//------------------------------// // Chasing a Cloud Pt 2 by Ponibius // Story: Tales From the Phoenix Empire // by Chengar Qordath //------------------------------// “Updating this spell has been a bit harder than I thought it would be,” I said as I helped set up a table in the royal gardens. The project of finding one of Midnight’s tracking spells and updating it for our purposes had taken us a couple of days of work, and we were only now confident about trying it out. Sunset unfolded a couple of the table legs and the two of us placed it on the old stones that covered one of the little meeting places within the garden. “It is a very old spell.” “Being eight centuries old does give it age credentials.” If not for the Empress’ preservation spells, I doubted the old spell book would even have survived as long as it had. It was kind of sad that so many artifacts belonging to my distant ancestor were locked away from the world like they were. It would have been nice if they could be out where they could be seen and studied, but I doubted the Empress would ever allow it considering how prickly she was about her daughter’s things “And updating all the outdated matrices was going to take some work no matter how we went about it,” Sunset said. “Then we extended its range, the search criteria, making it more efficient, and all the other bells and whistles we ended up adding.” I placed the copy of the updated tracking spell on the table, as well as some of the other materials we would need for the spell. “All without updating it in a way that will get it countered by common countermeasures.” “Exactly.” Sunset picked up her own copy of the spell and scanned over our work. “We had to update it, but not update it too much.” “Or at least not update it in the wrong way. Since we didn't want it to be counterable by the usual anti-tracking spells.” I studied the arcane notes on my piece of paper. I would have liked more time to examine my work, but time was probably of the essence. Updating Midnight’s old spell had already taken more time than I would have liked, and using more time refining everything wasn't preferable. So in the end, we had decided to do a live test of the spell. “It's been a long time since I've seen a familiar-based tracking spell like this used. It’s pretty unique.” “Well, we wanted something different.” Sunset frowned before finally putting her paper down. “So, looks like it's maybe ready-ish to me.” “We've been working it over for a few days now, yeah.” I sighed and put the paper down, unable to see any mistake we had made. In a way, that was more worrying than if I would have found some mistakes. The two of us had been keeping our noses to the grindstone to finish this project, and everything about the spell was beginning to blur together for me—which was one of the reasons why I would have preferred to spend a day away from the spell to rest and then review it with a fresh mind. But if Cloud really was in trouble and time was of the essence... “It shouldn't blow our horns off, anyways.” I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince myself or Sunset with those words. Sunset shrugged. “Only one way to find out for sure.” I nodded. By this point I just wanted to get it over with, whatever the results were. Another sign of stress and fatigue, I knew, but everypony had limits and these weren't ideal circumstances. “You want to try it out, or shall I?” “Hm.” Sunset rubbed her chin. “I can probably handle the fallout better if something goes wrong.” “That's probably true in this case.” Sunset was a bit better than I was at dealing with raw forces of magic. It came with being a pyromancer and dealing with extremely temperamental forces like fire magic. Our magical mishap where we had switched bodies had certainly given me some insight into what her magic was like. “Let me get everything set up and give the spell one final look over.” “Go for it.” Sunset watched me as I went about preparing the spell. Midnight’s spell wasn't a simple conjuration and thus needed a bit more work to be properly cast. I carefully made a circle of salt on the stone. The circle was a magical construct intended to help me concentrate and focus my magics. Next, a small pile of corn and a photograph of Cloud Solaris were placed inside the circle. It would have been nice to have a feather or a lock of hair to focus the magical energies on, but that would require something like asking to get into Cloud’s house, which I wasn't ready to do quite yet. Not for a spell I wasn't completely sure would even work. A photograph would have to do. All the preparations done, I reviewed the spell, making sure I had memorized it right. Double checking everything, I couldn't think of any other reason to procrastinate. Looking to Sunset, I said, “Wish