A few hours later, Majesty found herself waking up on a luxurious bed made of coral.
Suddenly, she realized that she was still underwater! She almost panicked, but caught herself when she realized that the magical gills and fins hadn't been dispelled yet, so she could breathe underwater easily.
She also noted that little Spike was also asleep on a small crib made of coral, right next to Majesty's bed. Majesty quickly moved to check on Spike, to make sure the little dragon was okay. She sighed with relief when she saw that Spike was okay. The little dragon was just waking up with a small cute yawn.
"Where are we?" Majesty said out loud to nobody in particular as she looked at her surroundings. She saw that she and Spike were inside a rather spacious room. The room, the bed, and all the furniture inside seemed to be made of coral, perfectly smooth rocks, or shells of undersea creatures like clams or snails. All in all, Majesty was reminded of the room Duke Arhael gave to her while she was allowed to stay in his palace, only this room looked much bigger and much more luxurious in every way.
Just then, the doors to the room opened and in walked King Neptune, escorted by two merman guards and two sea ponies. "Ah, I see the effects of the sleeping spell have worn off just when they were supposed to," said King Neptune, unsurprised to see Majesty up and awake.
Majesty was startled by this. She quickly moved to stand between the newcomers and Spike, her horn glowing. "Who are you? Where are we? What have you done with the others?" she asked angrily.
King Neptune's guards were about to move in front of their king to defend him, but he gestured for them to stay where they were. He smiled in a friendly way at Majesty, and spoke in a calming voice. "If we had wanted to harm you, we could have done it while you were asleep. I am King Neptune, and you are in my kingdom, Aquastria. As for the others, we haven't harmed them in any way, I can assure you of that."
For a very tense minute, Majesty continued to be on alert with her horn glowing. Finally she calmed down and her horn dimmed. "Why am I here?" she asked, still tense but calmer than she had been before.
King Neptune responded in as friendly a manner as he had before. "A sea dragon lives near my castle," he explained. "Even if he's a dragon, we are on friendly terms, or as friendly as one can get with a dragon. He is what one might call an ambassador of the Queen of Dragons to my kingdom. We share information from time to time, and about a year ago he told me a very interesting story of how the Queen of All Dragons had allowed a pony, a white unicorn, to adopt a small baby purple dragon. A gesture like that implies a great deal of trust. Dragons don't do that lightly. I do respect their opinions, especially if it comes from the Queen of Dragons herself. I suppose that unicorn was you, wasn't it? There aren't that many white unicorns around with purple baby dragons by their side."
Majesty nodded. "Yes, that was me," she replied a lot more calmly. If what this King Neptune was saying was true, then she believed she could trust him. "I am Majesty, and this is my adoptive son, Spike," she said, pointing at herself with a hoof, then at Spike. The little dragon just smiled happily at King Neptune and his guards, both the mermen and sea ponies.
"I'll be direct," said King Neptune. "I know you are not originally from that human city the boat you were in sailed from. What do you know about them?"
Majesty was confused by this. "About them? They have a human city with human rules. Ponies seem to coexist with them peacefully. What exactly do you wish to know?"
"Why were you on that boat?" asked King Neptune.
"The people from the city, Vynciani as they call it, were worried about several of their ships disappearing, along with their crew and cargo. They needed to find out what was happening and stop it. I have friends in that city, so I volunteered to help them," replied Majesty.
Now it was King Neptune's turn to look confused. "They wanted to find out what was happening? What does that mean? They should already know!"
"Why should they?" asked Majesty.
"Several weeks ago, some of my subjects were abducted," explained King Neptune. "My policy when it comes to land dwellers is quite simple: ‘Never show yourself.' We try to keep our existence as secret as possible. To them we must be nothing more than a legend, a tall tale at most. That is why when a surface dweller ship happens to come close to anyone from my kingdom, they are to be hidden away. However, the evidence found at the sites of the abductions shows that whoever was kidnapping my subjects was a ship from the land dwellers, and that the ship had sailed to and from the human city your ship sailed from. They took mermen and sea ponies alike."
This stunned Majesty, but she let the King continue since it was clear he wasn't done yet.
"Magical waterproof parchment notes were left behind, demanding treasures, supplies, and resources in exchange for the abducted. But I would not accept those sort of actions to be unpunished. I ordered my subjects to seize any and all ships that sailed from the city, Vynciani as you said it was called, and take their crews prisoner. We will not harm them, of course, but we will continue to take prisoners until every single one of the abducted is returned safe and sound. So was explained on the floating bottles we sent towards Vynciani informing them of that.
"I expected someone from the city to contact us to negotiate new terms, the exchange of prisoners, but more kidnappings of my subjects was the only answer I received, which is why we will continue our current course of action," King Neptune finished.
"But nobody at Vynciani seemed to know that you and your people even exist," said Majesty. "Nobody mentioned anything at all, how could they have been the ones doing all this? How did they even enchant parchment notes to be waterproof if they don't have any wizards? And you say you don't intend to harm them, yet there was an attack by a giant wave yesterday, and if it wasn't for me many would have died!"
"What? A giant wave?" said King Neptune. "I never attacked the city with any giant wave. I gave explicit orders for every one of my subjects to stay as far away from that city's shores as possible. I even ordered my giant octopus to only restrain ships for the song to be cast, not destroy them. A wave is not something I would do, at least not at this point."
Majesty took a deep breath and took a moment to think. "I have lived with those humans for months now. They have their flaws like anyone else, but they don't seem like the kind of people that would do the things you accuse them of doing. They are welcoming of travelers, as long as said travelers follow their rules and laws, and they don't seem to mind if whoever is living among them is another human or a pony, all seem to be welcome. I have made friends with some of them, I trust them." She gave King Neptune a neutral look. "As you said, you haven't harmed me or Spike, so you seem trustworthy, but I need to be certain. Show me I can trust you as well, show me my friends, the ones that were on the fishing boat with me."
King Neptune nodded, "Very well, I shall."
========================================
King Neptune, along with his personal guards, took Majesty and Spike to a different building across from the palace. Inside Majesty saw several human ships, all of them seemed to be kept safely inside an air bubble. Across from the ships she saw several humans. They were also inside smaller versions of the air bubbles the ships were kept in, and they were all in a deep sleeping trance.
Majesty approached one of them, looking carefully. "What is happening to them?"
