies. The yellow pony with the big red bow in her mane, Apple Bloom she'd called herself, gave a start and eyes widened. She thumped the ground with a hoof. "Goblins! I knew they seemed familiar! They were in the H&H Bestiary Book, but we haven't fought them since we were 1st level. No wonder I didn't remember 'em right off!"

Then she seemed to realise she was talking to herself, and back looked up to the caravan master. "Sorry 'bout that. But it's okay, we saw you guys were in trouble and wanted to help."

She seemed to be the leader of sorts, and spoke Common with an accent he'd never heard before. All three seemed harmless, almost childish, until you remembered that fight, even the unicorn had been casting magic, and powerful magic at that. He owed them a great debt anyway, and he never failed to repay his debts.

"If there's anything I can do in return, you have only to ask."

"Well, as it happens, if you could take us to the city where your princess lives,or tell us how to get there, we'd be really grateful. We need to ask her to cast a spell to get us back to Equestria."

"Actually, we may not." the unicorn suggested. "If we all find our talents, won't the spell send us back? If this was how it was supposed to work, surely it should return us after we have our cutie-marks."

Most of this he didn't understand. What did a princess have to do with casting spells. Equestria must be where they came from, and it seemed they were sent here by a spell, but what were these 'cutie-marks' they thought so important?

Jace, one of the guards he'd hired, came up behind him and coughed politely. "Master Marrel, those goblins will most likely return, and in greater numbers. We have to get moving!"

Dayton looked over his shoulder and nodded, then turned back. "I can take you on my wagon, and we can talk more about all this later. I'm sorry, but I have to get this caravan moving again."

He turned properly and started issuing orders. "We don't have much time, so get emptying this cart! Milton, you sort the reloading across to the other carts, Jace, Yancy, you two get up the hillside and keep watch for the goblins."

"Hey, I can help with that!" The pegasus chimed in. "I can go up and keep watch too."

He wasn't about to refuse such an offer. "That would be useful."

He should have realised that up meant exactly that, as she, he thought it was she, flew straight upwards on her cloud. The regular pony was examining the the cart with alert interest.

"We have to clear this cart off the road so the rest of the caravan can move," he explained as he opened the back board. He was grabbing on to the normalcy as a life or at least sanity preserver, given the fact he was talking to a pony, at least one who could apparently talk back. "We won't be able to move it with the wrecked wheel unless we unload it first. Do they have carts in Equestria?"

"Of course, but I'm not allowed to pull one yet. It'll be another couple of years before I can test for my license. Uh, wouldn't it be easier to fix the wheel, or replace it?"

"If only I could!" Dayton said with feeling. "We'll salvage what we can, but the rest of the wagons are pretty well fully loaded already. We used up our last spare wheel in the mountains, and I don't see a wheel-wright around. Unless your unicorn friend..."

"Sweetie Belle!" the unicorn interjected.

"... Miss Sweetie Belle, can mend it using her magic."

The unicorn shook her head. "I don't know how to make a wheel, and the wheel doesn't _know_ what shape it's supposed to be. I learned that from my sister. You need to have the skill to make something for real if you want to do it magically. Oh, you can stick it back together if it's just broken, but that thing's smashed."

Apple Bloom spoke up, "She may not know how to fix a wheel, but I sure do! It don't look no different to the wheels we use on the apple carts back on the farm. I fixed them plenty of times."

That raised a whole load of fascinating questions, but there were problems. "I can't spare anyone to help you, and we're unloading as fast as possible. Besides, you don't have the tools..."

"Yes I do." Apple Bloom replied. "If you just figure on unloading to take the weight off that side first, I'll try and fix up the wheel. If I can't, I can support it while you move the cart off the road, so there's no time lost either way."

At his somewhat sceptical look, she slid herself under the side of the cart, legs bent and straightened up, drawing strength from the earth. The cart creaked, and Dayton's wife had to calm the horses as the entire side of the cart was lifted up, only an inch or so, but enough to let the wheels clear the ground.

"Sweetie Belle..." Apple Bloom was clearly straining. "Get that box... that one over there... under the back."

The unicorn moved over to where an unloaded crate had been set down, and pushed it with her fore-hooves and a glowing horn, sliding it into place. The carters unloading the wagon stopped and stared as she worked, until a command from Dayton got them moving again.

Apple Bloom let down the cart with a sigh of relief, and moved over to the rock that was against the wheel, putting her shoulder against it, and pushing it aside. Dayton's estimate of her strength went up again, he would have expected to need a couple of men with levers to move it.

She went over to Sweetie Belle and reclaimed her saddle bags, then pulled out a hammer with her mouth. She went over to the broken wheel and expertly knocked out the pegs that held it onto the shaft. Laying them to one side, she pulled the wheel off and laid it out. Most of the spokes on one side had been cracked or broken completely.

"Huh, that's gonna be a problem," she said. "I hoped I could just fit spokes in but I'm going to need to take it to pieces and we don't have time to get a fire going."

Sweetie Belle had come back beside her and asked, "What's the fire for?"

"Y'see that iron band running around the outside? That holds the pieces of the wheel together. To take it off you heat brands and use them to heat the ring. It expands from the heat and you can pull it off."

"Big sis had a spell for resizing rings, jewellery at least, but I haven't learned it yet," said Sweetie Belle, hanging her head.

"Maybe you can do one of them magic music things," suggested Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle's face scrunched up in concentration, and her horn started to glow. A syncopated rhythm started up, followed by brass, and she started singing, to the tune of 'In the Mood.'

"In the ring, that's where the wheel is,
we must spring, to make the wheel whiz,
Get it clear, metal expanding,
that's the sort of action I'm commanding!"

The iron ring glowed green, and floated up off the wheel to land beside it. Apple Bloom looked sidelong at her companion. "That worked, but where was the song from?"

"I made it up, but the tune is an old one, and I thought that style of music would help," Sweetie Belle replied, grinning.

"What style's that?" Apple Bloom asked as she retrieved her hammer.

Sweetie Belle responded with a giggle, "Big band music, of course!"

Apple Bloom winced, but quickly got to work, knocking apart the sections of rim. With Sweetie Belle to hold things in place, both with hooves and telekinesis, she quickly removed the damaged spokes and every other undamaged one. She even found a couple of suitable sticks and trimmed the ends with a chisel to create additional spokes.

It only took her a few more moments to spread the undamaged spokes around the rim and push the wheel sections together on the hub, hammering them down tight. She held the iron ring back on, while Sweetie Belle did her thing again and the iron band tightened.

The yellow earth filly flipped the wheel up on it's side, and expertly slid it back onto the axle. Shoving the pegs back in, she secured them with some well placed hammer taps, and flipped the hammer back into her open saddlebag.

"And that's how we do it on Sweet Apple Acres! It ain't a permanent fix, but if the weight's on the far side, it should hold you until you can get to a real wheel-wright."

Dayton was looking at her with a stunned expression, and not a few of the un-loaders were equally surprised. "Remarkable! Alright people, you heard Miss Apple Bloom, get the remaining stuff loaded on the other side. You can leave out the water butt, we can get water elsewhere, and we don't want to over load it. Water the horses if we've got time!"

As they set to, Sweetie Belle said, "Looks like you impressed him! It was really cool how you just fitted everything together like that. You have a real talent for fixing things, like the club-house, and I couldn't have built the set for our talent show song without your help. I wanted to be the designer, but you're far better at it than I'll ever be..."

Apple Bloom was the one blushing now, but then it hit her, an epiphany, Sweetie Belle was right! She felt her flank grow warm, almost burning as she suddenly realised that making and fixing things was what she was best at. The sensation hit her like the biggest sugar rush ever.

She'd felt a bit like this under the influence of Heart's Desire, but now she knew how fake that had been. The sensation compared to a photo of something versus the real thing. She now knew what her talent was, beyond doubt or peradventure. She stood there in a daze for a second before she was aware of someone calling her name.

"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle's voice was excited. "Look! Look at your flank!"

She turned her head almost lazily to see what she knew would be there, what she'd dreamed of and wished for so many blank flanked nights. There, emblazoned on her flank, was a cart with a stack of apples in it, just like one of the one's Twilight had once magicked up for her, but with a crossed hammer and screwdriver underneath it like a engineer's Jolly Roger.

"YES!" She punched the air with a hoof, and beamed.

Dayton asked the obvious question. "What just happened? I assume it was important."

Apple Bloom was still geeking out so Sweetie Belle explained. "Every-pony has some talent, the thing that makes them special. When you realise what your talent is, your magic creates a cutie-mark..." she presented her flank and the magic musical notes. "... to show it. It usually happens as a colt or filly grows older, but we're the last in our school class to get them.

"That's why we became the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the three of us swore to band together, try everything we could until we discovered our special talents. I found a spell in an old book that was supposed to show us what out cutie-marks were, but it sent us here instead. But I'm thinking that's what it was supposed to do, send us somewhere where we could earn our cutie-marks.

"And it's worked!" she said jubilantly. "I got my cutie-mark after singing that spell for my friends, and Apple Bloom got hers when she worked out that fixing things was her talent. It's so obvious, she's always been good at that, but I guess Twilight and the others were right, you really have to realise it for yourself."

Suddenly their earlier discussion made sense. "Twilight? Another pony?"

Apple Bloom finally returned from la-la-land with a giggle. "Well she's not a dragon! Her assistant Spike is though. Twilight Sparkle is a really powerful unicorn, one of my big sister's best friends. She's the personal student of Princess Celestia herself! And Princess Luna visits her too."

"More unicorns?" The reloading was almost finished, but he had time for one more question. He'd got the impression Apple Bloom was from a farm, but she was in schooling, and knew some powerful people, which would have made her a child of a noble. She could be putting on airs, but he didn't think so. It was too artless, too direct. You didn't get to make a living in the carting business unless you learned how to spot a con, and his instincts were telling him she was telling the truth as she knew it.

"Oh no!" Sweetie Belle put in."The princesses are alicorns, winged unicorns, the rulers of all Equestria. Princess Celestia raises the sun and controls the day, while Princess Luna raises the moon and brings the night... we only have one moon, you see. That's why we want to see the princess who raises your sun..."

"Or one of the ones who control the moons, I'm sure they'd do just fine too!" Apple Bloom added.

"... because they would have the power to send us back. Though it might be that the spell itself will send us back as soon as Scootaloo earns her cutie mark."

That floored him, figuratively at least. Pelor, the god of the sun, might watch over the Realm and all good beings, but he didn't come visiting. Once again they'd said it matter-of-factly, like the 'sun rises in the east', so they clearly believed it. In Equestria the sun apparently rose in the east by royal decree.

Of course, these Princesses might be pretending, but if there were lots of these unicorns about, even to fake it must make them powerful mages. No wonder these ponies thought they could get the local equivalents to send them home.

He'd have to explain the facts of life to them, though there might be alternate possibilities...

Scootaloo dropped out of the sky, breathless. "Goblins coming!"

"How many?" Dayton asked, marvelling at how quickly you could get used to something, even if it was a pint sized pegasus on a cloud, hovering at head height.

"Uh... All of them, I think!" Scootaloo replied wide eyed.

Dayton didn't waste a moment. "Alright everybody, into the carts and let's get moving! Jace, Yancy, rear wagon. Discourage them!"

People rushed around, scrambling into carts, and the other two ponies looked rather lost. "You three can get in the back of my wagon. I'll send Maia, my wife back to get you comfy after we're safely away."

He climbed up on the buck board, and the ponies hopped in the back, but he noticed the pegasus was still hovering outside, looking down at the other ponies, then back along the direction the goblins were most likely to come, and then glancing at the open water barrel. She seemed to come to some sort of decision, and moved her cloud over the top of it, dropping it down like stuffing in a pillow.

He heard Apple Bloom call out. "Scoots, c'mon!"

"It's okay, I think I know a way to slow them down, the front ones at least!" The pegasus looked determined again. "I can do this by myself. You guys get in the wagon!"

"Now don't do anything crazy!" the earth pony called, jumping up over the back board, then reaching down to hook forelegs with Sweetie Belle and haul her up.

"You know me!" Scootaloo replied.

"I do know you, that's why I'm saying it!"

Scootaloo hauled her cloud back up out of the water barrel. It looked denser, darker, and slightly bigger. Dayton's wife started the wagon moving, and the other wagons followed, with Scootaloo keeping pace with the backboard where Apple Bloom was looking out. She pulled on a strap and ducked her head, allowing her saddlebags to ride up. ""Here, take my saddle bags, I need to be as light as possible."

"Uh uh, you _are_ going to do something crazy!"Apple Bloom didn't want to take the bags, but Scootaloo looked at her with a pleading expression.

"It's okay, I've seen Rainbow Dash do it dozens of times. Please, I need to do this!" Apple Bloom relented with a sigh, and caught the saddle-bags as they slid off her shoulders.

Scootaloo backed up and pulled down her goggles with a set expression. "If this doesn't get me a cutie mark, nothing will!"

She peeled off, and flew back along the line of carts, waggling her wings as she passed. She headed for the line of goblins, the fastest runners, who'd just emerged from the tree-line some distance behind them. A few arrows sought her, but she manoeuvred between them with ease, unimpeded by her now swollen cloud.

She veered off to one side, and soared, then as she came level with the line, did a one hundred and eighty degree turn that was too wide to be called an Immelmann, but also didn't leave her hanging at the top of her turn as an easy target for arrows. She dived on the line, weaving and dodging the few arrows that came at her, and swept across the front line at a speed that wouldn't have embarrassed Rainbow Dash.

As she came in like a storm front, she also delivered a storm, or at least as shower, drenching the goblins with the water she'd drawn from the water butt. Some slipped and fell, others just weathered it. As she finished her first attack run, she started frantically rubbing her fore-hooves on the cloud stuff, but not letting that distract her from more evasive manoeuvres as she soared away.

As she reached the top of her zoom, she jumped up in the air, kicking the cloud in a way which made it do what skate boarders would call a kick flip. In this case a half kick flip as it ended up upside down. Of course she'd spun end for end herself in mid-air, facing back towards the goblin line. Landing on the inverted cloud, she started to dive again.

This time the covering fire was more sustained, as more goblins with bows had emerged from the forest. Thankfully, firing on the run made their aim bad, and she was anything but an easy target. Once again she dived on the front line, but this time as she passed the centre line, she slammed her fore-hooves down, causing the new underside of the cloud to bulge down.

This formed a neat little inverted cone, which discharged a bolt of lightning to the ground below, a result of the static electricity she'd built up by rubbing the cloud on the way up. It wasn't exactly Independence Day, more Independence Minute, but it was enough to zap the nearest soaking goblin. The lightning crackled merrily from goblin to goblin as she flew along until the whole line had collapsed, hair more frizzed out than usual.

The goblins behind them had to break stride to cope with the soaked, slippery ground, and the uneven terrain, to whit their erstwhile comrades. The goblins who were behind the second wave didn't see what all the fuss was about, and kept running. The result was predictable, a massive pile-up which stalled the entire force.

Scootaloo hadn't stuck around to observe the result of her ploy, and was now heading back to the receding wagons as fast as her wings and cloud could carry her, which was pretty fast, and pulled a genuine barrel roll. She was glowing with pride, even her idol would have to admit pulling off a Cumulus Cloudburst and a lightning bolt from such a small cloud was a neat trick.

She suddenly knew that the sort of awesome stunt she'd just done was hers and hers alone. Let others fly fast, amazing stunts and acrobatics were where Scootaloo reigned supreme! She also felt a patch of pelt on her flanks burn as if branded, but this didn't feel painful, it felt amazing, and the feeling spread throughout her body.

Apple Bloom had been hanging out over the back board, relaying a blow by blow description to Sweetie Belle, and reported joyfully, "Woo hoo! She's coming back! She did it, she actually did it!"

What happened next was a miracle, for one of the goblins, at least. He had been on the leading edge of the attack and had somehow evaded being zapped and the the resultant pile-up. He shouldn't have managed to get out in front of the others. He certainly shouldn't have had time to fire off an arrow from the oversized human crossbow he was holding before having to dive to the ground to avoid the arrows coming the other way from the rear-most cart.

Even so, the shot was at extreme range, fired in a hurry, from a wrongly sized weapon and should have been lucky to hit one of the wagons. So only a miracle could explain how it instead flew straight and true at the pegasus who was flying high past the end wagon and up the length of the train.

The bolt hit her with her wings raised, and plunged into her left side at a shallow angle, right under the wing root. She gave a shrill cry of pain as her wing beats faltered, and her left wing went completely limp. Apple Bloom watched in horror as she slumped down on the cloud, which began to lose headway, and started turning an ominous pink.

"NO!" The farm-filly was about to call out to stop the carts, when she realised it wouldn't happen. They were all going as fast as, or faster than strictly safe, and they needed to as the goblins were still chasing them. If any cart stopped, it was likely all that would happen would be a pile-up,and the goblins would over-run them.

If she was to do anything, she had to do it herself. But what? Even if she ran back there, Scootaloo was out of reach, up on that cloud... Suddenly she had an idea. She plunged her head into Scootaloo's discarded saddle bags and grabbed the bottle in her mouth, popping the cork.

Then she sprang to the back of the cart, and out over the backboard ignoring Sweetie Belle's cry of dismay. She raced down the line of carts, praying to the Princesses she'd be in time. She was, barely, she reached the end cart and sprang up onto the buck board to the startled exclamation of the driver, and then up onto the roof.

She used her memory of where the wooden cross supports for the canvas were from seeing the inside of the first wagon to jump along to the very back, and sprang into the air from it in the mightiest leap she could muster. It still fell short of the flying cloud which had now fallen back behind the last cart.

However, reaching it wasn't her goal. It was close enough for the cloud, drawn by the pull of the bottle to start moving towards her. Apple Bloom landed on widely spaced legs, facing a goblin horde that had finally managed to untangle itself and start chasing them again. Arrows dropped down either side of her, but she ignored them.

She wheeled on her hind legs and ran, overtaking the carts, with a reddening cloud carrying an unconscious pegasus trailing her. It was now low enough for the carters on the buck-boards to see everything as they were overtaken. She finally reached the front cart and with a final, great leap she jumped up and scrambled her way over the back board.

Sweetie Belle had been joined in the back by the middle-aged woman they'd seen out on the front earlier. She was one of those one of those motherly people who made wonderful primary school teachers or senior nurses. Her face and form had never been beautiful, but it was a fair bet when she smiled, she suddenly looked that way. However at the moment she was sharing a look of shock and horror with Sweetie Belle at the state of the pegasus that trailed in after Apple Bloom.

She quickly pulled a blanket from the shelves up front which were clearly their own stuff rather than cargo, and laid it out for the pegasus. Apple Bloom had intended to re-bottle the cloud, but the cart was rattling, and one particularly violent lurch made her reconsider. She stoppered the bottle, and the cloud drifted back against the back board, where it stayed, holding the pegasus away from the bouncing cart floor.

Maia didn't spend any time wondering about this, but just moved up and pushed back the blood soaked crusader cloak that hid the worst of the injury. Sweetie Belle turned green and looked away gulping frantically to keep her gorge down. Apple Bloom had a stronger stomach, but only because if you live on a farm, you're going to see blood, especially at birthing time.

The wicked cutting edge of the arrow headed bolt had gone deep, though at a relatively shallow angle and was jammed into the muscle. The pelt and wing around it was slicked with the blood that was clearly still oozing from the relatively small wound, but it was clear from the outlines under the pelt that the wing muscles were damaged where they weren't plain severed.

Maia didn't bother introducing herself, but just pulled a canteen and a bundle of healers supplies from another cubby. "I can clean and bind the wound, but I'm not sure it will help. She's clearly lost an awful lot of blood. It will be touch and go whether she even survives."

Apple Bloom stood aside to let her work, but asked Sweetie Belle. "Please tell me you've got a magic spell for this!"

"Are you kidding, ugh, I can't even look." The unicorn made a sick sound.

"Even if she survives, I'm betting she'll never use that wing again with those injuries." Apple Bloom exclaimed. "C'mon, this ain't the kind of fixin' I'm any good at!"

Sweetie Belle gave a little whimper, and turned to face them,eyes closed. "Okay... I'll try."

She was racking her brain to think of word and music to heal the friend who had comforted her up on the promontory, who was always so much larger than life, who now looked so still and quiet... She felt it in her horn, and gave a sigh of relief as words came unbidden, as they had before when her friends were in mortal peril.

"Horn, please gleam and glow.
Let your power shine.
Make the clock reverse.
Bring back what once was mine."

This was no rock ballad or jazz number, this was a heart felt plea, and gentle music rose to enfold it. She stepped forward as her horn started to glow with a golden light, unlike her normal green, and lowered her head, touching the tip of her horn to the pelt at the edge of the compress Maia was holding on the wound. The bloody bolt lay discarded beside her.

"Heal what has been hurt.
Change the Fates' design.
Save what has been lost.
Bring back what once was mine... What once was mine..."

As Sweetie Belle sang the second verse, both edges of the pad glowed brilliantly with the same warm yellow light. When she finished, the music faded with the glow, and she slumped down on legs that would no longer hold her as a wave of weakness swept over her.

"I...I did it... I think..." she said feebly. Maia lifted the pad, ready to put it back if needed, but it wasn't. Scootaloo's side was once again unbroken pelt, and her wing no longer drooped awkwardly. Even the blood on the pad Maia had put there was gone. Apple Bloom's heart lifted, and then sank again.

Scootaloo was still and silent, no movement or signs of life, and Apple Bloom hoped they hadn't been too late. The rescue, Sweetie Belle's epic healing spell, they couldn't have all been for nothing. She leaned close to the pegasus and whispered.

"Don't you leave us now Scootaloo! You ain't a quitter! You just got your very own cutie mark and it's really cool, just like those amazing moves you pulled back there! We went into this together and we're returning home together!"

Her quiet but intense monologue was interrupted by a burst of sound, a snort, which turned into a regular snore from the mouth of the pegasus. She dropped back on her haunches, surprised at first and then she started giggling from sheer relief. Sweetie Belle looked at her incredulous for a moment and then joined in.

At first, trying to speak just triggered another burst of giggles, but she eventually got it under control. "Whew! That filly sure knows how to scare some-pony! Is my cutie mark still there? I'm worried the shock made it fade."

"Still there!" Sweetie Belle reported, and gave a big yawn. "And so is Scootaloo's!"

It was true, both of them now got to have a good look at the marking on the orange pegasus' flank. The overall shape was a heart, but on half was an outline, a rainbow band starting from a point at the base, and looping up and over to a wide band at the notch at the top. The other half was a lens shaped puff of cloud, angled up on it's side.

It took a few seconds to get, but then they saw what it represented. The rainbow was a contrail for the flying cloud, seen in perspective. The cloud had clearly started at the bottom and far away, and looped up and over, approaching till it now filled out it's half of the shape while still up on it's side.

"She's gonna be pleased as Winona with a new chew toy when she wakes up." Apple Bloom said, then looked around. "We're still here..."

Sweetie Belle looked downcast, and sleepy. "I guess the spell won't return us automatically after all."

"Now don't fret none," Apple Bloom smiled. "We're all alive and safe, and it wasn't our only way..."

There was a yelling from behind them. They looked out of the back-board, along with Maia. The men driving the cart behind them called out. "We've got problems! Those green beggars are still following us! Yancy's hurt, can't pull a bow, not that it matters, they've run out of arrows!"

Another look to the rear of the train confirmed that the goblins were not too far behind and slowly closing. The valley had forced them to bunch together, trying to run along the hills on either side would have turned into a steeple chase of tree stumps. But that wouldn't matter if they caught up.

"We have more here!" Maia called out. "I'll throw them back to you, pass them on!"

Apple Bloom figured out how long it would take to throw those bundles from cart to cart, and how many would be lost, against how those goblins looked to be closing, and her not so fancy mathematics came up with an answer she didn't like.

"Ma'am, there may be a better way." She opened her saddle bags and dumped her tools, then pulled out the bottles of apple juice and the neatly wrapped apple pie and put them aside. "Load me up, I can get them there faster!"

Sweetie Belle staggered to her feet, made unsteady by fatigue and the constant movement of the cart."Hey, I can help too!"

Apple Bloom shook her head as Maia loaded her saddle bags up. "You can barely stand. I guess those spells took a lot out of you..."

Apple Bloom was confident she could make it to the hindmost wagon safely, but she didn't think Sweetie Belle could match her, which was a pity, because it'd be useful if she could do that healing spell again. Unless... she didn't weigh that much.

"If you're willing to risk it, I'll carry you." She checked the straps on her saddle bags, and hunkered down. Sweetie Belle clambered up onto her back, looking nervous.

"Now hold on tight! Ugh! Not... that... tight!" She wheezed as the forelegs around her neck imitated an apple press. She looked over at the human. "You're going to have to let down the back board, I'm not sure I can jump it with Sweetie Belle too. And make sure Scootaloo's safe."

Maia nodded, and released all but one of the pegs that held it up. She towed the sleeping pegasus by one hoof forward and rested her behind some of the remaining cargo, then moved to the back where Apple Bloom was standing ready.

"May Pelor watch over you!" Maia dropped the rear board and Apple Bloom jumped out, landing heavily and barely sidestepping her much larger cousins as the next wagon came charging through. Sweetie Belle was holding on tightly, but apart from during the initial jump, she wasn't much of a burden. Apple Bloom wheeled alongside the line of carts and started running with them as the next to last passed her. This meant she was up to speed and running level with the rear of the last cart when she moved behind it.

"I brought you more arrows!" she called up to the man who was using the back board as cover. She remembered the caravan owner had called him Jace. "Help Sweetie up, and I'll get up there!"

He looked confused, but leant over the back and got his arms around the body of the unicorn, lifting her up. She let go and started scrambling up as soon as her fore hooves were over the board. The both of them tumbled backwards onto the piled goods as a goblin bolt splintered the wood where she'd hung.

Apple Bloom free of the weight of her companion made a mighty leap, and got her own fore-hooves over the back board. She used the arrow as temporary purchase to climb into the back of the cart, dropping forward just as it broke off. A javelin flew over her head and plunged into a big sack by Jace and Sweetie Belle.

The other man they'd heard about, Yancy, was lying back against the side wall of the wagon. He'd been wearing battered leather armour like his companion, but his was now off, and there was an arrow stuck in it. He was holding a bloody rag to his shoulder, and looked to be in considerable pain.

Apple Bloom pointed to Yancy with her muzzle and called to Sweetie Belle, "Do that healing song again!"

Jace had already gotten back up and started pulling the bundles of arrows from her saddle bags. He moved back to take up a firing position, picking up the longbow behind the back board and started firing. "Thank the gods, now we may have a chance!"

There was a gasp of mixed relief and amazement as Sweetie Belle's golden glowing horn touched Yancy's shoulder, but he didn't waste time once he could move his arm again, taking up cover along the other side and firing his own longbow.

Apple Bloom spared a glance out the back and saw the closest goblins couldn't be more than a dozen pony lengths away. The two bows were taking their toll (and she tried not to think of exactly what those arrows were doing when they hit), but she felt useless. If only there was something she could do...

She sniffed a familiar scent coming from the pierced sack. "Apples?"

"Yeah, crazy that we're risking our lives for a bunch of produce, isn't it?" called out Yancy. "Help yourself, I don't know if we'll see another meal!"

"They ain't lunch, they're ammunition!" Apple Bloom grinned, and pulled open the rip, spilling apples out. "Sweetie, mind moving a couple of them across above the back board."

Sweetie Belle was slumped on the floor, ignoring how it rattled and bounced under her, but her horn glowed and a pair of apples lifted from the spill and hovered over the back board. "I thought that was your big sister's thing?"

"I'm an Apple, ain't I? You saw me and my big sis workin' together, didn't ya?" Apple Bloom assumed the position, turned her head to check her targets, and let fly with a pair of back hooves. One apple simply squished on a goblin breast plate, but the other one hit another right between the eyes.

Getting a face full of apple and being blinded when your going at a dead run over uneven terrain is a recipe for disaster, or rather falling over, but when you've got dozens of other goblins running behind you, the two are the same thing.

That set the routine, Sweetie Belle set the apples in place, and Apple Bloom bucked them. Not all of them hit their targets, but enough did that combined with the fire from the two guards, the goblins started dropping behind.

Sweetie Belle squeaked when another javelin flew in through the open upper half of the back, and her telekinesis automatically grabbed it, and flung it back out. It wasn't aimed, or well thrown, tumbling sideways in mid-air, but this proved to be a blessing, as it hit the front row of goblins at knee height, and caused them to stumble, bringing down a whole bunch of them and creating a pile-up almost as bad as Scootaloo's.

Apple Bloom, not having a loader for the moment, picked up and apple by the stalk and flung it over her head to where she could buck it, but called out, "Yeah! Do that again!"

Sweetie Belle pulled the javelin from the sack of apples and flung it out of the back like the last one, but kept a grip of it using her telekinesis, and deliberately dropped it under the leading lines feet then pulled it up causing them to trip, and another pile-up. It proved to be the last straw for the goblins, they started slowing down, scrambling off to each side to avoid being trampled.

The two guards whooped, and Apple Bloom cheered along with them. "Hey Sweets! That did it!"

But that last effort had finished off the unicorn filly's stamina and she'd dozed off on the floor of the cart, ignoring it's bouncing. Jace moved forward to tell the driver, and there was more cheering and yells as the news passed up the caravan chain. As they came out of the ravine onto the more open plains, the caravan finally started to slow down to a more sedate pace.

Jace moved into the back again and looked down at the sleeping unicorn. He looked big and tough, but his face showed honest concern. "Is she alright? And what happened to the flying one?"

"Just tired out I guess." Apple Bloom replied. "Scootaloo got hit by one of them arrows, but I managed to get her back to where Sweetie Belle could heal her."

Yancy had his hand to his shoulder, and was rotating his arm. "Well whatever she did, it worked! I don't usually have the money for magical healers, and I never saw one who sung before. Of course, I never saw a unicorn before, either!"

He gave a grin, and Jace chuckled. "Wouldn't have thought you still qualified."

"Include yourself." The other guard shot back.

"What in tarnation are you two going on about?" Apple Bloom asked innocently enough and was surprised to see them both splutter and look away. "Uh, we're both too big and mean, yeah!" Jace finally supplied.

"Oh, okay. You should see Sweetie's big sis when someone messes up her wardrobe. She has a mad that'd give a dragon pause, a full grown one, not just Spike..."

Sweetie Belle stirred, it appeared her fatigue was momentary. "Ohh! My horn stings... Is everything alright?"

"Yep! That last little stunt you pulled finished off the chase." Apple Bloom replied warmly. "You pumped out a lot of magic really quickly, maybe it's like getting sun burn when you stay out in strong sunlight too long."

"That might be it..." Suddenly the little unicorn's eyes widened, and her face took on an expression of realisation. "Oh my!"

"What?" Apple Bloom exclaimed, worried, "Did we miss something?"

"No, I just realised, I'm going to have to update our theme song!"
> Character development
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The poor girls must be terrified!" Rarity worried as she paced up and down.

"Twilight said they'd be okay. Besides, they've got Apple Bloom with 'em. My little sis may be a bit headstrong at times, but she'll keep the others safe," Applejack said reassuringly. It would have been more convincing if one of her fore hooves hadn't dug a hole in the hard packed earth outside the library.

"What're Twilight and the Princesses talking about in there!" Rainbow Dash was flying in circles, unable to settle down. "We should be going after them! I checked at Boxxy's place, he's on a cargo run to Trottingham, and Scoots' mom is out too. I left a note, but..."

The door opened and the three ponies were motioned into the library by the Royal Guards standing guard either side of it. Inside was Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, a downcast Twilight and an even more downcast Spike. Having both princesses turn up had been worrying. Attracting the attention of one Alicorn was bad enough, a situation requiring both of them meant you had truly messed up royally, so to speak.

Princess Celestia's face was serious. "This is a grave matter. I had no idea that any copies of that book still existed."

"I'm really most terribly sorry Princess!" Rarity couldn't help but jump in. "It wasn't Twilight's fault. Had I but known..."

The Princess held up a fore hoof, and the white unicorn fell silent. "Both my student and her companion have already tried to take the lion's share of the blame, but I agree they are not solely responsible."

Twilight looked thoroughly frazzled, as she had worried herself into a near frenzy while waiting for the Princess to arrive. Combined with the full realisation of what had happened sinking in, and you had a very unhappy pony.

"It's my fault. I should never have taken it from the storeroom, but I wanted to see if modern spell-casting methods could create safe versions of those spells, and improve my knowledge of Cutieform runes. If anyone has to be punished for what happened it was me. Please don't include Rarity or Spike. Neither of them understood what the book was, and neither did those three fillies."

Celestia said more gently, "Your desire to protect your friends does you credit, and the results could have been far worse than they were. But that is beside the point. Punishing you or anyone will not rescue my little ponies. Instead you may make restitution by assisting in their recovery."

Luna spoke, "I agree. I do not believe we have need to punish any-pony, for the principals in this matter do seem to have already taken upon themselves that burden most effectively. Our first concern _must_ be the recovery of those wayward fillies."

"You can get them back?" Applejack exclaimed eagerly.

Luna shook her head. "With our powers combined, mine sister and myself might have the power to breach the walls of this dimension, but we ourselves are tied to it by bonds of vast power. While we could send an expedition through, it is most probable that such power as is needed would overwrite those traces we must follow, or that we might lose contact with the expedition, and be unable to retrieve them."

She noticed the glum looks of the three waiting ponies and quickly added, "But do not despair! Twilight Sparkle hath already beagled out an alternative most cunning. The Elements of Harmony have power that would suffice and more, and a suitable ritual wouldst allow them to create a gateway that would not interfere with the thaumic signature of the original ritual one whit. With the Elements on the far side to open a path, a similar method would assure a safe return."

Rainbow Dash perked up. "So all we have to do is go grab Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and crank out some sparkles! Okay, I'll..."

"Wait! Until the ritual is designed, we won't be able to do anything!" Twilight exclaimed, pulling herself together somewhat.

"I can't do this alone. My talent is more spell casting and spell research. Crafting rituals and artefacts is a specialised skill, requiring applied arithmancy, and while I know something about it, that's not my field. I understand some dimensional theory from my studies of astronomy, cosmology actually, but again I'm no expert. And I'm still learning Cutieform B, which most of the reference materials are in."

"I shall join you," Luna said. "I suspect mine own knowledge of Cutieform B is somewhat better, and I do have some small experience as a spell crafter."

Twilight sighed with relief. "Thank goodness you'll be leading the team..."

The moonlight princess shook her head. "No, thou shalt lead this team. While I have studied modern magical arts since my return, from my sister's words thy knowledge of it is both broader and more recent. Also thou does't have much skill as an organiser, or so mine sister says. Select your other team members to cover the fields as seems needful, and bring together the fruits of our labours."

Twilight's eyes widened. This was an offer she'd never have thought to have in a million years. Princess Luna was greatly understating her reputation, which was, well legendary. She'd written some of the basic works on rune use and spell books that were still used today.

She tried to focus. "Well the foremost theorist in dimensional theory and cosmology is Professor Hawkwing of the Fillydelphia Institute of Science and Thaumaturgy. He's also a top flight arithmancer. Most of what I do understand comes from his published papers. If we could get one of his students..."

"Why not this Professor himself?" Luna asked.

"But... he's Professor Hawkwing, the greatest scientist since Single Stone! I can't just ask him to drop everything to help me!"

"I wouldst think that the chance to put his theories to the test might bestir him." Luna responded, glancing sidelong at her sister and gave a small grin. "Mayhap if we both ask nicely?"

Twilight managed to stop herself from geeking out at the idea of meeting Professor Hawkwing and concentrated on the task at hand.

"My only other suggestion would be an archaeologist, one specialising in ancient languages would be ideal, to catch any nuances both of us might miss in the references. No offence, but some of the references will be after your time, and they may have slightly different meanings. They'll be the primary source to reverse engineer the ritual needed."

It was Princess Celestia who spoke, "I believe Maresia Bluehills may be in Canterlot at the moment. I know for a fact he is an expert in Cutieform B script. He might also be an ideal companion in your eventual expedition, since he is an experienced explorer."

"That... that would be perfect!" Twilight said, a bit breathless.

"Hey, can't I help too?" asked Spike. He'd just stood there, unable to look anywhere but down, and especially not at Rarity. "I want to make resti... resti... make up for my mistake too!"

That got the studious unicorn to focus on the rest of the world once more. "Of course Spike, I wouldn't be able to do this without my number one assistant!"

She turned to the three other ponies waiting there, looking confident for the first time since she'd learned of the accident. "Every-pony, at best it's going to be several days before we have something we can try. Work like this takes time. But with Princess Luna, Professor Hawkwing and Maresia Bluehills working on it, we _will_ find a way, and we _will_ bring all three of them back unharmed!"

"But they're going to be out on their own for several days!" Rarity worried. "Anything could happen to them!"

Applejack once again had to calm down the unhappy unicorn. "Now sugar-cube, all we can do is hope they keep out of harms way until we collect them. They've got that apple pie and those drinks, and if this spell works the way it's supposed to, they must have been sent somewhere they can survive. I know Apple Bloom will take good care of the others. As long as they stay where they are and don't go looking for trouble, we should be able to go and collect them."

Rainbow Dash winced. "Uh, this is the Cutie-mark Crusaders we're talking about. Twilight, I know you said it would take time, but take time as fast as possible, will ya?"



In another universe, Maia Marrel was contemplating the sight in front of her, a pegasus sleeping on a pink cloud. The fact that she knew why the cloud was pink didn't detract from the adorableness of the scene. She'd closed the back board of the cart shortly after the other ponies had decamped, but stayed inside the cargo area, looking at the things they'd left behind.

She hadn't been able to help herself, when she'd moved Scootaloo back, she'd prodded the cloud, and her finger had gone through it as if it wasn't there. All she'd felt was a cold mist, and her finger had been cold and damp when she removed it, though no trace of the blood that must be in there had come with it. And yet, somehow it was supporting the weight of the little pegasus. She'd eventually had to move her by holding onto her body directly.

When the news had come forward that the danger was past, she'd passed on the message to her husband. It had been little more than that the goblins had stopped chasing them, and that the two ponies that had gone back had helped. It was the first time he'd realised that they'd left the front wagon, and when she explained what had happened, his only response was, "That's another one we owe them then."

Maia decided to remove the damaged and bloodstained cloak, partly to see if she could repair it. Scootaloo didn't even stir as she undid the clasp on the neck, though she was snoring like a rusty wood saw. Maia almost dropped the cloak when she got a clear look at the inner lining, gold silk. She'd rarely had a bit of silk herself, gold silk was an impossible rarity.

The material of the cloak itself was thick, with a high thread count and evenly dyed with a rich burgundy. Once again, this was expensive material. Which meant it made no sense how the whole thing was put together. Years of making and repairing hard worn clothes had made her a good seamstress, but even by the standards of a poor one, the stitching was clumsy and amateurish. The badges sewed onto their cloaks were the same, fine material sewed together with more enthusiasm than skill.

It had seen hard use, not just in the recent battle, there was a ragged edge where it had been torn and not mended. Still, she felt she could salvage it. She had some dark red thread, and with a careful washing, some alterations and redoing the stitching would make this cloak far better.

By comparison, the saddlebags they'd left behind were masterpieces, finely crafted and robust. She was no expert on the tools Apple Bloom had dumped out, but they looked equally nice, handles varnished and the heads made of a fine metal, much brighter than the black iron she'd seen used in the caravan's tools.

She showed her husband, and got a surprised look in return. "I thought there was something odd about them when they were fixing the wheel. They're steel, bright steel, the sort you'd use for a sword! I suspected they were from rich families, but that's just crazy! Who'd use steel rather than iron for tools?"

Maia looked down at the sleeping pegasus. "Maybe things are different in this Equestria. They don't act like nobility, or rich people's children."

"Children?" Dayton asked, then thought for a moment. "I guess they are, or not far beyond it. That just makes what they did even more impressive. Not just fighting, but how they approached us afterwards. They'd just been in a knock-down, drag out fight, but they came up to us without any reservations, any fear that we might threaten them, even assuming they thought Splayfoot and Brutus here were in charge."

Maia giggled. "Considering the power they showed, maybe we don't."

The caravan master shook his head. "No, it's more than that, they weren't acting defensive. Maybe I can't read their body language as easily as a human, but it was as if they didn't even conceive we might hurt them. I'm trying to think how many human teenagers would risk themselves for people they didn't know, and trust complete strangers to treat them well."

"Not everyone will." Maia sobered in a hurry. She moved back along the cart to pick up the bottles and the wrapped bundle that smelled of pie. "I can think of some people on this very wagon train that will just see rare talking animals, and treat them as such."

"Then we'll do what we can to protect them." Dayton sighed. "But unless they can find someone who can send them back in Teiras, they'll be on their own. We can't change our schedule. I should be able to find someone trustworthy to take them on the run from Teiras to Maysalon, but I think they'll need to get all the way to Greyhawk to find anyone who can send them back where they belong."

