I awoke with a start to sound of a ringing bell. For the briefest moment, I thought I was back in school and had dozed off in class, only to be woken up by the lunch bell. I sat up quickly and looked around, blinking rapidly as I recognized my room in the Guild. The bell was thunderous, and as my startled mind calmed itself, I could make out a faint voice calling from somewhere beyond my room.
“Come and get it!” The voice sounded, “Breakfast is served!”
“Breakfast?” I groaned. I looked towards my window and saw the sun shinning beyond, but it felt early, very early. I tensed as I remembered my hangover from the day before, but much to my surprise I felt only a mild throb in the back of my head now. I sighed in relief at that. Whatever was in the Dragon’s Kiss had one hell of a kick, but thankfully it didn’t seem to linger for too long.
I dropped out of bed and stretched as the ringing faded. ‘What was that?’ I thought, ‘And who’s voice was that?’ It hadn’t been familiar to me, but with the volume it’d called out I didn’t expect its owner to remain secret for long.
Scanning my room quickly, I found my vest draped over a chair nearby and, with the help of my bracelets’ magic, slipped it on. Nearly every pony I’d seen in Equestria was perfectly comfortable wearing nothing, but old habits died hard for me. I just didn’t feel comfortable without something on, even if it was just a simple vest.
I trotted out of my room and into the main hall of the Guild and was surprised to see a heavyset yellow Unicorn setting a half dozen plates of food onto two tables. The plates drifted about him with the faint aura of orange magic, and I was impressed with the ease he controlled so many objects at once.
I recalled the last time I had seen a Unicorn manipulate so many items in unison. It was during the demonstration for Princess Luna some time ago, back in Canterlot. I’d been fighting against Malican, a Unicorn in the Canterlot Guard. He was incredibly skilled with his magic, but he had tired quickly when he tried to come at me with handful of weapons at once. It was that drain on his stamina that had allowed me to ultimately beat him, but this Unicorn seemed to be having no issues at all. In fact, as I drew closer I noticed he had more than just plates under his control. He had several glasses of water, napkins and a few smaller dishes of what looked like honey. He must have had a dozen items dancing to his horns magic, and all moved the ease I would have had walking. I watched in silent awe as the assortment of items drifted to their place on the tables and caught a surprised gasp off to my left as the last dish settled.
“Wow,” said a voice, “This looks fantastic!”
I recognized the voice as Sky Flare’s and nodded as the smell reached my nose.
“Oy!” the Unicorn called as Sky Flare’s comment caught his attention, “Come and get it while it’s still hot!”
Lured by the aroma of food, I found myself sitting down at the nearest table before I could stop myself. Sky Flare seemed to share my trance and quickly made her way to the seat beside me.
Looking over the spread before me, I saw a hearty stack of pancakes and a small dish of thickened cream with a smaller dish of sugar beside it. A wide bowl of honey and a dish of butter sat beside those, all arranged from largest to smallest.
“Where’d all this come from?” I asked Sky Flare in surprise, “I thought all we had were oats?”
“So did I.” she replied, clearly as stunned as I was.
“That you did!” The yellow Unicorn laughed.
He threw his head back as he did so, and I realized for the first time that he had a thick red beard that matched his mane and tail. At his laugh, I finally recognized him.
“You’re that Unicorn we found in the Everfree last night!” I gasped, “Lando!”
“Landias,” he corrected me with a smile, “Landias Oats! Your new cook!”
“New cook?” I repeated. My mind was still clouded from the fading hangover and the abrupt wake up call from a few minutes ago, but as I got my brain working again, I remembered the events of last night more clearly. “We never agreed on that,” I said, “We just-”
“-Just said I could stay the night and see about me maybe working for you, I know full well,” Landias chuckled, “But as I said last night, you give me a chance to treat those taste buds of yours and you’ll be praising Celestia at your good fortune of having me around!” He grinned at me as he finished and nodded towards the pancakes. “Not the most I could come up with after seeing what you had in that kitchen of yours, but I whipped up some oat pancakes and turned some of your milk into a nice sweat cream. Honey’s from by saddlebags, as are a few of the seasonings. All good cooks keep a few extras with them, just in case.”
“These are oat pancakes?” I said in disbelief. They looked like normal pancakes to me, not the little oat flakes we’d been eating.
“Ground them up nice and fine this morning,” Landias said, “Now give em a try and see what you both think.”
Before I could try the food, I heard the main doors of the Guild creak open and glanced back to see Clyde coming into the Guild.
“Heard the bell,” he said calmly, “I take it I can dig in now Landias?”