"We captured them in the same fashion we captured you and your friends," explained King Neptune. "With the difference being that I gave explicit orders of keeping them asleep and in stasis as long as they remained our prisoners. They are only in a deep state of dreamless sleep, and they will wake up when I give the order to cast a counter musical song. Don't worry, this stasis will not harm them, in fact it prevents them from dying. Follow me, your friends are this way."
Majesty nodded and followed King Neptune. He took her further into the building, until she reached the place where the crew from the fishing boat was being kept. They were all there, and just like the others they were in a deep sleep but seemed completely unharmed otherwise. The old fisherman Yartand, Indabor, the Earth ponies Wooden Spoke and Magic Star, as well as the pegasus Wind Whistler.
"I need you to release them and leave them on the surface," said Majesty. "The boat we sailed on as well."
"We made an exception with you," said King Neptune in response, "but they came from the city and they will remain my prisoners. You came here to see that they were unharmed, and you have seen it. I will not take a step back in the defense of the wellbeing of my subjects."
"I understand what you mean," replied Majesty, "but I assure you, if we return to Vynciani and explain everything, they will all do their utmost to find out what happened to your people. I am sure that this must be all a misunderstanding. The fact that someone other than yourself tried to destroy their port with a giant wave is proof of that. I know it."
King Neptune seemed doubtful.
Majesty saw it and so continued, "You have told me everything that happened, and showed me what I asked of you. I trust you, I believe you have said to me nothing but the truth, but I also believe in them," said Majesty gesturing to the sleeping humans. "I believe that they would never have harmed your people in any way. You asked me to trust you and I have, I now ask you to please trust me. Let us all work together to resolve this peacefully..."
King Neptune looked at Majesty seriously. "And why do you need them to be released for this?" he asked.
"As you said before, I am not originally from the city of Vynciani," explained Majesty. "They would have an easier time believing all of us than believing me by myself..."
The faces of Feanor and Black Anvil flashed in her mind, the Order... Zaleria's cackling face.
"Please, King Neptune, I have seen a ploy like this once before by a witch: manipulating people by false crimes to cause bloodshed to get one to destroy the other. I lost people I cared for because of it, and others suffered and died because of it. This could be the same thing on a far greater scale. If there's any chance I can prevent it from happening again, I will gladly do so."
Zaleria may have failed to destroy the Elves with her scheme, but Majesty genuinely feared this could be even worse. This was not pitting one group against a single person and then against itself, it was pitting two entire peoples against one another.
"Your proposal seems reasonable," said King Neptune, "but it is too big a decision to make lightly. I will think it over, and tomorrow morning I will have my decision. You are welcome to stay as my guest until then."
Majesty nodded. "I understand, thank you for hearing me out, and for your hospitality."
With that, they returned to the castle.
======================================
Later that night, a small rowboat hidden by runes of invisibility was moving along Vynciani's shores, carrying a single passenger. Only the stars, the moonlight, and a small oil lamp provided light in the night.
The man on the rowboat rowed in silence, and once the oil lamp revealed a rope ladder that seemed to be attached to a lone ship, he stopped right next to it and put his foot on it. Before climbing up the ladder, he snuffed the oil lamp out and took it with him. As he went up, the ship became visible to him, and he saw a golden pony statue decorating the ship's prow.
Once on the ship's deck, he opened a trap door that allowed him to climb down a wooden staircase into the bowels of the ship, where he turned his oil lamp back on.
"Sir... are you here?" asked the man tentatively into the darkness around him. "I came right away, just like you asked me to."
"Bruduk, did you bring that oil lamp I gave you here? Are you trying to rat me out?" came a voice from somewhere in the darkness.
The man, Bruduk, looked around in fear, unable to place the source of the voice. "I didn't turn it on until I was inside your ship, I swear! Nobody saw me coming here, as always, but it is nighttime, it is dark inside your ship. Sir, I need it so I don't trip over something in the dark..."
"Ah, yes, I keep forgetting how weak humans are," said the voice in the darkness, "You can't see in the dark, or too far away, you aren't as fast and don't live as long. You even have to rely on stupid inventions to overcome all your shortcomings because your species as a whole is not even that proficient in magic."
Suddenly, a sphere of light seemed to appear out of thin air, so bright that it lit the whole place. The bowels of the ship were decorated with very expensive looking furniture, the tables, chairs, everything seemed to have been handcrafted by talented hands, and they had all sea themed decorations and carvings. In the center of the room, across from Bruduk, stood an elf. He had blond hair combed upwards in a point, and was wearing a light pink shirt, aqua-green pants and golden boots and gloves. He also had a blue cape, with jewels shaped like clam shells decorating it. He also had a small opaque half-empty bottle hanging from his neck from a string like a necklace.
"Compared to us," said the imposing looking elf, "humanity is nothing. And will ever amount to nothing. In this world, only the strong survive. That is how it is and how it will always be. That is the undeniable truth of the world, the truth of my liege, Lord Tirek."
"I... I have done everything you asked of me..." said Bruduk, cowering away in fear. "Why have you called me here, sir?"
"I'm sure you are aware of that stupid little search party that sailed off from Vynciani this morning," said the elf.
"Yes, sir," replied Bruduk. "Just like you said, I just observed the meeting and didn't raise any questions or objections when it was decided to send that search party, since the same unicorn that stopped the giant wave was going to go with them."
"I know. I watched it all," replied the elf. "That giant wave I conjured up to destroy the port would have been enough to trick the merfolk into destroying Vynciani and given me enough proof to convince rest of the world to exterminate them. A minor setback in my plan, of course, but that unicorn needed to be taken out of the picture. Of course, I can't do it myself without letting them know of my presence, so by letting them go into the unknown, I figured that King Neptune would unknowingly get rid of her for me, killing two birds with one stone. But that was not the case, observe..."
The elf made a gesture towards a big mirror on a wall, as the reflection on it changed to what looked like a cloud of smoke and then to something else. On the mirror now they could see the inside of the underwater palace. Majesty, along with Spike, were eating dinner as guests of King Neptune. The elf made another gesture, the image became blurry with smoke and again the mirror became once more just a mirror.
"For some reason, King Neptune TRUSTS this unicorn," said the elf to Bruduk angrily. "In fact, it seems that she might convince him to send a representative to Vynciani, instead of going himself like the coward he is, not to fight them, but to talk and find a peaceful resolution to everything. This must be stopped, AT ONCE!"
Bruduk took a step back, "But sir... what do you want me to do about it?"
"If King Neptune receives proof of foul play he will distrust the humans immediately, and war will be assured. There will be nothing that that unicorn can do to convince him otherwise, no matter what," said the elf. "The abducted merfolk and sea ponies are still under your care, correct?"