Maia was examining the bottles. Once again finely made, and identical. They had odd caps of metal rather than a cork, made in a spiral design, and even stranger, a stylised apple embedded in the very glass. She had no idea how you'd do that. She guessed that meant the fluid inside was either apple juice or cider. She put them safe on a shelf and used a cloth to pad them so they didn't move about.

Her husband continued. "I don't look forward to telling them that things work differently here. Maybe they can find a wizard, or a powerful enough priest of Pelor or Fharlanghn, to cast a spell to get them home, but it's going to be devilishly expensive. How much could we give them, and not impoverish ourselves? I want to do right by these three."

Dayton might run the caravan, but it was his wife who kept the books. "I think we can afford about thirty gold. I doubt that's even a fraction of what they'll need, but it should be enough to get some gear for the road, and get them most of the way to Greyhawk, if you can talk to the right people."

"I'll do my best." Dayton gave a lopsided grin that made him seem younger than he was. "Maybe the cleric at Macklewheat can help. Soran was a teacher at the Great Temple before he retired out here, and he knows quite a few important people in the church of Pelor, trained most of them, I think. More than that, he's a truly good person, and if anyone will be moved by their plight, it's him."

Maia picked up Scootaloo's cloak, and examined it with an eye to unpicking the thread and reusing it. Redoing the stitching would have to wait until she could wash the blood out, but she could get the thread out right away. "I can't wait to see how the villagers in Macklewheat react when our new passengers appear."

Dayton rolled his eyes. "That's nothing to how they'll react in Teiras. At least with our recent run we'll be at the village well before sundown. I can get a new wheel there too."

"Or you can get Apple Bloom to make you a new one!" Maia replied with a smirk.

While the people up front were examining the artefacts the ponies had brought with them, the ones at the back were getting to know more about the ponies themselves. Yancy was resting up against the side of the wagon, letting his half-elf friend carry the conversation. The two of them worked as a team, and Jace was the better at talking to others.

Jace was fascinated by the creatures, no, the people he was talking to. After all, it wasn't as if he didn't have the occasional problem with some idiot who thought his pointy ears meant he wasn't a real person.

Actually, his discussion was almost entirely with Apple Bloom, as the unicorn had dozed off to sleep again, humming a tune. Sweetie Belle had stayed awake just long enough to move her cloak under her. It was folded up so she could rest her chin on it like a pillow, and removing it revealed a pair of pony sized saddlebags.

The pony in front of him was a bigger puzzle. One minute she'd be acting like a little kid, the next she'd be talking about things very seriously, albeit in that strange accent of hers. She'd admitted to being able to read and write, and was clearly educated, but talked about working on her family's farm. She talked of wonders like flying ships and chariots, and instant lighting, but acted as if they were everyday things.

He'd learned a lot more about this Equestria place than she probably realised, and a lot more about her too. While she talked about her big brother and sister, and grandma, there was no mention of her parents. Add to that the occasional worried glances at her companion, and you had someone who had clearly had to learn to shift for themselves early on in life, and who obviously felt responsible for their group's predicament.

Once again he could empathise, his own childhood hadn't exactly been a bed of roses. He'd had to do something similar. His elven father hadn't stayed around long, leaving him and his mother to cope on their own. He'd become the breadwinner in the family before his voice changed, and managed to start learning fighting from one of the veterans his mother did laundry for soon after. Still, he wasn't sure he would have acted the way Apple Bloom had at her age, even if he'd had similar abilities. She'd fought alongside him, and held her ground as bravely as any warrior he'd met.

That made her a comrade in arms, and the others too, and he fully intended to commend them to Heironeous, god of martial valour, the next time he visited a temple. After all, from what he'd seen, they could do with all the help they could get from the gods. Which brought him to something he really didn't want to have to tell her.

"What do you mean there aren't any Princesses?" Apple Bloom had reacted about as well as he'd expected.

Sweetie Belle was still sprawled on her front, dozing. At Apple Bloom's exclamation she only groaned, pulled a loose fold of cloak across her head, and mumbled, "k'p i' d'wn, m try'n sl'p."

"Whoa there!" Jace held up his hands in a calming motion. "There are, but not in the way you mean. It's the gods who control the sun and the moons."

"But... oh great, this place really is like they describe in Humans and Horses!" Her attitude showed that great was the one thing she didn't think it was.

"It always confused me when I was a filly why the Princess who was trapped in a tower or whatever couldn't rescue herself, and had to wait for a handsome prince." She shook her head. "I get it, here the word doesn't mean the same thing. I just didn't connect the dots. So these Gods are doing the job the Princesses... okay, the alicorns do in Equestria."

Jace made a mental note to ask what this Humans and Horses thing was that she kept talking about. "I'm no expert, but from what you were saying, pretty much. I don't see the problem, can't the unicorn over there just magic you back?"

"She never..." Apple Bloom's eyes widened. "Huh, I guess she might be able to at that, if she knew the right song. That's kinda how we got here, after all. Maybe we can try tomorrow, right now I don't think she could magic her cloak clasp open."

She shook her head. "I guess I'm not used to thinking of her as a spell-caster. If that doesn't work, who can we go to? Can we get in touch with these Gods, write them a letter or something?"

That got both Jace and Yancy chuckling. Jace replied. "Doesn't work like that, the gods work through their priests. The gods grant them the power to cast spells, and they each work for whatever goal their god wants."

"Right... There'll be more than just sun and moon, they'll be gods of generosity and courage and that kind of thing, and probably some bad ones as well. Like my character was a paladin of Belepheron, God of Courage..."

"Never heard of that one." Jace said, and asked. "How do you know all this stuff, and what do you mean by 'character'."

That led to Apple Bloom explaining what a role-playing game was, and naming some of the places and deities from Twist's custom Humans and Horses setting.

"It sounds like some crazy game of make believe." Jace said. "I haven't heard of any places like that, or any of those gods."

Apple Bloom shrugged. "I guess it is. But with rules."

Surprisingly, Yancy spoke. "I'm trying to get my head around the idea that you actually have a book, just to set out the rules of some child's game. Books are expensive."

"No they're not..." Apple Bloom suddenly realised something. "Oh yeah, the books will be all mouth written here... hand written, sorry."

That led to another side discussion about moveable type printing presses. Apple Bloom had done a school project on them, so she could explain the basic idea. The two guards looked at one another, now that was a useful thing to know.

"I guess it was too much to hope that this place would be exactly the same as the game I played." Apple Bloom suddenly realised something. "Maybe the only reason it's this similar is is because we needed to be able to talk to people and make sense of things to get our cutie marks!"

She shook her head. "Which gets me no nearer to getting us all home, assuming Sweetie Belle can't do it. I'm guessing that whether we try to get a uni... wizard or a priest to cast a spell, we'll need to pay."

"A lot." Jace agreed. "Magic is expensive, and the sort of magic your talking about sounds big and difficult, in other words, very expensive. In the thousands of gold region sort of expensive."

The earth pony filly sighed. "A bit's made of gold, but I don't have a thousand of them on me. Only time I've ever seen that amount is during cider season."

That still surprised the other two. "That must be pretty good cider if it's so expensive."

"Ain't expensive, it's only three bits a mug." Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Finest cider in all Equestria too! Uh, so I guess a gold piece is worth more..."

Jace pulled out one of his few gold pieces to show her. "Our wages for this entire trip, two weeks, will be around 20 gold each, and Master Marrel pays well."

Apple Bloom did some not so fancy mathematics, and her shoulders slumped. "Earning enough will take along time... even if we could sell Sweetie Belle's spells, three of them in one day wiped her out. And it's not like we had anything else to sell..."

Suddenly she looked thoughtful, and went over to Sweetie Belle. She reached a hoof into her sleeping friend's saddle bag, and pulled out a topaz, stuck to the tip of her hoof. "Maybe these are worth something?"

Yancy sat bolt up, eyes wide, and Jace stifled an oath, then glanced in the direction of the front of the wagon. Fortunately the drover had apparently tuned out their conversation. The man in question, Tonas, was not one of the sharpest or most observant swords in the scabbard. In fact common cant around the caravan was that he was only slightly brighter than the horses he drove. Others considered that slander on the noble animals.

Jace schooled his voice into a bored monotone, and said, "Maybe a couple of gold pieces, if you found the right buyer. Can I get a better look at it?"

Apple Bloom visibly sagged, but moved on over in a three legged gait. "I guess. These are the left-overs from Sweetie Belle's sister's dressmaking, the rejects that weren't fine enough, so I figured they couldn't be worth much, especially a small one like this. Still even a little money would be a start."

Jace gave a meaningful glance at Yancy, and he moved around to block the view from the front of the wagon. Up close, the faceted, yellow honey coloured stone was even more impressive, not least because it was as big as his thumb. He was no expert on jewels, but he'd stood guard duty for a shipment of gems from a dwarf mine, so even he could make a rough guess as to it's worth.

He spoke in a low tone, covered by a well timed cough from Yancy. "Keep your voice down! Don't show that around, by the gods, that thing has to be worth a hundred gold at least! And you've got bigger ones?"

"Yep, diamonds and rubies too." Apple Bloom looked confused. "But why did you say it wasn't worth much?"

"The fewer people who know, the less risk you're in." He looked over at Yancy, who was now humming tunelessly to cover their conversation. "There are people who would kill for that kind of money, and few people I'd trust just in this caravan not to want a piece of it, I'm not sure I can trust myself..."

He saw her draw away, starting to looking scared and held up his hands, slowly. "No, I don't really mean that. You can trust Yancy and me. You fought alongside us, as well as anyone could, better than most, and that makes us comrades. Heironeous doesn't look favourably on people who betray their comrades..."

In response to her unasked question, he pulled out an amulet on a chain, the symbol of a fist clutching a lightning bolt upon it. "The god of honour and martial valour, a bit like this Belepheron of yours. A lot of guards and soldiers pray to him. You can bet we were praying to him when those goblins got close."

Seeing his explanation had calmed her down, he started thinking. "Tell Master Marrel, if anyone can be trusted it's him, and he'll know people in Teiras who'll buy them, as I doubt anyone in Macklewheat will have that much loose cash. In the mean time, spread them out among you, and don't show them to anyone else. If you have concealed pockets in those cloaks of yours, use them!"

He breathed a sigh of relief when the gem was back in Sweetie Belle's bag. "Well, I suppose that answers how you can pay for your return spell. Pay for anything you need for that matter."

"I'll say!" exclaimed Yancy, then checked behind himself to see that it hadn't attracted the attention of the drover up front. Thankfully that individual was still facing front and ignoring the antics in the back of the wagon.. Yancy breathed a sigh of relief.



Scootaloo woke up, and bounced off the cloud, wings spread. "Alright you goblin..."

She floated back down to land on the cloud when she realised she wasn't in the middle of a battle any more. "Ow! My wing hurts! What happened?"

Maia looked up from where she was unstitching Scootaloo's cloak and smiled. "You're awake, thank Pelor!"

Dayton glanced over his shoulder. "We owe all three of you a great debt. Without your delaying tactics, and your friends helping the defence, those creatures would have over-run us."

"So where are they? Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? Last thing I remember I was flying back after pulling off an awesome stunt and..." The pegasus immediately turned her head to check her flank. "Yes! I have a cutie-mark, and it's awesome!"

Then she looked around and her enthusiasm dampened a little. "I guess the spell didn't send us home after all."

Maia gave a small shake of her head. "No, and I'm sorry you didn't get to go home, but it was fortunate for us that it didn't. The goblins kept chasing us, though your efforts slowed them up, but the guards at the rear ran out of arrows. Your friends took more of them back, and helped keep them off us."

"Huh? Apple Bloom I can understand, but Sweetie Belle? She's not a fighter!"

"No, but she is a healer. One of the guards was injured. You were too. She sang a magic spell to heal you."

Scootaloo flexed her wing with a wince, testing it's range of movement. "She'd better work on that, I don't think she quite got it down."

"Trust me, you were _badly_ hurt and unconscious when Apple Bloom brought you back. She jumped out of here and somehow towed you back with that bottle over there." Maia pointed to the stoppered flask.

"She did?" The filly frowned in thought. "The bottle sucks in and stores my cloud when I'm not using it... I guess she ran ahead of it!"

She finally looked properly down at her surroundings and down at her cloud. "Why's my cloud a girly pink?"

"You were bleeding, and your cloud must have absorbed it." Maia wasn't sure just how much detail to go into. This youngster had shown she was brave, but she didn't want to burden her with gory details.

Scootaloo noticed the faint smell of iron and the red patch on the floor where the arrow had been tossed aside. She could also see the darker stain that soaked a large section of the cloak Maia was holding. "Blood... eww, that's gross! Hey, what are you doing to my cloak anyway?"

"I thought I could repay a bit of what we owe by restitching your cloaks. Who made them? The material is very fine, but the workmanship isn't."

Honesty warred with the desire to defend her friend in Scootaloo's head, resulting in a victory for honesty, with heavy casualties. "Sweetie Belle. She wants to be as good a dressmaker as her sister, but she... well her talent's singing. But she worked really hard to make those cloaks!"

"Well, I'm only repairing this one, removing the thread so I can restitch it actually. It's the least I can do after the way you risked your lives for us."

"Aww!" Scootaloo blushed, "Rainbow Dash would have done it in an instant. Of course, she wouldn't have needed to ride around on a cloud, she;'d have just flapped her wings..." she flapped her wings in demonstration and rose up to the ceiling. She was so shocked that she barely noticed the sting of pain.

"Now don't do that!" Maia scolded. "Your wing may be healed but it still needs rest. Don't make me bind it up..."

The little filly didn't seem to be noticing her admonition, looking totally thunderstruck. "I... I can fly!"

"Not until that wing's better!"

Scootaloo had floated back down to the cloud for a second time. "No, I mean, I can really fly! But how..."

Her dumbstruck expression would have been almost comical if it wasn't so confusing. Maia said, "I thought that's what pegasi did?"

That opened up the floodgates as Scootaloo explained exactly why she was riding around on a cloud in the first place. Maia's heart went out to the poor thing, not being able to fly must be even worse when you should be able too. The cloud wasn't so much a magical item as a pair of crutches for a cripple... That sparked off a thought. "Maybe... That healing spell Sweetie Belle used on you looked powerful, had to have been to heal the damage. Maybe it healed your flying magic at the same time."

"But the docs said they couldn't use magic to fix my flying!"

"They weren't your best friend doing their best to save your life. I could feel the effort, the love she was putting into that spell from across the cabin. I don't think she was making petty distinctions, she just wanted to heal everything."

Scootaloo was clearly uncomfortable about the 'L' word. Then she latched onto something else. "Save my life?"

Maia mentally kicked herself. She'd hoped to avoid explaining just how bad Scootaloo's injuries had been, the young pony, no the young girl, was courageous, but Maia wasn't sure how she'd react to this revelation. But there was no help for it. "You'd lost a _lot_ of blood. I'm no healer, but I know a little of the healing arts, and to be honest, I was worried you wouldn't make it."

Scootaloo turned a little pale at the revelation, then shook her head as if waving off annoying gadfly. "But, but I did survive! I'm okay now, aren't I?"

"Apart from some slight scarring, you're fine." Maia replied confidently. "But you still need to rest that wing. I'd also suggest you have some soup, something to drink at least, but I can't make anything until we stop for the evening."

Scootaloo looked around and spotted the bottles. "Apple Bloom brought along some juice. I bet she'd say that'd be good for what ails me."

Maia got down a bottle, and was treated to a view of how a screw-top bottle worked, not to mention how someone without actual fingers could hold a bottle. It just seemed to stick. She picked up the discarded cap and was amazed at how light it was.

She waited until Scootaloo had finished drinking, the pegasus had found out just how thirsty she was and had consumed half the bottle before taking a breath, and then asked, "What is this metal, it's too light to be silver or steel, and so carefully crafted..."

"Uh, alicornium I guess. It's nothing special, they cook it out of rocks with electricity. They use it in pie-plates and airships because it's light, doesn't rust and is easily bent into shape." Scootaloo only knew that much because there'd been a science lesson on it a week ago, and she'd been interested in the air-ships bit.

Thinking of pie plates made her thing of what was on them, and her stomach rumbled. She looked up at the bundle on the shelf by the remaining bottles and licked her lips. Still it was Applejack's apple-pie... "Uh, maybe I should take that apple pie back to where the others are. They must be as hungry as I am. We were gonna have it for lunch, but we got sorta side tracked."

Maia wouldn't have minded trying some of this apple pie herself, but if anybody needed to keep up their strength it was those three.

Scootaloo mistook her hesitation. "I'll fly on my cloud so I don't put any strain on my wing, okay!"

"Of course dear." Maia brought down the pie as Scootaloo slung her saddlebag over her body and cinched the belly band tight. She brought down the other bottles and put them in the saddlebag along with the pie. Scootaloo grabbed her cloud bottle while she was at it.

Dayton spoke over his shoulder. "You can tell them we'll be stopping for the night at Macklewheat, a farming village. We'll be there well before sunset by my guess. What's more we're probably going to take a day tomorrow to rest up. We ran the carts hard today, and I want to give them a full check over before we carry on. The horses, Abyss, all of us could do with a rest too. Oh, and I think there's a bag of apples in the last cart. All three of you help yourselves."

He thought about telling them about Soran, but decided not to get their hopes up. If the cleric of Pelor was willing to help, it would come as a pleasant surprise for them.

Scootaloo nodded as she mounted her cloud. "Okay, and thanks!"

"No, thank you." he replied.

There were cheers as she flew along the line of caravans, and it felt awesome. This was what it must be like for Rainbow Dash all the time. She barely used her wings, except to do a neat 180 turn which took her around the back of the last wagon and in the back. She'd no sooner sealed her cloud away then she was hit by an enthusiastic earth-pony hug that nevertheless avoided her wing.

"Scoots! You're really okay!" Apple Bloom's voice was thick, and Scootaloo felt wet spots on her shoulder.

"Heh! Like one little arrow would ground me for long!" she said, but her voice betrayed her by cracking slightly at the end. "I guess Sweetie Belle's whammy helped, though according to folks, it was an earth-pony who dragged me to safety."

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, and added her own hug. "I was so worried!"

"Hey, it's cool! With both of you watching out for me, there was no way anything was going to happen to me." She hugged her two friends back.

Jace and Yancy watched the three way embrace and thought they saw an almost visible golden aura encompass the trio. Scootaloo broke the hug first. "I brought some food, and I've got a lot of stuff to tell you."

"Us too." Apple Bloom sat back, wiping her eyes with a fore-hoof. "Pesky trail dust."

The three of them were so busy talking, they barely noticed the wagons coming to a halt. The place where they'd stopped was a wide unpaved square in the middle of a large cluster of thatched houses. A small church stood at one end of it, and various open fronted shops and a small inn lined the other sides.

They were closest to the inn, but people were starting to appear from all the other sides, neatly but plainly dressed, though most of them showed signs of having worked hard in the fields. The three of them could hear Dayton's voice from up front, greeting some people, and a rising chatter around them.

Apple Bloom actually felt a bit worried by the number of humans outside after Jace's cautionary comments, but they had to go out some time. She glanced over at the half-elf warrior and was relieved to see him grin. "Don't worry, if anyone tries to bother you, we'll ask them not to."

"Yeah!" Yancy smirked, hitting a fist into the palm of his hand. "We'll ask nicely."

Apple Bloom jumped down easily, to gasps from the nearest people, followed more sedately by Sweetie Belle and finally Scootaloo, who dropped down with her wings folded.

Jace and Yancy had clambered out after them, but the crowd's attention was all on the three fillies. Apple Bloom saw Sweetie Belle backing up nervously at some comments of "What are they?" "Animals?" "Pets?" from the humans in the front row, while further away ones were starting to push in to see what was going on.

While the tone didn't seem hostile, more confused, she decided something needed to be done. Sweetie Belle looked ready to run, while Scootaloo was starting to look annoyed, stepping forward and spreading a wing protectively over her. Apple Bloom bounded up onto a nearby barrel and leapt up to the roof of an outbuilding attached to the inn, put a hoof to her mouth and gave a sharp whistle.

"Hey, every-pony!" Her sudden movement and the loud noise drew the villagers attention towards her and away from the other two. She suddenly realised what she'd said and continued.

"Every-pony... That's most of the problem right there! We ain't pets and we ain't animals. We're people, and used to thinking that 'pony' means people. Though I can't blame you folks for thinking otherwise. We made the same kinda mistake ourselves when we first got here. We saw the wagon train, and figured the guys pulling the wagons were the ones in charge."

The tension that had been building broke and more than a few people laughed. Encouraged, Apple Bloom continued.

"We had less excuse, in our homeland, a place called Equestria, we have griffons and dragons and sheep and cows and a bunch of other critters, and all of them can think and speak, though truth be told, cows ain't the greatest conversationalists. Good at making cheese and butter though.

"We even have stories about humans, though until we got here, I figured that's all they were. I guess it's natural to assume that people, are the ones that look like you. But ain't people the ones who think like you, talk, have hopes and dreams, make jokes... bad jokes... and laugh about 'em?"

The mood had improved, so she decided to continue. "My name's Apple Bloom, I'm an earth pony, as opposed to a unicorn pony like Sweetie Belle or a pegasus pony like Scootaloo. Guys, come on up here so people don't have to push to see you."

Sweetie hesitated, then looked around at the humans towering over her and clearly decided that having the high ground was a better idea. Scootaloo popped her cloud out and hauled Sweetie Belle up, carrying her on her back.

"As you can see pegasus ponies have wings, so they fly, and control clouds, and unicorn ponies have horns and can do magic, and earth ponies can draw power from the earth and do..." she tried to come up with a short description of earth pony powers, gave up and just continued, "... very well. Say hi guys!"

Sweetie Belle raised a hoof and said with almost Fluttershy shyness, "Uh, hello!"

Scootaloo was a bit more enthusiastic. She reared up on her hind hooves, wings spread in one of Rainbow Dash's best poses, and called out, "Scootaloo's the name, awesome flying is my game!"

Apple Bloom was ready to take over again. "We got sent here by a magic spell that went a bit wrong, and we're trying to get back home. So yeah, we're different to you folks, but we're still people. My family runs a farm, Sweet Apple Acres, grows the best apples in all of Equestria, Sweetie Belle's big sister is a dress-maker..."

"A fashionista!" Sweetie Belle's voice was loud enough to cut across the crowd.

"Right, a really fancy awesome dress maker." Apple Bloom corrected herself. "... and Scootaloo's dad works for a pegasus cargo company."

She looked around at the crowd. "We met up with these folks on the road, and helped 'em out, and now we're travelling with them. We aren't asking you to treat us any different from them, just the same as you would any other traveller... well, there is one thing, don't crowd us too much. You folks are pretty tall, and it's kinda scary being loomed over like that."

Three humans came bustling up, one of them Dayton, the other two a middle aged man in a better cut of tunic, and an elderly fellow in a grey robe wearing a sunburst medallion and a neatly cut white Van Dyke beard.

Dayton called up to them. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, I'd like you to meet Mayor Vennor, the mayor of Macklewheat, and Brother Soran who is the local cleric of Pelor. I was just telling them how you saved our caravan from that goblin ambush."

The mayor called out, "Miss... uh Apple Bloom? You can come down from there, no-one is going to harm you."

"You got that right!" Apple Bloom grinned, and jumped straight down. "Not twice anyway. Y'know, we have a mayor in Ponyville too, except she's a grey mare."

Sweetie Belle carefully followed her down using the water butt as a stepping stone, and was singing some song about 'the old grey mare she ain't what she used to be.' under her breath. Scootaloo had sealed away her cloud again and just jumped and glided down with her wings outstretched.

Meanwhile Apple Bloom went up on her hind legs, and extended a fore-hoof to the mayor. "Pleased to meetcha!"

"Charmed." after a second of hesitation, the mayor took it. The other man took a knee to bring himself level with Apple Bloom and the others and gave a gentle smile. "I am happy to meet the three of you as well."

He projected an aura of such serenity that even Sweetie Belle was willing to trot forward and meet him. He nodded to each of them in turn, and said, "As Master Marrel said, I'm Brother Soran, a cleric of Pelor."

Apple Bloom asked directly. "That's the god who raises the sun right? Like Princess Celestia? Does that mean you can help us get home?"

"Not directly I suspect. From what I know of magic, such a boon from Pelor is beyond my power to ask. However, I know some people who might. Considering your heroic actions, it's the least I can do to put you in touch with them. Oh, and one other thing..."

He held up a golden sunburst amulet from around his neck. "Don't be alarmed, I want to cast a detection spell on you to prove that you are people of good intent. I'm sure it's not needed, but many people here are simple folk, and you will seem strange to them. People often fear what they don't understand, but they will take my word that you are nothing to fear."

Seeing Sweetie Belle looking a bit nervous, Apple Bloom said, "It's okay, remember how everyone was scared of Zecora? Well right now that's us with these guys."

She looked back to the cleric. "Go ahead!"

He spoke some phrases in an unknown language, liquid and musical, and his sunburst amulet glowed.

The three ponies felt something wash over them, and Sweetie Belle giggled. "Hey, that tickles!"

The cleric seemed pleased with the result. He stood up, moving back so as not to loom over them. "As I thought."

He raised his voice. "I have asked Pelor to show me the truth of their hearts, and they are indeed good and worthy. While they may not look like us, I say in the name of Pelor that they are indeed people, and ask everyone to treat them as such."

The three ponies could see that made an impression on the crowd.

Dayton came up to them. "We have to get a move on, we need to set up camp for the night. I've arranged with the mayor to set up in our usual place."

There were rumbles from the crowd, and he looked around and said ruefully, "I guess we'll need a bigger fire pit than usual. Looks like we'll be having a lot of visitors."
> Side Quest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The meal had been simple, but very welcome. The carters had drawn up their wagons around a central fire-pit, which had obviously been used for that purpose before. A hearty (not to mention lungy and livery) stew of meat and vegetables had been cooked up and served along with fresh bread from the village and leather flagons of small beer.

The meat stew would have been a problem for the three ponies, except that Maia had been thinking ahead and decanted some of the stew into a separate cooking pot before the roasted meat was added. The smells coming from the cooking fires hadn't exactly been enjoyable, but they had ignored it as best possible. Griffons had to eat meat as part of their diet, and so presumably did Diamond Dogs. It seemed humans did too, so the fact, icky as it was, was just something they'd have to cope with.

Apple Bloom had found the time while the food was prepared to take Jace's advice and tell Dayton about their stash of gemstones. After his initial surprise, Dayton agreed to keep their secret and help find a jeweller when they got to one of the bigger towns. He suggested they put at least some of the gems in the strong box in his wagon, and while it was open gave them an advance of about five gold each in silver and copper on the money he felt he owed them for their help.

There was something of a celebratory air as the members of the caravan had realised that they'd escaped from a pretty dire situation, and most of them were quite willing to grant the three crusaders' decisive role in it. Work in the fields had continued till the light started to go, but after sundown most of the villagers had come out to join them.

It was clear the arrival of the caravan was an expected and welcome event, and musical instruments had come out as well as a number of private trades and games going on around the periphery of the party. The three ponies were the centre of attention, from the children of the village even more than the adults. Scootaloo thoroughly enjoyed the chance to shine, Apple Bloom took it in her stride, and though it made Sweetie Belle a bit nervous she put up with it for the sake of the others.

Apple Bloom found a game of horseshoes going on, and had a go herself. The shoes they used here were for the big horses, but she soon got the hang of them. Applejack had taught her, but she'd never been that good until after the incident with the Heart's Desire plant. Most of the skills her fake cutie-marks had given her had disappeared with the marks, but being forced to use the hoopla skill for over a day had actually left behind some side effects. She'd found she was better at throwing things, no-where near her Heart's Desire granted skill, but quite a bit better than before. It had been one of the things that made her think she could pull off the apple bucking defence of the carts.

The tale of the goblin attack was told, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo ended up answering questions about Equestria and generally giving a reprise of the information they'd told Dayton. Scootaloo had been only too pleased to pull out her flying cloud and put together an impromptu display of stunt flying that combined the best bits of a skateboard contest, a gymnastics routine, and an aerobatics display.

She finished off by pulling the one eighty flip and lightning bolt combo that had so surprised (and shocked) the goblins. The bolt blasted into the heart of the fire, throwing up sparks and glowing embers and lighting her cloud from below. The crowd applauded and there were calls for the other two to show what they could do. That had Sweetie Belle backing up, so Apple Bloom decided to take the heat for her.

She saw Scootaloo moving over to talk with her, but had her own thing to deal with. "My cutie-mark's all to do with fixing things, and while it's a really cool skill, it ain't exactly the sort of thing you can turn into a party piece, but I reckon I could show off a few moves from my martial arts style."

There were a few things she could show off that were pretty simple, but should look impressive. While she didn't feel as enhanced as she had been with Sweetie Belle's music surrounding her, the experience had left her feeling more confident, as if she knew her moves better then she had before.

"Northern Shire-lin is an earth-pony fighting style, designed to fend off the big critters that roam the Arctic wastes on the northern border of Equestria. It's all about using the earth and its strength as your own, and turning it against your opponents."

She was pretty much quoting her teacher, Temple Fortress. He'd been a grizzled old earth pony with a neat white beard and mane, only slightly smaller than her big brother, and he shared her big brother's unflappable attitude. Normally he wouldn't approve of her showing off like this, but she was sure he'd understand she was doing it to buy time for Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, not for the sake of showing off.

She continued, "That brings me to my first demonstration, any of you big guys out there figure you can lift me up?"

That got a round of laughter. The top of Apple Bloom's head barely came to the waist of most of the guys there, so it should be no contest. One guy, a burly farmer, came out of the crowd. "I'll have a go!"

There was some movement in the crowd, and she heard some wagers being taken. There'd been quite a few bets on her horse shoe throwing abilities earlier, and it was clear some people hadn't learned their lesson. She noticed Jace's voice, he was making a bet on her staying grounded, which meant she had to do this right. She felt the earth beneath her hooves, and the magic flowing in it. It wasn't Equestrian soil, but it was alive with it's own magic, and she was getting better at attuning to it. She asked the approaching farmer. "And you are?"

"Simeon." He grinned back at her. "You don't look that hard to lift."

"Okay, Simeon." Apple Bloom set herself in a Mountain Stance, feeling that connection to the earth, and drawing that power, that weight into herself. It was one of the first things she'd been taught. She looked up at the farmer. "Whenever you're ready!"

The farmer bent down and casually put both arms beneath her girth, ready to haul her up like an errant ewe. He hauled on her, but she didn't rise. He tried harder, his grin becoming a bit fixed as he obviously strained and heaved at her. After three or four tries, he let go. He puffed out. "How in Pelor's name are you doing that? Is it magic?"

Apple Bloom grinned up at him."Kind of. There's a reason we're called Earth-ponies. We can feel the magic in the earth, how it flows, and use it to make ourselves stronger and tougher. You weren't just trying to lift me, you're lifting the earth below me as well. It may not be as fancy as pegasus flight or unicorn magic, but it's just as real. Anyone else want a go?"

She got several more challengers, including one massive brute of a man caller Jaeger, who was clearly getting angry towards the end of his attempt. From the smell of his breath, the beer he'd been drinking either hadn't been small, or had been served in very big mugs. Towards the end it felt as if he'd dislocated her legs, but she just managed to stay in contact with the ground.

When he'd been pretty much dragged away, she said, "Of course, just being able to stand your ground ain't no use on it's own. Hey Jace, can you find a couple of apples? Bruised ones, I don't want to waste good eating."

The mercenary guard, who'd been collecting on his wagers, quickly complied with a grin. He already had an idea of what she was going to do.

"This one's more of a family technique. You see that tree?" She pointed to a tree on the edge of the circle, which provided support for some canvas awnings that extended between two wagons. "Jace, throw them apples to me!"

He threw them overhand, one after the other, but ended up throwing a bit high. Apple Bloom didn't mind, while hers was an earth style, you could used the strength of the earth to power your jumps and to cushion your landings. She sprung up in the air on all fours, turning in mid-air so the apples would pass right behind her. This was trickier than bucking them from a solid object, but then, the cart hadn't exactly been standing still either.

Her rear hooves lashed out, and the two apples whipped across the circle to smack into the trunk of the tree practically on top of one another, and with enough force to shiver the branches slightly. She landed to cheers and whistles from the crowd.

"I ain't as good at that as my big brother. Big Macintosh can buck an apple two hooves deep into a log. But those goblins didn't like my bucking skills one little bit!"

"Well all I've seen are some party tricks! If you're a fighter, let's fight!"

It was Jaeger, who'd pushed his way through the circle of people, shaking off several who tied to stop him. His red face was indication to most of the people there that he'd commiserated his defeat with a drink, and that drink had felt lonely, and as misery loves company it'd called for another drink, then it was drinks all round and so on.

Unfortunately, Jaeger was big enough and tough enough that rather than being slumped in a corner somewhere, he was just sober enough to be moving around, and just drunk enough not to care what happened to anything in his way.

Apple Bloom backed up a few steps. "Hey, I was just showing off a few moves! I don't want to hurt any-pony just to prove a point, not after everybody has been so nice to us all."

"Ha! I knew it! You talk a good fight, but you can't back it up!"

"Jagger, you're drunk! Just got and sleep it off somewhere!" Simeon tried to stop him, but was flung aside for his pains. There were a lot of cat-calls and boos, but no-one else wanted to tangle with the big guy.

If there was one personality flaw in the Apple line, especially the female side, it was a severe case of 'Marty McFly syndrome'. Besides, she'd liked Simeon. He'd taken her stunt well, and cheered as loudly as the others when she did her flying apple kick. Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I'm all talk and no apple?"

"I'm saying you're a chicken, not a pony!" Jagger sneered, moving forward with arms swinging.

"Okay mister!" Apple Bloom growled. "You got yourself a fight! The one who's flat on the ground for a five count loses!"

"I'll put you down for longer than that!" the big farm worker stormed in and aimed a kick that would have sent Apple Bloom flying, if it had connected. However, she dived under and around it and slid between his legs, coming up behind him to place a precise kick in the back of his knee.

Already off balance with one foot in the air, he toppled, his other leg collapsing under him. Apple Bloom followed up by placing a pair of rear hooves neatly into his rump with some force. it stopped him from catching himself on his hands and knees, and sent him sprawling to lay his considerable length on the floor.

She wheeled around, drawing strength from the earth and jumped high, dropping on his back to slam him down. Without contact with the earth, Apple Bloom couldn't weigh him down with a mountain stance, but being landed on had winded him, and he was to busy trying to regain his breath to regain his feet.

Jace, quicker thinking than most of them, started calling out. "One... two... three..."

Jaeger started to push himself up, only to have Apple Bloom rear up and drop her fore-hooves on his back again. He gasped and slipped back down. She took a chance and shifted so she was straddling his shoulders crosswise, then went into a mountain stance, legs spread wide. As it was she could barely cover the width of his shoulders, but it was enough to get her hooves in contact with the ground.

The way she had him pinned, there was no way he was getting out of it without dislocating a shoulder. Besides, now she was in mountain stance and he had no leverage, so lifting her was out of the question. Jace had counted up to five, and there were quite a few people cheering her on. Almost no-one was rooting for Jaeger. After a few more seconds, she felt his struggles get weaker. However, she wasn't willing to just let him up, in case he was faking.

"Hey, can some-pony come and get this guy? I can't sit on his head all night!"

Brother Soran came through the crowd, frowning. "Who let Jagger get at the ale?"

He dropped by Apple Bloom and placed a hand on the struggling thug. He spoke a few words in that liquid tongue she'd heard earlier, and Jagger relaxed under her, falling asleep with a bubbling snore.

As Simeon and several other farmers hauled the unconscious farm-hand away, Soran asked, "How did this happen? When someone came and told me you were fighting Jaeger of all people, I thought that you'd be the one on the floor, needing a healing spell!"

Apple Bloom had calmed down, and realised what happened. The guy had been as big as Iron Will, and even more aggressive, and as recently as yesterday she would have been scared of him. Maybe she wouldn't have run, but she certainly wouldn't have taken the challenge in her stride like that. She didn't feel as pleased as she thought she would have about beating him either.

"I kinda let him goad me into a fight. I guess he was mad because I showed him up in a test of strength earlier. I don't think I had much choice but to defend myself from the way he was acting, and I did my best to take him down without hurting him, but my teacher would say I acted from anger, not reason. Is he okay? You said about healing spells? Was that what you did?"

Soran was impressed by the filly, he'd known a number of fighters in his time, and few of her size and apparent youth would have been anything other than gleeful at taking down someone Jaeger's size.

"I merely put Jaeger under a sleep spell. I doubt he'll have anything worse than a few bruises and a headache when he wakes up. Understand, he's a good man, but he has a temper. Normally he works hard to keep it under control, but when he has too much to drink..." The cleric gave a shake of his head. "Which is why everyone in the village knows better than to let him have any. It would seem that anger or not, you did the best you could in the circumstances."

Apple Bloom felt relieved, and not just because she wanted to keep Soran's good opinion. She was still trying to come to terms with how she'd reacted. Maybe it was the fact that she'd been in a real life and death fight earlier, or maybe this place was doing something to her. What if it continued to do it? For that matter, maybe whatever was happening to her was happening to the others too. She looked around for them, but couldn't see them anywhere.

The reason Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were absent was because when Apple Bloom had taken the attention off them momentarily Sweetie Belle had disappeared, not by winking, but on a good old fashioned set of hooves. Scootaloo got away from the crowd and flew off looking for her. She found the white unicorn hiding behind a tree some way away.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle!" The unicorn jumped as the pegasus called out. "What's biting you?"

Even as she asked the question, she felt like face-hoofing. She knew the answer that Sweetie Belle quickly confirmed.

"I can't do it!" The white unicorn shivered. "There's too many people, what if they don't like my singing, what if they think I'm silly..."

She turned betrayed and watering eyes on Scootaloo when the pegasus burst out in a laugh. The pegasus filly quickly stopped when she saw the little unicorn's expression. "Whoa! Sorry about that, I wasn't laughing at you, or not in the way you think I was, at least I don't think it was the way you're thinking I'm thinking of..."

Realising she'd lost the thread, she groaned. She was a filly of action. Doing the talking thing was more Apple Bloom's skill, or something Sweetie Belle herself would do, probably with lots of long words. However, right now it was up to her, Scootaloo.

"I'm not being mean, but just listen to yourself. You _love_ singing! You sing at the club-house, you sing to yourself in study hall, you probably sing in your sleep! Not only that, you're awesome at it! You make Sapphire Shores sound like a buzzard with a sore throat. Your singing is so awesome, it even powers up your magic!

"It was your singing that gave us the strength to fight those goblins. In fact, I'm pretty sure your singing saved more than just my wing." She grimaced. "You know how adults somehow have this, 'don't tell the foal bad news because they won't be able to handle it' vibe? Well when she talked about you healing me, Maia was giving it off so strongly, they must have felt it in Canterlot! She pretty much admitted that I'd have... well you know, if you hadn't healed me."

She shook her head. "The reason I was laughing is because the idea that your singing will be any less than awesome is silly. There is no way those guys back there won't love you."

Sweetie Belle wiped her eyes with the back of a hoof, and blushed slightly under the praise. "It's still really scary. What if I make a mistake? What if I forget things? I'm not all confident like you. For that matter, your display was amazing. I don't know if my singing can do as much."

Scootaloo was at a loss. Sweetie Belle had a bad case of stage fright, and she didn't know how to fix it. "Then we'll make an excuse. No-pony will ask you to sing if you don't want to..."

Then she had an idea. "Did I ever tell you about the time I got mad at Fluttershy?"

The complete non sequitur caught the unicorn's attention. The idea that anyone could get mad at Fluttershy didn't fit any sort of mental universe. Fluttershy was pretty much the diva of pouring rainbow on troubled clouds, unless, "Was this when Discord was messing with every-pony's heads?"

"No, it was back when Ponyville was chosen to supply water for Cloudsdale. Fluttershy didn't want to take part, did everything in her power to get out of it, even when Dash asked her specially. When I heard about it, I was so mad! I'd have given a wing to get invited, if that wouldn't have made the whole thing pointless. I know it makes no sense, I wouldn't have been able to help anyway, but I was thinking with my wings, not my head.

"I made a remark about it to Rainbow Dash, and boy did she ever drop a storm cell on me! Turns out Fluttershy was almost as bad at flying as I am when she was a filly, and living in Cloudsdale she got teased a lot more. She was just as scared of flying in front of every-pony as you are of singing, maybe more, but when a load of pegasi came down with feather flu, she stepped up and she did awesome!"

"But I'm not Fluttershy! When that Cockatrice attacked, I ran scared while she stood up to it."

"So did I, so you weren't any more scared than I was." Normally she wouldn't have been so honest, but this was too important to bother about saving face. "The point is, she thought she was a weak flyer, she was almost sure she was going to fail, and she still went for it! Whereas you _are_ an awesome singer and you've proved it several. I know if you stand up in front of that crowd, you'll wow them! It's in your cutie-mark."

