Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle (EQG Edition) try to make the portal safer. This does not end well and sends both catapulting in the body of ponies into a world of danger, magic, and unending adventure. Will they survive their trip to Everglow?
Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle (EQG Edition) try to make the portal safer. This does not end well and sends both catapulting in the body of ponies into a world of danger, magic, and unending adventure. Will they survive their trip to Everglow?
This is a Ponyfinder crossover. Do you need to know Ponyfinder to continue? Certainly not! Learn with our clueless protagonists the way it was meant to be.
It was late in the evening. The school was quiet, as it tended to be any time after school when there wasn't an event going on. Sunset and Twilight both frowned at the statue that absorbed their attention.
Twilight tapped it with a pen, only for the pen to sink several inches. "How long is this supposed to stay open?"
"About five days." Sunset crossed her arms. "People are getting more nosey about it. I'm afraid someone will just, you know, fall in."
"I would be lying if I didn't admit to being one of them." Twilight raised a brow. "To think there's another me, and you--"
"There's no other me," assured Sunset.
Twilight blinked in confusion. "How can you be sure?"
Sunset hiked a thumb at the statue. "I'm from there."
Twilight made a quick note. "Then the other you has to be here, but wait... Does that mean you're a horse?"
"Pony," corrected Sunset with a sigh. "A unicorn, to be specific."
Twilight leaned towards Sunset. "Fascinating! Well, you said the other... me... had a way of opening it whenever she wanted?"
Sunset gestured up at the school. "Her diary is linked to my diary, so they form a sort of bridge across worlds. She uses it to power a fancy contraption that lets her visit even when the time's wrong. How does that close it though?"
Twilight got a triumphant smile. "Well it's a simple matter of harmonics. If we make the portal not tied to Equestria, then it should close, like a hole with no other side."
Sunset hiked a brow. "Alright, I think I'm with you, so how?"
Twilight tapped at an elbow with the opposing hand a moment before she snapped her fingers, face lighting up with an idea. "We give it something else to harmonize with."
Sunset looked around, even if she wasn't sure what she could offer. "Like... a football?" She picked up the discarded ball.
"Well, maybe." Twilight frowned. "I think we need something with a bit more... resonance." She pointed up at the school. "What about the fake crown? It's like the Equestrian crown, but off just enough that it might mess with things and produce the desired effect."
Sunset raised a brow back at where the crown hid. "I was happy not thinking about that." She gave a soft and insincere laugh. "But if you really think it'd work..."
"I can't promise, but it's worth a try, right?"
With a heavy sigh, Sunset approached the school. The doors would be locked of course, but she'd worked really hard to make up for her demonic possession of the school. The principals trusted her, perhaps a bit too much. She produced a key and was inside in a hurry, dashing to where the crown was stored. It was nice of Twilight, er, the Equestrian one, to bring the crown back, as silly as it was.
She held it up and turned it around. It really was a lousy imitation. It barely looked alike except for the superficialities. Ah well. It was the best they had. She jogged out of the school and locked the door before descending the stairs towards Twilight, waving the crown.
Twilight had not been idle while Sunset was fetching the crown. She had a curious looking device assembled using the parts of a phone with a space for the crown to rest.
Sunset raised a brow at it. "You did not just build that."
Twilight blinked softly. "But I did... I've been considering the ramifications of this portal for a long time. This is just the first time I went ahead and put my theories to the test." She accepted the crown and slotted it into position. Her device lit up, casting light on the crown from below. "Are you ready?"
Sunset rolled a hand. "You clearly are. Go ahead."
Twilight smiled with eager anticipation and pressed the large red button without reservation. The device gave a soft hum before it jumped right out of her hands. The crown began sparkling and jumping, but it remained clipped to the odd device. The portal opened visibly, a deep purplish color that darkened to an impenetrable black shade as an odd throbbing noise filled the area.
Sunset's gaze darted between the portal and her friend. "Is it supposed to do... that?"
"I think so?" Not that Twilight knew for sure. When her phone got sucked violently into the portal and vanished, she knew. It wasn't a good knowledge. "No..." She took a slow step, only to collapse as a tremendous force pulled at her and left her clinging awkwardly at the sidewalk to avoid being sucked in.
Sunset reached to grab her friend even as the wind rushed past her into the portal. Her shoes slid across the ground and she lost her footing, managing little but to fall forward onto her belly with a shrill cry. The intense force plucked her from the ground and hurtled her to the portal as she screamed, "Help meee--" Her cry was cut short as she vanished.
Twilight looked around in a panic. Their friends were nowhere in sight. No one was in sight. She lifted a hand and lunged forward, trying to get away when the force hefted her right up off the ground and she was sucked into the voracious portal.
They fell into the space between spaces. Their bodies reconfigured in a haze of pain and discomfort, but they couldn't see each other, let alone themselves. They were both close and so very far away, but they could hear screaming. Was it their own, or that of their friend, that they couldn't tell.
They fell roughly to grassy turf with a chorus of grunts of pain.
Sunset raised a... hoof? to her head. She realized the limb-mismatch quickly and blinked. "Did we go to Equestria?"
Twilight slowly sat up, blinking through her thick glasses. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been before, and they fit well enough for her equine frame. "What happened?" She rose up on two legs, wobbling in place as she tried to stand as a human might and even managing it with direct attention. "Oh..." Her eyes swept over her transformed body. "T-this... I'm a horse."
"Pony," offered Sunset as she rose to her hooves, looking around. They were not in the Crystal Empire, not by far. She couldn't tell where they were at all. She had also come with her clothes, which was not normal for the portal. Her leather jacket fit quite nicely despite her having become a pony. "Where are we?" They were in a forest, but not the center of one. She could see a small town nearby, mostly quiet and still. It had torches for lights, scattered about. Not electric lights. Not lanterns. This was... not Equestria, or so she figured, or maybe it was a little town?
Twilight fell to all fours with a soft oof. "How do we get back?" She looked around a moment and gave a happy noise as she approached her fallen phone. She reached for it, but it fell apart the moment she attempted to pick it up. "Not... this..." She looked around suspiciously before her eyes settled on a small figure lit by a torch. "Look, a little pony kid!"
Sunset turned quickly. The proportions were wrong for a foal. "It's just a little pony." She stepped forward. "Maybe they can at least tell us where we are."
Twilight quickly scooped up the remnants of her phone and the faux crown, stuffing it in a pocket as best she could with a hoof she had no practice using. She had to, um, well, she tried to run and fell back down to all fours. She only moved forward by merit of having four legs to balance on as she awkwardly ambled along after Sunset. "Wait up! How do you move like this?"
Sunset resisted a moment of annoyance. This was human Twilight. Why would she know how to be a pony? With a forced smile, she lent a hoof back to Twilight and helped encourage her forward. "It takes some practice, but it isn't nearly as bad as human moving."
"S-sure, I suppose." She could walk along at a slow rate. "I have a tail," she said as if she had just noticed, but she did have one. It even swished as she looked over her shoulder at it. "Do I look horrible?" Sunset opened her mouth to reply, but Twilight didn't stop, "Oh of course you wouldn't think so. I mean you are a pony."
Sunset went red at the accusation, as true as it was in some ways. "You're really not bad looking. You're even cute."
Twilight flushed red and laughed a little. "I'm a cute little pony. Of course."
"Hello?" The small pony approached with dull pink fur and darker red mane and tail. "Oh, hello!" He scampered, his legs seeming too short to really reach the ground. "Are you from Turves?"
Sunset tilted her head. Where was Turves? "Afraid not. Nice to meet you, mister...?"
"Oh, I'm Rose Petal." He gestured to himself, then spread his hooves wide as he sat down. "Welcome to our village. Did you come to join the spring festival? You're just in time for that!" He sounded quite happy to see them, his face split into a huge smile.
Twilight was even more lost than Sunset. "Do you know the way back to Canterlot High?"
Rose blinked softly. "Where? Is that in the mountains?" He rose to his hooves. "Nevermind that, come with me. It's too late to be wandering out. A forest animal might try to take a bite out of you."
Sunset tapped her chin as she looked around the town they were approaching. The homes were little more than straw and thatch huts, with only a meager few being ritzy enough to be made of wood, and not a single one made of stone or brick. "Oh, I'm Sunset Shimmer, and this is my friend, Twilight Sparkle."
Rose smiled at the introductions. "Nice to meet you both. I figured you just didn't want to say. Some people prefer to keep that sort of thing a secret around the spring festival." He did a slow turn. "It's too late for most people... want to stay with me?" He pointed at himself. "My place isn't very big, but enough for three ponies to sleep the night safely."
Twilight shook her head. "We should really--"
Sunset clapped a hoof over Twilight's mouth as she leaned in to whisper, "Look, we should take what we can get. We won't get anywhere in the dark. Let's get some sleep and consider this in the morning."
Twilight cleared her throat as the hoof was removed. "As I was saying, we should accept your kind invitation, um Rose, was it?"
"Rose Petal," he reminded with a chipper tone as he led the way to a small hut and nudged open the door to it. "I don't normally wander this late, but I had a feeling, I did, that I should take a look, just one, and there you both were!"
The hut was small, cramped even with three ponies to cram into it, but Rose insisted it'd be alright. It was, in a sense. The room grew unfortunately chilly as the night deepened and they found the warmth of fur and flesh kept it at bay. Eventually they all settled to sleep in a pile of pony bodies.
Twilight blinked open her eyes and began feeling around for her glasses. She could see it was lighter around herself but... There they were. She pulled the glasses closer with a hoof and frowned at the limb. What she wouldn't do for a hand... She tried to pick up the glasses and fumbled through the process several times before she managed to work them onto her snout and restore the world to acuity. "There we go."
Her words stirred Sunset from her rest and she sat up, startling a moment before she realized she went to sleep as a pony and woke up the same. "Morning Twilight." She sat up and looked around. They were alone in the small hut. "Where's Rose?"
Twilight looked around. Their little friend hadn't stayed around it seemed. "Well, unless he's literally in the walls, which isn't impossible, he's left."
Sunset spotted a brush and her horn glowed as she lifted the brush up and got it to work making her mane less of a mess.
Twilight gawked at her friend as she casually employed magic. "How are you doing that?"
Sunset blinked softly, then glanced at the brush Twilight was staring at, then at Twilight. "Oh!" She colored a bit as she realized what then seemed obvious. "We're unicorns. Unicorns can do this, with practice."
Twilight looked cross-eyed up at her own horn. "How?" She glared at the door, but produced little more than sparks.
"Easy there. Sparks means you're pushing too hard." Sunset reached out a hoof to Twilight's shoulder. "Imagine it like you're grabbing something, just, without an arm attached."
Twilight's mouth worked silently a moment before she nodded. "Right..." She glanced across at Sunset. "You realize we're both magical horses, right?"
"I got a lot of practice in before I left." Sunset rose to her hooves. "Not that I think this is... right. I don't recognize this place out of Equestria at all, but it still could be some little town nobody bothered to map."
Twilight let out a soft sigh. "Magically lost horses, fantastic." She turned her attention back to the door and tried to reach for it without touching it, and lo, it did work. Her horn glowed softly and the door opened obediently for her. Twilight let out an excited squeal at the result, clapping her hooves together with a clopping noise. Sure, opening a door wasn't a huge feat, but it was hers.
Outside, with the sun spilling into the small building, they could see the town was much more lively than it had been the night before. There were dozens on dozens of small ponies setting up for something. They put up new torches and set up fences in places while other worked busily to hang up decorations of flowers on the buildings and even polished a large stone statue of an equally squat looking pony. Around the statue were countless little trinkets and bits of art.
Sunset peered at the hive of activity curiously. "Do you think they're preparing for the spring festival they brought up?"
Twilight adjusted her glasses nervously. "I would imagine. Perhaps some ceremony to hope for good crops?"
"More than that!" A new figure appeared at the door. "Hello! Rose said he had some visitors, but he didn't mention they were so captivating." The small mare approached them with bright eyes. "Have you come to pay your respects to Lashtada, have fun, or are you looking for a special someone?"
Sunset blinked rapidly. "W-what? I want to ask who or what that is, but do you always come up to people you barely know and offer that?"
The small mare looked perplexed. "Offer a good time? I try to. Or do you mean some matchmaking?" She leaned forward, smiling at the both of them. "You must be from a city. Viljatown? I hear that's getting bigger really fast. Well, this isn't Viljatown, and we don't believe in hiding our feelings to be 'polite'."
Twilight rose to her hooves, looking over the pony curiously. She had brown fur and bright red mane. On her flank was a symbol that seemed to show two horse heads touching at the snout. Kissing? Nuzzling? Twilight supposed either would be appropriate. "What if we just want to go back to where we came from?"
The mare flopped to her haunches. "Well, I'd say that sounds not very fun, but I wouldn't stop you. Oh, let me get out of the way." She scooted to the side quickly to leave the doorway clear. "Seems a shame to travel all this way to see us, just to run away. Did we do anything wrong?"
Sunset advanced, exiting the building. "It's not you, or Rose? You were very, um, nice, but we didn't plan to come here."
The mare tilted her head. "Where did you plan to go?"
A new, male, voice called out, "did you say hello to the newcomers?" Around the corner came a new small pony, rushing up towards them. "Oh, there's one! Hello!" He rushed right up to Sunset and hugged her without hesitation or delay. "Welcome!"
Sunset discovered that the small ponies were especially fuzzy. They had thick pelts suited for the cold forest they called home. She also learned that they gave uncomfortably long hugs if allowed to. She gently pushed the stallion back and he parted without complaint, but it felt like he would have gone all day if allowed. "Um, nice to meet you both." She glanced around curiously before she saw the darndest thing. A mother-pony was escorting her little foal along, and it had a cutie mark. It was clearly too young to have one, not even a yearling, but there it was.
Twilight came out beside Sunset, eyes wide behind her glasses as she took in the bustling activity of the village. This turned into a surprised squeak as the stallion gave her a hug just as he had embraced Sunset. "Get it off!"
The mare pulled the clingy stallion away. "He does that with everyone he meets. You should see the expression on some of the visiting stallions."
The stallion nodded at Twilight. "I didn't mean nothing bad by it. Welcome! You're just in time for the Spring Festival. Are you--"
The mare cut him off with a thrust hoof and shook her head. "They're leaving."
He pouted at that. "What? But they're just in time... Lashtada must have planned it." He bounced upright. "Surely you were meant to be here. Please, reconsider."
Sunset narrowed her eyes a little. "Who is this 'Lashtada'?"
Several gasps came from small mouths as ponies stopped what they were doing to look over at them.
The mare smiled. "It's pretty common for outsiders to not know her. It still surprises us though. There." She gestured to the statue. "That is a statue of her. She is a goddess of love and fertility. She is also our mother. We were formed in her image, and she loves us, and we love her."
"We do," agreed the male. "During the Spring Festival, she descends from the heavenly planes to dance alongside us. It's the only time of year we can see her in the divine flesh, and feel her love personally. Oh please! It's tonight. You can't throw away a chance to see a goddess, can you?"
Twilight blinked with growing confusion. "Goddess?" She shook her head. "If... I mean..." Magic horses was about her limit. A goddess, that would appear physically? "How do you know she's real?" Sunset made some quick motions for quiet, but the words had already been spoken.
The mare blinked before a frown formed on her face. "Clerics answer her calls and perform miracles in her name, and the foals she makes with us are blessed and touched by the divine. Besides, she's our mother. You believe in your own mother, don't you?"
Twilight crashed to her haunches. "I don't have to 'believe' in my mother... She's fact."
The stallion nodded. "Yep, just like our mother."
The mare nodded in agreement. "If you'll stay, you'll see her yourself, and you can dance with us. Everyone has a good time."
The stallion suddenly perked. "If you're looking for partners that are more your size, there are a few other outsiders that'll be at the dance too. There's always a few for the Spring Festival."
The mare looked Sunset and Twilight up and down. "You're not that large. We could handle you if you're willing to give us a try."
What sort of 'festival' was this exactly? Sunset shook her head slowly with building doubt that she was in Equestria. "T-thanks, really, but we're both feeling overwhelmed. Could we have a moment?"
They wandered off, joining the crowd to prepare for the festivities.
Twilight leaned towards Sunset. "Did she say 'cleric'?"
"Huh? Yeah? So?" Sunset blinked at her friend with confusion. Of all the words to get caught up on.
Twilight tapped her chin before flagging down a passing pony. "Excuse me."
"Yes? Hello!"
"Hello." Twilight nodded at the stallion. "Tell me if these words are familiar or odd."
Twilight gave a slow blink. "We're in a living game of Oubliettes and Ogres."
He tilted his head. "I don't recognize that third to last word."
Twilight gave a nervous smile. "Thanks, you've been a huge help."
"Glad to help." He wandered off with a pleased expression.
Sunset nudged Twilight in the side. "What?"
"You never played?" Twilight let out a slightly hysterical laugh. "We're in a roleplaying world, as magic horses... We're so doomed..."
Sunset shook her head slowly. "I never got into that... I mean, why play a game where I can pretend I can hurl spells when I literally came from that?"
Twilight quirked a smile. "Well, fine, alright, deep breaths." She was speaking to herself more than anyone else. "Sunset, I don't think this is your home."
"I don't think so either." Sunset frowned. "But alright, let's assume your theory is correct. What do we do about it?"
"Is panicking a valid option?" Twilight leaned against Sunset. "At least your magic works. Great, that's... something. If we run into a bugbear or something, I'm running the other direction while you take care of it."
Sunset tapped Twilight on the horn gently. "You're a unicorn. You could learn magic if you wanted to, but more importantly, you have to fix your phone and get it to take us back home."
Twilight let out a laugh that didn't try to hide her building hysteria. "Right, no problem!"
The later in the day it became, the more excited the ponies became, not that Twilight was paying any attention. She was busy trying to do something, anything, with the jumble of pieces that had once been a phone, then a portal to a world she never asked for.
Sunset had tried to stay at her side, but Twilight was growing angry and hysterical and trying to calm her down was just making her more angry, so Sunset decided to give her some space. "I'll be back later." She left the hut as Twilight grumbled and fiddled with parts awkwardly with hooves she wasn't used to having.
She wandered the town and noticed a pony that was actually her size. The mare stood out in the sea of small ponies easily, to say nothing of her also being made of metal. Sunset blinked as she approached the curious horse. "Hello?"
The pony turned towards her with a mechanical sound, ears swiveling with the turning of gears. "Hello. Are you also here for the Festival?"
Sunset put a hoof on her chest. "I wasn't planning on it, but here we are..."
"The gods work in mysterious ways," agreed the mechanical pony. "It is a shame that the clockwork festival and this one do not coincide, or I would truly revel. It is good that the little ponies don't seem to mind, but it's not the same."
Sunset tilted her head, confusion growing. "I'm sorry? Assume I'm from far away." Not a lie at all. "Can you explain what you mean?"
The mechanical pony blinked with the tink of metal on metal, some steam escaping from her sides. "Oh, you've never met a clockwork before? My tribe once defied the gods, and this is my punishment for it." She offered a hoof. "Please don't be scared. It's not a communicable thing."
Sunset reached forward hesitantly and clopped hooves. "So you're... I mean, you're not a machine?"
The mechanical mare tilted her head. "No more than you are a bag of meat. I am constructed of metal, but I grow, I hurt, and I will die. One day a year, I can even love, physically..." She glanced around. "It is not the day the short legs dance."
Sunset recoiled a little bit. "I must sound rude, um... miss...?"
"Rolling Precision, but Roll is fine." Roll smiled at Sunset. "Be careful in your dancing."
Sunset waved a hoof. "I won't step on any hooves, promise."
"It is not their hooves I would worry about." Roll raised a brow. "They will see you as an available mare and I get the distinct impression you are not aware of the nature of this dance."
The way Rolling was speaking and the energy building in the town and the way she had already been spoken to was giving Sunset an increasingly good idea. "Did we just walk into..."
"Yes. Everything you just imagined, but worse. On the positive, they are extremely gentle and loving. If you say no, they will not press." She leaned forward a little with the soft hiss of adjusting limbs. "That will not stop others from approaching. There are many of them. If you don't wish to dance, this is your last chance to leave before it begins."
Sunset took a few steps back. "They wouldn't..."
"Force? No! No..." Roll sank to her haunches. "I told you, they are gentle creatures. They want to love and be loved. It's just that one 'no' only sends one away, so another may ask, and another, and another. So long as you're not with someone, it is an open invitation for anyone who hasn't yet found a partner."
Sunset cringed a little. "But... you?"
"What about me?" Roll rose to her hooves in a smooth interaction of gears. "I may consent to a few brave ponies that approach me, but nothing will come of it. Nothing can, save for my people's special day." She smiled ruefully. "If I had the choice, I would place it on this day, and I would dance with them and their goddess."
"Wait wait, you've seen their, um, Lashtada was it?"
Roll nodded. "Certainly. I've attended this festival two times. This is the third. She has appeared at each one. It is truly remarkable. She doesn't ask for or command great attention, she... just does what everyone else is doing. She is a pony, for this night, and she seems to like it. Her people like it. I suppose not many others permit this sort of behavior..."
Sunset slowly shook her head. "This is a bit overwhelming for me. Maybe we should..." She took another slow step back. "It was really nice meeting you, Roll."
"And your name is?" she asked with a deadpan, staring at Sunset.
Sunset blushed as she was called out. "Sorry. I'm Sunset Shimmer. Sunset is fine. It really was nice meeting you, but I, hmm. I should go." She turned and fled back towards Rose's hut and the Twilight she hoped was still there.
On the way, her eyes were drawn to a gaunt striped pony, a zebra. The zebra was speaking to a small gathering of the short legs, "This will be the last dance. Perhaps for a short while. Perhaps it will be the last the world sees. Death comes for all, and you are no exception, avatars of birth. You, who are shaped like young ponies, will see your resolve tested cruelly and possibly with finality. I cannot say for certain, only what my mistress whispered in my ear, as is her way."
The small ponies seemed far from impressed. They waved off the doomtidings. One of their largest, who was still pretty small, rose up above the others. "We will dance, and she will dance with us. It's what we do, and what she does. We make her smile, and she brings joy with her from the heavens. What are you even suggesting?"
The zebra spoke, but the low words were drowned out by the crowd. Sunset shook her head as she galloped past and shoved open the door to the hut with her magic, scurrying inside. "Twilight?"
"Mmm?" Twilight looked up from her jumble of parts with bloodshot eyes and quivering hooves. "I keep trying to... It doesn't work. Nothing works. I can't... Nothing works..."
Sunset closed the door behind herself with her magic as she watched Twilight break down. "Twilight, stop." She set a hoof on one of Twilight's, forcing it to the ground. "Stop!"
Twilight seemed to really see Sunset for the first time, blinking. "Sunset?"
"Enough..." She kept the hoof down. "You tried your hardest."
Twilight started to brim with tears as she sniffled and quaked. "But I didn't... I mean... We're really stuck! We're stuck and we're going to die..."
"No! You stop that right this moment." Sunset's horn glowed as she picked up the jumble of parts and started to put them away as quickly as she could. "We're fine. Sure, we haven't figured out how to go home, but we will, and we have each other, right?"
"R-right..." Twilight slowly rose to her hooves. "Right... Maybe we're approaching this from the wrong angle."
"Hmm?"
"This is a whole world of magic. Maybe the phone was just the wrong answer." She forced a smile. "Maybe we have to use magic?"
Sunset nodded. "As good a reason as any, but, look, we have to go."
"Why?" Twilight fidgeted with her glasses nervously. "Is something wrong, besides the obvious?"
"The festival everyone's getting excited about." Sunset sighed softly. "Unless you want to learn where baby ponies come from, this may not be the best place for us, and it starts at sundown exactly." She pointed outside despite the lack of windows. "You can't see it from here, but trust me, that isn't long away."
Twilight went a deep red in her cheeks as the situation became clear to her. "Can't we just say no?" She shook her head with disbelief. "They said we didn't have to, um, dance if we don't want to, right?"
"Or..." Sunset looked around for any missing parts. "We can leave and avoid an increasingly awkward situation. Besides, they're all so... it's like thinking about a kid." She shivered softly. "Even if they're as big as they're ever going to get."
"They're cute," argued Twilight, looking like she was recovering from her failed attempt. "Not that kind of cute, of course, but I don't think they'd hurt us." A hoof came up suddenly, striking herself on the head. "And I'm falling right into a trope. Of course they could be a problem, welcome to a world of magic." She let out a sigh as she settled. "Where do we go?"
Sunset leaned against the closest wall, making it lean dangerously. "I don't know..."
"So we're just going to run in a random direction?" She shrank a little. "As awkward as this all is, it's better than what I guess is out there. I don't want to be eaten by a dragon or mauled by a tribe of angry goblins."
Sunset looked ready to argue it, but thought better of it. "Look, maybe... we should be taking the time to learn the area. Once we know where to go, then we can go." An idea came to her. "Ah! I met a pony on the way here. You won't believe it, but she's made of metal."
Twilight swayed a little. Metal ponies? Why not... "And...?"
"I don't think she lives here. If anyone knows where to go, she would. Let's look for her." Sunset finished looking around. Whatever they had brought, she was sure she had. "Come on, there's nothing to wait around in here for."
Together, they departed the small hut and discovered the town transformed. With the sun sinking over the horizon, the dancing had begun. Actual dancing, with the small ponies celebrating life and joy eagerly. Food was set out, giving off a variety of tantalizing smells that some of the ponies availed themselves of when not dancing. It seemed the less acceptable activities were at least kept out of sight, at least so far as they could tell.
They would gesture towards a private place, the other with them would nod, and off they'd go to do whatever it is that they wanted to do.
Sunset's eyes scanned over the crowd, looking for the metal pony that was a giant compared to most, though about the size of herself or Twilight.
Twilight looked around cautiously, just behind Sunset. "They don't look dangerous to me." As parties went, it was a party. Nothing... "Oh."
She gawked at the bright pink pony. She was a little taller than the smaller ponies around her. Her eyes were shrouded by her locks and she spoke in a gentle tone that was somehow audible despite the distance and noise without sounding loud at all.
"My wonderful children, the time has come again. Shall we dance to celebrate the spring? The world awakens from its slumber, love blossoms, and it is time to prepare for the next year." She stepped forward through the crowd, losing mass with every step. Soon she was just another pony, and she danced.
Once aware of her presence and recovered from her surprise, Twilight perked right up. "That may be our ticket home." She nudged Sunset to follow with her and they pushed through the crowd towards the pink mare that had appeared.
As they came into dancing range of the mare, other ponies began to move to block them. Not with malice, but offering dances of their own with eagerly moving hooves and big smiles.
Sunset gently nudged a mare out of the way. "Sorry, just passing through."
Twilight pushed a stallion out of the way, even if she felt mildly guilty for doing so. "Sorry..."
The pink mare noticed them. She looked towards them and took a step. "Who is this, that doesn't dance? You are not my children, but..." Her eyes went unfocused, as if looking far beyond Twilight and Sunset. "You are no children of mine or anyone I know..."
A brave stallion attempted to climb on the pink mare even as she spoke. The move only made her giggle as she pulled him down, kissed him, and sent him off into the crowd. "I cannot dance while you are here."
Her words caught the attention of many of the ponies nearby and they rose as if to defend Lashtada from the intruder.
She raised a hoof. "Let there be no harm done, least not on this night. Please, follow me." She turned and trotted towards a quieter portion of the festival.
Twilight and Sunset followed, both hoping they would go home soon. As they went, Sunset leaned towards Twilight. "You have a plan, right?"
"She's a goddess. Assuming we accept the rules of this world, she has the power to send us home or do almost anything she wants. Who else is better to ask?"
Lashtada turned to them in the dark. "Others will assume we are doing the dance of life, away from the light of the fire."
Sunset blinked softly. "But we're both, you know, female?"
Lashatada tilted her head, looking confused that the very notion would be an impediment to her. "Do you wish a blessing?"
Sunset almost answered, but Twilight clapped a hoof over Sunset's muzzle. "Oh, thank you. That's very generous but we'll pass for now."
"That's a shame... You would both make wonderful mothers. Now, what brings a being from another plane among my people, if not to dance, if not to ask for blessings?" She spoke with such a friendly and kind tone. She was a kind mother personified, willing to give anything if it would make her children happy. "Come now, tell me." Her face suddenly lit up. "Do you seek the hoof of one that ignores you? I can give some advice..."
Sunset narrowed her eyes at the goddess as it became clear to her. "You are a literal sex god."
Lashtada looked her as if she had just declared the sun was bright or that ice was cold. "Yes."
Twilight hurried forward, which made Lashtada grin. "Shall we dance?"
"N-no, we're lost. We want to get back to that, uh, plane, right. Our home plane." Twilight nodded quickly. "You can do that, right?"
She tilted her head to the left. "You would do better to ask Luminace such a question. I rule over life, the start of it at least, and how that start happens. The ties that bind us together in communities where life can occur peacefully. Love, that is my domain." She suddenly reached a hoof and drew Twilight closer. "Let me speak to you of that instead."
Twilight went rigid, panicking as the goddess easily snatched her up and began to rub her chest. "N-no! Really, I'm f-fine!"
"You are a bit young, but your field is fertile. It needs only gentle tilling and sowing." Lashtada breathed over Twilight's snout, bringing with it a strange scent of vanilla and cinnamon. She felt a new heat sear through her as she was made ready. This was all going exactly as she had hoped it wouldn't.
Sunset didn't stand-by idly as her friend was seized by the goddess. "Woah, hold on there!" She put a hoof on the pink pony's back. "We're not ready to be mothers. We just want to go home."
"But this can be your home." Lashtada smiled. "Carrying a blessed foal will see you well cared for and loved. Lay back and accept this blessing. You will know life."
Sunset couldn't take it! If she didn't act quickly, her friend would be... She let out a bright flash of flame from her horn.
Lashtada seemed surprised at the attack, as ineffective as it was against her. She raised a hoof and brushed the singed fur a moment. "You attacked me..."
Sunset shrank back. Was she about to face divine judgment?
Lashtada released the dazed Twilight to the ground and stepped towards Sunset. "I thought I was being kind. Do creatures not love in your plane? Do they not make families? Perhaps that would..." She stopped suddenly, her jaw hanging. "N-No! My children!" She ran for the light, but vanished before she could reach it.
Sunset looked around slowly, as if the goddess may reappear at any moment. "Are you alright, Twilight?"
Twilight slowly sat up on her haunches, still warm in places she didn't normally consider. "I think I'm fine... Where'd she go? I mean, not that I'm objecting, but that was odd, even for her."
New noises began to reach them. Angry shouts, growls, and the thundering hooves of horses, real horses mixed in with the soft cries of the little ponies.
Sunset crept quickly to the entrance of the tent they were in and peeked out to see the people of the village were being attacked by bipedal furry creatures. They were killing many, and capturing others. "What th--"
The tent suddenly came down on both of them as a small force of the attackers sliced its supports.
Sunset and Twilight fought their way to freedom, only to have spears shoved in their faces.
Wielding those spears were two of the bipedal creatures. One of them sneered. "Clothes? Civilized? Fine, you get a choice. Come work in the mines, or die here. Either is fine."
The screams of dying ponies around them implied that others weren't being given the choice. Sunset considering trying to escape a moment, but she could, at best, hope to get herself away. Twilight... "We surrender."
"We do?" Twilight's eyes went wider as she took a step back.
The creature wasn't having any of it and advanced on Twilight. "Your friend made right decision. Give up."
Twilight rose up to two legs, which made the warriors ready to skewer her, but she thrust her hooves in the air and gave up.
"Huh, strange way for pony to surrender, but fine. Come." He hopped off his horse and tied a rope, coarse and thick, around each of their necks. "This way." She led them to a collection of small ponies, and Sunset's metal friend.