"Of course sir," replied Bruduk, "Locked away from anyone that might see them and no longer able to sing just like you asked, along with everything else you ordered me to hide. It's all over at my storage deposits, where I used to keep the fish I caught, just like you told me to."
"Very well," said the elf, "Now I want you to get them all here. To the Golden Galleon."
"All?" said Bruduk.
"Yes. All." repeated the elf. "Every merfolk and sea pony you abducted, you will bring them all here, making sure nobody sees you do it."
"You- You aren't planning on killing them, are you?"
"Hmm, yes. I could do that. Indeed, I could cut them all up in little pieces and send them to King Neptune." The elf said this with a smile on his face that quickly dissipated. "But what's going to keep him away if they find me? What if Tirek wants tribute, something like slaves, after I'm done here? So, no. Instead you will leave behind enough evidence for them to know that the kidnapped merfolk and sea ponies were there, but now are in another location, and a fake note that would implicate the humans of Vynciani as the guilty party in taking them. And you will complete this task tonight."
"T-Tonight?" said Bruduk worriedly, "But... sir, it's too much, too big a task. How can I ever complete it in just one night?"
"Do it, I don't care how," replied the elf, "because if you fail, your wife and daughter will be the ones to pay the consequences. Do I make myself clear!?"
Bruduk looked terrified. "Yes... I'll do it, I'll do it in just one night... just please, please don't hurt my dear Vucyle and Meiyope!"
"Nice to see you willing to cooperate," said the elf, smiling evilly. "Now get out of here and get to work!"
Bruduk turned around and almost stumbled as he climbed the stairs and exited the room, he quickly got back on his rowboat and began his return to Vynciani as quickly as possible.
====================================
The next morning, people were walking around the port of Vynciani. What was usually a busy location, with merchant and fishing ships coming and going, was now completely quiet, as every ship was just tied up and docked. Nobody dared sail out, even less after Yartand's fishing boat left yesterday, and didn't return.
The few people that were at the docks were just checking that all the boats were fine, and doing any maintenance if it was needed, but nothing more.
A young carpenter was repairing the board planks on one side of the dock, when he suddenly saw something coming on the horizon. At first he wasn't sure, but when he realized what it was his eyes grew wide as saucers in surprise. He ran towards city hall. He had to tell the Governor, he had to tell the guards and the navymen, he had to tell the guilds... he had to tell everyone!
Yartand's fishing boat was approaching the port, and he was being followed by what looked like a chariot made from giant clams, pulled by dolphins, as a man... or what looked like a man, was on it, holding a trident. This chariot was also being escorted by mermen and what seemed to be merponies too!
====================================
Inside the dark bowels of the Golden Galleon, the Sea Wizard flinched in surprise as soon as he saw King Neptune on the mirror. "Well, well, turns out the king under the ocean isn't quite the coward I thought he was. This is great. Now, how do I convince one of Vynciani's guards to kill him?"
====================================
Half an hour later, everyone had been removed from the port except Governor Aldrasil, Captain Moroth and Sub-Captain Iron Hooves, along with a small escort of guards, as well as Admiral Miraquen. Just outside of the port, and being kept from entering by city guards, both human and ponies, were the citizens of Vynciani. Some of them were there to know what was going on, like the heads of the different guilds, as well as many people there just for curiosity.
Yartand's fishing boat docked safely, while the clam-chariot man and his entourage awaited at a safe distance in the water.
Everyone was surprised to see that there were MORE people on the ship now than when it went out at sea. There was Yartand, Indabor, Wooden Spoke, Magic Star, Wind Whistler and Majesty, but there were also two more men, one young and one middle aged. They all approached Governor Aldrasil and the rest of the people at the docks.
"You're back!" exclaimed the governor. "Since you didn't return yesterday, we supposed that whatever was making the ships disappear had gotten you too."
"You have Majesty to thank for that, governor," commented Indabor, as the rest of them nodded their agreement.
Majesty took a step forward and addressed the governor of Vynciani. "That man over there is King Neptune of Aquastria, ruler of the creatures of the sea. I believe it is in everyone's interest that we all sit down and talk."
=======================================
Later that day, Governor Aldrasil, King Neptune, and Majesty were at the governor's office in the city hall. There were guards outside, but in the office it was just the three of them. The governor was sitting at his desk, and across from him sat King Neptune and Majesty.
Spike wasn't there, she left him with Wind Whistler to look after him for the moment. Majesty trusted the pegasus, she was her friend.
The first thing Majesty did when they were all alone in the office was to quickly explain what had happened, and why she was there with them.
As a neutral party in the whole affair, and one that was trusted by both sides, she was nominated as mediator of the negotiations by King Neptune, which Governor Aldrasil agreed to. Neither one of them needed to be with their guards because Majesty was to act as one for both of them, she would be the protector of the people of Vynciani from the merfolk of Aquastria, and the protector of the merfolk of Aquastria from the people of Vynciani. She would assure that there was no senseless bloodshed.
Majesty explained to the governor that King Neptune had told her about the kidnappings of his subjects, and the parchments left for him to find, claiming that Vynciani and its inhabitants were responsible. She explained how King Neptune had responded with kidnappings of his own, and sent notes demanding the return of his people, which went unanswered. Majesty also explained that King Neptune stated that he never attacked Vynciani directly with a giant wave.
She told the governor about the prisoners, and how they were all alive and well, and unharmed. She also explained that the two extra men on the boat were Yartand's son and grandson, which King Neptune had released as a show of good faith. Majesty breathed a sigh of relief that the old man hadn't actually experienced the loss of his entire family, as she had.
Which was true, but it was only after Yartand asked for his son and grandson to be released, or he would remain with them as another captive. Majesty reasoned with King Neptune that it would be very difficult to change Yartand's mind, and that returning without him to Vynciani would not help in how the people there might view him, and that by just releasing two prisoners he would bring them closer to a peaceful resolution. King Neptune agreed, since he had plenty of prisoners, and two less would make little difference.
Governor Aldrasil waited for Majesty to finish, listening silently. When she was finished he calmly looked at King Neptune. "First, let me say that I am sorry to hear what happened to your people. You stated that parchments that didn't seem to get wet with water were found at the places that your people were abducted, and that the parchments stated that it was done by us. Can I see one of these parchments?"
King Neptune nodded and took out a small scroll, which he handed over to Governor Aldasil. The governor took it, opened it and read it.