me luck.” “Luck.” Sunset stepped back, giving me space to concentrate without distraction. I pushed aside the thought about how exactly Sunset could be distracting before I made a full list on that topic. One of the problems with hanging with Sunset was that it could be very tempting to do things like kiss her and hold hooves rather than focus on my studies. But that was a balance I was going to have to figure out later. Right now, I needed to concentrate on what I was doing. My horn lit up as I drew up the magic I needed. I then began casting the tracking spell, concentrating on the photo of Cloud and the corn, and using the circle to help direct my magical energy. I imagined Cloud, why I wanted to find her, and that need being real. After a minute, the casting was complete. As expected, I felt a new sensation as my magical senses touched the active tracking spell. I smiled as a wave of relief settled over me. “Okay, I think it's working now.” Sunset gaze turned up to the sky as she searched for something. “Then where are the ra—” We had expected maybe a couple of ravens to respond to the tracking spell. It wasn’t a couple. It wasn't a dozen or even a few dozen ravens that came to the summons. It was a swarm of the birds that descended on us, their caws filling the garden. There had to be at least a hundred of them, though I had no idea where they all came from. Reflexively, I covered my face when at least a half dozen of the ravens swooped down on me. For a moment, I feared that something had gone wrong and the unkindness was about to start pecking and clawing at me. I did feel the ravens’ talons settle along my back, but not painfully so. I opened my eyes and saw that the unkindness of ravens were covering every branch and open surface they could find space on, including Sunset and I. It was a bit creepy as they all stared down at us, but it could have been worse, all things considered. “There’s your ravens,” I answered flatly. “The spell didn't say there were going to be this many ravens showing up, did it? I didn't miss that, right?” “It did say multiple ravens.” Sunset shrugged. “It didn't lie.” “If this is the biggest problem we’re having with the tracking spell then I call it a success,” I said. As thought to spite me, the ravens let out a great unified caw of, “Death! Death! Death!” Sunset frowned at the poor portent. “Are they supposed to be saying that?” “Maybe?” I shook my head, trying to put the oddness of the situation to the side. We were here for a reason, and I could still feel the magic of the tracking spell working. “It might have something to do with the spell. The idea behind this spell is that ravens are supposed to be able to find the souls of the dead to take them to the spirit world, and thus theoretically be able to find anypony, no matter where they are. Anyone with a soul, at least.” That was probably all a bunch of superstition, but that apparently didn't keep the spell from working. Magic ran by its own rules, and sometimes it was more important that you believed something was true than what the rules of physics said. The key here was that I had to wrap my head around the idea that ravens could find souls. Thankfully, I had plenty of practice with such mental gymnastics where magic was concerned. “That should cover Cloud Solaris, then.” Sunset glowered at the ravens covering her back. “Even if we got more help than we really need here.” “Let us see if they're doing what they're supposed to be doing then.” I stepped over to the table, and with both a physical wave and a compulsion given through the tracking spell, the ravens took off from the table. “Okay, can you guys tell us where Cloud is?” “And while you're giving them instructions, ask them not to perch on us.” Sunset justled herself, but the ravens stayed perched on her back. “And could all of you get off of us too?” The ravens cawed sadly, but they did as I asked and fluttered off of us. “Thanks,” Sunset said, rolling her shoulders now that the ravens were off of her. “No problem.” It sure made me feel better not to have them on me. At least the unkindness seemed to be obeying my commands like they were supposed to. That being the case, I unrolled a map for them and pointed to it. “So back to finding Cloud. Where is she?” One of the ravens swooped down onto the map. It hopped around for a few moments before placing a shiny pebble onto Manehattan. “Wow.” Sunset’s gaze shifted back and forth between the raven and the pebble. “That ... just like that? Even after helping to modify the spell I expected a bit more. You know, something flashy or complicated.” “As long as the spell’s working I can live with it.” I could feel the tracking spell tugging in the direction of Manehattan through my connection with the ravens. “They've at