“Made sure to make some doubly thick one’s for you Clyde.” Landias mused.
Clyde smiled and sat down at the second table eagerly.
“You two know each other?” I asked, catching the fact Clyde called Landias by name.
“Met last night.” Clyde said simply. He wasted no time loading up a plate with food and digging in.
“Clyde here helped me to figure out what you have in your pantry, and where it was all stored,” Landias explained, “Lent me a few pans too. Now, enough with the questions already, your food’s getting cold!”
I was hesitant to just chow down on some stranger’s food, but the eager look on his face showed no signs of a hidden motive. He just looked like an expectant cook, waiting to hear what others thought of his food. I glanced at Clyde and saw a contented smile on his face as he ate his plateful heartily.
Looking to Sky Flare, I saw that she had already filled a plate and was eating hungrily. I frowned a little at her willingness to trust a stranger so readily, but this was a different world after all, and if they were both willing to trust him, maybe I should too.
“How is it?” I asked.
“Ish famtastic!” she said through a mouthful of pancake.
With a reluctant sigh, I loaded my own plate, using the magic of my bracelet to move things more easily than I ever could with my hooves.
“Now there’s a trick I haven’t seen a Pegasus pull off before!” Landias gasped, “How you using magic?”
I smiled at him and flashed my golden bracelet. The gemstone shone as I continued to use its power to set my meal as I explained. “Magic bracelet,” I said vaguely, “Never been too good with my hooves, so it helps me with day to day things.”
“I bet it does,” Landias said, nodding to himself, “Where’d you pick something like that up?”
“I’m not from around Equestria,” I said, “So I’ve a few tricks up my… Wings.” I smiled widely at Landias, partially to be polite and partly due to the fact I hadn’t slipped up and said, ‘Few tricks up my sleeve’.
Landias seemed to sense that I didn’t want to explain further and fell silent as he waited for me to try his cooking.
Knowing it would be rude to wait any longer, I dug in. I wasn’t sure what I had expected oat and cream pancakes to taste like, but it wasn’t this. These were light, fluffy, and the taste of cinnamon and sugar danced across my tongue. I glanced at the food in surprise, then looked back to Landias.
He had a knowing grin on his bearded face and nodded to himself as he met my gaze.
I half expected him to say something, but as he remained silent, I returned to my meal. All thoughts of further questions left my mind and I ate one pancake after the next. They tasted better than any I had ever made in my world and just I couldn’t seem to get enough. About the only thing that could have made it better for me, would be if there had been a couple eggs and some bacon on the side, but I knew better than to hope for that here.
“Wow Silver,” Sky Flare chuckled from beside me, “You’ve eaten almost as many as Clyde!”
I swallowed my last bite and glanced at the heavily diminished stack of pancakes on our table, then looked over to Clyde’s and frowned as I saw that she was right. “His are twice the size though.” I grumbled as a flush of embarrassment crossed my muzzle. I wanted another plateful, but I forced myself to slide my now empty plate away.
“So?” Landias asked, “Now that you’ve had a taste of old Landias’ cooking, you feel I got what it takes to keep your merry band fed and content?”
“He’s got my vote.” Clyde called as he loaded his plate up once again.
I smirked at him and looked to Sky Flare to hear her thoughts.
She let out a content burp and sighed happily as she leaned back. “Well, I did a little checking up on him before we hired him for the Guilds’ opening ceremony,” she said, “Me and Gale checked on everypony that was supposed to cook or entertain. Based on what I found, I’ve got nothing to hold against him. And I have to admit, that was the best breakfast I’ve had since we’ve been here.”
I had to nod in agreement. “That was an impressive meal.” I said.
“And it would be nice to have a Unicorn in the Guild roster,” She went on, “Hooves and wings are all well and good, but as I’m sure you can agree, sometimes a little magic just makes things easier.”
My eyes fell to my bracelet and I nodded again. “True,” I said, “Though we do technically have a Unicorn in the Guild.”
“And who’s that?” Sky Flare asked.
“Dawn.” I said.
Sky Flare scoffed. “I meant a real Unicorn.”
I frowned at her. “Dawn is a real Unicorn.”
She eyed me knowingly and opened her mouth to speak, then paused for a moment as she thought about what she was going to say. “I meant a Unicorn that has some experience with being a Unicorn,” she went on, “Landias no doubt has been using magic since he first realized he had a horn, while little miss Green Horn only started learning what she could do about the same time you learned how to fly, right?”