The metal pony had a few dings from the event, but seemed alright overall. On seeing them she let out a little sigh. "I had hoped you had escaped, but better captured than dead, I suppose."
"Roll!" Sunset smiled. "You're alright." She settled with the others, trying to ignore their angry jailers.
Roll nodded. "I am as well as anyone who has been made a prisoner can be. The damage inflicted on me is far from terminal. I will repair. You two look untouched." She looked between Twilight and Sunset. "Is she who you wanted to dance with?"
Sunset blushed savagely. "N-no! She's the one that came with me, to here, on accident..."
Twilight nodded at the curious metal pony. "Um, hi? I'm Twi--"
"Be quiet!" One of the guards raised his flail over his head, looking ready to bash a head in. "You be quiet or I'll make you be quiet!"
The sounds of violence died down as the crackle of fire grew. Straw huts, as it turned out, burned quite easily, and soon the entire village was put to the torch. The prisoners were encouraged with harsh words and bodily violence to rise and follow. "Soon you find better home, heh, good work ahead."
Roll stayed close to the other two ponies of her stature. "You seem unaware," she whispered faintly. "Our captors are gem gnolls. They aren't usually this coordinated... This is troubling for a number of reasons."
Twilight glanced around fearfully. "We're being taken to who-knows-where and you're worried about their battle tactics?"
"A number of reasons."
Sunset nodded faintly. "Don't get angry at her. We're in this together, alright?" She offered a nervous smile at her new friend. "We'll get out of it..."
They were marched out of the forest and to a waiting hole in the earth that they descended into in a large procession. As they walked, one of the small ponies moved beside Twilight. "You're larger."
"Yeah?" She wasn't used to the idea of being the big person in any room.
"Protect me?" The small pony, a mare, smiled up at her hopefully.
Twilight felt her heart breaking. She couldn't protect herself, let alone the little pony that looked so lost and confused. "Try to stay close..."
That was a bit of advice that would be hard to follow. They separated out the ponies as they went, with the little ponies being herded down one tunnel and the three larger being sent to another place. They could hear the sounds of picks striking walls echoing out from the darkness and gloom. While there were torches, they were spread out far apart, with patches of terrible darkness that they could barely see their hooves through.
The creature leading them looked over his shoulder. "If you're thinking of escaping, stop that. There is no escape, and we'll do all the thinking for you. We'll even feed you and give you water." He said it as if they were being quite kind. "All you have to do is dig. Dig and find lots of gems and we will keep feeding you."
"I do not require sustenance."
The gnoll peered at Roll curiously. "Good, then we don't have to feed. You're already a great worker." He pointed to a pile of picks as they walked past. "Grab one."
Sunset hefted one with her magic, while Twilight and Roll had to use their mouths, but soon all were equipped with mining picks.
"Great, since first day, we start easy." He pointed down a tunnel. "Just make wider. Not even have to hunt gems, but if you see a gem, you give it. You give enough, maybe prize? See, we not so bad." He flashed a grin full of teeth and wandered off towards the dark. "Now is your chance to show you work without gnoll around to watch. You mess up, then you get whipped every day. For own good, promise."
Roll watched him go before she turned back to her wall and began chipping away at it with her pick. "This is... less than optimal."
Sunset let out a slow sigh. "Understatement of the evening." Soon all three were working to avoid being whipped in coming 'days'.
She was in a place full of fire. Wherever Twilight turned, someone was dying. Gnolls with wicked smiles and sharpened blades cut down the small ponies, each time looking at her with an awful smile. She would be next. Every time she ran, another got cut down, and she got that look. She would be next. A gnoll rose from the ground in front of her, pick raised high. "Stupid pony!" It swung the weapon down with all its brutish strength.
Twilight jerked awake with a shudder, tears flowing with the memory of the massacre she had survived.
"Did I rouse you?" Roll was there. She was dimly visible in the light. "We should speak. If our captors continue to trust us, today we make our move. I only require you to follow my lead. Stay close."
Twilight shivered, remembering the small pony she had told the same to, but she had been powerless to help them. Was she the powerless one? Yes. Yes, she was. Or so she decided after a moment of thought. She reached into the darkness and gently nudged Sunset.
Sunset nodded in the dark. "I'm already awake. I heard." She sat up and stretched slowly. "Ugh, I don't suppose... there's a laundry day?"
"Negative. The likelihood of laundering, especially for slaves, is vanishingly tiny." Roll raised a brow. "Unless you have magic, we are stuck with the raiments we arrived in."
Did Roll have clothes? Twilight looked over the metal pony to confirm that she had some, covering her chest and front, but nothing over her flank or back sections at all. Curious... "Is that what you normally wear?"
"For the dance, yes." Roll smoothly slid to her hooves. "Come, they will be coming for us soon."
They had been working for... it was hard to tell exactly how much time had passed, but they were apparently 'good'. They were largely left alone and trusted to get to work when they were told, so the screams of hit ponies didn't come from them.
Twilight didn't like it. But she liked the idea of being the one taking the whip even less, so she was good and worked and wished she had her hands back. It was bad enough digging every day, but doing it with her neck? She was surprised she hadn't broken something.
A gem gnoll entered their small cave and squinted at them. "Big job today. Dangerous. Do good, reward. Do bad, dead." He shrugged and turned around.
In silence, the three followed after him. There were other groups being led in the same direction, but none of them spoke. None dared. To speak was to invite that whip. Twilight had dared once, only once... Her snout still stung from where the scaled whip had dug into her and tore free some fur along the way.
They were quiet.
They were led to what felt like lower. They went down several rough ramps until they arrived where the gnoll wanted. "Something in the air killed last diggers. You do good so far. You dig, no die. Get at least ten gems before lunch." He nodded firmly. "Ten gems, or lashes, one for each missing. No lashes all day, reward."
The 'reward' typically consisted of a meal worth having instead of the paltry servings they typically offered. Roll had won the reward whenever offered and always gave it to Twilight or Sunset. Twilight and Sunset, not so lucky. They had avoided being punished, but they weren't fast or durable enough to find gems and to make the quotas consistently. Only luck allowed them to find big enough gems to make the gnolls happy.
The hyena laughed to himself as he walked away, leaving them to their work. Roll moved to a wall and began working at it. "We will wait until lunch. That is when they will least expect our movement, expecting us to be tired. Reserve your strength. I will find your gems."
Sunset picked up her pick with her magic. "Do you breathe? I mean... I'm worried." She glanced around the darkness, only lit by a torch that was too far away. "He said this place killed a few miners already."
Roll nodded. "Exactly why we're moving today. It's a calculated risk." She brought down the pick in a savage swing, sending rocks and flecks of valuable gems to the ground. The area was thick with them.
Sunset's nose wrinkled. "No wonder they're willing to risk to get it."
"Willing to risk the life of others." Roll brought down her pick solidly. "Reserve your strength."
Twilight gave a few swings of her pick. Pony necks were strong... She could mine, she just wasn't really... She would rather be doing almost anything else. She kept her tool raised high, but didn't swing. Any gnoll that came in on them by surprise wouldn't find her slacking off, or so she hoped. Something bothered her and she moved beside Sunset. "Sunset?"
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you, you know, do more magic?"
Sunset raised an ear. "Not a terrible question... Magic here, uh, this world here, it feels... strange." She made a swinging motion with her pick. "My horn works about the same. I thought I'd send a force bolt at that goddess, but instead fwoosh, fire. I don't normally make fire."
"You were on fire before," pointed out Twilight. "The kids said you were a flaming demon, once, you know?"
Sunset frowned at that. "Do we have to bring that up in the middle of a terrible situation?"
"I don't mean to pick on you." Twilight gave a little smile that she hoped would be reassuring. "It's just, you know, new world, new rules. Maybe you're related to that, you know, fiery?"
"So I'm fiery?"
"Could be." Twilight nodded. "Best theory we have so far."
"What are you then?"
Twilight sagged at that. "Mostly useless, so far..."
"Don't say that." Sunset nudged against her before moving towards the wall again to at least pretend she was working. "The way I see it, the moment we get out of this place, we'll at least show you how to use that horn of yours. You're a unicorn, girl! Magic is what you do."
Roll glanced towards then before she struck firm and true, unsettling more stone to the ground. "Why do you speak as if unicorns are the only ones capable of magic?" She glanced at them, then away. "I am perfectly capable without a horn."
Sunset started at the news. "Wait, what? You can do magic?" She glanced away and back at the mechanical pony. "You haven't done any since you got here,"
"Correct." She struck true, keeping her tempo even. "There is no reason to give away my advantage until we act. If you also have magic, you will want to put it to use when we move."
Twilight made a sympathetic swing of her pick. Watching Roll do all the work... "What should I do?"
"Stay close. Attempt to not be in the way." She raised a hoof and brought down the metal limb down on the wall. A hairline fracture ran up the stone and expanded as it shattered, raining rocks, both sparkling and otherwise. "Assist me in locating the gems they desire."
That Twilight could do. She set her pick down and began to sift through the rocks quickly, pushing the more glittering specimens aside to add to their collection for the day. By her quick counting, they had enough to avoid punishments that day. Twilight didn't have a clock, but that felt fast. "How do you do this so fast?"
She set her pick down with a metallic sigh. "Strength the gods gave me. I would have preferred another gift, but one does not get to argue with gods, not and survive to tell about it."
Sunset let out a nervous laugh.
Roll picked up on it and raised a brow high. "Is that how you came to be here, angered a god? You should count yourself fortunate this manual labor is the extent of your punishment."
Sunset shook her head violently. "I, uh, you remember Lashtada right?"
"Affirmative."
"She wanted to... do things... with my friend." Sunset pointed to Twilight. "I kinda..." Her voice dropped low, almost a pathetic squeak, " I mighta attacked her a little."
Roll did not react as the two were expecting. She looked thoughtful instead for a long moment. "I thought she had not arrived... If she was there, why did she allow this attack to proceed? Those are her children, many quite literally. She is very protective of them..."
Twilight raised a hoof as she was about to respond, but a gnoll approached. "Better not be talking instead of digging. Must be confident. Let's see how many gems you found." He ambled up towards them, eyeing the pile of gems they had produced with greedy eyes. "One, two..."
The gnoll picked through the pile, making an appreciative noise at a few, and discarding a few others. "Not bad. No lashes. Take break, food." He produced a bag of oats and tossed them on the ground as if they would eat them like any random farm horse. "Eat quick, then mine. Since so good, target higher, twenty gems by rest time."
He ambled off, leaving them to their... meal.
Sunset grabbed the bag in her magic and poured some into a waiting hoof to start chewing moodily.
Roll nodded. "Eat. You will need the strength. It is time to move soon." She glanced left and right slowly. "Tonight, we will know freedom, or the release of death, which is a freedom of another sort. I prefer the former."
Twilight rose and approached Sunset, who levitated the bag over and fed Twilight without being asked. She stuffed the hoof-full into her mouth and got chewing. "Tell me this world has tastier things than this..."
"You truly are outsiders... We have a wide variety of food, but I admit I usually only sample a great deal on our special day." She quirked a smile. "Memories of the last sustain me right now. I plan to survive to the next. What of you two? What will you survive for?"
Sunset cleared her throat softly. "Well, I want to get home." She smiled at Twilight. "I want to protect my friend."
Twilight flushed. She hated being the helpless damsel, but what could she do? "I..." That warmth inside of her had never gone away. Whatever the goddess had done, it remained with her. Another mark the world had left on her, like the scar on her very inhuman nose. "I'm tired of being pushed around."
"Then let us do the pushing." Roll shook herself off, then grabbed the heavy pick. "It is time to mine for gnoll brains, but only the ones that get in our way. Follow me." She trotted off into the darkness, her pick seeming to take a whole new dimension as she wielded it, seemingly perfectly ready to use it against any she decided deserved it.
Roll marched with a precision befitting her tribe. A gnoll saw her walking and approached her with a low growl. "Stupid pony, this is--" His words were cut off as Roll brought up the pick and drove it down right in the center of the gnoll. The killed creature slid off of her weapon and crumpled to the ground.
"We have limited time, keep moving."
A shiver ran through both the other ponies as they made wide circles to avoid the fallen form of the defeated gnoll. Neither were used to the idea of fighting to the death, and the casual way that their friend dispensed it... Sunset marched forward. "Have you--"
"Yes."
Twilight flanked Roll on the other side. "What are you?"
Roll suddenly accelerated and came down on a gnoll just as she turned a corner. With claws she didn't have moments before, gleaming and metal, Roll drove both down the front of the front of the gnoll, eviscerating it and letting her sag against the wall, bleeding and losing its innards all-too-quickly. "Go."
It was like following the angel of death, come to deliver swift judgment. Twilight was cold and frightened inside, watching Roll approach each gnoll with the purposeful stride of a predator, but the only hunger that was present was the need for freedom.
Sunset lowered her horn and let out a sudden torrent of flame, distracting and catching a gnoll that was about to get the drop on Roll. Roll brought her pick in a savage swing before kicking the broken form of the gnoll over. "Thank you."
Bells, distant and loud, began to ring and Roll frowned. "The disturbance has been noted. Our progress will become more difficult." She threw her pick aside and picked a longsword dropped by one of the felled gnolls. "This will do. Come."
As they pushed forward into the tunnels, faces began to peek out of darkened side tunnels. They were not other gnolls, those usually attacked quickly or ran away. No, these were other prisoners, many ponies, some not. Some were humans, or like them. They didn't follow.
Twilight looked at them out of the corner of her eyes as she ran. "Why aren't they taking the chance?"
"They fear death." Roll came to a smooth stop before a door and frowned at it. She rolled her shoulders slowly as the machines within her whirred to life as if charging up. She charged forward, smashing through the door and the gnoll directly behind it as she came into a new, much more lit, room.
There were more there, and Roll was almost lost to sight as she began battling with half a dozen coordinated warriors that were ready to repel her. Sunset clopped her hooves together and suddenly Roll grew larger than her foes, doubling in height and length as she let out a metallic roar.
Twilight's eyes went wide. "You can do--Eek!" She jumped aside as a gnoll came for her, sword upraised. Flame caught him in the side as Sunset lit him up with a well-aimed blast.
She darted forward and grabbed a sword in her mouth as best she could. Even if she didn't know any spells, at least she was armed? The logic was enough to keep Twilight moving forward despite the building terror and quakes within her. She wanted to go home.
"This is less than ideal..." Roll's charge was slowing. Her form had a great deal of dents and she was leaking oil and steam from where cuts had been scored against her tough hide. "A cleric would be nice." Clerics were not known to drop from the heavens on command, and Roll pushed forward despite her injuries. "One way or the other, we will taste freedom." That was a taste she knew, flesh or not.
Their hopes were bolstered by a glint. Ahead, light glimmered faintly through the tunnels and all three picked up speed to rush for it.
A large bipedal figure stepped into view. "Enough!" He wielded a halberd easily in one meaty hand and a shield in the other. Drool dripped down his snarling face. "Face me!" He slammed the halberd against the shield as he stepped forward with determined confidence.
Roll slammed the ground suddenly and it seemed to ripple between her and the gnoll, knocking it off balance just long enough for her to be on him. Her claws caught his shield, brought up at just the last moment a moment before he shoved her back.
Sunset glanced at Twilight. "We escape or we die." She didn't want to be so blunt, but the truth was hard to escape. She felt her telekinesis was firm enough and let loose a spell with strange words even she didn't know. A circle of force appeared around the gnoll, but he ducked back before it could close properly, leaving it clinging to him awkwardly, but still clinging.
Twilight swallowed heavily as she advanced with the weapon she had no practice using. Roll had more experience with her own weapon, lashing her sword to catch the gnoll in the leg, only to catch a stab. With a rattling cry, she pushed forward against the gnoll, directly into Twilight's path. She struck forward with the sword with her eyes clenched shut.
The gnoll's roar of pain filled the room. She hadn't skewered his torso as planned, but had caught his arm and he dropped his halberd in pain.
He reached to grab it quickly, but Roll rammed into him, ruthlessly slamming him against the wall to slide to the ground lamely. His footing was destroyed, and that advantage was to be taken. She did not let him rise. Raking strikes and a quick sword snatched life away from her enemy and Roll staggered in place. "I need..." She collapsed in place.
Sunset sucked harshly as she let loose a new spell, increasing her own size and grabbing the downed clockwork. "Hold on, we're getting out of here."
"They need you."
Twilight looked around in a wild panic, but the voice was whispering from inside her head.
"Please. I may have offended you, but they need you."
Twilight spat the sword to the ground. "Lashtada?"
Sunset looked over her shoulder. "What? Come on!"
"I still love you. If you have mercy in your heart..."
Twilight glanced to the left to see a few small faces. The short legs. "C-come with me!" They didn't move. "Come on!"
"Twilight! Move your flank!" Sunset hissed at her from up ahead, clearly worried.
Twilight looked to them and waved for them to follow, but they were scared. That's alright... so was she. With fresh tears, Twilight ran after Sunset.
Daylight.
They were outside, panting for breath and staggering onwards. Twilight looked up at the large form of Sunset. She was the size of a literal horse. Roll had shrunk down to her usual size and was draped across Sunset's back.
They heard something approaching from the tunnel and wheeled around to face the...
It was no gnoll.
The yellow short leg stallion gave a little smile, a ghost of one that faded quickly. He advanced soundlessly and stood beside Twilight.
Sunset blinked softly. "Well, guess you got one?" She turned away from the tunnel and to the new world they were in. "Let's get some help..."
They moved quietly but quickly away from that hole and the danger it represented. They were in foothills of some sort and they descended from them down lower and lower. The hills seemed to go on forever. With Roll unconscious, and Sunset's large stature eventually running dry, they had to stop.
The yellow stallion pointed quietly to the side and led them towards a quiet resting place, out of view from those who would go by. They accepted his proposal with little nods and settled down.
Twilight moved to Roll's side and tried to bandage her wounds as best she could. She wasn't sure exactly what needed doing, but stopping the oil from leaking further, or anything else, seemed good. Roll wasn't breathing... Did she ever breathe? Machines don't breathe, right? Twilight whimpered softly. "Is she..."
"I don't know." Sunset let out a slow breath. "I really hope so. We owe her a lot..."
The stallion looked between Sunset and Twilight, but remained quiet.
Twilight looked at him curiously a moment. "Hello?"
He said nothing.
Sunset shook her head. "Look, we're out now. You can talk."
He said nothing.
Operating on a hunch, Twilight got to her hooves and approached the stallion even as he watched her. She reached with a hoof, unchallenged, and felt over the front of the shortleg. She could feel scar tissue across the male's throat.
He let out a little whimper and tears began to fall from his eyes.
"Poor thing..."
Sunset perked an ear. "What'd you find?"
"He isn't talking not because he's scared or doesn't want to." She leveled a hoof with the stallion. "He can't talk. I think he got punished in an awful way."
Sunset frowned. "Figures..." She felt more torn up inside, but what could she do, or say. "Look, you're with us now, alright?"
He nodded a little.
Twilight settled down and let out a slow breath. "Let's... try to get some sleep."
Despite her words, none of them were finding sleep easy to get to. They sat up all night, jerking with every snap, every rustle, every little disturbance that might mean they would be dragged back to their awful tunnels.
The sun rose to find them bleary and tired. They had more hiking to do, and more distance to put between them and the gnolls.
Roll was carefully distributed between the three of them, and was still mercilessly heavy. Being made of metal did not help her case, but none of the three were ready to abandon their mechanical friend so quickly.
She stirred. It was about noon when she made her first motion and rolled to her hooves suddenly, sending the other three scrambling back in surprise. "My apologies for alarming you," She did a slow turn around. "I do not recognize the location. Damage is severe, but not terminal." She rattled as she took a purposeful breath of air. "Free."
"Free," echoed Sunset with a little smile. It seemed somehow better to know her friend was alright. Their escape felt more... full. "So... Do you know where to go from here?"
"Negative." Roll took a slow step forward, testing each limb individually and making note where the gears ground with a loud squeal of metal against metal. "Where did we emerge?"
The silent stallion pointed up the hills back where they had come from.
"I see... Then we shall continue our path. It is as good as any direction, and changing course without knowing the lay of the land serves no purpose. You do not possess food or water. This will become a concern."
With the reminder, Twilight licked her lips. She could stand to drink a nice tall glass of water... "N-no, we just focused on getting away, and hoping you were alive."
"I am." Roll nodded. "But you will not be if we don't provide the requirements for your bodies." She seemed to notice the male for the first time and focused on him. "One escaped." She leaned down and looked him over. "I recognize you."
The male blushed brightly.
"I'm correct. You're brave."
He somehow blushed all the harder and looked away.
As they journeyed, Roll's injuries seemed to get better, much like a flesh pony might. The strangest part was when a collection of broken parts were outright ejected from her metal form when she was ready to replace the damaged parts. It was life, but made clear and visible. She was living, though it made her companions shiver in involuntary fear.
The female resided squarely in the Uncanny Valley of life.
Sunset faced the issue head-on, refusing to walk silently in awkwardness as the others did. "So, you're a living machine?"
"You are living meat?" replied Roll with the faint noise of a raised brow.
Sunset coughed into a hoof softly. "Fair enough... Please, I'm not trying to be rude. There aren't any, uh, living machines where I come from."
"Where do you come from?"
Sunset glanced around. "A different world... It had a lot of humans. I was at school--"
"How old are you?"
Sunset blinked. "Uh..." How did this turn back on her? "Old enough. I... guess I've gotten used to jumping worlds, seeing as this is my third one. The first one, I looked just like this." She gestured to her pony self, still garbed in her increasingly filthy shirt, skirt, and leather jacket. Its filth annoyed her.
For just a moment it filled her thoughts. She didn't want to be dirty anymore, or to stink, or to be around stinky people! With a loud growl, strange words she didn't recognize spilled from her lips and her horn glowed as she waved it through the air in motions she didn't know. She was casting a spell, but what?
Suddenly, she was clean. Her clothes were clean. She looked to Roll and she was clean. She looked at Twilight and, with a squeak, she became clean.
Giggling, Sunset turned her new magic onto their smallest member and cleaned him from head to hooves, the dirt seemingly vanished away. "I did it!"
Twilight shook herself violently. "What did you just do?" She looked down at herself, amazed at how she had suddenly ceased stinking and her clothes felt freshly laundered, right on top of her body. Her pores felt like they were crying out with joy for the abrupt cleanliness.
Roll turned to face Sunset. "Prestidigitation. I was not aware you knew that spell, but it is very useful."
"You're telling me?" Sunset was beaming, smiling from ear to ear with pride and joy at the trick she'd managed. "This world! I don't entirely under... Wow, that's an understatement, but yeah, I don't get it. I try to force my magic to work the way I want and it feels like I'm pushing against things I can't see. I either follow the invisible paths there and something happens, or I can stand there straining all day and nothing..."
Roll gave a silent nod, as if it were obvious. The short-leg advanced to Sunset's side and gently nuzzled into her fresh-smelling barrel in thanks.
"Aw, you're welcome." She gave him a brief hug before the group resumed its trek.
Ahead of them came a small town. The first sign of life for some time that hadn't been wildlife that kept a healthy distance from them.
The little pony bounced up and down with a nearly silent joy before he hopped forward towards the town, spun around and began pointed at it eagerly as he looked from party member to party member.
Twilight couldn't help but smile at his antics. "We can see it too. Are they friendly?"
Roll tilted her head. "Inconsequential. You are badly malnourished and dehydrated. Friendly or not, we will approach, or I will walk alone." It didn't sound like a threat, more like a sad truth. She did as she promised and approached the town directly with the short-leg bouncing around her.
Sunset moved beside Twilight as they came towards the town. "Shame I can't make water the same way I cleaned everything up..." They were both thirsty. The thirstiest they'd ever been. The short-leg had found them a small hoof full of nuts to chew on, but that was about it. "What do you think they use for money?"
Roll heard Sunset's question. "Coins are the standard. Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum in increasing magnitudes. I have some money in reserve."
Twilight let out a sigh of relief at hearing at least one of them had some money. "We'll pay you back, somehow... You've been nothing but a source of miracles, Roll. You could have left us back there and you probably would have escaped alone. Heck, maybe you would have been faster and not had to fight so many gnolls on the way."
"Affirmative."
Twilight colored darkly. She was admitting... she didn't expect Roll to just flat out say she was... "I'm useless."
Sunset nudged against Twilight. "Don't say that."
"But it's true!" Twilight bristled, but the effort of being angry was an energy she didn't have and she began to stagger. Maybe she was thirstier than she thought? She ended up flopped against Sunset, who collapsed under the pressure, and they both sprawled out, panting weakly.
It became quiet. Where was Roll? She said nothing, and neither really had the energy to look for her. They just laid there.
The sounds of hoof-steps became louder, approaching them. "There they are," called out a stallion. Other voices were with him, and soon they were hefted up in a shared glow of magic. They were carried into town by a small group of unicorns. They were saved...
While Twilight and Sunset slumbered, a pair of unicorns looked at Roll and the small pony beside her. "So..." began the stallion on the left as he looked to the mare on the right. "We don't get that many visitors here."
"Where is here?" queried Roll as she looked around the room. It was functionally designed, though a few keepsakes hung from the wall. It was a small village. No nobles had come to their aid, but that was hardly surprising.
The short-leg was busy looking at everything as if it were new. Despite drinking as little as the girls, he seemed to be full of energy. He had accepted the drink offered him and returned to the bowl where the fresh water rested between forays to look at everything in the house. Though forcibly muted, his energy seemed vibrant and his smile genuine. He seemed happy to exist.
The mare of the couple watched him as he wandered. "Such a small pony, and such a... metal pony. A curious group."
The stallion nudged the mare. "Let's be polite, hmm. You're in Sun's Tears. We're a small town, barely a town really... By the gods, we only formally founded a few years back." He nodded at Roll. "You seem to have weathered your journey well, as has the little one."
Roll nodded back. "I do not require much. The short-leg is as durable as his people tend to be. They are like children. They cry when hurt, speak frankly and honestly, and bounce back from injury well."
Perhaps hearing he was being spoken about, the short-leg approached and sat beside Roll, facing the two unicorns.
"Short-leg?" stated the mare curiously, testing the word across her tongue. "It fits their small statures nicely, but I'm certain your tribe has more to say than just being small. Don't be shy, you can talk to us."
His ears flipped back and he shrank a bit.
Roll put a hoof before him. "He cannot speak. He suffered damage to his voice box during our captivity. Without advanced clerical magic, his condition is permanent."
The stallion rose to his hooves and his magic plucked up the bowl of water. "Your friends need to be watered." He moved to carefully feed it to them, rousing them just enough to get them to swallow instead of choking or spitting it all up. They only spat some of it up. With some down in their bellies, he seemed satisfied.
The mare stood up as well, but she was moving for the door. "You're welcome to stay until your friends feel better, than you should probably go."
Roll tilted her head faintly. "Are we intruding?"
The unicorn looked like she didn't want to answer, which was answer enough. "I understand. We will vacate as soon as possible."
The short-leg didn't grasp it and pawed at Roll while looking at her for answers.
With the faint noise of moving gears, she gave the ghost of a smile. "Not all tribes welcome others, and not all are as unified as the Queen would have it. They only allow our stay because we have two unicorns with us."
"Please don't think ill of us," said the stallion as he set the bowl down with his magic. "The community would be quite... testy with us if we let you stay too long. Good news though, there's a train station not that far from here."
Roll perked up. "The Lightning Rail? Have they completed it?"
"Neigh, but they're far enough to get close to here." He pointed northwards. "You should be able to get a ride to a more... cosmopolitan place, like Viljatown." He directed a hoof at the bowl. "Be sure your friends keep hydrating. I must return to work."
Soon he was gone, and there was only the original party remaining, that being Roll, the unconscious forms of Twilight and Sunset, and the still curious form of the short-leg.
Twilight let out a small groan and rolled up to her haunches, looking around blearily as she felt about for her glasses.
The short-leg noticed almost instantly and grabbed the glasses in his mouth where they were laying across the table and brought it to Twilight. She accepted it and the world came into focus through them. "Oh, hello." She realized where her glasses had to be since the short-leg had no fingers and blushed and shuddered faintly. Were her glasses being held in a mouth that disgusting... yes, a little. "Thank you..."
Sunset softly grumbled but was starting to rouse as well. "Where are we?"
"Sun's Tears," reported Roll. "Are you feeling better? Water is available if you are ready to consume more."
Sunset sat up and shook herself out before she half-fell/half-dismounted the bed. "I think a good snack would be just the trick right about now. Are we in someone's house?" She looked around curiously.
"Affirmative. The owners of this house are attending to their daily functions. We are to leave when you are recovered. Are you recovered?"
Twilight blinked softly. "We barely survived. Give me a moment."
"I meant no offense. I... am a stranger to the feelings of hunger or thirst." Roll rose to her hooves. "Rest and recover. I will prepare something edible." She marched towards the kitchen without being asked, but was cut off by Sunset.
"Thank you, really, but let me." Sunset had a smile, a forced smile.
"Are you worried that I will not prepare it correctly because I do not eat?" Roll raised a brow. "I am aware of the basic steps required."
Sunset shook her head. "Not at all! It's just that you've done more than enough for us. Relax, let me handle this." She turned to the kitchen and departed quickly.
Twilight looked at the short-leg sharing the bed with her. She blinked at him as he sniffed and looked over her. "Hello?"
He perked up at her word and nodded at her in understanding.
She smiled a little. "We made it." He nodded harder. "Will you go home now?"
He blinked, then shrank a little.
Roll frowned at the exchange. "That was a cruel question. Our small friend has no home now."
Twilight blinked. "This isn't the only unicorn town, right?"
"Correct."
"So there's another town of little ponies, right?"
"Negative." Roll shook her head. "They liked all ponies, but lived with each other. Their town being put to the torch means there are zero short-legs remaining."
Twilight pointed at the small pony. "Clearly not zero."
"There is a small margin of error."
The idea of being a margin of error did not sit well with the short-legs and he shuddered violently at the idea.
Twilight looked out a window over the small town they were in and the sparkling lake that gave it its name. She sighed softly, drawing the attention of their smallest member. He sat beside her and gently nudged her. "Hmm? Oh. I'm just wondering what's going on back home... I hope someone remembered to feed Spike." He tilted his head at her. "My pet dog." He nodded at that with seeming understanding, "Worst comes to worse, he can talk if he has to." The small pony seemed confused at that. "You have to imagine how surprised I was. My world has a lot less magic and hocus pocus than yours." He nodded.
Sunset approached from the front. "I could swear you two were having a conversation without him saying a word. Twilight, have you been practicing?"
"You bet!" Her horn began to glow evenly, hefting the small pony right into the air in a feat of magical ability. "See?"
The little pony clopped his hooves with unbridled joy at the feat and Sunset nodded. "Very good. We're going to want to get moving soon."
Twilight cringed at that. "We finally found a safe place..."
"Sure, for us. They smile and nod when we walk by, because this is a unicorn town. They don't do that with Roll or, um, we really need a name for you." She reached up and pointed the small pony and he turned red, unable to speak his name.
Twilight got an idea that seemed so obvious. "Can you write?" She fetched a quill and paper and held it out in her magic.
He accepted the quill in his mouth and began to slowly write as if he didn't do it all that often. 'True Shot'
Twilight nodded at the words. "Nice to meet you, True." She tilted her head faintly. "True Shot... Were you an archer?"
True blushed softly and nodded quickly before making a curious motion of pulling something back with his head and releasing it with the sound of his lips parting.
Sunset shook her head. "Well, it could have been worse. If he had to say those funny words I said to do magic, he'd be out of luck."
"Why doesn't picking things up need words?"
"I have no idea."
With a clop of hooves, Twilight seemed to leap to a conclusion, right or not. "Maybe it's a supernatural ability."