least narrowed down the search to a city, if a major one.” “Would make sense,” Sunset said. “Didn't your mom say Starlight worked in Manehatten?” I nodded. “She did. So this does fit.” “Guess we've got a good starting point, then.” “That we do.” I suddenly wished we had brought more maps with us, it would have been nice to test the spell a bit more, but this would just have to do for now. If we go to Manehattan the ravens should be able to narrow down where Cloud is even further. They might be able to do that now, but I would like to be closer just to make sure the spell is being accurate.” Sunset grinned triumphantly. “Looks like we can tentatively declare it a successful spell.” I smiled at Sunset. “I’ll agree with you there. I guess we should tell the Empress that we've succeeded? I doubt she's going to want us to go to Manehattan without permission.” “To go after a missing guardpony who's crazy radical ex with magus training might be hanging around?” She shook her head. “No way. Not when she doesn’t like us to leave Canterlot on a vacation without telling her first.” I frowned, knowing all of that was true. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about, but I had a feeling that the Empress wasn’t going to let us see this one through to the end. As much as I might want to, my grandmother seemed pretty risk averse where we were concerned. For perfectly good reasons, and in the past I didn’t mind it at all, but now... I shrugged. “She’ll know what to do with this. Let's go see her.” It wasn’t long before the two of us were bowing in front of the Empress in her quarters. The normal ritual was thrown off a bit by the ravens that had followed us into the palace. They were now perched about the furniture, patiently watching us with black eyes. Even the windows had ravens waiting on the other side of the glass. “Hello, my children.” Empress Sunbeam’s gaze briefly turned to look at a raven standing on the mantle for her fireplace. “I see the spell worked.” I smiled awkwardly for my grandmother. “It's a bit obvious, isn't it?” “I admit, it has been far too long since I saw that spell in action.” She looked wistfully at the raven before shifting her gaze back to me. “Ravens seemed to be a common theme of a lot of Midnight’s spells.” It wasn’t too hard to imagine why she was unique in that. Having so many ravens following me around was eerie to say the least. They just kept watching me, as though waiting for me to say or do something. “Anyways, we think we've managed to get the modification of her spell to work. The ravens say Cloud Solaris is in Manehattan.” “Oh? That is excellent news.” The Empress smiled approvingly, and I felt my heart rise at that look. It always felt good to make her happy. “I’ll need to have somepony follow up on that.” Sunset took a deep breath and stepped forward. “We could.” The words had come with an edge of hesitation, but Sunset’s jaw was clenched with determination. I stepped forward also, finding myself reacting instead of acting on any kind of plan like I normally did. “I would like to see this through, too.” “So would I,” Sunset said, sounding more sure of herself now. I could sense the fire in her alighting now, giving me confidence in turn. “We started this, we should finish it.” The Empress’ eyes narrowed, and it was a struggle not to flinch away from that disapproving glare. “You two are my personal students, and need I remind you, in the middle of vitally important work. Do you think I can just send you gallivanting off on some missing pony quest? I have others who can deal with this matter. You’re both needed here.” Those were facts, but ... this was something I wanted to see through to the end. I had come this far, but just leaving it here would bother me. I just knew it would. “I did promise Fluttershy to do everything I could to find Cloud, Empress, and...” I thought quickly. What the Empress responded best to was logic. Emotional pleas weren’t likely to move her, but coming up with good reasons for why Sunset and I could see where the tracking spell led us might just work. “Maybe it would be a good idea for us to get some field experience in? We’ve learned a lot from you, but several books I have read said that no amount of teaching can replace real-world experience.” Sunset nodded. “We can't be your students forever. Sooner or later we need to learn how to actually do things for ourselves.” The Empress frowned thoughtfully. We hadn’t fully convinced her yet, but we had budged her in the right direction. Time to come up with more arguments in our favor. “That's what you've been educating us to do, right?” I asked. “To be able to serve you and the Empire? This would do this, right?” “That is true,” the Empress allowed reluctantly. Sensing she just needed a little more of a