//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 – Flight of the Orange Pegasus // Story: Evenfall: Verdant White // by Yinglung //------------------------------// After having a couple cups of hot rooibos inside her belly, Geuse felt much calmer, her senses finally coming back to her. That wasn’t right. That wasn’t right at all. That mare, although she looked Pinkie, acted kinda like Pinkie, and smelled like… “Gah, no!” The pegasus shook her head vigorously, trying to physically fling away her disturbing thoughts. But indeed, ever since Pinkie went into that strange little room, she hadn’t been acting like the Pinkie she knew. After the shocking scenario in the living room, she no longer had any reason to be skeptical of her now solid doubt. You didn’t need to wield magic to notice somepony was acting completely unlike herself. Why would she suddenly acted as if Sunset Shimmer was her best friend and idol? That made not a lick of sense! Her nagging fear and confusion towards the pink pony was gradually transforming into a solid determination and anger towards the perceived culprit. How dare the orange unicorn made her friend into a mockery of herself using whatever witchery she possessed! She’s going to poke a new hole or three on her smug plot for all the indignity that she endured. She then let out a long breath. She could not be rash. She could not afford to be rash. She’s in hostile territory. She must make use of the element of surprise, now that Sunset Shimmer still didn’t know that her gig was up in her eyes. Pinkie might have fallen prey to some evil magic, and she would easily become a victim as well if she was not careful. She sighed. Revenge could wait. She must figure out a way to safely bring her and Pinkie out of this accursed castle first. Once they have reached the safety among her other friends, she was sure she could count on perhaps unicorns like Rarity, Trixie, or even the Cruzesians to return Pinkie to… normal. Unfortunately, Sunset Shimmer didn’t seem to be particularly willing to just let them go. The orange unicorn did not explicitly say so, but from the tidbits in her conversations, it seemed that she wanted them, particularly Pinkie to stay, and helped them out in the ‘great ranging’. A disgusted feeling welled up in her chest. She was the one who was all jingoistic with the prospects of fighting in the north. She was far from being naïve and heartless enough to seek the desolation of war, but she did find purpose in fighting for a good cause. This was not a good cause, it was ruinous from the first stroke of the plan, causing her friend to act like a lobotomized maniac. “What can I do…?” She bit her lips with worry. Where would Sunset Shimmer bring Pinkie to? And what if she was going to subject the pink mare with more strange and outrageous treatment? She must quickly find a way to locate the pink mare and take her away, even if she screamed and kicked her in the snout. However, trotting sounds from guards kept reverberated in the corridor even late into the night. It seemed that Sunset Shimmer was not at all a careless mare. She also couldn’t help but worry if she already raised suspicion in the orange unicorn’s mind. As such, she kept alert next the door for as long as she could. When the steps quieted down and she heard a creaking in the door, she was almost going to pounce on the one who entered. However, it turned out to be a surprised maid who followed Sunset Shimmer’s order to give more blankets to her. She could not in good faith attack innocents, so she reluctantly took over the blankets and thanked the maid. Hugging the soft blankets, she couldn’t help but feel the day’s tiredness all coming back to her. Against better judgment and her weakening endurance, she finally fell asleep unceremoniously on the floor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After an uneventful but tumultuous sleep, the next day was simply more of waiting for chance to sneak out. However, the heavy guard presence was still there all the time, making it impossible to break out. Even the classical ploy of waiting for the time between the change of duty to strike could not be applied, because the guards came in and out in pairs and alternately. Geuse felt her worry rising in her heart. Sunset Shimmer sent a message to her, claiming the need to ‘borrow’ the pink pony for a longer time. What could be in store for the pink pony by the accursed unicorn? In the same letter she also said something good about her status as a fighter, and she would like to meet her tomorrow to discuss what way they could work together in the great ranging, and she also promised generous rewards. “Like Tartarus I would walk into the lion’s den myself.” Geuse wheezed though gritted teeth. She ground her teeth again, as she lamented that she was already half a leg in said den. Looking at the belonging she brought with her, she pondered what could she do if she must break out with force. Her trusty trident was with her. In a break of warrior tradition, she was not one to feel averse to modifying her weapon due to attachment, provided that it did not significantly change the feeling when she used it. As such, her obsidian trident was now diamond-tipped and reinforced with excellent steel alloy, courtesy of Rarity. It was now slightly lighter than even before, making it more portable. There was the disguise she used to get inside the Empire, but she doubted there was much use to put it on again. The Crystallians, curse their bizarrely thorough network of intelligence, had somehow already knew about their trip and the fact that they would’ve been in disguises. Even if she could fool some low-rung guards, sacrificing the mobility granted by a free pair of wings was far from worth it. There were bottles of water and some dried, nutrient-reinforced haystacks, which were creation by some intrepid pony working for the Apples on request from the Cruzesian army. They were for use in battle situations, emergency or survival in the wild, which might all apply depending on how things turned out. There were also blankets they brought with themselves and a folding tent, but Geuse decided against bringing those with her, because it would be too heavy and drag down her breakout. She did decide to wear light snowboots though. She still remembered the warning from Fluttershy that the northern weather might give her frostbite in the extremities. She finished up with adding some ropes, firestarters and pocket knife, and then she sealed her saddlebag carefully. Now it was to find a way out. The room they were in was in the center of the castle, completely devoid of any windows. There was an air duct of sorts, but it was dark, spiked and far too narrow to climb through. Fortunately, she thought to herself, that the orange unicorn’s office was not that far from where she was staying. She did try to memorize the layout of the part of the castle while she walked through the corridors, although she was not at all certain of the reliability of her memory. She felt some regret having to subject her beloved trident to such coarse work, but extraordinary occasion called for extraordinary solution. She used all her might and stabbed her trident onto one of the crystalline walls. To her delight, the tips as well as the body sank into it like a voracious predator, and almost no noise was created at all. With more and more digging, a portion of wall cleanly came off. As most rooms seemed to be empty quarters in this enormous castle, she should have no problem avoiding the network of guards and potentially reaching the area where Sunset Shimmer’s office and quarters were. Then she would incapacitate her quickly… in the best case scenario. She did not really know where Pinkie was kept. If she was in somewhere else not with Sunset Shimmer, then it would be easier. But if she was kept too far away or if she was staying together with the orange unicorn, then it would be difficult. She drew in a breath. She looked at the clock. Night had again descended, and she no longer had another day. Shunting the door shut and cushioning the gaps of the door with the blankets to minimize the noise, she began her work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cold fear rumbled in Geuse’s mind. She had miscalculated. Not that she was caught by any patrolling guards. In fact, the rooms she dug through to so far were all empty, much to her relief. However, the problem was – she was lost. She gritted her teeth for her overconfidence in finding bearing in this damningly large castle. She was not somepony with a terrible sense of direction. On the contrary, she was an excellent tracker in the open. She led several ambushes in the swamp