"I see, yes it does certainly look incriminating, confessing about the kidnapping of your people, and it is even signed with my name." commented the governor. "Now take a look at this."
The governor reached inside a drawer in his desk, and took out a small scroll. He placed it on the desk next to the one King Neptune gave him and opened it too, having the two scrolls side by side.
"This is one of the official scrolls I wrote," said the governor. "Notice how the handwriting is different, including the signature, and also is missing this." The governor pointed to a wax seal next to his signature on the scroll he had in his desk. "The city seal of Vynciani, which is in every note and edict I write to signify that is an official note from the governor's office."
King Neptune and Majesty noticed, and agreed what the governor said could not be denied.
"Also, you mentioned that the parchments you got had been under some kind of spell that prevented them from getting damaged underwater," added the governor. "As Majesty told you already, Vynciani doesn't have anyone with the magical knowledge to do something like that. And we had no prior knowledge of your people even existing until today."
"And the bottled notes we sent floating towards the city?" asked King Neptune.
The governor shook his head, "Nobody reported having seen anything like that, the citizens or members of the guard and navy, nobody saw anything."
"And how do I know this isn't all just a ruse by you and your people?" said King Neptune.
"King Neptune, if we begin distrusting each other we will get nowhere," said Majesty.
"King Neptune," said Governor Aldasil, "Let's say that this is all true, that I ordered the kidnapping of your people, and that I ignored your notes demanding their return in exchange for the people you took. What good would that be for me?"
"The governor does rise a good point," commented Majesty.
"It is in my best interest that everyone remains content in Vynciani," said the governor. "Our city depends on fishing and trade, and the kidnapping of your people helps neither of this things. In fact, had we known about you, we would have tried to get trading deals with your people instead of causing any conflict. Our guards and navy are there to defend us from raiders or pirates that might try to steal from us, not to attack others. More importantly, I doubt that my people would ever allow me to do such a thing even if I were so wicked as to do so. I'm rather proud of how moral and accepting this city is, and pretty sure there'd have been an uprising against me in that case because of it."
"It is true that your people have been peaceful," said King Neptune. "In fact I was quite surprised when I first learned of the kidnappings. Nothing that we saw from your actions since humans first settled on the shores of what later became this big city ever suggested that you might cause trouble for us. But none of this answers where my people have been taken."
"Before it was decided that the lone fishing boat that sailed yesterday would find out what had been happening," said the governor, "our guards looked for anything out of place several miles around. Our navy also checked for any possible pirate activity. They were looking for our missing people, but had they found yours instead they would have reported it."
"Okay, but what does this all mean?" asked King Neptune.
"I believe that someone, or something, for some reason, is trying to incriminate the city of Vynciani," said the governor, "and we will do everything we can to find out who did it."
"You already stated that nothing suspicious was found leaving or entering the city, nor was it found around the city," stated King Neptune.
"Which means, and it pains me to say this, that whoever did this was a citizen of Vynciani, and your people must be somewhere in the city, hidden," replied the governor. "I don't know for what reason anyone would do something that would threaten the city, but as I said before we will do everything we can to find out who did this."
The governor took a blank parchment from his desk, as well as a small metal seal and a bar of wax. He dipped the quill on his desk in ink and began writing, "I am going to issue an official Emergency Order right now to have the city guard search every single building in the city. We will find your people and the guilty party will be punished most severely. You have my word."
The governor finished writing the order, and then used one of the lit candles in his office to melt some of the wax on the parchment next to his signature and pressed the metal seal on it.
===========================================
Hours later, all the guards of Vynciani went around the city, looking inside every house, every building, every nook and cranny.
Governor Aldasil, Majesty, and King Neptune were at the city port. Majesty and the governor were standing on one of the docks while King Neptune was standing on his floating chariot. The King's entourage were near him, while Captain Moroth and Sub-Captain Iron Hooves were standing next to the governor.
"Still nothing?" said King Neptune, getting impatient.
"My men are well trained, King Neptune," commented Captain Moroth. "If someone is hiding something, they'll find it. Ours is a big city, and they have orders to be thorough, it will take time."
Just then, one of the guards of the city approached Captain Moroth. "Sir, you should see this."
A moment later, Captain Moroth, Sub-Captain Iron Hooves, Governor Aldasil, King Neptune, and Majesty were entering an abandoned warehouse. Inside they found an empty tank filled with sea water, and marks on the floor that proved that other water tanks had been removed. They also found a chest filled with bottles with notes inside, all of the notes that King Neptune had sent to Vynciani.
"My people definitely were here," said King Neptune.
"Who does this warehouse belong to?" asked Governor Aldasil.
"Nobody," replied Sub-Captain Iron Hooves. "It was abandoned years ago and it became unused city property."
"Someone was here, bringing and removing containers, that's for sure," said Captain Moroth. "And whoever it was, they intercepted the notes King Neptune sent our way before anyone could see them. The amazing thing about all this is that it happened right under everyone's noses. I don't understand how they did it."
"This does not help your city's case, Governor Aldasil," commented King Neptune angrily, "For all I know, you prepared all this. That pony said it himself, this warehouse belongs to nobody but the city itself, my people were here recently and just as I get to your city, they are removed."
"King Neptune, I know this doesn't look good for us, but I swear we are as stunned by all this as you are," replied Governor Aldasil.
"If that's true, then find my people!" said King Neptune.
"We will try," said Captain Moroth, "But whoever did this knew how to cover their tracks. The marks of the containers end after they exit the warehouse. It will be difficult to find them."
"I might be able to help with that," commented Majesty as she moved around the warehouse, sniffing the ground. "I picked up a scent. It is definitely human..."
She then gave a look to Neptune. "A single human, not a group," she specified.
The white unicorn exited the warehouse and looked up. "I can track down the scent, follow me."
Majesty walked through the city following the scent, with King Neptune, Governor Aldasil, Captain Moroth and Sub-captain Iron Hooves following her, until they reached a small house.
"The scent trail ends through that door," said Majesty, checking on both sides to be certain. "Also, I noticed something on the way here: the scent of sea ponies and merpeople is also here, not strong enough to indicate they are here, but, no offense intended, the scent of fish tends to be quite stubborn in my experience."
"Whose house is this?" asked King Neptune.
Governor Aldasil took out a small booklet where the name and addresses of the people of Vynciani were kept. "A fisherman named Bruduk, his wife Vucyle and daughter Meiyope."
Captain Moroth stepped up towards the door and began banging on it. "Open up!"