nudge, I said, “And wouldn’t it be a good idea for the two of us to get some experience about how things are really done before we go up against something like a demigoddess? I know you believe in us, but I would feel better if I’d already gotten my hooves wet on something a bit simpler than that.” The Empress considered us for a long moment before making her decision. “Very well then. The two of you may pursue the matter.” Before either of us could say anything, she added, “But not alone. I’ve put far too much time and energy into you two for anything to happen to you.” Sunset frowned. “Who are you going to send with us?” The Empress hummed with contemplation. “A magus, perhaps. Somepony experienced, just as a matter of security. I do need you two alive.” “I guess that’s alright,” Sunset allowed, sounding unhappy about the idea. There was something in her tone that told me she didn’t like the idea of being babysat by another magus. As for myself, I grimaced as the idea that I had just talked myself into something where I could get seriously hurt or die. Cloud’s blood had been found at the last location anypony could point her to. It might just be that I had gotten myself in over my head. Having somepony experienced along sounded like a pretty good idea, really. “I'm not wild about the idea of dying, no.” “Dead! Death! Death!” the unkindness cawed out. Well wasn’t that an omen for how things were going to go. I felt a shiver run up my spine. Was this some sort of hidden effect of the spell I had cast that we hadn’t spotted? That didn’t seem like a detail we would miss after all the work we put into upgrading the spell. So I didn’t know what to think about the unkindness. The Empress’ attention returned to the ravens. “I see my daughter's influence on the Great Unkindness still remains.” “They keep doing that because of her?” I asked. The Empress nodded. “So far as I can tell. It was one of her more ... unique gifts.” I frowned as I looked up at all the ravens staring down at us. “It's a bit ... creepy if I'm going to be honest.” “Many said that about my daughter.” The Empress shrugged. “I suppose we should be glad that particular trait has left the family line.” Sunset smirked. “I don't know, Twilight has her moments.” I scowled slightly. “What is that supposed to mean?” “Well, when you get into a hardcore study trance it can be a bit overkill,” Sunset said. “Remember when I had to drag you away from your books when you were in the middle of a study binge?” “I was really busy,” I said, sounding more defensive than I liked. “You hadn't slept for two days and hardly ate a thing,” Sunset countered. “I was getting kinda worried. You were starting to look like a zombie by the time I literally dragged you to bed.” “I'm very focused...” “I have noticed,” the Empress said with a hint of disapproval. “I admire your dedication, but you still need to take care of yourself.” “Yes, Your Majesty.” I didn't meet the Empress’ gaze. It didn't strike me as wise to argue with her on the matter. Sure, maybe I had gone a bit short on sleep a few times, missed a few meals, and lost all concept of time, but I didn't have a problem. Deciding it might be better to change the topic a bit, I said, “It's not like my whole family is creepy.” Sunset grinned all the wider. “You sure? There’s your brother too.” “Shiny?” I raised an eyebrow. “What’s weird about him?” “He did play big brother protector pretty hard when we told him we were dating.” Sunset cleared her throat. “You and I didn't exactly get along before we dated, if you’ll remember. He sure remembered. And I think he was sending ponies to spy on me for a while, and I caught a couple of scrying spells on me for a couple months there.” “Shiny is ... very protective of me.” And there was another thing I was going to have to talk with him about later. Him chasing off Sunset was not something I wanted him doing, to say the least. “My descendants seem inclined to have ... quirks.” The Empress’ gaze shifted to Sunset, a grin on her lips. “And you are no exception, Sunset.” Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “What? Name one.” The Empress chuckled softly. “You certainly inherited my pride.” “And you have a bit of a temper,” I added reluctantly. Sunset crossed her legs over her chest and jutted out her jaw. “I do not.” “Sunset, you're getting upset right now,” the Empress said in a dry tone. “Do you want me to bring up the incident at the bookstore?” I asked. “You remember? The one where that filly took the last copy of that book you had been waiting months for?” Sunset sniffed at that. “My reaction was perfectly reasonable.” I let out an exasperated huff. “You made that little filly cry.” “That filly just wanted the book because she thought the cover looked pretty,” Sunset said, and