"What?"
True looked equally confused.
"Well, sure, all magic is supernatural, but this is specific. Supernatural abilities don't require words or gestures, they just work. It's from the game." She made a circular motion. "You know, the one we're trapped inside. Your spells are, well, spells. So they need verbal and somatic components. You haven't needed random items, have you?"
Sunset shook her head slowly. "Not that I'm aware of? I mean, I did several spells during our escape without anything but, well, me involved. The cleaning spell didn't need anything either."
"You're a sorcerer." Twilight nodded firmly. "Sorcerers can cast without material components." She let out a little nervous laugh. "I never thought this information would become so applicable..."
The front door closed quietly, but loud enough for all to hear. It was Roll, approaching them at an easy pace. She had a new outfit on, covering her metallic form much more evenly in soft shades of blue and gold. "Are you all feeling ready?"
Sunset rose to her hooves and directed one at True. "True Shot here could use a bow."
True perked up at the mention and began bobbing his head up and down in agreement.
Roll was less enthused, shaking her head. "I'm afraid any bow we procured from this village would be of unicorn make. Lacking multiple grasping points, you require a cloudbow."
True deflated a bit at the news.
"Regardless, we should not hinder our hosts any further. True, you're coming with me." She pointed a hoof at the small pony. "We will depart."
Twilight blinked in mounting confusion. "If you're going, aren't we all going? Why just True Shot?"
"Negative." She frowned. "You will be safer here. I will escort True to a town that accepts him before continuing."
Sunset stomped the ground as she snorted. "The very idea. We're a team! We're not going to let--"
"Negative." Steam billowed from Roll's sides as she planted herself, ready to fight for her view. "You will be safe here."
Twilight moved between the two, putting up a hoof towards either of them. "Hold up. Look, we won't be safe anywhere until we get home. Until we're home, we'd really rather keep the group together. Look, don't split the party. Rule #1 for any RPG. Besides." She turned to look at Roll directly. "We owe you. We owe you a lot. Please let us pay you back."
Roll let out a gust of steam, a sigh from all sides. "Very well... It seems showing logic to any of you is fruitless. Prepare yourselves. We leave shortly. I will inform the village of our passing and request food and water for you as well. They should be amenable since it is for your sake, and gets rid of me faster." She turned towards the door. "Are you certain?"
Sunset nodded firmly. True was more physical in his answer. He scampered up to Roll and hopped up on her back, hugging her tightly from above.
Roll let out a little smile. "Then we depart together."
So they did. They gathered by the banks of the lake the town was named for and made to orient themselves north. They had supplies to make the journey with some extra left over. "My funds are depleted," reported Roll. "But I thought to bring so much for the dance. Being captured by gem gnolls was not accounted for."
Sunset shook her head as she adjusted the backpack she wore. "We'll get a job if we have to, once we're somewhere safe, for all of us."
Twilight was quick to agree with the sentiment, nodding. "For now, we're catching a train, right?"
"Affirmative." Roll pointed the way, then got to walking, with the others following her. They had begun their second adventure, even if Sunset and Twilight could hardly be blamed for considering it one extended one.
The first hour of walking was peaceful and scenic, with rolling hills, trees, and wildlife to admire on their passing, including some dangerous looking predators that thankfully looked elsewhere for prey. Perhaps they were scared away by the unsubtly unnatural whirrings of their mechanical companion? It was impossible to know for certain.
About halfway through the second hour, a group of ponies approached them, going in the opposite direction. They were dressed in rugged clothes seemingly made for the wilderness and had weapons at their side. The one that seemed to be in charge, though not the largest, advanced. "Coming from Sun's Tears?" He raised a brow high. "I thought they only did unicorns around here."
Twilight looked from pony to pony. There were four of them, and none of them were unicorns. "Why are you going there?"
He smirked before he drew his blade with a deft motion of his neck, holding it in his teeth. "Unicorns usually have a fair bit of coin. Let's see how these two do." The others were armed without word, the actions of their boss apparently quite enough of a signal.
Roll's forehooves deployed claws into the earth as she widened her stance. "This is your first and last warning. Cease all hostilities or great harm will be visited on your person."
"Kill the wizard, then the golem should shut up."
Sunset and Twilight shared a glance. Which of them looked more like a wizard?!
Two of them charged forward for Twilight, making the choice. Apparently her glasses did her no favors in this situation. She squealed in terror and backed away in a hurried scamper.
With a flash of her horn and alien words, Sunset filled Roll with power and girth. The metal mare stormed towards the two, intercepting them as she became larger. She brought down a hoof on the first, hitting the shield held in the pony's mouth, only to shatter it violently as she brought her claws past it to the ground and roared in fury at the two, commanding their attention.
"By the gods, their golem fights like a devil!" hissed the de-shielded pony. He had a lance in a rack at his side and took a step back as he swung viciously.
The leader advanced on Sunset, only for True to come between him and her. "Oh ho, what's this? Is she your mother, little foal?" He took a swipe at him, forcing True to spring out of the way. "Go on, get. We don't kill foals if we don't haveta."
Sunset rewarded his 'generosity' with a lick of flames that he rolled away from. "Oh ho! Maybe we figured the wrong one for the spellcaster. Get 'er!"
The last pony planted his bow in the ground solidly, drew an arrow and pulled it back with his teeth. True let out an excited squeak and dashed for it, knocking it and its wielder askew as he crashed into it. "Damn foal. Ferget it, I'm gonna re-arrange your little face." He drew a dagger with a menacing glare.
No longer being chased, Twilight turned to see her friends engaged. Roll was trading blows with two of them while True and Sunset each had a pony one them. It was four against four, but only if one counted her. And she didn't really count... She took a step back towards the fight, fury building in her. She wanted to count. She wanted to help.
"Do you really?" asked Lashtada's voice in her mind. "Fighting is not my strength or what I wish of the world, but to protect your friends and my follower, perhaps I can awaken something..."
"Are you watching me?" hissed Twilight as she looked around. Of course a god could keep tabs on her, but that didn't make the fact any less odd. "Yes, please! I want to help my friends."
"I will help, but only you can do it. Fight as best you can."
Twilight gathered the magic she had learned in her horn. She didn't want to cast spells, not like Sunset. She didn't have odd blood or time to learn magic, that kind of magic. She relied on the magic that seemed built into her as a unicorn. She heard the flowing of water as the magic above her head began to condense the water in the air into a ball, then began to chill rapidly. It became a frozen bit of snow and flurry as she looked at the pony closing with True. "No!" She let it loose, unleashing a newfound bolt of pure coldness at the unexpecting pony.
It would be four on four. Sure, her cold beam wasn't enough to knock a hardened brigand down in one shot, but she had power. She could help. Twilight began to giggle almost manically as the realization came to her.
True Shot was forgotten in the face of a verified threat and the pony marched past the short-leg towards Twilight in a hurried sprint.
He wasn't going to let that underestimation go to waste and straightened out the bow before grabbing the arrow that had been left behind. Even as Twilight squealed and retreated from the angry dagger-wielding brigand on her, True lined up his shot. Releasing his teeth, the arrow was let loose and soared true, catching the pony in the back.
Sunset was handling her own enemy. With a bright spark and alien words, she bound him up more securely than the gnoll, tying him to the earth in one place where she could pelt him in gouts of flame. "We're not some victims waiting for jerks to come along!"
Roll caught a sword in the side, but rolled with it, snapping the blade cruelly as it got caught in her internal gears. "What she said is correct." She shoved the pony who was disarmed back to crash to the ground. "You have selected your targets poorly."
"Enough!" called out the leader before he could be scorched again. "Ah know when I'm outclassed. Gods damn it all." His words were enough for the others to drop their weapons from sullen lips. "What do you want?"
Roll snorted. "We wanted to be left alone."
Sunset approached her victim, kicking his sword aside. "But the price just raised."
Twilight raised a hoof as game knowledge came to her. "Give us your stuff and you can go."
Sunset glanced back at Twilight. "What? We're not bringing them to the cops?"
"What cops?" Twilight shook her head. "Just leave your stuff and go."
They grumbled and complained, but were soon gone. Their attempt at a mugging had turned against them in the end. Perhaps they would turn a new leaf, or they'd be more careful who they tried their tactics with.
Roll nodded at Twilight. "Your decision was wise." She was already sorting through their winnings and tucking it into her saddlebags. "Do any of you know how to use a sword or dagger?"
Sunset accepted the dagger, swinging it around with her magic testingly. "This is a very violent world."
"Affirmative. We are not broke anymore."
True Shot slung the oversized quarrel over his back along with the equally oversized bow. He looked quite pleased with himself.
Twilight softly patted him. "You are too adorable, but we need to get you some weapons that actually fit you." She sat down before the small warrior and looked him over. "Are you really alright? I mean... I can't really imagine--"
He gave a grunt of annoyance before he nodded, but made no move to drop what he had. He pointed to the bow on his back and mimed the action of drawing back with his neck before releasing the makebelieve arrow.
Sunset patted Twilight. "He's a hunter."
True bobbed his head at Sunset.
"Is that your class?" Twilight asked with a raised brow.
He looked confused at that.
Roll walked past them, continuing their journey. "We should begin. There is much ahead of us, and we cannot be certain this will be the last obstacle we will face."
The others got to moving. Sunset moved alongside Twilight. "What was that thing you did? Did you learn a spell from somewhere?"
Twilight blinked at the reminder and looked up at her horn. "It just sort of... happened. But I think I can..." She focused on her horn and icicles, small and delicate as snowflakes began to form as she walked. "Yes! See? I can do it." She flicked her head towards a rock as they went by and froze it. "I'm like, oh, what's her name... from that movie?"
"You should let the references go." Sunset rolled a hoof as she walked. "Does it hurt?"
"It feels a little cold, but no." Twilight considered a moment bringing up Lashtada. Keeping a secret would only make it more dramatic. She would not play into the world's rules that way. "Lashtada gave it to me."
True scurried in front of her and walked backwards. His eyes were on her, wide and amazed. He waved his hooves dramatically while squeaking as if he wanted to say things, but he could not.
Twilight reached for him with her magic and set him carefully onto her back. He wasn't very heavy. "I won't do anything that'd make her sad." She was sure she'd hear about it if she did.
"Oh, I don't like being that kind of god..."
"What kind of god do you like being?" Twilight glanced around, realizing she was talking to herself and drawing the concerned looks of the others, except True. True snuggled into her back, apparently quite happy.
"You are young. I understand that... It was the festival. I was brought to dance, and I was eager to dance. If you had wanted to dance, then dance we would have, but it is over, and I am sorry I scared you so badly. I want you to grow up into a fine mare and have a family and be happy. All I can reasonably ask is that you take care of my child on your back."
"What about your other... children?" Twilight raised a brow.
"You misunderstand. He is my child. I danced with his father many years ago and he was the result. He did well to raise a caring and doting son. I... would..." The voice went quiet in her head. She could feel the presence of the pink-furred divinity, but the words did not come.
Twilight glanced back at True appraisingly. Was he the child of a god? Didn't that make him a demi-god or something? "Are you Lashtada's kid?"
True blinked at her words before starting to bob his head quickly. He drew a heart in the air before pointing at himself, then waving his hooves widely.
"I can't say I understand..."
Sunset shook her head. "You think you're confused? Are you alright, Twi? You're talking to yourself more than normal and there isn't even any science involved."
Twilight blushed at the accusation, as true as it was. "Lashtada was speaking to me."
Roll glanced aside. "You are spoken to by the gods directly? That is a powerful blessing, though some would label it a curse. I could not say which word fits it better. Were you touched by her?"
Sunset hiked a hoof at her friend. "Touched? Lashy there was ready to rape the ever-loving--"
"Enough!" Twilight hissed through clenched teeth a moment. "Yes, I was..."
"She did not succeed, I gather?"
Sunset nodded at Roll. "That's when I kind of... attacked her."
"That was very rude," came the gentle voice in Twilight's head.
Roll shook her head. "It still amazes me that you were not smitten where you stood."
"Oh, I would never do that. If not... for that unfortunate... I need to go." The words grew quiet again, leaving Twilight with a distant sadness.
"I wasn't going to just stand there while my friend was violated!" Sunset huffed softly. "Maybe there was a smarter thing to do, but I didn't think of it, so I did what I could." She glanced up at her own horn, then at Twilight beside her as a little chuckle escaped her. "Fire and Ice."
Twilight saw the amusing play there and let out a short laugh. "At least we're a matching pair, right?"
Roll rolled her eyes with the soft sound of mechanics as she sighed. "I recognize Sunset's magic as sorcery, but yours, Twilight. Your gift is less obvious." She looked over Twilight and True. "With a god involved, I suppose unusual gifts are to be expected. If you feel you have control over it, and it does not bother you, then I see no harm currently."
"Wait, wait. I think..." Twilight focused her magic, gathering cold, but it turned to water and began to fall right in her face. "Ack! Look!" She shook her head free of the splash she had created for herself.
Even as True licked some of the water off, Sunset raised a brow quizzically. "What exactly was that supposed to be?"
"I can make water!" Twilight bounced. "We'll never go thirsty again."
True tapped at Twilight's noggin from above, then pointed at his bow and made the firing motion.
Twilight blinked softly. "Are you offering to hunt for us?"
He nodded quickly.
Sunset shook her head. "A little meat to enhance the diet, sure, but we're not carnivores."
Roll disagreed. "Carnivores or not, you require sustenance. We will work with the rations we have, but there is no reason he should not hunt if he is able. You are capable of digesting meat, even if it is not your standard diet."
Twilight looked over at their mechanical friend. "Do you really not eat at all?"
"Yes."
"But how do you..." She rolled a hoof. "I mean, you heal and grow. Don't you need to eat? Where does it come from?"
Roll looked back over her form before her friends. "For you it is clear. What you eat is what you are. For me, less so. Some say it is the curse of the gods that sustains us. They are not wholly cruel, in fact I support Lashtada, and know that our curse could be much worse than it is. I do get to touch life once a year at least, and I do live, in a fashion..." She went silent for a moment. "I am rambling. Apologies."
Sunset shook her head. "No no! Please. Look, we didn't ask to be here, but here we are. You two, both of you, you're our friends. We want to hear this."
Twilight nodded firmly. "Yes, please. I was enjoying hearing your thoughts. You said you support Lashtada?"
"It is my... hope that when my time is done, I will be called to her side." Roll smiled faintly. "Perhaps in death she will strip my soul of this metal body and allow me to frolic in her garden."
A soft squeak came from True as he pointed at Roll meaningfully. He kept thrusting his hoof at her, then to the ground back and forth.
"I understand, I think." Roll nodded. "I will not attempt to join her any faster than needed. She would be disappointed in any worshipper that accepted death so easily, especially while their fertile years remained."
Twilight looked away a moment. She may have never got with a boy... but she passed health education. "How... I mean, you're a machine, right? And you're... what... alive one day... So... how?"
Roll was silent for a time as if reluctant to answer, but she did. "If we become with or conceive a foal in another, then it will come to fruition even if we otherwise return to being a machine." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "The sight of a clockwork giving birth is considered unsettling to many. That is all you need to know."
It was mid-morning on the third day that they saw something. They had grown used to traveling, and to an extent, each other. Though they each had quirks that the others found odd, they learned to accept them. This came most naturally between Sunset and Twilight, having already been friends before the journey began, but it was hard to not like True Shot, and even Roll's odd mannerisms were starting to feel 'natural' to an extent.
That all seemed irrelevant as they spied a pillar of smoke, dark and menacing. It rose in the distance over some imagined fire, to the right of their planned route. Roll glanced towards the smoke with a shake of her head. "It is not in our path. We would be of little help and it is not of our concern."
"Little help?!" Twilight did not agree, scowling at the idea. "I have a built in firehose right here." She thrust a hoof up at her horn even as she conjured some water to splash across the ground.
Sunset made an uncertain noise. "Well, we should at least see what it is. I'm not sure Twilight's, um, water gun--"
"Hey!"
"Look, maybe you'll make more water with practice, but I wouldn't call that a hose just yet." Sunset shook her head. "Either way, a look couldn't hurt."
"In this you are incorrect." Despite her words, Roll turned towards the fire and they all began to approach it. Though she took up a light trot, Twilight was much more eager.
She broke out into a light gallop, sprinting ahead of the others as she come into sight of the source of the fire. A small wooden house was the origin of it, with what she assumed was a family of ponies around it, trying to put it out by the look of it, and doing a poor job. "Hold on! I'm coming!" Twilight rushed for the house and its occupants.
One of them, a lanky earth pony with a bright green cap peered at her. "Come to see it burn?"
Twilight blinked at his question. "Oh, what? You don't want to put it out?"
"Why would we?" asked a heavyset unicorn mare. "It's a cursed place. No matter how often we put it to the torch, it comes back."
The others arrived, looking around curiously.
The green-capped pony nodded to them all. "Thanks for being right neighborly. Always good to see ponies with good hearts, but this house should burn, so there's nothing to do here, really."
A cry came from within the fire that sent a shiver down all the spines present. It sounded young, like a little kid, er, foal was caught inside.
Twilight paced back and forth. "You heard that, didn't you? There's a kid trapped in there!" She pointed urgently at the flames.
The portly mare snorted. "It isn't the first time or, unfortunately, the last time the house made queer noises to try and distract us."
Despite the assurances, Twilight's horn began to glow as she gathered frost and water in equal volume and began to pepper the fire to little real effect outside of making a hissing sound and producing steam.
Sunset put a hoof on one of Twilight's shoulders. "If it's really haunted like they say, maybe we shouldn't mess with it?"
Twilight considered this with a frown. Alright, she was in a game, there was a house on fire, she heard a scream. It could be a ghost, or a kid, or... "Look, if it's a ghost or a curse or whatever, I'll deal with it when I find it. I'm not taking the chance that someone is roasting alive while we argue about it."
Roll set her packs on the ground. "You will not be convinced otherwise. I will help as much as I can."
Twilight nodded to Roll and saw True was already looking ready to follow her. She wouldn't be alone. The other ponies were peering at them as if they were mad, but didn't stop Twilight from blasting a narrow path through the fire and stepping forward. Every inch was hard fought, with the fire eager to come in and consume them and only her constant spray to keep it back. She wasn't sure how she was even moving forward, but she was, penetrating into the inferno.
Soon the group was lost to sight of the ponies. The fat mare shook her head. "Even burning, that place managed to take a victim..."
They reached the stairs, both up and down, but where had the voice come from? As if replying to the unspoken question, the cry came again, clearly from downstairs. The stairs down were made of stone. While the wood burned eagerly, the stone did not, making their steps easier as they escaped the worst of the heat.
True made an unhappy noise, his fluffy fur singed badly from the experience. The others didn't look any better, but still they pressed, descending quickly in a circle. The heat seemed to grow less intense with every step, oddly. There was no fire in the basement. Had the stone stairwell been enough?
"You don't look like the usual group," noted a wizened looking pony as they reached the bottom. The pony raised a brow as he looked over the group of them. "Are you with the arsonists?"
Twilight blinked softly. "Where's the kid?"
"Kid? Oh! That's just Steven. He tends to make that sound when things get, hmm, heated."
A goat stepped out from behind the pony and nodded. "S-sorry..."
Roll looked left to right in a smooth panning motion. "Then no one is at risk currently?"
"Oh, heavens no." The pony shook a hoof. "I long ago enchanted the downstairs to resist their futile attempts. I don't even keep anything I don't want burned upstairs anymore." He huffed softly. "Bunch of hooligans, interrupting my study with their petty arson..."
Steven cleared his throat softly before he smiled at the group. "Sorry for alarming you. That's rather brave, coming to rescue a child that is, that you couldn't even see. Um, if you don't mind my asking, who are you?"
Sunset nudged Twilight softly. "We're trying to reach the train, but somebody saw something that we could 'help' with, and here we are."
The pony nodded at Twilight. "You have a good heart. That shouldn't go without reward."
"N-no! You don't have to." Twilight blushed dark, feeling awful that she had dragged her friends through fire when nobody was in trouble at all.
"I insist. If goodness is not rewarded, well, who's to blame when goodness runs out?" He looked Twilight over critically. "And such an inexperienced kineticist too. You should be honing your art, not risking your life so quickly."
Twilight blinked. She hadn't heard the term before, not in her game at least. She paled a bit. "We're not in my game..."
"Game?" He raised a brow. "I should think you're not in any 'game' at all." He turned away. "But I'm being rude. I'm Under Score. My friend, as you know, is Steven."
"B-Before you ask, Wandering Note is my cousin... He's the big adventuring type. I avoid that."
Sunset moved to follow Under Score as he walked away. "Excuse me, why do the people outside seem to think this house is haunted?"
He waved a hoof at the idea. "A wizard can't work on his own without people around deciding the place is haunted, hmph." He kicked open a chest and buried his snout in it, digging around a moment. "Now where did I put that..." He pulled out a tiara and plopped it on Twilight's head without delay. "There, how does that suit you?"
She looked up at it as best she could. "Um, it's nice, but..."
"Don't know what it is?"
She shook her head.
"Ah, youth these days..." He gestured to the tiara on her head. "The diamond-like gem should help you focus water energies better. You are a water kineticist, are you not? And a new one at that, from your performance upstairs."
She tilted her head before angling it forward to let the tiara fall, though she caught it with her magic and spun it around to look over the curious bit of jewelry. "How do you know?" It was little more than a headband of steel, but the bright central blue diamond drew the eyes, and apparently water energy?
He shook his head. "I can't trust the brutes that burn my house down for sport to be sensible, so I have my ways to keep an eye on things. That was very brave of you. Foolish, but brave. I had to open the way for you so you wouldn't be crisped on the way."
Twilight blushed darkly as it was revealed her own efforts hadn't been quite enough. Roll shook her head. "I thought her water was insufficient to explain our successful venture."
"A clockwork." Under Score approached Roll. "I don't see many of your kind, especially outside your home village."
Roll deflected the curiosity by gesturing a hoof at True. "And here is a type of pony you've likely never met before."
Under lowered his vision to True Shot. "You are a curiously proportioned foal... No wait, you aren't a foal at all." He began to look quite intrigued. "What sort of pony are you?"
True tilted his head left and right and squeaked softly before he pointed at himself eagerly, as if that should be answer enough.
As it turned out, it was. "I see..."
Roll placed a metal hoof before True. "He cannot speak due to sustained injuries."
"That is a literal crime, hmm. Well, I shouldn't keep you, even if I wish to know more. You have the air of ponies with a purpose, and it's not mine." He gestured to the stairs. "If you're ready to go back, I'll make your trip back far less strenuous."
"Wait!" Twilight turned to Under and smiled up at him. "You're a wizard, right?"
"I am."
"Can you send us back?"
"Back to where?"
Sunset sighed. "We're not from here. Heck, she isn't even usually a pony." She waved a hoof at Twilight. "We're trying to get back to our world."
"Outsiders?" He raised a brow. "I admit I thought you were normal ponies at the looking.
Twilight bobbed her head. "We heard that word before. So, can you? Please."
"Sorry, that spell is beyond even me." He shook his head slowly. "Your purpose doesn't end here in either event. I can't say for certain, I'm relatively certain you have to continue. Magic that concerns travel between planes comes more naturally to divine casters. Hmm, if I had to guess it's because their power already makes that jump, whereas a wizard has to make do with what is around themselves."
Roll glanced at Sunset, then back at Under. "Since you are knowledgeable, might you identify the nature of her magic." She inclined her head to point at Sunset.
"Oh? Hmm." He circled around Sunset curiously a moment. "Can you cast a spell for me?" She did just as asked, banishing the soot and ash from the party. "Very nice, mmm, but something more... significant."
Sunset cocked a brow before she turned to Roll and waved her hooves with the alien words, expanding the metal pony by double in all directions. "How's that?"
"Perfect." He nodded. "And that spell came naturally?"
"Um, as naturally as the others..."
"Tell me, have you ever had dealings with the elemental plane of fire?"
Sunset looked confused. "This is the only, oh, uh, I guess I've been to two, but neither of them are that."
"Maybe an ancestor... Regardless!" Under nodded with confidence. "You put out the faint scent of the fire plane, but I don't think you're bound to it directly, but to a specific variant of it. The efreeti, or the ifrit as some put it."
Twilight looked amused by the answer. "Called it."
Sunset was less amused. "It was one time! One! I was more of a... demon thing anyway!"
Under rolled a hoof slowly. "Have you ever seen a efreeti?" Sunset shook her head. "Then you are ill-prepared to make judgement calls."
"Do they have wings?"
He raised a brow. "Not usually."
"Ha!" Sunset pointed at Under triumphantly. "I wasn't a efreeti and that proves it."
He shrugged softly. "I know not what time you speak of, but that you are of genie ancestry seems near-certain. If you discover your ties bring you elsewhere, find me again and tell me. I would like to know." He nodded at Sunset. "I don't mind being proven wrong. Meanwhile, the arsonists have left, so it's safe to go. I'll put out the fires as the sun sets, but until then, I'll safeguard your exit. That will be a lot easier from this end than the other."
With an easily cast spell, Under nodded. "You should be fine going back. It was a pleasure meeting you."
His goat companion nodded at them. "Yeah, nice meeting you. Sun Queen watch over you."
Roll smirked a little with a faint mechanical sound. "Lashtada seems to have a much closer watch over us."
Under raised a brow. "Lashtada... I've heard that name before, but I'm not familiar. Would that I could keep you all. You represent so many answers." He gestured to the staircase despite that. "You have your destiny to fulfill."
Twilight dipped her head towards Under. "You've been nothing but nice. Thank you for letting us stay for as long as you have."
"Oh, I'm not kicking you out." He smiled a wrinkled smile. "I just know you have things to do. Good luck, and I hope you don't form too negative a view of our world. It may be violent, but it has a thousand wonders that I've only seen a small portion of."
Sunset snorted softly. "We've been enslaved, watched our friends get harassed for being what they are, and you have a bunch of random ponies that set your house on fire as a weekly activity! Yeah..."
Despite that, Twilight nodded at Under. "I'll keep my eyes open."
A sudden cry like a foal rang out from Steven as he hopped to the side away from True. True looked embarrassed but mostly confused. "Y-yes," said the goat, staring at the small pony.
Under cleared his throat. "Come on now. Don't harass Steven, no matter how entertaining it might be."
Twilight lifted True with her magic and set him on her back. "Let's go."
Sunset moved to depart with the others. "Thanks."
Roll inclined her head on the way out. "I did not expect to find a Seeker so far removed."
Neither she nor Under offered explanation for her statement and soon they were outside, traversing the flame as if it weren't there. It seemed as if the inferno had consumed most of the building on their way down, leaving little for them to pick through.
Sunset whistled appreciatively. "They did a fine job. There'll barely be anything left for Under Score to put out."
Roll moved to reclaim her saddlebags. "I am surprised they left this."
True squeaked and pointed at the bags, then waved his hooves in the air oddly, then pointed again.
Sunset raised a brow. "Huh... They probably left it alone 'cause they decided it was haunted."
He nodded in victorious agreement.
Roll gestured with her head northwards and resumed hiking. "A fortunate day, despite worries by the locals to the contrary. To find a friendly spellcaster of such skill is no common occurrence."
Sunset strolled as her side. "You know him?"
"Of him." Roll glanced back at the smoldering building and its fire. "And his company, not that he owns it, but he is a member of it. After consideration, his friend mentioned another member, the one named Wandering Note."
Twilight moved up the other side of Roll. "Is it a good group?"
"They have many kinds there, but overall, I think it serves much more good than ill. They formed out of the worry that ponies needed guidance, but that has faded with the coming of the empress."
"Empress?" Sunset cocked a brow.
"Apologies. Queen. Queen Iliana, of the earth-bound tribe. She is also a sorcerer, of a relatively unknown bloodline that her supporters claim gives her divine right to rule." Roll's sides hissed with steam. A sigh on her part, or a side effect of her walking, sometimes it was hard to tell.
Twilight rolled a hoof as she walked in a feat of increasing dexterity. "And would you say she's good?"
"Almost too good." Roll smiled a little. "She is a dreamer. I hope she will not be crushed under the weight of reality, but she means well."
Sunset glanced across Roll to Twilight. "Let's not get involved in 'local' politics, unless this 'Queen' is good at sending things between, uh, planes."
"Not that I am aware of."
They set up camp as the sun set, and rose as it returned. There was a simple pattern to traveling and it was one they were obeying by going as far as the sun allowed them each day, at least until they saw something new. A train track ran on a raised platform of earth seemingly without end to the west. To the east, it had a clear end and signs of construction. There were ponies and humans, or what was close enough to human to confuse for the fact at a distance.
Roll was less easily fooled. "Dwarves. I hear the Lightning Rail is a joint project with them. It hardly seems surprising to see them involved."
Twilight tilted her head at the short hu... dwarves. "They look like people to me."
"Are we not all people? There is a sizable difference between a pony and a dwarf."
"No no." Twilight shook her head as she went. "I mean, they look like humans."
Sunset raised a brow. "I thought you were the roleplayer. Isn't that what dwarves are, small humans?"
"If they hear you say such a thing, you will prompt an altercation. Keep such observations of their size silent." Roll looked along the line. "I do not see the station we are to wait at. The workers here likely know the status of such things. We should approach."
Approach they did, trotting towards the workers. They seemed comprised mostly of earth ponies, but there was a unicorn with them. Of the dwarves, none of them knew enough to say much on them, besides they were dwarves.
A dwarf met them with a musket over a shoulder. "Hoi. This is workers only past here. Unless ye got a pass, no passing, get it?"
Sunset nodded at the dwarf. "We're not here to cause trouble. We're looking to get on a train headed that way." She pointed along the longer bit of line. "Is there a station near here?"
"Oh? Well of course there is. What use is a blasted rail line with no stations on it?" He sounded annoyed at the very idea. He thrust a meaty finger down the line. "Just keep followin' her and you'll run into a station in no time at all. Should be one about half a day back. We'll make another one about half a day forward. Just yer luck, catching us dead in the center, ha." He tipped the hard hat he wore. "If'n that'll be all."
Twilight suddenly stepped forward. "Wait! I want to try out some dwarven ale." Everyone blinked at her, friend and stranger alike. "I heard it was good?"
The dwarf laughed. "Ye done heard right! I thought you pointy-headed types didn't know a good drink if you were drownin' in it, but here you are provin' me wrong. Alright, the way I sees it, I provide at least one drink, so yous can tell your friends all about it." He pulled a flask off his belt.
Sunset moved quickly to Twilight's side, harshly hissing out, "What are you thinking? Now is not the time to go getting drunk!"
Twilight gave a nervous laugh and nodded at the dwarf. "The... The way I see it, two people that drink together can't be too strange, right?"
"Too right!" He thrust the flask at her and she took it in her magic. "Drink up."
Twilight glanced at her nervous friends. Even True on her back was tense with anticipation. There was no backing out, not without looking awful, so she tilted the flask back and took a swig, only to cough half of it right back up.
The dwarf laughed as if he'd seen the most hilarious thing in quite some time even as he snatched his flask back out of Twilight's magic grasp. "Ye get a point fer trying. Have ya even drank before? Shame I tell ya. Ya pony types... A deals a deal though." He slipped the flask back onto its hook at his belt. "Ye can't be so bad. So, whattaya want?"
Twilight coughed softly, covering her snout with a fetlock as she blushed. "It was... good." It was strong, but she hadn't drunk much of it. "Um, well, we really do need to get to that station. Is there a faster way to get there?"
"Oh, aye. You could stay with us." The dwarf gestured to the working crew. "The train comes by and stops here to get us supplies. Food, drink, building materials, you know, what we need to keep on makin' the rail fer it. You could hop on when it does, provided you have funds."
Roll was quick to display the coins they had obtained from the brigands. "That will not be an issue."