Bruduk opened the door a moment later, "Captain Moroth," said Bruduk, he then noticed everyone else at the door, and tried to hide the worry in his voice. "What... what can I do for you?"
Majesty whispered something in Sub-Captain Iron Hooves' ear as soon as she saw Bruduk.
"Can we come in?" said Sub-Captain Iron Hooves. It sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Guards already came through my house earlier today, and found nothing, if that's what you need," said Bruduk.
"Perhaps they missed something, I would like to check myself," said Captain Moroth, stepping inside. Sub-Captain Iron Hooves stepped inside soon after.
"Wait! You... you can't just barge in like this!" said Bruduk.
Captain Moroth began to look around the house, "The governor's Emergency Order allows me to search any and all homes in Vynciani for the duration of the day without any need for a warrant," he said without looking at him.
"Are you alone? Where are your wife and daughter?" asked Captain Moroth, as he looked around inside a chest, picking up some parchments and reading through them.
Bruduk tried to hide how scared he was at the moment, "They... they aren't in Vynciani at the moment. My wife took my daughter with her when she went to visit her parents in another city. They... they should be back next week."
"So, Bruduk, why were you in one of the city's abandoned warehouses recently?" asked Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
Bruduk was surprised by this but hid it as much as he could. "What? Who says I was in an abandoned warehouse?"
"She does," said Iron Hooves, pointing at Majesty that was still standing outside the house next to Governor Aldasil and King Neptune. "Majesty picked up a scent from an abandoned warehouse, and followed it here. She told me you were the source of the scent as soon as you opened the door."
Majesty looked to Wind Whistler. "That is considered proper evidence in this city?" she whispered, presently surprised.
Wind Whistler nodded. "The city has a large pony population, and our noses are far more sensitive than a human's. Why?"
"...Bad past experiences..." If such evidence had been recognized by the Order, Feanor might have still been alive.
"What? I don't know what you are talking about," replied Bruduk.
"Then explain why your handwriting looks exactly like the handwriting on the parchments King Neptune has been receiving after his people were abducted," demanded Captain Moroth as he held up one of the letters King Neptune had brought with him, with one of the parchments he had found in the chest, written and signed by Bruduk. The handwriting was unmistakably the same.
Bruduk took a step back, terrified. Captain Moroth grabbed him before he could run. "Bruduk, you are under arrest."
====================================
Captain Moroth and Sub-Captain Iron Hooves walked out of the interrogation room, where Bruduk was being kept for questioning. They had been in there for over an hour.
King Neptune, Governor Aldasil, and Majesty were waiting right outside.
"So, what were you able to find out?" asked Governor Aldasil.
"Nothing, he hasn't said a single word," replied Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
"He is terrified, but he refuses to talk, no matter what we do. Something isn't right here," commented Captain Moroth.
"Enough of this," said King Neptune impatiently, "You have tried and you have failed. Let me bring the man back to Aquastria, where my guards will try to make him talk."
"King Neptune, I would like to remind you that Bruduk is still a citizen of Vynciani," said Governor Aldasil.
"Who has abducted my people," replied King Neptune.
"We can't prove that yet. He certainly seems to have been involved, his scent at the crime scene is proof he was there, but without more evidence to prove he didn't just happen upon the true criminal and is scared for his life..." started Captain Moroth.
"No more delays! I will take this man back to Aquastria, and I will find out what happened to my people once and for all," interrupted King Neptune as he stepped towards the door of the interrogation room.
Captain Moroth and Sub-Captain Iron Hooves stepped in front of him. "We can't let you do that."
"Step aside at once!" demanded the King.
Majesty stepped in to calm down everyone. "Wait, let me try to get answers from him. I have an idea." 'I will not allow what happened to you to happen to anyone else, Feanor...'
"What is this idea exactly?" Governor Aldasil said.
"Maybe I can get inside his head and get what we need," Majesty said.
"Very well, I have no objections to letting Majesty try to get answers from this man," said King Neptune.
"Majesty isn't a guard of Vynciani," said Captain Moroth. "Letting her interrogate him will make any confession she gets inadmissible."
"Yes, but at the moment I think we can all agree that the most important thing is to find out what happened to the abducted Aquastrians," commented Majesty. "And if we act too rashly, we could indeed end up doing something we can't take back... I've seen that happen, and the consequences can be horrible..."
"She's right," said Sub-Captain Iron Hooves. "We need to at least find out what happened to King Neptune's people. Besides, she saved our city; we owe her at least this. The rest can wait. I'll go in with her, to make sure she doesn't do anything she's not supposed to do."
"Okay, fine, but this is completely unorthodox," said Captain Moroth.
"This whole day has been unorthodox if you ask me," replied the sub-captain, as both he and Majesty walked into the interrogation room.
Bruduk was sitting on a chair in the interrogation room. He was clearly scared, but he was also completely silent. He was surprised when he saw Majesty, but didn't say a word.
The white unicorn stepped closer to the scared man, remembering what Magic Star had told her. Majesty closed her eyes and concentrated. Her horn began to glow, and she could feel her magic mixing with the golden horseshoes. A surge of energy came from her right back hoof, up her spine and into her horn. As soon as it reached the tip, Majesty touched Bruduk's forehead with her horn lightly. The contact lasted a second, and she pulled away just as quickly.
"What... what did you do to me?" asked Bruduk, talking for the first time since he was taken for questioning.
Majesty looked at him, then looked at Sub-Captain Iron Hooves, then looked up at the roofs and the walls. Her horn started to glow again and it flashed, covering the room in magical energy, but didn't seem to have done anything else.
"What was that? What happened?" asked Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
"I read his mind. I know what is going on," said Majesty, looking at Bruduk.
The man looked back at Majesty, completely terrified.
"Also, I just cast a spell that would block anyone trying to spy inside this room using magic themselves. He can't hear or see us anymore," she said to Bruduk.
Bruduk was surprised and confused. "You... you can do that?"
"What are you talking about? What is going on? You read his mind? What did you find out?" asked Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
"His wife and daughter were kidnapped by an evil elf that calls himself the Sea Wizard. He has been threatening to kill them if Bruduk doesn't cooperate and follow his orders," explained Majesty.
"You... you did read my mind..." said a surprised Bruduk.
"This Sea Wizard told him about Aquastria, King Neptune, and everyone else there. He told him when and how to abduct merfolk and sea ponies so nobody in Aquastria or Vynciani would see him, and to leave behind parchments that would accuse the government of Vynciani. Since the parchments would have been damaged by the water, the Sea Wizard cast a spell on them to make them waterproof," explained Majesty, "He also told him when and how to intercept the notes sent by King Neptune, as well as how to move the abductees around without being seen or detected by any of the guards. He moved them all, overnight, over to a ship that the Sea Wizard is hiding in, far away from the shore."