I could almost hear her teeth grinding. “She had no appreciation for its academic value.” “You got us kicked out of the store.” Sunset turned her head to keep her gaze away from mine. “That shop owner was a jerk anyway. ” “You certainly told him. In very colorful language,” I said flatly. “It’s going to be a long time before we’re allowed in there again.” “He deserved it,” Sunset groused. I sighed, taking a patient tone with my fillyfriend. “You sure you didn’t overreact?” Sunset’s features remained stony for a long moment before they softened a bit. “Maybe a little...” It felt good to have Sunset say that. Dealing with her rougher edges hadn’t been easy over the last few months, but she really was getting better. “I guess our families are a bit ... eccentric,” I said, giving Sunset an olive branch. The Empress let out a long sigh. “I suppose I am ultimately to blame for that...” She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts. “Well, that's enough idle chatter. I'll expect you to work well with the magus I’m going to assign you under.” Curious about who we were going to be working with to find Cloud, I asked, “What is she like?” “An illusion specialist,” the Empress said. “Proud, like Sunset. Also quite good. She’s done some brilliant work on corporeal illusions.” Sunset’s ears perked in interest. “I remember reading an article about that. It seemed pretty interesting.” “Huh, I didn't know it was possible to make illusions that can actually affect the material world. Fool ponies into thinking they’re real and cause several different sensations, sure, but not what you’re suggesting.” I rubbed my chin, suddenly very interested. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad if I could learn something new about illusions—in addition to all the practical things I should learn working with her. “They're not normal, it's...” Sunset shook her head. “Just read her paper. It got published about a year back. You’ll probably like reading it.” “I'll make sure to do so.” I turned back to the Empress. “What’s her name by the way. I’m looking forward to meeting her already.” “Her name is...” “The Great and Powerful Magus Trixie Lulamoon! A pony among the most decorated and accomplished young magi in the Empire!” Trixie wasn’t exactly what I had expected for our escort to Manehattan. Posing for us in the Canterlot train station, she wore a confident—arrogant might have been a better word—smile. She wore silver-painted scalemail with a sheen that made me suspect that it had been magically enchanted to sparkle, and an azure cloak decorated with stars. She certainly made an impression, even if that first impression felt ... grating. Behind her were four guardponies who seemed content to remain silent for now. I wondered if that was due to instructions given by Trixie, or their own personal preferences. For our parts, Sunset and I were in our own armor and magi cloaks. We had worked with the Empress to give them top notch enchantments, and I had to admit, while they didn’t feel natural to wear yet, they did look really good. Sunset’s scalemail had been painted a shining gold, with her cloak being a shade of red that went well with her mane. My own scalemail had been given a simple coat of silver, and my cloak dyed midnight blue. We looked the part of magi, at least. Now whether we were up to the job or not time would tell. It made me grimace to think about it, but it might have been really nice to talk with Mom about being a magi right about then. I gave Trixie a forced smile. “Um, hi, nice to meet you. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Sunset Shimmer. We’re magi too.” Trixie tossed back the hem of her cloak in an extravagantly dramatic fashion. “Trixie of course knows who you both are, for she has already saved both of your lives by destroying the Nightmare cultists beneath Canterlot.” Sunset frowned at Trixie and already I sensed Sunset’s pride being pricked by our escort. “The Empress said something about Nightmare cultists, yes.” Trixie’s smile became all the wider, and more arrogant. “Indeed. Trixie lead a force of Phoenix Knights into the very heart of the enemy fortress, cutting down their leaders and fanatics by the dozen. In the end Trixie found herself before the Avatar of the Nightmare, spitting out empty threats until it finally fell before Trixie” I blinked. “Wait, really? She made another Avatar? How in the world did you beat something like that?” The last avatar Nightmare Moon had made, at least that I knew about, had been extremely powerful and dangerous. That hadn’t been mentioned by the Empress, though to be fair, she hadn’t said much more than the threat had been nullified, but that we should still be careful in the future should someone else take a shot at us. Still, it was a