"Right, then all ya gotta do is wait. Now, 'xcuse me, Ah really should be doin' me job." With a laugh, he turned away and resumed his patrol. With his departure it seemed their group was accepted. They had been vetted without words to be there.
Sunset blinked incredulously at the departing dwarf before looking at Twilight. "How?"
"Dwarves like to drink." Twilight nodded as if she were quoting from a dictionary. "I figured drink would be the fastest way to make friends."
"You were correct." Roll raised a brow. "Very expedient."
"Expedient, right..." Sunset shook her head. "Have you even tried a normal drink before, let alone whatever that was?"
"No..." Twilight trotted away towards the collection of tents. "Let's see if we can't borrow a soft place to lay down while we wait."
"Hey, no changing the subject!" Sunset dashed after Twilight, with Roll strolling behind at a much more sedate pace.
True hopped off of Twilight's back and stretched out, only to find another Dwarf had spotted him and was staring at him. He squeaked at the biped softly.
"Are you the ponies' little child?" He raised a brow, looking over to Twilight, who had been holding up True. "Hey, nice, uh... Whatever ponies call them."
Roll settled onto an unused cushion. "Negative. He is an adult."
"What?" The dwarf looked skeptical even as True tried to stand tall and proud. "Yer itty bitty as ponies go."
Twilight glanced at her friends and the dwarf. "Um, you're not exactly..."
Sunset shoved a hoof in front of Twilight's mouth. "Isn't it a curious thing?"
True squeaked softly and frowned as if not taking being called small all that well.
"All the better for giving rides to," noted Roll.
This sat better with True who smiled and trotted over to Roll, settling in against her.
The dwarf shouldered a shovel as he turned away. "Jus' curious. No harm meant."
The ponies who wandered past were less pointedly curious about True, especially with him curled up beside Roll. Though unspoken, the idea that he was somebody's child was likely near the surface.
Twilight looked over at her friends. They were mostly relaxing, waiting for the train. "Where are we going?" She shook her head. "I know we're waiting for the train, but then what?"
Roll tilted her head with a faint whirring. "It was my idea that you remain in Sun's Tears."
Sunset snorted at that. "Look, there has to be a pony that knows how to get back home, and we aren't going to find them in Sun's Tear. There was, what? A dozen houses? This track leads to some mega city of ponies. If there's anywhere we can find somebody to help, that's the place."
Twilight nodded, only to find True in front of her, smiling at her. Standing while she sat, he met her at eye level. He tilted his head before moving forward, touching nose to nose. "Are you..."
He licked her lips as she talked and curled up right under her snout. Dark red in her cheeks, Twilight looked down at the little pony. "I think he'd rather we stay."
"That's not an option." Sunset rolled onto her side. "Even if it were, it'd be an awful one. We belong home, with two feet and homework instead of life-and-death battles to face."
Twilight smirked at that. "Usually."
"Usually is better than never. This place has danger leaking from the rocks, and even you can see it."
A voice whispered gently in Twilight's ear, "But love and beauty as well. I think True likes you."
Twilight blinked at the voice she was certain was the goddess she had met not long before. "Thank you, you know, for the ice powers."
"You seemed able to channel energy well, and you are not yet warm to the passions of the world. It seemed fitting."
Was she just called frigid? Of course, that was a literal sex goddess doing the judging, so Twilight figured a lot of people would fit her definition of frigid.
"It, um, works well?"
"I'm glad to hear that," spoke the gentle voice. She couldn't see it, but she felt Lashtada smiling through the link they shared. "I have a favor to ask of you, and it is not small... You can say no. You are no worshipper of mine, and even if you were, you are a mortal, given free reign over yourself, even if we give you a path to happiness."
"Does it involve him?" Twilight's voice carried the suspicion in her voice.
Sunset raised a brow at her friend. "You know it's really creepy when you talk to yourself."
"I would speak to her as well, but we have a tie, and with her, I do not. Please tell her I'm sorry for scaring her. I understand her rudeness before, but she can't solve all problems with violence."
Twilight looked up at her horn, though the voice seemed more to come between her ears than anywhere else. "It's Lashtada again, and she says sorry about before."
Sunset shook her head slowly. "Is she calling just to say sorry?"
"No, she said she has a favor to ask."
Roll snorted out some steam. "That is logical that one would apologize to one you wish a favor from. What does she wish?"
"I would have apologized either way. You are a good person, I know this. Do you understand?"
Twilight smiled at... nothing. Where should she face when she was talking to herself? There were so many bits of courtesy not sufficient for the situation. "I accept your apology." It wasn't like Lashtada had a chance to finish what she was doing, even if it was... wrong, on so many levels. "So, uh, what did you want?"
"My children are captured, you know this. They are captured and abused and neglected. They are hardy and strong, but this is not what they are made to do. Can you not use this power I have given you to save them?" A warmth ran through Twilight's body. "At the least, you can make their plight known. You can tell the other ponies, so that they may act on my children's behalf."
"You want me to fight for you?"
"No! No, please... I am not a warring god. If you can simply free them, that is all that I require. I won't even try to hurt the gnolls. I hope they will be well and fruitful, but my children deserve better. They are kind and loving and... Please?"
As if bidden by the unspoken conversation, True hugged Twilight, wrapping his hooves around her neck as he nestled in close.
"I'm not saying no, but why not True Shot here?"
Lashtada let out a quiet sigh. "He is mute, if full of love. He is a dearest son, please watch over him, whether or not you act to free my other children, but he will not sound the horns that will bring help, nor is his archery enough alone to free his brothers and sisters."
Twilight started as she realized True had been shoved aside and Sunset was staring right into her eyes. "You leave my friend alone! She doesn't owe you a thing and I'm going to see she gets on the right side of the damn mirror, alright?"
The voice within drew quiet, and Twilight was left in uneasy peace.
The train arrived a few hour later, coming to a smooth halt just yards away from where they rested. As other ponies worked to offload supplied, Sunset and the party rose and approached the train.
One of the conductors raised a brow. "Huh, this ain't a station you know." He thumbed through his clipboard. "I don't have any pickups scheduled."
Roll produced a small pile of coins and set it on the clipboard. "We are bound for Viljatown."
"Ah, here it is." He pocketed the change, though some of it went into a different pocket than the others. "Thank you for riding the Lightning Rail, soon tying all of Everglow together!" He stepped aside as he waved inside, allowing them all to enter.
The train was mostly empty, as people were only riding from the last station to there if they were part of the resupplying mission. They found comfortable chairs and were about the only ones present. Despite this, a waiter came along and saw to them even as the train raised and began to slide on its bed of lightning westwards. "Would you care for a drink?" asked the pony with a smile. "We got a selection of dwarven spirits and some fine earth-bound liquors to wet your whistle."
Sunset glanced aside at Twilight. "What do you have that isn't fermented?"
"Refrigeration is expensive," noted the pony. "If ya want most other things, they're a bit costly. We got a bottle of milk, some water? Verified purified in Viljatown!"
Twilight got the idea the dwarven ale was about as much booze as she'd get to try with Sunset around. "The water sounds fine, thanks."
True waved the pony closer then starting gesturing oddly before the correct selection was made off the menu the pony had. "Two waters and one cider, a fine selection." He tipped his hat before he moved off.
Sunset seemed surprised. "Huh, I didn't think you'd go for something hard."
True snorted at Sunset and thumped his chest loudly.
"Right right, not as young as appearances might suggest," agreed Sunset. "Still surprises me sometimes."
Roll shook her head. "This may cause issues, if others assume you to be a minor instead of a height-disadvantaged adult. We are fortunate the waiter did not seem bothered."
Twilight shrugged softly. "He's obviously with us. If we didn't want him having cider, we would have said something, right? I mean, this is..." How do you say they were in a backward world without coming off as rude? "In our world, there are rules about drinking ages, I bet not so much here, just what your parents let you get away with and how much."
"You are correct." Roll nodded. "But there are other things that minors are not permitted to attend, even with parental permission."
Sunset shook her head, but the drinks arrived, carried on a platter on the back of the pony.
"Here you are," he said in a friendly tone. Just as friendly, he collected the fee and made his way along.
From what Twilight remembered, the price of the things that were not booze were marked up about fifty percent, but they'd still be hard pressed to go broke just from drinks. She noticed there was a straw in her glass and smiled. It was such a silly little thing, and it was wrong. It wasn't made of plastic. It was some kind of straw. Heh, straw straws, go figure. The convenience of it over lapping was noticeable, and she felt almost normal.
The dozed off as hours passed uneventfully, but were stirred back to alertness as the train came to a halt at a town barely larger than Sun's Tears. The conductor announced it as, "This stop, Turves. Turves! If you're getting off, now the time to do so, and thank you for riding the Lightning Rail!"
Lashtada gently whispered, "Turves, so close to my people's home, when they had a home. You will now press farther from it, if only to--"
Sunlight was perched, staring death at Twilight, or the divine thing that whispered to her. "Your eyes go all weird when she does that, it's not as subtle as she thinks it is. Stop that!"
"Does she have a boyfriend?"
Twilight blinked at the internal question. "Not that I know of?"
"That explains much..."
The train came to a smooth start, but they weren't alone. A single stallion had joined them, getting on at Turves. "Oh my, what a group this is. Is that a short-leg?" He sounded friendly, if curious.
True squeaked at being referenced and rose to his full, if small, stature.
"It is! I hardly ever see them outside their little town." He offered a hoof towards True. "It's nice to meet you."
True met the hoof with one of his own.
"Why isn't he answering?" The stallion tilted his head before he got it before it could be said. "Oh no! Was he born that way or?"
Roll put a metal hoof before True. "He was injured."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He nodded to True. "Damn shame. Was it a hunting accident? Are you a hunter?" He pointed to the bow and arrow perched on True's back. "Those look a bit oversized for such a small pony."
Sunset pulled with her magic on the bow. "We plan to get a slightly smaller one when we get into Viljatown."
"Oh yes, that would be the place to do it." He nodded. "Big place. Ever been? I've never seen a short-leg there before."
The train was faster than walking, but not faster than a gallop. It did have endurance on its side, as it ate up bits of the countryside day or night, and didn't seem to be bothered by the monsters they could occasionally see if they peered out the window hard enough.
Twilight sighed out. "We're safe, I think? Unless this is a dramatic ti--"
"Are you certain you are not bound to the Author?" asked Roll with a raising of a brow. "The manner in which you bring that up reminds me of the way her priests speak."
Sunset perked with curiosity. "Author?"
The stallion they were sharing a car with lifted an ear towards them. "Sorry for intruding, but I know a bit about the Author." Roll waved for him to continue, so he did, "The Author is the goddess that made all the Everglow races, and decided what brand of destiny we would all receive." He turned to display his cutie mark, er, brand, which showed a coin being passed from a hoof to a hoof. "You could say she's the overgod, over the others, but she's quite distant. She doesn't talk with us, basically ever."
"She should be more kind," whispered Lashtada in Twilight's ear, leaving her wondering which was better, the far off god or the one that was quite close.
"Even her priests aren't always sure, saying she acts through happenstance and 'dramatic reveals'. She gets a small section of pony temples, but I wonder sometimes if it's not just to be polite."
Sunset peered at the stallion curiously. "Do you, um, worship her?"
"Guilty as charged." He dipped his head towards Sunset. "I like knowing that everything has a purpose, including me. Why, I feel like I should have been here, to explain that to you, in service of the story. Who else would have?"
"Who else..." murmured Sunset as she looked around the mostly empty car. "Thank you though. There sure are a lot of gods."
Roll shook her head. "You have barely been introduced to a few of them. Even the gnolls have their favorites, though they are far from pony gods. I will remain with Lashtada."
True gave a squeak of agreement and nestled in with Roll in solidarity.
The stallion rose. "I'm going to get some drinks. Want some?" When they shook their head, he was gone, departed towards the dining car.
Twilight looked over at the others. "You know, she's still in there." She tapped her head. "She isn't being mean or anything, but she is obviously watching."
Roll dipped her head. "That is a blessing. Would that I could receive such attention."
"Please don't tell her, as I don't want to hurt her, but she is cold and hard in all the wrong ways," Lashtada whispered. "If she is assigned to me, I will peel that away from her, but until then, it is not mine to touch."
Sunset cocked a brow. "What's she saying? You have that thousand yard stare going on."
Twilight blushed softly. "S-she said she would help as much as she could, Roll."
Roll smiled with a click. "That is encouraging. It was not Lashtada that laid down this curse on my ancestors, so I doubt she will remove it, at least while I live."
The car rocked faintly as a dull thump came from above. Twilight squeaked even as Sunset ran for a window to peek out. True scaled her and peeked up from her shoulders. They could both see a reptilian form dominating the top of the cars. They had been boarded by a dragon!
The dragon seemed to notice Sunset and True looking at it and leaned over the side of the car to be closer to them. "Ah, there you are. Kindly pass along all your valuables and we can dispense with the violence and flames and etc, etc, etc." The brown dragon rolled a claw slowly. "No need to quiver and such, I just want a simple thing."
Twilight could see the dragon when it leaned over, and hear its every word. "Are we being mugged by a dragon?"
Roll rose to standing as she approached the side of the car. "You have chosen poorly. We have little of value."
"Oh?" A claw pointed at Twilight's headband and its jeweled part. "I see at least one thing worth having. Don't be stingy now."
It was a fire dragon, it said as much, that meant... Twilight's gem sparkled brightly as she gathered cold energy and blasted the dragon right in the face with a torrent of cold. It was larger than it was before, but it was not enough to make the dragon give up immediately. With an angry roar, it pulled back from the window, retreating to the top of the car. "Rude little horse! I'll pluck it from your charred corpse afterwards."
Sunset's horn began to glow. "Well, now we're in--" Her words were cut out as the arcane words forced their way from her lips as she bolstered their most martial member, expanding Roll out on all sides.
A claw smashed through a window, sending Twilight scurrying away from it before an arrow thudded into its thick scales. True was already drawing another arrow, his bow embedded in the sofas themselves.
"I brought back some for--" The stallion blinked and slowly closed the door as he backed away, leaving them to their battle that he was rude enough to interrupt.
With an angry roar, two sets of claws dug into the roof above them, only to peel it back, revealing the enraged dragon to view before it tossed the roof segment aside, its attack lane cleared. "Look what you made me do!"
The open space was enough room for Twilight to pepper the beast with little bolts of cold as another arrow sailed through the air, just to shatter against its tough scales. It went in after the troublesome unicorn, just to discover that mechanical ponies were not worth ignoring.
Close enough, Roll surged at the terrific form in a mechanical fury, meeting claws with claws, though the dragon had the distinct size and strength advantage. She managed a few savage cuts before being swatted aside. "I'm taking that. Give it up or know you killed your little friends." It drew a mighty breath, flames licking around its snout.
Sunset tried to scorch the dragon, but flames were of little regard to it.
"I think she has a problem similar to your friend, Sunset," whispered Lashtada.
Twilight twitched an ear softly. "Um, wait, let's not be hasty about this..."
"We're already hasty! You're the one that attacked me!" The dragon's wings flared wide with fury.
Think within the rules of the world, and with the cards you have, or so Twilight reasoned. "What if we could get you something even more precious than this old thing?"
The dragon raised a leathery brow down at Twilight. "You have my attention, little ice slinger, what are you offering?"
The voice gently whispered, "there's a male I'm sure she is compatible with in temperament and biology..."
Twilight cleared her throat. "A majestic female as you needs a dragon that knows how to treat a la--"
The dragon leaned in close to Twilight, gazing at her as if she were crazy. "What do you know about dragons?"
"Enough to know if you fly that way," Twilight pointed. "For four hours, and give the dragon you meet a chance, he will be everything you want."
The she-dragon blinked in confusion. "You do realize I can catch up to this train easily. If you are trying to get me to fly away for a time, I will return. This thing only moves along its nice straight line, it's not hard to find, and not that fast." She thrust a claw at Twilight, dangerously close to cutting her open. "If this is a ruse, it's a poor one at best."
Twilight dipped her head. "Then you can come back, but you probably won't, uh, have time for that."
The dragon blinked again before she grasped the meaning. "Huh. I doubt that..." She took off despite the words and let their car be, missing portion of the ceiling or not.
"Aw, you did a wonderful thing. I hope they find happiness together," cried out Lashtada with joy in Twilight's head.
Roll shook her head slowly. "Unless you have gained additional talents we are not aware of, I will assume the goddess guides your actions."
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Well, in this case, I'll let her off the hook."
"She is so gracious." There was something in Lashtada's tone that implied a lack of patience, or a plan for revenge later.
True pointed up at the missing ceiling piece and squeaked.
Twilight craned her head back to look at the damage as she sighed. "I hope we aren't asked to pay for that..."
The door opened, admitting the stallion from before back in as he trotted along with a try balanced on his back with drinks for everyone on it, even Roll. "I see your, um, guest took off. I gather she's not coming back?" He looked around curiously. "None of you look hurt, that's good! No wonder I felt thirsty. That wasn't my fight." He passed the drinks around without being asked. It was a pony malt whisky that he set to each person in kind, regardless of age, or metal.
Twilight accepted her drink with the glow of magic. "I don't think she'll come back, at least not soon."
Roll raised a brow. "So long as there is a dragon where you indicated, I should think not."
Sunset threw up her hooves before she took her drink in her magic. "We're a dragon dating service now?"
True squeaked and pantomimed with a waving of hooves and a fierce fwoosh of imaginary breath.
"Well, it is better than being cooked alive." Sunset settled in place and took a draw of her new drink before realizing it wasn't water at all. Smooth, but not water. "What is it with this world and booze?!"
Twilight nursed hers without complaint. "Thanks."
Roll nudged her glass lightly. "I do not require or benefit from libations."
"You don't drink it for yourself." He nosed at his own glass. "Drink for your friends, and for the gods to smile on you. May your story remain interesting even during the boring moments." He took a long draw through the straw after the curious blessing.
Roll nodded slowly. "May my companions find what they seek." She lowered her lips to the straw and chugged it down without stopping for air. Of course, she didn't breathe, and she normally didn't drink. It did not affect her in the slightest, except to make a little smile on her face. She was part of things, at least a little.
Sunset settled beside Twilight, who tensed in fear. "Relax... How is it?"
"Oh, uh, not bad?"
"You said that about the dwarf stuff."
Twilight laughed, but sipped again. Whatever she truly thought of the dwarf booze, this one she kept working on and seemed to enjoy herself with.
The train attendants did notice the damage as they moved. The dwarf scratched behind his head as he looked up at the damage. "Bloody..." His eyes swept over the car and its inhabitants. "Anyone missing?"
Roll shook her head. "Negative. We are all well and whole."
"A dragon... figures. We need to prepare for that. Ain't no one gonna ride it if they have to worry about great bloody reptiles takin' a bite out of 'em!" The dwarf frowned thoughtfully. "Well, you can move to another car if ya want, or don't, if ya prefer the sun and stars for company." He fished out some small tickets. "Food's on us for the trouble."
The car emptied out, and they ate well for the remainder of the trip. Food on the train was far superior to what they had been managing on the hike towards the train station or the laborious flight from the gnoll caves.
Sunset looked across at Twilight nursing a water. "So, stupid question, but if you can make water whenever you want, why buy water?"
Twilight looked confused for a moment. "I... just never thought about it before. I mean, it's not as if I could make water for long." She tilted her head and her horn glowed as her glass refilled itself under her power. She chuckled at her trick and looked across, refilling Sunset's glass with some sparkles. "Ta da!"
Sunset pulled from her mixed drink softly. "Not bad." She raised a brow as a thought came to her. "Ice cubes?"
Twilight reached a hoof across the table and brushed across the top of the mug as it began to freeze over under her chilly powers, becoming ice cold swiftly. "I don't know how to make cubes specifically, but that's good enough?"
A dwarf nudged Twilight with her flask. "Hey, turn that cold this way. An ice cold one would really hit the spot about now."
Twilight blinked in surprise, but smiled. She brushed the flask with a hoof, bringing chill down upon it. "Huh, guess I could get a job if I really wanted it."
The dwarf lady tipped her flask towards Twilight before taking a long pull of her chilled drink. "Oh, aye. Ye could run a chilled warehouse and likely make a killin' if'n ya wanted to. Thanks!" Off she went, rejoining her friends.
Roll shook her head. "I don't understand. The drink has the same composition, no matter the temperature. Why would chilling it make it more enjoyable?"
Sunset snorted softly. "You kind of need to 'be there' to get it, but trust me, the temperature of a drink makes a difference."
"I do trust you." She looked down at True. "What will you do in Viljatown?"
He looked up at her and pointed a hoof at her, then the other mares, then himself and he squeaked.
Twilight smiled a little. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but me and Sunset are going to go home eventually."
He pointed at himself, then Roll, then put out a hoof at Sunset and Twilight at once.
Sunset blinked... "You want to--"
The train started to slow and there was noise as people gathered by the window, distracting the conversation. They were approaching the newly-founded city of Viljatown. Its Greco-Roman architecture, not that this world had a Greece or a Rome, and its overall size put it at a scale that seemed to make all other towns they had seen seem tiny in comparison. It was the first true city they had seen in the world of Everglow.
As the train pulled into a station where other trains were already parked, the attendants guided people to the doors and helped the disembarking process. There were no customs or other things to pass through before being allowed into the city, so they walked right off the train and found themselves surrounded by the city on all sides.
Roll pointed southwards. "The town that holds my tribe is south of here. The rail goes in that direction as well, but I took a caravan to get as far as I did, still, since the dwarves are in that direction, I assume the rail is complete that way."
Sunset nodded at that. "Alright, but our first goal is to find someone that can get us home."
"And alerting those with the power to save my children," the voice gently reminded Twilight. "If you are the hero I need, I will reward you as much as I am permitted."
"Permitted?" Twilight glanced around. Learning where to face the faceless was still a trick.
Sunset raised a brow. "Is she talking to you again?"
"You may be inexperienced, but surely even you can envision such wonders I might bestow upon you. Please. They can--"
Sunset bopped Twilight on the head, disrupting the conversation. "Snap out of it, Twilight. Now, Under said that, what, some ponies are better at plane magic?"
Roll nodded. "He specifically mentioned divine casters." She raised a brow. "Does Twilight not qualify?"
"W-what?" Twilight wheeled around on Roll.
"Your power, is it not given by divine agency?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't think it counts, I mean... It feels like the cold comes from inside of me, not from something... else. She woke it up, but she isn't powering it."
"That is quite well said," agreed Lashtada.
"So we need a cleric or an oracle." Twilight pointed deeper into the city. "And we're not likely to find those around the train station."
"What about that castle? There are probably powerful people there."
Sunset sighed softly. "Look, if she's going to whisper to you, I don't suppose she could, you know, do it loud enough for us all to hear?"
"I can only speak to you because you carry a mote of my unblossomed power. The foal I was ready to give you has become the tie that bridges us. It will never grow into a pony," she sighed out the last as if it were quite a pity indeed. "But it keeps us close."
Twilight shook her head with a fierce blush. "She would if she could, but I get the idea there are laws the gods have to follow. She can only talk to me because you interrupted her when she was, you know, before."
True poked her leg softly until Twilight looked at him, then pointed off into the city.
"Right, no answers here." Twilight lowered and True scaled her quickly before she began to trot. "There are two places we could go. We could visit the castle and try to see someone powerful to get some help, or we look for a temple and see if a priest with enough cleric or oracle levels is around to lend us a hand, er, hoof? Whatever, either way."
Sunset shook her head as she followed with Roll. "I don't know which is more terrifying, the fact that you talk about this like it's still a game, or the fact that it's about as logical as anything else." She looked to True on twilight's back. "Hey, are there any, what Lashtada priests around? She seems to like us, possibly in all the wrong ways, think her priests might be willing to help?"
Roll was the one to give an answer more intelligible than a sad squeak. "Unfortunately not. Myself excluded, the worshippers of Lashtada are almost universally short-legs, and they were all captured or killed." She inclined an ear with a soft mechanical whir. "I am afraid we will find no divine casters of her's here. I am no divine caster."
Twilight nodded as she looked around, then wandered up to a random pony. They were well-dressed, certainly by the scale Sunset would use for pony clothes. Most ponies were dressed in the city in one way or the other. True was about the most naked person in quite a distance. "Excuse me?"
"Hmm?" The mare turned to look at Twilight. "Yes?"
"Oh, uh, we were wondering..."
Sunset put a hoof in front of Twilight, brushing her back. "What my friend was trying to ask is if you happen to know where the churches are?"
The mare, a bit leery at Twilight's timid approach, brightened when Sunset posited the question clearly. "Oh, the temple district is that way." She pointed with a hoof. "New to the city? Welcome to Viljatown." She looked at True with a raised brow. "You should dress your children though. A bow and arrows are hardly suitable attire."
Twilight cleared her throat as she looked up at her back at the pony resting there. "Oh, right. Where would you, um, suggest for that?"
She pointed to a small boutique on the corner. "I've seen some stylish things there, other than that, you're on your own. I don't have any foals of my own." She nodded at the group and moved along.
"She's too busy attempting to win life by securing money. By the time she does so, she will lose and be unable to have any foals at all. Such foolishness from city ponies." Lashtada sounded sad as she said it, sad and accusing.
Sunset was already moving for the boutique. "Let's have a look. At the least they should be able to direct us to a more, uh, foal-friendly tailor."
Roll looked through the window first. "Not my style." She turned to enter despite that. "We may find something True enjoys."
True squeaked in confirmation and hopped down from Twilight as soon as she was inside. His eyes roamed over the clothing as he wandered to and fro, almost lost.
"My people learn to garb themselves when traveling, but home, what use do they have? A belt to hold a tool, a pouch to hold other things, certainly, but anything else, just in the way," whispered Lashtada. "Your clothing isn't bad. It doesn't block someone from--"
Twilight's blush reached a critical level and she shook her head violently, disrupting the conversation.
A stallion approached, gaunt, with a smile on his face and glasses perched just above his eyebrows. "Hello there! What an adorable little foal you have, and in need of my talent, I see." He reached for True, who shied away but ultimately allowed himself to be scooped up. "We have some things that'd fit you just fine."
Roll trotted up to the proprietor and fished out some coins to offer him. "We would like him to be presentable."
"Presentable?" He took the coins with a swipe of a hoof. "We do far more than presentable here! Give me a few minutes and I'll have him looking fabulous!" He wandered off with True securely in grip.
Sunset sat beside Twilight. "Good thing the clothes we came with seem to be alright."
Roll raised a brow slightly. "A curious fashion, but they appear well-constructed and expensive."
Twilight quirked a smile. "That's a kind of fashionable. We look like we're rich enough to not care if something is exactly 'in style' or not, right?"
True emerged from the care of the tailor, done up in bright green cloth that came to fluffy puffs near his hooves. It was quite cute, and tight, though his complaints fell on deaf ears as he tugged at the attire he wasn't used to wearing.
Twilight nodded at him. "He looks alright now." He looked alright before, but the clothes made him look more refined and less, um, horse-like.
Sunset agreed quickly. "Totally works for him."
"They are clearly not his style, but I think his style would be to abstain from clothing all together." Roll raised a brow as she reached for him, plucking him up with her teeth and throwing him onto her back.
He gave a little squeak, then nodded at the back of Roll's head.
Inside Twilight's head, the voice whispered, "How is he to--"
"That's far enough." Twilight shook her head violently. "So, temple or castle?" She wasn't about to argue about... that.
"You could at least visit the castle," implored the god in her head.
"Fine..." Twilight rolled her eyes as she turned to the castle. "Let's see if anyone will lend some help, and tell them about the short-legs. They do deserve some help."
Sunset shivered faintly. "They might have been a bit clingy, but they certainly didn't deserve that. Fine, let's make your, uh, guest happy and let's go tell the authorities."
"Queen Iliana?" asked Roll. "Or will you leave it in the hooves of a functionary beneath her? It may take some doing to approach the Queen directly."
Sunset shook her head. "Look, I know we're going for your pink friend, but if we're going to do this, let's do it right."
"That's a good attitude," whispered Lashtada with a perked mood.
Sunset began to walk to the castle. "We either talk to this 'Queen' or nothing."
Roll followed after Sunset with a concerned expression. "It is not assured that we will succeed, and attempting too boldly may have consequences. Though pony prisons are a step superior to gem gnoll slave camps, it is still far from ideal."
True shook a garbed leg before he scampered ahead of Twilight and the others, looking left and right. His vision raised to the castle that was their target and took a little breath as he spun around to face the others. He put out his hooves wide and squeaked.
Sunset picked him up with her magic and set him on her back. "I know you're still getting used to the clothes. If it helps, it was new to me once too." He squeaked in obvious query. "It's true. I came from a world where ponies only wore clothes to look fancy or during especially cold days. So there I was in a world of humans--" True squeaked. "Did I not tell you about that? Anyway, yeah, so they don't have any fur at all, so you wear clothes or get cold in a hurry."
Roll walked alongside Twilight. "Have you ever had practice petitioning a queen or similar?"
"Uh, no," confessed Twilight. "We'll just tell the truth, about ourselves and the short-legs. Hopefully she'll be reasonable about it."
They approached the first guard post that barred the way to the castle and the ponies there in shining imperial armor nodded at them. "Hail and well-met. What business bring you here?"
Sunset approached him first. "Hey, nice to meet you. What would someone have to do to meet the head lady herself?"
He raised a brow at the question, "The Queen?" His eyes wandered over Sunset, taking in her interesting choice of clothing and her general appearance. "Might I ask who you are?"
"Oh, well I'm Sunset Shimmer." She gestured towards Twilight and Roll. "Twilight Sparkle, Rolling Precision. And the pony on my back is True Shot. We have important information for her."
The soldier nodded. "I will pass it along. What is the information?"
Twilight took a step forward. "We'd really rather give it to her in person."
He sighed softly. "Are you a member of any noble houses?"
Twilight shrank back. "Well, no..."
"Then I'm afraid seeing her in person is quite unlikely." He raised a brow. "I don't make the rules, I just enforce them."
The other guard beside him gave a light nudge. "What about the ball tonight?"
The guard glared at his associate. "Right, yes, she is scheduled to appear there, but if you don't have an invitation, and you're not a member of the Kind Blades, then you aren't getting in."
Roll stepped forward. "Oh, silly us, we forgot to check with that." Before they could get further information, she guided her companions away from the post. "Our way is clear."
Twilight raised a brow. "Clear how?"
"We join this academy swiftly and attend this ball."
Twilight blinked. "Can we do that?"
"We do or we admit failure." Roll nodded. "You wish to succeed at this venture?"
"I like her. You said she favors me, didn't you?" whispered Lashtada. "I have to see about finding her a nice partner..."
Sunset nodded as she looked around. "Let's ask about this academy then. Kind Blades huh? At least they sound nice enough, unless that's an ironic sort of name..." She licked her lips as she did a slow turn before setting her eyes on a potential information source and approaching him.
Roll watched Sunset talk a moment before looking to Twilight. "I admit I grow jealous at times at how easily she approaches people and engages with them. I do not do so easily."
Twilight shook out of her thoughts. "What? You seem perfectly nice."
"I do not attempt to be... un-nice, but there is a wide gulf between basic courtesy and social grace." She gestured at Sunset with True on her back. "She has grace."
Twilight glanced between the two. "But you talk just fine, even with strangers."
"I don't like doing so." She frowned a little.
"Roll..." She wanted to support her mechanical friend, even as she struggled with the how. "You're a lovely person, and quite a nice person to be around. Even when we were, you know, fighting for our lives, you were polite. Heck, you tried to be nice to the bandits and they were ready to cut us into pieces at the time..."
"But they did not surrender until it was clear their attack may come at a high price." She shook her head with precision. "They were not convinced."