against changelings in several risky sorties during the siege of Timbucktu. She wondered if there was also some strange magic in the castle that messed with her internal bearing. So far she had only dug forward and down, and it should have taken her to the end of the wing that connected to Sunset Shimmer’s office, instead of this dark storage room. She sighed. At least she hadn’t dug into an actually occupied room so far. Whenever she heard some rumbling from the next room, she would dig carefully from the other side. All rooms she encountered in the castle so far were fan-shaped in accordance to the general radial arrangement. She again dug down, and she was surprised. Instead of the ubiquitous turquoise crystal that adorned every facet of the castle, the layer under the floor was mere granite rocks. Geuse almost groaned aloud. She must have overshot somewhere in the way and got to a floor too low. She must have already dug herself to the ground floor. She reflexively threw down her trident in a fit of anger. To her shock, the granite panes of rock cracked and fell, and an ever darker space was revealed. Unsure whether to proceed or return the way she came, she heard a muffled yelp from down the hole. Blood drained from her face. There was someone down there! She was at risk of being discovered if that certain pony went out of her way to alert someone. Using the weak light from an oil lamp in the room, she peeked down the hole to see if she needed to preemptively silence the particular pony. It appeared, however, the yelp had turned into some pained whimpering. Geuse was startled to find that the heavy debris had apparently strucked and injured the pony. The light was too dim for her to see clearly, but from how the pony twitched in pain, the injury might not be so light. Feeling guilty, she weighed what to do with this injured pony. Flying down to bandage the pony would be an honorable thing to do, but also immensely risky and probably monumentally foolish, given how her life and her friend’s life were both hanging on balance. At the end though, the chivalric teachings she had learnt since she was young won over. She sighed and flew down the narrow opening, and landed next to the pony. Now that she was nearer, the pony’s appearance became clearer to her. She was apparently a crystal pony with a puffy white mane and a yellow coat. Her eyes were light green and crystal clear, oddly enticing in the dim torchlight. Geuse winced, as the pony’s hind leg was struck by falling rocks, and was bleeding somewhat. However, the mare did not seem to see the pegasus at first, even when she was so close. It was only when Geuse flapped her wings to get closer that the pony became alerted. She abruptly turned and hissed. “Ci èlo?” “Shh- D- Do you speak Equestrian? I’m… uh, here to help!” “E- Equestrian?” The mare looked surprised at first, and then a wide smile appeared on her face. “Help…? You’re here to help me out?” “Help you out? Huh?” The mare tilted her head with bewilderment. “If you are not here to help me out, then why are you in the dungeon?” “Dungeon…?!” Geuse gasped and looked around. To her shock, the room was indeed bounded with featureless rock walls crusted with the occasional blue and black gemstones. A tiny grated window was on a small door some distance to them two. The mare gritted her teeth angrily. “Don’t tell me she has blinded another innocent pony…” “No, I see it now. I didn’t see it first because I come from the ceiling.” “Oh, so you’re the one who dropped the rocks on my hoof.” “I- I’m sorry! It was an accident! Now, please let me bandage your hoof.” The mare sighed and smiled weakly. “Okay then, stranger. Do your work.” As Geuse scrolled her prisoner’s drape up and wrapped the mare’s leg up, the mare said. “I hear flapping of wings. Are you an Equestrian pegasus?” “No, I’m a pegasus, but I’m not an Equestrian.” “Oh? So do you come from the East, in the land of Griffons?” “No.” “Are you from Trot then?” “Nope.” “This might be a long shot, but are you from the legendary pony tribes in the north?” “Those are real?” “Then where could you be from?” “I’m a landsknecht from West Zebrica. Name’s Geuse.” “Oh dear, what a long way that you’ve travelled! I have forgotten my manners as well. I’m Pisacan, daughter to Vitale Lena, the late chief justice of Crystal Empire and the patriarch of Vinidi clan. As a cheer for our bizarre but fateful encounter, please simply call me Pisa.” “Pleased to meet you, Pisa.” Pisacan then said lowly. “I would be immensely grateful if you can rescue me out of this castle, as a redress for the great injustice that has befallen our clan.” Geuse widened her eyes, but she then sighed. “I’d love to take up on your offer and right an injustice, but I’m afraid I’m myself in a bit of a hot water right now.” Pisacan slightly frowned, but she nodded. “Do tell, Geuse.” “You see, I was trying to rescue another of my friends… She was not a prisoner… yet, because she still has use to Sunset Shimmer and I suspect she’s with her right now, but I also suspect that she was under some undue magical influence-” Pisacan stroked her cheek and breathed through clenched teeth. “That witch Sunset Shimmer, right? I bet she must have bewitched your friend.” “Eh? You think so too?” “I was rounded up and thrown in this cell because of many reasons, but one of them is because I discovered the malicious streak of this so-called hero of our land. I’ll not be surprised if she resorts to that kind of lowly tactics not unlike the tyrant King Sombra.” Pisacan then raised her head, but she did not look at anything in particular. “She had made use of the commotion caused by my father’s untimely demise and my inexperience to scatter my clan and rob our wealth. The Vinidi is now but a shell of her former self, and how! Not even when we were sent out to fight like drones under Sombra did we lose so many a good kin!” The crystal pony looked madder and madder as she spoke on, so Geuse decided to ask her something else. “Um… so, you’re… blind?” Pisacan’s anger gave way to ice-cold hate. “Courtesy of the Crystal hero, of course. She made me out as an example to the ones who opposed her. She blinded me with glass, so that my eyes look uninjured, but I can see nothing.” Geuse’s heart sank to the bottom like a leaden ball. There was no mistaking it now, the orange unicorn she saw was evil. Pisacan drew in a long breath, and she smiled with a sigh. “So you want to rescue your friend, huh? I can understand that if you want to put your friend’s life first. It’s not like a blind mare like me can run anywhere that far anyway.” Geuse bit on her tongue so hard that it almost bled. She didn’t know if the yellow crystal pony’s word was genuine, or if it’s just a ploy to play on her guilt, but it was dealing a twistingly painful blow to her conscience nonetheless. “Listen up then, Geuse. I had memorized the entirety of the structure of the Crystal Castle before coming in, thinking that it might be useful in case of emergency. I can see why you might have made mistakes when you’re trying to reach your friend, because the flooring of Crystal Castle was at strange angles, and there were multiple magazine floors to confuse any potential intruders. Blind as a bat as I am now, that bit of knowledge was simply useless. But it might be useful to you now.” “P- Pisa…” “You want to reach the office of Sunset Shimmer from here, then you better count straight up three floors from this very cell. You should pass through a storage room, a small kitchen area and another storage room. None of those should be occupied at this time of the day. From there you can actually just exit through the door and you should be right opposite to her quarters, which are just next to her office. It’s great that you can fly, otherwise this route should not be possible.” “Pisa… I don’t know how I can thank you.” Pisacan shook her head and grinned mischievously. “It might be a tall order, but I would like it if you pick me up on your way out, haha!” “How? I’d try my best to-” The yellow mare waved her hoof and chuckled. “Haha, I’m not being serious, because to get out of this castle, you need to go the other way. This dungeon is at the center beneath the castle. So basically, you better dig your way out and keep going.” She shrugged. “I’m no longer mobile or able to lead my kin, which is probably what that orange witch wants. This kind of blinding and imprisoning is traditionally reserved for political rivals in Crystal Empire. As far as I know, the dungeon was otherwise empty because all other lesser ‘crime-doers’ are conscripted for the so-called great ranging. I don’t know what she wants by sending our youth to the icy north, but for all her