Scootaloo saw Sweetie Belle straighten up, glancing back at the musical note on her flank and added. "Yeah, and if want to be able to live up to it, you need to do this, show yourself you can sing, even in front of a crowd of strangers."

"I guess..." The white unicorn sniffled, but looked at least a bit happier. There was suddenly a commotion back at the fire pit, and they turned back to find out what it was. They arrived a moment after Apple Bloom looked around for them, and saw she'd gotten muddy.

"Oh my!" Sweetie Belle rushed over to her friend with Scootaloo close behind. "What happened to you?"

"Had a bit of a tussle with a fella who figured he was tough."

"Oh no!" Sweetie Belle's eyes were wide. "Were you hurt? You look terrible!"

"Ain't nothing but a bit of honest mud." Apple Bloom reassured her.

"Let's hear that unicorn sing!" came a call from the crowd, and there were several shouts of agreement.

"'That unicorn' is called Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom rounded on the direction of the voice, "And she's still tired from all the magic she did earlier. She needs to rest her magic and her voice some more..."

The young farm-pony felt a hoof on her shoulder. "It's okay Apple Bloom. Like Scootaloo said, I have to do this some time."

Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder at Sweetie Belle. "Are you sure? Ain't no-pony's gonna force you to sing if you don't feel like it. Not on my watch!"

"Our watch!" Scootaloo added from her opposite side. "Though like I said, I think you'll do awesome!"

The unicorn filly nodded, and motioned them out of the circle. "I'm..." her voice squeaked and got a couple of giggles. "I'm Sweetie Belle, and my talent is singing. Singing and magic..."

It was happening just as she feared. All those people staring at her, big looming humans at that, were making it hard to concentrate. Every song in her head seemed to have gone into hiding, and her voice was suddenly right out of capital 'la's. She was starting to babble, make a fool of herself...

She looked around and saw Apple Bloom and Scootaloo there, the earth-pony still worried, but punching the air with a hoof encouragingly, and the pegasus grinning confidently. They were there for her... Music started to swell up in her heart, and her horn glowed softly as it spread the music out to the audience. They were there for her, and she'd be there for them. 

"And this song is for my friends."

(Sailor Moon Soundtrack Album 'Call my name'. /watch?v=3F3DK0CFwKE)

"There are days when those grey skies, make you blue.
Each forward step you take, you fall back by two.
You've been hit by some hard knocks, and that's the truth.
Feels like a thunderbolt, crashed through the roof.
Let me be the one to lend a hoof...

Call my name and I'll be there.
There's nothing like the laughter that we share.
Whenever you need someone, or a shoulder to lean on...
Call my name and I'll be there.

And when life's going your way, just like a breeze.
Like a pegasus flying, above the trees.
Together we'll be making memories.

Call my name and I'll be there.
There's nothing like the laughter that we share.
Whenever you need someone, or a shoulder to lean on...
Call my name and I'll be there.

As this world turns us around,
we hang on to what we've found,
a treasure we all need.
I will go that extra mile to give you back that certain smile,
that you've given me.

I'll answer every time and anywhere,

Call my name and I'll be there.
There's nothing like the laughter that we share.
Whenever you need someone, or a shoulder to lean on...
Call my name and I'll be there.

Call my name and I'll be there.

Call my name and I'll be there.

Call my name, call my name, I'll be there."

The cheering and applause hit her like she'd just bucked a hundred zap apple trees, but in a good way. They _liked_ her singing! Flushed with excitement, she decided to sing something else, something that rocked, and something that would do justice to her two friends heroism. Gospel music swirled around her and she started to sing.

(Hercules 'Zero to Hero'. /watch?v=u5le6y9w09U)

"Oh yeahhh!

Yes it's true, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo,
They're a pair of fillies who are heroes through and through!

Fear or not, courageous hearts we know!
Point 'em at a goblin and you're talking TKO!

They were both sent here, (here by magic)
They stopped things from getting tragic!

Apple Bloom bucks and strikes and vaults,
Then Scootaloo hits with a lightning bolt!
A pair of heroes, without fault!

When trouble strikes it's something you need never feeear!
As long as all the Crusaders are near to hear!

With lots of clout and a flying cloud,
these gals have power to spare,
Add in a little magic and the bad guys find it quite unfair!

Shout it loud, they can please a crowd,
Fixing things or fighting was there ever any doubt?

Going on, whatever we do next,
We are gonna succeed and the bad guys will be vexed!

We're on our way home, (we'll be trying)
Sunshine or storm front we'll keep flying!

They've got the skills to see us through,
And I can help out a little too,
When we're a trio, we'll be true!"

She saw the other two blushing and gave them a grin as she continued to sing, her earlier fears if not forgotten, at least quashed. 



The next morning found Apple Bloom at the village smithy. Dayton was getting the wheel fixed, and she took something of a proprietary interest in that. Besides, she wanted to see what the local fixer-uppers were like. Sweetie Belle had been still asleep when she left, having worn herself out happily hammering out song after song. Apple Bloom had breakfasted on hot oatmeal porridge with honey and headed out. Jace and Yancy who were relaxing at the camp and she trusted that they would keep anyone from annoying Sweetie Belle.

The locals were now out in the fields, harvesting their crops. Apple Bloom had gotten a good chance to see them in day-light, and they were as neat and well kept as any in Ponyville. The caravan had arrived in the middle of the harvest and it was also clearly a bumper crop if her own experience of farms was anything to go by. Everyone down to the youngsters had joined in, and quite a few of the carters had taken the chance to make some extra coppers for beer money.

The weather was co-operating, for now. The cloud dotted sky of yesterday had gotten a lot heavier on the cloud and a lot lighter on the sky. But it was dry and reasonably warm, and if the clouds above were whipping along, the air at ground level was almost still and had an odd feel to it.

Scootaloo was off on the other side of the village, pulling stunts for the enjoyment of the children who were too young to help out in the fields, under the watchful eye of an old lady who could have been a ringer for Granny Smith if she'd been human. Meanwhile Apple Bloom found the work at the smithy fascinating.

Right at the moment it was mostly sharpening up scythes and supporting the work in the fields, but the smith, a rangy human male named Durnik, took the time out to deal with the wheel, and did a very neat job, whittling down supports to replace the broken ones, though she wondered why he didn't have a lathe.

She kept that and a number of other questions to herself though, knowing better than to interrupt some-pony when they were working. He seemed to take the watching pony in his stride, and pleasant enough (he'd been one of the contestants last night, and one of the group hauling Jagger away) so she didn't want to give him any cause to change his mind.

When the wheel was back together and the rim cooling and shrinking back on, he finally turned to talk to her.

"Need a new pair of shoes miss?" He joked and indicated the other side of the smithy with a jerk of his head. One of the cart horses was getting re-shod by one of his apprentices.

"Uh huh, my big sis says I'm too young for piercings," she replied. "Sweetie Belle said some of the fancy fillies in Canterlot get them done as a fashion thing, but truth be told I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable having nails in my hooves. My big brother uses nailed shoes during apple bucking season, but he does a lot of the heavy hauling."

Durnik looked surprised at a serious answer, but intrigued as well. "I suppose that makes sense. So what do you use instead if anything?"

"Sticking charms." Apple Bloom answered, pleased to have a chance to talk shop. "Sweetie Belle's big sister makes a whole range of fashion shoes, and casts a unicorn spell on the inside to make them stay on when you want them to. Actually, I wouldn't mind having some shoes, we've got a long trip ahead of us if I've got it right, but without the charms to stick them on..."

"I can help!" Sweetie Belle came trotting up. "Sticking charms are easy to do, so Rarity lets me help out by casting them, and I get to practice my magic at the same time."

"Good morning sleepy-head!" grinned Apple Bloom. "Have fun last night?"

The way the little unicorn's eyes sparkled made her answer redundant. "It was brilliant! They liked me, they really liked me!"

"That's probably because you're a great singer." Apple Bloom was glad to see her so happy. "So you can do sticking charms? Maybe we can borrow a spare shoe from here and try it out."

Durnik was watching the by-play and said, "Uh, I'm not sure we have one small enough. We don't see many ponies, and you folks are rather small even by regular pony standards."

"It's okay, a big one would be good, a better test of the charm." Apple Bloom responded. Shrugging, the smith fetched the shoe they'd just taken off the cart horse.

Sweetie Belle's horn glowed as she touched it to the horse-shoe. She hummed a little phrase in which the words, "… stuck on you…" were audible. When she backed off, Apple Bloom stepped up and put her hoof on the metal, and felt it stick the way a charmed shoe always did. She lifted her hoof and the shoe came with it, though since the ends hung out over either side of her hoof, it wasn't exactly comfortable.

She shook it around, careful not to fling her hoof too high if it did fly off, but it was as secure as any set she'd been bought. A final test was putting it back on the floor and giving her hoof the practised twist that would release it, which worked perfectly. She looked up, grinning.

"Looks like I've got an order for you after all, Mister Durnik. Can I get two sets of road-weight shoes, hoof size… well I guess that won't mean much. I guess you can just measure them."

"Are you sure you want two sets?" Durnik asked. "I can't do it for free. I normally charge two silver per shoe, but I guess since your hooves are smaller and you'll be putting them on yourself, I'll do the lot for one gold."

"That sounds right nice of you." Apple Bloom reached into her saddle-bag with her muzzle and pulled out the leather pouch of coins Dayton had given her. She laid it out on one of the work tables and hooked some silver pieces out with a hoof. "That'd be ten silver, right?"

Counting out the coins, she scooped them out in the hollow of her hoof, and held them out to the surprised smith. He quickly recovered and took the money, then knelt down and pulled out a piece of knotted string. "Very well then, let's measure those hooves."

They'd just finished the measuring when the Mayor came in, looking worried. However, he gave a small smile at the scene in front of him, the smith kneeling in front of the filly with her hoof in his hands.

"Proposing, Durnik? On such short notice? I understand she's an artisan too, but I didn't expect this."

The smith almost fell over, and Apple Bloom snatched back her hoof, blushing furiously. "I was just getting measured for a set of shoes!" she exclaimed.

Durnik righted himself, and gave the mayor a glower that was rather spoilt by a hint of a smirk. "Can I help you Mayor, or did you just come on over to make comments about my love life?"

That brought the shorter man back down. "I'm worried, about the grain harvest the most. I don't like the way the weather's turning. I'm trying to work out if there's any way we can get more people into the fields. We can take some people off harvesting the root crops, but we need more scythes, sickles, anything you can fix up."

Apple Bloom looked at the sky. It wasn't like she had much experience with weather that wasn't carefully managed, so she'd have to take the locals' word for it. However, Ponyville weather control always took particular care to manage rainfall while a harvest was going on; a single large rain cloud in the wrong place could wreck an entire field of grain, or blow the apples right off a tree before they could be collected, not to mention what a wild storm from out of the Everfree could do.

Durnik shook his head. "I only have a couple of spare scythe blades, and that's only because they're waiting to be put on new shafts."

"You cut all your fields using scythes?" Apple Bloom hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it got both the humans looking at her.

"How else would we? Magic?" Mayor asked.

"No magic, just mechanics. In Ponyville we have reaping machines, well, the Apple family don't have one because most of our crop is apples, not grain, but we rent one from the town depot when we need it… I guess you guys don't have them."

"I wouldn't mind knowing more about this 'reaping machine', but no, we don't have anything like that. Unless you can build one with what's here." While there was genuine interest in Durnik's voice, the last part was said lightly.

"I know how ones put together, but you ain't got the tools or the hardware for the frame…" Her eyes wandered over the workshop, and then her attention was drawn to Scootaloo, who was on her pink cloud, doing wind sprints and low level swoops across the yard, "… but maybe I _could_ rig up something!"

She turned to Sweetie Belle, who'd been watching things unfold. "Could you call Scoots over? I want to see if she can help."

The white unicorn trotted out of the workshop in the direction of Scootaloo's impromptu air-show, but stopped a short way away and called out. "Scoootaloo! Hey Scootaloo!"

Despite her impressive lung capacity she didn't seem to reach the acrobatic pegasus, and her expression tightened up. The others noticed her horn start to glow as she called out. "Scootaloo! Get over here!"

The difference was staggering, which was exactly what the pegasus ended up doing. She wobbled in mid-air, and almost fell off her cloud. Then she turned round on the spot to look over at Sweetie Belle and shot over, looking pretty mad.

"Hey! What's the big idea screaming in my ear!"

Sweetie Belle looked confused. "I was just trying to get your attention. I know I was pretty loud, but you were way over the other side of the village."

"It sounded like you were right next to me!" Some of Scootaloo's mad wore off due to Sweetie Belle's expression.

"Sorry, I don't know how that happened."

Apple Bloom grinned, and brought up a hoof to touch the tip of her horn. "Take a wild guess."

"I know a spell to throw my voice?" The white unicorn's eyes widened. "I know a spell to throw my voice!"

"Launch it with a Royal Guard ballistat, more like!" Scootaloo said. "So why all the wind and thunder?"

"That's exactly what they're worried about." Apple Bloom figured it was time to get in on the conversation. "They reckon a storm is coming, and with all the crops still out in the fields…"

Scootaloo sniffed the air, and held a wing-tip up in a testing manner. "I'm no weather pony, but they could be right. Rainbow Dash told me how it felt when the Everfree kicks out some wild weather, and this kinda matches… hey, now don't look at me! I gotta admit Sweetie Belle did a top job on my wings, but diverting a storm is a job for an entire weather patrol! We're talking as much wing power as it took to kick the water up to Cloudsdale. I may be pretty awesome, but I ain't an entire flock of pegasi!"

"Wasn't thinking of that, just wondering if you can do some low level flying, really low level, without being able to see the ground too clearly."Apple Bloom explained her idea, getting a piece of paper and a coloured pencil from Scootaloo's saddle bag and sketching out her design. Scootaloo was first sceptical, than interested.

"Okay, if you're nuts enough to think it'll work, then I'm nuts enough to try it. Low level manoeuvring is what I do best! I'll go get some practice." She put away her cloud and headed on out towards the fields.

Apple Bloom turned to the smith and the mayor. "Could I get those two scythe blades? Two more scythes won't speed things up a whole lot, but if I can make this work, we should cut a lot of corn."

Mayor Vennor looked uncertain, but Durnik shrugged. "One of the reasons I haven't fixed them up already is they need some serious sharpening. She'll need to do that too, and if this thing doesn't work out, it shouldn't be hard to fix them up on regular handles. Besides, that was a workmanlike repair job on the wheel, I'd like to see what she'll do with this."

"That's fine!" Apple Bloom smiled brightly as Sweetie Belle came back in. "Sweetie Belle, I'm gonna need your help too. Can you get me a couple of those leather flagons they were using last night? You and Scootaloo have pretty much the same hoof size, so find one you could just fit your hoof in. Oh, and ask Scoots if I can borrow her goggles!"

She glanced around. "I'm also gonna need a whetstone, the straps and buckles from that broken harness over there, and a leatherworking needle..."

Durnik wasn't disappointed. Within moments Apple Bloom was at work, and Sweetie Belle was humming a marching tune, something about being 'a team'. That seemed to go without saying as her telekinesis spun a whetstone in mid-air and Apple Bloom sharpened the scythe blades against it, streams of sparks flying away from her. She was sitting back on her haunches; protected by Scootaloo's goggles and a borrowed apron that went down to the floor as she somehow held the blade under her fore-hooves.

He had to chivvy his apprentices to get on with their own work, but he kept an eye on her, amazed at the dexterity of someone who didn't have hands. In only a few moments, she had a pair of toe-less boots with sticking charms and straps to secure them together as a unit, and the two newly sharpened scythe blades fitted on the undersides, peened and sharpened edges facing forward. They had pegs that went through the attachment holes in the tangs and locked the blades together back to back.

They headed out to the fields, where Scootaloo was still practising, buzzing an already clear area of a wheat field. She zipped over when the others arrived and examined the scythe boots.

"Sweet! So let's try these babies out!" She held up a hoof. "Cutie Mark Crusaders Crop Cutters!" The other two gave her the high hoof and helped her on with the boots.

The mayor looked over at where the regular reapers and people binding the cut corn in sheaves were and said, "Maybe you should start of the far side of the field? And fly over each row before you cut it to check there's no-one in the way?"

Apple Bloom followed his line of sight and turned a little green at the thought of what those blades could do to a person. "Uh, good plan."

She handed back Scootaloo's goggles and undid her bow before handing it to Scootaloo. "Wrap this over your muzzle."

Scootaloo took it, a little puzzled. "Why?"

"The goggles will protect your eyes, but flying through the corn will throw up a lot of dust. It's silk, it should stop the dust but let you breathe okay."

That was good enough for Scootaloo, Apple Bloom was the one who knew about farms, after all. With her goggles and mask in place she took off and went to the far side of the field, giving it a fly over as instructed before lining up for an 'attack run'. The field was surrounded by a dry stone wall and a two pony-length wide boundary of grass covered unplanted earth, to give easy access without damaging the crop. This was it, it was one thing to stunt and do tricks in front of a crowd, another thing to do it when people were relying on you to get it right.

She dived in, lining up to put her flight path along the very edge of the field, hoof blades at the height she'd seen the scythe wielders cut at. She flew alongside the corn that rose well above her head, one blade cutting into it. The world turned gold and full of straw as she tried to maintain her height and heading, but she could see the ground ahead well enough to navigate and pulled up just in time to avoid piling into the far wall.

She flew higher in the sky and looked back. A row of cut down stalks lay where she'd flown. She saw the other ponies galloping over along the far side, Sweetie Belle cheering, while Apple Bloom just had a big grin on her face. They were followed more sedately by the Mayor Vennor and Durnik, and as she flew over she saw the mayor hand the smith a handful of coins.
> Side Quest Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of hours and multiple fields later, the trio were sitting out under a tree enjoying a lunch of apples, cheese and dark loaves of fresh baked bread. The other farm hands were all working to bind up and stack the corn Scootaloo had cut down, including the ones who had been using scythes before.

Apple Bloom's invention had worked even better than expected, and it was all they could do to catch up, even with her stopping to get the blades resharpened. Scootaloo flicked up the last piece of her apple with a wing-tip and caught it in her mouth. A chew and swallow later she said, "Those boots you came up with are cool! Why didn't you tell me farm work was so much fun?"

Sweetie Belle added her own comment. "I've seen Apple Bloom and Applejack doing chores around the farm. They can usually find a way to make the work fun. You know, maybe there's a song there..."

"Sometimes it ain't, but I figured that doing that kind of flying would be veg soup to you," Apple Bloom answered. "I saw you doing swoops on your cloud earlier. What was with that anyhow? I'd have reckoned you wouldn't use it any more, now you can fly on your own."

"Now that I don't _have_ to use it any more, it's sort of growing on me."

"I thought you stored it in your bottle when you weren't using it?" asked Sweetie Belle, a bit too innocently.

Scootaloo smirked at the quip. "Laugh it up, I wouldn't have been able to do the lightning thing without it. Besides, I was just testing something else out. When I was pulling those stunts at the camp-fire last night, it was like the cloud was responding more quickly, more easily."

"Maybe it's just that you've got bigger wings and more push." Sweetie Belle suggested.

"Uh uh." Scootaloo denied with a shake of her head. "I worked on it some this morning, and it's getting to be more like I can feel the cloud under me, tell it what to do, just like it's part of my body."

"Huh," Apple Bloom was relaxed, leaning up against the tree, the crumbs of her lunch resting on the scrap of cloth that had been it's wrapper. "Y'know, that could be exactly what's happening. Zecora taught me all about how parts of your body, like hoof clippings and such can still be considered a part of your body, even after they've been cut off. You bled a lot of blood into that cloud, and it was charged with pegasus magic already."

Scootaloo frowned in concentration. "So you're saying because my blood's a part of it, it thinks it's a part of me?"

"It's only a guess, but I reckon so." Apple Bloom rolled over onto her belly and pushed herself up. "I guess it's time for another round of sharpening so you can trim some more..."

There was a distant rumble. The trio looked in the direction it came from and what they saw wasn't reassuring. The grey clouds were scudding across the sky as if running scared from what was on the horizon. The clouds, or rather cloud there was black, and as they watched, another crack of lightning strobed along the underside, followed a good time later by another thunder crack.

"Oh, that does not look good!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Gee, ya think?" Scootaloo snarked back.

Terrin, one of the kids who was helping with tying up the sheaves came running over. "Sorry to interrupt your lunch ladies, but we could do with some help! We need every hand to help get what's been cut tied up and undercover before that storm reaches us."

Apple Bloom started off, but Scootaloo exclaimed, "Shouldn't I get back to cutting? There's still a lot of fields to do!"

"It'll be hard enough getting what you've already cut to safety before that storm hits. Anything else will just get blown away."

The trio set to work with a will, Sweetie Belle's telekinesis speeding up tying bundles while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo helped haul them to one of the barns. With each trip, the storm loomed closer, and the size of it became clearer. The wind started gusting, with blasts of cold air, and light dimmed.

There was actually a clear band running before the storm, as if normal clouds feared to be next to the monstrous black thunder-heads that approached. They were proceeded by outriders of pannus cloud and had crenelations like castle turrets at their summits and streamers of cirrus flowing like battle banners from them.

Scootaloo couldn't help but notice the mayor in worried consultation with some of the other farmers, working out something on a slate and checking the grain and baskets of harvested fruit and vegetables as they came in. Looking over at Apple Bloom, she saw her friend had noticed it too, and wasn't looking too pleased.

"Uh, Apple Bloom, what's going to happen to the stuff we haven't harvested? That storm looks even meaner than I thought."

Apple Bloom hesitated for a moment, as if not wanting to admit an unpalatable truth. "Uh, some of it's going to get damaged, maybe a lot of it."

As they headed back out into the rising wind, the pegasus called out, "But they should have enough already to be okay?"

"I... don't know. Not sure how much more humans eat, or how much they need to keep back for seed next year." Apple Bloom temporised.

"But you don't think so?" Looking over at the farm pony, she saw the other hang her head, the only answer she needed. As they struggled forward, wind streaming their tails and Apple Bloom's cloak out behind them, she came to a decision. It was a terrifying decision, but looking at it was the only one she could make.

They reached the field where Sweetie Belle was tying up the last few bundles of grain while the other farm workers held them together. When Terrin came towards her with a bundle to strap across her back, she stepped away.

"I've got to do something about this! I'll be more use up there!" She pointed at the approaching storm.

Apple Bloom yelled back, "Are you plumb crazy? You said yourself it'd take a full weather control team to stop this thing! Even Rainbow Dash would think twice before throwing herself into that!"

"She might, but she'd still do it. Besides, she's not here, I am! Just like Applejack wouldn't have let those goblins attack that caravan. I can't stop the storm, heck, no-pony short of the Princesses could stop it, but if I can do anything, save even one field of grain, it'll be worth it."

Arguing with Apple Bloom helped her to ignore the way her heart was pounding. She wished she could drag up something Rainbow Dash had said, to reassure herself, but since she was utterly terrified and her idol had never been scared of anything in her life, she didn't have any helpful maxims to fall back on.

"You could get yourself hurt, maybe real bad!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"Could be, but I'll hurt worse..." she tapped her chest with a hoof, "... in here, if I do nothing. I've gotta at least try. Besides, maybe Sweetie Belle can buff me up with one of her songs."

Sweetie Belle had heard the conversation and looked up at the sky, shivering. "I don't know if I can fake up a Cloudhoof spell to ride your cloud. I'm not sure I could go up there even if I can. It looks really scary up there."

Scootaloo shook her head, glad to have something to distract her. "You don't need to, just use that voice throwing spell and stay down here. Sunshine or storm front, like you said last night."

The unicorn gulped, apart from the fact that it significantly reduced the chances of becoming a unicorn pancake, the prospects weren't much better down here. In the distance a lightning bolt speared down and immolated an outlying tree on a distant rise and thunder rumbled like an angry dragon. When she'd sung that song, she hadn't expected to have to back it up, at least not so soon.

Then she looked aside at Scootaloo, the pegasus faced the storm looking determined, but she could see her wings were tight against her body. She had to be even more scared than Sweetie Belle herself, but she seemed to be taking Sweetie's song seriously. There was no way in Equestria or anywhere else that Sweetie would or could abandon her. Her voice cracked, but the words came out all the same. "Well, like you told Apple Bloom, if you're crazy enough to think it'll work, I'm crazy enough to try it."

"I wish I could help too!" Apple Bloom yelled over a much nearer peal of thunder.

"You can! Watch from the ground and tell me what needs protecting most. I'm sure Sweetie Belle can make you heard too!"

"Take this. You'll need it more than me." Apple Bloom started to remove her cloak, but Scootaloo stopped her, placing a hoof on the clasp. "Keep it. It'll just tangle my wings."

The storm was almost upon them, so Scootaloo stepped back and set her wings, clad only in her saddle bags. Sweetie Belle's horn glowed, then touched Apple Bloom on the neck.

"Testing, one two..." Sweetie Belle's voice was much quieter, but right in Scootaloo's ear. "Can ya hear me okay?" Apple Bloom's voice had the same quality, and the orange pegasus nodded and held up a hoof.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Storm Stoppers!" The trio struck hooves, the moment illuminated by a flash of lightning and separated, getting ready as the storm bore down on them.

Sweetie Belle drew in breath, and the intro to a hard rock song started playing in the background. Apple Bloom chivvied people out of her path and gave her a wave of the hoof indicating the way was clear. Scootaloo imagined herself on the main runway of the Wonderbolts Academy as she started beating her wings.

('Highway to the Danger Zone ' - Top Gun. /watch?v=V8rZWw9HE7o)

"Revving up your two wings,
Feel the air flow to your core.

Pinions under tension,
Begging you to swoop and soar."

Setting off at a gallop that turned into a flat out run, she reached take-off speed in a few seconds. She could easily have gone vertical, but somehow charging at the storm just felt right.

"Highway to the Danger Zone,
Fly into the Danger Zone."

She was rising up, going into an almost vertical climb to reach the base of the clouds before the clouds reached the edge of the cultivated area. She didn't realise it, but for the first time, she was leaving a visible contrail. Only the most powerful flyers did it,as the flight magic that flowed through them reacted with the air flow. Hers was an orange glow that faded slowly.

"Heading into twilight
Spreading out your wings tonight
So you're jumping off the track
And shoving into overdrive."

She weaved her way up between the outlying clouds as lightning crackled between them and hard driven rain hit like bullets. At least this was something she knew how to do. A sudden down-draft whipped at her, driving her off-course and towards a particularly vicious tangle of bolts, but she hauled in her wings and rolled to the side, peeling out of the air current and blasting upwards just in time to evade it.

"Highway to the Danger Zone.
You're going,
Right into the Danger Zone!"

She soared up the obsidian face of the cloud bank looking for a soft spot, a way in or even a place to land while the cloud sat there like a big meteorological NO, or rather ground forward like a stealth glacier about to flatten some poor unsuspecting dinosaurs. She was above most of the lightning, and the rain but the air currents were more violent, even more capricious and as cold as the aforementioned glacier.

"You'll never know if you can see it through,
Until you get it on the red line overload.
You'll never know what you can do,
Until you get it up as high as you can go!"

Pegasi had a certain resistance to cold, but she was starting to feel the dreadful chill as she dodged between air currents, using them to carry her higher and barely keeping control as she was battered by wave after wave of dangerous eddies and gusts that threatened to rip out her wing feathers with extreme prejudice. She continued to push forward with everything she had, but her determination was starting to fade. From the ground, this thing had looked as big as Cloudsdale. Right now it looked as big as Equestria.

"Out along the edges,
Always where you burn to be,
The further on the edge,
The hotter the intensity,"

Scootaloo grabbed onto the words of the song, feeling the fire burn away her doubts. No matter how big it was, this was a cloud, she was a pegasus. The chain of command was clear enough, it should take orders from her! She spotted a ledge of cloud, like a balcony created by some freak gust, but seeming stable enough to land on.

"Highway to the Danger Zone
Gonna take you
Right into the Danger Zone!"

She gritted her teeth and dived in, using every ounce of her acrobatic skills to use the wild air currents swirling around her to reach her goal where trying to bull straight through would have simply seen her flung away with broken wings. She landed heavily on the cloud surface which squished underfoot, but held, barely.

As the song faded away, she tried to feel the cloud she was on, sense what it was doing, the way she'd heard Dash describe doing when she moved a rain cloud about. The air currents still tried to tear her away, but she held onto the cloud surface with dogged determination.

All she could really feel was the immenseness of the cloud underneath her, and the impossibility of altering even a part of it. Even worse, looking straight down she could see the cloud had reached the very edge of the village fields. Already corn was being whipped about and rain was hammering the already cut fields into waterlogged mud.

There had to be a way, after all the effort she'd made to get there, some way to connect to the cloud, make it obey her... She had a sudden idea, pulling the cloud bottle from her thankfully intact saddlebags and popping it in the same motion. She grabbed hold of the cloud before it was whipped away, but lost hold of the bottle which flew off into the storm.

She pushed her cloud down against the ledge and felt it resist for a moment before the two merged. As she stepped onto the now firmer cloud surface, she started to feel an almost pins and needles sensation, as the immobile numbness of the cloud underneath her faded. Just in time, as Apple Bloom's voice rung in her ears.

"Scoots! If you can do anything, do it now! The heavy rain's about to hit the uncut fields and the fruit trees are starting to lose unpicked fruit!"

Scootaloo couldn't explain how the cloud felt under her, then or ever. As she knew was that now she could feel it, as if her own cloud somehow suffused it. She felt where the rain was falling, and commanded an eddy to carry it back up, flinging it backwards towards the already soaked empty fields.

She couldn't stop the wind that plucked at the branches of the orchards, but she could adjust another eddy so that it blocked the current, forcing it up and over the tops of the trees while the air at ground level became almost wind-still. A wave of fatigue washed over her as she sagged down, just those two tweaks had drained most of her energy.

There was no way she could keep this up long enough to get the storm safely past... Another song intro started, like a fanfare, and she felt a new wave of energy invigorate her as it flowed into a rock anthem. Sweetie Belle's voice enfolded her, supported her as Apple Bloom continued to give advice.

('St Elmo's Fire'. /watch?v=jVf4_WglzWA)

"Growing up
You don't know the strength you have on call,
Try to fly,
All you see before you is the fall.

But maybe sometime if you feel the pain,
You'll find you're not alone,
Everything has changed."

She felt lightning in the cloud below her, pressures waiting to be released, and she did release them, away from the village and onto stony, worthless ground already slick with rain.

"Fight the fight,
You know you can't quit until it's won,
Soldier on,
Only you can do what must be done.

You know in some way, You'll find the strength you need,
No longer holding back,
You've got challenges to beat!"

"You can see a new horizon,
Beyond the stormy sky,
Going where the eagle's flying higher and higher.
Gonna be a mare in motion,
All you need is a pair of wings,
Take you where you future's lying,
Celestia's Fire! Oooh..."

Her wing-tips flared with the coronal discharge that pegasi did call 'Celestia's Fire' as she continued to guide the storm. As she'd told Apple Bloom, no-pony could stop it. However, it was so wild, so chaotic that she could always find some counter-current, some loop hole that allowed her to divert the full force of the storm away from the areas that had to be protected, at the expense of worthless areas.

"Moving on,
Don't know just how far that you can go.
(Just how far you'll go)
Soon be done,
When the storm's a few miles down the road

You can make it, In you we trust,
Although you might be tired,
It won't break a pegasus!

You can see a new horizon,
Beyond the stormy sky,
Going where the eagle's flying higher and higher.
Gonna be a mare in motion,
All you need is a pair of wings,
Take you where you future's lying,
Celestia's Fire! Oooh...

You can fly the highest mountain
Tame the wildest storm,
So feel Celestia's Fire keeping you warm,
Riding the storm!"

She was back to relying on determination and the power the song fed her. Her wings, her body ached, but for this moment she was doing exactly that, riding the storm, guiding it as deftly as she'd ever controlled her scooter.

"Just once in her life,
A mare has her time,
And your time is now,
The time of your life!

You can hear the music playing,
You can see the banners fly,
Feel like you're back again, and hope riding high.
Gonna be a mare in motion,
All you need is a pair of wings,
Take you where you future's lying,
Celestia's Fire!

You can see a new horizon,
Beyond the stormy sky,
Going where the eagle's flying higher and higher.
Gonna be a mare in motion,
All you need is a pair of wings,
Take you where you future's lying,
Celestia's Fire! Oooh..."

Somewhere she found the energy, the will to keep going, pushing an air current just enough to interfere with a blast that would have ripped a roof off, tweaking the path of a fall of hail so it mounded up neatly in the town square rather than hammering a field of grain on the down-wind side of the village flat.

"You can fly the highest mountain
Tame the wildest storm,
So feel Celestia's Fire as the clouds swarm!

Riding, Riding the storm,
You can keep on riding,
Oooh, riding on the storm... "

At last it was over, not the storm, but the need to control it. The heavy rain, roaring winds and lightning had passed over the village, leaving a tail end procession of more gentle rain and mere gusts of wind. It was just as well, with the energy boost of Sweetie Belle's song fading her fatigue returned, doubled and redoubled and threatening to overwhelm her.

She wanted to just drop in place on the cloud, pulling it around her like a blanket, but what was left of her conscious mind fought against it. First, the storm would carry her on, away from her friends, and second, if she went to sleep here, she might never wake up. The song had apparently given her extra protection against the cold and the wind chill, but that was fading too, and even pegasi could freeze to death.

"Scootaloo! It's okay, you can come on back!" The sudden jolt of irritation at Apple Bloom's statement of the blindingly obvious was just the prod she needed to get her to move.

"Whatcha think I'm trying to do, you silly filly!" she mumbled, oblivious to the fact that Sweetie Belle's spell was one way.

She didn't so much dive as drop off the cloud ledge, simply drawing in her wings and legs and body surfing the downward currents to get down below the cloud base. She only started to slow her descent as she flew below the edge, only to be confronted with braving the full width of the storm belt to return to the village.

Actual flying was impossible, but she managed a steep glide most accurately described as falling with style. Her manoeuvres lacked the crisp deftness of earlier, logy at best, but she still had a distant connection to the storm above, allowing her to weave out of the way of lightning bolts as they struck down, and weave between the heaviest patches of rain.

That didn't mean she wasn't still drenched when she emerged over the village, hair and mane slicked down, wing feathers soaked and icing up in places, already half way to unconsciousness only staying in the air because she was more stubborn than gravity. She saw the pile of hail she'd built up earlier, and in her befuddled state it looked like a lovely soft white cloud.

She slammed into it, spraying hailstones everywhere and creating her own private bob-sled run with her face as she ploughed down the far side of it. She skidded to a halt on a thin cushion of crushed ice, and tried to push herself to her feet, on the basis that any landing you could walk away from was a good one.

However that was the final straw, and her legs gave way under her. Her last thought as she slipped into unconsciousness was, "Okay, maybe that one wasn't so good..."



Apple Bloom barely noticed Mayor Vennor as he approached the knoll overlooking the village; where she and Sweetie Belle were acting as ground control. More than one lightning bolt had hit near them, but only in time to the unicorn's rendition of 'Celestia's Fire'.

"What are you doing out here?!" She heard the mayor yell, one hand holding his peaked hat on.

She spun round and yelled back, "Tryin' to save your crops...", then noticed the cloaked figure who was looming behind him and sprung sideways to get between him and Sweetie Belle, landing with spread hooves and ready to attack.

The mayor held up his hands, then had to slam one back on his head to stop his hat from blowing away. "I know you and Jaeger aren't on the best of terms, but he came with me to apologise, and help."

Apple Bloom straightened up, but with one eye on the big farm worker. "Okay, but help with what?"

"Getting the three of you to safety! It's dangerous out here!" The mayor looked around. "Where's your other friend, Scootaloo, wasn't it?"

Apple Bloom pointed up at the storm, and along the line of Sweetie Belle's horn, which had a visible multilayer corona and bright sparks of energy fountaining from it. A faint beam of luminous energy speared up into the sky from it's tip. "Up there, telling this storm to avoid wrecking your fields..."

A lightning bolt speared down almost on top of them, and quite visibly bent off to one side to strike the path they'd just come up. "... and us for that matter! Sweetie Belle's giving her all the extra magic she can with her songs, and I'm helping to figure out what needs saving... Scoots! The L shaped pear orchard downwind and to the left of the village, the branches are starting to get torn up! And the caravan wagons are starting to sway."

Naturally, the two humans looked that way, shielding their eyes from the rain and wind, and saw the whipping of the tree limbs miraculously subside. The canvas covers of the wagons had been rigged to wrap over the cargo, presenting the minimum profile to the wind, but the covers were thrumming and the wagons themselves looked ready to turn over, until another windstill area formed.

"But, how? Your friend said it would take a team of 'weather pegasi'; that she wouldn't be able to do this herself."

"I don't know either, all I know is that she's doing it somehow, and as long as she's up there, we'll be out here, and any-pony who disagrees won't find it easy to make us go!" She pawed the earth with a hoof, and snorted a visible cloud of breath.

The two humans really couldn't answer that, and watched for the few moments as the two ponies and their invisible companion somehow tamed the storm. The effects were obvious, empty fields were deluged and turned into quagmires while those fields still unharvested barely felt a drizzle.

All around the village, trees and anything loose was whipped about and scattered by the storm, except for the all important orchards, bushes and vines that seemed to be exempt from the high winds. All the while, Sweetie Belle was singing to rival the storm, visibly pouring her heart and soul into it, while Apple Bloom gave commands in a calm, steady voice.

As the storm passed beyond the far boundaries of the village fields, Sweetie Belle's song finally ended, and she took a big breath.

"oh my, i don't think i could pull off another song like that."she rasped weakly.

"Y'don't have to." Apple Bloom smiled. "The storm's past and Scootaloo can come on home."

She turned to the sky and called out, "Scootaloo! It's okay, you can come on back!"

Then she saw just how weak the unicorn was looking, and turned to the humans. "Okay Jaeger, you want to make up for last night?"

"Yeah." The big guy rumbled with a rueful expression. "I'm real sorry, it's just when the drink gets me..."

"Talk later, action now!" Apple Bloom cut him off. "Carry Sweetie Belle back to the village, get her somewhere warm and quiet give her something warm to drink. And if she gets so much as a bruise, I'll make you wish I'd never been born!"

She watched the big farm-hand scoop the unprotesting unicorn up as gently as possible, she noted approvingly, and carry her down to the village. However, her main focus was on the direction the storm had gone, looking for a pegasus shaped speck. She hoped that Scootaloo had enough energy left to get back. Maybe she could use her cloud to support her...

There! She could barely see the distant figure, but even at this distance her flight path looked wobbly. "C'mon!"

She galloped down the hillock with the mayor running as best he could in pursuit, and reached the edge of the village square just in time to see the crash landing. She ran right up to the collapsed pegasus and dropped beside her. "Scoots!"

The pegasus felt cold to the touch, her wings had honest to gosh ice on them, but she was still breathing, if only barely. Apple Bloom looked up at the mayor and a couple of other villagers who'd made it to them, with tears in her eyes.

"We've got to get her somewhere warm! Rub her down, she's so cold!"

The earth-pony levered herself underneath the unconscious pegasus and ahuled he up across her back.

"The Chapel of Pelor." the mayor suggested. "Brother Soran has some skill at healing, and they should have food and blankets."

Apple Bloom followed the mayor to a building about the shape of the school house in Ponyville, but about twice the size. A golden sunburst not unlike Celestia's hung over the main doors and lights shone through the cracks in shuttered windows.

The door was opened just enough for her to get let in, and she did so as carefully as possible, not wanting to shake Scootaloo further. Apple Bloom's sodden cloak was between her and the body of the pegasus, but she'd felt so cold when Apple Bloom had picked her up.

Inside was light and warmth, several charcoal braziers and lanterns had been lit. The smell of the smoke mixed with the cut wood scent of the simple furnishings. Low, wide benches were mostly stacked up against the sides of the main room that took up over half the length of the building. A few others served as makeshift sick beds or just places to rest.

Most of the people inside were from the caravan, and thankfully so was Sweetie Belle, who was wrapped in blankets and being fussed over by Maia and a couple of women from the village. Brother Soren was moving around, checking on several other people who had obviously suffered minor injuries from falling or flying things. Dayton and the two guards were conspicuous by their absence.

Apple Bloom went over to him as fast as she could without disturbing her load. "Help us! Scootaloo just crashed outside and she's really cold and I think she knocked herself out!"

The cleric carefully lifted the pegasus off her back and onto the empty end of a bench. He frowned as he checked her over. "Flying? In this weather? For that matter why were any of you out in the storm?"

"Trying to stop you guys from starving!" Apple Bloom shot back. "Scootaloo saw how worried the mayor was over the harvest and figured out this storm would wreck what was still out there. She wouldn't let that happen, and we wouldn't let her do it alone!"

"The cold has settled in her deeply, but she still lives." Soran placed his hands upon Scootaloo's body, and murmured a few words. A golden glow appeared around the edges of his hands and faded into her coat. "I have asked for Pelor's blessing to restore her and help her recover, but she will need caring for."