"True, but--"
Sunset came trotting back with a smile. "Alright. The Kind Blades are relatively well known, and he knew about them. Their leader is a mare known as Rosy Petals, and they're funded by the Queen, so even if we miss tonight, we have a chance if we get in good. This way." She turned to lead the way.
Roll moved to walk alongside her. "Are they accepting new members?"
"That's the best part." Sunset nodded firmly. "Sounds like they'll take anyone ready to adventure who isn't a jerk, and we all qualify for that."
True gave an affirmative squeak from his perch.
Twilight smiled a little. "Well, none of us are jerks, but two us are are going home soon, right?"
Sunset waved it off. "I didn't say we'd stick with it long. We just need to ask about getting home and giving the word about the short-legs, then we're done." She glanced over her shoulder at True. "You could stay though, you too Roll."
True wrinkled his nose before pointing at Sunset.
"I have another idea," gently spoke the god in Twilight's head. "She likes to dance, does she not? I feel guilty for avoiding dancing with her..."
"Um." Twilight looked towards Roll. "Do you dance?"
Roll blinked with a soft click with obvious surprise. "Yes. I do like to dance." She shook her head. "Why?"
"She should dance with the queen."
Twilight went red at the thought.
"Not that sort of dance, but it may help... She should perform."
Twilight tried to shake off her embarrassment. "Have you considered dancing for someone?"
Roll shook her head. "I dance for myself. I find the act relaxing and I can understand the world better when I do it. I also enjoy the spring festival with the short-legs, and they seem to appreciate a good dance."
Sunset shook her head. "Let's not get distracted. Here." She led them around the castle to a side entrance. "Apparently only servants and Academy members use this entrance, and that includes people wanting to join the academy, so let's get going and put on a smile."
They went inside, and were only barely challenged. After explaining that they were there to join the Academy, they were taken directly to a training area inside the castle where a dozen other ponies were sparring or working. Spells and swords collided violently, but never with malice as downed members were helped back to their hooves and victories were celebrated by either side.
A mare approached them with brown fur and bright red mane and tail. "I trust you have a reason for being here?" She had a voice that seemed to broker no nonsense.
Roll dipped her head at the mare. "Affirmative. We wish to enlist in the Kind Blade."
She raised a brow and looked over the entire party before leveling a hoof at True Shot. "You brought your foal?"
True hopped down to the ground with a squeak before he planted his bow in the ground with a strong thrust of his neck.
Rosy shook her head. "You've taught him how to use a bow, that doesn't change much."
Sunset let out a nervous laugh. "I know it looks odd, but he's as adult as the rest of us."
"About that." Rosy reached and prodded Twilight right in the chest. "You carry yourself like you barely know where you are. How old are you?"
"I-I..."
Roll pulled Twilight back. "She is old enough to be ready to battle."
Rosy smiled, bright and white as her shoes slid downwards, revealing sharp claws. "Let's put that to the test. You know how to fight, or are you hoping the Academy will go over the basics?"
Twilight thought to show off her ice magic and gathered energy over her head, focusing on a target across the room, only for pain to explode across her face as she was punched savagely and unexpectedly by Rosy Petals. "You'll be dead fast if you let your attention lapse in the middle of a fight."
Sunset's horn began to glow a crackly fire red, ready to defend her friend. "You leave her alone!"
"Make me," challenged Rosy as she took a firm and ready stance. "Come on, you four against me. Let's see what washed up on my shore. Tanning your hides may reveal something useful for my students."
Roll nodded firmly. "Challenge accepted." With her words, the sparring and training around them began to quickly die out as they gathered a sizable crowd to watch their teacher fight the newcomers.
Rosy's eyes remained locked on the party even as she spoke to her students. "First mistake, being badly outnumbered. I'll have to fight all the smarter to have a chance, or pray to the gods above that I outclass them so badly that their numbers mean nothing."
True pulled an arrow back, lining it with Rosy. She huffed at the small warrior. "Using a weapon larger than intended may be intimidating, but ultimately unwieldy." The arrow was released and Rosey moved subtly, allowing it to shatter against the thickest part of her armor and be crashed with her timed motion. It was a graceful parry, but not allowed to happen in a void.
Roll crashed into the confident mare, matching claws against the spikes that Rosy wore. Even as they matched hoof for hoof, fire crashed into Rosy's left side and chilling frost on the right.
"Let's see how good their bodyguard is," grumbled Rosy as she shoved forward, knocking Roll back a step, far enough for her to rush past her. She caught the blades of the mechanical pony's claws in her side, but her charge was sure, bearing down on the already injured Twilight and knocking her flat to the ground as she left the other side of the ice slinger's face swollen painfully. "One down..."
Sunset began weaving the words that would make her ally larger and stronger even as True quickly drew a fresh arrow and let it loose, catching Rosey in the flank and allowing blood to trickle free. Some of the students traded murmurs among themselves. Perhaps their teacher had bitten off more than she could chew in taking on an entire party.
Roll came crashing into Rosy's side, her left hoof diving a metal spike painfully into the instructor. "Surrender. You cannot win this conflic--" She didn't get to quite finish her statement as the world went unstable and she collapsed to the ground, swept off her hooves in a quick motion by Rosy.
Rosy charged past Roll who tried to swipe at her clumsily as she struggled to stand. She was on Sunset and drove a spike into her shoulder bringing out a pained yelp and a disrupted spell. "None of that if you will. If this was a true battle, I'd be wielding more than these hoof-claws."
Her students winced. She'd inflicted quite enough pain with her claws. They didn't want to know what she'd do with heavier grades of weapons.
Sunset staggered backwards, trying to get some room, but Rosy advanced with her. "Come on, show me your magic..."
She tried a spell, but it fizzled in the stress of battle and as she tried so hard to watch for Rosy's lunges and feints. An arrow thunked into Rosy's leg and she hissed as it sank into the meat there. "Leaving an archer be is dangerous work, but spellcasters can be worse."
Roll had rejoined the brawl, but Rosy was pointedly ignoring her, only moving enough to try to avoid her swings, still facing Sunset. Roll swiped at her foe and was sure her aim was true, but her claws skidded against an unseen force at the last second, missing.
Rosy lashed out with a quick one-two punch and the second member of their team crashed to the ground with a cry of pain. "Two down."
Roll smashed her across her smart mouth. "Focus on the battle at hoof."
Rosy spat blood onto the floor. "I deserved that. Let's see how well you protect your last friend standing."
Roll glanced towards True and a metallic clang rang out as Rosy shoved a spike into Roll's chest.
"Focus on the battle at hoof," taunted Rosy in kind. "Enough." She settled onto four hooves and let out a low breath. "You have some practice ahead of you, allowing an enemy melee combatant free reign in your group is a swift way to lose friends. Bright Spark, show me your clerical skills."
"Y-Yes ma'am!" In came a pony in a chain shirt and a smile. "I've never seen you so roughed up, um, sir."
"Fighting is tough business. Get these arrows out of me and see to our recruits."
He began seeing to her wounds with soft words to the Sun Queen that left the still conscious but disabled Sunset confused. "You mean Celestia?"
The pony raised a brow. "Is that another name for the Sun Queen?" he pressed a hoof to Sunset, allowing his healing energy to flow into her with gentle prayers. "I've heard worse."
Roll shook her head. "Are we accepted?"
Rosy let out a low chuckle. "I have a question first. Most who come to me are fresh-faced younguns lookin' for a way to make a living. You fight like a seasoned warrior. A warrior used to fighting alone, perhaps, but with a skill that can't be denied. So, why are you here?" She glanced from pony to pony. "You don't need the Academy's training, not specifically..."
True wrenched his bow free and slung it on his back with a squeak in reply.
Twilight jerked awake with the clerical touch. "Ah!" She saw Rosy and scrambled away in fear.
Bright followed after her. "That reaction is natural. She is a fierce she-demon, but we respect her knowledge and skill."
Roll glanced back at her friends. "We wish to meet the Queen."
Rosy raised a brow. "There are more straightforward methods of gaining an audience."
Sunset climbed to her hooves. "There was an attack, alright? You're in charge, right? Send some soldiers to get the short-legs out of the mines."
She only looked more confused. "Short-legs? Mines?"
Roll rolled her neck with a mechanical ratcheting. "Gem Gnolls have attacked the short-legs." She pointed back at the small True. "Like him. They are being used as slave labor in a mine, the entire tribe."
Rosy's teeth clenched. "A mass attack on the gem gnolls..." She did the math in her head. "Expensive, at the least, both in finances and the lives of good soldiers. I doubt the Queen will, or can, act now. The empire is still recovering from the effort to unite it." She frowned at them. "I'm afraid you won't find the help you're looking for here."
Recovered from the shock of the battle, Twilight approached timidly. "Can we at least tell her about it? She might listen."
Rosy put a hoof to her face, spike retracted. "Look, none of the people you're talking to are fools. They will know if I bring trainees with me that have never been seen with me before to the castle, and the Queen expects better of me. Now, you seem to be telling the truth, but I am a trainer of this academy, it's not up to me to vet people that way."
True looked around a little. They were already in the castle, but he couldn't voice this observation.
Sunset turned for the way they came. "Sorry to bother you."
"She gives up quickly," whispered the voice in Twilight's ear.
But Twilight couldn't see another way forward. They had failed. "I... thank you. Will you at least tell her?"
"When I can." Rosy turned to face her students with a scowl. "I see a bunch of lazy layabouts! Get moving!"
They left. Twilight sagged against a building once they were outside. "That didn't go well at all."
Sunset shrugged. "We told someone in power, what more can we do?"
True squeaked and pointed at a small sign. They all turned towards it.
Seeking entertainment.
The Queen Iliana does seek entertainment to perform at her court. Those that showcase the wild exoticness of the pony empire and the unity of those in it will be considered first. Please report to the castle. Payment will be generous if accepted.
True pointed at the sign, then pointed at Roll and back at the sign as he bobbed his head.
Roll looked confused a moment before it came to her. "You want me to dance for them?!"
Twilight perked up. "Would you? That would put you near the queen, and you could tell her! You like them, right? You could save the short-legs!"
Sunset threw up two hooves. "I thought we were going home? How about that temple?"
Twilight spun on Sunset. "Look, we can go over there and start looking for a way back while Roll does this. We don't need her to talk to some priests anyway, right?"
Roll let out a sigh that sounded more like the rattling of gears. "For the short-legs, and Lashtada, I will attempt my best." She nodded once and moved away from the party. "I will seek you out afterwards, for better or worse."
True hopped up on Sunset's back and tapped at her neck from behind as he squeaked at her, frowning.
"What?" She shook herself lightly. "We're going home. We told you this before, and getting involved in local politics isn't getting much accomplished. What do you want us to do?" She levelled a hoof at Twilight. "Whatever you're being told, don't forget you're a girl. Damn, you're not even out of high school. Look, I'm your friend, and if you get hurt, I'm responsible, alright?"
Twilight felt something new. "Is that why you're acting like this?" She took a slow step towards her friend. "I might be... how old are you again? I mean, you looked about the same age as me."
"But I'm not." Sunset sank to her haunches. "Crazy dimensional stuff, alright? I'm an adult, a fully grown adult, and I don't want you getting hurt."
True slid off the slanted back and hopped to his hooves before circling around Sunset to peer at her curiously.
"I may be younger than you," confessed Twilight. "But I'm old enough to make decisions f--"
Sunset laughed a single mocking note. "I thought that too... Then I ran away from the person that cared about me most. I ran so far I never went back. We're both old enough to make decisions, but are they good ones?"
"I'm still annoyed at her, but she is a good friend I think," spoke the voice. "Have you considered taking her as a partner?"
Twilight spat despite not drinking anything. "We're both girls!"
"I could fix that."
"No!" Twilight got to her hooves. "No, thanks, but no."
Sunset raised a brow. "What did she just suggest?"
"Nothing you want to hear..."
Sunset glanced between the rest of the city and her friend. "That bad?"
"So, about that temple?" Twilight forced a smile. "We should get to looking while Roll does her best."
True squeaked and climbed up on Twilight before curling up on her warmly.
An earth pony stepped to the center of the room and nodded to each of the nobles watching him, as well as the queen in the balcony overhead. He began to juggle balls, which was quite a talent with him bouncing balls over his hooves and only grasping with his mouth, but he kept them going nicely.
The Queen raised a faint gesture and one of the attendants cleared her throat. "Very nice, but the Queen asks what it has to do with unification?"
The balls dropped, all but one that he caught in his mouth and turned to face up towards the balcony. "Each one has a family crest on it. We used to all have a feud before she came along and brought us together."
The thought was nice, but a group of prairie pony families was not... quite unity, nor was the juggling outstanding. The Queen smiled but shook her head.
"Thank you," spoke the attendant while gesturing for the guards to help remove the balls and the performer. "It's not quite what She is looking for."
A pony beside Roll looked her up and down. She smiled thinly. "We are both curious members of this nation."
Roll looked back at the gem pony she was sharing the line with. Just a little rounded and plump, but she glittered in the light and seemed hard despite the softness that the fat implied. "We are," She agreed with a raised brow. She had only rarely seen a gem pony. "What is your performance?"
"About that." She turned to face Roll more directly. "Our chances may be better if we work together. I don't suppose your performance could work with singing?"
Roll frowned, not because dancing couldn't work with singing, but because it could. "I do not know what you would sing."
"We have time before we're called, we can go over the basics." She brightly smiled, even her teeth shining. "What do you do?"
"I dance..."
"Perfect!" She sat and clopped her forehooves. "I will sing for you and you will dance for the Queen, and we'll both win. Having such interesting ponies performing for her will surely fulfill her requirement."
A unicorn mare tossed her mane as she strolled towards the court. "After I perform, the queen will have no need for either of you! None can resist my acts of prestidigitation!"
The singer glanced off after the magician. "Let her try. Come, do you know any songs already? I'll sing one."
Roll decided to accept the fortune being presented to her. She would either succeed at the will of the gods, or lose all the same, but she would try her hardest. "Let us practice."
Their move towards cooperation hardly went unnoticed as other performers gathered into groups of two or three, trying to make their talents work in a quick harmony, but Roll detected an advantage. "You sing clearly?"
The singer looked confused. "I certainly hope so." She drew a slow breath before she let out a long low note that shook through Roll's body, just the way she hoped it would. "Will that do?"
"Excellent. You sing your song and I will match its tempo." Roll nodded as she began calibrating herself for the moves ahead with a slow pivoting of her joints. "Do you know a song of unity? That appears to be the grading point."
"I do, several, along with some of hope and preservation. All fine songs for our Queen." She nodded quickly and began to sing softly for Roll to move to. Perhaps they had a chance.
The first church the others found was by merit of size. It was a unified church of gods, or so the sign out front declared. Entering they found small shrines along the marbled hallway dedicated to each pony god in passing. Some, Sunset knew partially. Others baffled them both, and to see the tall chimeric form labeled clearly as 'The Unspoken One' raised the brow of Twilight as Sunset was genuinely baffled. "When did he become an outright god?"
True looked around as they went, carried along. He saw no shrine to Lashtada and poked Twilight to inform her, but his waves did not properly impart his message. He pointed to a small shrine to the Sun Queen, then himself.
A priest approached the group. She was adorned in flowing robes and wore the softly jangling holy symbols of all the pony gods, minus three, only one of which they noticed was missing. "You look troubled. Welcome and be at ease. How can I help you today?"
Sunset brightened on seeing her. "Ah yes! Hello there. We were hoping we could get someone to send us home."
She raised a brow. "Are you certain you don't require more arcane assistance than divine?"
Twilight shook a hoof. "Our home isn't, um, here. Think another world."
The priestess looked confused a moment before it came to her. "Ah, you are from another plane? Most visitors from such places look... quite a bit different from us, and here you are." She sat down before them. "If you come in peace, then I welcome you all to Everglow."
Sunset nodded at the priest. "Nice to be here, but we want to go home, please?"
She tilted her head. "Well, where are you from? Are you from an elemental plane? You don't appear like it, though I do feel some contamination..."
Twilight tapped behind her head. "It's more of a high school, filled with humans. We were, um, human, you know, before we ended up here."
The priestess lowered her eyes to the small form of True. "And you are from elsewhere too?"
He squeaked and shook his head before pointing at one of the shrines then at himself before shrugging.
"Are you asking which divine presence to approach?" The priestess smiled gently. "That depends what you want to ask. You are a pony, so they will all address you, but the advice of the scholarly Luminace is very different from the raging Blaze. This assumes that they answer, which they may not, but they will hear you," she assured. "This is a holy place for them all."
Twilight caught the meaning. "I think he's asking where the Lashtada shrine is."
"Who?"
True gave a soft squeak of dismay.
Twilight rolled a hoof. "Pink, short, female, um, seems to rule over fertility."
"And love."
"Oh, and love," added Twilight in response to her internal prodding.
"I've never heard of such a god before..."
Sunset sighed as she advanced. "We're getting distracted. Me and Twilight here want to go home. Can you help us, please?"
The priestess nodded. "Certainly. I could find someone capable of casting the spell. Do you have the tuning fork?"
Sunset blinked softly. "What?"
"The tuning fork." She tilted her head. "You need the right frequency to reach the right plane. We could banish you from Everglow and trust your own harmonics to carry you properly, but that is hardly assured. A tuning fork is the most reliable way to be certain."
Sunset paled a little around her ears. "And if we don't have a tuning fork?"
She inclined her head towards the shrines. "You can pray, or study, or do both in the case of one goddess. As I said, we could banish you, but there is a chance you will be swept away on another harmony. It would be quite a shame to send you both to Hell or some other inhospitable place." She dipped her head low. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help than that. Is there anything else I could be of service with?"
Sunset put a hoof to her face. "N-no, I think you've told us all we need to know for the moment." As the priestess wandered off, Sunset turned to her friends. "Well, things just got more complicated."
Twilight smiled as a thought came to her. "If we do right by Lashtada, she'll owe us a favor."
"Will you help?" whispered the goddess in her ear.
"So! We can ask her to send us home." Twilight nodded firmly with growing conviction. "We just have to rescue the short-legs."
True clearly thought highly of the idea with an energetic clip-clop applause of the motion.
Sunset looked back and forth between her companions. "So, about that... What exactly did she say before?"
A pony emerged, escorted by guards. "Madame Trish'do will have the last laugh!" insisted the gaunt pegasus as he was escorted away.
The attendant in charge of the performers nodded. "Next." And so went in a sleek leather wing pony with head held high.
Roll looked to her dancing partner. "Do you feel prepared?"
"No," confessed the singer with a smile. "I'll do it anyway. If we wait until we're ready, we'll never do it."
"That is a good logic." Roll nodded. "Even should we lose, it was a pleasure meeting you." She offered a hoof. "I am Rolling Precision."
The singer met it, crystal clashing against metal lightly. "Morning Bell. Likewise. I hope we can be friends, win or lose, but let's try to win, alright?"
"Affirmative." Roll rotated her head in place, spinning slowly in a way that an organic pony would find impossible. "I am as ready as I will be. Sing as well as you have been and I trust our chances to be good."
Others were not quite so harmonious as their time approached. Some groups fell apart with angry shouting and accusations. "I can't work beside such imbeciles!" hotly proclaimed a mare, walking away from two stallions.
"Next."
There were only a few ponies ahead of Roll and Morning. It would finally be their chance to shine, possibly literally in the case of their crystal half. Roll gave a precise nod. "I think our chances are good." She felt less certain when it was their turn.
"Next."
Roll advanced with Morning towards the attendant and she smiled at them. "The Queen has asked that I filter some of her applicants. Can you describe the show you plan to perform?"
Morning nodded at the attendant. "I will sing traditional songs of unity and hope while Roll dances."
Roll nodded in agreement. "I hope the Queen will be pleased by my performance."
The attendant looked doubtful at Roll. "Can you dance? I mean, no offense... but... you are a machine."
Roll drew a breath despite not requiring it. "I have danced for much of my life. My skills are quite adequate."
The attendant looked at the couple and the performers behind them. "Well, the Queen will be the judge if that. If you move well, the show sounds like what she's looking for." She waved them past. "Good luck and may the gods smile on your efforts."
There was only one goddess Roll hoped to please that night.
They emerged from the shadowed entryway into the main court where noble ponies gathered and the Queen looked down on them. She looked subtly intrigued by Roll's appearance. Good. They had her attention, they needed only to keep it.
Morning and Roll nodded towards the functionaries and bowed at the balcony that held the queen.
A message was quickly passed down and the mare in charge of speaking for the Queen gestured at Roll while her eyes were on Morning. "Is this your golem?"
Morning blinked. "Oh, no! Heavens no. She is a pony, and I will let her speak for herself."
Roll glanced back at Morning before raising her eyes to the balcony. "My kind are the clockwork. Though perhaps less numerous than other tribes of ponies, we are members of this nation proudly." She dipped her head toward the balcony. "Today we will perform for you."
Morning bobbed her head in agreement. "I will sing a few classic songs of my people, celebrating an old time of unity, while Rolling Precision will dance to celebrate the new age of collaboration, even with ponies we scarcely recognize." She took a slow breath and began to speak from the heart, a talent her people were known for. Her voice was clear and notes stirred those that heard it both in pitch and content.
Roll began to move, using her singing as a metronome for her own performance. With every beat that pulsed through her, she moved a little further, rising smoothly to two legs and bowing in the stance that would be awkward to others, but came with an artistic flair to her. With hooves out wide, she made a slow circle, tracing unseen patterns in the air. It would have been enough perhaps for her to move slowly and precisely to the music, but that was not how it would be.
She fell to the ground, but did not strike it, catching herself just before she struck to begin moving with greater energy. Picking up on the desire for greater tempo, Morning's song began to catch up as it faded into a new melody, speaking of new starts and energetic motions, of grand times that the pony race has brought to itself. They danced together, though they never danced at once. She led Roll in her tongues, Roll led her in her steps, and they worked together, guided only by the power of the music itself running through the hallway.
Her voice gently faded as Roll came to a smooth halt. Both bowed to the silent queen. Both bowed to the quiet room.
All eyes turned towards the balcony.
Queen Iliana leaned forward into clear view, quite young for one that qualified as an empress. She brought her forehooves together in a slow clopping, and soon the others joined in, following her in what would become a thunderous display of clapping and stomping approval of what they had just been witness to.
Twilight nudged Sunset. "So we're not getting home fast. Let's be on the same page about what we're doing."
Sunset frowned a little. "You don't have to be so happy about it."
"Happy?" Twilight raised a brow high. "Not exactly the emotion I was aiming for. Look, we're friends, and we want the same thing in the end." Twilight nodded firmly. "We'll get home, so let's be smart about it."
True pointed at Twilight, then Sunset, and hugged himself.
Sunset quirked a smile at his antics. "Yeah yeah, I don't plan to stay mad at her." She sat up and let out a sigh of breath. "We're still just two random people in a world we barely understand."
Twilight raised a hoof. "But that's where you're wrong!"
"I am?"
Twilight tapped her head. "I have genre savvy!" Sunset didn't look convinced, so she continued. "Besides the dragon being the wrong color for its element, everything is what I would expect it to be, assuming I was playing the game. So I vote we play to win, and then we get to go home."
Sunset rolled a hoof. "Great, let's assume we do that. What part of that makes us able to take on a whole mess of those gnoll things? I don't think my fire bolts will do much but annoy one by the time they run us over."
Twilight tapped her cheek softly. "I just wanted to get you and I on the same page. We don't have a plan, yet, but we can do this, together." She waved a hoof between the three of them. "Do you think Roll did well?"
True gave a soft squeak and thrust a hoof up.
Sunset nodded in agreement. "If she has a chance, she'll do it." She rose to her hooves. "As crazy as this world is, I trust her, which sounds crazy to me just saying it. We're friends with a robot."
Twilight frowned a little at that. "Robot implies she was made in a factory somewhere. She was born, just like us, she just happens to, you know, be made of metal."
"Right right." Sunset shivered faintly in memory of the fact that clockworks produced young in such a fashion. "Look, why aren't you freaking out more?"
"Huh?"
Sunset reached out and poked Twilight gently in the snout. "You're a pony."
Twilight went crosseyed a moment looking at the hoof on her snout. "I am, and I did, but we have to get something done, unless we're happy remaining ponies forever. I mean, being able to hurl ice is pretty cool, but I do want to get home. I have responsibilities, and we both have friends waiting for us. I wonder what they think happened to us?"
True tilted his head a little bit as if thinking about it, but added little.
Sunset sighed softly. "I bet they've visited both our houses by now looking for us. Let's get back quickly and put their fears to rest." She pointed ahead. "For now, let's head to the castle and pick up Roll, win or lose."
"If you would stay behind?" The functionary pointed to a small area where only one other performer stood, sending Roll and Morning to join them as the next act was brought out to perform.
The one other performer was a pegasus, smiling as they approached. He nodded to either. "Splendid show you gave there. Did you two practice together?"
Roll considered that question. "Yes, but not in the way you likely imagine."
Morning deferred to her friend, waving to Roll. "I just sang. Roll was the one performing the intricate steps of her routine with such precise timing."
The pegasus perked his ears. "So modest. You were both lovely. Clockwork, was it? I've met another of your people before, though he was no performer. He liked making traps for hunters and the paranoid alike. Quite in-demand, if I recall."
"Next," spoke the functionary in precise tones, dismissing the current act of a pair of goats.
Morning tilted her glittering head. "I imagine it's quite like any tribe. She can be what she wants to be, and she likes to dance."
Roll nodded at Morning. "Dancing is a preferred hobby of mine, but not my profession."
The pegasus seemed surprised at that. "Not your profession? What is, madame?"
Roll paused. "Well, I'm a warrior..."
Morning started at that. "You're a warrior?!"
If Roll could have blushed... "Normally!"
The pegasus shook his head. "Well, for a hobby it is clearly close to your heart, be it flesh or otherwise." He dipped his head at Roll. "It is a pleasure to know you are a peer."
Morning joined the motion quickly. "Yes, a pleasure knowing you, and performing at your side. I trust my own performance was good enough?"
"We are here," noted Roll with a bit of a smile. "We succeeded."
Another performance was selected of those remaining, a trio of the three major tribes that formed a gymnastic group. The pegasus, unicorn, and prairie pony settled with the earlier victors, all smiles and joyful. Roll noticed something. "The performers with less-than-satisfactory attitudes were not selected regardless of ability."
Morning perked an ear. "Why I think you're right." She just finished shaking hooves with the last winners. "All those that got this far have been quite personable."
The unicorn of the trio nodded. "We do try to be reasonable sorts."
The pegasus pumped a hoof. "Reasonably awesome! Look at us!"
The earth pony nudged his friend. "Easy there. There were many good performances today."
The functionary that had been calling out each performance approached them. "You are the last of the day. The Queen would like to see you each personally." She glanced from pony to pony. "Even in the case of groups, she wishes to see you individually." She raised a hoof to point at Roll. "She wishes to start with you. Miss Precision was it? This way."
Morning nodded at her new friend. "Good luck."
They shared one last bumping of hooves before Roll followed down opulently designed and furnished hallways. She was led into a small room where the Queen sat, looking out a window. "You may go," spoke the Queen, and the functionary bowed before departing silently.
Roll nodded at her as she took in the details of the room. It was furnished with decorations of pony greatness, but little of it directly reflected of the Queen. "You wished to see me?"
"I did." She turned to face Roll with a faint smile. "You need something from me, don't you?"
Roll started. That was not the path she expected. "I--"
"Don't be shy, they all do." Iliana rolled a hoof slowly. "You're a performer. I imagine you just need to be paid, and that is hardly an unreasonable thing."
Roll needed more than that, but she hesitated a moment before words found their way to her lips. "I have a more serious matter. I apologize if I am upsetting you by bringing it--"
"You sound serious." Suddenly she looked focused. "You need something, but not for yourself. What is it?"
Roll pointed in a Northeasterly direction. "The short-legs have been assaulted by the gem gnolls and taken prisoner."
Iliana winced. "I..." She heaved a sigh. "I told them it was not safe. That land, north of Turves, we have scarcely anyone there, save the short-legs, and I feared for them. I asked them to join the empire, to come where it was safe." She looked to Roll, not with anger, but with sorrow and shame. "I wanted to protect them."
Roll pivoted an ear towards Iliana. "You can still protect them by sending an armed for--"
"I can't..." Iliana sagged. "I've seen the numbers. We're lucky to keep the empire intact. Declaring war on the gem gnolls would be disastrous, no matter how distasteful they are." She sat up tall, spreading her wings. "I would ride down on them myself, dashing the dirty gnolls to the wind, but this is my cage, and I'm needed here..."
The room fell to quiet as Iliana seemed to consider things. "You are a brave pony. Why are you here, a clockwork pony, to tell me of their capture?"
Roll gestured to the city as a whole. "I was with them during the attack and escaped. One of them is in the city."
"One of them made it?" Her eyes shone with hope. "At least there is that... Will you bring him or her here?"
As they approached the castle, Roll came out to meet them. Sunset, Twilight and True's faces all lit up with joy on seeing their friend. Sunset advanced and gave their mutual friend a soft hug. "How'd it go?"
"I succeeded." Roll looked directly to True. "Your presence has been requested."
True squeaked in surprise and pointed at himself.
Twilight raised a brow. "I hope you let them know we're here too. We're not letting him go alone. We already split the party once, and we're lucky that worked out."
Sunset shrugged. "Besides, he can't talk, so we'll be translators if nothing else. Where do we need to be?"
Roll glanced from one friend to the next. "You raise excellent points. Queen Iliana has given leave to my returning at any time that I come with him."
Twilight nodded. "Great, so we're coming with. We'll be polite, promise."
Sunset huffed softly. "Is she as nice as Princess Celestia?"
Roll raised a brow with a whirr. "Who? She is kind and good, so far as I have observed."
Sunset nodded. "Must come with being a mare in charge of these things. If she's anything like Celestia, she won't be upset we're there. When do we go?"
"Roll!" called out a voice as a glittering mare came dashing towards them with a smile. "I was worried I'd lose you! Oh, are these your friends?" She looked between the three new ponies. "Nice to meet you, I'm Morning Bell. Roll, we have to go over our perfor--"
"Negative."
"What?" Morning tilted her head a little.
"I wanted an audience with the Queen, this has been accomplished. I do not desire to dance at her request." Roll shook her head firmly in denial. "You must proceed without me."
"But... we're a duo!" Morning's ears were down and she looked quite upset at the idea.
Sunset shook her head with confusion. "So hey, hello Morning, how did you two meet?"
"Oh, hello." Morning gave a brief smile before it was eaten up by her worry. "We met while waiting our turn to perform, and we worked together. I sung while she danced and impressed the Queen between us, and now she wants to leave! What am I supposed to do?"
Twilight tapped at her chin. "Well, I suppose it depends on what you want to do... We're going to save some little ponies just like him." She pointed to True. "They need our help or they'll be stuck in dark cramped mines, digging for the rest of their lives."
Morning blinked softly as she looked down at the small form of True Shot. "Aren't you an adorable little thing." She reached to gently muss up his mane. "T-that's a worthy cause, but I'm just a performer. What can I do?"
Twilight leaned forward. "You sound like a bard to me."
"What? Oh, no, I never joined a bardic college." Morning shook her head firmly. "They would get upset if I cl--"
"Not that!" Twilight smiled patiently. "A bard is a performer that inspires their allies, has limited grasp of arcane magic, and knows a little of everything. Does that sound right?"
She blinked at Twilight. "I've heard a lot of songs about things..."
Sunset softly nudged Twilight. "See? She's just a performer. Why would you expect her to know magic?"
"Oh, I do." Morning nodded firmly and let out a single clear note that shook the air around her before it faded. In its place was the sound of traffic all around them, as if they were sitting in a crowded market instead of mostly alone. "See?"