black heart, she might want to let nature take its course and eliminate some peskier elements in Crystallia.” “What?! This is… This is evil, unforgivable!” “… Who could be so high and mighty to do the forgiving, when she towers over all others?” Geuse mulled difficultly, unable to give a response. The yellow mare’s voice turned low again. “I’m just a loser in a political struggle. If you take me away, you make an enemy out of the whole establishment which Sunset Shimmer so shrewdly welded together. She even managed to pull wool over the eyes of Cadenza and her husband… She’s much more dangerous than Sombra, because the old stallion only knew to cast coarse mind control on the poorer citizens and force them to fight, while this unicorn also knows to manipulate hearts using means other than magic.” She continued with unmistakable regret. “I only lament that the many thousand-year heritage of proud ancient Vinidia, which endures countless intrigues and even the brutal Sombra, will end in my very hooves. Such is the blood price for her visions of ‘unity’ and ‘glory’.” Pisacan then closed her now useless eyes and slowly said. “… Off you go, Geuse. The guards will be back in roughly five minutes in their routine inspection. Other than the usual abuses, they shan’t further injure me. Even if you leave me here, she had tons of other things to worry about now that she’s busy playing toy soldiers. You’ve already done a great favor for me by listening to my story.” Geuse bit her lips and reluctantly nodded. Seeing no response, she realized that the poor mare was blind and added hurriedly. “I understand, hang on here!” “Thank you, my compassionate Zebrican friend. We Vinidis have a saying - No bisogna spuár nel piato che se ga de magnar… People who are empathic need never worry about what the future has in store for them. And yours will certainly be bright.” Geuse waved her wings and went up, as she bit back her tears and left through the hole in the ceiling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pisacan breathed in and out slowly. Her own breathing was the only voice she heard in the majority of time she spent in here. When one of your major senses was deprived, they say, the intensity of the other sensations would heighten. Cruelly and laughably to her, the first senses to be heightened had not been her hearing or even touch, but her senses of hunger and thirst. The dungeon ‘meal’ was worse than chewing on raw grass. The water was bitter and muddy. But for her and her clan’s survival, she must endure. It was rare for her to explain her clan history to someone else, because there seldom was such a need. Vinidi, a name alien to non-Crystallian, it had however always loomed large in Crystallian politics. The name was said to mean exactly ‘love’ in the proto-pony tongue even before the formation of Old Empire, Vinidians had been a proud nation specialized in trade, dedicating herself to connect the beating heart that had been Roam to all her daughter colonies around the world. Old Vinidia was said to be a floating city on a lagoon, where ships from farflung land would sail in and do trade, exchanging all sorts of exotic goods. Gradually, Vinidians become subsumed in the larger Crystallian identity, but their memories and history as an expert trading people persisted. It was said that the focus on love and Crystal Heart was most strongly championed by Vinidians when the new Empire was rebuilt in the frigid north. Even after the tumult that was the great migration, Vinidians, now a Crystallian clan among many, had nonetheless kept being an influential political player, occupying important positions in the Empire. Before the fall of the Empire to Sombra, they commanded a powerful navy out of the port of Vanhoofer, then called Castellammare del Bosforo – ‘sea fortress on the cow crossing’, due to its status as a cow trafficking depot. “… All ancient history, innit. I should probably stop reminiscing that much, or else I would become as crazy as that orange witch.” Pisacan heavily breathed out. It was strange. She counted her breaths, and she counted the time internally. It was of course difficult without external references, but five minutes should have passed long ago. Why was the foul-breathed guard not here to jab at her as he had done for the past few weeks? “The guards never miss a beat. Something must be wrong up there.” Pisacan’s heart sank a bit. Could it be that the mare just now…? A gust of wind blew on her face, and flapping wings could again be heard inside the cell. “G- Geuse? Is that you? What hap-” “Hang on to me tight!” With a somewhat panicked yelp, Pisacan felt that she was being lifted. And then she kept rising through the air and passing through narrow openings. The blind mare felt a dizzying acceleration, and then a loud bang compounded with debris making contact with her face. The pegasus had apparently abandoned all sense of clandestineness, and elected to charge through walls using whatever tool that she had been digging walls with. “The guards found that I was not in my room, and after seeing the holes in the wall, they had been mobilized to find me.” Geuse gritted her teeth so hard she could break them. “Even with me trying to mask my trail, they could locate me in a jiffy… It’s already a lost cause to locate my friend.” She gasped for more air. “… But I know you’re here, so I have to take you with me.” “Why? I’m just a deadweight!” “Then try not-!” Geuse broke another layer of wall with her charging. “- to be one! Tell me how I can leave this place!” “O- Okay! Can you s- see the color of the wall?” “Yeah, it’s blue, with some green gems studded in the middle. So?” “That means we are in the middle ring of the second floor… Let me think… Charge through the side of the wall to the 120 degree clockwise to the door!” “120… 120… This one?” Pisacan waved her hooves around with some frustration. “I don’t know! I can’t see!” “S- Sorry, but well, here goes nothing!” After another shower of debris, Pisacan called out. “Then keep charging straight until you reach a hexagonal room again!” After more of those reckless charges, Geuse looked at her trident and bit her lips hard. The steel body had already been bent out of shape by the completely unintended uses, and she had to grasp near the spikes, which made it harder and harder to channel her momentum. Her hooves also hurt majorly from the repeated gem-blasting. “Now, Geuse, it was now or never. The wall to the 240 degree clockwise to the door should be the thinnest and the weakest, because it had been damaged under Sombra’s reign and only recently repaired with a sloppy job. Still, the thickness of the external wall was nothing compared to those thin sheets of gemstones they use to delineate rooms. Charge with all your might, and we shall find freedom!” Ironically echoing what she heard from the pink pony earlier, Geuse muttered. “Aye, aye, Pisa.” Drawing in a deep breath, Geuse put in every liter of strength she’s stored up since her birth and charged at the wall. A giant crackling sound emanated upon touch, and the two were soon covered with a cloud of fine and rough gem dust. To the two’s delight, the cough-inducing dust was soon blown away by a gust of cold wind. “A- Are we outside the Castle now?” Geuse bit on her trident to rest her hooves for a bit. “It appears that we are. But it is all dark in this quarter.” “This corner of the castle courtyard was where the castle servants used to live. However, Sunset Shimmer drafted all the servants into joining her brownshirted thugs, so this place is now used to store food and stuffs. Escaping from here should minimize our risk of being discovered.” “… Where do you plan to go, Pisa? I plan to escape the city as soon as possible and reach my friends in the south. They are the other Element-bearers and had relations to a lot of important ponies. If anypony could mount a resistance to Sunset Shimmer’s villainy and rescue my friend, it would be them.” Pisacan smiled. “I really had nowhere to hide in this city now, honestly. Perhaps I should hitch a hike on your back, if you feel so inclined.” “Of course I would never escape without you. You’re the very reason that I could get out of that crazy spiral maze in the first place. Just… how do we get to the barrier, and how do we leave?” Pisacan looked fretful in her thoughts. “Time is precious now, let’s talk while we move. Try to fly high in the air to avoid the patrols on the ground. There should be a safehouse cladded in orange gemstone and hay bales at the end of Via dell’Impero… That’s the widest boulevard straight out of the hole we just came out.” “Roger that! Hold on tight again!” As rapid streams of air hit Pisacan’s face like a giant waterfall, something long extinguished in the heart of the young matriarch lit up again. It was a flicker of hope. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After briefly staying over at the abandoned warehouse to rest and replenish themselves, the two had sneaked gradually near the border patrol who was guarding the magical gate. Lit torches could be seen in a distance near the city center. It would be a matter of time for the chasers to reach them. Pisacan, now tied to Geuse’s back with several round of ropes, muttered. “Geuse, this is the trickiest part of our escape. The gate is always guarded by at least two Crystallian border patrol at all times. We must knock all the guards out preemptively in order to secure our escape.” “… Fine.” Geuse felt uncomfortable at sneaking up on an opponent unawares. But this was no time to stick to fair play given everything that was at stake. “The small canister that I just told you to grab with us… It was something that my father procured from a land far beyond the Griffonland. Not even I knew about its true origins, but apparently if you light it with fire, the smoke it makes would swiftly knock out whoever breathing in the smoke. Its effect lasts for several dozen minutes, and well… let’s say whoever used it usually had malicious intent. But now it’s used to aid our run, which might as well be its most legitimate use in history.” “Won’t we also keel over when we breathe those smoke in?” “We can take in the antidote first. In fact, we already did. Remember the limewater we had in the warehouse? That is the antidote.” “I see… So, uh… should I light the canister and throw it to the guards?” “We should be more careful than that, Geuse. Isn’t it downwind out there? You can fly up, then let the smoke blow down to the gate and do its job. Even a sniff of it would knock out a full-sized yak. Little ponies like us stand no chance.” “Okay, here I go…!” Flapping her now quite tired wings, Geuse flew up against the first sliver of morning light. Her heart beat fast as she knew she was racing with time. After lighting up the canister with a match, the canister began to create a puff of smoke. It was even less conspicuous than she expected, as it was only slightly visible straight out of the canister. Geuse widened her eyes at how powerful the smoke was. In a few blinks of the eyes, the vigilant trio who was standing guard fell over like three pieces of cardboards. The orange pegasus whispered the message of success to the content-looking crystal pony, while gradually descending towards the gate. As they were about to cross over the magical gate, and greeted the brutally cold, but at least non-hostile north wind, someone tugged at Geuse’s tail back with a powerful pull. “Gah!” Geuse’s heart skipped a beat, as she hurriedly slipped her misshapen trident out of her holster and pointed it backwards. Geuse couldn’t see the face of the stallion, but the uniform told her enough of his allegiance. She managed to then calm down a bit and lunged out in attack, planning to buy a moment of time for them to skip out of the gate. The orange pegasus narrowed her eyes, and gasped. “A- Asclepias?” “Hmm-? Did I know you, pegasus?” Just as Geuse pondered if she could talk her way out of this, the mare on her back said with a trembling voice. “… Asclepias.” “W- Wait, who’s there?” “Who...? You have the gall to ask this question, Asclepias. I see that by the time you sell your blood family by the pound to the orange witch, you’ve already forgotten their names!” “That voice… it can’t be… Pisa, sister, is that you?” “I have no brother!” Pisacan’s unseeing eyes watered up, and warm tears fell onto the base of Geuse’s wings, sending tingles up her spine. “P- Please understand, Pisa, I join the VS to protect-” “And look at all the fruits of your dedicated protection! Our kin dispersed and conscripted into hard labor, our ancient wealth squandered and confiscated! And you… by your own hooves you arrest your own sister! Do you know what they did to me in the prison?” “I… I thought the wise Guida will surely give you a fair tria-” “She blinded me without a slight pretense to justice, Asclepias, I can’t see a thing now. You read history books, right? You know well what this means when such a thing is done to the head of a clan.” “W- What?!” “How could you see so well and yet be so blind, Asclepias! To that orange witch, every one of us can live as long until our usefulness to her has dried up. Do you think that she genuinely cared about auditing our businesses and family wealth fairly according to the law? Never! It’s just a ploy to remove a thorn on her side, as our presence made it impossible for her to fully control the Crystalline Assembly.” The burly crystal pony commandant was stunned. He looked at the pathetic appearance of his sister. Her sister, despite her youth, had always been the steady pillar that calmed their minds with her determined outlook. Before the brief but destructive reign of Sombra, she had been the one who took care of the clan finance and businesses when their father took on official posts in the government. The petite but confident matriarch now seemed direly malnourished and resentful. Was it all his fault for putting his trust in his country and adored leader? Geuse looked a bit impatient, as she looked back to the distant torchlight. “Commandant Asclepias, now if you excuse me, I would like to escape with your sister to safety.” Asclepias stood motionless for a moment, and then he suddenly removed his coat and hat, and covered his sister with them. His similarly white mane wavered in the night wind. “… Take them with you, sister, you will need them in the north wind outside.” “Clepy…?” Asclepias shivered at his sister’s intimate address, something that he hadn’t heard since he was a foal. He gritted his teeth and asked. “Would my fellow guards-” “They would be fine, it’s just the Eastern sleeping incense that father bought before everything turned to Tartarus.” Asclepias took a breath and said. “… Don’t go south.” “Huh? Why?” Geuse asked in surprise. “Gui- Sunset Shimmer has instrumentations in the south, and she has lined quite a number of soldiers and militias along the entire base of Crystal Mountains. I don’t know what this operation is for, but it’s said to prevent any news of the subsequent actions of the northern campaign from leaking out to the Equestrians and their annoying press. So if you go south through the pass, chances are you will run into Crystallian soldiers.” “Geuse can fly, so-” “And Crystallian soldiers have crossbows and ballistas. Don’t risk your life anymore than this mad jailbreak. You two… perhaps you can go northeast to the yaks first, and then sail down to Vanhoofer through the Luna Bay. I will cover your track by saying that you two headed south.” Pisacan felt incredibly conflicted. She hated her little brother immensely for betraying the clan by joining force with the Brownshirts and by extension Sunset Shimmer. She didn’t know which switch was flicked in her brother’s mind that caused him to relent, but it did make it difficult for her to hate him as intensely as before. “If what you said is true, then thank you in advance, Commandant. Time is not on our side, and we must go now.” “Please, Miss Geuse.” Geuse turned with wariness, but she was surprised to hear what he said next. “… p- protect my sister.” “… I shall, to the best of my ability. Incidentally, if you see my friend, a pink pony with a puffy mane.” Geuse sighed with immense regret. “I can’t rescue her out, but try to keep an eye out for her. She’s a very important pony to me.” Asclepias nodded. Watching the two cross over the magical gate, he muttered difficultly under his breath. “… May Vinidius preserve my sister… and my soul.