"I'll get some towels and start drying her off..." Apple Bloom started to move off eagerly only to be stopped by Soran's hand on her back.

"Dab away the water, don't rub. What warmth she has left is in the centre of her body. Rubbing would encourage blood flow to the skin, and draw heat away from her core. Dry her, then lay warm damp cloths across her body to warm her up. There's hot water and cloth in the kitchen, through the door at the back and on your left."

"I'd start giving her warm fluids, maybe a tisane with some honey, but she needs to be able to swallow. The fact that she isn't shivering suggests that her muscles may not be working right, or that pegasi work differently to humans. I won't risk it unless she shows no reaction to external warming."

Apple Bloom had clearly been ready to dash off as soon as she could so she just gave a nod and headed off at a trot. Suddenly Soran realised what he'd just asked and called out after her. "Do you need someone to help you pick things up?"

"It's okay, I help my Granny Smith out in the kitchen, and Zecora has me doing basic remedies. I should be fine." Apple Bloom disappeared through the doorway.

She came back with a basket of steaming cloths balanced on her back, and a flannel one in her mouth. Soran checked out what she was doing, and was less surprised than he'd expected to see her following his instructions exactly. She even thought to lay a dry blanket over the wet ones to keep the heat in.

"You've done this before?" he asked.

Huh, what? Oh the blanket. Nope, it just made sense to keep the heat in. She looks a lot better now."

"Just being in a warm room helped. I also cast a lesser healing spell to take care of her other injuries while you were in the kitchen. Bruises, sprains, nothing really serious. I also had the mayor explain to me exactly what you were doing. I wasn't the only one listening in either." He looked around to indicate the caravanners.

"I knew from my spell yesterday that you were good people, but many good people wouldn't have had the courage to do what you did."

Apple Bloom blushed and looked away. "Aww, I didn't do anything but advise. This one was all Scootaloo's idea. Sweetie Belle did much more to help."

"You still stood out on a hilltop in the worst thunderstorm I've seen in my years here to do it, trusting to your friend to see you weren't hit by lightning. That showed considerable courage in itself."

Maia called out to them, or rather Apple Bloom. "Dear, I need to ask you some questions."

Apple Bloom looked around with a look of worry. "Is there something wrong with Sweetie Belle too? She seemed okay apart from being tired out."

"That's what I'm trying to work out. Come and see for yourself."

Apple Bloom started over, only to look back at Scootaloo, torn between who to look after. Soran motioned her on. "All she need now is rest, and for the cloth to be removed when it cools. There should be no shortage of people willing to help."

Sweetie Belle looked fine at first glance as she lay resting on a folded blanket. Her cloak and saddle bags rested by her, and Maia and some of the other women were there. A closer loom showed her her eyes were half lidded and in tears.

"Apple Bloom, it hurts!" Her voice was low and slightly muzzy.

"What's wrong? What hurts?" Apple Bloom was getting even more nervous.

Maia gently brushed back Sweetie Belle's bangs to show the base of her horn. The skin around it was swollen and puffy, pink even through the white of her coat. There was a thin line of red where the skin met the horn.

"We were hoping you'd know what was going on. The swelling and the headache started shortly after she was brought in and it's been getting worse."

For a second Apple Bloom wondered if Jaeger had done something despite her warning, but she quickly decided Sweetie Belle's health was far more important.

"I ain't a doctor, or even a nurse. I don't know anything about unicorn illnesses, and I've never heard of anything like this." Apple Bloom swore to remedy that when they got back. She hated feeling helpless. "She was using a lot of magic supporting Scootaloo, maybe it's just a worse case of magic-burn."

She knew Sweetie Belle was awake and listening, so she wanted to be as reassuring as possible. "The last time she overdid it, she recovered in a few hours. About the only things I can suggest is a poultice to reduce the swelling and something to let her sleep. Oh, and no magic use, not that I think that'll be a problem."

"You really think I'll be alright?" Sweetie Belle asked, raising her head to look up at Apple Bloom with pleading eyes.

"I figure you should be right as rain in the morning!" She hoped it was true. She looked over at the cleric, who'd assigned a couple of the carters to sit by Scootaloo's bed. "Maybe Brother Soran can do one of his healing spells..."

"That might not be a good idea." Maia responded. "Adding more magic might make things worse."

Apple Bloom resolved to ask Brother Soran about that, but it seemed reasonable. For now she'd stick to what she knew how to do. "Do you have white willow or shore pine bark for the poultice?"

It took some time, but she eventually found some plants they had to hand that would do the jobs, though she'd double check they were the same things as their Equestrian counterparts. While she knew how to prepare them, she let one of the locals, an old lady druid by the name of Sanree do it so she could stay with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who was moved to the same bench as the other pony when her heated wrappings were changed.

In the process she found out that Sanree had healing spells and spells to do with plants, which made her a sort of honorary earth pony by Apple Bloom's standards. She was also particularly impressed with Sweetie Belle, as she worshipped a nature goddess called Elhonna, who had the unicorn as her symbol. She and Maia helped Apple Bloom tend the two unconscious ponies, but Apple Bloom took the lead.

Jaeger came into the chapel shortly after they'd gotten Sweetie Belle off to sleep. He was carrying a massive basket of firewood, and made a bee-line for the bench where the ponies were. "Is the little unicorn alright?"

"Sleeping, and hopefully recovering." Sanree responded.

Apple Bloom was still not quite ready to trust this guy, but the honest relief in the big man's face made it easier to do so.

"Thank all the gods! I brought her here as careful as..." He saw Apple Bloom, and they stared at each other for a moment. "I did as you asked. I know you don't think much of me, but what ever is wrong with her, I didn't do it!"

"I didn't think you did. I'm guessing she overdid her magic, again." Apple Bloom decided, he may not have been that nice last night, but since then he'd been nothing but helpful. "I guess I weren't exactly polite about accepting your apology earlier, so I'll say it now, thank you for helping out and we'll call it quits, okay."

He gave a surprisingly boyish grin. "After what were doing out there miss, I think the whole village owes you."

Then his eyes lighted on Scootaloo, who was now just wrapped in a thick blanket. "The pegasus, she was hurt too?"

"Mostly just frozen from being up in the storm. We managed to warm her up, I think she's just sleeping now. I figure all either of them need is some peace and quiet."

"Where are those creatures who wrecked the Duke's fields!" The speaker was a florid faced, middle aged man unremarkable in every way except for his girth and the loudness of his voice. His clothes were of a finer cloth and more elaborate, courtly cut than most of the people there, and he wore a couple of rings on his fingers. However this only proved the exception to the rule that the clothes made the man, unless it was making him even more funny looking, as the remaining drizzle outside had not been kind to them.

He'd slammed the door open and stalked in, except that between the extra weight and the extra water it was somewhere between a stomp and a squish. He was tailed by the mayor, who clearly wasn't impressed with him. He spotted Apple Bloom and started over. "Do you know what you've done?"

Brother Soran intercepted him. "I'll ask you to moderate your tone! This is a house of Pelor."

"I'm sorry, Soran." the mayor offered. "He saw the waterlogged fields and stormed right over here."

"And why not? Those fields are useless for gleaning, and they'll be a nightmare to turn over for winter!"

Apple Bloom couldn't think what the problem was, they'd done well to save all the fields that still needed to be harvested. The cut fields just hadn't been as important. She still wasn't sure how Scootaloo had done it, but she could guess the easiest way to get rid of the rain that wasn't wanted was to dump it in the nearest places it couldn't harm.

She trotted over. "Can you stop your hollering? There's people trying to sleep! Who are you anyhow?"

"I am Dander Arroway, and I am the Duke's tithe assessor. I've always said letting the caravans stop here was a bad idea, and it's clear treating you things like real people is even more ridiculous."

Of course, this was going down wonderfully with the caravan people who were still in there. If dirty looks had been arrows, he'd have needed a resurrection spell.

"Not as ridiculous as that outfit! If you're gonna wear clothes, you could at least have the sense to put on a cloak or something to keep the rain off!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, She was still worried about her friends, and this guy was being just plain mean after the effort they'd put in. However, with everyone else being nice to them, she pushed down her annoyance and tried to be polite.

"Sorry about your fields, but we grow enough grain crops at home that I know it ain't the big deal you're making it. Besides, Scootaloo did good just keeping the rain off the uncut fields. All that water had to go somewhere."

Arroway wasn't calming down, in fact he was getting angrier. "I think that it was very convenient for you three creatures that such a freak storm appeared just in time for them to 'save' everyone."

That was it. She'd tried to be nice, but now he was actually accusing them of running some sort of con job like the Flim Flam brothers. Apple Bloom went up on her hind legs, hooves up, and stared him right in the eye (from waist height, but then you couldn't have everything).

"If you're accusing any of us of starting that storm, you're as cuckoo as you are nasty, you low-down dirty cockatrice! It was all Scoots could do to tweak that storm to avoid getting anything important hurt, but starting one in the first place? You're so out of your skull you should rent it out as barn space!

"Why would we do anyhow? We didn't ask for money, or anything for that matter, Scoots did it because it was right and decent, but I guess you wouldn't know about those things. Fame or showing off? We're leaving with the caravan, leaving this world as soon as we figure a way to get home, so what do we need with that?" She snorted in derision.

"After last night, most of the people around here seem to be willing to give us a fair shake, so it couldn't be to get acceptance. My friends went all out, put themselves on the sick list _again_, saving people they've only just met _again_ and if you can't see that's just because they were the sort of ponies who'd do that sort of thing, then you're an even more pitiful critter than I already figured. "

She stepped forward and poked him in his ample belly. "Now you just sidle on out of here and stop disturbing decent folks with your shenanigans."

The tithe assessor looked nearly apoplectic, and started to reach down to grab her, only to find himself moving backwards as he was lifted by the shoulders and turned round to face the door. Jaeger growled in his ear. "The lady told you to leave!"

Arroway looked around, and realised the lack of anything resembling support in the faces of the people around him. He scurried out, slamming the door again as he did so.

There was a slow clap from one of the carters, which grew into a general clapping and a few cheers. Both Jaeger and Apple Bloom got slaps on the back. Only the mayor failed to join in the general merriment, frowning at the door as if it had said something impolite about his mother. Apple Bloom noticed his distraction.

"Uh, is there a problem?"

"Yes, but it was more or less inevitable." the mayor sighed. "After a humiliation like that, he's going to be even more eager than usual to squeeze the maximum amount of money out of our harvest this year."

Apple Bloom looked stricken. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! Maybe if I apologise..."

"Don't. He's a petty little time server with delusions of adequacy and the dressing down you gave him is the sort of thing I've wanted to do for years. I'll just have to match wits with him as usual, and I have the advantage in that he thinks he is well equipped, when in fact he's only half so, if not completely unarmed.

"Besides he can't pull anything too raw. Unlike him, Duke Wilberis is a good and honest man. I will take the tallies to him personally, and see that I also give a true and accurate explanation of your actions, including the simple fact that we'd have been calling on him for aid rather than reporting a bumper harvest if your friend hadn't stepped in... flown in?"

Brother Soran had quieted people down, and now spoke up. "I will write a letter to the Duke as well, giving my own attestation, and a few pointed remarks on his servant's conduct within Pelor's house."

Apple Bloom piped up. "If there's anything we can do to help?"

The mayor shook his head, smiling. "For now, rest. The three of you have fought enough battles for one day."

Maia had made up a bed roll for Apple Bloom to sleep on beside her two friends, but Apple Bloom was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink. Sweetie Belle seemed to be resting more easily with the poultice wrapped around the base of her horn, and Scootaloo looked much better, but she had to be there to help if things took a turn for the worse.

Yes, she'd keep watch over the both of them, even if she had to do it lying down. It was good to be off her hooves after the day she'd had. Watching over them also gave her time to reflect on what had happened. Once again, she'd ended up in the role of guardian of her two friends, and once again, she'd stepped up to the challenge without a second thought. She thought back to a few days before their ill fated Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting, where Diamond Tiara had been ragging her as usual about her blank flank, and she'd just stood there and taken it.

Well, at least she wouldn't be able to do that any more, she thought as she rubbed a hoof over her new mark. Though considering Diamond Tiara, she'd probably find some other reason to replace it. Sweetie Belle was the only one who might have known the word 'epiphany', but that was Apple Bloom suddenly had, even if she didn't know what to call it.

It was never about Cutie Marks, it was about making herself big by making others look small. Well she wouldn't be able to do that any more either, the farm filly decided firmly. If she could stand up to humans, she could stand up to some stuck up filly who thought she was Celestia's gift to ponyville just because her daddy was rich. Well she hadn't fought goblins, or braved lightning storms. Apple Bloom wasn't sure whether to tell her off or just ignore her. It wasn't like she could do anything more than make nasty remarks, and who cared what she thought?

She found her eyelids getting heavy, and gave her head a quick shake to wake herself back up. She checked the two sleeping fillies, and smiled. She wasn't the only one who seemed to be changing, the other two had as well. Maybe it was just the new confidence that came with finally having cutie marks, or something to do with the world they were in, or even just the fact that for the first time in their lives they had to rely on themselves and each other, rather than adult ponies.

Okay, that wasn't quite true, they'd had a lot of help from some kind people, like Maia and Jace and Brother Soran and everyone, but they'd also helped others in ways only they could do, which hadn't been how things were back in Ponyville. She felt a stab of homesickness, but there was also a determination there. They would find a way home. If Sweetie Belle couldn't cut it on her own, they'd find a human mage to help, or find some other way.

She decided to put the idea of having Sweetie Belle try casting a return spell right away on the back of the apple cart. They'd gotten into this mess by rushing in, so getting a second opinion from someone who understood what they were trying to do should hopefully make sure they didn't end up in an even worse mess. Not that it was entirely bad, as she'd already thought, they were gaining new things on this journey, quite apart from their cutie marks. All they could do was keep on going, do their best, and see what else happened...

Maia noticed Apple Bloom had finally fallen asleep, and pulled the blanket over her. Hopefully by tomorrow, all three would be recovered. She sat down on a chair watching them, and got on with resewing Scootaloo's cloak.
> Levelling Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootaloo woke with a start, which was appropriate as she'd gone to sleep after a stop. She had no clue what time of day it was, or where she was, or how she'd got there, and her body was aching all over. This had happened far too often in the past couple of days; it was getting really old, really quickly.

At least she was warm, wrapped up in blankets or something, but the place was dimly lit, and there was a definite smell in the air. It was the sort of smell you got when a number of people, most of whom hadn't washed in several days, slept together in a warm, poorly ventilated room.

Moving to look around brought a new urgency to the various pains in various parts of her body. However, there was one good thing, at least it indicated that all of her bits were still attached and working. Not that being in circumstances where that was the first thing you thought of, was anything to be particularly pleased about.

As her eyes adjusted, she got a better impression of the place. It was a single big room with intricately carved arched wooden roof supports and shuttered windows along both long stone walls. Benches had been pushed up against the walls, and a number of humans lay on them in various blankets, coverings and positions of rest. The hall was lit by the glowing embers of several iron braziers that were arrayed alongside the shuttered windows. 

From the shape and size of it, the hall was probably that chapel place in the town square, given the sunburst emblem hung at one end over a fancy looking table at one end. Far more comforting was the sight of Apple Bloom, wrapped up in blankets on the floor beside her, and Sweetie Belle's horn poking from a bundle that rested on the bed, or rather bench just along from her. As long as the three of them were together, things couldn't be too bad.

She became aware of a certain hydraulic pressure downstairs, which added a new question. Where were the rest rooms in this place? She nudged Sweetie Belle, but got no response, so she untangled herself from the blankets and climbed down to where Apple Bloom was. In deference to the other people sleeping, she called the farm filly's name quietly.

"Mmmr, don't wanna get up yet sis..." came the mumbled reply. Then Apple Bloom's eyes opened, and blearily focussed on Scootaloo. "Hey! I mean you're okay!"

She'd lowered her voice after the first exclamation. "You are okay, aren't you?"

"Kinda feel like I went through that taffy machine backwards again, but yeah, mostly." Scootaloo looked around and added. "I did okay, didn't I? I mean, did I save those crops?"

"Sure as sugar!" Apple Bloom grinned tiredly. "I don't think you lost a single ear of corn. I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I. I had help though, I used my cloud and pushed it into the main storm cloud. I just wanted a solid place to stand, but it was more like the storm cloud became a part of it. Lost the bottle though, the cloud too."

"Oh no, I'm sorry! I know you were starting to enjoy it."

"Eh, it was in a good cause." Scootaloo responded as cheerfully as she could. She'd had too much else to think about until now, but she realised she was going to miss having that cloud. She tried to look on the bright side though. "At least I don't _need_ it any more."

She flapped her wings and easily lifted up, before floating back down to the ground, then winced. "Oww! I think that storm got me back some! Why didn't Sweetie Belle do her healing whammy?"

Apple Bloom looked surprised, then her face lit up with understanding. "I guess you weren't around for it. Sweetie Belle didn't come out of this in top condition neither."

She forestalled the pegasus's exclamation with a waved hoof. "Shhh! She's okay, at least as okay as we could make her. Shouting about it won't help any. She had a huge headache, and the skin around her horn was swelling up. She over-did her magic again, I reckon."

Apple Bloom hoped she was right, and that was all it was. She didn't say anything about the bleeding. "Anyhow, I put a poultice on, and we mixed up something for the headache and to make her sleep. You should have seen her..."

"I could hear her, those rocking songs she was throwing my way were the only thing keeping me going towards the end there." Scootaloo's face fell. "That means it's my fault..."

"Now don't you even start that, Sweetie Belle was just doing what she could to help you out. She wouldn't abandon you any more than I would, so don't go borrowing guilt. I figure both of you deserve a medal, for extreme amazingness in the face of overwhelming odds. Rainbow Dash would have been impressed at what you did, never mind me. I just wish I could have done more."

Scootaloo gave her friend a tap on the shoulder with a hoof. "Now who's clouding up a perfectly good sky? Without you telling me what needed doing, I wouldn't have known what the horse-feathers was going on! Maybe it wasn't as flashy as me and Sweetie Belle, but you did just as much to help."

Her eyes widened as a sudden feeling reminded her why she'd woken Apple Bloom in the first place. She started to fidget. "Uh... do you know where the rest room is in this place?"

"Huh? Oh, there ain't one, just an outhouse out back. Out the door, round the side, and watch your step. Ground's still soggy out there."

"If I don't get going it'll be soggy in here! Gotta go!" Scootaloo flew over the sleepers and let herself out of the main door.

Scootaloo was trotting back to the church; her wings were still aching from earlier. Never mind harvesting machines, Apple Bloom should put flush toilets and plumbing on her list of things to teach the locals. Toilet paper too, definitely toilet paper. Using dock leaves was a waste of perfectly good food. It was cold outside, but mostly clear and one moon was up, and nearly full. Her breath glowed as it condensed in the air in front of her, and she felt a shiver as she rounded the front of the chapel which looked onto the square.

The pile of hailstones she'd crashed in was still there, luminous in the moonlight, and the silhouettes of the buildings surrounding the square looked equally odd. For a second she thought she saw some sort of monster looming over the buildings, but it was just the town windmill, it's arms bare of sails. That had been a pain to avoid with lightning bolts.

The only other lights she could see were a couple of lanterns outside the coaching inn gates and what little light leaked between the shutters of the chapel windows. For a second, she thought she saw movement in the shadows on the coaching inn wall, but when she looked closer, there was nothing there. She trotted towards the door, her hooves silent on the damp ground, and reached up with a hoof to open the latch.

Something landed on her back, forcing her to the ground and as she opened her mouth to cry out, something made of foul tasting cloth was shoved in her mouth. Arms reached around her, trying to grapple, and she spread her wings to throw her assailant off. Even pegasus ponies are stronger than their size would suggest, and she was far more agile, so her attempt to wriggle free would have worked, if something hadn't hit her in the head.

When she woke up, it was lighter, just before dawn, but just as cold if not colder. She was also tied up, both fore hooves and both rear hooves tied together, and another rope binding her wings. To add to her discomfort, she was gagged with the same piece of cloth she'd been muffled with, at least it tasted like it, and just to top it off, she was slung across the shoulders of a horse, resting up against a saddle pommel.

"So, you're awake!" The voice wasn't one she'd ever heard before. She struggled, trying to get free and in the process got a cuff to the head. She did however see her captor was a human, possibly male, definitely fat and ugly. They were riding down a road over open fields, and he was being escorted by another human on horse back, wearing the human equivalent of armour. She yelled at the fat one to let her go, but all that came through the gag was some muffled noises.

"Ha! You won't get me or my guards with your honeyed words and charm spells, not like those poor fools in Macklewheat." The human took a swig from a sack with a bottle-like opening at the top.

"It was the gods own luck that I saw you leaving the chapel to do your foul deeds from my room at the inn. Now I will take you to the Duke, and prove that you animals have subverted those clod-foot yokels. That idiot Vennor, thinking he could out-wit me. Well I had the last laugh!"

He cackled nastily, and took another gulp of whatever was in that sack. "I saw how you drowned those fields. I'm sure I can convince the Duke to sell you to pay for the damage, with a nice commission for me on top. We may have to cut out your tongue first, animals shouldn't be able to talk. In a way it's a pity, a talking pegasus would fetch a higher price, alive anyway."

The human whined on, going on about how his massive talents weren't appreciated, and how the Duke should listen to him more. Interspersed with this was gloating over how much money she would fetch, and how he only wished he had those other smart mouthed animal to sell as well. Scootaloo noticed that the guard was rolling his eyes, and started to prefer having been knocked out.



Apple Bloom had been dozing, when she suddenly jerked awake. Some-pony right next to her had sneezed. She looked up and saw Sweetie Belle was stirring. She pulled herself out of her covers, and went to check on her. Somehow she'd gotten turned over and was facing the other way.

"Hey there, how are you feeling?" she asked softly.

"Wha... I'm okay, I think..." The little unicorn replied. "In fact I feel great!"

"Whoa there, keep it down, folks are trying to sleep." Apple Bloom was relieved to hear her friend's voice was clear and strong, but this wasn't the time to sing about it. "No more headache?"

"No, though I do feel a bit odd..." She turned to face Apple Bloom, and the farm filly's eyes widened in shock. "What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"

"You could say that." Apple Bloom seemed to be staring at her forehead.

"Is something wrong with my horn? Quick, there's a mirror in my saddle bags."

Apple Bloom fished it out and had it pulled from her mouth by the unicorn's telekinetic grip. Sweetie Belle was surprised at how easy it was she hadn't thought she'd pulled that hard. She brought the mirror up in front of her face, and saw what Apple Bloom had been surprised by. Her horn seemed to have grown at least half again in length, and despite being thicker around the base, it was sharper and more pointed, almost like a smaller version of Princess Celestia's.

"What's happened to me!" she squeaked, and a couple of the humans started to stir.

Apple Bloom looked to be thinking. "When you work out and train your muscles to get stronger, they grow. Maybe all that magic you were throwing around earlier was like a work out session for your horn. You were doing more than your horn could handle, so it injured it. When your body repaired the damage, it adapted to your new strength and grew out. That's probably why there was bleeding, the horn was pushing out and breaking the skin."

Sweetie Belle made a face. "Eww! Let's not talk about that! Does it look okay?"

"Yep, I reckon it looks really good on you." Apple Bloom grinned. "Scootaloo will probably say the same thing."

Sweetie Belle's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! Is she all right?"

"She was up before you were, a bit sore but she seemed okay otherwise. Why not ask her yourself?"

"Okay, but where is she?" The white unicorn started looking around.

Apple Bloom turned to where Scootaloo had been sleeping. "What do you mean? She's right..."

There was a load of bedding but no Scootaloo. "Huh, I guess she's still in the little ponies' room. I guess I wasn't asleep for as long as I thought."

"There's a little ponies room?" Sweetie Belle started to untangle herself from her blanket. "I think I need to go too."

"Well I guess it's the large humans room, but it does the same job, sorta. It's an old fashioned outhouse out back. I think flush toilets and soft toilet paper should be next on my list of things to invent."

Sweetie Belle was gone only a few moments and when she came back, she looked puzzled. "Are you sure that's where she went? I didn't see her anywhere."

"Hey, keep the noise down, some of us are trying to sleep!" came a yawning voice from one of the recumbent figures.

"That's odd..." Apple Bloom rather reluctantly got up out of her own blanket roll and made her way over to the doors where Sweetie Belle was. The pre-dawn morning outside was cold but clear, the smaller moon showed a horned crescent like a big grin just over the rooftops to the east.

A farm-filly got used to telling the time from the sky, and if she'd been home, she'd have reckoned Princess Celestia was still in bed, and Princess Luna still had at least an hour of her night shift to go. However, between the moon and the slightly lighter sky, she had little difficulty seeing outside.

Not that she could see anything worthy of note, someone was trudging around to the gates of the inn stable yard, but nopony else, no other human was stirring either. She started outside, felt the cold and nipped back in for her cloak, and saw Sweetie Belle had done the same.

Checking the route round to the outhouse was fruitless. No-one was there, and while there were tracks, including their own, there were too many in the rain softened ground to make out one set, even of hooves. The human over by the inn had just finished opening the gates when they came back.

"Where could she have gone?" Sweetie Belle mused. "It's not like she could have just upped and flown away... well, okay she could have, but why would she?"

"Maybe that guy over there saw something." Apple Bloom trotted over and asked. "Sorry to bother you mister, but have you seen our friend, Scootaloo? Orange pegasus, purple hair?"

The wiry old geezer gave a little start, then turned and saw them. "Heh! Gave me a little conniption there. I saw you and your friend at the camp fire evening before last. Haven't seen her since. Only folks I have seen were that tithe bloke and his two bully boys."

He gave a little huff of annoyance. "There I was, fast asleep, and they come knock me up to get the gates open. Moon crazy the lot of them, setting off in the middle of the night. Easy enough for a horse to stumble in a pot hole, even with the moon up."

Apple Bloom began to have a horrible feeling. "Did you notice anything odd? Were they carrying anything, a sack maybe?"

The old man frowned. "Wasn't really looking. More interested in closing the gates after them and getting back to bed. Though now I come to think of it... that quill pusher did have a bundle of rags or something slung across his saddle. Didn't get a good look, but it was flapping about a bit. Wait, you don't think..."

Sweetie Belle's voice squeaked as she exclaimed, "Someone took Scootaloo? How could they? Who is this mean person anyway?"

"Quite easily, I reckon." Apple Bloom was no happier. "This guy is some sort of official for the Duke who owns this land. He was plumb furious that Scootaloo flooded the empty fields, and from what the mayor told me, he's a nasty piece of work all round. If only we could be sure..."

"I can try and locate her using magic!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, pawing the ground.

Apple Bloom gave her a worried look. "You sure your horn is all healed up?"

"Won't know until I try." The white unicorn concentrated for a moment, then gentle music swirled up around her. (Somewhere Out There, American Tail)

'Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight,
Our friend's thinking of us, I hope that she's alright.
Somewhere out there, is a pony for whom we both care,
Show me where to find her, in that great somewhere out there.

And though I can't imagine just how far apart we are,
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star.

And when we try to find her for to find her we will try,
It helps to think we still are all here under the same sky.

Somewhere out there, if friendship sees us through,
We'll find one another, somewhere out there, we'll make it come true."

A tear trickled down Sweetie Belle's cheek as she sang with all her heart, and dropped into one of the puddles by her hooves. It glowed, and a small globe of water floated up from it. In the floating globe, an image formed, a picture of Scootaloo slung across the shoulders of a horse, with a fat human directly behind her on the saddle, and two guards riding behind him.

"That's him! That's that Arroway character! Oh, is he ever going to get it! Please tell me you know where they are!"

"I do, it's like a picture in my head!" Sweetie Belle's tears were forgotten as she jumped excitedly. The mirror broke up back into droplets of water and splashed around her hooves.

"You do some quality horn work, and that's a fact!" Apple Bloom turned to the old man, who was wiping his eyes. "Um sir, I'm sorry to bother you further, but could you let people know what's going on? The mayor, Maia Marrel, whoever needs to know?"

"I surely will." the old guy sniffed. "I heard what that little pegasus did for us, what all of you did. I didn't know..."

"Doesn't matter, as long as you can help now." Apple Bloom interrupted. "We'd do it ourselves, but we've got some crooks to catch!"

She wheeled and turned on her hind legs, and started galloping away, only to look back at Sweetie Belle. "Uh, which way are we going?"

Apple Bloom headed out of town on a wide dirt road following Sweetie Belle. They'd collected their saddlebags before setting off in the direction that Sweetie Belle said Scootaloo was in. Not that it was any great effort to keep up, after a few moments of running, the unicorn had slowed down to a trot, breathing heavily. The farm filly came up beside her.

"C'mon! We've got to catch up with those guys, and their horses have longer legs than ours. I'd have figured the way you sing you wouldn't get out of breath so soon."

"Not... the same... thing... at all!" Sweetie Belle puffed out. "If we had... Scootaloo and her scooter... here, she could tow us."

"If we had Scootaloo here, we would need to be doing all this running!" Apple Bloom was less winded, but she wasn't exactly used to long distance runs either. The wind was behind them, but that only helped slightly. "I don't suppose you've got a song for speeding us up?"

"I can try..." Sweetie Belle concentrated for a moment, then grinned as a new tune started up around her (Sonic Boom Ending version. Sonic CD). Both the ponies felt fatigue leave them, and started jogging forward.

"Through the dark, through the night,
We will head towards the light,
gotta keep it goin'

We will run, make it through,
we will rescue Scootaloo,
'Cause we're not slowing. (Not for anything)

They may think, they're away,
But this just won't be their day,
When we get there, oh no.

But right now, we will speed,
For it's fast movement we need,
no time to spa-are...

The two of them were now racing down the road, the ground sure and steady under their hooves. Though they weren't running that fast,somehow the landscape was moving backwards at a fantastic rate.

Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Danger only makes us faster.
Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Save our good friend from disaster.
Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Gotta get our hooves in motion.
Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Take it all the way!

Sweetie Belle was somehow still singing in time with their beating hooves, her voice strong and clear despite the effort of running. Despite the fact that it still wasn't dawn,they could both see the road ahead clearly and the best route to run.

It's our move, play to win,
Wheel of fortune's gonna spin,
It's spinning faster.

They may think they have won,
But the game has just begun,
and they've met their master.

Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Danger only makes us faster.
Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Save our good friend from disaster.
Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Gotta get our hooves in motion.
Let us zoom, Let us zoom,
Take it all the way!

Sweetie Belle repeated the chorus, which seemed to signal the end of the song, as the backing music faded down to a simple piano solo as a coda. As the song ended, they found themselves slowing down, until they were once again jogging along at normal speeds in the semi-dark.

Apple Bloom slowed for a second to look behind her and figure out how far they'd come. Well over a mile in a couple of minutes, as usual Sweetie Belle's magic had delivered. However, if those goons had set out when the other moon was still in the sky, if she had the whirligig antics of the things right,they had a lot of ground to make up.

"That was great! If we do that for another couple of hours, we should catch up with them in no time!"

"Hours!" Sweetie Belle squeaked. "I don't know if I could even keep singing that long, but I can guarantee if I do I won't be any use by the time I get there!"

"Well we've gotta make up ground on them somehow. From what the guy said they'll be riding more slowly, but those big horses have longer legs than us..."

Something loomed ahead in the dawn light, a huge hunched figure with great reaching arms, and Apple Bloom had a moment of atavistic terror, even if she'd never heard of the word, and would have been able to tell you what it meant anyway. Sweetie Belle stopped dead, eyes wide in fright. "A monster!"

Apple Bloom gulped down her fear, and there was plenty to gulp, but she started moving forward again. It hadn't moved despite the noise, so maybe it hadn't noticed them. Anyway the way to Scootaloo was past it. As she got closer she breathed a sigh of relief as the thing got clearer.

"It's okay, c'mon, it's just a tree with something draped over it, looks like a canvas sail of some kind." Which in itself was odd, from what little she'd gathered about the local geography, they were far from any sea, or even a large lake.

"A sail?" Sweetie Belle trotted up beside her. "Where could that come from?"

"I was just wondering... the windmill in Macklewheat!" She recognised the way the sail was rigged, it was similar to the ones in Ponyville, though some of the ropes were snapped and frayed at the ends. "The wind's been in the right direction, but I thought they would be taken down for a storm like that. Maybe this just wasn't taken down in time. Hmm..."

Sweetie Belle's horn glowed to give them both some light, and she saw the thoughtful expression on her companion's face. Apple Bloom clearly had an idea. This was not necessarily a good thing as her ideas sometimes didn't so much back-fire as back-explode. Not that the unicorn filly hadn't had some spectacular misfires of her own.

"You know how we were thinking of trying for our sky-diving cutie-marks?"

"Yes, but we weren't sure were we could get goggles, or helmets, or parachutes, or an airship..." The white unicorn was surprised by the non-sequitur until she suddenly connected the dots, and boy did they form a scary picture. "Oh no! No! Not happening! Not a pegasus, not a pilot, not going! Not this unicorn! Besides even if you rig this thing into some sort of parachute for the two of us, we don't have an airship to lift us up."

"If you can put together a song that will give us a strong up-draft, we don't need one. We can ride it all the way up, then float down."

"Back where we started." Sweetie Belle knew she could de-rail this train of thought by simply denying that she could lift them, up, but something was stopping her, mostly the fact that a song to do it was already bubbling up in her mind. "How will that get us closer to Scootaloo?"

Apple Bloom shook her head and pointed up at the lightening sky. The clouds were spaced out, the last remnants of the previous day's storm, and they were moving at a fair clip. Even on the ground the wind was chilling, now that they weren't running with it.

"Look at those clouds, it sure ain't pegasi pushing them! The way the wind's going, it will carry us right along, faster than we could run. Besides, since the sail's longer one way than the other, I figure I can make it a sot of paraglider. We can control our direction and glide towards them, getting us even further along."

"Do you even know how to _use_ a paraglider? Because I know I don't."

"Nope, but I do know how to use a hang glider, sort of, and the principle's the same, well similar."

"Yes, I heard about that." Sweetie Belle's voice wasn't encouraging. "The last time didn't go so well, did it?"

"That was because I stumbled before I took off. Once we're in the air, we should be fine."

"Should?" Sweetie Belle queried.

Apple Bloom was already sorting through the ropes hanging down, and had a knife out from the tools in her saddlebags. As the hilt was held in the side of her mouth, her response was a but muffled. "I did all the theory stuff first. Besides, it's the only way I can think of for us both to catch up with Scootaloo's kidnappers. She'd do the same for us."

"But she can fly!" Nevertheless, Sweetie Belle moved closer to give Apple Bloom more light.

"So will we when I'm finished." Apple Bloom tugged on a rope experimentally.

Sweetie Belle gave a sigh of resignation. "Alright, how can I help?"

It took only a few moments for Apple Bloom, aided by Sweetie Belle's telekinesis, to tie the loose ends of rope up into a sturdy double harness, with loops in the key ropes that she could put her hooves through. With them, she would be able to haul on the ropes and adjust the trim to steer their makeshift paraglider. She made sure they were both securely tied in and grabbed one more thing from her saddlebags.

"Aren't those goggles Scootaloo's?" Sweetie belle asked as the farm-filly put them over her eyes.

"She crash landed, and I took them off her when I checked to see she hadn't hurt her head. I put them in my saddlebags for safe keeping. Lucky, as I reckon I'll need them to see where I'm going."

She gave one last check of the canopy resting on the branches as the sky lightened. "Okay, looks like we're set! Make with the music!"

Sweetie Belle pushed down her nervousness and focussed on the song swirling in her mind. (Lets Fly a Kite, Mary Poppins)

"If you've canvas and you can make things,
You can have your own set of wings,
Lift your feet off the ground, set the skies in your sight,
As the wind makes you light, you are going to take flight!"

The wind rose around them, straining at the canvas which pulled free and lifted them off the ground at the word 'light'. Apple Bloom yanked on two control cords spilling air from the front to make them drift backwards and avoid the branches, and then they were clear and rising as Sweetie Belle went into the chorus.

"Oh, oh, oh!
Let our sail take flight, up to the highest height,
Let the wind move right and send us soaring,
Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear,
Oh, oh oh, give us flight!"

They were zooming upwards like a rocket on a powerful up-draft, and the wind was already starting to carry them along faster than they could have run without magic. As they flew higher, the first fingers of dawn started to reach across the land, and the sun peeked above the horizon ahead of them.

"Oh with craft and magic and care,
All at once we're dancing on air,
We can ride on the breeze, over houses and trees,
If the wind moves us right, we will go on a flight!"

The view was spectacular, and Sweetie Belle's spirits lifted along with the paraglider. She'd been scared of this? It was amazing! She'd never really been jealous of pegasi before now, but if this was what they got to see all of the time, she might start. But right now she was feeling too good, and drove her music and magic to even greater heights.

"Oh, oh, oh!
Let our sail take flight, up to the highest height,
Let the wind move right and send us soaring,
Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear,
Oh, oh oh, give us flight!"

As the coda played around her, she checked her sense of where Scootaloo was. They must have been a mile high, maybe more, but even so she could see the ground below moving under them. However, at that height they wouldn't be able to see Scootaloo or the goons who'd pony-napped her. She could sense they were gaining on her, but she was a little over to the left.

She looked over at Apple Bloom to tell her to adjust course, and saw the other pony was looking distinctly unhappy. The light was now bright enough to see colour, but Apple Bloom's face still looked moon-light pale. Her hooves in the loops were still rock steady though.

"A little to the left! It's working!" The unicorn decided encouragement was the best course.

"Ohh!" Apple Bloom groaned in response. She was quite audible despite their speed, as the wind was carrying them with it. "I think I'm afraid of heights!"

"What? But you were so enthusiastic about it!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"That was before I got up here! It's not like I ever actually flew before, not even in a balloon!" She gritted her teeth, and pulled on the left hoof loop, warping the right rear corner of the paraglider down all the same. They swung out to the right as the sail turned left.

"Whoa! We're good!" Sweetie Belle called out, as the map in her head came into line with reality.

"I won't be good until I get all four hooves back on the ground!" The farm-filly replied with some feeling.

"But you're doing great! Don't let it get you down, I mean don't let your spirits fall, I mean..."

"Sweetie Belle?" The earth-pony had her eyes closed, trying to focus on one of Temple Fortress's meditation techniques rather than the open air beneath her hooves.

"Yes, Apple Bloom?"

"Stop trying to cheer me up! Just drop it... oh horse-apples, now you've got me doing it!"

Despite Apple Bloom's nerves, she managed to control their makeshift craft well enough, and they quickly gained on the fleeing villains. They were still several hundred pony-lengths up when they saw the trio of horse riders. Apple Bloom was clearly a little more comfortable now that she was nearer the ground. The dirt road below was running through open plains country, with long grass to either side that rippled like waves in the dawn light.

"Okay, plan time!" she said to Sweetie Belle. "Do we drop in behind them and try to sneak up on them? Or do we get out in front and try to stop them?"

She squinted downwards, suppressing a slight shudder. "It looks like Scootaloo is slung over the saddle, but I can't see if she's tied on. Getting her away from that Arroway character is the most important thing."

"She isn't, I saw that in the image, but she's bound hoof and wing." Sweetie Belle replied, "Why not just drop on them?"

"I'll need a few seconds to cut us both free, I wasn't going to trust any quick release I could make with this stuff." Apple Bloom commented. "I say land well ahead of them. I don't think we can move fast enough to overtake them without being heard anyway, and maybe this thing will freak them out. Temple Fortress always said any battle starts in the other pony's mind.

"I can duck into the bushes and work my way back while you distract them. I jump out as they pass and bounce right across that goon's lap, scooping up Scootaloo as I go. I free her, and then we drop an apple tree on these crooks."

"I'll ask them to give up first, we don't want to fight if we can help it."

"Doubt that's going to happen, but I hope I'm wrong. I want to see these guys get what's coming to them, but I'd be okay if we can just take them in. I don't know the local rules exactly, but tying someone up and carrying them off in the middle of the night can't be legal."

They swept over the party of bad guys and ahead of them, Apple Bloom aiming for a straight section of road up ahead. They heard yells of surprise and fear as the horsemen finally spotted them, and then they were down, several hundred hooves ahead of the trio. Apple Bloom flared up the front of the sail, spilling air to slow them down and the two ponies landed, the chute collapsing out in front of them.

Apple Bloom had the knife out of her saddlebag before it had settled, reaching back with her head and cutting some critical ropes. Then she turned to the still recovering Sweetie Belle and freed her. She spun on the spot and checked where the bad guys were, apparently they'd had to stop to regain control of their horses. So far, so good.

"Good luck!" she called out to Sweetie Belle as she dived into the undergrowth to the side of the path.

Sweetie Belle turned as well, and hooked up her ventriloquism spell. Doing her best impression of a Royal Canterlot Voice, she yelled out. "Stop, criminal scum! Release our friend and come quietly!"