"How is that possible?" asked Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
"This Sea Wizard has a magic mirror. He can use it to see anyone anywhere at any time he wants," explained Majesty.
"It's true!" said Bruduk, "He is watching, he is always watching, he can see everything we do and hear anything we say! If I don't follow his orders he will kill my wife and my daughter!"
"He can't hear us now, I made sure of that," said Majesty. "But my spell will wear off shortly, we don't have much time."
"Much time? What do you mean?" asked Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
"His plan was to cause a rift to happen between Vynciani and Aquastria, forcing a war between them that would have weakened them both," said Majesty, showing clear anger at that. This Sea Wizard had nearly succeeded in what Zaleria had tried and failed to do, and the unicorn had no intention to allow it. "As soon as his mirror works again he will know that his plan has failed now and will try to escape, taking all the people that were abducted with him. I could see where this Sea Wizard usually is by seeing his thoughts, I'm pretty sure I could teleport there right now and stop him."
Majesty looked at Bruduk. "Once I'm gone, you will tell them where the ship of the Sea Wizard is located, so they can mobilize and get to him. I will make sure nothing happens to his prisoners."
"I will... I will." said Bruduk, grateful but still afraid.
"Wait, why would this Sea Wizard do all this? What does he get from causing a war between Vynciani and Aquastria?" asked Sub-Captain Iron Hooves.
"I don't know, yet, and I'm going to find out." And with that, Majesty's horn glowed and she was gone in a flash of light.
====================================
Aboard the Golden Galleon, the Sea Wizard looked at his magic mirror, but could see nothing but his own reflection. He waved his hand, casting the spell again and again, but it remained that way.
What had happened? The Sea Wizard saw that dumb unicorn touching Bruduk's forehead with her horn, and then the whole image disappeared from the mirror? He believed he should be able to fix the mirror! At the very least he felt confident that Bruduk wouldn't betray him. And in his mind, how could he? Bruduk's behavior had been exemplary as the result of his leadership. He had no doubt in his mind that Bruduk would contact him somehow in the evening.
The Sea Wizard's plan wasn't going like he expected, but he felt certain that he would turn things around. All he needed was some scapegoat in the city, someone he could accuse of being the true brains behind the abductions. Fabricate enough evidence to convince Neptune that the government of Vynciani was still guilty, and he could set in motion the events leading to the destruction of Vynciani, exposing Aquastria to the rest of the world, uniting it against them and, if allowed, add the merfolk into Lord Tirek's army or let them all die, whichever he preferred. It was the perfect plan, HIS perfect plan.
But he needed to know what was going on now to modify his plans accordingly!
Finally, the image on the mirror returned. And... Bruduk was telling that Earth pony guard the location of his galleon, the Sea Sorcerer!?
"That good for nothing cowardly rat!" said the Sea Wizard. "I will kill his wife and daughter and send the bodies to him in pieces!" He grabbed the half-empty bottle around his neck and looked at it, "Let's see how he likes it when that stupid incompetent rat finds out that he can't stop my victory!"
"Not so fast!" came a voice from behind him.
The Sea Wizard knew that voice, he had heard it before, through the mirror. It was the voice of that stupid white unicorn mare. But that couldn't be, he had just seen her in the interrogation room a minute ago... Then he noticed that in the image sent by the mirror, he couldn't see Majesty in the interrogation room anymore.
He quickly turned around, and sure enough, Majesty was there, standing just a few feet away from him, her horn glowing and looking ready for anything.
"What!? How did you..." The Sea Wizard cleared his throat. "So, we finally meet. I have been following you with my mirror ever since you stopped that giant wave I conjured up. That was very impressive, if I say so myself. You have been a thorn on my side this last few days, haven't you?"
Majesty glanced at the mirror behind the Sea Wizard, knowing that it could tell her where the hostages are, but well aware that he would try to stop her. She had to get him out of the way, in fact she decided to try and get that information out of him first, "Either you will give me that mirror, or you will tell me where the abducted people are."
"Oh? And if I don't?" said the Sea Wizard.
"I'LL MAKE YOU!" yelled out Majesty as she shot a magic beam at the Sea Wizard.
Surprised, he cast a magic barrier in front of him, stopping the beam. Then he looked back at Majesty but she wasn't there anymore.
"Hiya!" After shooting the beam, Majesty teleported behind the Sea Wizard and shot another beam at him at point blank. Being taller than Majesty, the attack from her horn hit the Sea Wizard on the back but tossed him forwards and upwards, giving her an opening to teleport the mirror out of the ship.
==========================================
Meanwhile at Indabor and Wooden Spoke's home, the human and Earth pony were confused when they saw a huge wall mirror suddenly appear in a poof of magic smoke.
==========================================
The Sea Wizard crashed through the roof of the ship's hold, and landed outside, on the deck. He got up in time to see Majesty floating out of the hole in the deck riding what could only be described as a cloud. She landed on the deck and with a twirl of her horn the cloud disappeared. The Sea Wizard could have sworn it seemed to disappear into Majesty's left back hoof.
"You insolent unicorn! Who do you think you're dealing with!" the Sea Wizard raised his hands and suddenly the sea started to violently move around the ship. Majesty looked to the sides as giant tendrils made of water rose from the ocean, and tried to hit her.
Majesty teleported away from them easily, reappearing next to the Sea Wizard, "You can't beat me. Give up!" she said threateningly, her horn glowing, and with a surge from her right back hoof coursing through her spine into it, she pulled his forehead and tapped it with her horn.
In the Sea Wizard's memory, Majesty saw the room she and the Sea Wizard were before. There, Bruduk was pushing a fish tank filled with merfolk and sea ponies before the Sea Wizard, all of the hostages had bandages around their necks. He asked 'Is that all of them?' and Bruduk said, 'Yes...'
That was when Sea Wizard took the small bottle attached to the string that had been the necklace, and with a gesture of his hand, the merfolk and the sea ponies became like mist inside the fish tank, rose out of it and went inside the bottle. Majesty was surprised from what she heard next.
Voices. Lots of scared, tiny voices coming from the bottle! They were all crying for help, crying to be let go... Majesty realized now that the Sea Wizard had used magic to somehow place all the captives inside that small bottle!
The Sea Wizard silenced the voices with another gesture from his hand. In the memory, Bruduk said, 'what did you do to them?' The Sea Wizard pointed towards the mirror, 'see for yourself.'