very worrying prospect. If she had done it twice thus far, what was stopping her from doing so again? “Well, perhaps not quite as powerful as the one she made in the past,” Trixie admitted, though with obvious reluctance. “But only because of Trixie's intervention. Naturally it would have been foolish to allow the Nightmare to possess a vessel that could threaten the entire Empire. Thanks to Trixie, the threat was dealt with long before anypony was hurt.” “That certainly sounds like quite the tale.” Maybe I wasn’t being fair to Trixie, but there was something about the way she told her story that made me wonder if there were some facts she was leaving out. “Assuming it's true,” Sunset said, believing Trixie as much as I did. Trixie scoffed. “You doubt the Great and Powerful Magus Trixie Lulamoon's honesty?” “You have to admit, it's a pretty outlandish story,” I explained. “Not saying it's impossible, just that anypony going up against an avatar of a demigod is not something you hear every day.” “Hmph!” Trixie lifted her nose in a haughty look. “Trixie has no time to waste on neigh-sayers. In any case, Trixie understands she is tasked with escorting the two of you in Manehatten? Naturally the Empress picked a mare with Trixie’s experience and skill to protect you and show you how to be proper magi.” I nodded, thankful to get to business. “That's the idea. Have you ever heard of Starlight Glimmer or Cloud Solaris? I'm not sure how much you've been briefed thus far.” “Of course Trixie was briefed all about the recent disappearances,” Trixie said. “Trixie has been lead to believe that you have discovered a way to find her?” Her eyes shifted to a pair of ravens perched on a lightpost. All about us were dozens of ravens from the Great Unkindness, waiting to show us where Cloud was. “We think we have a spell that can find Cloud, and she's in Manehattan.” Or at least I hoped so. It was going to be embarrassing at the very least if we went through all this trouble but found out that the tracking spell hadn’t actually worked. Trixie quirked an eyebrow. “Oh really? Go on, Trixie is listening.” Sunset spoke up next. “We modified an eight-century-old tracking spell. The idea was to get around the usual counters by using a spell that nopony has seen in a long time.” She gestured at a group of ravens that had taken up a whole bench. “And at least according to the ravens, Cloud’s in Manehattan. Trixie sniffed derisively. “How would such an ancient spell succeed where Trixie has failed?” “Like Sunset said, we updated it,” I said. “But rebuilt it in a way that wouldn't be blocked by the the most common anti-scrying measures. At least according to the theory of the spell, ravens can find the souls of the dead, and by that logic, they can find ponies that are still alive.” I looked to the ravens, all of whom seemed to be watching our conversation with eerie interest. “Even if it’s a pretty weird idea to get your head around.” “That is a strange way of solving the issue.” Trixie shrugged and turned to walk towards a train that had just finished off-loading its passengers. “Come on then, let us see how well your tracking spell really works. To Manehattan.” “Did the ravens have to join us on the train?” Trixie shot a raven that had landed on her shoulder a dirty look before shooing it away. “We kinda need them to find Cloud,” I explained to her. Trixie glowered. “Alright, then did we need so many of them?” She gestured at the rest of the interior of the train cart. Ravens covered all of the benches besides the ones that Sunset, I, and our escorts sat on. I wasn't sure if I should consider it comical or creepy. The Great Unkindness had flooded into the train cart when we had boarded and just perched themselves on the benches. They had hardly made a squawk since then as the train made its way to Manehattan. “I'm honestly not sure,” I admitted. “We didn't really have time to give the spell a proper test run before trying it out for real. Not when we might be on the clock to find Cloud.” That excuse probably would have sounded a lot more convincing if it hadn't been nearly two weeks since Cloud had gone missing. Not that delaying would have helped matters much. “Great, just great.” Trixie let out an annoyed huff. “You are lucky that Trixie is such a consummate professional and loyal servant of the Empire, or she wouldn't be nearly as tolerant of...” She waved vaguely at the Great Unkindness. “This.” Sunset scowled at Trixie, her legs crossed over her chest. “You’ll live, they're just ravens. It’s not like they're hurting anypony.” “No, they just chased everypony but us into the the other train carts,” Trixie said. “Not intentionally,” I said lamely. Admittedly, if we hadn't been on imperial business we might very well have gotten kicked off the