Arroways's eyes widened, and then narrowed in calculation. "Get her, and find that other monster! Alive if possible!"

So much for resolving things without a fight. However, the two guards were still deafened by her yell, and their horses were spooked. That effectively gave her another moment to prepare for them not obeying, and she knew what she needed. A pounding intro started as she prepped a spell. (Holding out for a Hero. Bonnie Tyler)

"Do Do Doo! Do Do Doo! Do Do Doo! Ahh Ahh!"

The two guards finally got over the ringing in their ears, and got their horses under control and started to canter forward, readying their weapons.

She needed more time to power up her spell, so as she sung, she grabbed a selection of hoof sized gravel with her horn and flung it, hoping to distract them. She was surprised when they shot away like bullets, and dented the guards breastplates, not to mention spooking the horses again.

"Where have the good ponies gone, and where the Princesses?
Where's a streetwise Belepheron to bring my cause success?
I need a white knight, a brave courageous steed,
Help me in this darkest hour, oh magic hear me plead!"

At the end of the next line, on the cymbal crash, a white form with a glowing blue aura formed in front of her. It was a pegasus stallion clad in Royal Guard armour, except that it was almost the size of the other horses. The armour was as white as it's coat and mane, but this was no marble statue, instead a construct of pure force, and it pawed at the ground then charged.

"I need a hero! I'm calling out for a hero till the end of the night!
They've got to be strong and they've got to be fast and they've got to be ready to fight!
I need a hero! I'm calling out for a hero in the dawn's first light!
They've got to be sure and they've got to be skilled and they've got to be larger than life! Larger than life!"

The glowing apparition barrelled into the two guards, who'd finally managed to spur their horses forwards. They tried to swing around it to each side and chop at it with their swords en passant, but it's wings flicked out with an audible 'shing' and blocked the blades, sweeping forward to knock them back off their horses.

"Striking in the dawn light, with strength and bravery,
Safety is beyond my reach but someone's reaching out for me.
Racing in like thunder, with awesome fighting moves,
A Mysterious Mare Do Well to sweep me off my hooves! Yeaaah!"

Arroway was screaming useless advice at his soldiers but staying well back himself, though he was concentrating on the fight. That meant Apple Bloom had no difficulty sneaking through the long grass until she was directly opposite him. She checked her bags were well secured, chose her moment and leaped up with all the strength she could draw from the earth.

She sprung right up onto his saddle bow, straddling Scootaloo, and hauled the filly clear, kicking off with her hind hooves to throw them both well clear of the stunned human. She tumbled in mid-air to get ready for a landing, taking it on her back legs as she absorbed their combined weight. The grass cushioned their fall,, as Sweetie Belle sung another chorus.

The guards were now on foot, and trying to disengage from the battle pegasus, but his hooves and wings seemed to be everywhere, and it was all they could do to fend off his attacks. The riderless horses had panicked and bolted, and one had gone down with a broken leg as it caught it's hoof in a snag on the edge of the road.

Meanwhile Apple Bloom had pulled her knife from her saddlebag, and cut Scootaloo's bonds. She got the gag free just in time for Scootaloo, who was looking behind her to yell, "Watch out!"

They both sprang to the sides as Arroway's horse tried to ride them down. Fortunately he seemed to have trouble controlling it in the long grass, and made heavy weather of turning it around to try again. Scootaloo was still trying to get her limbs working properly after being tied up, so it fell to Apple Bloom not to give him that chance.

"From where the mountains meet the heavens above,
From where the lightning splits the clouds,
There come ponies who'll fight to protect me without doubt!"

Apple Bloom did another mighty leap, but this one was to cannon into Arroway with a flying rear hoof kick that flung him from the saddle and dropped him on the ground. She let herself come around so she could ride him down on all fourslike a sled, slamming him into the ground. She was ready to follow up with a pair of fore-hoof stomps that would loosen his teeth, but he just curled up gasping for breath and whimpering.

"Though there's darkness and trouble and pain, I'll get the help that I need!
I'll sing my song to call them and they will heed,
Oh yes, they they will heed!"

Scootaloo had her wings working again, and was hovering to work the kinks out, but she was at a loss what to do. Apple Bloom had taken out the guy who'd kidnapped her, but Sweetie Belle was in trouble. As long as she kept singing, that Royal Guard she'd conjured would protect her, but as soon as the song faded...

If only she still had her cloud, a few lighting bolts would soon make them cry uncle, but without it, all she could do was dive bomb them. She pawed at the air in frustration, and was surprised to find a streamer of mist forming around her hoof. A few seconds experimentation showed she could 'scrape' cloud out of thin air.

As she flew up, she formed pads of cloud under each hoof solid enough to stand on, like nebular roller skates. More importantly, she could charge them up with lightning like her old cloud. Oh yes, she could work with this. She didn't know how it worked, but she wasn't about to look a gift carrying pony in the mouth.

"I need a hero! I'm calling out for a hero till the end of the night!
They've got to be strong and they've got to be fast and they've got to be ready to fight!
I need a hero! I'm calling out for a hero in the dawn's first light!
They've got to be sure and they've got to be skilled and they've got to be larger than life!"

Scootaloo dived in as Sweetie Belle repeated her chorus, and unloaded a pair of her best lightning bolts at the guards feet. She swept past overhead and did a wing-over to turn round. "Hold it right there! Drop your swords or the next ones won't miss!"

Beset by the hovering pegasus, lightning crackling around her hooves, and another larger version that shrugged off their best efforts like a roof shedding water, the two guards finally lost their fighting spirit. The conjured Royal Guard stopped belabouring them, and they put down their swords on the floor. They were immediately yanked away by a glow of pink telekinetic energy.

As the song faded away, the force construct turned to face Sweetie Belle and snapped off a salute before vanishing. Meanwhile Apple Bloom was herding an ill looking Arroway towards the others. Sweetie Belle's magic quickly relieved the guards of their belt knives as well.

"You can't do this to me!" Arroway had finally recovered enough breath to be annoying again. "I am Dander Arroway, personal representative of Duke Wilberis..."

"Oh give it a rest!" called out Scootaloo from above, punctuating her exclamation with a lightning bolt just in front of him.

"I never heard any-pony who could run off at the mouth like you! Going on endlessly about how much money you were going to make from selling me, and moaning about how you weren't appreciated. If I hadn't been gagged, I'd have asked you to knock me out again just so I didn't have to listen to you!"

One of the guards was actually suppressing a smirk at that, but the other looked over at the fallen horse, who chose that moment to give out a particularly painful squeal.

"Okay, so you've got us, but please, I've got to go over and see to Falchion."

There was a moment of discussion between the ponies, and then Apple Bloom said, "Okay, but if you try anything funny, you won't find what happens funny!"

"Understood. I'll need my belt knife..."

"Why?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously.

The guard didn't look particularly happy as he replied. "I've got to put him out of his misery."

"WHAT! You're going to kill him? Just because of a broken leg?"

"I don't have a choice! There's no way I can fix it, or even move him, so it's either that or let him suffer and die! Your magic trick saw to that!" The guard was genuinely angry. "He's a good mount, I've been with him since I joined the Duke's Guard, and I want to help him, but I can't except to give him mercy."

"You can't, but I can!" Sweetie Belle responded, and started trotting over towards the stricken warhorse who was kicking out with his uninjured legs, and tossing his head around, wild with pain.

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called out urgently.

"He's right, I did this and I've got to fix it, so don't try to stop me!"

"I wasn't going to, I'm just worried you'll get hurt!" Apple Bloom turned to the guard. "Get over there! Your horse knows you, try to keep it calm while my friend works. And remember what I said."

Under the guard's ministrations, Falchion's panic subsided enough for Sweetie Belle to get around to his shoulder, and reach over to the top of his injured leg with her horn. " Horn, please gleam and glow..."

The golden glow of healing magic spread to the horse's leg, and visibly shifted the twisted joint back into place. As the glow subsided, the horse was left with a whole leg, and his wildness disappeared. With a whinny that sounded almost puzzled, he started moving the leg, and then wobbled as he pushed himself up into a standing position.

"There, there big guy. All better..." the guard's relief was clear. He turned to the little unicorn who was watching him cautiously. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Sweetie Belle was surprised. He was quite polite for someone who'd been trying to knock her over the head or worse only a few minutes ago. "You could repay me by explaining why you pony-napped our friend."

"Don't talk to that creature!" Arroway called out. "She'll cast a mind control spell on you just like she did on those simpleton yokels!"

"I thought I told you to pipe down!" Scootaloo called down at him. "And we never did anything like that, I don't think Sweetie Belle even knows one!"

The other guard, who had stayed silent up until now, finally spoke. "So what are you going to do with us?"

Apple Bloom answered him. "Take all three of you back to Macklewheat. They can decide what happens to you, we just wanted our friend back. So gather up your horses, and we'll get going."
> Experience Points
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group made an odd procession as they walked back down the road. At the front was an ill looking Arroway, followed by the two guards leading their horses, and with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle bringing up the rear, while Scootaloo kept watch from overhead. The guards were still in armour, but their swords were back in their scabbards, and likely to remain there courtesy of the strongest sticking charm Sweetie Belle could muster. Arroway's dagger was in Apple Bloom's saddlebags.

They'd found out that the two guards were Constable Clovis, a fresh faced youth who had been Falchion's rider, and Constable Gaspard, an older, more weathered male who didn't seem particularly unhappy at his bosses' discombobulation. Their equipment was nowhere near as shiny as Royal Guard armour, but it had the correct balance of well used and well maintained that indicated well trained troops, though none of the Crusaders would have recognised that.

Other than introductions, there hadn't been much more conversation. Sweetie Belle took it on herself to remedy that. She trotted up alongside Clovis, though at Apple Bloom's suggestion, she stayed at least an arm's length (his arm to be precise) away from him.

"You never answered my question," Sweetie Belle prompted. "Why did you think it was a good idea to pony-nap Scootaloo?"

Clovis was clearly deep in his own worried thoughts, and almost jumped at the sudden question.

"I didn't... I mean, I didn't know exactly what was going on. Look, we'd just got in ahead of the storm, and pretty much all I wanted to do was get a meal and good night's sleep. Then he wakes us both up in the middle of the night, babbling about demons and proof and how we had to get back to the Duke immediately.

"So we have to get out of bed and turn out in the dark and the cold, and head on up the high road. Then we get this explanation about how three monsters..." He gave a quick sideways look to see if she'd taken offence, and was relieved when it seemed she hadn't, "...had somehow cast some sort of mind control spell on the entire town and turned them against him. He'd captured one of them, and was taking it to the Duke for judgement."

"Hey, watch who you're calling an 'it'!" Scootaloo's indignant reply suggested she _had_ taken offence.

"His words, not mine." The guard glanced up as he explained. "I thought he was a bit crazy, and a lot drunk, but it was our job to guard him, so we went. I didn't realise he was carrying anything more than an animal at first, and I didn't know just how nasty a piece of work he was..."

"I'll make sure the Duke hears of this disrespect!" called out Arroway, then staggered to the side of the road and was noisily sick.

"Our lord and master, gods help us!" groaned Gaspard. "Guarding him is always a stake in the barracks dice games, with the honour going to the loser."

"If he's that bad, why did you follow his orders?" asked Scootaloo with some asperity.

Gaspard sighed. "Because the Duke ordered us to protect him, and follow his orders, and I follow my Duke's commands, even if I don't like them."

"Even when it meant doing something wrong?" The pegasus pressed.

Oddly enough it was Apple Bloom who answered.

"Now Scoots, I reckon you've got a right to be mad, but I can kinda see where they're coming from. Diamond Tiara ain't exactly miss sweetness and light, but we followed her orders when she was running the Foal Free press, even when we knew some of those stories we were turning out were making ponies unhappy. At least these guys were doing out of loyalty, and not because they were being blackmailed. If all they knew was what Arroway told them, then they would have even figured they were doing the right thing. This is all his fault for feeding them a line of rotten apples."

"I guess..." Scootaloo mused. She flew down lower, above and in front of the two guards, back-winging as she skated backwards on the puffs of cloud covering her hooves. "Sorry, you guys, I guess I'm just cranky, what with being kidnapped and having no breakfast..."

"There's always grass." Apple Bloom suggested.

"Raw grass?" the pegasus made a face.

Sweetie Belle, who's own stomach was grumbling now that food had been mentioned, stepped aside and grabbed a mouthful of the chest high wild grass, and chewed it experimentally.

"Mmmm... Could do with some dandelions or sliced tomatoes for flavour, but it's not bad." She grabbed another mouthful. "I just wish we had some blueberry muffins from Sugar Cube Corner..."

"Zap Apple tarts and Applejack's special sweet cider." Apple Bloom sighed.

"Mom's honey roast turnip and baked garlic shallots..." Scootaloo's eyes were distant.

There was a synchronised rumble from three stomachs. Finally Apple Bloom gave another sigh. "Well what we've got is grass, and lots of it. Besides, Granny Smith taught me a recipe for Honey Roast Turnip, and made sure I knew it right, so that we can have, if I can figure out how to wrangle the local ovens."

"I can make some of Rarity's fancy toast!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, causing the other two ponies to blanch.

"Uh, no offence Sweetie Belle, but the last time you brought fancy toast to a Crusaders meeting, everyone thought it was peat broth." Apple Bloom gently reminded her.

Scootaloo was more forthright. "_You_ thought it was peat broth, I thought it was grouting. I just didn't say anything."

Sweetie Belle teared up. "Are you saying I can't cook?"

"You can cook... just not edible food." Scootaloo clarified, then saw Sweetie Belle's expression, and Apple Bloom's. "But then I can't shape raw elemental chaos into pure awesomeness with the power of my voice alone, and you don't see me crying about that. For that matter, I thought your powers were down for the count."

That distracted Sweetie Belle. "My horn grew out, that's why it was hurting."

Scootaloo hovered and skimmed backwards just in front of Sweetie Belle, using a wing-tip to pass her a pad of condensed cloud to wipe her eyes with.

"Hey, yeah! At first I figured you were just wearing your mane differently. Looks really cool and pointy, and you got a big power boost too! That Royal Guard ghost or whatever you summoned was amazing!" the pegasus said,in an enthusiastic tone, then calmed down a bit. "What I'm trying to say is it doesn't matter to us whether you can cook, you're our friend, regardless. Besides, I've been banned from the kitchen by mom after the third time I set it on fire while making a cup of hot chocolate."

Sweetie Belle's magic held the cloud wipe and brushed it across her eyes. "You set fire to the chocolate powder?"

"Nope, the water!" Scootaloo grinned. The cloud boots crackled slightly. "I guess that now we know why that happened."

"Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, I agree with the sentiments, but we've got humans to herd, and keeping my eyes on all three is making 'em derp!" Apple Bloom called out. "My eyes that is, not the humans. What say we take it in turns to get a snack?"

That had the three ponies dropping out of the procession in turn to get a mouthful of the roadside. That emboldened Clovis to say, "You three might be able to manage on grass, but we can't! We didn't have breakfast, and neither did our horses! Could we stop for a while? We have rations and water in our packs."

None of the ponies saw a problem with that, and the group came to a stop. The horses were set to grazing, and the ponies did too. The two guards had canteens of water; dried meat and thin loaves of spiced flat bread with cheese. They offered some to Arroway, but the assessor just turned green at the sight of food, so they sat off the track and ate.

Scootaloo had scouted out some patches of wild dandelions and colts foot, and ended up trying the spiced bread, which wasn't exactly Sugarcube Corner standard, but made a nice change. She didn't need to hit up the guard canteens, as the early morning air had enough moisture that she could wring out a few cups of water with her new talent, while Apple Bloom crafted some improvised bowls out of some broad leaves and Sweetie Belle's sticking spells.

They were just finishing up when a group of horsemen appeared from the direction of Macklewheat, moving at a canter. As they grew closer, the ponies could see Mayor Vennor in the van, flanked by Jace and Yancy, and behind them, Durnik the smith, Simeon and Jaeger on a large stallion. When they saw the almost domestic scene in front of them, most of them had expressions of surprise, but Jace and Yancy just smirked at each other.

As they rode up to the group, Arroway stirred up out of his stupor and stood up, yelling out, "Mayor! I order you to arrest these three monsters! They attacked us on the Duke's Highway, which makes them bandits! I insist on seeing justice done right away, and I want the death penalty!"

His actions brought exclamations of shock from just about everybody else, including the two guards. However, Mayor Vennor recovered first.

"Assessor Arroway, that is a very serious charge! Do you wish to change your mind?"

"No!" The self-important man recovered a lot of his puff and turned a nasty smirk on the ponies, and the two guards. "It might have been better if I'd had competent guards, but I'll deal with that when I report to the Duke."

Mayor Vennor rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. "Very well, you leave me no choice. You are under arrest in the name of the Duke for kidnapping. Durnik, Jaeger, take him in custody."

Gaspard and Clovis suddenly found Jace and Yancy behind them, hands on sword hilts. "Do _not_ interfere. I know your lot's reputation, not someone I'd want to go up against in a fair fight, which is why you won't get one if you try anything."

"To rescue that moron?" Gaspard exclaimed, "Not a chance!"

The tithe assessor went white as the two villagers took hold of him. "You can't arrest me! I outrank you and everyone in that pathetic little hamlet! Anyway, I was only carrying out my sworn duty, and protecting everyone from those things' insidious mind control tricks! Even if they've fried your brains, if any, there's no way you can claim that taking one of those creatures away for the Duke to examine is kidnapping!"

Mayor Vennor rolled his eyes. "For an educated man, your knowledge of the law is abysmal. Firstly, while you have authority in specific areas, seeing that the tallies of crops are taken accurately and assessing the tithe, I am responsible for upholding the law, as the Duke's representative, duly elected by the villagers and sworn to the Duke as his bondsman.

"We've never needed a separate sheriff in Macklewheat, and in the absence of one, I am responsible for those duties as well. If you believed a crime had been committed, you should have come to me. And by that I mean make a formal complaint, not just take one look at things and immediately storm off to harangue someone who was still on their sickbed."

"If you were so sure I was compromised by an enchantment, you could and should have taken your problem to the Duke, but that was all you had authority to do. Enforcement is my job, and one which you've just made tougher with your last thoughtless rant."

Arroway sneered. "Humph! Yes, whatever you may say, you can't get out of the fact that your precious ponies attacked someone on the high road."

"Actually, that isn't what I'm talking about. Brother Soran cast an alignment detection spell on them, and it came back positive and internal. On that basis alone he declared them to be people in the eyes of Pelor. Animals have no concept of good and evil. I've confirmed it against what books I have, and absent other evidence or higher secular or church counter-ruling, that must be considered legally binding. You've already admitted taking one of them against her will, which makes it kidnapping.

"Any high crime, and kidnapping is one of them, requires people to stop it or assist if they are able to, and they are protected by law from the normal consequences of any illegal actions, if they can show those actions were necessary in preventing the crime. Since neither you or your guards are robbed, dead, or even look badly injured, I don't think any justice would see their actions as banditry."

Vennor had dropped from his horse and stalked over. "You, on the other hand may have talked yourself into a noose! I wanted to handle this quietly, administratively, and you had the out that you couldn't know of Brother Soran's determination. You could legitimately argue that you didn't believe Scootaloo was a person, and that you were stealing an animal. Not a high crime and something I could deal with quietly."

He prodded the now quivering tax man in the chest. "But by your own admission, you see them as people, which makes it the high crime of kidnapping. Now I have no choice but to take it to the Duke, who will not thank me for having to decide whether to condemn his own tax assessor to hang. Why couldn't just keep your stupid mouth shut for once!"

"But... I always said they were animals..." blubbered Arroway.

"However, you treated them as people. Asking for them to be arrested? Accusing them of crimes? You don't arrest animals." He turned away, disgust on his face, and looked over the now guarded guards. "I hope you at least understand the chain of command."

Clovis hung his head, and Gaspard had difficulty looking the mayor in the eye. The younger guard mumbled. "After a mess like this, are we even Duke's guards any more?"

"That depends on the degree of complicity you had in the kidnapping."

Brother Soran had come over and checked Scootaloo's rope marks and bruises, but had motioned them quiet while the Mayor spoke. However, Scootaloo felt she had to speak. "Uh, Mr Mayor?"

"Yes, Scootaloo? I'm sorry I couldn't check on you first, but this is my duty as representative to the Duke."

"That wasn't what I was gonna say. But I can say that they didn't kidnap me. All they knew was that I was some dangerous animal, that guy filled their head with tales, and all they did was follow his orders. Maybe they shouldn't have fought when my friends came to rescue me, but they were doing what they thought was right."

She'd thought all sorts of mean things about the two guards while she'd been tied up, and planned all sorts of ways she'd see them in trouble along with their boss. She'd even been ready to zap them without a warning shot during the fight, and only the fact that her friends had been avoiding head on attacks had stopped her. Now she knew their side of the story, she felt guilty about that, and sticking up for them made her feel a lot better.

Mayor Vennor nodded, and turned to the two guards. "Well, it seems you have an advocate. You may come out of this without too much trouble. May, I say."

He looked over at Brother Soran. "Is she unhurt?"

"Yes, by the grace of Pelor." The cleric affirmed. "The ropes have chafed her where she was bound, but that seems to be all."

"Very well, I can find out exactly what happened on the way back to Macklewheat."

"I want to know what happened too," Jace commented. "I expected a fight, not a picnic! I also can't believe they left you your swords. I thought I taught Apple Bloom better than that."

Gaspard gave an amused snort. "We may have our swords, good luck doing anything with them. Your unicorn friend zapped them with some sort of spell that peace bonded them to the scabbard. I still can't believe we lost to them, even against a magic user."

Tensions between the two guards and the mercenaries had eased when Scootaloo had provided her defence. Jace rolled his eyes.

"I can. Let me tell you about how they pulled me and Yancy out of a 'famous last stand'..."

The procession resumed back towards Macklewheat, rather larger than before. The parasail required a bit of explanation, and eventually a piece of rag and a twig as scale model. The tale of the battle was retold, and the aftermath, and the guards pretty much exonerated, even though they'd attacked first, because they had done so at what they thought was a lawful order. In return, they got filled in on exactly why the trio had inspired such loyalty.

Jace called over to Sweetie Belle, "So, holding out on us? I didn't know you could do summoning too!"

"Uh, well I didn't know either." The unicorn admitted. "It just sort of came to me."

"Well I hope you can do it again, I wouldn't mind facing off against this spectral guard later myself. Or whatever it is."

"Well, I can try." Sweetie Belle replied. "I don't feel tired out."

Scootaloo called down from above. "So, what are the two of you doing here anyway? I mean I'm glad you're here, but you're not part of the villiage."

"Master Merrel wanted to come along to help, but the caravan is moving on today, and he had to stay behind to get it ready. That's why he sent us along instead, to give the mayor some trained fighters if we'd had to rescue you. Should have known it wouldn't be needed."

Meanwhile Apple Bloom was receiving a couple of gifts. Brother Soran had ridden up beside her, and was talking down to her, though his tone was anything but patronising.

"I have the letters attesting to your person-hood, as I promised, and a letter of introduction to Bishop Merantis in Teiras. I taught him as a noviate, and still correspond with him when I can. While he may not be the most skilled in the mysteries, there are few who are more honest, decent or open-minded. He will find someone who can help you if anyone can."

"Gosh, Brother Soran, you've done so much to help us already!" Apple Bloom looked up to the white bearded human. "Thank you. I mean, I don't know how we can repay you."

The cleric smiled gently. "Bless you, I just do Pelor's work, though it's allthe better when it's such a pleasure too."

Durnik rode up along her other side. "I've got something for you too. After the storm, there wasn't really much more need for sharpened scythe blades, so I had the time to work on these."

He pulled a package from a bag on his belt, and drew out a horseshoe, made from dark iron. "Two sets, shaped for your hooves, as bought and paid for. It's not often I make footwear for someone who's able to tell me how they fit."

Sweetie Belle was called into action to add some sticking charms, and Apple Bloom quickly got to try them on. The iron felt cold on her hooves at first, but they fitted well, and the weight wasn't bad, though she figured adding it to the end of a hoof strike might buff up her damage a bit. Most importantly, she could still feel the earth underneath her and draw on it's power.

"Oh yeah, these will do just fine!" She called up as she trotted along, bringing her hooves up high. However, she noticed two people weren't sharing the general high spirits. One was the now utterly defeated Arroway, and the other was the Mayor, who looked as if he'd eaten something sour. She came over to him.

"Uh, Mister Mayor? Is something wrong?"

The mayor looked down from his horse. "Yes, but it's nothing you can help with. I dislike that idiot Arroway as much as anybody, but that doesn't mean I want to see him dead."

"He doesn't look that ill to me." Apple Bloom replied innocently.

The mayor looked confused, then realisation spread across his face. "How do you punish crimes where you come from?"

Apple Bloom frowned. "Uh... Generally you have to make up for whatever you did, I guess. Really bad ponies get imprisoned, and I think you can be banished, though I've never heard of it actually happening, not in Ponyville."

"I thought as much." He sighed. "If he's convicted of kidnapping, as he's likely to be, the sentence is to be hung by the neck until dead."

"You're going to kill him?" That loud exclamation brought the two other ponies over at the double.

"Not I. Though if he'd actually a managed to harm someone, I'd gladly put the rope around his neck myself. He will have a trial, and the Duke himself will ultimately decide his fate, but for some thoroughly evil crimes, arson, murder, highway robbery, kidnapping, that is the penalty under the King's law. You clearly come for a gentler place, but that is how things work here. Indeed, in some kingdoms, the laws are far harsher."

The three conferred. Finally Apple Bloom spoke. "We wanted to get Sootaloo back, and see that guy punished, but not like this! Is there anything we can do?"

"I don't see how. The situation may be due to your arrival, but it was not of your making. It was caused by an vicious, petty idiot being an vicious, petty idiot."

"But it's not like he actually got away with it." Scootaloo mused. "I mean he got the drop on me, but he didn't escape. Does that make a difference?"

"Actually it may..." Mayor Vennor mused. "If you're willing to make attestations to that effect, well, he still won't enjoy what happens, but he'll probably be alive to experience it."

They quickly agreed, and the rest of the journey back to Macklewheat passed quickly. There were people back out in the fields as they arrived, continuing to gather the harvest, but a lot of them came to the road and cheered when the group passed by, except for Arroway and the guards, who got more than a few pieces of rotten fruit aimed at them.

They spent just enough time with the Mayor to deal with all the paperwork relaing to the kidnapping, and Scootaloo managed to get some spare sheets for herself. While her set of coloured pencils had come through her various ordeals intact, the paper she'd had on her hadn't.Then they went to privately visit Brother Soran, though they had to stop for hugs from some of the kids, and a few of the ladies. 

Sanree, the old lady druid even gave Apple Bloom a carved wooden hair clasp that she'd crafted to replace the young earth pny's lost hair bow. She also gave her a small but well stocked kit full of healers supplies. She also gave them each a wooden stoppered vial that contained a potion that could heal at least some injuries instantly.  

After Brother Soran had given them their papers, Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Uh, Brother Soran? Like I said, we really wish we could repay you for everything you did, and we meant it."

Sweetie Belle's horn glowed, and she lifted one of the smaller gems she was carrying out of her saddle bag. While not the largest, it was a flawless saphire, and according to Jace's rough horsdeback guess, would sell for at least a couple of hundred gold.

"I... I couldn't accept something that valuable! Where did you get it?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Sweetie Belle's sister uses piles of them in her dresses. We had some left overs with us when we were casting the spell that got us here. We won't miss one gem, but we figured you could find a use for it. Jace told me how you church runs on tithes and donations. We figured this should help out if we're not around next time something bad happens."

Brother Soran finally took it out of the air. "Thank you, all of you. I will ask Pelor to watch over you in my prayers, and to see you safely home."

"Hey, you three!" came Jace's voice from outside. "The caravan's all ready to go!"

"Thanks, we can use all the help we can get!" Scootaloo replied. "Goodbye, and thanks again!"

The next couple of days saw them travelling slowly towards the more populated areas of the kingdom, which they found out was called Maysalon. The capital was a sea-port with the same name, but it was much further south. The high road they were travelling on ran east to west, across the high plains where Macklewheat and a number of other villages were.At the far end, it dropped down into a wide river valley, with the large town of Teiras at the centre. It was all a part of the Duchy of Wilberis, and the Duke had his headquarters at the town.

Two rivers from the northern mountains met there, the Rushwater and the Whitewier, becoming the single, more leisurely Whitewater, which led south. It was also the northernmost point that couple be reached by river barge, which made it a major shipping hub to the more populous duchies of the south, and a prosperous and bustling place.

Beyond Maysalon there were other kingdoms, all part of a great peninsular that was tipped by the Free City of Greyhawk. That had no kings, but was run by a council of merchants, craftsmen and mages. It was rich and powerful, not least because it was the site of a great magical college called The Academy. It also had many other colleges and places of learning, as well as many of the primary temples of the major gods.

The three ponies found out all this from Dayton and Jace over camp-fires at night, and during the slow miles they travelled during the day. It was a big change from the single country of Equestria they were used to, but even Scootaloo, the least studious of the three was eager to learn all she could of the place. If nowhere else, they could expect to find some answers to their problem in Greyhawk, but they hoped it wouldn't have to go that far, as it was almost a thousand miles away as a pegasus flew. A few days travel for a society with airships and railways, but a couple of months of hard slogging in this world.

Sweetie Belle had suggested that she try and use her newly enhanced magic to send them back to Equestria directly, but Apple Bloom told her to wait for now. Trying magic without having an expert opinion was what had gotten them here in the first place, and if anything went wrong, they could end up in a far worse place. Of course, once they found someone who knew about dimensional travel, and did get his okay, then that would be a different matter.

So their plan, insofar as they had one was to travel to Teiras and if they could not they could find help there, take a boat down to Maysalon. While they couldn't expect to find a magical expert in Teiras, Maysalon had it's own magical quarter and might have a wizard who could help, for a fee.

There was one other possibility Dayton suggested, Teiras did have a church dedicated to Fharlanghn, god of roads and patron of travellers. It was actually part inn, part coaching house, and part library, specialising in geography and navigation. The priests of Fharlanghn specialised in travel magic, including teleportation spells, so if anyone in Teiras might know something about dimensional travel, they would be the ones.

As the three ponies travelled with the caravan, they also practised with their new-found powers. Scootaloo found she could manifest puffs of cloud under each hoof, and either ride them like roller skates or expand them into a small cloud which she could ride like her scooter or a skate board. While she could fly normally now, she was no more than an average flyer in everything but manoeuvrability.

However, put clouds under her hooves to take the weight, and she got a lot more capable, as she could devote all her considerable wing-power to flight and manoeuvres. She could also pull lightning out of the clouds she formed, and could zap a tree-stump alight at full power. She could also generate short bursts of rain, no more than a few gallons, but enough for a shower.

Apple Bloom focussed on honing her fighting ability. With Jace and Yancy, and Sweetie Belle's summon spell, she had opponents to fight, and while Jace couldn't teach her more of her martial arts style, he could teach her how to use what she already knew effectively, and find ways to best use it in a real fight, rather than a training match. She also leaned what she could from Maia about healing, especially healing wounds and trauma, Both Zecora and Granny Smith had focussed more on curing illnesses, but with their new circumstances, she figured expanding her repertoire would come in useful.

She took to wearing her spare set of horse-shoes on a chest harness she rigged up out of some spare tack, along with her healers kit,ready for instant use. She was unable to use a crossbow, let alone a proper bow, or a javelin effectively, but her skill at horse-shoes meant that she had at least something she could use beyond hoof's length. Yancy knew the sling, and tried to teach her, but she hadn't really gotten the hang of it yet.

Sweetie Belle had found her horn's dead-lift capacity had gone up quite a lot. Where once she'd had trouble lifting a heavy book, now she could lift a boulder her own size without too much strain, though keeping it in the air for more than a few moments was. She also refined her rock throwing ability until she could accurately embed a hoof sized rock in a tree trunk at thirty pony-lengths. She practised dexterity with her telekinesis as well, helping out wherever she could find some-one needing an extra hand tying knots or driving in a tent peg.

While her telekinesis was pretty solid, her musical magic was a lot more hit and miss. She could reliably summon up background music for a song, but she couldn't always get a magical effect she wanted. Some days it clicked effortlessly, on others she got nothing, or unexpected side effects, though she had a lot more success with spells she'd already done once.

All three knew that if they couldn't find what they needed in Teiras, they'd have to fend for themselves. Dayton had been apologetic, but there was no way he could abandon or divert his caravan from their scheduled route to take them down to Maysalon. He knew some reliable boat people, they could take passage with, but he couldn't be sure who would be in port when they arrived.

So they'd thrown themselves into learning about this new world, and how to protect themselves and each other in it. Maia Marrel had taken the time to see that when they faced the world, it would be with newly restitched and repaired Crusader cloaks, with some of their smaller gems hidden in pockets in the seams.



The caravan was only a day or so away from Teiras, and travelling through one of the last forested areas before the road came out into the villages and fields surrounding Teiras. It was where a spur from the northern mountain range jutted down into the valley, forcing the road to curve around it. However, it was a well travelled section of road, paved with gravel and with the trees cut well back against ambushes.

There was a sound of distant thunder, and Dayton looked up at the partly clouded late afternoon sky.

"It's just as well we should make Duke's Haven before nightfall. We should be sheltered from the storm."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were riding the front cart with them, as was often the case. "Oh yeah, you said, that's the village next to the Duke's castle, isn't it?"

"They also have proper facilities for caravans. Though if Mayor Vennor's messages got here ahead of us, I expect the Duke may want to see you for himself."

That worried the little farm filly. "I've been to Canterlot castle a couple of times, acted as a flower-girl at a Royal Wedding even, but I'm not to sure how to act around a Duke! Sweetie Belle may know something."

"Ooh, yes! Rarity wanted me to know how to treat nobles if they came to her shop. A Duke beats just about everything less than a Princess, and is addressed, 'Your Grace', and..."

"Why?" Apple Bloom asked, "Does a Duke have to be particularly graceful?"

Sweetie Belle's face screwed up in concentration. "I'm... not sure!"

"Let's just hope Scoots and I can get all that fancy manners stuff it all right."

"Don't worry dears, I've heard the Duke is a good man. I'm sure he'll be nice to you, especially after what you did in Macklewheat." Maia reassured her.

Scootaloo came floating down from overhead where she'd been providing air cover. "Guys, there's something screwy going on up ahead."

Dayton nodded. "We heard. Could you get any idea how far away the storm is?"

"No storm, but there was some sort of big plume of white smoke from over the ridge. It was more like an explosion of fireworks. Shall I go ahead and scout?"

"Fireworks?" Dayton asked. "Alright, but stay up high and well back, and as soon as you know what's going on, get back here. If there's any kind of fire up ahead, I do not want to run right into it while there's trees on both sides."

"I'm already there!" Scootaloo pulled down her goggles and shot off, cloak billowing out behind her.

She returned a couple of minutes later, staggering through the air, and landed by the side of the lead cart, where she was quite thoroughly sick. Unlike their terrestrial counterparts, Equestrian ponies could throw up, and Scootaloo seemed intent on finding her hooves the hard way.

When she recovered, and then dropped a gallon of water on her head, she finally managed to report to Dayton, white faced and shivering.

"It's horrible! The smell... there was a fancy carriage, the remains of one, and a bunch of guards on horse back, in front and behind it. They've been... it's like someone blew a whole load of big holes in the road while the guards were riding over it! I think some of them are still alive, but I couldn't get close enough to tell."

Dayton moved around to the edge of the baseboard and waved the caravan to a stop.

"Abyss! It's the only way through to Duke's Haven! Is the road blocked?"

"I... pretty much, I guess, it was all..." She turned distinctly green.

"I hate to ask you this, but I need you to circle up ahead. It sounds like an ambush that already happened, but I need to know if any of the ambushers are still around. They may not want witnesses."

Scootaloo gulped, but set herself and lifted up into the air. "Okay, I'll try."

"Maia?" He looked over at his wife. "We have to help any survivors."

"I'll get what supplies we have, but I don't know how much I'll be able to do." She looked back at Sweetie Belle, who replied, "Healing song, at the ready!"

He dropped down from the wagon and started moving back along the caravan, giving instructions on how they were going to work around the blockage. "Get the carts ready to circle around on the cleared back edge, and keep a tight rein on the horses, this will spook them, or better yet, get down and lead them by the reins."

They started moving forward slowly, and approached the area. It wasn't as bad as Scootaloo had said, it was worse. They could hear the screams and moans of injured horses and humans alike, and the cart horses started to look a little wild, eyes rolling. There was also a scent of gunpowder, which didn't cover the other, worse smells from up ahead.

When the scene came into view, Sweetie Belle fainted dead away, and Apple Bloom jumped over the side of the cart to go add her lunch to the scenery. However, most of the caravan looked ill, and some joined Apple Bloom in the grass. Thirty to forty mounted guards had been riding double file, bracketing an ornate, four horse coach fore and aft, and heading in the same direction as the caravan until someone had attacked them.

As Scootaloo had said, there were multiple holes in the road and rubble scattered everywhere, along with bodies, and parts of bodies, both human and horse. A central part, containing the carriage and it's immediate area was unscathed, but the footmen and guards riding the carriage had been taken down by bow-shot and ultimately an assault where they'd tried to protect the door of the carriage from attackers.

"What sorcery is this?" asked one of the carters, wiping his mouth.

"Not sorcery, dwarven blasting powder, though that's even harder to believe." Dayton exclaimed. "It's a high price on your head from the Dwarf Holds for any non-dwarf possessing it, let alone knowing how to make it."

Maia had brought Sweetie Belle around by dabbing cold water on her face. The little unicorn huddled on the floor and cried out. "How could any-pony do something like that? It's horrible!"

"Yes, it is." Maia responded, getting some cloths soaked in alcohol. "But there are still people alive out there, so we have to help."

"I can't... I just can't go out into that!" Sweetie Belle sobbed into her hooves. "It's too horrible!"

"You have to! Your magic can heal them, all I can do is make them comfortable until they die, if that!"

"She's right Sweetie Belle." Apple Bloom's voice came from outside. "I'll be with you, I've some healing stuff too, you won't even have to look. "

Sweetie Belle gulped down a sob and lifted herself up on unsteady legs. "Yes, yes I will. Okay, I'll try."

While most of the caravan went about clearing the way, hacking down any tree stumps on the verge that might threaten the cart axles, Maia, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went into the shambles, wearing the alcohol soaked cloths as masks. They had Tonas, the stolid cart driver trailing them. Both of the ponies had tears in their eyes and were none to steady on their hooves, but they were supporting each other.

Amazingly there were still some survivors, over a dozen humans but only a fewl horses, as they'd been bigger targets and closer to the erupting mines. However, in most of the survivor's cases, it was more a matter of time than anything else, as the least injured was well beyond Maia's basic first aid skills,let alone Apple Bloom's. Fortunately they weren't beyond Sweetie Belle's healing spell.

Wherever Maia found a sign of life, or even a possibility, Sweetie Belle jumped in with her horn glowing, despite her horror at the injuries she had to deal with. Indeed that horror gave a depth to her healing song, an intensity that rivalled when she'd healed Scootaloo's wing, and seemed to enhance the effect. The fact that she had to touch the victims with her horn meant that she couldn't avoid seeing in detail exactly what damage the mines had caused, or smelling it despite the cloth over her muzzle. 

It was up to Tonas and Apple Bloom to haul the healed out to the verge, as Sweetie Belle's magic wasn't without side-effects. Horrific wounds sealed up, and those on the edge of death were suddenly well again, but at the cost of being unconscious. A similar thing had happened with Scootaloo, and her experiments since then suggested the effect was worse, in proportion to the injury.

The dozen guards she'd been able to revive were laid out in the wagons, while the three horses who'd survived were hitched to the back. There was also one other survivor, a lady in fairly fine clothing who'd been in the carriage. At first glance she appeared beyond help, with a serious stab wound in her chest, but it turned out that the strike was superficial. She'd clearly fallen and hit her head, knocking herself out and as a result been left for dead by the attackers.

The relatively minor injuries meant that when Sweetie Belle healed her, she woke up.

"Lady Annette! No..." She sat up with a jerk, then looked around dazedly.

"Easy miss, you had a bad time." Maia reassured her. "Just lay back for now, and tell us what happened."

The woman shrunk in on herself slightly. "It was terrible! One moment we were riding along, the next moment there was a great noise and the coach almost overturned. Then these ruffians charged out from the trees, and attacked us. The guards fought them, but they got all the way here and ripped the door open. I tried to stop them laying hands on Lady Annette but one of them..."

Her hand went to her chest where the stab wound had been. "Where is Lady Annette?! Who are you people anyway?"

"Maia Marrel of the Marrel Trading Caravan. And these are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. And you are?"

"Baroness Nerina, lady in waiting to Lady Annette..." Her gaze finally fell from Maia to the two ponies peeking in. "Wha... what are they?"

"Well we ain't a what, we're a who!" Apple Bloom snorted. "And Sweetie Belle is the who that just healed you up, so be nice!"