Bruduk took a step towards the mirror, where the hostages became visible. The Sea Wizard grinned, 'As you can clearly see now, inside this enchanted bottle are all the merfolk and sea ponies that you abducted. As well as Vucyle and Meiyope.' The vision ended with the scared look Bruduk had on his face when he saw his wife and daughter, trying to stay above the water inside the bottle and avoid drowning.
Majesty pulled her horn away and quickly teleported away from him. She quickly tried to cast a levitation spell on the bottle, but she couldn't grasp it. Confused, she tried casting a teleportation spell on the bottle, but it failed too.
The Sea Wizard chuckled. "Try as hard as you want, you dumb unicorn. I have casted a safe spell on the bottle, so it becomes invulnerable to any magic but my own. You won't be able to grab it with your magic powers, only physical contact will work."
The Sea Wizard, as much as he didn't want to admit it, realized that he was not going to beat Majesty, the unicorn was simply more powerful than he was. But he still had one trick up his sleeve, one he had hoped he could leverage over Vynciani and King Neptune, but the situation had forced his hand. If anything else, if Majesty doesn't go for it and tries to kill him over it, by Lord Tirek's name, he will take her down with him.
The Sea Wizard took off the small bottle necklace, "You are right, I can't beat you. But you are going to let me go anyways."
Majesty clenched her teeth. "Let them go." She said in barely repressed fury.
"Very bad choice of words," said the Sea Wizard, as he tossed the bottle into the sea.
"No!" Majesty jumped off the ship, and cast again the spell on herself that gave her magical gills and fins. The sea was dark, but she used a light spell as her horn shone brightly, she could feel the power surge from her left front hoof's horseshoe rising to her horn. The light allowed Majesty to see the sinking bottle, she swan down and grabbed the falling bottle with her mouth. Then swam back up as fast as she could.
She saw that the Sea Sorcerer, the Sea Wizard's Golden Galleon, was gone. The ship had disappeared entirely in an instant. She started to look around, but the only thing that surrounded her was the ocean all the way to the horizon, with no sign of any ships.
Majesty started hearing a familiar song, similar to the one she heard the sea ponies sing, as a bright light shone behind Majesty. The light revealed the Golden Galleon with the Sea Wizard on its deck, magically manipulating the tides to move faster than it normally could.
"Majesty! Over here!" came a familiar voice from behind her.
Majesty turned around, protecting her eyes from the bright light with her front right leg, to see the several shadows against the light. It looked like several ships, clearly belonging to Vynciani's fleet, sailing alongside King Neptune on his chariot, with his guards and a couple of sea ponies swimming next to him.
Majesty turned back around to the Golden Galleon and tried to cast a teleportation spell to teleport back on the ship, but it failed. Apparently the Sea Wizard had cast another safe spell on the entire ship, she couldn't teleport on it.
King Neptune's chariot and the fleet from Vynciani finally reached her.
"Are you okay Majesty?" asked King Neptune as he helped Majesty onto his chariot, gesturing to the sea ponies to stop singing and diminishing the light coming from a small oil lamp, the one that Bruduk had.
"I am okay, and I found all the abducted people," she replied. "But the Sea Wizard is getting away."
"Not if I can help it," said Admiral Miraquen aboard the flagship of Vynciani's fleet. "Full speed ahead! Pursue that galleon!"
King Neptune gestured his sea ponies to resume singing, then he looked at Majesty, "You'll probably want to keep your head forward, Majesty."
Just as the light revealed in the distance how far away the Sea Sorcerer was on the ocean, his ship began to turn invisible again, even with the light on it. As the Sea Wizard countered his own spell, his voice echoed in the distance, "Goodbye little pony, until we meet again! Hah hah hah hah hah!"
It was impossible to catch him now, the Sea Wizard had escaped. But at least Majesty knew that he was in for a surprise when he went back to the ship's hold, and didn't find the mirror there.
=========================================
At a safe distance from his pursuers, the Sea Wizard paced around his golden galleon, the Sea Sorcerer. His mission had been a complete failure. He had been unable to stir up war between the humans and the merfolk of Aquastria, which would have left the undersea kingdom weakened and thus vulnerable to Lord Tirek's armada, once he ever got around to finishing it, that is.
Not only had the people of both Vynciani and Aquastria found out what had actually happened, but they were probably now at even better terms than before, and he had lost his Magic Mirror, apparently that unicorn had teleported it away during the fight. Now he had no means of watching over others and finding out far away events in secret.
He had his special palantír ready, one set up specifically to communicate with Lord Tirek and only with him, but he wasn't sure what to tell him. The Dark Lord would be disappointed, of course, facing his wrath wasn't something he was looking forward to. But then again, as an elf that had switched over to his side, he might show him some leniency.
Finally, he activated the magic ball. The image of Lord Tirek appeared on it, and he looked annoyed.
"Who is this?" asked Lord Tirek.
"Lord Tirek, it is I, the Sea Wizard, your loyal subject," he said, as respectfully as he possibly could.
"Who?" Lord Tirek looked even more annoyed.
"The Sea Wizard, my Lord," he repeated. He was starting to get confused, could the planatír be malfunctioning, was Lord Tirek unable to hear him? "My mission failed, my Lord. I was unable to weaken the forces of King Neptune, and my Magic Mirror was lost."
The Dark Lord of All looked bored. "So? What do I care about some insignificant fish, and a stupid mirror?"
"But... my Lord, you sent me on this mission, by myself, to try and find a way to weaken the undersea kingdom of King Neptune so your mighty navies would be unopposed on the seas!" said the Sea Wizard.
"Oh, that?" Lord Tirek seemed to have remembered something, but he didn't seem to find it important. "I said all that because I found it amusing. I never really cared about your insignificant mission or those merfolk, you were just an amusing diversion, and nothing more. I'd honestly forgotten all about it, like I do any joke I become bored with. Now, begone, I have more important things to do."
The Sea Wizard couldn't believe what he was hearing, surely Lord Tirek was just jesting, "But... my Lord..."
"You're still talking?" said Lord Tirek, annoyed. "I said go away! Don't show your face to me again or I'll have your head!" and with that the transmission was cut by Tirek.
The Sea Wizard was speechless. The Dark Lord... had never cared about him? He had betrayed his people, he had killed so many... and for what? Nothing! The elf clenched his fist in anger. It was all that stupid unicorn's fault! He didn't care how long it took, he would destroy all ponies, and King Neptune too!