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “By my beloved trident…” Hugging the ground on the southside of the insurmountable Everhoof, Geuse looked to the south and muttered in disbelief. The entire southern horizon, just as Asclepias said, was crowded with scores of ponies in formation. Smoke billowed from the numerous army camps and checkpoints along the base of the mountain. It would indeed be prohibitive difficult and risky to try to sneak past such a watertight line. “Your brother spoke the truth, Pisa. The entire south is but a long swarm of Crystallian soldiers. Trying to get close would only end badly for us.” “… Is it?” Pisacan muttered weakly. She was much more weakened by her weeks of imprisonment, and hiking in the mountain took its toll on her. “My stupid brother has a use for once.” Geuse bit her lips. It would not be wise to comment on their family matters. So instead she talked about something more casual. “It’s interesting that this side of the mountain is nowhere as cold as where we started. There isn’t even much snow on the ground, although the wind is much stronger and drier.” “It’s an effect of the Favonio wind. When the cold, wet northern air passes the roof of Everhoof, it drops all its moisture on the northern face, and then gets pulled down by force of gravity. When the air above smashes with the air below, the energy has nowhere else to go and turns into heat. So the air here all the way to Yakyakistan is clear, dry and warm. In fact, we also call them the mangianeve, ‘snow-eater’, because where Favonio blows, snow simply disappears.” Geuse was not expecting such an expertly answer from the yellow mare. She gulped and asked. “Thanks, Pisa. How long till we reach Yakyakistan, given that my bearing is correct?” “If you fly at double the speed of walking, and through a straight line, then we should reach the Gate of Heaven before noon, which is five leagues away from the Empire.” “… You’re such a knowledgeable mare, Pisa. I’m glad to have met you on my way out.” “I’m just glad that the lessons I learnt from all those boring tutors are useful for once. And this is the least that I can do after you saved my blind plot from further humiliation under that orange witch.” Licking her lips to replenish some moisture, Geuse muttered. “… I… don’t understand.” “Don’t understand what?” “How come Sunset Shimmer can get into power in Crystal Empire? And if she’s so bad, how come no one outside the empire knows about her deeds?” “It’s not like Equestrians are a particularly quick and perceptive bunch, isn’t it? Before Sombra dissolved the Crystalline Assembly, banished Princess Amore and came to power, there are many red flags that should’ve been plainly obvious to the Equestrian Princesses. Shame that they got distracted by Discord’s monkey businesses and their own indetermination.” Pisacan shook her head and muttered. “Crystallians have a hero-worship fetish. We always do. It’s always been since the days of Old Empire. Heroes can do no wrong. Those gladiators in colosseums were not seen as cold-blooded killers, but brave and martial warriors. And now comes a tyrant-defeating hero, we’re quick to rally behind her, and we’re willing to do and say anything to avoid marring her name. Even outrageous crimes are hushed and dismissed as small aberrations. Sombra was crude and cruel, but Sunset Shimmer is shrewd and cruel. And now history comes upon us, not as an exact repetition, but a refrain with a twisted rhyme.” “My friends are not going to allow it…!” “Not to be a wet towel, but look at how easy it was for Sunset Shimmer to capture one of your Element-bearer friends. As a unicorn, she might easily be even more powerful than Sombra, and what’s more, the Crystal Heart seems not to be her anaethema like it was to Sombra.” “… I don’t know. I really don’t know…!” Pisacan could feel emotional trembles on the pegasus’s back. “I have shamed myself and betrayed the expectations of all my friends. I escaped like a coward and left Pinkie in the hooves of that horrible mare. I’m a failure of a knight and failure of a friend! How can such a failure like me talk about something so grand?” “… Don’t bang up on yourself that much, my friend. Things go awry and such is life. I said all those seemingly deflating appraisals, simply because it’s important for us, even a blind mare like me, to never lose sight of where we are. Just like I never knew that someone like you would come, but knowing where I was eventually helped us both out. You never know when fate would smile and lend us a helping hoof.” Geuse stayed silent for a while, and she eventually thinly chuckled. “Pisa, you have a way with words, don’t you?” “My good Geuse, you don’t get to be a Vinidi matriarch without a dram of passion and a slight slide of silver tongue. In a twisted sense, I’m glad that she took away my sight rather than my ability to speak, or else I’d truly be a useless pony.” Geuse sighed sadly. But something emerged from one of the myriad mountain passes at a distance. “Um, Pisa, I see something in a distance… Looks like two brown yak statues with a gate in the middle.” “Oh, right, that’s the Gate of Heaven. Ah… So it’s still standing, something never changes, it seems.” Pisacan then said. “Don’t provoke the yaks by flying over it. Drop us down before the guards. I dealt with them a few times… more than a thousand years ago in your time, that is. But if yaks are still yaks, then it should be alright.” “A- Alright, thanks, Pisa. Just pull back when you sense any danger. I would be gutted to lose two friends in the north.” “Don’t be a worrywart and just go! Life will sort itself out.” Geuse briefly shivered at her use of the charmingly innocent word, and her worry for her pink friend flared up again. She still felt the intimate press on her lips… Geuse rapidly shook her head and doubled down on her wing flapping. In a blink of an eye, they had arrived at the top of the precipitous cliff when the Gate of Heaven lied. A large, brawny yak guard standing next to the gate noticed the incoming pegasus, and shouted with a ear-piercing volume. “Get your weak plot down here so yak see your face, puny pegasus!” “… What was that?” Geuse muttered to the mare on her back. “That’s just the way yak talks, especially when you haven’t shown strength to earn their respect yet. Just land and comply.” “Okay…” Geuse landed cautiously at a distance off the guard, however the yak guard was much more impatient, as he huffed hotly and charged right towards the two. Geuse was alarmed and almost flew up into the air in anticipation of a collision, but at the end she stood her ground. “Hmng, orange pony not trot back when yak charge. Pony pass test.” Geuse widened her eyes. “Now what was that about?” “Uh… Well, yaks are an impulsive warrior race, so maybe he thinks that if you show enough bravery, then you’re good to go.” “What a strange way to guard a border.” “Well, at least I don’t have to get down and talk with them n-” “Hey! Orange pony no small-talk with yellow crystal pony! Enter right now or get buck over cliff!” “Right, right! We’re going in!” Geuse hurriedly flew up and rushed towards the half-open gate, and suddenly the yak yelled at them again. “Stop, orange pony!” Geuse gasped and turned again, wondering what the burly yak guard had in store for them again this time. “Pony better not disrespectful inside Yakyakistan, or pony get punished and thrown out!” “U- Understood!” “And since orange pony not coward, yak tell of you severe warning.” “A warning?” “Two warning. First warning, yak know crystal pony moving soldier near Yakyakistan. Prince Rutherford very angry! Yak hid puny crystal princess and prince in secret place, no give back until crystal pony retreat!” “… It’s not like we have much say in th-” “Second warning, yak now holding celebration for dragon champion, do not disturb great hero or pony get punishment!” The pegasus and the crystal pony had two different reactions to the news. Geuse tilted her head with intrigue. “Dragon…?” However, Pisacan only gritted her teeth. “Hero…? Why must it always be hero?” “What pony say under breath?” “N- No, nothing. No disturbing, got it!” “Then enter the great Yakyakistan, ponies!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What should we do now, Pisa?” Pisacan was finally allowed off the pegasus’s back, and she trotted behind the pegasus, tugging at the orange mare’s tail as a guide. “Now that we’re inside Yakyakistani border, we should be much safer. Even King Sombra, at his height of power, failed to take this impenetrable fortress. The Gate of Heaven is a choke-point that can foil any kind of invasion. And to put it in a cruder way, the Yakyakistani prince could give no flying buck even if Sunset Shimmer wants us extradited.” Geuse chuckled, and then let out a sigh of relief. “I’m no prude, Pisa. And if there’s any occasion that warrants a loosening of our darn mouths, it is now.” “Ha ha ha! Right you are.” Geuse’s smile then dimmed a bit. “Would the yaks really be amenable to any of our requests? They have already hold Cadance and Shining Armor as some sort of hostages, if what the guard said was true. They might think badly of us because of Sunset Shimmer’s actions and the fact that we’re ponies.” “Well, you don’t need to worry about that a bit. Yaks are fiercely honorable, and the fact that they hold up Cadanza and her husband is a common diplomatic gesture to ward off opportunistic attacks. There should be no personal danger to them even if the unthinkable happens. At most, they would have to stay in yak lands for the rest of their lives.” “I don’t think Twilie would like that…” “Who?” “Twilie