"It doesn't matter to me," Sweetie Belle shook her head. "I'm just glad I could help. She's probably a bit dazed from being healed up."

Apple Bloom shook her head, calming down at Sweetie Belle's words. "Okay, sorry, we're ponies, unicorn and earth, and we're people, we even have papers that say so. All three of us have magic and our pegasus friend is up top making sure the bad guys don't come back. We came here by accident and are trying to find a way home. I'm guessing the Duke hasn't heard about us yet then?"

"I wouldn't know, Lady Annette has been visiting her cousins in Canamas for the last month... Lady Annette! Have you found her?"

"You are the only woman we've found." Maia replied.

"Then they must have kidnapped her!" Nerina exclaimed. "She's the Duke's only daughter, he'll do anything, pay anything to get her back!"

"Duke Wilberis?" Apple Bloom asked, remembering the crest she'd seen on the guards and the carriage were the same as the ones on Clovis and Gaspard.

"But of course!" Nerina replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Scootaloo was circling the ambush site as widely as she could, as much to stay away from the carnage as to keep a watch. She'd seen the figures of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle moving among the mess, and healed people being carried away. She felt equal parts pride that her friends could cope with something so nasty, unhappiness that they had to in the first place, and guilt that she wasn't there to support them, and that she wasn't sure she could. She had no healing skills, and the sight of all that blood... 

Now she focussed fiercely on her part, there was no way anybody who could do something like that were getting anywhere near her friends or the caravan. Wait, was that movement there, beneath those trees? Maybe it was just an animal, but surely they'd have been scared off... She flew down lower, and saw glimpses of a human figure, clothed in colours that matched the forest, but betrayed by their fast movement.

They were heading north, uphill from the roadway and deeper into the forest. Try as she might, Scootaloo couldn't think of any legitimate reason he'd be running away, and lots of others who's parents had never even met. She dived down below the tree ops, weaving between branches and fallen logs as she homed in on the runner like a feathered air-to-ground missile.

Santaris Goldenleaf was an elven woodsrunner. Santaris Goldenleaf also had no morals beyond the next bag of gold. These qualities made him perfect for watching the site of the ambush and reporting back when it was discovered. It had happened faster than expected, but that was fine. He'd get his well filled purse from Mancetti anyway.

Mancetti was a human from Del Toro, a southern city-state, and the brains of this operation, as well as being lethal with a knife. However he also couldn't seem to shut up about how he was smarter than everyone else. That didn't seem particularly smart to Santaris, considering the kind of thugs the guy from Del Toro had hired; but it was none of his beeswax if the guy dug his grave with his mouth so long as Santaris got his gold first.

He'd stayed just long enough to confirm that is was a string of heavy goods wagons. His one worry had been that whatever group found the place might have a skilled ranger or woodsrunner of their own. Not a big worry, as even if they did, he'd have to be crazy to chase a bunch of vicious bandits up into the hills. Even then, there was no way they''d be able to catch up with...

Something hit him in the back of the neck, sending him flying. However, as flying effects went it was distinctly second rate as he almost immediately crashed into the ground. He managed to cushion himself and roll over, grabbing at his short bow. He brought it up and loosed an arrow at the shape hovering overhead on instinct. However, it seemed to roll out to the side, and his arrow went past it's wing.

"Okay buddy! What were you doing running like that? Are you a spy?"

A talking pegasus half his size would normally have been something to cause him to pause, if only to work out how best to make money off of it, but right now he was more worried that he'd been caught. That meant he was dead, either courtesy of Mancetti, who had a strict policy about screw-ups, or the Duke, when they took him in... if they took him in.

He slumped back, groaning and dropping his bow. He mumbled something, just loud enough for the creature to hear, and as he hoped, it moved in closer. He flailed feebly, eyes half lidded in feigned pain, shifting around so his short sword was free to grab.

"What was that? Speak up!"

Just a little closer... He drew his sword and lunged in a single swift motion, but the creature was greased lightning, she shot up out of the way and responded with real lightning from the clouds around her hooves. It hit his sword and earthed itself through him, which convinced him to take a long nap.

Scootaloo poked the elf with a hoof, ready to dodge, but it seemed that this time he wasn't faking. She had no real choice but to leave him there, and fly back as fast as possible to warn the caravan that they'd been under observation. She returned to find the wagons had pretty much gotten past the blockage, and an argument was in progress.

"No! I know you only want to help, but it's just too dangerous! We will get to Duke's Haven and let the Duke know. He's got soldiers, people who can deal with this!" Dayton Merrel rarely raised his voice, but when he did, it was able to quell most people.

However, Apple Bloom wasn't quelling. "That'll take hours, and there's no knowing where these monsters will go in the meanwhile! Okay, getting the wagons to safety is good, but you don't need the three of us for that!"

Sweetie Belle spoke up, a fierceness in her voice even as it cracked. "We can't just let them get away with this! We have to do something!"

Maia was tearful. "Oh, my dears, I know you mean well, but if you keep on putting yourselves in harms way, you're going to get hurt!"

Scootaloo decided it was time to add her weight to the debate. "Guys, someone was watching us, and made a run for it. I stopped him, but there's gotta be more stuff going on than just this one ambush, and someone's gotta find out what!"

Apple Bloom took that and added her own comment. "And we're the best ones for the job! None of the survivors are in any fit state to do anything, you need everyone else to get the caravan to safety, even Jace and Yancy. We're used to working together, and even Sweetie Belle can outrun most humans..."

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"I didn't mean it like that, I want you there with me, and Scootaloo too! If we go in the direction Scootaloo's runaway was going, we may track them down, and then Scootaloo can race back and find you guys and the Duke. If they know where to go, it'll mean they have a better chance of getting there before they get away!"

"This isn't in part because you're worried about meeting the Duke, and you want to make a good impression?"

"No!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, then thought for a moment, "Well okay, maybe a bit, but mostly because it's the right thing to do. Just like protecting your caravan from goblins, or saving that harvest."

Dayton grimaced. "Can you promise me that watching is all you'll do? Find them, stay out of sight, and if they do discover you, run away as fast as you can?"

Apple Bloom started to say 'Yes!', but it caught in her throat. She looked around at her friends, and saw trust there. "I can't, we can't promise that. But we will do our best, finding out where they are and getting back safely comes first, and we won't try anything else unless we have no other choice. Please..."

Dayton was hit by a triple set of puppy-dog stares, and finally gave an exasperated groan. "Okay, but no stupid heroics! I mean it!"

The three ponies seemed to light up. Apple Bloom raised her hoof. "Cutie mark Crusaders – Bad Guy Discoverers! (And not doing anything stupidly heroic at the same time ponies)."

The trio gave a three way high hoof.
> Dungeon Crawl
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three ponies were racing up into the darkening forest, Scootaloo above the tree-tops while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle forged their way through the trees below. Fortunately, the undergrowth wasn't thick, and there were plenty of ways to get through. They'd started along the same direction as the fleeing look-out, but now they were carrying on, hoping to find something.

"Are you sure you can't pull up some whammy to home in on them?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head at Apple Bloom's question, even as she tried to keep up. "You saw me try earlier. I just don't have the connection I did to Scootaloo."

"And that guy Scoots zapped was still unconscious when they got him on the cart." The earth pony picked her way through the twilight-lit undergrowth. "It's not your fault, it's just this is going to get tough. If we can't find some sort of tracks to follow, we could lose them. They're probably still moving and they've got to have covered up pretty well..."

"Uh, guys?" Scootaloo dropped down, skating along just overhead. "There's some sort of building in a clearing up ahead, and I can see lit fires."

"You're kidding!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, slowing down to a walk. "We can't have been going for more than half an hour. They must be crazy to hole up so close to the scene of the crime!"

"Maybe it's someone else's place." suggested Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, like some random bunch of guys just decided to set up a house in the middle of nowhere," Scootaloo snarked. "I bet that creep I dropped a thunderstorm on was coming to tell them to make like cut hay and bail."

Apple Bloom decided to head off any argument. "The only way to find out for sure is to sneak up and take a look, just like we did when we snuck past Fluttershy to go hunting in the Everfree Forest."

"That's not exactly the best example, remember how that ended?" Scootaloo gave a snort.

"Well now we know better, and we're far more awesome and cool. Besides, I still have that pie tray, and I fixed up a hoof loop for it while I was redoing my harness. Any cockamamie cockatrice messes with us, I'll just show it it's own reflection. Instant statue. C'mon!"

The three moved forward more slowly, using the tree trunks as cover and staying close. As night proper fell, they came to a clear area, where a low hill several hundred feet around at the base rose up out of the surrounding forest. At the summit was a squared tower, rising fifty foot high to the crenellations on the roof.and thirty foot wide at the base, though it tapered inwards slightly towards the top.

Of more immediate interest was the fifteen foot high stone curtain wall that surrounded it, complete with with towers at each corner and a dry ditch running along the outside. A single wooden gate was set in it. currently swung open and showing the hundred foot square, unpaved courtyard inside and wooden walkways along the interior of the walls. Guys with mismatched armour and weapons patrolled these battlements.

Both moons were just up, and almost full, and their light was added to by the torches set at intervals along the walls, lighting up the surrounding open space of the hill as well as the walls themselves. Apple Bloom's keen eye noticed both curtain wall and tower showed some signs of disrepair, which had been recently and sloppily fixed up with old stone. There were signs of old walls and the foundations of buildings embedded in the hillside, which was probably where it had come from. The ground in front of the gate had been recently churned by a number of feet, coming from their direction. Most telling of all was the faint smell of fireworks.

"It's got to be them!" she whispered. "Oh, shoots! If only we could figure out where that Annette gal is."

"In the top of the tower?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What? It's where they always put a princess in filly tales."

"Okay, time to do my thing!" Scootaloo exclaimed, only to have her tail grabbed by Apple Bloom as she lifted off. She did her best to speak around a mouthful of tail. "Woah there! With all those guys and those lights, you could get spotted!"

The pegasus landed, but looked over her shoulder. "Spotting me is one thing, doing anything about it is another. Even if they have those bow things, I can dodge 'em."

"But you'll give away that someone's scouting them. It's not like we can turn you invisible or something."

"Um..." Sweetie Belle said, in a manner that caused both ponies to turn and look at her. "That's not entirely true."

"You have a spell for that?" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "When were you going to let the rest of us know?"

"It only just came to me!" Sweetie Belle said in a hurt tone. "Just when you said about turning invisible, a song to do it came into my head."

"I'm sorry." Apple Bloom put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "I was just worried, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Y'know, these are serious bad guys, far worse than anyone we've ever seen, and I don't want anyone getting hurt. Anything that can help is important, and that sort of spell is just what we need."

Then she grinned. "Also, an invisibility spell? That's unbelievably cool!"

Scootaloo pawed the ground with a hoof. "Yeah, it's majorly awesome, but can we try it out now?"

Sweetie Belle nodded her head, but it was in time to a soft beat that sprung up around her. (Invisible Man – Queen's Greatest Hits)

"I'm the invisible pony, I'm the invisible pony, incredible how they only, see right through me!"

She shimmered and went translucent. "You're the invisible pony, you're the invisible pony, incredible how they only, see right through you!"

She touched her horn to Scootaloo, who went similarly translucent, before fading out entirely along with herself. A voice came from where the pegasus had stood. "Okay, I look sort of see-through. Weird, but cool!"

"You've both vanished as far as I can see." Apple Bloom replied, then started as someone touched her and Sweetie Belle reappeared. "I thought so! Scootaloo, don't touch anyone, or anything, if you do the spell ends."

But the pegasus was already lifting off with an almost noiseless sweep of her wings.

The two remaining ponies scanned the walls for signs of any alert, but they were clearly far enough away and the enemy camp was noisy enough that their discussion had gone un-noticed. Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen, which was good. The tension mounted as they waited silently for her return, which meant they both jumped when her voice spoke up.

"Looks like Sweetie Belle was right on the bits! There's a girl in the top floor room on the near side, crying her eyes out. Her mane and colour match the description, and her clothes are nice, or were once. I could see through the open window. Looks to be on her own too."

Apple Bloom held a hoof high. "Great, so we have a winner!"

The three high hoofed again, Scootaloo reappearing as soon as she touched hooves with the others. 

Apple Bloom then turned to Scootaloo. "Okay Scoots, looks like you've got a long run ahead of you."

"One way to Duke's Haven, express air-mail!" The little pegasus grinned.

"Got the letter from Nerina for if you get there ahead of the caravan?"

"What do you mean, if?" The affronted tone she affected was rather spoiled by the smirk she wore. She tapped her saddle bag with a half folded wing-tip."Relax, I may not be Rainbow Dash, but I can out-run a bunch of cargo carts, even going the long way. I've got it right here."

Apple Bloom gave an approving nod. "We'll stay right here and keep watch."

"We will?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't fancy wandering back through that forest. It may not be the Everfree, but we should be safer hiding here, and I made a promise. Besides, when the Duke gets here we can tell him exactly what's going on."

"See you soon every-pony!" Scootaloo galloped off into the woods, cloak streaming behind her, to get to where she could take off without being seen.

The other two ponies settled down as best they could, which wasn't a great deal. They wrapped their newly repaired cloaks around them against the evening chill, and shared some of the spiced cheese pastries and dried fruit they'd picked up in Macklewheat. Lunch had been a long time ago, and in Apple Bloom's case was now decorating the roadside some distance away.

Apple Bloom noticed Sweetie Belle was uncharacteristically silent, and seemed unhappy.

"Hey, Sweetie Belle, what's wrong? We found the kidnapped girl, and we're all still safe. I'd call that a win."

"It's not that, I'm just thinking about all those poor people I couldn't help."

"You did whatever you could, and more than any of the rest of us. If you hadn't been there, I don't think any of them would have survived."

"But it was just so horrible! I really want to go home!" the little unicorn sniffled. "You and Scootaloo, you're good at this, being all brave and heroic and stuff. I get so scared, and home-sick and I miss mom and dad and my big sis so much. I try to be brave like you, but... I'm sorry for being so weak!"

She started crying, but quickly found her head resting on Apple Bloom's shoulder, and the earth pony's foreleg around hers.

"Sweetie Belle, I get that way too sometimes. I guess I'm just better at hiding it. I bet even Scootaloo does. As for being weak, who was the only one to keep their food inside them back there? Who went in even though she was sick and scared, and saved so many lives? That was at least as brave as diving into goblins or facing a storm. So don't _ever_ say you're weak!"

She gave Sweetie Belle a firm hug. "If it ever does get too much, do what I do. I think of you and Scootaloo, my friends. Even if you're not right there beside me, you're there in my heart, and even if I don't have the strength to carry on for myself, I can find it to protect you two. We're more than just three pony fillies, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

That got a watery smile and a soft song. "... on a quest to find out who we are. And we will never stop the journey, even though we have our cutie marks."

"Exactly!" There was a loud clatter from up near the walls, and some raised voices. Apple Bloom frowned, trying to make out what was going on. "Huh? What's all the ruckus?"

"I think it's more of a fracas." Sweetie Belle had turned to look too. There was a lot of activity, but they were too far away to see.

"Whatever it is, we need to know about it." Apple Bloom decided. "Can you do that invisibility spell on us again?"

"But it'll only last a few minutes, and if we get much closer, I won't be able to recast it without them hearing us!"

"We only need a few minutes. I promise, we take a quick look and then we leave before the spell wears off. Can you tell how long that is?"

"Sort of..." Sweetie Belle considered, then nodded. "But do we have to?"

"It could be very important, in fact it could save more lives. And we'll stay hidden the whole time, so we're sticking to that promise."

"Then get ready..." The unicorn started singing softly, and both she and Apple Bloom faded out, though they could still see themselves as a sort of translucent shadow. They worked their way quickly up the hillside, until they got to a vantage point only a dozen pony-lengths from the gate. The low remains of a wall and a slight dip in the hill-side behind it made a good place to duck down. They could even see through the gaps where crumbling mortar had broken away without exposing themselves.

"Be careful you imbeciles! If one of those barrels explodes, it will blow you all to offal! Not that it would be any great loss, but you'd get me too!"

The speaker was a thin faced human with a widow's peak, and a fancy brocade doublet and hose. A berret-like cap with a feather sat on his head at a jaunty angle, and a set of fancy handled knives and pouches sat on his belt. He was standing just inside the gate, and it was clear now that he was directing the digging of a number of holes inside and outside the gates.

"Make those wells deep, and cover them up well. Duke Wilberis will almost certainly have mage support, and if they aren't well covered, a fireball to the gates could set them off prematurely!"

"Nobody said anything about magic, Mancetti!" One of the diggers exclaimed. "If they're throwing fireballs around, I don't think..."

"No you don't! That's my job!" Mancetti interrupted rudely. "We want them to take the gate! That's why I kept the girl alive. If the Duke hears her screaming and pleading up in the tower, he's going to attack right away in the hope of getting to her before anything happens to her. The last thing we want is for him to start thinking about how easy this place was to find."

"I don't understand." One of the other diggers replied.

"That's why you're digging a hole and I'm paying you." He sighed, but the ponies got the feeling he was only too glad to lecture them. "I'll explain again, and I'll use small words."

"As soon as someone finds the ambush site, what are they going to do?"

"Uh, go around it?"

"No! Well yes... They will get themselves to the Duke as fast as possible. I have someone watching the road, and they'll come and report as soon as that happens. In fact, I had hoped there'd be at least one caravan or group before nightfall. Not that it matters, we have plenty of time to prepare." He was gesturing with his hands as if moving things around on an invisible chess board.

"What if they come looking for us?"

"Inconceivable! I know all the troop movements for the next few days, and no merchant caravan will have a skilled ranger or heavy guard group this far from the borderlands. Any fighters they do have they'll keep close against us attacking them. Of course, if someone does get a sudden attack of bravery, my woodsrunner can deal with that too. I'm certainly paying him enough! When they reach the Duke, he will turn out every guard he's got and come after us as fast as possible. He should have no trouble finding the tracks we left after he gets off the road."

Several of the diggers looked aghast. One of them exclaimed. "We can't hold off the whole Duke's guard! We don't have anywhere near enough men."

"That's what this is for. We will man the walls, not heavily, just enough to make it look as if we intend to put up a defence. I want him to take casualties getting up here, but not heavy ones. When they start knocking down the gate and walls, the defenders will appear to panic and abandon them." His gesticulations were now somewhat frantic.

"They will assume we're massing to resist him inside, and bring up his forces to charge in as soon as the gate goes down. When they're straddling the gate, I trigger the charges, and destroy the main part of his force. The remainder will be demoralised, and we will have the tower and other walkways to stand on, so we can sweep them with arrows until they're destroyed.

"The Duke will die, and most of his armed forces with him. Some of you may die as well, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. The girl will then be of no further use, well, almost no further use." He chuckled evilly. "If you're all very good, I may let you all take a turn after me."

"I've had just about enough of you and your airs!" A burly half-orc with a rust splotched breast plate and a beard you could lose a badger in stopped digging and hefted his shovel. "What's to stop me from bashing your head in with this, taking the money, passing the girl around and getting gone before the duke even gets here?"

He stomped forward, almost eclipsing the smaller man, who suddenly moved like a striking snake, pulling a narrow dagger and darting forward. He sliced it across the half-orc's belt line just under the breast plate, before the half-orc could even start to swing his mattock in response.

Mancetti sidestepped his falling body, and the half-orc toppled and bled out on the dirt, arms trying to hold in his guts. Mancetti dropped down alongside him, and punched the narrow dagger into the half-orc's skull just behind the ear. The half-orc gave a choked gasp and slumped. Mancetti stood up and gave the other diggers a vicious grin. "Any other questions?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had watched the whole thing with horrified fascination. The unicorn whispered. "ugh... he's a real monster!"

"but he just told us what we need to know. we've got to get away to tell the duke it's a trap."

"uhhh... small problem." Sweetie Belle pointed at Apple Bloom, and the earth pony realised two things. One, she could see Sweetie Belle pointing, and two she was pointing out the fact that Apple Bloom's invisibility had worn off too.

"horse-apples! well, we're just going to have to try and sneak away." Apple Bloom looked over at the extremely white and noticeable unicorn. "oh darn... let's get down to the lowest part of this dip, maybe we can find some mud to cover ourselves with."

"mud?" Sweetie Belle looked down at herself. "well, okay then."

At Apple Bloom's glance, she gave a quizzical expression. "what? it's my big sis who's got the thing about dirt. though i'm getting a major bath when we get out of this."

"y'know I don't think this dip is..." there was an unpleasant crunching sound as the ground gave way under Apple Bloom's hooves. She vanished down a half hidden culvert that had been partly blocked off by a rotten wooden board hidden under a growth of grass.

Apple Bloom gave a yelp, and Sweetie Belle squeaked in surprise. What was worse, the noise had clearly been heard by the workers, as there were raised voices that started to come closer.

"quick, follow me down!" Apple Bloom's harsh whisper floated up. "it's okay, there's some sort of tunnel down here!"

Sweetie Belle gave a glance at the wall, where lit torches could be seen approaching, and back at the uninviting hole, then gritted her teeth and jumped. The culvert wasn't quite vertical, and she slid down and in towards the centre of the hill. Under other circumstances, such as with light, a known destination and a lack of humans likely to chop her up at the top end, it might have been fun.

She thumped into a shallow pile of dry leaf mould about twenty feet down. She almost shrieked when something touched her, but Apple Bloom's voice calmed her. "Quick, use your telekinesis to shove that board back up!"

The urgency in her friend's voice stopped her asking questions, so she just looked back up at the glimmer of moonlight and reached out, pushing the broken board back as best she could in a faint glow of green telekinesis. In fact she overdid it, and several stones from the fallen wall collapsed on it, almost blocking the hole. She snatched her telekinesis away as the light from above turned ruddy and flickering.

"I think it came from over here! I thought I saw something glowing..."

"Hold that torch higher... there's no-one here, and no-one could have gotten out either side!"

"Hang on, right down at the bottom, is that a hole?" There was some tramping around and stumbling. "Watch it, you almost had me over!"

"So what made this mysterious noise you all heard?" Mancetti's voice was unmistakable.

"We didn't find anything sir." One voice said, then another exclaimed excitedly, "Wait! There's prints here, just by this hole, and the grass is disturbed, and there's blood!"

The two ponies' hearts froze, then there was a crack of fist meeting flesh, and Mancetti's voice exclaimed. "They're your own boot prints you incredible moron!"

"But the blood!" The other asked, and someone else said, "I heard that before this place was a watchtower, some crazy priests built some sort of temple here, that's what the ruins are from. Maybe it's some secret entrance to a treasure chamber!"

"And I think you're just spinning moonshine to get out of work!" Mancetti growled. "That hole is too small for most people, even a halfling couldn't get through it without dislodging things. Obviously it's just an animal hole, and something, maybe a fox or badger made a kill and then dived down it when they heard your great thundering boots coming. That accounts for the noises you heard, and the blood."

"There are some circular prints leading up to it too, almost like hooves but smaller..."

"Mountain goat, could have happened months ago! Unless you idiots want to claim you were keeping such a poor watch that some invisible horse sneaked up, made some strange noises and then vanished again! Enough, get back to work!"

The torch-lights moved away, and both ponies finally allowed themselves a sigh of relief. Sweetie Belle's horn lit up and bathed the area in a gentle light. She glared at Apple Bloom, who had the good grace to look embarrassed. "Oops! Uh, I guess, sorry doesn't quite cut it?"

"Nuh huh!" Sweetie Belle huffed. "We were safe at the bottom of the hill."

"But we did need to find that stuff out, and at least now we're far enough away from them that you can do your invisibility thing. We climb up, get out and away and warn the Duke when he gets here!"

Sweetie Belle pawed at the closely fitted stone work of the tunnel they'd fallen down. "Well that's not going to happen."

Closer inspection of the tunnel showed that iron staples had once been embedded in the stones, but they'd long since rusted away to useless stubs under a steady trickle of water from above, though at the moment the tunnel was dry. The stonework wasn't completely flush, but hooves just wouldn't get a grip.

"Okay then, new plan. Turn yourself invisible, levitate yourself up and those rocks out of the way, and get to safety."

"What about you?"

"It's my mistake, I can just sit here until you get some-pony to rescue me. But some-pony has to get out to be able to warn the Duke about the trap."

Sweetie Belle thought of Apple Bloom, down here in the cold and the dark once her horn-light was gone, and shivered. "That's not going to happen either. Besides, I touch something, my spell ends. Telekinesis is just another way of touching things."

"Then the only way out is in." Apple Bloom pointed to the horizontal corridor that led away from the shaft and deeper into the hill. It was barely tall and wide enough for them to walk down, or for a human on all fours, but made of the same closely fitted stonework. "Maybe we can find some other way out well away from those guys."

As she pointed, Sweetie Belle noticed a trickle of blood from a cut on her flank. "Apple Bloom! You're hurt!"

The earth-pony looked back as if she'd only just noticed her injury. "It's fine, I've done worse fixing up the tree-house."

"Well you're getting that fixed before we go any further!" She washed away the blood with a cloth and some water from a water-skin, then applied topical magic.

Apple Bloom flexed her leg. "Okay, now we go look for a way out."

Sweetie Belle shivered again and not just from the chill of the stones. "It's like something out of a Daring Doo book. We'll have to watch out for traps!"

Apple Bloom was looking around more critically. "We'll have to be careful, but not because of traps, not in the way you mean. I just wish I had more light up here, but I need to be out front to check things."

"That I can do!" Sweetie Belle's horn took on a green aura of telekinesis, and two of the horseshoes on Apple Bloom's harness floated back past her to the unicorn, who touched her horn to them. They immediately lit up with a white light, and she floated them back to their places on Apple Bloom's harness, where they acted as lanterns, casting light ahead of her.

"That's a pretty slick trick!"

The little unicorn beamed at the complement, but waved it off. "Those horse-shoes already have some of my magic in them, remember? Adding some more, especially a simple light spell isn't hard. Though it won't last forever."

"Then we'd better get going." Apple Bloom started moving forward, carefully examining the stones as they went. The passageway was cool and surprisingly dry, but cobwebbed at the corners and slightly dusty. Apple Bloom quickly rigged up some cloth masks to protect themselves from the dust.

After a moment of silence Sweetie Belle asked, "Uh, what did you mean about not the sort of traps I was thinking of?"

"I love the Daring Doo books too, but ceiling alligators? Really?" She gave a chuckle. "What would they eat? And some of the other things are way too complicated to just work after a thousand years of neglect. Besides, most of those things were designed as a gauntlet, to test if someone was worthy of whatever treasure they were guarding. Look at the three challenges in the Griffon's Goblet.

"You know what I think this place was? A secret way out, just big enough for people to escape through. I'm betting that top end was far better concealed when it was built. You wouldn't build triggered traps into somewhere like that. If you used it, you'd be in a hurry, and wouldn't want to have to remember where not to step."

"So why the caution?"

"Because I would put in a way to stop anyone following me. Look at the slabs overhead, and the walls, fitted stone. Load bearing, like a lintel. This tunnel is dug through earth, not stone. I'd rig a way to knock out some wall supports behind me, and bring a whole section of tunnel down. It won't be concealed, you'd want to find it quickly, and you wouldn't want to set it off by accident."

Only a few dozen pony-lengths further on, she saw a big iron lever bolted to the floor and a iron chain attached near the base, leading off into the darkness beyond Apple Bloom's shoe-lights. "See? Haul on that lever, the chain goes taut and pulls out the supports."

"Wow! How did you know about that?" Sweetie Belle sounded impressed.

"I just figured how I'd do it. My cutie-mark is about fixing things, remember?" Apple Bloom grinned. "We should be okay as long as we don't touch anything. I'm more worried by the fact that this whole set up is old, and has got to be delicately balanced."

"Not going near it!" Sweetie Belle said with feeling as they passed one of the support sections clearly designed to break away. Two sections of pillar had a metal plate between them, the chain attached to it and another chain leading on to the next one. Sweetie Belle edged away to hug the other side of the passage. That turned out to be a mistake, as she swept down some cobwebs and a sack of small spiders that landed in her hair.

She shrieked and stumbled, shaking her head and flailing her fore-hooves frantically. In the process, one hoof caught on the chain  and pulled on it. There was a creak of ancient stone, and a cracking sound that stopped her in mid shriek, just as her telekinesis blasted the webbing and spiders off in all directions.

Apple Bloom had seen what was happening, but couldn't turn around in the narrow corridor to stop it. She saw the pivot plate moving, and the supports twisting out of line, and just yelled, "Run!"

The two of them suited actions to words and they pelted down the tunnel, which started to collapse behind them. A cloud of dust chased Sweetie Belle's tail, as the collapsing earth caused a chain reaction. Suddenly up ahead was a solid stone slab, blocking off the way. For a second Apple Bloom despaired, then she saw the circular scrape marks in the stone walls.

"It pivots, slide for it like a hoof ball game!" As she approached it, she jumped, sliding on her belly with her hooves out. As she hoped, the slab pivoted about two-thirds of the way up and was pushed out of the way. She flew out the other side and fell twice her own height onto more stone slabs. A few seconds later, Sweetie Belle shot out in a cloud of dust and landed on top of her. "Whoof!"

The little unicorn, who hadn't felt so little when she landed, rolled off her and stood up a little unsteadily. "Um... Oops?"

Apple Bloom tried to glare, but Sweetie Belle just looked so woebegone, even behind her mask, that she just couldn't help but start to giggle. It turned into a full fledged laugh as she rolled around on the floor. "Yeah! Oops is right!"

Sweetie Belle looked surprised at first, but then couldn't help but join in.

As her giggles died down, Apple Bloom pulled herself up. "Okay, that was an adventure. I'm just glad we didn't end up in the main barracks for those goons or something."

Sweetie Belle looked around and gulped, her horn adding to Apple Bloom's shoe-lights. "I don't know that this is much better, I think this is a tomb..."

The room they were in was about thirty feet square, with simple pillars and vaulting every ten feet square. There was a stone door on the far side, and horizontal stone caskets lining the walls to either side. There were also sealed off alcoves built into the wall, several layers high.

Right by where they'd come in there was also an altar which had been destroyed, parts of a wooden shield with markings on still visible on the floor. The whole effect was creepy as Nightmare Night, especially as their moving light sources made the shadows seem to creep around.

Apple Bloom gave a nervous look around, then straightened up. "Well, the only door I can see is that one at the far end. Let's hope it leads up somewhere we can get out from. We'll check it, and use your invisibility spell before we sneak through anywhere else."

They made their way to the other end of the room, feeling as of invisible eyes were watching them. Sweetie Belle glanced around nervously. "This is really creepy!"

Apple Bloom tried to reassure her, though she wasn't feeling particularly brave herself. "It's just a place where a lot of dead humans are buried. It's the live ones up ahead I'm worried about... wait, that didn't come out right!"

"It's just I can't help remembering some of the scary stories Rainbow Dash told on that journey to Winsome Falls."

"Those were stories, stupid stories! We've got enough real things to be scared of around here that we don't need to invent monsters... y'know, I think just I'll shut up now."

She quickly turned her attention to the stone door in front of her, a double stone door. It was unadorned but well made, very well made, with barely a black line to indicate the crack between the two doors. It was also not moving despite her best efforts to push it.

"Rrrrgh!" She put her full strength against the door, and finally heard a stony grating noise, though she didn't actually feel the doors move. "I think I got a reaction!"

"You did, but not from the door!" Sweetie Belle was looking back along the length of the crypt, her horn illuminating it, and pointing a shaking hoof. One of the casket lids was moving, and a bony arm covered with taut parchment-like skin was scrabbling at the edge.

It wasn't the only one, casket after casket was starting to shake, and one lid after another crashed to the floor as things rose, human once, but clad in tatters and skeletal with only a shrunken on layer of mummified flesh. In their skull-like eye-sockets twin red points of light burned.

"Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom turned to face the zombie humans. She didn't really know what she'd been about to ask, but glancing sideways noticed the unicorn was frozen in place, terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. Not that Apple Bloom blamed her, she was ready to gibber herself as all the most horrible nightmare night stories came to life.

But through the terror that was overwhelming her, another emotion was struggling, anger. This was so miserably unfair! What had they done to deserve this? They were just passing through, had no interest in this smelly old crypt! (Actually the only scent was of old stone and cold, but the adjective was more emotional than descriptive).

She grabbed onto that anger like a life-preserver, letting it fill her and push away the fear. She set her sights on the nearest zombie and grated out, "Okay mister! If there's any brains in this outfit, they're Sweetie Belle's, but if you want them,you'll have to get through me!"

She charged forward, hoping that those hours spent with Jace figuring out how best to use her moves to take down a human would pay off. Temple Fortress would have warned her against using anger to fuel her fighting, but it was either that or curl up in a ball and wait to be ripped to shreds.

She spun and lashed out with both hooves as she got within striking distance, landing a perfect double hoof strike in it's abdomen, which crumpled like paper mache. In return she got a stinging blow across her back as one of it's fists slammed into her. But earth ponies were tough, and surrounded by stone she had a lot of power to draw on.

She ducked under the follow-up and smashed it's knee cap, breaking it's leg in two. It flailed as it toppled, but she dived out of the way, and then quickly stomped on it's head until there was nothing but shards. It was hollow, and dusty and horrible, but she saw the red light in its eye sockets flicker out.

Unfortunately, that had given time for three more to reach grappling range, and they came at her from three sides, trying to bear down on her. She frantically tried to back up, just as a wave of green energy hurled the trio back, bowling several others over.

"I won't let you hurt Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle's voice was fierce, and her horn glowed like a beacon. A casket lid lifted up on a wave of power, and was flung at the zombies, catching one and spinning him to topple to the floor, while another was caught head on and smashed between it and the back wall. When the lid fell away there were only crumpled shards of skin and bone.

Sweetie Belle had seen Apple Bloom charge the zombies, shouting about protecting her, and she'd remembered the earth-pony's earlier words. If ever there was a time and place where she couldn't go on, where it was all just too much, this was it. But even if she'd given up on herself, Apple Bloom hadn't and she wouldn't give up on Apple Bloom. If she couldn't find the strength to help herself, she would find it to help her friends! That had broken her paralysis and ended in a zombie being introduced to a casket lid face first.

For a moment hope burned in Apple Bloom alongside her anger. They could be destroyed! She slammed into another and flung it to one side, accepting the hit it got in return. There were only ten left, and some of them were damaged. It wouldn't be easy, but if they could hold them away long enough, she could smash them to pieces. Then the alcoves in the walls started crumbling, and dozens more started to emerge.

Sweetie Belle was feeling the same way as she watched Apple Bloom fight the zombies, and tried to throw them all back with her telekinesis. But she couldn't grab more than two of three at once without her grip failing. She did her best to keep zombies off Apple Bloom's back, but there were just too many, and some of them were bypassing the beleaguered earth pony to head for her.

If only there was some way to hold them all, but her telekinesis just wasn't up to it. Then a pained cry from Apple Bloom sparked a memory. "Apple Bloom, to me!"

The earth pony had a spilt lip, a closed black eye and multiple bruises, and she was favouring her left fore-leg in a way Sweetie Belle didn't like. Her horn glowed golden as she sang the healing spell that fixed it, but Apple Bloom managed to say, "I don't think that's going to be enough."

"If I can hold them in place, you can take them down?"

"Yes, I think so, but how?"

Sweetie Belle's reply was a set of electric organ notes that started up, with a rock beat followed by a musical phrase that any pony their age knew instantly. Moonwalker had been a purple earth pony, a singer and performer without compare, and incredibly innovative. One of his greatest triumphs had been to release one of his songs, not simply as a record, but as a mini-movie, using the new techniques for synchronising sound to a film track.

Even Apple Bloom had seen it in the cinema a couple of times, and Sweetie Belle must have seen it far more. It had been a hit of hits, praised and derided by critics, and while others had done it since, no-one would ever forget it's most iconic scene where Moonwalker led a group of zombie ponies in a body-popping dance sequence. (Thriller – Michael Jackson)

"It's close to midnight, Something evil's lurking in the dark,
And in the dim light, you see something that almost stops your heart!
You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before you make it,
You have to fight, go look that terror right in the eyes,
no matter the size!"

Turning her back on the approaching zombies had to have been one of the hardest things she'd ever done, but Sweetie Belle could feel the magic spreading out to enfold them. But it wouldn't quite connect. She started to move in the well remembered dance moves she'd seen so many times. She wasn't as skilled as Scootaloo or even Apple Bloom, but she was letting the music move her. Why wasn't it working? Then the reason hit her, so simple, and she went up on her hind legs to do a two legged version, and that's when it clicked.

"'Cause this is Nightmare, Nightmare Night!
And no-one knows what lurks in shadows beyond Luna's light!
Yes this is Nightmare, Nightmare Night!
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, chiller tonight!"

Apple Bloom watched astonished as the zombies stopped in their tracks and started moving in time to the music, even following Sweetie Belle's dance moves. She looked hollow eyed and sallow, almost zombie-like herself, but her voice was clear and strong. She tweaked the lyrics to be more about fighting than running, but the music didn't suffer. Her horn was still glowing, but it was somehow illuminating the entire area despite it being dimmer than before.

She wasted no time in taking the hint and piled into the nearest zombie. It tried to attack her, but it was constrained by Sweetie Belle's dance moves and couldn't even dodge effectively. She smashed it as fast as she could, she remembered the song was quite long, but she was fairly sure that Sweetie Belle's control wouldn't last past the end of it, and there were a lot of zombies.

She found she could anticipate the pattern as she grew more familiar with it, time her moves with the music to minimise any risk of counter-attack. It became less like a fight for her life, and more like demolishing animated training dummies. She couldn't avoid all damage, but she managed to minimise any that got through.

She failed, not by much, but there were still half a dozen upright as Sweetie Belle went into her coda, but as the last chords played, the little unicorn gave a howl that matched any Moonwalker had ever made and slammed her fore-hooves down, sending a wave of green energy that blasted out in all directions, washing over and healing Apple bloom, but flinging the remaining zombies back against pillars and walls.

Apple Bloom's hooves and a few judicious casket lids made short work of the remaining zombies, all of whom were more or less damaged already. As the last of them fell, Apple Bloom gasped for air, then turned to Sweetie Belle. "Ha, ha, we did it! You were incredible!"

She was answered by a two hoofed glomp from the unicorn. "What about you? I'd never have gotten up the courage to fight back if I hadn't seen you do it."

"That wasn't courage, that was annoyance!" Apple Bloom admitted, sheepishly. "I was just so mad at them, it wasn't like we were doing anything to them!"

"Well whatever it was, it worked!" Sweetie Belle sighed happily. "Uh oh..."

Apple Bloom disengaged herself and turned to see what had caused the change in the unicorn's tone. It wasn't hard, blue lights were rising from the destroyed corpses to hover above them. One expanded and resolved itself into a glowing blue effigy of a male human, balding and thin, with a neat white beard and wiry arms and legs. He wore a simple tunic and short trousers. He clearly saw them, in fact those eyes seemed to look deep inside them, but he showed no surprise at their nature.

"I thank you, strangers, for releasing us from our prison. We had feared that we would be bound here forever. Your outward form is surprising, but I sense great courage and compassion within you."

Apple Bloom had been brought up to be polite. "Glad to oblige, but why did you attack us in the first place?"

"That was not by our own wills. I am, or rather was master of this temple. Our founders built it long ago as a place to train our bodies and minds in order to perfect our spirits and defend the innocent against evil. We studied fighting, both with weapons and our bodies, and learned crafts and accumulated knowledge. Some of us found paths to magic, and created items of power, while others were entrusted to us by kindred spirits.

"That was our downfall. A necromancer of great power coveted the items we protected and assailed us with a vast army of undead. We fought, and many had a chance to escape, but those you fought stayed to cover the escape. Ultimately, we died fighting and the temple was razed to the ground. However, the necromancer raised us, demanding to know the locations of the treasures she sought. Our spirits were strong, and she did not get her answers, so in a fury she bound us here, in the crypt where we buried our most honoured dead.

"She determined that if she could not have our treasures, no-one would, so she set us to attack any who trespassed. But you by destroying the bodies we were bound into, have freed us to go on, to continue on to the journey of enlightenment we were denied. Thank you, both of you."

Apple Bloom pawed the ground with her hoof in embarrassment, while Sweetie Belle blushed. The earth pony said, "Aw, we were just defending ourselves. It ain't fair to pretend we were doing it for you guys."

"An honest spirit, as well as a courageous one. I forsee many trials ahead for you, and we would wish to give you aid, as you have aided us."

"Can you give us a way to get home?" Sweetie Belle asked eagerly, but Apple Bloom waved her quiet. "Wouldn't be any use unless Scootaloo was here."

"I am afraid knowledge of you homeland is beyond me, but we can assist you in other ways. Go over to the altar, and restore the symbol of Kord to it. The shield was broken, but I know you have the skills to repair it."