train for bringing a whole unkindness of ravens with us. Especially when they made themselves at home. So the other passengers had decided to spend their trip elsewhere on the train—causing me to feel pretty embarrassed. Before our conversation could go further, one of the service ponies on the train stepped into our cart as he pushed along a tray full of food. His steps slowed when as one, the unkindness turned their heads to look at him. But with a determination born out of professionalism, he continued forward. He stopped in front of us and retrieved a couple of bowls. “Are you ladies ready for your lunch? We’re serving vegetable soup with crackers and cornbread.” “Yes please,” I said, relieved to have a break from the tense conversation we had been having. Sunset shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” A trio of ravens fluttered over to land on the server’s back, making him tense as they stared into him. The server cleared his throat, his eyes darting between us and the ravens as he filled our bowls. “And will your, um, pets require anything?” “Corn?” the raven closest to the server’s head asked. “Corn. Corn. Corn,” the unkindness echoed, their heads bobbing in agreement. I smiled awkwardly for the server. “You have any corn for the ravens?” The server opened his mouth, and I got the sense he was going to tell us no, but then he took a nice long look at the many, many attentive ravens as they stared at him with those black eyes of theirs. Taking another moment to no doubt consider his options, he said, “If you will be so kind as to wait, I will see what I can dig up for you.” “Thank you.” I sighed as he turned to leave and I rubbed my face. It was going to be a long trip It was a very long trip. Once she got over her annoyance with being hemmed in by the Great Unkindness, Trixie became quite talkative. While at first it had been nice enough to talk with her, a problem developed. That problem being that Trixie’s favorite topic was herself and it was a topic she spoke at length about. By the time we reached Manehattan, I was reasonably confident I could have written a biography about Trixie’s life running from her childhood all the way up through to today with her various adventures as a magus. Granted, I wasn't sure how accurate that biography would be based purely on Trixie’s word. At the very least, there was a fair share of embellishment—though whether there were any outright lies was harder to tell. In any event, it was a massive relief when we finally arrived at Manehattan. Sunset and I were among the first to get off the train. It probably helped that all the ravens also wanted to leave with us. Nopony seemed to want to compete with the Great Unkindness on getting out first. Trixie and the guardponies weren't far behind us, and she glanced around before turning to us. “So where do your ravens want to lead us next?” “One moment.” I walked over to a stand filled with tourist brochures. Looking at the selection, I found one that had a map of Manehattan and pulled it out. I laid it out on a bench and pointed at it for the Great Unkindness. “Where’s Cloud right now?” Once again, one to the ravens fluttered down to the map and placed a pebble. I checked where the pebble had been placed. “Looks like we’re heading out to the suburb section of the city.” Trixie craned her neck to get a better look herself. “In one of the nicer parts of the city too. That’s where many of the ‘old money’ families live.” She narrowed her eyes. “Curious.” “That is a weird place for Cloud to be,” Sunset agreed. I couldn't disagree with them. If Cloud was with Starlight then I would have expected her to be in one of the less pleasant parts of Manehattan. Like in the warehouse district, the public housing, or in the sewers. Places where you could easily hide and stay unnoticed. One of the richest neighborhoods in Manehattan wasn't where I expected a radical revolutionary to be spending her time. Of course, there might be something we don't know about yet. I shrugged. “It’s where the ravens say she is.” “Then that’s just where we’ll have to go.” Trixie gave me a frown that had more than a little bit of contempt in it. “Let us hope you are not wasting Trixie’s time.” “It’s working,” I said, more out of wanting to stick up for myself than any confidence I felt about an untested spell. “Let's just go and see what we find before we make any judgements, okay?” Trixie looked like she was about to argue when she turned away from me. “Fine. Follow Trixie, she will lead the way.” Sunset scowled after Trixie, but I shook my head to tell her not to do anything. As hard as it was to get along with Trixie, we had been instructed to do as she said by the Empress. That being the case, we followed the magus to try and find Cloud and Starlight.