=========================================
A few days later, everything was back to normal at Vynciani. The captured people were all released from inside the bottle, escaping in a poof of magic smoke when the bottle was opened.
All the merfolk and sea ponies returned to their homes, as well as as Vucyle and Meiyope, who were happily reunited with Bruduk.
The fisherman still faced charges for what he had done, but the city had agreed to show leniency since he had been forced to do it by the Sea Wizard, but that was in Vynciani. Aquastria was now conducting a manhunt for the Sea Wizard. They were not going to give up until he answered to all of his crimes.
King Neptune offered an apology to the people of Vynciani for what he had done, swearing that he would now and always be their allies. The people understood, as they knew the same worry as he had felt. Many of the merchants and traders in Vynciani were eager to see what business ventures they could have with the undersea kingdom. A small celebration took place in the port city, which lasted several days.
King Neptune also gave Majesty his most sincere thanks, and swore to her eternal friendship. He told her that if she needed help from the creatures of the sea, all she need to do was call. And to symbolize this, he gave her a small shiny clam shell. Majesty thanked him for it, and also thanked him for introducing her to Sea Ponies, which she never even knew existed.
Wind Whistler blinked, noticing Majesty laughing. "What do you find humorous?"
"Everybody lived, Wind Whistler...the sea ponies, the people, even the fishermen. They all lived..." Majesty said, smiling. Zaleria had managed to kill her friends, the Order, and many others, though not as many as she'd hoped. The Sea Wizard had killed none. In Majesty's book, that was a great victory.
Majesty spent the next few days preparing everything so she could leave the city. She had accomplished everything she had set as her goals when she had come here, and then some, but it was now time for her to continue her journey.
The friends she had made in Vynciani all ordered a special feast at Tozen's inn, which was delivered to the home of Indabor and Wooden Spoke. Majesty, Magic Star, Wind Whistler, Wooden Spoke, and Indabor were all sitting around the small table of the house, with little Spike sitting on the table itself. They had all finished eating and drinking, and were now sharing stories.
"... and that is how Wooden Spoke and I became friends," said Indabor, finishing his story.
"Wow... that was... something," said Magic Star.
"Indeed, I am literally speechless," said Wind Whistler.
"Yes, I really didn't expect that." said Majesty.
"Well, how about we give out our goodbye presents," said Magic Star, as she took a saddlebag from under the table and pushed it over to Majesty.
"A saddlebag? Thank you," said the unicorn.
"Not just a saddlebag," said Magic Star. "The bags are bags of holding. I crafted them myself. You could carry a whole room inside them."
"Really? Amazing," said Majesty.
"Why don't you test it out?" said Magic Star.
"With what exactly?" said Majesty.
"How about that thing?" said Wooden Spoke, pointing at the magic mirror that Majesty had taken away from the Sea Wizard. "It's not like we want to have that thing in here."
Majesty smiled and nodded, she used her horn to levitate the mirror, then moved over to the saddlebag which she also opened with her magic. The mirror entered the saddlebag, disappearing inside it like the bag was a bottomless pit.
"Impressive," said Wind Whistler. "Here is my gift."
Wind Whistler took out a large book, which had the front blank. She opened it and all the pages were also blank. Wind Whistler also handed Majesty a quill and ink. "You will learn a lot more, and knowledge is a wonderful thing to share. Please consider writing down your experiences here, so that someday others might benefit from them."
"Thank you, Wind Whistler," said Majesty as she also moved the book, quill and ink into the saddlebags of holding.
"Might that be the first of many books for your collection," said the light blue pegasus.
"Wow, those are really nice gifts," said Indabor. "I wish we could have gotten you something, but we really had no money left to spare after we paid for this feast."
"Yeah," commented Wooden Spoke.
"Don't worry," said Majesty. "You two gave me your hospitality for all these days and never asked for anything in return. I will always be grateful and it is me who wishes she could repay your kindness."
"Thank you, Majesty, it was nothing." said Wooden Spoke.
"Well, it is getting late. Spike and I should leave before nightfall," said Majesty. Standing up, she lifted Spike with her magic and placed him on her back, and also put on her new saddlebags of holding.
"Goodbye, Majesty, we will never forget you," said Indabor.
Majesty nodded. She opened the door and walked outside.
The ones remaining started to help out with the cleaning, until Wind Whistler excused herself and also left.
======================================
The pegasus flew towards the city entrance, as fast as it was legally allowed for pegasi to fly within Vynciani city limits. She spotted Majesty right as the unicorn was exiting the city main doors.
The city had already made a celebration to thank Majesty for everything she had done, along with Indabor, Wooden Spoke, Wind Whistler, Magic Star and Yartand. Captain Moroth and Sub-Captain Iron Hooves even commented that they would happily consider letting Indabor and Wooden Spoke retake the test to become city guards. But all this had been days ago.
"Majesty, wait!" called down Wind Whistler as she flew down towards the unicorn.
Majesty looked up, and stopped when she saw Wind Whistler land close to her. "Wind Whistler? Is something wrong?"
"I just wanted to know, where are you going to go now?" asked the pegasus.
"I'm not sure, nowhere... everywhere," replied Majesty, "I just... I need to learn more about the world."
"So, you won't go back to live in a forest?" asked Wind Whistler.
"Don't you think I ever wanted to just go back to live in a forest, away from all this, away from the outside world?" commented Majesty. "But I can't! Not anymore!"
"Because of Spike?" asked Wind Whistler.
"... That is part of it. But it's not all. I can't because it can never be the same, ever. Knowing what I know now? Seeing what I've seen? Doing what I've done? I could never go back and live away from everything knowing what it's like outside! I might have been born and lived most of my life as a wild pony, but that's not what I am anymore. The moment I stepped out of my forest, the moment I started to get curious about the world outside... I just can't go back anymore. I don't know what I am anymore, I'm not a wild pony anymore, that's for sure. And as soon as I figure out who I am now, what I am supposed to do, I'll do it, and I'll do it as best I can. But right now, I still have to find out what I am and what I am supposed to do. And I will someday." she said, remembering what Gypsy had told her. "And I need to find it by myself. Know that I chose it myself."
"I see," said Wind Whistler, smiling. "It fills me with joy to hear you say that, Majesty. Until we meet again..."
Majesty smiled and nodded. "Until we meet again."
And with that, Majesty turned around to continue her journey. She now had the tools she needed to learn and grow. What came next, nobody knew.
= Yu Yu Hakusho - 'Smile Bomb' =