Apple Bloom pieced together the broken wooden shield, which had the symbol of an eight way cross. Sweetie Belle helped with judicious use of sticking charms to hold it together, and to place it back on it's place in the altar. They spun it back and forth in the pattern the glowing ghost described, and a silvery mirror formed on it's surface.

"This is the place the necromancer could never find, the resting place of the items we guarded. Now reach in, and draw forth one most suited to you."

Apple Bloom reached out, somewhat gingerly and saw her hoof sink into the silver surface which rippled outwards. She felt something on her hoof and brought out a simple looking cloth belt.

"I thought as much!" The ghost smiled. "You are a kindred spirit to us, who strives to improve her body and soul and defend the weak with her strength and skills. I sense you are particularly attuned to earth chi. That belt will greatly enhance your fighting abilities, and aid you as you train. Ultimately those skills will become your own, not the belt's."

"Wow, I mean thank you!" Apple Bloom gasped. She could feel the power in it, and couldn't wait to put it on.

Sweetie Belle reached in more confidently, and retrieved a silver headband elaborately chased in gold. A purple gem was embedded in it, forming a diadem. It shaped itself to fit on her head as she held it.

"You bring happiness and craft your magic through performance. That headband's virtue is too increase your charisma and allow you to do so more effectively."

Sweetie Belle lost no time putting it on. She examined it in the mirror surface and gave a little gasp of amazement. The trek, and the fight had not been kind to her, but somehow she suddenly looked far more, well just far more than she had before. "Oh my! That is lovely!"

Apple Bloom hesitated, then asked, "Uh, I'm sorry to ask anything else of you all when you've been so generous, but there's a third member of our group, a pegasus named Scootaloo. She'd have been down here fighting alongside us, but she went to fetch help..."

She explained the situation to the ghost, who mused for a moment, then nodded. "She seems worthy of one of our items. Both of you, place your hooves in the mirror, and think or your friend as hard as possible."

They withdrew a pair of boots, which morphed as they watched into a pair of leather greaves suitable for a pair of hind-legs.

"Your friend desires above all else to fly far and fast, and move like lightning. Those greaves will allow her to double her speed and react in an instant for a hundred heartbeats every day."

The mirror vanished, and the wooden shield returned in it's place. The other blue lights were floating upwards now, and the figure started to shrink back into one. "And now we must go. I wish you luck in your quest, and your future endeavours."

Suddenly Apple Bloom thought of something. "Wait, how do we open the doors? We're trapped in here! I tried to move them but I couldn't get them to budge!"

The light floated upwards after the others, but a whispered echo of a voice called down. "Try pulling on them."

Apple Bloom face hooved to the accompaniment of Sweetie Belle's laughter.
> Escort Mission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stone doors that had seemed so immovable swung inwards easily, with a little help from Sweetie Belle's telekinesis. Beyond was a vaulted, circular room that had seven arched doorways at regular intervals. The glowing horse-shoes on Apple Bloom's harness and Sweetie Belle's horn lit it fairly well, but the light faded off into the darkened corridors beyond the arches. As with the crypt, the room was of high workmanship, but this room was unadorned with carvings or decoration.

There were small holes in the ceiling, which Apple Bloom decided must have been light-wells, based on the lack of torches or other lighting. They were clearly blocked up now, but they meant they couldn't be too far under ground. Concentrating on the ground under her hooves, she tried to sense the lay of the land. She was surprised to find she could sense things far more precisely than she had before.

The ghostly monk had said something about her being attuned to earth chi, and that the belt would enhance her abilities. She wished he'd hung around a bit longer, she hadn't realised there might be someone in this world who understood earth pony magic. According to Temple Fortress, earth ponies used their own magic to control the flows of magic in the earth, as pegasi did with air. That sounded sort of like what the ghost been going on about.

To be honest, she'd never really been interested in the theory, and now she wished she'd paid better attention. Still, the practical benefits were obvious enough. She wasn't sure that it would have worked the same way on a human, but she wasn't complaining. The new strength of the connection to the earth under her hooves should carry over into her fighting style too, which she figured was the idea in the first place.

She had a feeling they were somewhere under the courtyard, no more than a few pony-lengths down, and fairly near the central tower. Unfortunately, she could also sense that most of the corridors or rooms leading off from the vestibule were dead ends, with any stairs leading up filled with caved in rubble. However, straight ahead, there was a sense of a path leading up into the open air.

"C'mon, this way!" She motioned her companion forward with a hoof as she went to the far side doorway. It lead into a large vaulted room, similar to the crypt but without it's gruesome contents. While there were piles of what might have once been furniture, it had been quite thoroughly wrecked and scattered and then left to decay and crumble until it was no longer possible to tell what the place had been used for.

One of the few features that existed was a large fireplace, built back into the wall, easily big enough for one of the ponies to stand sideways in. However, it was also piled high with dirt and rubble that spilled out of the hole, blocking it off.

Sweetie Belle gave a little moan. "Oh no, please tell me there's some other way out?"

Apple Bloom frowned at the offending fireplace and concentrated again. "It's okay, it's not blocked all the way up, just a few hooves above the top. We're going to need to do some digging though."

She suited action to words, digging away at it with her fore hooves. After a moment she was joined by the green glow of Sweetie Belle's telekinesis as she pulled away rocks and rubble. Even with both of them working, it took quite some time for the two of them to pull out enough dirt to clear a hole at the top they could squeeze through, and Apple Bloom started getting worried.

Scootaloo would get to Duke's haven as fast as she could, and with Nerina's letter as proof, she'd get the Duke and his men on the road as fast as possible. If they weren't already on the way back by then, the arrival of the caravan with the survivors would light a fire under them. She just hoped they could get out and warn them before they ran straight into the trap that Mancetti guy had set.

She stripped off her cloak and saddlebags, packing them up and hooking them with one hind hoof. Even without them the gap was a tight squeeze, but they couldn't afford any more time for enlarging it. She pushed through the gap they'd made, and wriggled up into the space behind it, dragging her gear along behind her.

"Apple Bloom! Take care!" Sweetie Belle called out nervously.

"Don't worry, this things stood for centuries. In fact... I think I see night sky far above... and a red glow from some sort of side passage lower down. It's definitely a chimney. I think we're right under the tower. That monk said the whole temple above was razed, but it's clear this part survived. I think what's happened is that whoever built that castle on top used stone from the ruin, and used the roof of this underground section as a foundation. At least part of it is carved into the rock, and the rest is so closely fitted, they must have thought it was paving or something."

"But why didn't they find that chimney hole and come down here?"

Apple Bloom went up on her hind legs, looking up intently. "I think they did, but it looks like there's at least one below ground level above us. If that was caved in, maybe they thought that was the reason the flue continued down. No-one would think to look for another cellar level."

Sweetie Belle looked confused. "So you think it's a way up to the roof? But doesn't that put us back where we were when we were down the hole outside?"

"The difference is, the back walls of the fireplaces should shield us from sight, so there's no need for your invisibility spell. You can use your telekinesis to haul us up, even if you have to do it one at a time. Though the way you handled those zombies I wouldn't have thought you'd have any problem doing both of us at once!"

"It's not that easy." Sweetie Belle replied, in an apologetic tone. "Throwing a big rock is just a quick burst of magic, and I don't have to be careful. Lifting myself, or another pony, I have to be gentle, and that takes a lot of extra effort. I used up a lot of energy hauling that dirt too."

"But can you do it?" Apple Bloom was really worried now.

"I... think so." There was determination in the unicorn filly's voice. "No, I will do it! But, I think it'll pretty much tap me out. But when we get to the roof, what if there's bad guys already there?"

Apple Bloom started getting herself dressed again. "So I peek over the edge before I jump out, and we take them by surprise. They'll be looking outward after all. Besides, most of them will still be digging, or resting down inside the tower. With the roof clear, we can figure out whether you can use your invisibility spell safely, or you call up that Royal Guard spirit. He's a big pegasus, he should be able to carry us both."

Sweetie Belle had proved that her summon's wings were fully functional when she'd called him up for Apple Bloom to train against, and thought she could be right. She liked the idea of flying away over trying to sneak through a castle full of armed humans, even while invisible. "Okay, but I may need to rest a bit first."

"We may not have much time, the Duke's guards are running into a trap. Just do your best, okay?"

Sweetie Belle was squirming through after her, and had opted to do the same thing with her saddlebags and cloak rather than just levitate them through behind her. She was saving every bit of energy she had for the lift ahead. She wasn't even running her light spell any more, relying on the still glowing horse-shoes on Apple Bloom's harness to light her way.

Once she was properly dressed again, she started humming the Stalliongrad boat song, just as she had back when this mess had begun. Her horn lit with a gentle aura, and she directed her power towards lifting them both. Apple Bloom found her hooves leaving the ground, and gulped. She might have been the one to suggest it, but that didn't mean she was going to enjoy having nothing between her and a long drop.

They rose up at no more than a slow walk, and passed a gap that must lead to the basement level. Apple Bloom had been right about that, and the fire back that blocked a direct view into it. It was completely dark, but the next level up wasn't. There was a glow of flames upon the walls, coming from below the fire back. There was also the sound of voices and coarse laughter.

If Apple Bloom was right, this was the ground floor, and it was clear they had a fire going. Fortunately, it wasn't fully stoked at the moment, but that didn't stop the air around them getting uncomfortably warm and full of smoke. Once again their masks came in useful, until Sweetie Belle adjusted her telekinetic envelope a bit to guide the fumes away from them.

Her horn was glowing brighter now, and throwing off sparks. For that matter, she was sweating, and it wasn't just the heat. Her horn was starting to ache slightly, holding even a relatively light load suspended for this long was stressful. However, they had no choice. She gritted her teeth and kept pushing, humming her chanty like a shield against the strain.

The levels above were unoccupied, or at least had no fires burning, but that didn't bring about too much relief. Apple Bloom was watching her friend, mostly to avoid thinking about the long drop underneath her, as they were close to the top. It was clear from the sparking of her horn that Sweetie Belle was really struggling. Their upward movement started to slow down.

She whispered to her companion. "sweetie belle, if you can't make it all the way, drop us into the next fireplace! drop me first so i can check it out. it doesn't sound like there's anyone there, but i can see some light."

The unicorn just nodded, and Apple Bloom found herself drifting over to the next gap in the wall. She floated into it and down, dropping the last couple of hooves to the base of the fireplace. She landed ready to spring out and knock out anybody who was there before they gave any alarm, but what she got was a gasp of surprise.

The room had once been fairly well appointed, maybe quarters for one of the officers of whatever force had built it, with a window looking out to the front of the tower and a door on the far side. However most of the furnishings were gone, leaving only discoloured patches, and all that was left was an ancient and broken open chest next to the door, and a mean little cot knocked together out of odds and ends up against the blank wall and opposite the fireplace.

Sitting on the cot was a girl, little more than a filly. Apple Bloom wasn't that good at judging human ages, but she was probably no older than Apple Bloom. She had a dark, almost black mane, and eyes so brown they were almost purple.

As Scootaloo had said, her clothing had been fine once, but was now looking distinctly battered. The streaks on her cheeks showed she'd been crying, but her eyes were now dry, and wide in astonishment.

"A pony?" Her voice still had a little catch in it from her recent tears.

Apple Bloom grinned. "You were expecting the Red Nosed Reindeer?"

After she said it, she realised it wouldn't make any sense to the poor girl, as they didn't have Hearths Warming Eve in this world.

"I... I don't know... I prayed to Raenei and Celene that someone would come to help me..." Apple Bloom remembered those were the names of the two moons, and the goddesses associated with them. She stepped out from the empty fireplace.

"You're Lady Annette, right?" The girl just nodded in response. 

"C'mon in, it's clear!" Apple Bloom called back into the fireplace, then turned back to the girl and bobbed her head. 

"The name's Apple Bloom. Pleased to meet you!" She held out a hoof, but rather than taking it, Annette dropped to her knees and leaned into the pony's shoulder, shaking slightly and sniffling.

"Hey there..." Apple Bloom wasn't sure how to handle this, but she had to try. Her held out hoof went around the girls shoulder as she pulled her into a hug. "It's okay... everything will be alright..."

There was a thud behind her as Sweetie Belle landed. "Ow! I've got to watch that... Oh my!"

She'd seen the young girl and staggered out, trying to brush herself down with a hoof. Annette hadn't even noticed, as she was still tucked into Apple Bloom's shoulder, taking a shuddering breath. "You're real, really real!"

"Was the last time I checked!" Apple Bloom quipped. The girl finally sat back on her knees releasing the earth pony.

"I'm sorry, it's just all been so horrible! The explosions, all that fighting, all the guards, and Nerina too..." She started to hunch in on herself, looking away until Apple Bloom interrupted.

"I'm right sorry about the guards, we couldn't do anything for most of them, but Nerina is okay, she was just hurt and knocked out. Sweetie Belle fixed her up, and any of the guards who weren't already..." Apple Bloom came to a stop, not wanting to give the girl more nightmares.

That made Annette look up and spot the Sweetie Belle for the first time. "A unicorn too?"

"Um... hello?" Sweetie Belle raised a hoof and waved, somewhat timidly. Apple Bloom figured that the girl could use some more encouragement.

"Yep, and that horn on her forehead ain't just a place to tie a ribbon! She hoofs out some major magical mojo with it, including healing spells."

The Duke's daughter was clearly coming out of her funk. She asked hopefully, "If you know what happened, did you send word to my father?"

"Our friend Scootaloo, who's a pegasus, is on her way to go get your dad. But there's a problem. That Mancetti guy has set a trap for him around the gates, the same sort of ambush they pulled on the road, so we have to get out of here and warn him!"

Annette shivered. "That man, he's evil, really evil. Please, take me with you! Whatever he wants me for, it can't be good!"

"Of course we will, but the sooner we can get up to the roof, the sooner I can get us all out of here!" Sweetie Belle stepped forward and staggered slightly.

"Hey, are you alright?" Apple Bloom asked, steadying her.

"I'm fine, that last lift took more out of me than I thought. But I've got the juice for one more big spell, I just need a short rest."

Apple Bloom glanced out of the window. "Well it looks like they're not here yet, but we should get going anyway."

She started towards the door only to hear footsteps from outside. "Uh... new plan! Hide!"

She pointed a hoof towards the chest, and moved over as fast as she could without making a loud clopping on the planks of the flooring. "Whoever it is, keep his attention, just for a bit!"

The two ponies reached partial cover behind the big chest, and in Sweetie Belle's case inside it, just as there was the sound from outside of a latch being drawn. The door opened inwards to reveal Mancetti himself, which wasn't exactly an improvement. He had a nasty little smirk on his face as he came in.

"Well, how is our little princess? Enjoying your stay?"

Annette just glowered at him, an expression composed of equal parts fear and anger.

Mancetti's expression of sorrow was just as mocking as his voice. "What? You find my hospitality lacking? But you have all the amenities..."

He waved his hand to indicate a jug of water by the cot, and a chamber pot underneath it.

"My father will hunt you down for this!" Annette finally exploded.

That didn't seem to phase him. "Oh I do hope so! I'm dying to meet him..."

His evil chuckle indicated that he thought the dying would be entirely the Duke's side of things. "But he really should have taught his brat better manners, maybe I should take care of that myself."

He stepped forward with a nasty smirk on his face, clenching a fist.

"Hey bozo! Get away from her!" Apple Bloom had intended to let him get well inside the room, and attack him from behind with everything she had before he even knew she was there. It wasn't exactly sporting, but Applejack had taught her you didn't mess around with dangerous animals, and this guy was very dangerous, though monster was a better description than animal.

However, when he'd started to threaten Annette, all thoughts of a plan went right out of her head. Now she'd thrown away the element of surprise. However, she still had the element of iron. Her head ducked to her harness, and she flung a glowing horseshoe with deadly accuracy.

Mancetti had started to turn and draw a dagger at the sound of another voice, and somehow weaved out of the way of the horseshoe. He really was very good at fighting, whatever his other failings. However his very skill betrayed him in this case, as the dagger was thrown even before he'd seen his opponent. What would have been a direct hit to the centre of mass on a human was something Apple Bloom could duck, though it still nicked an ear, which started to bleed freely.

As he did apprehend his opponent, he exclaimed. "Those dunces were right? Inconceivable! Well no matter..."

Apple Bloom gritted her teeth. She'd have to take him on to give the others time to escape, and despite the new feeling of strength she had from the magic belt, she didn't know if she could do it. Not that it would stop her trying. She dived forward, setting up for a low double hoofed kick.

Mancetti just pulled another knife and set himself, focussing on her, which turned out to be a mistake as Sweetie Belle jumped out of the chest, horn glowing. The multiple targets in front of him meant he didn't notice that the chamber pot had been hauled from under the bed in a pink glow of energy, at least not until it was introduced with some force to the back of his skull.

It was empty, but the unexpected hit staggered him, putting him off guard and making him the perfect target for Apple Bloom's attack. Her twin hooves went home in his bread basket, and he stumbled backwards gasping for breath. Then Annette dropped down on her hands and knees behind him, and he fell backwards, arms flailing to crash on the rickety cot, which smashed under the impact.

"C'mon! Run!" Apple Bloom waved to the open door, and went through it. Annette followed her, and Sweetie Belle took up the rear, taking just enough time to say, "That word you keep using, I'm not sure it means what you seem to think it means."

Mancetti was already pulling himself to his feet with a growl, and charged for the door, only for it to slam closed in front of him and hear the latch slide home.

The trio raced along the corridor that ran along the outside of the room, heading for some stairs that lead upwards. Apple Bloom called back. "The roof! You can get us out from there!"

Sweetie Belle was trailing slightly, the additional use of magic had tired her. "I don't know if I can..."

"You can!" The earth pony's voice was as certain as rocks. They charged up two flights of stairs and through the open roof hatch that lead to the battlement. There were two guards there, a rough looking human and a skinny half elf who turned in surprise at the sound of running feet on the stairs, but neither were really ready to fight. After all, they expected any attack to be from the outside, not their own tower.

Apple Bloom flung another horseshoe, and this one went home, smacking the half elf right in the pit of his stomach. He bent forward, clasping his arms across his gut as she jumped up and slammed down on his back, throwing him to the floor and using him as a springboard.

His partner was fumbling for a weapon from the rack beside him. He didn't finish before Apple Bloom descended on him like an anvil, with similar results. She struck in a flurry of hooves which glowed with an aura of energy, and he joined his companion on the floor.

"Okay, Sweetie Belle! Do your singing thing!" Even as she called out to her friend, Apple Bloom was running back to slam the roof hatch shut and slide the locking bar that crossed it into pace. That would hold any attack from below for a few moments, but the brackets were rusty, pitted iron, and she didn't fancy their chances over the long haul.

As Sweetie Belle's background music started up, she rushed over to the edge of the battlements and checked the courtyard. People were starting to emerge from the tower, just a couple, but they were shouting to the thugs up on the make-shift walkways behind the curtain walls. It looked like Mancetti had gotten free and alerted his minions. She ducked down before someone looked up and spotted her, though the music was loud enough to attract attention all by itself.

The Royal Guard summons appeared just as she finished dragging the rack of weapons over to the hatch and tipping them over on top of it. It was also the same instant the hatch thumped from underneath as someone tried to get through. The summons dropped to his belly to let the three board, Sweetie Belle and Annette straddling his back easily enough, but as Apple Bloom tried to get on, the force construct started to fade.

She jumped back off as she saw Sweetie Belle's eyes start to widen in realisation, and called out. "No! Don't break the spell! You two go, he can't carry all of us. You're needed to do the spell, and we have to get Annette out! I've got a back-up escape plan, but it'll only work for me! Now go!" She'd moved around to be next to Sweetie Belle was, and brushed her hoof with her own.

The little unicorn gave her a sorrowful look, but kept singing, and the summons spread his wings and took off. Apple Bloom watched them for a few seconds as they swept out over the courtyard. A number of arrows flew at them, but they were poorly aimed, and the only one that hit struck the impervious belly of the spectral Royal Guard. But the next volley wouldn't be shielded by his underside, so they were at risk, unless the archers had something else to shoot at.

She jumped up on the edge of the battlement and yelled. "Hey you lot! Your aim is as bad as your smell! Both of 'em stink!"

That got their undivided attention, and a volley of arrows that swept the crenelation where she stood. Apple Bloom dived for cover at the last instant, secure in the knowledge that by the time they turned their attention back to Sweetie Belle, the unicorn would be almost impossible to hit. Of course, that still meant she was in trouble, herself.

From more than one source it looked like, as the hatch was looking decidedly battered, splintering upwards as the brackets loosened under the repeated blows from underneath. A single pony, without magic or flight, in the middle of an alerted fortress and surrounded by enemies, things looked pretty grim. Apple Bloom did have a plan, 'Get the hay out of there!', but she was still working on the fine detail, to wit, how?

She'd gotten Sweetie Belle into that mess, and she couldn't just let that slide, she had to get a grip... Suddenly she had an idea, crazy it seemed at first, but with her newly improved powers she might just have a chance of pulling it off, the first part at least. After that she'd have to trust to luck.

First she needed to fix up more diversions. She grabbed a shovel and dropped it across an upturned bucket, and using another bucket filled the shovel with burning coal from a nearby brazier. A hay filled sack that someone had brought up as a cushion was bound up with twine to twist it into shape and bind it to a spear. She finished just as the hatch broke open and several goons spilled out.

She jumped on the handle of the shovel and used the improvised catapult to fling the shovel full of burning coal at the bad guys. It didn't do much damage, but it caused them to stumble and fall, causing a massive pile up at the hatch. Then she dashed over to the wall, and called out, "Are you guys still out there?"

She poked the hay sack, bound into the rough shape of a pony head, slightly above the battlements, and got a shower of arrows in return. One hit the hay sack and she gave a scream of pain, letting the sack fall. Then she jumped over the side. As she'd hoped, the archers had relaxed when they thought someone had hit the target, and there were no readied bows to greet her.

However, that still left the small problem of being about sixty feet in the air with nothing under her. Now to see if the new skills the belt gave her would work for real. Her iron shod hooves caught on the stones of the wall, and she focused on the power within. Worked stone didn't have the connection to the earth that natural stone did, but there was still an echo, fossilised energy that gave her just enough power to pull it off.

She slid down the slightly out-sloping wall, horseshoes raising showers of sparks as she found purchase on them that slowed her fall. As she reached the ground, she bounded off the wall to land heavily, but still in one piece, facing the gates... which were closed.

Goons were starting to emerge from the tower in numbers, while the archers on the walkways had finally started to get their act together and air at her. A couple had abandoned their bows to slide down the ladders from the walkways to the ground, and were closing in on her with swords. Well, at least if she got in among them, the archers couldn't shoot her.

Arrows splintered against the stonework and embedded themselves in the ground behind her as she moved, weaving and dodging to deny them a target, charging between the two who were on the ground. She dropped and rolled into the legs of one of them, sliding under a sword thrust and knocking the swordsman prone.

She wriggled out of the way of the other guy's sword, and rolled over to spring up, slamming a head butt into his chin and smashing her hoof into his sword hand. His sword dropped from his nerveless fingers just as she landed on the prone thug, knocking the wind out of him. Then she had to dodge frantically as a longbow arrow almost hit her, thudding instead into the back of the goon she was standing on.

Her other opponent jumped away, and she realised that at least a dozen bows were aimed at her, and that using your enemies as shields only worked when the rest of them were worried about accidentally hitting their own side. There were some barrels nearer the gates that would give her some cover, but the odds were against her making it that far. There was no Sweetie Belle to strengthen her with song, or Scootaloo to provide air support, but she wasn't going to give up.

Then there were a series of thundering cracks as an orange figure swept along the line of the walkways behind the curtain wall riding a cloud that flashed with lightning. Bolts smashed into the uprights and supports, and the whole framework collapsed in on itself, taking the archers with it. Scootaloo zoomed down beside Apple Bloom, who'd taken refuge behind the barrels.

"What's the big idea starting the party without me?"

Apple Bloom sighed with relief. "You're welcome to it, it's getting a mite lively for me! What say we make like an apple tree and leaf, before we both get planted?"

Arrows whistled overhead; while the guys who'd been on the walkways were still untangling themselves, there were several on top of the tower, and a large group forming up by the main entrance to the tower.

"I can get you out, but we need a distraction!" the pegasus said, ducking.

Apple Bloom realised she could smell something, more fireworks. Then she realised what the barrels were full of. There was also an unlit lantern sitting on one, similar to the ones she'd seen with the caravan. Rather than fireflies, they used flammable oil...

"Scoots, you can do a small spark too, right?" Apple Bloom dragged the lantern down stomping on it to break open the reservoir.

"Sure but why..." Scootaloo's eyes widened as Apple Bloom poured the oil all over one of the barrels. "You're kidding! Please tell me you're kidding!"

Apple Bloom tipped the barrel on it's side, ready to roll. "One distraction, coming up! Light it!"

Scootaloo winced as she kicked it gently and a spark leaped to the barrel, igniting the oil, but fortunately not the gun powder inside. As soon as it took light, Apple Bloom gave it a two hoofed kick that sent it rolling right towards the tower.

"Okay, get on!" Scootaloo yelled, presenting her back as she scrambled back up on her cloud. Apple Bloom straddled her and exclaimed, "I think maybe we should git going. This place is about to turn mighty unhealthy!"

Scootaloo was already on it, beating her wings like a humming bird. With the cloud to give her support, she dusted off straight up at a speed most pegasi would have difficulty managing on the flat. They were no longer under fire, as every one of the kidnappers knew what that barrel was full of, and was thinking of only one thing, getting out of there as fast as possible.

"Must go faster! Let's haul hindquarter!" yelled Apple Bloom as they crossed the curtain wall.

"I'm doing my best!" yelled back Scootaloo. "When will that thing go boom anyway?"

"I don't know, I'm not a professor of explosionology!" Apple Bloom yelled back. "Soon, I think!"

"Oh this just keeps getting better and better!" The pegasus found some extra thrust somewhere and kicked in her figurative afterburners as they shot out of the clearing and away over the tree line. After a few more seconds, there was a flash of light behind them and a second later a crack of thunder.

"Okay, that wasn't so..." There was another flash and a much larger boom, then an appreciable shock wave that had Scootaloo frantically trying to avoid loosing control and tumbling for several seconds.

She slewed round to stabilise herself, and looked back the way they'd come. The whole front of the curtain wall was just plain gone, with overlapping craters along the entire length, before and behind the line of the wall. The tower looked to be intact, though it had a few new holes and part of the battlements appeared to have been carried away.

"Wow! You blew the whole thing open? That must be some pretty powerful stuff!"

"They'd buried firepowder, like on the road. They were going to trap the Duke the same way they did Annette, kill him. I guess the first explosion uncovered one of them, they must have been linked together..."

Apple Bloom's voice was soft, and not as pleased as the pegasus had expected. "I only wanted to cause a distraction, not... that"

Even Scootaloo could spot a need for tact when it beat her around the head hard enough. "I'm sure they had time to take cover. You probably didn't kill anyone." Well, what passed for tact by Scootaloo's standards.

"That's not what scares me." Apple Bloom shook her head. "The fact is, I don't care! These guys were evil, rotten to the core, but they were still people and I should feel bad about it. But I just feel glad they won't hurt anyone else. Does that make me a bad pony?"

Scootaloo turned away from the blown open compound, flying more slowly towards the road. "_I_ don't think so. Without you, we'd have still been staggering about the forest back where we arrived. You've always tried to help anyone we came across, no matter what the odds."

Suddenly, she had an inspiration, not something she was normally big on, but she could sense Apple Bloom needed more. "The big question is, should you care? You didn't bury that firepowder, or kidnap someone, or set up ambushes. I know you Apples have this thing about taking care of everyone, but you can't control everyone's actions. At some point, you've you to accept that bad people may come to a bad end. Better that then innocent people getting hurt."

Apple Bloom breathed in for a moment, then gave a little sigh. "I guess. I'm not sure you're right, but I can't say you're wrong either. When did our lives get so complicated?"

"I think it was when Sweetie Belle dropped that spell book on us." Scootaloo quipped.

"Ohmygosh! Sweetie Belle! Annette! Are they okay? I completely forgot about them!"

"They're both fine. Who do you think told me where you were? I rousted the Duke out of his castle, turns out he knew about the tower, some kind of abandoned outpost from some war ages ago. We met up with the caravan, I got him to the ambush site, and he knew the route to the tower, so I came on ahead to check on you two.

"Then I came across Sweetie Belle and the girl, they were walking through the forest towards the road. She told me what had happened, and I pointed them in the direction of the Duke, and headed on over. The rest you know."

Apple Bloom sighed with relief. "So it's all over. Except for trying to explain to Dayton that we really weren't trying to be heroic, it just sort of happened."

"Oh, yeah, rather you than me." The pegasus shook her head ruefully, and shook out her wings. "Okay, I figure we can catch up with Sweetie Belle before she reaches the Duke. Ready?"

"You're the one flying!" Apple Bloom replied as the pegasus pulled down her goggles and revved up her wings. "Oh, wait a moment! We need to land, I've got something for you."

When they'd landed, Apple Bloom got off and hoofed over the greaves she'd been carrying in her saddlebag. "These are some sort of magical do-dad that'll make you faster, at least that's what I was told. You wear 'em over your hocks."

"Told by who?" Scootaloo looked at the fancily engraved greaves oddly, but slipped them on and pulled the straps tight. "Whoa! My body feels all fizzy!"

"We got them when we were sneaking into the place... It's a long story."

"Well get back on up, you can try and tell me on the way." With Apple Bloom on-board, she took off, and found that she was moving faster for less effort. "Yeah! Awesome!"

It only took a few more moments for them to catch up with Sweetie Belle, but Apple Bloom managed to cover the basics of the encounter with the zombies. They saw a soft green light below them and slowed down, dropping to check it. Sweetie Belle had clearly gotten back enough power to run a light spell, and was side by side with Annette, who had one hand on her shoulder. The little unicorn looked up in surprise and relief as they called to her.

"Apple Bloom! You're okay!" As they landed, and the earth pony slid herself off Scootaloo's back, Sweetie Belle came over and hugged her. "I guess that plan you had worked."

"What plan?" Scootaloo asked. "When I got there, she was in the middle of the courtyard, about to be perforated by a dozen arrows."

Apple Bloom gave her a disgusted look, as Sweetie Belle squeaked in shock. "What? You said you had a plan!"

"I did so have a plan!" Apple Bloom gave a look of injured innocence, then gave a shrug. "Make it up as I went along... I mean, I didn't say it was a _good_ plan."

Scootaloo made a sound that could only be described as 'snerk', then burst out laughing. After a few seconds of continued outrage, Sweetie Belle started giggling, mostly at Apple Bloom's innocent expression. Within seconds all three of them were laughing.

Finally Scootaloo calmed down enough to say, "Every-pony, we're all okay, Annette's here and safe, and the bad guys are beaten. I call that a win!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Apple Bloom held up a hoof. "Cutie-Mark Crusaders..."

"HO!" The trio chorused as they gave a three way high hoof.

"What _is_ a cutie-mark crusader?" asked Annette, who'd been watching the three of them but not taking part.

Apple Bloom waved her forward as they moved on. "C'mon, we'll explain on the way."

They started making their way through the dark woods, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle flanking Annette while Scootaloo watched overhead. Sweetie Belle's light spell didn't reach far, but it gave enough illumination to pick their way through the trees. Apple Bloom was finishing her explanation, confident that the pegasus would warn them of any danger.

"... so I guess the spell worked, sort of. But now we've got another problem, trying to get back to Ponyville. But for that we're going to need a powerful spell, and while Sweetie Belle might well be able to do it, we need to know _what_ to do, or we might end up worse off than we are."

"My father will help, I know he will!" Annette said, with a determined expression. "My family owes you, and a Wilberis always pays their debts. "

"Well we'll soon find out, I can see torches up ahead!" Scootaloo called down to them.

"It couldn't be some of the bad guys from the tower, could it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Ain't likely, we got a big head start, and they're probably still pulling themselves out of the rubble." At Sweetie Belle's querying look she added, "You heard those two explosions? Well, I kinda set off one of the left over barrels of firepowder to cover our escape, and I guess it must have set off the trap they laid. Blew the whole front wall off the place."

She sighed, and Scootaloo flew down alongside her. "Hey, we went through this. It's not your fault if some of them got hurt. Better them than Annette, or us!"

The torches were visible from ground level now, though they were still screened by many layers of trees. However, the group made their first contact when a half elf with a light crossbow held in the crook of his arm seemed to just appear out of the trees. He wore green and brown stained leather armour, and an armoured cap that covered flaxen hair. The three ponies tensed up, ready to fight, but Annette cried out, "Sedwin!"

If he was surprised at her companions, he made no show of it, instead simply bowing his head. Now they could clearly see the ducal insignia on a badge on his chest. "My lady. I am glad to see you safe." While the tone was formal, his voice held genuine gladness. "Your father is just behind me, with the main force."

"Take us to him!" Annette's voice, no her attitude had changed, an assurance that the three ponies hadn't heard before. "Corporal Sedwin is one of my father's best scouts."

They moved forward into a more open area as the torches ahead became clear. An open double rank of guardsmen in the same armour as the ones who'd been with Arroway were making their way through the woods, one in six holding torches, the rest with weapons at the ready.

In the middle was a man in slightly more elaborate half plate, though he looked just as competent as his companions. He had straight dark hair and a neat Van Dyke beard, as well as grey eyes that seemed to light up when he saw Annette. She dashed forward to meet him, arms out as she cried out, "Daddy!"

The guards parted in front of her as she ran, and he picked her up as she reached him, spinning her round with a glad expression on his face. Even Scootaloo, who'd normally be going 'Ew!' at what she'd consider mushy stuff, had a broad smile on her face as she watched the joyful reunion. It was obvious most of the guards were fairly pleased with events, though that didn't stop them from forming a professional perimeter to guard the two nobles.

Eventually Duke Wilberis had attention to spare for the trio of ponies. He came forward, Annette by his side and holding his hand. "Well, at last I meet all three of you. I've had reports from Macklewheat, but I must say the reality exceeds my expectations."

He turned his gaze on Scootaloo. "When you reported to me, you said Annette was locked up in the old watchtower, surrounded by guards. I also understood from your caravan master that you were merely scouting to find my daughter. How did that come to be no longer the case?"

"Father, they rescued me!" Annette was quick to stick up for them. "You have to help them, they were as valiant as any of your knights!"

The Duke smiled down at his daughter. "I'm sure they were, but I'd like to hear it in their own words."

Apple Bloom dug a hoof into the leaf mould, embarrassed at the attention. Despite everything she'd been through, she found she was nervous. While this wasn't the first time she'd been in the presence of nobility, back then she hadn't had to do much more than throw flowers, and besides, Princess Cadence was so nice you forgot about the horn and wings. She pulled herself together and tried to remember what Sweetie Belle had said. "Well you see, your gracefulness..."

Sweetie Belle gave a wince and stage whispered, "Your Grace!"

"... your Grace, that's how it started out, and then we saw them, the bad guys doing some digging outside the gates, and we used an invisibility spell to get in close to find out what it was, and then... well it got complicated."

She proceeded to explain what had happened, aided and abetted by the other two, for a given value of aided. She missed out the part with the zombies, just saying they found some abandoned tunnels. While the fight down there had been a big part of what went on, it wasn't exactly something they could easily prove, and they had quite enough to tell already.

When they'd finished their explanation, the Duke asked a number of questions about who and what they'd seen, the shape of the defenses, clear and incisive. Then he started issuing orders.

"Sir Varras! Take the first company and the scouts and sweep the watchtower. I want prisoners, but not at the expense of risking your men. They get one chance to surrender, and only one. I particularly want this Mancetti, though I doubt he'll still be there, or any papers he may have left. He's a hire-sword, an arranger of deals, and this wasn't a kidnapping, it was an elaborate assassination attempt. I need to know who he's working for!"

Apple Bloom's keen hearing caught one of the guardsmen muttering as they formed up, "Two guesses and the first one doesn't count."

"Yeah, but it's hard to believe even he'd stood so low." another said.

The first one growled, "That beggar doesn't need to stoop! He's low enough for just about anything."

Sir Varras, a tall human with a visored helm and red cloak, coughed as he came by the two of them. "Quiet! You don't accuse a Margrave without solid proof... even if trolls living under rocks in the Deepwood know he's behind it."

However, the Duke had turned his attention back to the three ponies. "And now for the three of you. You seem to have a talent for finding trouble."

"We're just trying to get back home to our world, our families, your Grace." Apple Bloom said with a heartfelt honesty. "All the rest of this stuff, it just happened."

"Fear not," the Duke smiled. "I didn't mean that as a reproach. Had you not been here, the consequences would have been terrible. Clearly Pelor or some other power brought you here to help us, and I'm grateful they did."

All three of them felt a warm glow at the praise. Scootaloo preened. "We're happy we could help!"

"Nevertheless, my family owes you a debt." He glanced down at his daughter with a fond look. "A great debt. As a first repayment, I invite you all to stay at the manor tonight. Tomorrow we can discuss how I can assist you further."

"Thank you, your Grace, but we should get back to the caravan, Dayton and Maia will be worried about us."

That got a few surprised looks from the guards, and a hoof in the fetlock from Sweetie Belle, but the Duke just chuckled. "Very well, I see I will have to invite them too. I want to get Master Merrel's perspective on matters anyway."

"We'd be honoured, your Grace!" Sweetie Belle finally managed to say directly, then hesitated for a second before adding. "Will there be a bath, a long hot bath would be wonderful..." Her eyes were half lidded as she imagined it.

"I'm sure my staff can arrange something." The Duke replied with an amused look on his face, seeing his daughter shared the same idea. "Shall we go?"

So they went.
> Quest Rewards
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quest Rewards

The three fillies walked with the the Duke and his daughter back to the road, where torches were blazing. They avoided the scene of the ambush, and were just as glad to do so. The area they were heading for was further down the road to Duke's Haven, and a scene of considerable activity of it's own.

The guardsmen had left their horses here, and among them was another carriage, ready to go. Unlike the original, which had been a fully enclosed coach, this was an open topped four wheeler, though it had a folding hood that was currently fully extended. It also had coach style seating, two well padded and cushioned benches facing one another.

In the better lighting Sweetie Belle suddenly noticed that one of Apple Bloom's ears was was covered a with more red than just her mane. “Apple Bloom! You're hurt!”

Apple Bloom reached up with a hoof to the ear Sweetie Belle was looking at, and felt the dried blood on the ear and the hair around it. “Huh! I never even noticed!”

“Let me fix that up...” Sweetie Belle stepped up beside her, but Apple Bloom just moved her hoof to block the little unicorn's horn. “Uh huh, it isn't bleeding any more, and you were straining to pump out a light spell just now. Save your strength, I'll wash it and get some-pony to bandage it up. If it looks bad tomorrow, then you can zap it.”

A red cloaked soldier, another knight, came up to the Duke and offered a verbal report on the progress of the clean-up. He had the officer pause for a moment, and gave Annette another hug. 

“Go on ahead to the manor, I have a lot of things still to do here. I'll be along as soon as I've dealt with things...” He made a wry face and glanced up at the night sky. “... though that probably won't be until the moons set. Get your new friends settled in.”

Annette started to protest, then just hugged him back. “Alright, I'll go. I love you!”

“I love you too, and I'm very proud of you.” He gave her a warm smile. 

After they'd made their farewells, lady Annette and the three ponies were directed to the carriage, where they saw a familiar face.

“Nerina!” Annette bounded up the step into the carriage and gave her lady in waiting a hug. “You're alive, I mean Apple Bloom told me you were, but...”

The baroness returned the hug with interest. “I'm so glad to see you're safe! I see our new travelling companions found you after all.”

“And rescued me!” Annette added brightly. “Apple Bloom threw a horse-shoe at Mancetti, and then kicked him in the stomach while Sweetie Belle broke a chamber pot over his head. It was amazing!”

“You helped too.” Apple Bloom settled herself on her haunches, on the seat facing them. “She dropped down behind him as I knocked him back. Made him fall over right into the bed. That was what gave us the time to get out of the door.“

Sweetie Belle hauled herself up next to the earth pony, and leaned into her shoulder as she yawned  “Well, I'm really glad all of us made it... oh!”

She suddenly jerked upright, and looked over at Nerina and Annette with a guilty expression. Annette's eyes widened in sudden realisation, then darkened as she turned to Nerina.

“Sergeant Silamon and Corporal Westby were at the carriage door, I saw... what happened to them. What about the others?” 

“Annette, maybe this isn't the best time...” Nerina hedged.

“Waiting won't make it any easier. Tell me!” The three ponies saw the resemblance to her father clearly for the first time. She didn't raise her voice, but there was something in her expression; a set to her jaw, a look to the eyes that bespoke command. Then it softened, and there was only a young girl asking a trusted elder for aid. “Please...”

The names Nerina gave meant nothing to the ponies, but Annette clearly knew them. Of the dozen she named, only four had apparently survived. Annette just sat there, head down and eyes shut with her hands clenched. As Nerina finished, the three ponies could see that tears were trickling down her cheeks.