is one of my best friends, an Element-bearer and-” “You mean Twilight Sparkle, the one who beat back the changelings at Canterlot and somehow came back to life six moons later?” “Yeah, that’s her. I picked her up personally in West Zebrica myself. Shining Armor is her brother.” “A small world innit, I certainly hope that she isn’t another one of those ‘heroes’ who had a dark agenda, being another unicorn student of Celestia and all…” Geuse stopped in the middle of the road. Pisacan asked quizzically. “What’s wrong?” “I can’t let that slip, Pisa. Twilie will never do something remotely as bad. She’s easily the most kind and selfless pony I knew. She saved at least two nations by now, and yet she wants nothing for herself. I would bet my life on her innocence any time.” “My, Geuse, no need to do that. My apologies for having misspoke. Please do not take my jest seriously.” Geuse smiled thinly. “I know, I just want to emphasize what I think about Twilie.” “Well, I can’t wait to see-” Pisacan paused a bit and wryly continued. “Well, bad choice of word. But I would love to meet her someday.” Geuse decided not to mention Twilight’s true condition, and instead asked. “Pisa, how are we going to leave for Equestria then?” “We need a ship. The yaks have a small port on the Luna Bay, where they use to trade hay with Equestrians. But we must plead with the prince to board and sail… Can you sail, Geuse?” “No, I don’t.” “Oh well, then we’d need sailing hooves as well. Don’t worry, I know the yak tongue myself. Yaks are almost always surprised and impressed when they hear non-yak speak Yakyakistani, since they think it’s the most difficult language to learn in the world.” “That would be great.” “Now, let’s go to the palace and request to see the prince. Uh, but there’s one thing though.” “What is it?” “There’s a… curious tradition for foreigners who want to see the prince. It especially applies to visitors like us, who request to see the prince immediately right now. Yaks expect to observe sincerity before allowing visitors to see the prince. And to do that, we have to throw our pride to the wind, because we have to walk the short trail from the palace gate to the throne room, kneeling down every three trot, and knocking our heads on the ground every nine trot.” “What?! But I’m still a knight! A knight can’t just casually kneel unless it was a formal ceremony and with an accolade! And touching our head to the ground to appease someone is even more sacrilegious!” “… Geuse, sometimes we must swallow our pride to actually achieve something-” “I have bent my principle enough by sneaking out without Pinkie. I told myself that I still serve a purpose because I must reach south and tell my friends of the great treachery of Sunset Shimmer. If I must trash my remaining pride by kissing the dust, then I might as well throw myself off the cliff outside. You aren’t bounded by the code of chivalry, so you can go without me.” “Stop being so stubborn, Geuse! You-” “My way of life isn’t stupid, Pisa!” A familiar voice suddenly rang from their behind in the middle of the road. “Excuse me, it seems that you two are arguing over somethi- What in the Tartarus?!” Geuse and Pisacan both turned. Geuse’s jaw almost dropped, while Pisacan deeply frowned as she couldn’t see who the newcomer was. His green back spikes showing signs of some tear and wear, but the purple scales on his body was luscious as ever. However, the most shocking thing was a giant wound on his chest, and a bloodied cotton bandage covering it. “S- Spike?! Why are you in Yakyakistan? And what’s up with your chest?!” “Oh, it was just a small bite from a cragadile. Don’t get spooked by the blood, it’s been healing alright, but my fire breath is still out because it ruptured my flame gland. A bit unlucky, really-” “A s- small bite?! It’s frigging cragadile!” “Oi, Geuse!” Geuse again turned to another side, and covered her mouth. “Kanipha!” The zebra colt smiled. “You look like you’ve been through something, huh? The last time I saw your wing feather this messy, was when you had to fetch for oasis water in the middle of a sandstorm.” Geuse covered her mouth, and muttered slowly with shaky breaths. “T… Thank goodness…” Kanipha and Spike both widened their eyes. The dragon asked. “What’s wrong, Geuse, you don’t look alright…” “Spike.” The pegasus knight who just said she would never casually kneel, knelt right in front of the purple dragon. Spike gasped. From what little time he spent with the orange pegasus, he knew that behind the easy-going demeanor hid a prideful mare who took her knightly code seriously. “I have failed you, I have failed every friend of Twilie, and I have failed everyone that I know. I am no knight of Timbucktu.” Pisacan silently stood aside. She didn’t know who these two were, but she understood that they were Geuse’s friends. At this kind of emotional moment, she decided not to speak up and ask questions yet. Kanipha felt palpitations in his heart. Something must have gone terribly wrong for Geuse to say something like that. Spike also thought similarly, and he gulped. “D- Don’t be rash yet, things might still turn out okay, just get up and tell us what was wrong.” “No, my sin and cowardice had weighed me down.” Geuse gritted her teeth and said difficultly. “I had let my guard slip, and the villainous Sunset Shimmer captured and bewitched Pinkie, and she was now in danger of being manipulated for her nefarious purpose, not to mention the risk to her personal safety! I didn’t manage to get her out when I mounted an escape.” Spike stumbled backwards and said shakily. “This can’t be!” Kanipha looked at Geuse carefully and breathed out heavily. “And you have escaped her clutch in the nick of a time.” Geuse winced and nodded. Kanipha then asked as calm as possible. “And who might that crystal pony be?” “Greetings, friends. I’m Pisacan, matriarch of the Vinidi clan of Crystallia.” “I’m Kanipha, and he’s Spike. We’re currently trekking all across Equestria to do quests and help people out. Kinda like what Geuse used to do, eh?” Although Spike was still shocked and burning with worry, he had calmed down for a bit. Noticing that the crystal pony was not facing them, he waved and said. “Hello, Pisacan, we’re here.” Pisacan tried to reorient to the source of the sound, but she unintentionally walked into the small zebra colt and tripped. “Ouch!” “A- Are you alright?” Spike immediately extended his arms and grabbed the mare, who was a bit surprised at the non-pony feeling of touch. Still, she kept her good manners and thanked. “Thank you, Spike isn’t it? I can’t see, because I was blinded in my jail cell by Sunset Shimmer. She was wary of my opposition to her rule and our clan’s influence, so she used the ancient Crystallian punishment to deprive somepony of meaningful political participation, namely blinding and imprisonment.” The dragon and zebra both looked aghast, when they turned to the kneeling pegasus for confirmation, they only got a slow and teeth-grinding nod. Spike deeply sighed, and with a strong pull, he dragged the unaware pegasus from the ground and in front of him, looking each other eye to eye. “S- Spike!” Geuse was surprised by the dragon’s sudden action, and she was about to protest. “I’m just too-” “Stop moping, Geuse! Our top priority now is to rescue Pinkie. Playing the blame game will achieve exactly nothing.” Kanipha also nodded. “And why would we blame you? Without you risking your safety to bring out the message, we would still walk around thinking that Sunset Shimmer might be a good and benevolent leader in the north.” Spike patted Kanipha’s shoulder in agreement, and then turned to Geuse again. “I need clarification, though. Why exactly are you and Pinkie in Crystal Empire in the first place?” “It’s a long story. But basically, a series of events down south lead to a need for us to rescue the family of a crystal pony, reportedly wrongfully banished. He was threatened to join in a plot, which involved polluting the Saddle with poisonous waste. We surmised that might be industrial sabotage, but now it turned out to be much more sinister. Given how Sunset Shimmer knows about our secret plan to infiltrate the Empire, she must have spies in Ponyville, and she must have set the whole thing up as a trap to lure us in…” Kanipha stroked his jaw. “… Perhaps to neutralize the famous threat of the Element-bearers, in order for her to have free rein in Equestria and beyond.” “That’s a possibility…” Geuse sighed. Kanipha shook his head. “We must go south to find more help at once. Whatever nasty plan she has must not be allowed to succeed.” Spike gritted his teeth in frustration. “If only my fire breath is not out, I can just send a