Twilight clopped her hooves in triumph. Her trivia knowledge had panned out. "Why don't you join us? We could use every ha--er, hoof we can get to save the short-legs."
Roll seemed less certain. "Do we want to risk it? You have a position here, performing for the Queen? Is that not what you wished?"
Morning squirmed with growing concern. "I'm not sure I can do it alone... If I help you, you'll come and dance then, right?"
Roll raised a brow with a ratcheting noise. "You are seriously contemplating this?"
"Will you?"
Roll gestured eastwards. "It will contain far more dangers than your current profes--"
"Will you?" Morning leaned in close to her new friend. "If I help the little ponies, will you dance with me?"
With all eyes on her, Roll deflated a little before rising to her hooves. "Very well. Let it be known that should we succeed at liberating the short-legs, Morning and I will perform together. This, I solemnly vow."
Morning and Twilight clapped in joy, though Sunset was just a little more hesitant. "Is this a good idea? I mean, you're a singer, right? Have you even done anything like this before?"
"I have travelled Everglow," reported Morning with some pride. "This will not be the first adventure I've been on worthy of the name. Besides, I would do my tribes poorly, as both an earth-bound and a gem pony if I ignored their plight. You can count on me to be as steady as the earth below us and as brilliant as my coat." She flashed a bright smile. "Now, we have a Queen to visit, um, again?"
Twilight tilted her head. "How did you know we planned to visit her?"
"A hunch." Morning nodded. "I can't imagine she would want to ignore it either. I will also want to tell her our performances will be delayed until this is all settled."
True scaled up the cooperative Morning and perched just behind her neck. She looked over her shoulder at him. "I can't imagine how adorable an entire city of you little things would be. Let's see what we can do for your kin." She led the way as the entire party, enhanced by one, proceeded up to the castle.
They were allowed past the guards with minimal resistance, and escorted to a dining hall where they were told to wait, and so they did, until a muffled thump rocked the room and cries of alarm began to echo through the castle.
Sunset frowned a little. "What's going on?"
One of the guards posted in the room nodded. "I'll find out. Please wait here." He ducked out and besides the faint noise of strife, things became quiet. At least until the guard returned. "I'm afraid your audience with the Queen has been delayed. Please return when you receive a missive informing you of when and where."
"What?" said Sunset with irritation. "But--"
Roll put a hoof in the way. "As you command. Can we be of help?"
"The guards are on the case, miss. Thank you for your offer." He inclined a head at the other guard. "We have to go." Soon they were alone, both guards rushing from the room.
Morning frowned softly. "Perhaps it's just as well I'm going with you. I doubt the Queen will hold court at a time like this."
Sunset spread her forehooves wide. "Time like what?!"
Twilight rise from her seat and turned for the door. "You can't hear? The castle's being attacked. I know the guards said not to, but helping the Queen out right now might be just what we need."
Roll squinted faintly. "I fail to see the advantage of this."
"Come on!" Twilight led the way towards battle. She had an idea in mind, and she wouldn't be dissuaded.
They emerged to find a trio of ponies wearing masks that looked like equine skulls covering their faces. One of them pointed at the group. "They're not on the list!" And they rushed to attack.
Roll knocked one aside with a terrible blow, sending the victim crashing into the wall to slide to the ground. "Surrender is an option."
Twilight ducked back from the quick but clumsy swing of the untrained but eager warrior's short sword. "Watch it!" She danced away as coldness gathered at the point of her horn before bathing the attacker in chilly frost, only for it to be melted and burned with a quick wash of flames from Sunset as the pony crumpled to the ground.
Morning nodded to the last one standing. "Running?"
"Running," he agreed, and fled from the castle.
The mares, and True, ran towards the noise instead of away from it, only for the roof to collapse practically on top of them as they were sent diving out of the way.
They had joined the battle, and they didn't intend to lose it.
Roll looked around quickly as she gathered herself to her hooves. "Is everyone alright?"
A soft chorus of noises came in the affirmative as the group pulled itself together. The sounds of steps came before a panicked-looking servant turned the corner towards them and slowed fearfully. "Are you with the skull-masked thugs?"
Twilight shook her head at the scared pony. "No, of course not. Not a single mask among us. Can you point us towards the problem?"
"Where aren't they!?" she cried before composing herself and pointing back where she came. "I last left them tearing through some of the guest rooms. Just take a left and hug the wall and you'll find them, or go anywhere else and avoid them, which is what I plan to do."
True squeaked determinedly and thumped his small chest.
Morning gathered him up with her teeth and threw him onto her back. "As my small friend says, leave it to us."
Roll nodded to the servant. "We will advance. The way behind us is a dead end, you should be warned. If you sought escape, this is not the way."
"Figures..." She looked around with darting eyes. "Gods watch over you." She bolted down another hallway.
Recovered and ready, the rest of the group advanced where the servant had come from to hear the sounds of things breaking, and many ponies, one quite scared.
"I don't know where it is!" claimed a muffled stallion.
"Tell us," ordered a gruff male voice. "Your loyalty to your whore of a queen won't make it hurt any less."
Roll moved for the door that led to the voices with a nod to the rest of the group. Though she could have planned, it seemed action was what she intended.
Morning broke out into a sudden battle melody, singing of valor and protection of the weak.
Sunset and Twilight caught in place a moment, surprised at the energizing effect of the song, but Twilight recovered first. "Bard song, great! That'll help my blasts!"
"How does a song help with blasts?" questioned Sunset, but they were both advancing behind Roll. There was no time to answer the question.
Roll kicked the door open, making the ponies jump in surprise. There were six thugs in all, and one of the servants, a male, strapped down to a chair and squirming.
"We have company! Look like guests, rough 'em up!" ordered one of the thugs, pointing at the group. They drew short swords from their sides, except the one that had spoken, he had a sizable axe that he clenched between his teeth.
Roll was hardly unarmed after a moment, drawing the very pick she had won her way to freedom with from her side and charging straight forward to meet the two brave enough to advance on her. She brought down the dangerous pick, but a sword met it and his ally gave a quick swipe across her metallic front, making it spark as he dented her.
True hopped free of his friend and planted his bow as Twilight and Sunset shared a brief look and set the pony that attacked Roll in elemental agony.
That informed the thugs to their presence and the leader advanced with two of his cronies. "Wizards first." Neither of them were wizards, but arguing the point felt silly.
Morning advanced to meet them, but had no weapon. She lashed out with her hooves, each impacting with the force of a mace as her heavy crystalline body crashed into their fleshy ones. Her song did not pause even as they struck back, making her chip and bleed for her efforts.
With the distinctive twang of a released arrow, True lived up to his name as he sent one of the thugs staggering back with an arrow protruding from his side. "Damn..."
The leader shoved past Morning in time for Sunset to bind him with an invisible force to the ground beneath him, arresting him in place for Morning to crash a hoof into his side painfully, only for cold to slam into him from Twilight's shining horn. "They're organized, focus and take down!"
They gave up on pressing through to the spellcasters. They were pushing Morning back instead with quick swipes and increasing wounds. But this did little to stop Roll. Her claws deployed from her hooves and she pushed back with her pick, knocking the thug off balance in time for her to dig her claws painfully into his chest. He collapsed before her and the way was clear for her. "I am coming." She approached those on Morning like an angry steam engine, puffing that steam with every powerful step.
Morning knocked one into the path of the train and he barely got out a yelp as Roll drove down her pick into him, skewering him on the mining implement and leaving him twitching in agony before he slid free and collapsed.
The other thugs were losing their nerve and broke away, leaving the bound leader behind for the winning party to scowl at.
He threw down his axe with a spit. "Fine..."
Roll nodded at the one remaining. "A wise decision. Tell us who sent you."
Twilight advanced on the terrified pony, untying him with her magic quickly. "You're alright now. You may be safer staying in here, seeing as the whole castle is under attack."
"Whole castle?!" cried the freed servant as he staggered to his hooves. "Where are the guards?"
Sunset swiveled an ear. "I hear them fighting. We're here to help." She turned to Roll and Morning interrogating the leader of the skull thugs. "Learn anything?"
Roll shook her head. "He was given a list of ponies to not harass and paid to cause as much damage as possible. Beyond that is unknown."
The servant eyed the doors nervously. "I'll stay here if you don't mind."
Roll nodded as she knocked the leader over and they tied him up for the authorities later, along with the other injured thugs. "Affirmative. This is as safe a place for you as any."
Morning had ceased singing her battle song and ran her hoof over her worst wounds as she banished most of them away with a soft mixture of stories from long ago of heroes that withstood far worse and survived. "I thought I was done with this when I got the job to work here, but maybe not..."
True marched to the door and peeked outside before waving for the others to come, and they did. The hallway was empty save for the sounds of battle. They had little practical choice but to follow those sounds, of clashing ponies and ravaged furniture, towards other thugs.
They began to lay down a path of their own destruction as they smashed through the thugs. The invading force was large, but poorly organized, and they began to pick up guards as they went that were eager to help protect the castle.
"I admit I am a little shamed," spoke one of the guards. "You are a guest of the castle, you shouldn't have to fight."
Twilight shook her head. "You were surprised, just as we were. Let's focus on the task at ha--er, hoof and get this sorted out." She cast a self-conscious look at one of her hooves as she went.
The noise was settling down around them. The more they cleared the castle, the less noise there was to hear. As they marched down a hallway, a female voice rose to greet them. "Someone's coming, be ready to greet them!"
It was a familiar voice, and Roll responded, "Instructor Petals, we have arrived with support."
"Sun blind me." She came around the corner, one of her hooves in a sling from her own battle. "I knew you didn't need the academy training." She broke into a fit of laughter as she waved them forward awkwardly with one of her hooves not supporting her. "I sent forward one class to clear the east side for the queen while you mopped up the west side." She inclined her head, ear raising. "It's starting to sound almost peaceful in here. Glad you're on our side."
She broke off from Roll and the others to address the guards they brought with them and get them moving where they were needed before she turned back. "You're looking quite spry for fighting. One of you a healer?" She glanced from one to the other before settling on Morning, the one she didn't fight. "You, I wager."
Morning dipped her head towards the brightly-maned warrior. "A pleasure to meet you. Rosy Petals is it? Academy of Kind Blades?"
"My reputation precedes me." Rosy snorted softly. "In either event, you've more than helped. You should head home and let us take it from here."
Twilight shook her head. "Is the Queen safe? Can we see her?"
Rosy raised a brow. "She was evacuated when the attack began, but you aren't on the short list of need to know. If it makes you feel better, I'm not either and I know her first name." She snorted softly. "She won't be easily taken down though, so I'm not that worried for her." She waved a hoof at the banquet hall they found themselves in. "This is part of why she won't be helping with the short-legs, unfortunately."
Sunset pulled at Twilight. "This whole place is under siege, let's go before we get sucked up into it."
"Wait!" Twilight could see one door heading the opposite direction of hers. "Is that East?"
Rosy blinked at the question. "Yes?"
"Good!" She broke into a gallop suddenly, making a break for the door and the way she hoped would lead to the queen.
Rosy sat down so she had a hoof to spare to put it to her face. "Please gather up your friend. Wherever the queen has gone, it's almost certainly a secret passage and she isn't likely to find her."
True gave a salute even as he was picked up by Roll and the group followed after Twilight, who ignored their pleas to slow down or stop.
She muttered under her breath about where she'd hide a secret passage as she quickly moved through the hallway, glancing left and right and came to a rise in the hall that led to two guards in front of the closed door. "Excuse me, coming through!" But they moved to block her instead. "Hey!"
"We're sorry, but it's not safe to proceed at this time," reported the guard on the left.
The one on the right nodded in agreement. "We already let one group advance to their detriment."
"How bad could it be?"
They demonstrated by opening the double doors and revealing that the hallway that led to another set of opened doors was nothing but a pit. "We don't want you to be hurt, miss. You sh--" He trailed off as the others caught up and he looked them over. "None of you seem to be with the guards or the Academy, you should leave immediately for your own safety."
Twilight glanced to her friends approaching and backed up a little. "I guess we should..." She charged forward and jumped the pit, sailing through the air before she came down on the other side and toppled onto the carpet on the other side in a fit of gracelessness, but she had made it.
Twilight scrambled to her hooves and glanced to see her friends rushing to join her, but the guards were slowing them down in confusion. She was sure they'd catch up soon, which gave her little time to work.
She looked around the room she was in. Couches, reading material, bowls of fruit, paintings and tape... "Where should I hide a secret door..." Twilight wandered towards the large tapestry of the city. It had to be new, as the city was itself new, and she recognized the vista it offered.
Twilight lifted the tapestry clumsily with a hoof before her magic hefted it up and she began to pat down the wall behind it. "It has to be here..."
"Twilight!" Sunset was scaling across on the rope. "Don't go anywhere!"
Her time was running out. She pulled down the tapestry with a sudden tug of her magic and began frantically searching the wall with two flailing hooves and probes of her magic. "Take 20 don't fail me now!" She pressed on a panel she didn't see and it fell inwards with a soft click before the wall began to draw inwards and slide to the side.
Twilight moved to jump through as soon as it was open far enough, but a band of force tied her to the ground as Sunset caught up, the others following behind her. "Stop right there!"
Morning nodded her glittering head, but her attention slid to the open secret door. "What is that?"
Sunset looked ready to ignore it, but the others were drawn to it curiously. She let out a little breath and smiled a little. "Alright, tell us what you found."
Twilight pointed into the hole. "I'm almost certain this is where the queen went to. If we follow it--"
Roll look skeptical as she cut in. "We will be guilty of harassment, at the least."
Morning pointed to the hole. "If Twilight could find it, others could too. We owe it to our country to make sure no one is pursuing our lovely queen and that she is safe."
Sunset rolled her eyes dramatically. "You're not fooling me, but if I tell Twilight to go home, she'll be sore at me forever." She met Twilight's eyes as the energy faded from around Twilight. "Tell me this is really the best course of action."
Twilight nodded even as she turned for the passage. "I really think so..."
True pointed ahead and began marching towards the darkness without delay.
Sunset glanced around before tugging at one of the torches the lit the room. It didn't move. Twilight joined her efforts and they both pulled, wrenching it free with the sound of loosening stone. The torch put out no smoke or heat, just light.
"I'd say it's electric--" mused Twilight, "--but it's not plugged in, oh! Everburning torch." She smiled brightly and held it up. "Now we have a light. Let's go."
"Did you find her," called one of the guards from the other room. "The castle isn't safe for visitors."
Morning flashed a smile as she called out with her musical voice, "Oh no! She ran up ahead. We'll get her to safety as soon as possible."
"Blast, well, we have to close the door, so let us know with a shout when you come back."
It grew quiet from them and Morning nodded as she followed in the direction True had gone.
Roll shook her head. "Our new ally is skilled at weaving falsehood. If we are going, we should go."
All decided, they entered the secret passage. Twilight spotted a lever as they went and gave it a tug. The door behind them slowly slid shut, sealing the passage. "I was almost certain that'd do that..."
Roll looked over her shoulder a moment in the gloom. "Well, it seems unlikely we will be pursued."
The passage was clearly descending into the earth, weaving down further and further as they loosely circled until they broke into a vast cavern, the details of which were too far into the gloom to make out. The part they could see showed unworked and uneven stone for the floor and ceilings.
The platform they had emerged on opened out onto a cliffside that continued. No matter how hard they squinted in the dimness, they couldn't see the bottom of the cliff and proceeded with caution along the narrow band of rock.
Morning gave a soft whistle of appreciation. "I selected exactly the right, or wrong, day to join up with this group." She sung a brief song of light in the darkest places and motes of light appeared around herself to add to the glow given by the torch. She sent them down the hole, where they grew smaller and smaller, but reached the bottom an uncomfortable distance away. More worrying was the spined worm that lived in the crevice that snapped at the lights.
Fortunately they weren't solid and Morning could draw them back up. "I don't recommend falling."
Sunset shivered softly as she drew back from the edge. "You don't have to tell me." With a nervous flick of her tail she focused on the path ahead. "I really hate to be 'that' one, but it isn't too late for us to go back."
Roll glanced aside at her and forward at the eagerly exploring Twilight. "I do not believe your companion shares your hesitation. I will not leave her here."
"I won't either," sighed out Sunset before she quirked a smile and trotted up beside Twilight. "So why do you look so excited?"
Twilight waved a hoof at the dark cave they were surrounded in. "We're on a real adventure! It could have anything, just hopefully not gem gnolls."
They turned a corner and came a larger leveling out of the platform that showed clear signs of combat, both physical and magical with scorch marks decorating the stone, to say nothing of the corpses.
Twilight's ears went down and her enthusiasm ramped back several notches. Despite that, she timidly approached one of the bodies and nudged one of the humanoids over. "An elf?"
Roll tilted her head a little. "They do not appear to have been frisked. The Queen was in a hurry when she passed."
"That isn't an elf," warned Morning. "That is a drow, and the rest are creatures of the darkness. Was this their home?"
True let out a squeak as he prodded a bow more his size, but it lacked the spike that let him plant it in the ground. So close...
Sunset spoke alien words as she looked around. "Their armor is magic, but I doubt it'd fit us." She spied a glimmer of magic and moved to a dropped sword beside the unresponsive hand of its former owner. "This sword is glowing..." She tried to decipher the magic with a frown. "It seems... enchanted..." She couldn't figure out the specifics.
Morning strode up and spoke her own musical words as she looked it over before recoiling. "Fey bane weapons. They were made to kill the queen and her guards."
Roll gestured at the sword. "Take it. We may find a use for it. I'd suggest taking the armor, but that'd take too long. If we mean to catch up with the queen, haste is required."
"We're fey?" questioned Twilight with a raised brow, looking over herself. "I figured we were more animals, or magical beasts."
Morning raised a brow. "We're all animals, technically, but the ponykind are tied closely to the elements of the land." She reached a hoof up and tapped Twilight's horn. "You wield force by merit of birth, and can conjure light much the same way." She grabbed the sword between her teeth and slid it in to rest in the belt of her clothes. "I hope I won't need this."
Sunset raised a brow faintly. "Forgive the asking, but what element do you have?"
Morning tilted her head. "I have a double helping of earth. Is that not obvious? Like Roll, I am an earth-bound, but we are also literally made of solid materials. I am gem, and she is metal." She bumped against Roll as she advanced. "We make a great team."
If mechanical beings could blush... Roll moved to follow their newest member into the darkness, grabbing True along the way.
Twilight moved to follow the others while waving for Sunset to join them. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm a little nervous."
Sunset glanced around the battlefield they were leaving. "I can't say I argue with that, but I figure you're still moving forward anyway?"
Twilight nodded quickly. "It's the only way to win this." She sucked a small breath. "We have to catch up with the queen."
They found the path narrowed and burrowed into the stone, become a spiral staircase that brought them lower and lower until Morning at the front, stopped. "Did I just--" The floor beneath her hoof surged upwards, no longer looking like normal stairs as it grabbed her and hauled her considerable bulk into the air, making her squeal in pain and surprise.
Roll surged forward as True bounced to the floor and planted his bow.
Twilight lowered her horn at the creature. "We'll save you!" Cold burst free of her, the gem in her headband glimmering as it lent its own power to her blast.
"What are we saving her from?" asked Sunset before she got to weaving the spell that'd make Roll bigger.
Roll drove her pick into its amorphous body as she charged it. "Release her immediately."
It didn't seem to care about their threats and squeezed the rock-hard pony as hard as it could, drawing free the fluid it could extract from her.
"Get this thing off me," cried Morning as she tried to beat it off with flailing hooves.
True pulled back an arrow and let loose, sinking it solidly into its side. Had it been a telling blow? He couldn't tell against the enemy that didn't bleed.
With increased size, Roll grabbed her friend and wrenched her free of the thing's grasp in time for Twilight and Sunset to double team it, even Twilight's aim was off and left little more than some frozen rocks.
True squeaked with triumph as his second arrow collided and pierced the flesh of the the thing and it began to melt to the floor.
But it didn't stay there. Just as the party began to collect itself, the creature swatted at Roll's back end. She brought down a clawed hoof on it, quieting it. "It's gathering itself. We should go."
Rather than wait for it to recover from the attack, they all hurried forward past it. Twilight peeked over her shoulder at it. "It must have attacked the queen. There's no way she just walked past it without it noticing her."
Sunset clenched her teeth. "Hardly the first bit of trouble she ran into. She was safer in the castle, truth told. Where are we even headed?"
Twilight looked aside at Morning Bell. "Did you know what that thing was?"
"What makes you ask me?"
"Bards usually know?" Twilight shrugged a little. "Sorry if that sounds bad."
"I'm not sure where you got your own wisdom, but you're not entirely wrong. I'm still not a bard, not a classical type. I have heard songs and stories and things. I mean, I've heard of a mimic that pretends to be a box or chest, but a flight of stairs? That's a new twist." Morning shook her head as marched on.
As they hurried, they began to hear something. There was fighting up ahead, judging from the noises of metal striking metal and the shouts that came with them.
They emerged to see the Queen below on a different platform. She had two guards with her that both looked bloodied and torn and they were facing a worryingly large gathering of pale blue humanoids with bulging eyes and unkind expressions. One of them lunged at a guard to have his hooked club turned aside, but that just opened the way for another to bring down his weapon into the guard, forcing a grunt of pain from the stallion.
Twilight moved to hurry forward, but her way was blocked with a pile of rocks. The passage appeared to be collapsed, with the only way forward being a forty foot drop to where the Queen and her guards battled.
Iliana tossed her head and fire exploded violently in a large sphere that put Sunset's little blasts to shame. "Let us pass," she demanded sternly, but those that weathered the blast seemed ready to fight and were pressing in against them with the advantage of numbers.
True set up his bow near the edge and began faithfully raining arrows down at the humanoids, the distance mattering little to him so long as the queen and her guards put off the light they did.
Roll looked around quickly for a way down, but there appeared to be none save jumping or digging through the rubble. Neither were particularly favorable options. "Tell me one of you can fly."
Morning pointed down. "On the count of three, jump." Her idea seemed mad, and Sunset raised a brow in quiet objection, but she counted anyway. On the calling of three, she leaped forward, Roll immediately behind and Sunset half-toppling afterwards as she hesitated. Morning sang a song of freedom and they were set free, of gravity, at least a little. They floated gently but quickly to the lower platform.
Twilight was left out. She scurried back to True's side and saw him busily firing on the enemies, but what could she do? She gathered her energy with a roaring rush of frost and chill before trying to reach one of those approaching the guards. To her surprise, it did reach, hitting her unprepared target and knocking him off-balance long enough for the guard to cut him down.
Roll stormed forward as Morning sang of brighter days and the warmth of the sun turning back all darkness. She deployed her hoof claws and slammed one into one of the blue-skinned foes as Sunset sent flames licking in the direction of another.
The advantage of numbers no longer seemed as absolute. The creatures showed their true resolve in battle by breaking ranks and retreating into the darkness rather than face the sudden reinforcements.
One of the guards tipped dangerously to the side, then collapsed, bleeding and unconscious.
Morning closed distance with him swiftly. "He was dying on his hooves and fighting anyway." She ripped off a strip of her clothes and staunched the bleeding as best she could.
Sunset tilted her head faintly. "Why don't you heal him?"
"We need to get our friends down." Morning pointed up to Twilight and True in the gloomy light. "I'm running out of magic."
Iliana approached her saviors on uncertain hooves as the other guard moved to place himself between the queen and the new guests. "I did not expect anyone, but it is difficult to say your timing is poor." She glanced towards the entrance far above. "I would advise you to go home, but I suppose that is not practical." She drew a soft breath. "It seems you will be working for me, but not in the service we agreed on. Rolling Precision, Morning Song, will you accompany me?"
Sunset blinked, and Iliana seemed to pick her out. "I'm not excluding you, good spellcaster. I do not know you yet. Retrieve your allies, if you will not have them turn around."
Morning sung the song that prevented Twilight and True from becoming pancakes and soon they landed beside the others.
Twilight bounced towards Queen Iliana and dipped her head. "A pleasure to meet you. We've come to make sure you're alright."
"I'm fine, perhaps in part thanks to your arrival. These tunnels were safe when last we visited them, but that has ceased to be the case." Queen Iliana turned forward. "We need to get through. It seems someone, or someones, is quite set on my not doing so.
The remaining guard marched to the entryway to the next tunnel and peeked inside. "The way is clear. We should go."
Iliana glanced to her fallen guard and marched past him.
Twilight looked as well. "Aren't we going to take him?"
"Will you force that decision on me?" The queen turned to face Twilight. "We don't have a way to carry him that won't slow us down and lead to us all being slain. He didn't fight as he did so we could fail now."
Twilight would not have it. It wasn't that the Queen was wrong. They had no way to transport the pony and his gear, but something had to be done.
"Do you love him?" asked the voice in her head.
"The same way I'd love any living person," Twilight replied as she watched the others move to depart.
"Then trust in your power. Cold may seem distant, but winter can help life start anew. Cut off his injuries, let his body recover. He will shiver in the cold, but he will live."
She had little choice in her mind but to try. She gently gathered her coldness and sent it running through the fallen form of the guard. She stemmed the worst of the bleeding and isolated the most traumatized wounds. He jerked and started, but he was alive, and responding.
"What?" he asked weakly as he sat up, then stood up slowly, clearly still groggy for the experience. "Where is the queen?"
Twilight pointed ahead. "We're with her now. You're alive, but barely, so let us take care of things, alright?"
He dipped his head towards Twilight. "You have saved me from dying so far away from the warmth of the sun, and you have my thanks, but I could not live with myself allowing the queen to come to danger." He shook out his legs one at a time. "I feel better now, at least able to fight. I will perform my duty and I will do so without regret."
Twilight was certain some of it was bravado. She didn't argue though, instead she let her chill run through the guard one more time, giving him some buffer between life and death. "Please, be careful." She would be sad if he met an end after being saved. "She's not alone."
"She has loyal people at her side, myself included." He nodded once more than trotted forward into the darkness to join his queen.
When they reached the others, the Queen smiled to see her guard whole, if injured. "What are these blue lines? It's as if you've been... How?" She raised a brow at the curious wounds even as she marched forward.
Twilight accepted the blame. "I did that. He's a little, uh, frost burned, but he'll get better from that and his real injuries are handled."
The other guard approached Twilight. "I would submit myself to your healing, as rough as it is. We need to be as whole as we can be."
"Are you sure?" Saving a dying stallion was one thing, to do so for one still standing felt odd.
"Better your healing than the swords or claws of an enemy, and your healing means I will take another one or two of the other. We must endure the hardships to see the Queen delivered safely."
Twilight focused on the chill, making the guard shiver softly as he gained blue lines of his own, but the worst of his slices and bruises went away, banished by the cold power. "Please, be careful."
Morning whistled with soft appreciation. "It's good to know my meager talents will not work alone to keep this group intact."
Iliana nodded. "Stay towards the back, we may have call for your services again before this journey is through."
Sunset came in from the side of the Queen. "Speaking of through, where are we trying to get to?"
"A safe place." The queen frowned. "Or it should have been. My doubts rise with every step. This is a very pointed attack, trying to get to me."
"We won't let anyone harm you, Your Majesty," promised a guard.
She shook her head. "But who will protect you?"
"You will, of course." Turning around the next stoney corner came a figure that looked dessicated and worn, but radiated a power most unsettling. "Surrender yourself and your guards and sycophants walk freely. Do not, and you all die together in this grave we've arranged for you."
The Queen scowled even as guards moved to protect her. "Who are you, and who do you work for?"
"The time of ponies is finite, as all things on the surface are destined to be. The underground has more staying power, and we tire of your pathetic existence." He threw a hand to the side, knocking one guard into the other and sending both to the ground. "We will outlast you, one way or the other."
Roll jumped over the fallen form of the guards as she charged the gaunt figure, only for him to raise gnarled fingers and force her to float in the air, powerless to advance.
The Queen scowled before she lowered her horn and a thin ray of fire surged forward, lighting the underground bipedal figure on fire in a moment of brilliance. He hissed in pain and Roll fell to the ground. Freed of the telekinetic grip, Roll swung her pick powerfully, but he dodged aside and lashed out at her with his crooked fingers, striking with sufficient force to knock bits of metal to the floor in a spray of sparks.
The guards recovered from their unexpected trip and hurried to their hooves to charge into the fray with the melody of Morning to guide them on, singing of the defeat of the darkness and the stirring of noble hearts. Seeing he was badly outnumbered, the foe as the other creatures of shadow had done and retreated. He took a single step back with his hands shaking and suddenly vanished.
"Dimension door," announced Illiana. "He didn't go far, but far enough. He won't be alone when we run into him again." She advanced to the others. "Maybe I--"
One of the guards wheeled on Iliana. "Do not finish that thought, Your Majesty. Your surrender would only embolden them, and they will hold no bargains made. You would only sentence us to a miserable death."
Sunset nodded in agreement with the guard. "I have no idea what we're doing, but that guy didn't exactly strike me as trustworthy material, and few people that offer those terms are."
"You are correct." Iliana took a slow step forward. "They are feeling out our strengths and weaknesses. Expect an anti-magic field. We will be far more hampered than they ever will be." She glanced over her shoulders at the others. "I would not hold it against any of you if you began making your way back for the castle."
They arrived at a crossroads. Tunnels ran off in almost every direction. Iliana looked from one to the next critically. "Unless one of you knows how to track underground, we're on our own. These extra tunnels were not here before."
True squeaked and marched forward. Twilight smiled at him. "He's a ranger, tracking is part of his toolset." He nodded back at her then started to examine the passages, sniffing softly before he pointed down one authoritively.
One of the guards nodded. "It's as good as any other. I'll take the word of an ally over random selection. Your Majesty?"
Iliana nodded. "I see no reason not to take his advice. It's better than what we have. Thank you, True Shot was it?" He squeaked. "It is good to have you on our side. If we survive, I will find a cleric capable of restoring speech to you." She advanced with the guards into the cave as she looked over her shoulder. "That was rude of me. Is this a born condition or a misfortune that might be addressed?"
Roll advanced ahead of True, plucking him up in her mouth and tossing him onto her back on the way. "He was injured by the same gnolls that captured his people."
"At least I can do some good, if we survive." Iliana's jaw clenched with determination, an expression shared by her loyal guards.
As they pressed onwards, the darkness of the place seemed to close in around them. The magic of their torch and spells drew closer and closer as if being drowned in the oppression of the place. Their sharp fey eyes could pierce the gloom, but not far, and they found themselves navigating slowly forward, as if they traveled with scarcely any light at all.
One of the guards moved to the fore, even in front of the other guard as he felt his way forward as quickly as he could. Morning moved to join him as a deep light poured free from within her, shining through her gem-like body to resist the darkness, if only a little. There was a patch of blessed light around her, defying the overwhelming dark. "Let the hope of the Old Kingdom protect the new."
The light let them see a statue emerge from the darkness. It looked like a squat crab, each pincer deadly and terrible, with a sword on one, a pincer on the other, a stinger, and rough claws.
Morning backed away from it. "A qlippoth..."
As if it detected it was found out, it broke free of its stony prison and roared as it somehow took on an even more menacing mien, terrible and warped. The mind simply couldn't grasp the full wrongness of it. Twilight, Roll, and one of the guards jerked in place as their fragile minds were abused by the sight of it, left reeling.
Iliana withstood it and was quick to weave a spell, projecting it from her horn, but the magic washed over the crab as if it were oil on water, and it was unharmed.
Twilight tried to react, but everything seemed so wrong. "We should be home, facing interdimensional wormholes to Sunday homework aced!"
Roll tried to lunge at the creature but her body was as misaligned as Twilight's mind and an awful grinding sound announced as she damaged herself with spinning gears.