When she spoke, it was soft, and slightly hoarse. “When they carried me away, I saw only glimpses, I didn't _want_ to look. I was sure there wouldn't be many survivors, none from the way they attacked, but I'd hoped... Oh, Nerina!”

She moved forward and the Baroness opened her arms for a hug. She held the younger girl as Annette leaned on her for support. 

“What the hey?” Scootaloo exclaimed, but quietly.

Apple Bloom shook her head and whispered back. “Some of those guards had to have been friends of hers, duh!“

Apparently it wasn't quiet enough. Nerina looked up from comforting Annette, but didn't stop. “Not exactly, but close enough. They were her personal guard detail. Some of them had been with her a long time, they were almost family.”

Sweetie Belle had been feeling more and more guilty as she watched Annette, and this last revelation was too much. She burst into tears. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I tried, I threw everything I had into my spells, but there were people I just couldn't heal...”

Apple Bloom started to support her right away. “Sweetie Belle, I said this already! I was right there beside you, remember? No-pony could have done anything more than you did!”

Scootaloo's wing went around the unicorn's shoulders in a hug. “Yeah! Just going near that mess made me toss my cookies, but you dived right in, you must have been muzzle deep in it to touch them with your horn! If any-pony, anybody survived, it was because you were there and bucking out the healing magic!

“Apple Bloom was guilt tripping earlier about maybe blowing up some of those bad guys when we escaped. I told her then to stop beating herself up for not being able to avoid hurting them when they'd pretty much rigged their own boom, I mean doom, so don't you feel guilty about not being able to save people who were beyond help.”

Sweetie Belle felt a hand on her hoof, and looked up to see Annette's face, still tear streaked, but no longer distraught. She sniffled. “I should be apologising to you. I didn't mean to make you feel guilty, I should have realised how it would affect you and waited to ask. It was thoughtless, particularly after what you've done for me.”

Barroness Nerina added her piece. “I heard from the caravan lady, Maia, how they had to pull you away from some who were... past saving, to stop you wasting your magic. The only people to blame are the monsters who set up that ambush, and I'm sure the guards will see they get what they deserve. I'm just glad you were there to do what you could, and I'm sure Annette feels the same way.”

Annette just nodded, seeming to draw strength from Nerina's words. “My father always says that power means you sometimes have to make hard decisions. You can't always take care of every problem, so you have to find ways to do what you can, and accept what you can't. I suppose it's the same whether you're a Duke or a magician.”

Sweetie Belle gave a rather watery smile at the unanimous support, and relaxed into Scootaloo's wing hug, just as the carriage jerked into motion. The ride wasn't significantly smoother than on the caravan wagons, though the seating was well padded. Apple Bloom winced at one particularly energetic jolt that lifted her off the seat. “Oof! This thing could do with proper suspension!”

That started a conversation about some technologies Equestria had that this realm clearly didn't, with Scootaloo making some pointed remarks about the lack of flush toilets, and while they were at it, soft toilet paper. From there into a general conversation about the three ponies' home land and how they'd arrived here, which filled up the time it took to reach Duke's Haven nicely. 

It also avoided the subject of the ambush, which none of them wanted to dwell on any more. At least, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo carried their end of the conversation, as Sweetie Belle was dozing, the effort of continual magic use having finally caught up with her. She didn't even wake as they approached their destination.

The wooded area to each side thinned out as they came out of the steeper sided hills into a vale that overlooked a wide river valley, if the silvery snake of water in the far distance was anything to go by. The road they were on led down into a large village that right now was well lit up, and as active as a bucked hornet's nest.

However they turned off onto a paved side road that split off and around the edge of the vale to an out-jutting promontory of the hills behind them. It formed a relatively narrow shelf which overlooked the valley, and the site of their destination. It was illuminated by the light of the moons that rode high in the night sky above, and the blazing torches and lanterns that shone from within.

When they'd heard the term 'manor', the three ponies had imagined something similar to one of the stately homes around Canterlot or Trottingham, a big, fancy looking mansion set in equally lavish formal gardens. This was a castle, and a working one. The main keep was a single massive block, built into the very end of the out-crop, with the stone of the hillside cut away to form three continuing walls down for hundreds of feet to forested slopes that dropped down into the valley.

Stretching out in front of it was a curtain wall enclosing a large courtyard that covered the entire width of the promontory. However, this wasn't a few feet of stone blocks like the one that had enclosed the watch tower, but a wall a dozen feet thick and twice as high, with crenelations, machicolations and other -ations of a defensive nature. There were battlement surmounted towers at intervals along it and a gate house in the centre of the nearest wall that was a small castle in itself.

Compared to the grim functionality of the lower part, the upper section of the main keep was almost fanciful, with white plastered and decorated walls punctuated by rows of wide windows on the sides facing away from the courtyard. The courtyard side had fewer, smaller windows, but there was a wide balcony, and above it on the unbroken plaster a large painting of the ducal coat of arms.

A steep peaked roof surmounted the keep, with rows of dormers and chimneys along it's length, and spire roofed turrets at each corner. It wasn't quite as fancy as Buckingham Palace in Canterlot, but it came a pretty close second.

“Wow! That's an awesome castle!” Apple Bloom, designated captain of obvious remarks, exclaimed. She nudged Sweetie Belle awake, and she oohed and ahhed at the fortress as they came up to it. 

“It's so pretty! I can't wait to see what it looks like in daylight.” The little unicorn rubbed her eyes with the back of a hoof and yawned. “And I'm really looking forward to that bath, and sleeping in a proper bed.”

Scootaloo's stomach didn't exactly rumble, it more sort of made a gurgling sound reminiscent of an emptying basin. “Some food would be good too, I kinda left my lunch on the landscape back there, and I wasn't exactly thinking about food when I was here last.”

Baroness Nerina reassured them. “The Duke sent a courier ahead on a fast horse to make preparations.”

“You'll love the bath house!” Annette said eagerly. “Father had it re-modelled just last year.”

That perked Sweetie Belle up. “A bath house, like the spa in Ponyville? Rarity took me there a couple of times, it was really nice. She had me put through the works, a hooficure, massage, facial, body wrap, and soaking in the herbal bath to finish. I'm not as bothered about looking fancy as my big sister, but it was nice to be pampered. The seaweed strips were delicious...”

She made a face. “Of course, no-pony told me they were for the body wrap.”

That got a laugh from her friends, and a curious look from the two humans. Nerina smiled, “Well, I'm not sure we can manage all that, but it will get you clean.”

They came through the gatehouse, and the escort peeled off to stabling areas built along the walls. Servants and ostlers and maids and stable boys were dashing hither and yon, though not a few of them stopped and stared when the three ponies jumped down out of the carriage. A periwigged man in a fancifully decorated uniform was waiting for them, accompanied by several maids in plainer but more practical outfits.

“Lady Annette, Baroness Nerina. It is good to see you safe and sound.” He gave a neat little bow. “And Miss Scootaloo, I believe these are your friends?”

“Yeah, this is Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.” she pointed out who was who.

“You two know each other?” Apple Bloom asked in a surprised tone.

“I came here with the message remember?” Scootaloo grinned. “I kinda had to bull my way in, even with Nerina's letter. Fotheringay here was all 'no-one disturbs the Duke without an appointment, no matter how unusual' and I told him I wasn't going to be stopped by a guy wearing a cat on his head!”

That got a snicker from the other ponies and a giggle out of Annette, followed by apologies.

Scootaloo turned to Fotheringay. “Uh, sorry about that, I was kinda stressed out at the time. No hard feelings?”

The butler didn't crack his impassive expression, but replied. “I am aware of the circumstances. The courier gave a full report, though it was somewhat heavy on the hyperbole.”

Baroness Nerina spoke to him. “I hope you received the Duke's message?”

“Yes, milady. I have the kitchens preparing a full meal, vegetable dishes only for the three ponies and the bath house is being prepared even as we speak. Lady Annette's and your rooms are ready for you, and I took the liberty of arranging the three best guest rooms for your pony friends.”

“Very good, Fotheringay. We'll wait in my chambers, could you have some mulled wine sent up as well?”

“I'll see to it directly, Barnoness.”

&&&

Apple Bloom had never had servants to help her wash, and wasn't sure she liked it. Sweetie Belle hadn't had a problem with it, that was for sure, and Scootaloo had finally come down off the cloud of mist around the ceiling when they promised to take extra care grooming out her wings.

The three ponies had been the centre of attention, even Annette and Nerina had wanted to help groom their manes and tails once their own baths were done. Though they'd quickly put a stop to the couple of maids who were  talking to the three fillies in baby-talk, like they were foals. 

At least the food was good, and plentiful. Maia did her best, but there was a limit to how much you could do over a camp fire. The farm-filly resolved to get some ingredients and try that Honey Roast Turnip recipe, now they had access to a proper oven.

They were back in Nerina's rooms, and an excellent repast had been delivered by more servants, or possibly the same ones. The two nobles had put on clean dresses, but the three ponies, having left their saddlebags and cloaks in their own rooms, weren't wearing anything more than they had in the baths. 

They'd barely started to eat when there was a knock at the door, and Fotheringay's voice was audible. “There are two visitors downstairs, a Dayton and Maia Marrel, who are insistent on seeing Miss Apple Bloom, Miss Sweetie Belle and Miss Scootaloo. I informed them you were at supper, but they stated you would wish to see them anyway.”

“Yes! I mean...” Apple Bloom looked over at Annette and Nerina.

The Duke's daughter smiled her assent. “By all means. I want to meet them myself.”

Apple Bloom was having second thoughts. “Dayton's going to be mad at me, we did sort of promise that we wouldn't take risks.”

“It's not like we had a choice.” Sweetie Belle had been refreshed by the bath and the smell of food. “He'll understand.”

The caravan leaders were shown into the drawing room, and Maia immediately hurried over to check the three fillies. “You're all safe! I was so worried about you!”

“Heh!” Scootaloo gave a cheerful grin. “Like that bunch of losers were going to give us trouble!”

Maia was examining each of them closely, partly for injuries, and partly from her expression, to confirm they were really there. She noticed Apple Bloom's ear, which had been neatly bandaged. “You're hurt? But...”

Apple Bloom saw her glancing towards Sweetie Belle and replied. “It's only a scratch. Sweetie Belle's been pumping out the spells all evening, I wasn't going to ask her to whammy me up just for this. We've been through a lot worse tonight.”

Dayton was standing back, arms folded and a neutral expression on his face. “So I heard.”

Apple Bloom ducked her head, avoiding his gaze, then glanced over the table. “Uh... I should introduce you to our new friends, Lady Annette and Baroness Nerina... well, you already know Nerina, sort of...”

Maia noticed the others for the first time and blushed a bright red as she faced them. “Oh my! I'm very sorry for ignoring you, miladies! I'm Maia Marrel, and this is my husband, Dayton. Of course, we already met, Baroness Nerina...” 

The Baroness took pity on the flustered lady. “Please, anyone who's bandaged me up gets to call me Nerina.”

Meanwhile, Annette was giggling. “It's alright, really! Apple Bloom told me how well you've taken care of them while they were travelling with you. I'm glad to see that's still the same.”

“Why would that change?”Maia asked, honestly confused.

“She was worried you'd be angry at her for taking risks.” The Duke's daughter sobered a bit, seeming older than her years. “However, if they hadn't, I probably wouldn't be here, or my father... So don't be angry at them, please!”

She looked past Maia to Dayton, meeting his gaze. After a few seconds, he gave a big sigh. 

“I was at first, but after hearing why they'd done it, I couldn't be. That messenger who came to get us gave us the full tale. I know why, but taking on an entire castle full of bandits...” He finally cracked a smile. “I should have known. Trying to keep these three out of trouble is like asking water not to flow downhill.”

Apple Bloom finally added her two bits worth. She'd been silent the whole time, her expression of concentration showing she'd been thinking. 

“It wasn't like that! We really did try to stay out of it and watch...” She looked over at Annette apologetically. “When we first came after you, it was simply to find you. Scootaloo was to fetch your dad and whoever else she could get while we stayed and kept track of you. We expected your dad to do the rescuing.”

The farm filly shook her head as if trying to dislodge an annoying parasprite.

“It wasn't that we didn't want to help however we could, but we'd made the promise, and it made sense that an army could take down an entire bandit camp rather than the three, well, two of us. We found you pretty much by accident, after we had to escape being caught, as we told your dad. Of course, when we found you, there was no way we could leave you behind. But it wasn't what we set out to do, and I hope you don't think we're trying to take credit where it isn't due.”

She looked rather hangdog, which looked odd on a pony, and Annette reached across the table  and patted her hoof. “I don't care what you started out doing, only what you _did_ do. One of father's saying is that 'Heroes are usually the result of something going wrong.'”

The pony gave her a thankful smile and turned back to face Dayton. “Anyhow, I'm not sure we should have given that promise in the first place. The Duke said something about a higher power bringing us here, and it got me thinking. Ever since we got here, we haven't been able to take two steps without falling over some-pony... somebody who needs our help. What if something knew all these bad things were going to happen, and figured we were the right medicine? 

“There's another part to it, when we cast that spell, we were only interested in getting our cutie marks. It was... not selfish, we were only trying to get some things that were rightfully ours but...”

“Self-centred?” Sweetie Belle offered.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. But since we got here, we've helped a lot of people with our skills. We did get our cutie marks, but that was only the first step. Maybe someone wanted to teach us a lesson, both ways, that we were focussing on the wrong thing. 

“When I think back to some of the things we tried, hoping for any kind of cutie mark... why would we want a cutie mark for arguing, or standing on one leg? In a way we were as bad as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, figuring the mark was more important than the pony wearing it.“

That got an angry exclamation from Scootaloo, but Sweetie Belle's eyed widened in understanding. 

“Oh my, I think I see what you mean. Scootaloo, she didn't mean we were stuck up meanies like those two, she just meant... Okay, say we were back in Ponyville, at the club house about to do the spell, but you suddenly knew what would happen, getting sent here, having to find our way home, all the bad stuff and everything.

“Would you still go through with it? And would it be for the cutie mark, or because without you there to help, all the bad things we stopped would otherwise have happened? No, better yet, say while you'd be able to do the same things, you wouldn't get a cutie mark out of it. So, would you?”

Scootaloo finally seemed to understand. She puffed out a deep breath and said, “Yeah. Okay, I get it, it's not about the cutie marks, or even our talents, it's about what we can do with them, helping people. Huh, Apple Bloom's martial arts shtick isn't even from her cutie mark, just a lot of hard work.”

“Right... Okay, I kind of lost the thread there.” Apple Bloom stalled for a moment, then continued. “Okay, got it back. So there's two reasons we shouldn't have made that promise. First, given the choice to stand by or go help some-pony in danger, we'll go help, just like our big sisters would. It's just who we are. And I _like_ who we are.”

That got murmurs of agreement from both the others.

“Secondly, we don't know that whatever it is has finished with us yet. So even if we try to avoid any further adventures, we may find ourselves ending up in them any way. It's like my sensei, Temple Fortress said, 'Sometimes we meet our fate on the very road we took to avoid it.'. He's either very wise, or he eats a lot of fortune cookies. Probably both.”

The farm filly shrugged. “It may all be some wild coincidence, but the plain fact is, we're likely to end up doing more of this before we're through. We all know bad things can happen, I mean we've had them happen to us already, but all of us agree it's worth it. We won't take any risks we don't have to, but we aren't going to run away from danger either, not if someone needs help.”

She looked back and forth between Maia and Darrel, clearly finding it hard to say what was coming next. 

“You've both been so kind to us, the last thing I want to seem is ungrateful. Without your care and protection, we'd have had a far worse time of it, but we're not little foals. We're not full grown ponies either, but we have to start somewhere, taking on  responsibility. All I'm asking is that you trust us to do it.”

There was a moment of silence, then Scootaloo exclaimed, “Whoa! That was some pretty joined up thinking there!”

“Like I said, I've been thinking.” Apple Bloom said, almost defensively.

“I understand...” Dayton stepped up beside his wife, and they glanced at each other, sharing some sort of marital telepathy. “We understand. You're right, it's unfair for us to expect you to do less for other people than you did for us.”

Maia added, “Oh dear, I guess we just wanted to protect you, the way you protected us...”

“Because that's what friends do.” Sweetie Belle finished. She smiled, softly, “No, more like family. When we got here, I missed my mom and dad and my big sister awfully. I still do, but having the two of you take care of us, it made it a bit better. You gave us some-pony... someone to lean on, and even though we're going to have to stand on our own four hooves, we'll always be grateful for that.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Aww hores-feathers! I'm not good with the mushy, gushy stuff, but I feel the same way.”

The couple were clearly touched by the ponies' declarations, but Dayton had to say, “So the question is, will you still be coming with us tomorrow? I can't delay the caravan another day in Duke's Haven, and it looks like you're pretty comfortable here.”

“I'm sure my father will provide transport to Teiras for them when they want to go.” Annette said, then had a thought. “I'm sure father wants to talk to you anyway, so can ask Fotheringay to provide you with a room to stay here tonight. That means you'll be here for him to talk to tomorrow, and you'll be able to say a proper goodbye if you leave without these three.”

“Thank you, your ladyship.” Maia replied gratefully.

“It's fine, it's the least we can do for all your help.” Annette waved the thanks away. 

&&&

The next morning the three ponies were guided up to the Duke's office, and met a somewhat stunned looking Dayton on his way down, though they had no chance to talk. They were ushered into the Duke's study by a servant, where the duke himself was sat behind a large desk, piled high with papers.

The room had a northern light from a wide leaded glass window and was clearly a place of business, with a book case full of well used books and scrolls, and a scribe behind a smaller desk off to one side. It was sparsely decorated, but what decoration existed was of the highest quality. The unlit fireplace was large, and had some beautifully made but thoroughly functional swords crossing an equally fine shield. 

The duke was already observing them as they entered, and a few seconds after they arrived, servants came in with some padded chairs to add to the one already there. 

“Sit, make yourselves comfortable, we have many things to discuss. Do you need anything?”

“Oh no, your grace, everyone has taken very good care of us.” Sweetie Belle replied. 

“Uh... What was with Dayton?” Apple Bloom asked, “Oh, your grace, I mean...”

The duke grinned an unexpected grin and waved a hand. “We can keep the graces to a minimum. I'm not all that graceful.”

That got a gasp from the scribe, and a quickly suppressed giggle from Scootaloo, hearing Apple Bloom's faux pas being made fun of. “Sir is good enough, if you feel the need for a title. I intend to keep this informal.

“As for Master Marrel, one of the things I discussed with him was a suitable reward for helping my people. Many travellers would have considered getting the news to me as fast as possible sufficient unto their duty, and getting away from a possible ambush a worthwhile bonus. He is a man of integrity and compassion, sadly all too rare, especially in combination with ability, which he also possesses.

“So in addition to a reasonable sum of gold, I've provided him with a letter of introduction to some potential investors. He has dreams beyond carrying other peoples bulk cargoes, but has never been able to accumulate sufficient money to put together a worthwhile cargo of his own. With my backing, that should not be a problem, if he can convince my chancellor and the other private investors that his business plan is sound.

“I understand he wants to refit his carts along the lines of your suggestions, Miss Apple Bloom, which should make them more efficient than most, though I understand little of the technical details. However, I believe he will do well, and in turn do well by my treasury. The best kind of deal, where everyone goes away happy.”

“But I wish to talk about you, though first I intend to listen. Explain in your own words how you came to be here, and what happened since.”

Apple Bloom frowned in confusion. “But haven't Mayor Vennor and Dayton already told you all this?”

“Indeed, but I prefer to cross check my information.” He steepled his hands and rested his head on them. Apple Bloom, as before ended up being the main story teller, with the other two assisting. When they got to talking about Arroway's kidnapping, Scootaloo asked, “So what's going to happen to him? Have you decided?”

“Yes I have. Dander Arroway is not the best of men, he's always been arrogant, pigheaded, and stupid in that way that only smart people can get. However, he has always been good at his job, and honest... though I suspect that's more due to lack of imagination and fear of being found out rather than any great moral rectitude. Hopefully, five years on the road clearance gangs will do something to cure his worst qualities. I hope that satisfies you?”

Scootaloo nodded, “Sure, I just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to be executed. As long as he's getting punished, that's enough. Like Mayor Vennor said, he was stupid, not evil.”

The Duke sighed and spread his hands. “I should have had someone more senior with him to ride herd on him, but then I never expected him to show that much initiative! Providing my daughter's escort, and dealing with all the other troubles lately has left me strapped for men... Thankfully your co-operation meant I could go for a lesser sentence. In fact you three saved him twice over. 

“If he'd actually gotten here, with Brother Soren having determined you were people, I'd have had no choice but to consider it more than attempted kidnapping, and rule accordingly. Thank the gods that wasn't necessary. If I had to sign death warrants for stupidity, I'd end up depopulating half the Duchy!”  

Apple Bloom continued the tale, going on to the events of yesterday evening. It got a bit complicated when each of them had to tell their parts of the story after they'd split up, but it helped that they'd managed to have a talk before they'd come there. Once again there was no mention of the zombies.

“... Then we met up with you and the soldiers, and the rest you know.” Apple Bloom finished, and gave a gulp to clear a throat dry from talking. Fortunately, a servant appeared carrying a tray of apple juice and small beer. So the three ponies had a chance to refresh themselves, while the Duke considered their story. Of course, that didn't stop him having a small beer himself to aid contemplation.

As he put down the half empty mug, he looked the three of them over. Something in his gaze reminded Apple Bloom of when they'd been introduced to Princess Celestia  during Princess Cadence's wedding, a certain benevolent appraisal. “A remarkable story, and one I'd have never believed if I hadn't already had reports that confirmed it from Mayor Vennor and Master Marrel. Is it true the three of you are not yet adults?”

“Uh, yes sir.” Sweetie Belle replied. 

“Remarkable. This Equestria must be an impressive place.  But let us move on. Seeking this spell to return you to your own world is likely to be expensive and time consuming. While you search in Teiras, I shall see that you have rooms at my town house there. And of course, consider the rooms you have here as your own.

“I must admit, I have something of an ulterior motive. I managed to make two whole hours of time this morning to breakfast with Annette, but am unlikely to see her before nightfall, if then. I love my daughter, but I can never spend the time with her she deserves, especially after what she's been through.” His tone was no longer that of a duke, but instead a worried father.

“If you were to involve her in your search, stay close to her, it might help her to have a goal to work towards, and she would feel safer with her rescuers around. That is not an order, simply a request, and has no bearing on anything else. I want to be there myself...”, he waved a hand over his paper-filled desk, “... but since I can't, I can't do the next best thing.”

“Why sure, that's no problem.” Apple Bloom replied, glancing at the other two. Sweetie Belle nodded, and Scootaloo added, “Yeah, she's cool.”

“Thank you again. Though I can narrow your search down a bit. You will not find an arcane caster who will be able to do such a spell in Teiras.”

He motioned to the scribe, who brought him a slim leather bound volume which he flipped through. “All mages above a certain level have to register with the local lord, by the kings law. Wilberris is a prosperous Duchy, but not as sophisticated as those to the south. The spellcasters you will find here are either artificers, utility casters or the few battle mages I have in my guard. None of them are scholars, or capable of the high magics you seem to need.”

He looked sympathetically at their crestfallen expressions.

“Of clerical magic, what some call 'the mysteries', I'm less sure. I understand Brother Soren gave you a letter of introduction to Bishop Merantis? I will send my own letter, requesting that he and High Priest Farlesse of the temple of Fharlanghn grant you an audience at your mutual convenience.

“If you can not find what you seek here, I will arrange full passage for you down-river to Maysalon, and you may use my mansion there as a base to work from while you continue your search.  My wife lives there at the moment, but that should not prove a problem. The one thing we both agree on is our love for our daughter. And a thousand gold apiece should help towards the costs of casting the spell, once you find someone capable of doing it.”

He gave a tight little grin at the trio's expressions, which had gone from woe-begone to awe-struck. “I hope that is to your satisfaction?”

Apple Bloom was the first to recover, or at least speak. “Gosh, I mean that's amazingly generous, your duke-ship, sir!”

He chuckled at her reply, seeming remarkably like his daughter for a moment. “Good,  I'm glad you think so. I owe you all a great debt, and I've tried to provide you things you will have the most use for.”

“Yeah, you're as great at Princess Celestia!” Scootaloo added.

The Duke acknowledged the complement with a smile. “I shall take that as high praise.” 

His scribe coughed meaningfully, and his expression lost it's humour as he glanced down at his paper-filled desk. “I would love to hear more of your world, but I have this lot to work through, so I must cut this short. Thank you again on behalf of my self and my house. I shall see you anon.”
> Knowledge Arcana
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Knowledge Arcana

“Princess Luna! Welcome to Ponyville... again!” Twilight came to a slightly awkward stop on the last word, remembering the circumstances of her last visir. “It's an honour to be working with you on this project.”

“A fie on formality, trusty Twilight!” The moon princess's face had a broad grin. “After all, for the next little while we are to be 'study buddies', as the modern cant has it.”

She gave a hoof towards the closed carriage that was parked outside the library and a fedora and tan jacket clad earth pony that was stepping down from it. “Fortunately, Master Bluehills was in Canterlot at the time, doing research and gathering resources for his next expedition, so as you can see I gave him a lift.”

“Just bein' around yourself gives me that, princess,” the light brown stallion said in a broad Appleoosan accent.

The dark blue alicorn grinned, “I wonder what Miss Rarity would say about that?”

Twilight giggled and pointed behind him, “You can ask her yourself. She just arrived.”

“Yes, and I'm absolutely fascinated by the conversation.” The exquisitely turned out unicorn mare came trotting up as Bluehills turned around to see her. Her voice had a sharp edge, but the line of her mouth showed she was holding back a smirk.

His expression started towards panic for a fraction of a second, then he chuckled and said quietly in a completely different voice, “I would have some explaining to do, if any-pony actually thought I was flirting with my own great aunt rather than just maintaining my alternate persona.”

“Fifty three times removed, dear nephew.” Luna teased. “In ancient times, much closer relationships were ignored in the interests of social status, or even simple dalliance.”

Her voice turned mock sorrowful. “Or is it that my vast age doth make me a crone, unworthy of romantic attention?”

Rather than firing off the loaded question, Bluehills just sighed, “I'm surrounded by crazy mares! Shall we go inside? You can embarrass me more thoroughly where there's no-pony to overhear...”

“Where is the fun in that?” Luna asked, but moved in through the door. “I'm sure fair Rarity has some choice barbs she wishes to plant. With the two of us working together, the fun shall be doubled!”

Once inside the library, 'Bluehills' dropped his illusion and became Duke Blueblood. Rarity followed him in. “I've got other things I wish to plant on him right now!”

She trotted up close and put a fore-leg around him, pulling him close to plant a steamy kiss right on the lips. He enthusiastically returned the kiss, bringing up his own hoof to hug her and tilting his head so their horns just brushed, eliciting a spark of magic between them and a squeak from Rarity. After a comfortable time she pulled back and said, “Oh, I've missed that! Nothing but letters from you since the Royal Wedding!”

Blueblood sat back on his hauches, face slightly flushed  He sighed and looked downcast. “Unfortunately,'Prince Blueblood' is too well known to vanish from Canterlot society for long. And you yourself can only make so many trips to the capital on business. What's worse, the aftermath of the invasion has meant even a worthless fop like Blueblood is needed, mostly to calm the fears of our more excitable nobles. The sooner I can drop this charade and we can finally be together openly the better, but that won't be until things have calmed down.”

Rarity looked deep into his eyes, and saw the longing that matched her own. She smiled and hugged him close. “I understand, darling, we both have responsibilities. At least you'll be here for the next few days.”

He leant into the hug. “Not as long as I would desire, my dear. Once I'm done translating the spell description, I doubt the team will need me any more.” 

“Actually, there's another reason I asked for you in particular.” Twilight interjected, looking pleased. “Once we work out how to follow the Crusaders, we're likely to need a full fledged expedition to find them. It's going to take several days to develop the spells needed, and they may have wandered far from their arrival point. As Maresia Bluehills, you're highly experienced at putting together expeditions, so you're the logical one to plan this one.

“Normally I'd assist you with the logistical side of things, but I'm going to to need to be working full time on the magic side of things, hooves and horn. I was hoping that Rarity could help you instead. Running her own business means she has the right skills to do it, and your adventure together while gem hunting shows you work well together. I've found that good friends make for the best teams.”

“Of course!” Rarity exclaimed eagerly. “I shall be only to glad to. I just hope I can afford everything we'll need.”

Luna waved an airy hoof. “Worry not about matters of coin, fair Rarity. My sister and I have declared this project Priority Alicorn. You shall have access to whatever funding and craftsponies you require.”

There was a clattering from outside as another carriage landed and Twilight looked around, surprise on her face. “That must be... but they weren't due for several hours!”

She galloped to the door and cleared the closed lower half as neatly as Applejack might have, muttering about how not being there to greet him would look bad.

Blueblood put his disguise back on and followed her out at a more sedate pace, as did the others.

The carriage door was just being opened by one of the Royal guards who'd towed it, and a pegasus emerged, sprawled on a cloud similar to Scootaloo's. He wasn't anything to look at, a grey coat and a black thatch of a mane. His cutie mark was just visible, a black circle with swirling white rays radiating from it. His wings were folded by his sides, bound there, but twitched occasionally.

He wore a harness fitted with various appurtenances, chief of which was a magically powered fan mounted on his back. He used his chin to nudge a brass lever, and the fan pushed him forward with a whirring hum. The lever was one of several emerging from a brass bound box attached to some sort of neck brace. It also had a brass and tortoise shell speaker horn emerging from it.

Twilight was there, looking on with awe. “Professor Hawkwing! It is such an honour to meet you face to face!”

Hawkwing's lips moved, but his dry, slightly echoing voice emerged from the speaker horn. “If you really want to meet me face to face, I should raise my cloud up a bit.”

He gave raspy chuckle as he nudged more levers and the fan adjusted position to point more downwards, raising his cloud as he moved forward. Twilight looked a little non-plussed at her idol's flippant reply.

“Uh, thank you? But I didn't mean to impose...”

Her reaction got another grin, or possibly the same one with extra sprinkles. “Sorry, I couldn't resist. I hear a lot of far more florid praise for my achievements, mostly by ponies who have no actual understanding of them. I like to remind them, and myself, that I'm simply a pony like any other.”

“But I've read all your papers! Your work on non-linearity in thaumically warped hyper-dynamic environments was amazing. I've managed to double the range of my teleport spells by applying your arithmantic analysis to my spell matrix. And your work on the thaumo-dimensional basis of sub-spacial diffusion... I could almost see the endless parallel universes you describe, though understanding the mathematical proof you gave of their existence was challenging to say the least.”

Hawkwing beamed with approval. “You have done your research. I shouldn't be surprised, your own papers on the magic of friendship are impressive in their own right.”

“You've read those? Oh, but those are just my preliminary findings. I'm still working on a truly rigorous description. I'm surprised the Canterlot Journal of Magic printed them.” 

“But they seem to hint towards a Unified Harmonic Theory. To have an analytical description of the relationship between magic and the five fundamental virtues would be one of the biggest leaps forward in magical theory since the amniomorphic spell.”

Twilight looked away, embarrassed. “I've got along way to go yet, and far more to learn before I'm anywhere near that level. I hadn't realised you were interested in general magical theory?”

“I dabble. There is some overlap with my own field, after all. However, my compatriot knows more. He provided me with the references when we found out we were going to be working with you.”

A second pony had stepped down from the carriage, an earth pony stallion with a dark green coat and white mane. Though he was the same age as Twilight, he wore a bow-tie, collar and pince-nez glasses that made him look older. His cutie mark was three differently sized squares, red, yellow and blue, joined at the corners so they formed the edges of a right angled triangle.

Twilight's eyes were getting a lot of practice at widening in surprise. “Professor Hippotenuse? Oh my gosh, I hadn't realised you were joining the team as well.”

“I hope I'm not unwelcome?” he quipped.

“Yes, I mean no! I mean... I don't know what I mean! What I do know is that we are going to be delving into the most abstruse parts of magical theory, and trying to develop a new spell based on reverse artificing both an ancient one, and one that Sweetie Belle somehow invented by accident. The arithmantic constructs required are likely to be brutal, and the aid of one of the greatest mathematicians of our era will be incredibly useful.”

He chuckled at her flustered state. “You flatter me, but I'll take that as a yes. I'm only too glad to help, and to be a part of such a team. I'm honoured to be working with you and Princess Luna. Arithmantic theory is a hobby of mine, though obviously, my ability to develop practical applications is limited to earth-pony magic.”

"I'd love to hear more, but now you're flattering me. Princess Luna I can understand, her contributions to the field of magic are quite literally legendary, but I'm still working towards my own doctorate. I've been developing several potential theses, but none of them is even ready for a first round of peer review, let alone submission."

"I think he's referring to your practical demonstrations of friendship magic." Professor Hawkwing suggested. "As Princess Celestia's student, and one of the most skilled and powerful unicorns alive, you are no less worthy to be a part of this company than any of us. Excessive pride may be a failing, but so is false modesty." 

“Hey Twi!” A voice from above called down. It was someone for whom false modesty would never be a problem. “So these are the egg-head types who are going to help you figure out a spell to go find Scootaloo?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight was mortified. “These are Professor Hawkwing, and Professor Hippotenuse. Professor Hawkwing has revolutionised the field of dimensional physics, and Professor Hypotenuse got his cutie-mark for developing an elegant proof of Matted Coat's final theorem, something that mathematicians have been seeking for centuries, while he was still in school! They are not just 'egg-heads'!”

The pegasus stood up on the cloud she'd been resting on.“Woah Twilight, no need to get your feathers bent out of shape.”

She turned her attention to the two stallions, gliding down. “Heh, sorry guys, didn't mean anything bad by it. I call Twi an egg-head all the time, because, well she is! She's really smart and loves books and figuring out really hard stuff. I figured you guys are the same way, so no offence.”

“Actually, I quite like it.” Professor Hawkwing grinned. “So you are the redoubtable Rainbow Dash. The only pegasus to have performed a Sonic Rainboom. I hope to see you demonstrate it at some point in the near future.”

Rainbow looked a little uncertain as to whether she was being complemented or insulted at first, but praising her signature trick was an easy way to get on her good side. “Any time! But I wouldn't have figured you'd be interested in fancy flying, what with needing that stuff to fly.”

She waved at the cloud and the gear. Twilight gasped. “I'm dreadfully sorry...”

“Don't be.” Hawkwing's magically amplified voice cut across her apology. “I dislike prevarication as much as I do insincere praise or false modesty. A pony must face their own strengths and weaknesses honestly if they are to accomplish anything of note. I find Miss Dash's directness refreshing.”

He turned his attention to Rainbow, who'd been looking a little unconfortable herself due to Twilight's reaction. ”While it's true I will never be able to fly of my own accord, I have an excellent imagination. But I'm interested in your feats from a professional point of view. Your friend wrote a paper on your exploit at the Young Fliers Competition.“

“She did?!”

Twilight shrugged. “After the show I asked around, and found out that the first time you did one, some skeptical science minded ponies claimed it was some kind of illusion or fake, and stopped you from getting the credit you deserved.”

She saw from Rainbow's distant look and scowl that she'd been correct.

“So I sat down and did my best to give an account and some thoughts into what you'd done and how you'd done it. That way if someone tried to claim it was a fake this time, you could show them the journal and say, 'Ha, take that, it's right here in black and white.' It seemed the sort of thing a friend should do.”

“Heh, thanks Twi. That's really cool of you.” The rainbow pegasus replied.

Professor Hawkwing carried on. “I heard what had happened, and eventually found Miss Twilight's paper on it. Your Rainboom is far more than just an effect of exceeding the speed of sound. Pegasus magic by it's nature affects gravitational and inertial forces, that's been long established, but there is no way you should have been able to make right angle turns at several times the speed of sound carrying four times your own weight by any regular application of pegasus magic.”

He forestalled Rainbow's protest by carrying on. “Since it clearly happened, some new effect must have been in force. Gravity and magic can deform space-time, that's the principle behind fold boxes and teleportation. Sufficient quantities could theoretically form a warped bubble around an object and render it practically immune to external effects of gravity and inertia.

“Miss Twilight could not explain the rainbow wave that exploded from you at the point of transition, other than being some release of your characteristic magic, but I believe it may have been a harmonic wave distortion caused by the formation of such a bubble. I find it hard to believe that any pegasus has that much power, but I would love to find out!”

Twilight looked thoughtful. “Huh, You know that could be it! She may have been drawing additional power from her linked element, since she was showing loyalty to her friend and idols.”

Seeing Rainbow was looking a bit dazed at his explanation, he simplified it, “Your flight magic was powerful enough to reshape space so you could fly at super-sonic velocities and carry your friends without them being hurt. That's the sort of thing I study, how space, time and the fundamental forces fit together. In short, you punched the sky so hard it broke.”

“Hey, I like that!” Rainbow looked pleased. “Y'know, you're a pretty cool guy yourself, Prof. It's a pity you can't get your body fixed up. Maybe Twilight could magic something up, or Zecora.”

“Unfortunately, my neuro-muscular degeneration is a systemic condition of my nerves and brain. While powerful enough magic could probably cure me, over-writing my morphic field and reformatting my entire nervous system would almost certainly kill me. I prefer to concentrate on the things I can do, rather than those I can't.”

“Woah, that bites. And I figured Scoots had problems.”

“Speaking of which, we've got to get working to work out how to get Scootaloo and the others back.” Twilight gestured with a hoof to Golden Oaks library.

After seeing Rainbow off, she led the group down to the basement laboratory, which had been considerably altered. While the scientific and arcane instrumentation was still there, it had been moved to the walls, which had clearly been dimensionally expanded to fit all the new stuff.

There were work tables and comfy pad chairs, mechanical calculators and a cupboard full of stationary, and one wall was selves of books and scrolls culled from the library above, with plenty of space for more. A coffee and tea maker, all brass pipes and glass, took pride of place in one corner. It had all the necessary ancillary gear to provide hot drinks for a company of regular ponies, or a half dozen scholars. 

On one table were a row of white metal cylinders with warning symbols on, indicating that they should be handled non-magically. There were also some incongruous items, a scooter and helmet, a couple of red ribbons, and a hair brush and tooth brush. There was also the magical tome that had started the trouble.

Twilight lifted a series of document folders from a nearby table with her telekinesis, and distributed them to the team. Then she grabbed some extra paper from the stationary cupboard and emptied out her own notes, tiling them side by side in mid air. A line of light swept down each page, and an exact copy appeared on it's blank neighbour. She slid the newly created documents into a spare folder and levitated it to Professor Hypotenuse, who'd been missed out.

“This is everything I've been able to get so far. Exact copies of the pages of the manuscript, photos of the accident site and the ritual diagram, thaumometer and thauodolite readings taken at hourly intervals after the event, and my own top level arithmantic decomposition of both spells, working back from the ritual diagrams. It's only a first pass, but it should allow us to focus on specific areas.

“We also have artefacts that were some of the three fillies' personal possessions, to use as foci for any scrying or guidance spells we may develop. We also have samples of wood and nails taken non-magically from the centre of the ritual diagram and stored in denatured orihalcon containers. Hopefully, being at the centre of the event, they may have been impressed with some trace of the destination, which we can use as a signal to follow.”

Princess Luna had leafed through the pages in the folder, and spoke as Twilight paused for breath. “This is impressive work, considering you have had less than a day to prepare for our arrival.”

Twilight coloured slightly at the praise. “I felt I shouldn't let the grass grow under my hooves.” 

She looked around at the other ponies. “At the moment, all we know is that the destination must be habitable by ponies, since the three fillies have to survive to get their cutie-marks. They've already been there for over a day, and may have moved away from the emergence site to find food, water or shelter.

“We need to find a way to send a party there, find them and bring them and the party back. The party will include the six Element bearers at a minimum, and probably as many more other ponies for support purposes, along with supplies for several days or even a week, depending on how long the task takes us. We'll likely need transport to cover ground as fast as possible.”

She looked around, inviting questions. When she didn't get any, she continued.

“Mr Bluehills will work on translating the spell description, while Princess Luna and I work back from the ritual diagrams to refine my arithmantic decomposition of the spells they were designed to generate. When Mr Bluehills has a translation, Princess Luna will double check it and we will incorporate that into our analysis.

At the same time, Professor Hawkwing and Professor Hippotenuse will attack the problem from the other end, working from the theoretical requirements of a spell that would produce the observed effects through to  arithmanic equations of that same spell. 

“Hopefully we will meet in the middle with a set of arithmantic equations that describe firstly the original spell, and secondly Sweetie Belle's modification of it. From there we should be able to extrapolate a new spell design that use the power of the Elements to create a more powerful, dirigible portal or effect that can carry our recovery team.”

She looked around again, checking the team fully understood. “Alright then, let's work the problem every-pony. We're on a tight time-line, every moment we take is another moment those fillies have to survive. Failure is not an option.”

The various ponies split up into smaller groups and went to work with a will.