message to Princess Celestia.” Geuse bit her lips. “… The direct road to the south is blocked. There are Crystallian soldiers all around. If what my brother said was true, Sunset Shimmer is planning some sort of military actions, and she wants no news of that to pass to the south. They aren’t going to let even a sparrow through without shooting it down with bow and arrows.” “Curses!” Spike gritted his teeth. Pisacan said. “We can still reach Equestria by sea, though. The Yakyakistani port of Sighanak is to the West. And the Crystallians has no navy presence to speak of as of yet. If we manage to get a ship to the south, we would do fine.” The yellow mare then touched her lips with intrigue. “You… Spike, your hoof… no, it wasn’t a hoof. What race are you?” “I’m a dragon, and Kanipha is a zebra.” “Oh? It seems that we have a melting pot of races here, that’s wondrous. And you say you’re a dragon, might you be the so-called dragon champion the yaks are talking about?” Spike blushed a bit and scratched his cheeks, and Kanipha just smiled and said. “Yep, he definitely is.” It was now that Geuse noticed something different about Kanipha. He was far less cocky, and she was surprised that Kanipha simply gave Spike his credit, without adding a cynical remark. “I did nothing really special, really. I just helped the yak prince to retrieve one of their ancient tug banners, which got lodged in a volcanic crevice. It happens that I can tolerate the heat of the lava, so I can get it out in a way that didn’t burn the hairs of their yak ancestors.” Pisacan smilingly nodded. “Oh, the yaks revere their ancestors. No wonder they think so highly of you. If you haven’t asked any favor from him yet, we can use this feat as a chance to borrow a ship of his.” Spike bit his lips. “It sounds wrong to ask for rewards, because we haven’t done so throughout our journey.” “It’s for a righteous cause, my dragon friend.” After a long silence, Spike breathed out heavily and said. “… Is it really impossible to save Pinkie all by ourselves?” “Spike…” Kanipha’s gaze swept through Spike’s wound. “Pinkie is in danger in somewhere we can reach in half a day, and yet all we’re thinking is to run away with our tails tugged under us. As a dragon who had sworn to protect the mare I love, this is simply unacceptable.” Geuse frowned. “But you’re wounded, Spike.” Spike sighed with a rolling eye and tore off the bandage, revealing a largely healed scar. “It’s weeks ago, Geuse. Everything other than my fire breath is fine, and the dragon doctor at Baltimare said even my fire would come back in a week or two. I still have my scales, my claw and my wit to boot!” “My dragon friend, I know this is a bitter pill to swallow. But even a clan matriarch like me, who once commanded thousands of ponies, got defeated and imprisoned by the orange witch, a motley crew like us stands little chance of achieving anything.” She raised a hoof and gesticulated. “Look, I would gladly throw myself onto the tip of a spear if it means reviving the Vinidi fortune. But any sacrifice has to be meaningful. I’m a merchant by trade, and to me, getting a ‘moral victory’ out of a demolishing defeat is worthless. We stand the greatest chance of success by connecting ourselves to any and all allies that we can find, not fighting alone against impossible odds.” “Who knows the odds are impossible until we actually try?” “Trust me, Geuse and I know with our first-person experiences.” Spike was still highly reluctant, and Pisacan could sense that only too well, so she conceded. “Let us see the yak prince and borrow the ship first, just in case? We still have time to debate for the next course of action while it’s being approved and arranged.” Spike slowly nodded. “Alright. The celebration will be due two hours later. I can bring it up to Prince Rutherford when I see him.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Among raucous celebration and loud coarse yak cheering, Spike returned to the table where his other friends awaited. “Good news or bad news?” “There’s good news and bad news as well.” Pisacan sighed. “Good news first then.” “Prince Rutherford is more than generous enough. He said it’s just ‘calf stuff’, and he could lend us a dozen ships if we so need.” Kanipha smiled. “That’s great, but what’s the bad news then?” “The entire Yakyakistani fleet seems to be pounded in Vanhoofer for some minor customs issue. So he said there’s no ship in port. And smaller ships would not survive the roaring waves of the Luna Bay. He had to consult with his ministers to figure out when can the fleet return by the earliest, but it would likely be several days at least.” Pisacan angrily huffed. “What a terrible timing for bureaucratic nonsense!” Geuse weakly sighed. “At least we have a safe haven to stay over…” Pisacan scratched her mane with annoyance, and joined in the collective sigh. “I guess you’re right.” Spike took an alabaster gem from the bowl and chomped on it inattentively. “We’ll definitely have one Tartarus of a time the way the wind blows, enjoy this peace when you still can.” Kanipha for once lost his knowing smile and looked to Spike worriedly. The dragon didn’t say a thing about how he felt since he was told that Pinkie was caught, but a sense of abandon was only too obvious in his voice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Inside the simple hay guesthouse the yaks built for visiting dignitaries, Kanipha was writing his journal entry of the day. Someone gently knocked on the thick pinewood door, and Kanipha shouted. “Come in!” Geuse gingerly waded in, earning a surprised look from the zebra colt. The zebra colt then smirked with a conceited expression. “At this hour, Geuse? Do you want me to sing you a sweet lullaby for sleep?” Geuse rolled her eyes and breathed out heavily. “How in the world can you make annoying jokes even at times like this? Bah! I must have mistaken, I’m leaving!” “… Wait, please stay.” The orange pegasus stopped and turned with a suspicious look, and the usual smug look he had sported was replaced by one of genuine worry. “Sorry, Geuse, I just wanted to lighten up the mood in my own way, but it seems like all it does, like before, was to make you feel more annoyed. I apologize.” Geuse blinked, and then blinked some more. She tentatively walked back and near the zebra colt, who rolled up his journal and stuffed it in his saddlebag. “… What happened, Kanny?” “Hmm? What do you mean? It’s rare that you use that dimunitive with me. I don’t mind hearing it more to be honest, ha ha.” “I mean, you seem a lot less… abrasive. Why?” “… You notice that too, huh? It must’ve been obvious for you to catch that in the few minutes that we talked.” “It’s just a few weeks since we last met. Did something…” Geuse gulped. “… bad happen?” “Bad thing…? No, no. Nothing compares to what happened to you and Pinkie in term of severity. We did endure some hardship, but I won’t call it bad, because they’re valuable experiences.” He looked up to the swaying oil lamp light. “It’s just that spending time with Spike made me realize something.” “And what is it?” Kanipha slowly let out a breath, as he sat on the roughly made bed made of a thin blanket and shredded hay. “I’m a horrible piece of work.” Geuse breathed in sharply. “Y- You don’t…” “No, that’s what I am. I’m the sanctimonious know-it-all. I always made it all about myself, and whenever I got something right, or had a solution for something, I never passed up the opportunity to rub it in others’ faces. I know you never saw me eye to eye, but tolerated me because Twilight seemed to dote on me.” Geuse was stunned at his brutal honesty. She couldn’t quite find what words to say after his revelation. “If it’s any consolation, I never cared much for you either. You always said you’re a knight and such, but you’re just a hedge knight without a liege. You left the king who knighted you to become an ‘adventurer’, which was simply a bounty hunter in all but name. You were stuck-up and holier-than-thou, and at the same time chasing copper, a contradiction of a pony.” Expecting some kind of rebuke, Kanipha was surprised to see Geuse nodded tiredly. “… You are not wrong.” Kanipha smirked thinly. “Now, what happens to you? Any day before this, you might even contemplate breaking your silly code and smacking the mannerless colt before you.” Geuse responded with a wry smile. “It’s clear that the two occupants of this room both like to wallow in self-loathing. You know I realized I failed hard, but what about you?” Kanipha toothily grinned. But then he let out a big sigh. “… You know where I came from, right?” “You’re from Northeast Zebrica, near Habesha, if I remember correctly.” Kanipha smiled. The flickering