Iliana felt rising dread. The creature appeared quite physically capable of dealing with them, and was immensely resistant to magic. She looked around for a way out even as Morning began to sing and edged around it to get into position.
It grabbed one of the guards, the one that wasn't rambling to itself and began tearing into him as it held him solidly with a pincer.
"Run!" shouted Iliana. She burst forward, but not before lashing a hoof back and kicking Twilight in the face.
"Hey!" Twilight could think of nothing but getting vengeance for the mild bleeding from her snout, and moved to chase after Iliana. "Pay your taxes!"
Sunset lashed out at the rambling guard before taking off after the queen with her own mad pony behind her.
True squeaked and patted urgently at Roll, and fortunately she came back into working order. Meanwhile the creature sunk a new limb into the pinned guard with a wet piercing noise and began to lay an egg in his barrel even as he screamed and struggled.
Roll winced and ran past the creature, to be joined by Morning who noticed the others had fled. "You won't get rid of me that easily."
Twilight and the other guard came to their senses some distance down the tunnel they fled down. She shook her head as she slowed, but Morning and Roll caught up with her and she got to trotting beside them. "What's going on?"
Roll pointed ahead as best she could while moving quickly. "We have lost a guard, and we may yet lose more. The beast may come for us, and we are badly outmatched."
Morning nodded, serving still as the only functional light source. "The more distance we put between ourselves and it, the better off we'll be."
Just as they were about to pass a crevice unchallenged, a hoof reached out and pulled Morning to it. It was the Queen. "The stairs up are here. We've made it."
"Most of us made it," said the remaining guard with a dipped head. "May the sun warm his soul in passing."
Iliana pointed to the stairs. The darkness did not penetrate into the well and the everburning torches that lined the way upwards seemed to burn unimpeded. Had they truly made it?
The remaining guard led the way, circling around and around before the others as he scaled his way out of their surface. After about twenty seconds of scaling, they heard the angry chittering hiss of their foe and it began to follow them with a rapid scuttling on the stairs. The command to run went out, but who made it was lost in the panic. It didn't matter who had said it, they were all running save True who clung to his metal mount's back tenaciously.
They ascended quickly, the scuttling never far behind. One of them was a little slower, that being the remaining guard. Detecting the others advancing ahead of him, he spun around with weapon drawn. "For the queen!" Despite his brave words, terror thumped in his heart. He didn't want to face the creature, but he couldn't match its pace either.
With deliberate slowness, it slowly crept around the corner to face the quaking pony. It spoke directly in the mind of the doomed, "You will make a fine pet. What shall I turn you into? Would you like a say? Perhaps you are creative." It snapped terrible claws as it approached slowly. "Or perhaps you would rather die? As if I'd give that option."
The guard's shaking grew worse as he backed away. His friend hadn't died and gone to the Sun Queen's grasp. His fate was far worse, and this creature was about to do the same to him. "You will not have... the queen."
"Our message is clear and received. She interests us little, now lay down and accept your fate." It screeched and charged. He screamed and swung almost blindly with what was likely the last attack he would get to make as a pony.
Sunset's ears went down as the scream of the guard drifted up the stairs towards them.
They reached the top where a pony in robes was already waiting for them. They waved for the party to enter and slammed shut the thick metal door. They brought down a thick metal band across the door. "It's good to see you safe, Your Majesty." She sounded like a mare. "Who are these?"
Iliana sagged against a wall for a moment before she pulled herself upright. "Good to see you. I'm afraid my guards... didn't make it... Please see that they are both given posthumous medals... they were... brave to the..." Tears stung at her eyes and she sank to the ground. "They shouldn't have died for me."
Morning set a hoof gently on Iliana's shoulder, drawing a glare from the new pony. "Being a queen means others must, and may want to, be brave for you, but they want you to be brave back."
Iliana nodded at Morning. "Yes, of course." She slowly rose and took a slow breath. "They want me to continue being their empress." She quirked a smile. "And I'll do my best..."
Twilight glanced back at the closed and barred door. "What was that? You said kly fi?"
"Qlippoth," corrected Morning. "You were close. They are creatures of the abyss, truly terrible, as you all saw."
Sunset shook her head rapidly. "Is that something you deal with often?"
Roll looked to the door as well as if expecting it to burst off its hinges any moment. "Negative. Creatures from the abyss are rare sights, especially one so powerful. If we saw more such creatures, the world would not be habitable."
The official cleared her throat. "I'm glad you all made it safely. You will be rewarded for services rendered to the queen, but you sho--"
"They can stay," ordered Iliana firmly. "I will not cast my saviors out so quickly." She glanced at that ill-fated door. "They wouldn't want that. See that a room is made up for them. I need to retire for now, but I will want to see them after I'm updated to the status of Viljatown and the castle." She turned away and marched out of the pantry they were in, the door slammed behind her.
The official let out a slow sigh. "You must have run into some troubling things. Breakfast is served at 8 AM daily. Please, follow me." Moving with far less agitation, she opened the door her queen had closed and led the rest through the halls of what seemed more of a fortress than a palace. Even the windows seemed suited more for defense than aesthetics, but that suited them well. They wanted the feeling of safety.
Sunset moved in next to Twilight. "Look, sorry."
"Huh," Twilight looked sideways at her friend. "The queen's the one that kicked me, and I'm kinda glad she did, even if it still hurts." She rubbed a fetlock over her sore snout.
"Not that." Sunset smiled a little. "For being the wet blanket. There are enough things around us to play the part, you don't need your friends joining in the act, alright?"
Twilight tilted her head. "You weren't wrong. I mean, we do need to go home. As interesting as this all is, it isn't for us." She raised a hoof to gather some of the snow she was making. "I'd trade this away for a ticket home, so let's get that."
Sunset nodded with resolution. "Deal, but if you see another one of those things, then just run."
Twilight frowned a little. "Even if it had you? I'm sorry but I'm not letting it eat you or whatever those things do."
"You don't know?" asked Sunset. "I thought you played this game."
"That doesn't mean I memorized every monster!" Twilight huffed softly.
They arrived at their room and were seen inside to the interior that had many soft places to rest and try to forget part of what they had seen.
The group tried to relax and unwind after their harrowing journey and terrifying conclusion. True softly pet and combed at Morning and squeaked at her.
"Hmm? Are you surprised I'm softer than I look?" He nodded. "We may be closely aligned with crystals and gems, but did you not notice I bleed the same?" She tilted her head. "I am flesh under the glossy exterior. Does that bother you?" He shook his head and hugged her.
Roll raised a brow. "I should think your condition only pleases him. He is in no hurry to attempt being close to me."
Morning perked her ears. "Well, he's missing out there. Come and sit with us, partner. I still plan to be that, your partner, when this is all said and done. You'll still dance, right?"
Roll settled beside Morning. "I will fulfill my oath." She nodded a little before looking over to Twilight and Sunset. "How will we proceed?"
Sunset shook her head. "We've met the queen, and that's good, but I'm not sure how much she can help."
Twilight frowned at the idea. "You may be right there, still, I'm glad we followed her."
A soft knocking came from the door just moments before Queen Iliana pressed into the room. "I apologize for leaving you here, and for troubling you so late in the evening, but my heart refuses to be still. May I come in?"
None objected, though glances were shared. She entered slowly, closing the door behind her. "None of the servants know I am here, and that is fine. The terrors of the dark make it plain that I can't hide behind my guards and soldiers." She canted her ears forward and nodded. "Which is why I won't hide."
Roll tilted her head faintly. "I'm afraid I do not understand your meaning clearly."
She put a hoof to her chest. "I, Queen Iliana, pledge to follow you to the depths of the gem gnoll mines, and see the short-legs freed, if you will have me. I will show them the freedom that my... dear friends died protecting."
Sunset blinked softly. "Can you do that? I mean, you're the queen."
"Which means I can do whatever I wish." Iliana stepped forward. "With certain caveats. If they knew, they would stop me, but nothing the gnolls could muster would match what we faced to reach here, and if I can be the weight that proves to be the tipping point, I will do it, for them. They deserve goodness be done in their name." She paused a moment. "You don't know their names, do you?"
Morning shook her head. "I'm afraid we don't. They were focused on their duties."
She snorted like an angry horse, which she was to an extent. "Then I will tell you, performer, that you may sing their praises in the coming days. The one that fell first, that Twilight saved only to perish later was named Unbending Shield. He never bent, to the end, he shattered rather than leave me vulnerable." She took a deep breath, mustering herself. "The other was called Light in Darkness, an unfortunate name in retrospect, to have died so far away from the sun, but he was the light for us all, and sacrificed himself to make sure we would make it." With blazing eyes she looked from pony to pony. "Remember their names. It's the least we can do for them, who served so faithfully to protect us."
Sunset rose and hopped down from the bed. She approached Iliana as she stood there defiantly. She reached out and dared to touch a queen, to hold her. It was too much. Tears began to fall from Iliana's faintly reddened eyes. "I couldn't protect them, but I will these smallest members. They spurned my wishes to be sheltered in the kingdom I built, but they are good of heart. I will save them."
Roll cleared her throat with the sound of spinning gears. "Now that we have established our general goal, how will we proceed with enacting it? There are still many more gnolls than us."
Iliana wove a little spell and began to glow before she looked like a normal earth pony, her horn and wings concealed with her magic. "We will advance with cooperation and tactics. If we can't reach all of them, we will take the ones we can." She turned to True. "First, we will fetch you a bow that is sized properly for your stature, little archer." She reached and patted him gently even as he lay across Morning's plush back. She looked to Roll. "As for you, weapons and armor fit for a warrior of your obvious talent."
She turned to Sunset and Twilight. "Your talents are harder to arrange for, but not impossible. Defensive wards are required, as wearing metal often interferes with our work." She smiled a little at Sunset. "Fellow sorceress, will we demonstrate the strength of our blood?"
Sunset bobbed her head. "I'm still a little lost on some things, but magic is still magic. I'm getting used to how it flows here, so... How are you going to get half this stuff if you're busy pretending to not be who you are?"
Iliana shrugged. "That's easy. I work closely with the queen in all things."
Morning laughed as she rose, the curves of her body jiggling with her merriment. "You will play at being your own servant? Excellent! I presume you have proof of this esteemed position?"
Iliana produced a crest from a pocket with a dip of her snout, it hanging from clenched teeth before she set it back. "We will make our way back to Viljatown, supply ourselves, and get to work."
Twilight's ears flickered. "It's my turn to be the downer, so... Aren't people going to be upset if you just go missing?"
"I have informed them that I require some time to myself, to consider the attack and those lost in it." She turned to face her would-be assistants one by one. "I have some time before they insist I emerge, and still more time before they dare to make noise even if they do find I've gone missing. That doesn't mean I will leave my country stranded. The papers and requests will be submitted, and I will review them, on the road if I have to."
Her eyes wandered to the torch burning on the floor, a bit of the masonry that held it in place still clinging to it, "Did you get that from the castle?" She approached it with a raised brow. "Leave that here. We'll get some lights that actually belong lawfully to our purpose." Twilight and Sunset both started to stammer an apology and Iliana waved them off. "You are officially pardoned, presuming it stays here for the servants to have sent back."
"She is like the mare we met in Viljatown," spoke the voice in Twilight's head. "She will not consider foals until her time has long since passed. You'll have children though, yes? How else will you pass forward all that you have learned. Besides, the act is--"
"Enough," growled Twilight to herself, coloring faintly. The others looked at her, but most found other things to worry about, save two. Morning and Iliana were looking at her curiously.
Twilight flushed with new shame. "I mean..."
Morning set a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Such a peaceful soul, does the prospect of this venture bother you so terribly? We aren't forcing you to come."
"N-no!" Twilight shook her head violently. "I am coming, promise, and I want to." Not that she wanted to fight the gnolls, but saving the short-legs certainly seemed a valid and good thing to do.
Sunset drew Twilight back, defending her from their gazes. "She's not getting cold hooves, she--"
Morning snorted.
"What?"
Morning pointed at Twilight. "Cold is her affinity. If anyone were to have, and cause, cold hooves, I would expect her to be it."
Sunset shook her head as she got it. "Ha ha, but really, she's been touched by a goddess."
Iliana raised a brow. "A goddess?" She marched directly for Twilight as if daring Sunset to stop her. "Which one?"
Twilight flicked her ears back. "Lashtada."
"The patron of the short-legs? That is sensible." Iliana frowned and looked Twilight over. "I was given to believe she... You don't seem like quite a fit for her."
"I can show some constraint," complained the voice in Twilight's head. "I've been a good visitor, I hope, and I made you do nothing you wouldn't do on your own."
Iliana looked Twilight in the eyes, but seemed to look past them, into the depths of the uncomfortable-looking purple unicorn. "Lashtada, your people are in grave danger. We march out to face it, will you bless our journey?"
"That I can do! Oh wait, she wants a battle blessing, not that kind of blessing... I can do that too. For this, it is fitting."
Warmth pulsed from Twilight as she served as the conduit through which poured the might of Lashtada. She was no cleric or oracle and had no idea how to control this power rushing through her, and she began to look panicked as it overwhelmed her, but it came and came. The room seemed to grow ten degrees warmer as all present were bathed in the blessings of the goddess. Twilight's eyes, nose, ears and any other opening began to glow brightly as power gushed from her every orifice.
Sunset squeezed Twilight, and she found herself. Twilight hadn't even realized she had been lost, but she had. She found herself, and began to settle in her body as the warmth died away and she was left heaving as if she had run several miles unprepared, but Sunset was holding her, and she accepted the comfort of a friend nearby.
Everyone in the room glowed a hot pink for a moment, but it was already fading, seeping into their beings. Iliana shivered with the magnificence of the gift. "I feel our chances just improved. The gods of Everglow are limited in what they can do directly, but empowering those that act for them, that's practically what they do." She returned her gaze to Twilight. "Will you speak to us?"
"I still can't. Only you," admitted Lashtada. "Tell her thank you for the idea, please, and that I hope you are all successful."
Twilight relayed the message with a bit of a stutter, recovering from her ordeal. "Is that what a cleric feels every time they cast a spell?"
Iliana raised a brow. "I have heard some claim it is so, but I have not seen many that reacted as powerfully as you had."
Roll took a few swipes at the air with her claws deployed and not. "Come the morning, we will proceed, with Lashtada's blessings. Let us gather what supplies your crest will allow you, and we will be her agents."
True let out an energetic squeak, ready to battle.
The evening passed without event, just that Iliana stayed with them. True had no reservation curling up with a new target, while the others did their best to pretend that they were not with the queen of the nation.
She insisted that they treat her as any other member of their party. "We will be fighting side-by-side, possibly dying, though I hope against that. Let us stand as equals."
Her words were enough to quell immediate objection, and some sleep was had. The next morning they found her gazing into a window, looking out over hilly terrain. When she noticed the others stirring she turned to them. "If you are rested, we should go. I had supplies enough to get us back to Viljatown and then some prepared for us, but we will have to walk." She quirked a smile. "There should be less horrors under the sun than there were below."
Roll was already awake, not that she ever slept. "I have accepted my share of the supplies, but I cannot carry all of it."
Sunset stretched as she stood up. "Alright, I'll carry my share. Twilight, you up for it?"
Twilight was shaking out as she moved to get dressed in her laundered clothes. "Did they wash these while we slept? Oh, yeah, I'll carry my share sure." She lifted her clothes in her magic and was soon dressed, though she looked over herself as she turned. "Did they fix it too? That was nice of them." She could tell where local thread was used with the subtle differences between them and the stuff she bought from a store.
Roll nodded in agreement. "A serving mare came when you were asleep and I gave her the clothing to launder and repair. I hope I have not overstepped my boundaries."
"No no!" insisted Twilight.
Sunset nodded as she pulled at her leather jacket. "I can keep the dirt off, but actual tailoring and washing is different, so thanks."
Awake and ready, they headed for where their supplies were being kept. A pony with leathery wings was there, dressed in an attire of severe colors and expression. "Your supplies are ready, breakfast is on the table there." She pointed a wing at a simple meal ready to devour quickly. She glanced to ensure the other servants were gone. "You do travel of your will, I pray my Queen?"
Iliana hitched a moment, not expecting to be spotted. "Yes. Tell no one."
"I will not reveal you, but I had to be sure." She turned for the majority of the house. "I will stand outside your door and deflect questions as best I can."
"Thank you." Iliana dipped her head faintly. "Pass any papers that need to reach me under the door and expect them to be returned. I don't abandon my people."
"I hadn't thought you would, Your Majesty. Journey safe." She looked to the others. "Protect my queen if you do nothing else."
Sunset was ready to respond, but the bat pony fled without waiting to hear it. She huffed softly. "We'll do more than that." She wandered over to the food. "This smells pretty good. Let's get something in us before we go."
Though prepared to go, it was still royal fare, and it was as good as it smelled. Bellies filled and hearts set, they hiked from the remote villa to undo their harrowing underground journey.
Iliana spoke as they hiked, "Would that I had enough training to whisk us away. A teleportation spell would be grand about now."
Roll shook her head. "We are many. Unless you were truly advanced, you would not be able to carry all of us. Let us not wish for what we don't have and make do with what we do."
Morning nodded in firm agreement. "I'd raise a glass to that if we weren't hiking at the time. We've come together in a mighty group, we'll see this through." She glanced over her back at True. "Isn't that right?"
He squeaked as he raised a hoof in agreement.
Their walk didn't go unopposed entirely. Several wild dogs tried their luck, attacking Sunset when she separated from the others to take care of some private business. She found a private patch of bushes when they came rushing at her. She scurried away from them as her horn glowed brightly and she spoke the alien words, summoning a cloud of brightly glowing flecks in the air where the dogs were charging.
They yelped with surprise as the bright motes stuck in their eyes and in their pelt, causing them to glow brightly. They broke formation, but were still following her with their noses to guide them.
The uproar had drawn the attention of the others who paused their march. True hopped down and planted his bow as Twilight immediately launched an icy ray at one of them, striking the grass beside it in her hurry.
It was enough to dissuade the attack. An attack of opportunity, the dogs scattered in varied directions.
Lightly panting, Sunset rejoined the group. "I didn't expect company..."
Morning shook her head as she walked on. "That's the disadvantage of the wild. You're never really alone, sometimes more than others. Do you need another moment?"
"No... no." Blushing, Sunset didn't request another rest stop for quite some time.
Their group was large enough to dissuade casual wild beasts, at least most. A shadow passed over them and they looked up to see a draconic shape before she landed before the group. "We meet again," she spoke with a flash of dangerous teeth.
Twilight perked. "Oh! Hey again."
"You do recognize me, good." The dragon that they had run into on the train. "I said I'd find you."
Sunset raised a brow. "I thought you were only going to follow us if you didn't find a dragon."
"Oh, I did." She leaned in, her face worryingly close to Twilight. "As males go, he was tolerable." She leveled a claw forward at Twilight. "But that got me curious. I finished my business with him and wanted to know how you had any idea he was there. How?"
Iliana advanced towards the dragon with a light nod. "You're a bit close for comfort, friend dragon. Twilight is blessed of a god, and speaks for her."
The dragon reared back, head high in the air. "A god? Not figuratively, I gather? Literally? That's a tall claim, to say you speak for any god."
Twilight put a hoof behind her head, looking increasingly nervous. "I didn't ask for it..."
"No sane person does," agreed the dragon with a snort of fire. "Does your goddess whisper of more encounters for me to distract me away again?"
"I don't need to do that," spoke the voice in Twilight's head. "You're looking at one who will be a fine dragon mother. Please tell her I said congratulations."
"Congratulations, what for?" She tilted her head faintly. "Your friend really is touched by the gods. Where are you headed?"
Roll pointed ahead. "We are bound for Viljatown."
"Again?!" She spread her wings and rose to her full height. "I just saw you headed for there days ago. "Are you all being pushed along by the threads of the gods? Typical horses, controlled by the divine and not even arguing it. Don't you have any sense of pride?"
Iliana put a hoof at her chest. "I have chosen to accompany them out of my own will, and against the desires of many around me. We are here for our own reasons, but in this case, we agree with what the goddess desires."
"Is that the case..." She licked over her lips before looking to Twilight. "Hey you, god." She lowered to look into Twilight's anxious eyes. "I'll help your servants, so you owe me. That's how it works, divine or otherwise." She spread her wings once more and took off smoothly, but she didn't part, instead circling around the party and dissuading anything brave enough to come closer.
"She already has children, or will. Oh! She wants a classic blessing. I prefer those anyway," spoke Lashtada between Twilight's ears. "A safe and healthy birth with healthy children, what more could any mother desire? That she finds her mate quickly and well, compatible but challenging her to grow."
Twilight's ears twitched as she walked. "What about the dragon she met already?"
"He's nice for her, but she didn't stay with him. Dragons are difficult to play matchmaker for, and many don't mate for life. Another reason I am no dragon god, besides being the result of love between two pony gods."
"Are you speaking to her?" It was Iliana, not Sunset being protective. "Your friend was correct. You have a very distinctive look about you when you commune with her."
Twilight glanced away. "We weren't talking about anything important, um, just dragon, uh, courtship?"
Iliana raised a brow high. "I'm afraid my knowledge of that specific thing is limited."
Sunset approached from Twilight's other side. "We should be back in Viljatown midday tomorrow at this rate. Shame the dragon didn't give us a lift."
Twilight snorted at that. "Even considering the carrying capacity of something that large, we would be quite a challenge, and that's ignoring the fact that a dragon isn't likely to want to play a beast of burden, even temporarily."
Morning gestured a hoof at True on her back. "There's nothing wrong in giving a friend a lift if you can and it will help things along."
Twilight nodded at that. "Sure, but you know True, whereas the dragon barely knows us. Heck, last time we ran into her was kind of a fight. I'm glad she isn't the sort that carries grudges easily."
With their dragon ally, making it to the city was a largely peaceful hike through the countryside. If not for what they intended to do afterwards, it was an enjoyable trip. As they approached the great walls of the city, the dragon came down beside them, then shrank further, much further. She was a little dragon about True's size and hopped up on Twilight's back without invitation.
"Alright, forward," she ordered, digging her back feet into Twilight with skill in riding horses and making Twilight jump forward in surprise before looking over her shoulder.
Sunset raised a brow at the miniature dragon. "We're here, you can go now you know."
"I could," agreed the dragon. "Or I could come with you and see what your god intends. It sounds interesting. It's not often I see two sorcerers, a kineticist, a bard, and a ranger banding together, and of such diverse levels of training too... You're either doomed to failure or this is a story I want to see written in front of me." She hiked a clawed thumb at herself. "The name's Ixen Xurwkar, but Ixen works."
Roll gestured at herself. "You did not name me."
"You're not one of their constructs?" She raised a scaly brow.
"I am not. I am also here of my own will."
Morning threw a leg around Roll. "She's also my partner. You should see her dance!"
Iliana, familiar with her capital city, led the party not to a blacksmith, but to a shop where a wizened old mare smiled up at them. "Oh, customers? I hadn't even hung the sign today... They must know me from somewhere."
The Queen nodded at her. "Your reputation spread wide and far, as well it should. We have use for your enchantments and the funds to pay for it." She produced her crest and laid it on the counter for the shopkeep to examine.
"You aren't nearly as clever as you think, but let's do business." She slid from her cushion and raised upright as if every bone complained of the movement. "Now what are you hoping for?" Her eyes traveled over the party. "An enchanted bow for the little one, I imagine?"
True squeaked with strong approval, bobbing his head.
The mare raised a brow at True. "Why doesn't he speak?"
Morning glanced back at him. "He was injured by the very same fiends we ride out to battle."
"Oh?" She moved towards True, eyeing him front and back. "Do you want him fixed as well then?"
Iliana smiled. "If you can and would, that would be appreciated."
"I am no wizard. I commune with the spirits of the land, and healing is not beyond me." She settled beside Morning, where True perched, and reached out. "Come here, little one, let's see if we can't fix that."
He looked nervous a moment before he hopped into her waiting lap, or at least what passed for one as a pony, and she began to sing a song, entreating that he be made whole for the fight that waited for him.
A cat peered over the shoulder of the elderly mare, apparently having ridden along quietly. True looked up at it, but broke the gaze quickly. The cat had an uncanny stare, even for a cat.
He could feel warmth building in his throat. It hurt, kinda. Things were moving, adjusting. Still she sang. He fidgeted but tried to stay still until the last word was done. Then she looked at him as if expecting something. "What?" he asked. His eyes went wide. "I can talk! Thank you!" He hugged the elderly and comparatively huge mare in thanks, nuzzling into her. "Thank you..."
Ixer took flight briefly to reach a shelf and began peering at the things there. "Your store is full of magical things."
"That it is," agreed the elderly mare as she slowly stood up. "And I'll thank you to not take any of it, friend dragon, and I will return the favor with your hoard."
Ixer huffed and landed, her plan aborted for the moment.
Twilight gestured between herself and Sunset. "Il-- I mean our friend mentioned something about defensive wards?"
She looked between the two mares a moment. "Dragons, pygmies, crystals, metal, and outsiders. This is a fascinating group... What manner of magic do you use, outsiders?"
Sunset gestured with a few alien words at the door and the door swung open, Sunset coming in and waving before it faded away to reveal a closed door.
"Arcane," she said confidently, poking at Sunset lightly. "Wizard? Witch? No book, no familiar..."
"I just weave the magic and it works. I've been learning new spells since I came here, but through practice, not books." She raised a brow, then pointed at the cat on the pony's back. "Yours?"
"Sharp," she spoke, nodding. "Sorcerer, I imagine. No armor for you, but anklets and amulets we have that will keep the arrows and swords away from your pretty hide."
"What about me?" Twilight pointed to herself before she looked around and decided to fire some cold at the ground rather than risk hurting anything in the mare's shop, leaving a small patch of frost.
"No spoken words, no gestures, hmm. Not a spell... No..." She circled around Twilight then, looking her over. "Can you do something else?"
"She's a kineticist," said Ixen with some impatience. "Me, I'm just a dragon." She smirked. "Don't bother with armor, I'm usually bigger, ditto weapons, but I won't say no to jewelry."
Morning was testing the heft of a blade, noticing that it crackled with electricity when she swung it right. "What a powerful weapon, it must have a price to match."
The mare matched eyes with Iliana. "It looks like you have the funds to match, or at least I get to present the bill to the castle." She looked towards Twilight then. "I don't think your magic is restricted by much, save your own practice. We should at least get a chain shirt on you. I'd recommend a full plate, but you'd look ridiculous and feel twice as bad if you've never had the practice."
They emerged, looking like proper warriors. The only ones not bedecked in some level of armor were Iliana, who had selected almost nothing, Sunset, who glittered with new jewelry on her legs and around her neck, and Ixen who sported a similar look, though her amulet looked similar to Roll's, not Sunset's. "I knew following you would pay off."
Iliana pointed at Ixen. "You are now bound to help us, in return for the gifts we've given. That is no small sum of money you're wearing."
"Yeah yeah." Ixen stuck out her tongue. "I may not be above a casual looting, but I do keep my word. What are we fighting again, gnolls? Pfft, easy."
Roll glanced back at her weapon. "It is fitting that this weapon, gained from gnoll hands, is now enchanted to thirst for their end. Ah, this reminds." She pulled a sword free and laid it down. "A fey bane weapon."
Iliana frowned at it. "There's no good reason to want such a thing, though I realize how false I sound when I just paid for two gnoll bane weapons... I trust in your discretion and pray we find no use for it."
Roll reclaimed the drow blade and tucked it away. "Shall we proceed?"
Twilight shuffled a bit in place. Her new chain armor was draped over much of her clothes, protecting them, and herself, from the angry attacks of the gnolls, in theory. "Alright, I think I'm proficient with this."
Sunset raised a brow. "Do you feel comfortable with it or not?"
"It's like I'm not wearing anything at all. Is this made of mithril?" She did a slow circle in place as she looked at herself. "I feel ready."
True pointed from Roll's back at Iliana. "It pays to have friends in high places."
Roll swiveled an ear back. "I'm not accustomed to hearing you speak. This will require time."
True rolled his ears back. "You don't dislike it, I hope."
Morning came up and nuzzled the small pony. "Perish the thought! Now you can speak how lovely the mares you're surrounded with are. Look at you, the only stallion in a party full of females. So many would go dark green in envy."
True blushed faintly, but didn't argue the point. He enjoyed his place.
Ixen pointed to the east. "We got everything we need. Let's make some dogs yelp and be done with it."
Twilight shook her head. "We aren't going to beat them, though that's likely involved."
Iliana sided with Twilight. "Well said. Our goal is to rescue his kin." She directed towards True. "Their liberation is the target, not the elimination of the gem gnolls. It is said that all things the sun touches have a place on this world, even them."
Morning bobbed her head. "So we'll keep our eyes on the prize. Now I imagine we'll take the rail?"
Sunset raised a brow. "That'll get us closer, but--"
"Or," suggested Iliana, "We could take the map. It will get us there instantly, but it will be up to us to get ourselves back."
Even as they started for it with Iliana at the lead, Morning provided answers for those of their party looking lost. "The Mythril Map is a treasure of the city, of the nation you'd even say. Stand in the right place and say the right word and poof, off you go. They say the words are a very specific kind of Sylvan, Elven to be exact. I've never taken it myself. The fees for anything but established cities is quite high for the luxury of instant travel."
Roll nodded in agreement. "I have made use of it once to return home. It works quite well and without error, provided you follow the directions."
Sunset nodded. "Right, don't play around with the all-powerful teleportation device. So, is the, uh, 'Queen' paying for this?"
"The fees are to cover our upkeep," explained Iliana. "And to help the city. The artifact requires no money intrinsically. The crest should get us in without a challenge."
Twilight moved to Iliana's side. "I don't entirely comprehend. If it costs you nothing, why charge different for different places?"
The queen glanced aside at Twilight. "We have no problem facilitating commerce between the cities, but there is too much mischief when someone wishes to go to arbitrary points. For sake of safety, we make it prohibitive. We also don't want people hurt by teleporting into hills or the sky."
Sunset let out a nervous laugh. "That won't happen to us, right?"
Ixen shrugged. "It will if we go to the wrong place. Tell me you know a place we can hop to close to where we're going."
Iliana nodded. "I do. We'll jump ahead of the planned location of the Lightning Rail and hike the rest of the way." They arrived at the entrance to the map, which looked more like a hedge maze. She showed her crest and was allowed past with the others. "This way."
Sunset approached with a raised brow. "You don't know all the code words, do you?"
"Not all," confessed Iliana easily. "But the one we need. Some of the words are shared, and there is a pattern. For the average person, testing would be prohibitively expensive, and we're alright with that. That hasn't stopped me from having some bright minds working on this."
True leaned off of Roll's back. "That's very clever, and a little sneaky."
"Would you say it is unwise?"
True seemed to consider that a moment. "I suppose not. The world is full of people who don't just want love."
Iliana caught a moment, then looked over her shoulder. "I have a question for you. How did you come to have skill with that bow in a tribe of loving pygmies?"
True sat up on his mechanical friend. "I'm a hunter. I hunted animals for leather and food. I prayed to Lashtada over every kill, and always avoided mated couples and pregnant females."
She seemed satisfied by the answer as she stopped and ordered the others into a circle. "Let us be off." She spoke the Elven word and they vanished together.
They appeared on a hill. Looking to the west they could see the rail lines slowly being extended towards them, but it'd take weeks of effort to finish the task and reach their current location.
They had no time to wait. Without words shared, they set off with a united and uniting goal. Without being prompted, Roll took the lead, trying to show the way where True or Sunset didn't contradict her.
True pat Roll's back gently. "Don't feel bad. You were unconscious for part of the journey after being a huge hero and saving us all." He hugged her neck from behind. "Thank you, by the way. It was only seeing you fight to the end like that... I knew I had to move, even if the others were too scared. So I did, and here we are."