light shone on his poised face, making him for once more worn than he really was. “I’m glad you remember. It was a small piece of grassland next to the Great Desert. When I was born, the Great Desert Sandstorm was most severe. Sand blew from the south and covered half of the savannah. It didn’t reach us, but it affected us nonetheless… oh boy, did it so.” Geuse gulped. She remembered the event that Kanipha seemed to be alluding to. “You can’t be saying that t- the hyenas…” “How perceptive, Geuse. I regret talking badly about you back then all the time… You graduated from a prestigious university after all, while I’m just a zebra from the plot-end of space.” “Stop it, Kanny. If I hear any more self-deprecation from you, I would begin to suspect that you’re either a wisselkind or Sunset Shimmer got her hoof on you too.” The zebra colt snorted. “Heheh! You made it hard for me to talk about the tragedy in my home village without sounding heartless and stuff.” The smile on Geuse’s face quickly faltered. “… I’m sorry.” The zebra colt shrugged. “Why apologize? You have nothing to do with it. But yes, you guessed correctly, it had everything to do with the Spotted Peril.” Kanipha lowly murmured in a droll manner, almost like he was telling as story unrelated to himself. “The hyenas… They got hungry because the areas they used to hunt for critters were covered by sand. Led by the Spotted King, they swept across cattle and zebra lands, laying waste everywhere. It happened that our village was chosen to be made an example to other villages, in order to scare them into surrendering without a siege.” Geuse didn’t know if she had mistaken, but the zebra colt’s eyes seemed to have hazed up. “My mother was there… She’s a brave zebra mare. I’d never forget her last moments. Her teary eyes begging for me to run, as the hyenas sank their teeth in her neck.” Geuse covered her mouth, but Kanipha continued. “… If she’s still here, I must be a disappointment in her eyes, because she put in her all to bring me up as a learned zebra, but I turn out so conceited and so messed up. I might’ve gloated and I might’ve bragged, saying how sagacious I am, but at the end, I played fire with my wits because I thought I could get away with it, and I played fire with my life because I thought it was borrowed anyway. You said you’re a failure of a knight for a day, but I’m a failure of a son and a zebra for pretty much the entirety of my short life.” Geuse deeply knitted her brows. The zebra’s pomposity and barbed tongue always made him a valid target in her eyes, but at times of now, he simply looked like what he was, a lost and despondent orphan of war. “It would be embarrassing to say this in any other situation, but buck it, I may as well spill my heart’s content here – Twilight really reminded me of my late mother.” “Really?” “Really. She even had her eyes, the brilliant violet which I don’t quite inherit. She’s selfless and has a stunning streak for self-sacrifice. She doted and lectured me like no others before, and she did it not because she’s fed up with ‘that little brat’, but out of genuine care and concern. I absolutely savor that feeling, so it came as quite a shock that she’s now forgotten about all those and I’m all alone again.” “You’re not alone! And I’m sure she would recover in time, Kanny.” “Thanks, Geuse. But it’s no use, even if it does happen.” “Why?” “Because I’ve realized something else. Even if I do see her as a surrogate mother, she saw me not as a surrogate son.” “H- How can that be? Didn’t you say she dote on you?” “I have always had my suspicion, but it has since become solid. I’m just a temporary replacement for Spike during her time of exile.” Geuse felt her heartstring tugged tight. “This is not true, she certainly looked at you as your own zebra.” “You don’t understand, Geuse. And neither did I, till I spent more time with Spike and heard from him their exploits. It’s true that their life in Equestria was nowhere as restive as ours in Zebrica, but their bond is truly unique and unbreakable. I had sensed early on that Twilight merely saw a shade of Spike in me because of my willfulness, and she also saw what she wanted Spike to have, that is independence and a good knowledge about the whole wide world. That’s why I felt those irrational needs to spar with him, in a misguided and foolish attempt to ‘prove’ that I’m a better son” Geuse again was at a loss of words. The zebra colt had a clear understanding of himself and his relationships, and she found it difficult to offer any meaningful insight to someone who was already so thorough in his thinking. “Spending time with Spike really made me think about my life on a level I never before experienced. He’s a spring of passion, a dragon of action, and he cares about Twilight in a spiritual level that someone like I, who seek only comfort and intimacy, cannot compete.” Kanipha smiled. “The fact that he’s so innocently helpful helps, of course. And he’s never once held the facts that he saved my sorry plots several times up in my face like I would’ve done. He would shrug about how he pulled me up from the thousand-foot drop in the Gorges, how he used his fiery breath to chase off the swarm of vampire bats.” The look on the zebra colt was guilt-stricken. “See his chest wound? He also got it because he tried to rescue me from the cragadile. He jumped into its mouth, stuffed a large rock in its throat and then dislodged me from its teeth. He’s an unbelievable dragon. Who, after so many things, can hate a dragon like that? I was so afraid that I would lose him, just as I was afraid that I would lose Twilight.” “… Whoa, where did you two go? It’s just several weeks and it sounds like that you’ve been to Tartarus and back.” “We’re on a trial by fire here. If you let Spike hear that, he might actually take you up on it and go tour Tartarus, if he thought it’s what it takes to move the Tree of Harmony.” “He’s really dedicated, isn’t he?” “Yeah… I really need to learn a lot from him before I can call myself worthy of Twilight’s care. Even if it means dousing my acid tongue in lime and be a meek zebra for once.” “… I’m really glad for your discovery, Kanny.” “I also thank you for caring and listening, Geuse. It’s such a liberating feeling to tell someone what I’ve been thinking these days. You know, I still love my pride too much to tell it to him myself.” The two spent the next few minutes in silence, until Kanipha quietly muttered. “Geuse, are you sure you’re alright yourself? The escape can’t be a tame affair.” “My hooves are all sore, because I had to literally charge at walls to break out. If Pisa hadn’t taught me to tackle the inherent structural weaknesses in each type of crystal walls, I fear that even if I could break out, I would not be able to walk straight. My wings are terribly tired as well. Not even when I fought hoof-to-hoof combat with changelings was I this exhausted.” “I don’t just mean physically, you know.” The aberrant encounter with Pinkie Pie briefly flashed in her mind, and she bit her tongue again to distract herself from it. “There are so many things that are unclear, including what exactly did Sunset Shimmer do to Pinkie.” Geuse rubbed the errant moisture in her eyes out with her hooves. “My mind is a congealed mess. I feel so guilty and shameful for leaving her behind… If I can choose, I will take her place every time. A simple fighter like me is much more expendable than a bearer of a powerful magical artefact…” “Geuse!” Kanipha growled, causing the orange pegasus to shiver in shock. “None of us is more or less ‘expendable’ than one another!” “Bu- but it is far more dangerous if Pinkie’s skills fall into her wrong hooves! If it were me, at most I would knock out a few ponies and punch several holes in the wall.” “That’s one thing to consider, but at the very least, we have four capable bearers on our side, one of them with a mighty army under her wings. Surely they would figure out a way to use their superior tactics and strength to take Pinkie back. And Twilight’s other friends, like us, aren’t exactly push-overs, are we?” “I hope so…” “Don’t worry too much, Geuse. You should really take a rest after such a hectic run. We still have many tomorrows to figure a way out.” “Thanks, Kanny.” Geuse then suddenly gave a smooch on the zebra colt on his forehead. Kanipha blushed brightly. “W- What was that for?” “A thank you for… everything. It’s strictly platonic!” “Of course it should be platonic! I’m just a colt!” Now it was Geuse’s turn to blush. She coughed and calmed herself, and then she said slowly. “… Good night, Kanny. I’m glad that we have this talk.” Massaging his hot cheeks, Kanipha sighed and smiled. “Me too. Good night.”