Sunset strolled up beside Roll, facing True. "Speaking of that, why didn't anyone else go running when we did? All the gnolls nearby were defeated or cowering. It was the perfect time!"
True was quiet for a moment, looking pensive and perhaps a bit saddened. "It's not that we didn't want to... Any moment more of them could have burst through a wall. Most of them expected the gnolls to catch you and do something terrible... you know, to give an example. We didn't want to be that example." He raise a hind hoof and scratched under his chin like a dog taking care of an itch. "Then I saw Roll... She collapsed just inches away, and there was Sunset..."
He smiled a little. "Watching you all work together to escape, it reminded me. Of one of life's rules. Together we are stronger than all of us individually. Twilight begged us to come, and two halves of me warred, but I ended up going with her. We would win, together." He hugged Roll beneath himself. "We have not forgot love or sacrifice, but bravery is not always that..."
Iliana looked slowly over the horizon, impeded by the rising hills as it was, as she walked. "Tell me, Why exactly were you punished in such a specific way? Was that a common thing?"
True's ears flipped backward. "N-no. It wasn't the only time I tried to be brave. I tried to get the others to resist with me. I thought I was discreet, but that didn't stop one of my favorite dance partners from turning me in. She was a poor miner, and was not fed well, so I think she was desperate. For turning me in, they fed her well, and cut my throat."
Morning frowned. "There is a sad story. Are you angry at this so-called friend? We may run into her."
"No!" True sat up on Roll's back. "I hope she is safe, and we can go home. She is scared and alone. We all were, even when we huddled together. Being angry at her is like... like... being angry at a person for calling out in pain when they are hurt." He ran a forehoof over his throat. "Besides... I am healed."
Iliana raised a brow, but said nothing. Twilight had fewer reservations. "If you weren't healed, then what?"
True frowned a little. "To say I wouldn't be angry at all is... maybe wishful thinking. I still want her free. I would want that no matter what. She doesn't deserve this, none of us do."
The first of the cave entrances began to come into view, roughly carved and leading into darkness. Iliana gestured at them. "I imagine almost any of them lead to their warren."
Ixen snorted out a gust of hot air, ruffling Twilight's back. "So let's burn them out." She flexed her claws testily. "Even this size, I'm pretty sure I could take on, what, four at a time?"
Roll took her pick from her side and gave it a test swing. "You speak truly. Perhaps we should go on and begin making our way through until the target is spotted. The smarter of them will decline to begin the conflict. The less apt of them will die, and perhaps teach the others."
Sunset clapped her forehooves before standing. "I'll be slowing down any newcomers and playing interference, but I trust you all to handle bringing the pain."
"Would you listen to yourselves?" Twilight turned to her companions. "Are you really planning to carve a red path to victory?"
Iliana looked evenly at the purple unicorn a moment. "What do you suggest? What other way would there be in this case?"
Twilight pointed to Iliana. "This is exactly what the whole attack on you was about, carving out a path instead of anything else. They rolled out that red carpet to your hooves. Would you say they were justified?"
Iliana was about to speak, her lips parting, but Twilight would not be dissuaded. "More than two died, but they did so away from your sight. They're just statistics and reports. You saw two of them, dead to turn back that red. Here we are, about to do the s--"
Ixen closed a claw around Twilight's snout, silencing her. She looked to the others, who were peering at her. "What? She would have gone on forever.
Morning gently brushed the dragon's grip away. "Let's not turn to violence with one another. We are on the same side. Very well, Twilight, you raise a point, how can we be better than those creatures of the dark?"
Iliana pointed to the caves. "I will do as a Queen does and use words first. I was, perhaps, a touch eager, surrounded by those not restrained by the rules of the court or public opinion... I trust you to serve as my guard in this." She advanced, head held high. "I lost sight of the truth for a moment, and almost surrendered the best parts of ponykind for it."
True smiled from Roll's back. "I knew when you called for us that a good heart beat in that chest. I am proud to call you a friend." He hopped down. "It will be less intimidating for us to ride each other in."
Ixen rolled her eyes. "Great, so when this doesn't work, we get to the killing and the flames." She raised a brow. "Hello? I'm a dragon, not a pony. I'm not aiming for the 'best of ponykind'." She crossed her arms before she slid to the ground, expanding as she went to hit the ground the size of most of the others in the party. "Alright gnolls, last chance to give up."
Roll advanced to the left side and Morning to the right, flanking Iliana. Directly behind her strode Ixen, who was flanked by the less martial members of their band. They approached the cave, where a pair of gem gnolls already could be seen. They spoke to one another, and Ixen smirked. "They're confused and scared." One of them dashed inside. "And there goes surprise, not that I think we needed it."
The gnoll remaining thrust out a paw-like hand. "Halt! Only gnolls past this point."
Iliana nodded at the gnoll. "Hopefully we will need to progress no further. We have come to negotiate the freedom of a group of ponies you have custody of. They are hard to miss, being so uniquely sized." She indicated True. "About his stature."
He scowled at the lot of them, but his bravery did not extend to lowering his spear into threatening stance. "Never saw pony so small." He peered at True a moment. "Stay away until boss come. You come closer, attack."
It wouldn't be he that attacked, but considered an attack on him. Iliana remained still, watching him with her penetrating and even stare that made him shake, but he stood firm. As gnolls went, he was steadfast, and did his job.
It was an uncomfortably long time before a larger gnoll emerged from the darkness. "What is this? Ponies? Come to work the mine? Perhaps trade in gems instead, hm? You're wearing interesting ones."
Ixen's wings flared out. "Touch a single one and it'll be the las--"
"--Excuse her. She is one of my guards, and defensive. We are here to negotiate the freedom of a group of ponies." Iliana looked over the gnoll. He had large rubies weaved into his pelt in a diamond formation. "Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
"Name translate to Blood Diamond." He raised a brow. "You are more polite than most, pony or not. You bring something to barter with, yes?"
Though not asked, she provided her name, "I am Queen Iliana, ruler of all ponies and protector of the same. If we make a deal, it will be honored, and your people will be compensated for your cooperation."
He seemed surprised, grunting softly before he looked over Iliana and her escorts. "Huh, what ponies are you looking for? Any? We only have two."
Surprise was supressed. "Are they about our size?" He nodded. "I see..." Did she abandon her people in pursuit of her goal? She couldn't haggle for the price of all her subjects. It would set dangerous precedent. "I'm looking for small ones, about his size."
He looked past her to True. "The Bone Splitter clan was gloating about them. I can tell you where to look." He examined Iliana appraisingly before his eyes fell to one of her shoes. "In return for those," He pointed to the shoes.
Iliana clenched her teeth but kept her face level. "Perhaps my earring will do instead?" She turned her head faintly, showing the lustrous pearls she wore.
He watched the way the light shone off of them. They were like gems, but none he has the pleasure of seeing mined. "Mmm, deal. You give that, I tell."
Iliana surrendered her earring, asking Ixen to remove it and to pass it to the gnoll, who accepted it gladly. "There are three hills that way." He pointed. "Feeling generous, will warn, they no like visitors. Gnoll, no gnoll, they get angry easily around their caves. You visit us again, more trade." He tipped his helmet, then swatted the guard at the entrance that had run away "Stop jumping at shadows." He withdrew from the light.
Iliana nodded at the two guards. She had been so absorbed with their leader that she missed the one that had reported returning. "Walk in the sun." She turned from them and their group started towards the correct hole. "You were right, Twilight. We almost slaughtered our way through another tribe of them. It would be the same as putting one of my outlying towns to the torch to get at me. Thank you, for being the voice of wisdom."
Morning nodded. "I would have felt quite ashamed afterwards, to know I brought down such fury and song of valor, to know it was turned towards the wrong enemy."
Roll tilted her head. "It is more subtle than that. We assumed all gem gnolls are one. One family, one cave, one purpose. Though I do not think highly of them still, they are not one."
"Yeah yeah, and not all tin cans are the same either." Ixen stuck out her forked tongue at Roll as she treaded along, not bothering to become small enough to ride one of the ponies. "I get the idea, but let's not rub it in, alright? Besides, now we have a target, and they don't like diplomacy, so we get to burn in, right?"
Iliana shook her head. "Just because they have turned a dark corner does not mean we have to follow. We will attempt a peaceful approach."
Ixen looked disgusted at the idea, but the others marched alongside without complaint.
True moved on hurrying little hooves to Sunset's side. "Excuse me, um, Sunset, may I ask you something?"
"Hmm?"
"You and Twilight, you're outsiders, and I don't want to offend, so..."
"We're still people," argued Sunset. "What's up?"
He glanced to the sky before shaking his head. "I like Twilight."
"We all do. She's a good person."
"No no!" He moved in closer. "Like like. I want to court her, perhaps for an evening, perhaps longer, depending on how well we work out. I can talk now, so I don't feel as stupid trying. Any--"
"--Why are you asking me this?" She raised a brow high, brain unable to reconcile the difference having a voice made. The answer came to her though. She had been protecting Twilight the whole trip. Of course he'd approach her first... "She's a little young, I mean, alright. Back in our world, she wouldn't be even considered an adult yet."
He looked up at her, then over at Sunset and back and forth. "You look about the same age. She makes adult decisions." He seemed truly baffled at the idea. "Should I... not? She's enchanting... The first time she called out to us, I... This must seem so petty to you." He squirmed a little. "There's a reason I hunted... I did not love as easily as the others, and enjoyed the solitude of the trees and my arrows. For her though... I think I am ready to return from the wild."
Sunset shook her head. "Look, if you want to be her friend, great, but she's a girl." He blinked at her. "Think of her as a tiny foal. You wouldn't bother a tiny foal, would you?" She raised a brow, silently praying that his people's 'loving nature' did not extend that way.
"Of course not," he thankfully agreed as he glanced towards Twilight. "But she is far from a tiny foal." He swallowed softly. "I don't want to make an enemy of you, Sunset, you're a good friend. I would even dance with you if you wanted." Sunset went red with a combination of anger and embarrassment. "But it's Twilight that ha-- Did I say something wrong? Please, I meant no offense."
"You were easier to deal with silently," she hissed through clenched teeth.
True cringed and recoiled at once. "I... I'm sorry. You thought I was a simple fool because I kept my mouth shut, except for some harmless squeaking. You probably think I'm the small foal." His head hung a little as he walked along beside her. "That isn't true. That... I left my parents several years ago. I know how to survive on my own in the woods. If not for the spring dance, I would not have been close."
"Are you sad you came back?" Sunset raised a brow slightly. "Are you here only for Twilight?"
"No! Neither of those things." He frowned just a moment before it eased into something far less angry. He loooked at Sunset with wide eyes, asking something of her silently. "I pray that my parents are still alive and that we rescue them safely. I had a few friends, even my favored dancing partner, do you remember her? She cost me my voice for a time, but I would sing Lashtada's praises to have her free of this terribleness."
Morning came closer, gleaming in the light as she looked the two over. "You've been chatting with such serious faces. Anything you need to talk about?"
"N-no!" quickly spat out Sunset. "We're fine."
True looked between the two. "Morning Song, how old would you say Twilight is?"
Morning looked confused at the question, but turned her view over to Twilight marching beside Roll and Ixen. "I would say between seventeen and twenty summers have graced her pelt, why? It's rude to ask someone how old they are, in most cases."
True held up a hoof as he walked. "So you wouldn't say she's a foal, right?"
She leaned in suddenly. "Are you looking for a, how would your people phrase it, dance partner, small one?" He blushed, if only for being found for his attempt to be subtle. "She is no foal, but she carries many mannerisms of one too inexperienced of the world to make such heavy decisions."
"What are you all talking about?" It was Twilight, and everyone started at seeing her. "What?"
Sunset shook her head violently. "Enough! True, remember what I said." She separated with an angry stomping.
Morning watched her go, then looked back to Twilight, who looked confused, and True, who was busy looking dejected. "We are companions of battle. We need the air clear between us. Deny him or accept him, either is worth a song, but the question should not linger."
"What question?" Twilight blinked behind her thick glasses. "I feel like everyone is keeping a secret from me."
Morning pointed at the worried-looking True. "He loves you and would desire to have you as a stallion has a mare and to be had as a mare has a stallion."
Twilight stopped her walking a moment. "Oh..." It took a moment for things to wind back up, for the world to continue spinning for her. "I-I'm not looking for a boyfriend..." Looking at True, she saw a pony. That was a strike against him, as she'd barely begun to think of men as even vaguely appropriate targets, let alone tiny stallions.
"H-Have you danced before?" True looked up at her.
"Huh? If I had to."
"No! The dance of life, to make more life," he explained urgently. "If you have not, I will be as slow and careful as you--"
"Wait, you have?" Twilight blinked. The idea that the little horse had more experience than her was foreign and a little intimidating. "How, uh... many times?"
He moved a little closer. "It is difficult at times to not dance during the spring festival. That is what it is there for. I never had a partner I would dance exclusively with, to wish nothing but to feel summer's day at their side until my passing to Lashtada's side... until I met you."
Twilight began to flush a new dark red through her purple fur as the full weight of the statement settled on her. "You can't mean that," she half-squeaked. "We barely know each other."
"I know you are brave, empathetic, extremely intelligent and curious." He moved to her side. "I know you were enchantingly breathtaking and... you are scared of me." He danced away a few steps. "I... I'm sorry."
She waved a hoof at him, her glasses almost coming free in her energetic waving. "No no! I mean... Thank you, that's very nice, but I wouldn't consider, um, dancing... with anyone I wasn't friends with for a while first. Where I come from, people only... dance... with one person ideally, forever."
He seemed to perk up at that, clinging to some hope. "Then we shall be friends, which I hope we already are? I will go no faster or farther than you want to go." He put a hoof to his chest as he walked. "I respect you, Twilight. I will never make you do something you don't want to do."
"My dear child," whispered Lashtada between Twilight's ears. "He is very gallant to hold himself back. What about him makes for an ideal or unideal mate, in your eyes? I have learned that your tastes are not my own, and not those of most I have met."
Twilight thought back at her. Speaking to herself looked odd, and she didn't want any new glares. "He's fine, really, but kinda small, and I don't have, uh, experience with that."
"How will you gain experience if not by doing?"
Twilight frowned a little. "Can't we start with dating and stuff before we jump right into... that?"
"I understand that. Will you date him?"
Would she? "Let me decide when we're back in civilization." A thought came to her and she perked up. "Wait, I plan to go home, how can I even start thinking of pony boyfriends?"
"Ask him," urged the soft voice of the goddess. "I know that look. He would walk free of a cliff if it meant he could be with you for the moments before the ground."
Twilight shuddered softly. "Speaking of, uh, going home. Will you stop being in my head then?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe? Would you be upset if I remained? I will watch over you gladly."
Ixen snorted a small lick of fire in front of Twilight. "That pony god of yours distracting you that much? We called a break ten meters back." She grasped the distracted pony by the shoulders and hefted her, carrying her right over to the others and setting her down as a fire was started. "Here she is."
Sunset approached Twilight and looked at her a moment before reaching out and hugging her. "Tonight, we're sleeping together."
"Huh? Alright." She didn't understand why Sunset insisted, but she saw nothing wrong with the idea.
True was far less confused as Sunset took a defensive place around Twilight. He would find no help from Sunset. Morning settled beside him suddenly and pulled him closer with a hoof. "You are a brave little thing, but you've said your piece. I'd let them both recover from the truth you've said before you try further."
Ixen raised a brow. "Did I miss the pony mating ritual?"
Roll glanced between her friends and off to Twilight and Sunset separate from the others. "I fear I have missed something."
True curled up in Morning's warm embrace. "I have told Twilight that I--"
Ixen burst into laughter. "You would require a ladder just to reach her properly."
As True turned a dark hue, Iliana, quiet until that point, spoke, "Let us not be distracted. It's bad enough that we cannot end the slave trade entirely. My guilt over leaving any in their grasp is immense, but we have our task, and if we are to storm the entirety of one of their 'tribes', we will make sure it's worth it. Let us turn our minds to this task and leave off thoughts of romance until it's over."
Her dressing down got the others to fall quiet for a time, a small time. Ixen snickered softly, likely envisioning that ladder and how the two would look.
Morning held True close, providing silent but real comfort.
The next day, they broke camp and descended towards the valley that held their enemy.
As they approached, True advanced to the fore and began pointing out pitfalls before them. Progress slowed, but they avoided literal pits, snares, and other wicked traps beside. It seemed these gnolls wanted no guests.
Sunset called out as an arrow embedded itself painfully in her side. "Son of a..." She limped forward, hissing and clearly injured from the missed trap.
Twilight hurried to her side and set her cold free in her friend. The wound frosted over and the arrow fell free, leaving blue lines behind.
Sunset shivered softly, chilled by the touch and the powerful magic, but the arrow wound itself stopped hurting. "T-thanks. Hey, True, be more careful!"
Roll advanced to stand at True's side. "I will assist." She lent her sharp vision to the effort, allowing them to make slow, but safe, passage forward.
"I feel something," Lashtada whispered to Twilight. "There is another god at work, or there was. I cannot tell clearly. Be mindful."
The ground rumbled just moments before a half-dozen gnolls burst free in a loose circle around the party. They did not make threats or demands, they attacked. With long and menacing polearms, they advanced.
Ixen blew out a snort of almost annoyance as one of their weapons skidded along her tough scales. "Pathetic." The fact that she was wearing magical aids might have helped, but woe to the person that insisted on that. She grabbed her attacker with clawed hands and dug into the hyena's flesh even as fire bulged dangerously in her throat. She held the creature firmly as she cooked him in place, reducing him to a scorched mess.
Iliana gestured at the one moving towards her as her horn began to glow. He swung at her only to be repelled by her magic, then slump to the ground, sleep overtaking him.
Roll brought down her pick as she took a spear in the side. The pick thirsted for gnoll blood and drank deep. An arrow thudded into the side of the same gnoll, True's shot living up to his name as the creature fell to the ground, the battle driven from it.
The small force had no hope of turning away the invading force. In the end, only Roll had suffered any injuries, and they were small.
Iliana tied up the gnoll she had put to sleep, and the only survivor of the conflict. "He has information that will see our approach safe and fast. Treat him carefully, but ensure that he doesn't escape."
The gnoll was quite reluctant to speak, more interested in cursing foully rather than giving any useful information. At least until Iliana stared into his eyes. "We need answers," she spoke quietly but sternly. "You will tell us what we need to know. By the gods above and the blood in my veins, I command you." She lowered her horn and touched it to him.
His scowl melted and he went slack, his resistance fading away. "Yes..."
"Good, tell us of your tribe, and the small ponies they have."
He seemed to try to muster that resistance, but it never rose above a stirring in his eyes. "They are scattered through the mines. There are many entrances. Most are working the new tunnels. T-tough, but unskilled. We teach... them how to mine better, decent workers."
"Why did you take them?" Iliana kept eye to eye as the others watched them. "Was it truly an attack of opportunity?"
"I..." His teeth clenched. "Orders come, we moved far and fast to make the attack. Very precise, very specific."
"Is this normal?" asked Iliana, a brow raising in doubt.
"No." He slumped.
"Do you know why?" Iliana rose upright. "Tell us, and you may yet be spared."
"I am a warrior, not a leader," replied the gnoll honestly. "I follow the orders. I do not make them."
"What entrance is least guarded and leads to the most short-legs?"
"Most small ponies deep in mines. All entrances same for that." He rose to his feet slowly, his bindings making it awkward. "I can show the entrance."
"Do so, then you will be set free," agreed Iliana. "Do gnolls accept members from other tribes?"
"Sometimes."
"Do you wish to join another tribe, or will you rejoin this one as soon as we free you?"
"I would rejoin my kin."
"Even if it resulted in your death?" Iliana raised a brow. "I am offering you a chance of life."
"Would you abandon your kin if it spared your life?"
Iliana recoiled. She had done just that, and having the gnoll of all things speak of it as if it were obvious made her guilt well up in a painful flare. She turned away. "Follow him to the entrance. Lead us."
The gnoll did lead them to a cave. Ixen marched up to him when it came into view. "Do I kill him now? He'll just run back home to tell them we're coming or turn against us the moment you stop using your magic."
Iliana shook her head. Her heart refused to order the gnoll's death. "You will fend for yourself outside these caves. If you see a gnoll, you will avoid them with all your skill and not speak to them."
"As you command." The gnoll left, fading into the underbrush.
Ixen made a soft click of annoyance. "Ah well, plenty of hyena-faces to butcher inside, let's get to work."
Morning shook her head. "It is a pleasure to serve under a lady with principles. How long will the gnoll obey that command?"
"We have plenty of time," assured Iliana. "By the time he breaks free of it, we'll be dead or gone back home. Either way, he will not be part of it. He's answered all of my questions."
Roll gave a nod as she approached the entrance of the cave, drawing her pick into her mouth as she spoke around it. "It is time to begin. There is no doubt this time. True's kin await deep in these mines, and we will rescue them."
True bobbed his head from Morning's back. "Thank you all, for helping us."
Sunset glanced off at the departed gnoll then took a deep breath. "Let's get this going."
And they did. The few guards they found near the entrance were no match for their combined power. Dragon's breath, bolts of ice and singing steel put them to violent rest as the group pushed onward.
"This is not my preferred way," spoke the voice between Twilight's ears. "That my blessing is causing death instead of new life makes my fur itch."
A cruel fit of laughter made them pause as a strange insectoid pony emerged from around the corner. "You should be ashamed."
Ixen moved towards the target, taking it as valid as any of the others. Fire washed over the long figure, but it emerged untouched. "This is for her, not you, dragon." It pointed at Twilight. "Your love has turned to death and violence. The gnolls here defend their homes, just as your little ponies tried to defend theirs. You say they were in the right, are these gnolls not?"
"They attacked first!" argued Lashtada, sounding angry and upset. "I don't hate them, I just want my children back."
The figure laughed at Twilight, who was caught in the middle. "And you'll see every hyena between them and you slain for it? I always knew your true colors, you pretty pink failure. Go on, lay out that bloody road, but none of your children are leaving these caves." She could clearly hear the silent Lashtada. "You're as predictable as you are wretched."
Roll swing her pick true and it caught the strange pony in the side, making them stagger back.
"Kill me, go on. You'll feel better."
Morning advanced alongside her metallic friend. "Your words are as empty as your heart." She brought down her blade, but a pink shield sprang up around the insectoid pony, protecting her.
"This isn't right," spoke Lashtada to Twilight. "She has done nothing but mock us. She wants us to kill her."
Ixen didn't hear, and likely wouldn't care as she fell on the insect, tearing through the pink barrier to start ripping her asunder. As life fled the one that barred their way, she faded with rolling laughter and her blood formed a rune on the ground that glowed with divine magic.
Iliana hissed as she frowned. "Sacrificial magic."
"The presence of the other god has faded, but their magic remains. I'm afraid their threat may yet be true," spoke Lashtada with increasing worry.
Iliana gestured forward with a hoof. "We have nowhere to go but forward. We will not be turned away."
They pressed deeper, slaughtering those that came to oppose them. Even spellcasters tried to slow them, but did little more than that. Their blood spilled to join the rest as they marched deeper and deeper, marked with cuts and blue lines from Twilight's healing, but ready to continue.
They faced more gnolls, but these had shaking arms and were armed with knives and brooms rather than actual weapons.
Ixen moved to charge them, but Morning put out a hoof. "Wait. Gnolls, who are you?"
Iliana nodded. "You do not appear to be warriors. Why are you here?"
"We're protecting our homes," said one female, her voice trembling as badly as she was. "And our children. You will not pass... while we are alive."
"I can't stand it!" spoke Lashtada. "Ask them for another way around. Don't kill mothers and children, please!"
Twilight shook her head quickly. "We want to get deeper, how do we get there? We're not after you, or your children."
The gnolls shared nervous looks as the 'leader' by dint of bravery stepped forward. "You're not here to kill us as you have our husbands?"
Iliana shook her head firmly. "Battle is an ugly thing. If we can go past without it, we would rather that. We have come to rescue others."
One barked out something in gnollish and charged at them, face twisted in fury.
"Stop," ordered Iliana, and the gnoll did, tears of rage and sorrow flowing from her eyes as she tried to step forward vainly and swung her cooking knife at them to no avail. "We will pass you without harm, which way do we go?"
"You killed her husband and sons," spat another. "She deserves to be angry." She pointed down a tunnel. "Go and don't come back."
True looked over Morning's back at the gnoll wives as they passed from sight. "I will be glad when this is over."
Sunset shook her head. "This whole thing is crazy, but they won't trade for them, not like the other tribe we met."
Illiana nodded towards Sunset. "And so violence wins this day... Sometimes I fear we live in a terrible world, but we do what we must to make it better." She quirked a smile. "Come, let us not forget that we are liberators, not raiders."
"The difference is narrow in this case," spoke Lashtada. "Please, fetch my children and we will leave."
They penetrated to where the mines were extending outwards and found the first short-leg, a pony dirty from all the mining. He blinked at the force come for him. "You're... here for me?"
True pointed at himself. "We're here for everyone. Come on!"
The short leg fell in behind the party, shell shocked but obedient.
Soon they had gathered up about twenty small souls, but for each they gathered together, the more the caves seem to close in around them. The way back became fogged and hopelessness descended on the party.
"What she said, it is coming true... If we gather all of my children, we will never leave. I fear even getting one out... Who is this god that hates me so?" Lashtada sighed out gently to Twilight. "We cannot continue as we are."
"We can't continue," agreed Iliana without hearing or knowing she was agreeing. "The sense of magic is only growing stronger, and my attempts to dispel it have been fruitless. We've been cursed powerfully."
Roll raised a hoof. "There is a way free."
Morning raised her ears. "What way is that, my clever mechanical partner?"
Roll pointed at Twilight and Sunset. "We send them with those two. That will bypass the caves." She turned to Twilight directly. "If you can do that, goddess."
"But... Then my children would not be here."
Twilight frowned a little. "Would you rather they be dead or captured?"
"No... I... I can send some of them, but not my entire tribe. I will use you two to set the harmony, then... I can send perhaps twelve with each of you."
Twilight looked to Iliana. "Lashtada says she can send about twelve with me and twelve with Sunset."
Several hooves went up among those they had rescued. They did not hurt for volunteers to stay behind, if it would protect their friends.
"No, me..." A short mare advanced. "It was me that told on my friends, I deserve to be left behind."
True blinked and hopped down, quickly closing with the mare that shrank back. Despite her flinch, he hugged her, tightly and fiercely. "I'm so glad you're alright."
She smiled a little. "You were right, from the start. You found allies when we wouldn't be them, and here you are." She pushed him back. "Go. I don't deserve you. I ho--"
He kissed her, mashing muzzles together. Both of their eyes closed. Despite any emotions or complexities, the kiss said more than their words could manage. He loved her, as a kin, and a living being, and he forgave her entirely.
With a few drops of moisture, she backed away. "Good luck." She fled away from the others. She would stay in those mines.
"I know what's gone wrong," spoke the voice in Twilight's head, heavy and morose. "This is my fault... I broke the rules. I killed my children."
"What?" Twilight looked around, even if it was futile. "How? What'd you do?"
"You, this, all of this... Gods are not supposed to act so directly, but here I am. The more I acted, the more permission I gave her to act, and she... She's smarter than me... I killed them... They must remain in the darkness."
"You just said you can get the ones with us out." Twilight frowned sharply. "Is that not--"
Sunset put a hoof under Twilight's snout, directing her to look up into Sunset's eyes. "Hey. Bring us home already."
"I... I promised. This will be the last thing I do, then I will go away and not kill anymore." Pink magic swept over Twilight, Sunset, and all the short-legs. "Wait, the harmony of Sunset is different?"
Sunset blinked. "I can hear you? Oh! I'm from another world."
"It's very similar. You are gaining the frequency of Twilight's. Shall I send you there?"
Iliana looked over the group. "Is everything alright?"
Twilight bobbed her head. "Everything's fine." She turned to the small ponies, True included. "We're leaving, and I think you're coming with us, not to the outside, but to a whole other world. It will seem strange and alien, but we promise to help you adjust, and you won't have to work in these mines ever again."
The idea of being free of mines was easily accepted, and the presence of their goddess was undeniable. They nodded in sync and advanced, ready to go where their mother - for some literal - told them to go.
Sunset nodded back at them. "Alright, Lashtada, send us home."
"I'm sorry."
They were gone, nowhere and everywhere a moment before they spilled out in a heap of humanity before the same portal they had tried to close. There were groans and complaints, but as the short humans found the sun and realized they were outside, smiles came despite their alien bodies. They embraced awkwardly, each other and their saviors, Twilight and Sunset.
Sunset quirked a smile. "I guess we have to sign you all up for school."
One of the little females blinked in confusion. "We're adults."
Twilight shook a finger. "But there's a lot to learn about this world. Accept being a child for a little while. School's not so bad, especially with friends, which you all have in abundance."
True thumped his chest, a short man that could easily be among the seniors. "I will learn how to live in this..." He glanced over his shoulder at his clothed back end. "Do you really not have tails?"
The others shared a similar fit of sadness for missing tails and inanimate ears, but they seemed to be quieting about going to school at least.
Twilight reached for Sunset's hand suddenly. "Thank you." She shook it firmly. "For seeing me through all that. We should try to rest. and get back to school tomorrow."
Sunset blinked at the reaction, then glanced at all the short new members of Canterlot High. "You go on ahead. I'll see if I can't get all of these people some place to call home." She gave a little smile. "I look forward to seeing you, tomorrow, K?" She led the chattering short people away down the sidewalk.
Twilight headed back towards her home, heart heavy. They had made it home, but it was far from the glorious ending of their adventure she had been hoping for.
"I even messed that up," whispered a faint voice.
Twilight blinked and adjusted her glasses as she peeked around. "Did you, um, is that you?"
"Our tie remains. I have failed so completely in my world... Will you tolerate me here, hiding with you?"
Twilight blinked all the more. "You're... I mean, don't you have a god home or something?"
"Oh, yes. It's a lovely place. I would bring you here, if I could, but I used most of my remaining power to send you home, and my worshipers are far away or in a very dark place."
"I believe in you," pointed out Twilight as she tried to advance slowly. "Doesn't that count?"
"Will you dance for me?"
Twilight flushed. "Hey, I'm still in--"
"I mean musical dancing. Will you dance and sing for me? Will you be my first priest in this strange place?"
"I don't really know the first--"
"The first lesson a priest learns is to listen to their god. If you accept me, I will teach you, and reward you, and be your friend." A glimmer of hope welled in Lashtada's voice. "I already owe you so much, and I have much to learn. Will you show me this world of humans?"
Twilight arrived at the bus stop and boarded the first headed to her house. She whispered softly to herself as she sat down, "What about your, um, children, heck, your son. Why not have them be priests?"
"I have failed them," Spoke Lashtada in softest tone. "They will learn of their new world and forget me, and that is fine. They deserve a smarter god. Please, give me a new start."
Twilight rose and parted from the bus. One of the people waiting to get on raised a brow at her. "Nice tiara."
She didn't have a tiara. It was a diadem, from Everglow. It was one of the few things that came with her. Checking her fingers and necklace showed that her other magical items came with. She pulled at her shirt lightly and saw a fine mesh of metal rings underneath, her armor. Magic items survived the trip?
"Like our connection. If you wish me gone, just say it, and I will go."
Twilight considered banishing the voice in her head, but imagined Lashtada alone and broken, with no one, just... lost. "Look, we have to go over a few base rules, alright? I am not one of your 'children' and never will be."
"I know that. You will find your fertility when you are ready. You don't deny that life is a wonderful thing, as is its creation, yes?"
"W-well, no."
"Show me your house. I'm sure it's lovely."
Twilight went to her house with her divine company. Her life was about to get much more complicated.