I got her meaning and was grateful that she had better control over her tongue than I usually did. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder at one of the many observation crystals the Princesses has installed around the Guild and shook my head in an attempt to ignore them.
“True…” I agreed slowly.
“And besides, it’s not like she’s actually a part of this Guild anyways,” Sky Flare went on, “She’s an honorary member at best. She doesn’t follow your orders, she won’t be taking on any missions, she just drops by if and when it suits her needs. We haven’t even heard from her since the last time she was here, and that was how long ago now? So, we could use a real Unicorn around that will actually, you know, be here.”
I frowned at her for a long while as I thought about what she’d said, then looked to Landias as a new thought crossed my mind. “Why do you want to be our cook?” I asked.
“Why?” Landias chuckled, “Cooking food is what I do! I love feeding Ponies young and old. There’s just somethin’ that brings a smile to my face when I see a Pony leave the table with a full belly and a sleepy eye.”
“I can understand that,” I said, “But why here? Why join us instead of opening up a restaurant in Canterlot or someplace else where your skills will be more renowned than our little Guild?”
“If I wanted renown I would have done just that,” Landias admitted, “And if I’m to be rightly honest, I did own a right high-end place in Canterlots’ main run. But there’s no joy in feeding that type of Pony. They raise their nose at anything and more often than not, leave a plate more an’ half full. It breaks my heart to waste a good meal like that. So, I packed up my things and set out to find something more to my liking.”
“And here is more to your liking?” I asked, “Most Ponies are terrified of the Everfree.”
Landias winked at me and a shimmer of orange light crept up his horn. “I ain’t most Ponies,” He said, “I’ve talked a good deal with your friends and I like the work you’ll be doing. I’d be right content doing my part to help you along with that. And besides, do you know how many rare and exotic spices can only be found in the Everfree? And who knows how many are sittin’ out there just waiting to be discovered!” He let out a rumbling laugh and grinned, “I’ll have access to all of em if I stay here! And cause of that, you’ll be having tastes of things not even the Princesses can easily get their hooves on.”
I thought on his answer for a few moments, then nodded. He seemed genuine in his reasons, and he did make a good breakfast. Far better than anything I’d have ever been able to make in his place. “Alright,” I said, “You can be our new cook. But no wandering off into the Everfree on your own, alright? Have one of us go with you, just to be safe. It is dangerous out there.”
A wide grind crept over Landias’ face and he began gathering up our empty plates with his magic. “That suits me just fine,” he said, “Just fine indeed.”
I watched him as he trotted off back into the kitchen, then looked to Sky Flare and frowned.
“What?” she said, catching my look.
“New to magic or not, Dawn is still my friend Sky,” I said, “So could you at least try to speak a little nicer about her?”
She shrugged and stretched out wings contently but said nothing.
I sighed and shook my head at her. She hadn’t liked Dawn from the start, just like with Winter… Some Ponies she was fine with, but others just seemed to ruffle her feathers in such a way that nothing could change her mind.
Deciding to change the subject, I leaned closer to Sky Flare and whispered. “While he is a great cook, I still want to keep an eye on him for a while, just in case.”
Sky Flare nodded her understanding. “I’ll let Gale know,” she said, “But with cooking that good, I don’t think I’ll mind if he turned out to be Queen Chrysalis. So long as I get fed first.” She chuckled at me and with a groan, rose to her feet.
“Speaking of Gale,” I said, “Where is he?” I hadn’t seen him come in to eat after Landias had called the rest of us in. Winter Light I knew was out doing whatever he needed to with the time off he’d requested, but I figured Gale would have been here by now with how loudly Landias has called.
Sky Flare shook her head at me and nodded to the kitchen. “Not too observant today, are you Mr. Guild Master,” she teased, “Gale’s been in the kitchen. I told him about Landias when he got back last night, and he kept a close watch on him the whole time he was cooking. He even came out and ate already, but you were too busy chowing down to notice.”
“Well… The food was good…” I mumbled. I looked around the Guild hall for Gale in an attempt to hide my embarrassment and caught a glimpse of him in the kitchen as he passed by the doorway. “Thank you for doing that though,” I added after a moment, “I was not with it last night at all.”
“You can say that again,” Sky Flare laughed, “But after everything you’ve told me, I think you deserved a good night like you had.”
“Hey, you joined in too.” I said.
“A good night like we had then.” She amended. She opened her wings wide and moaned softly as she stretched low like a cat. “So, with the opening ceremony all done and over with, what’s on the list for today Guild Master Silver Wing?”
I smirked at her and stretched out my own wings as I left the table. “We go out on our first mission.” I said.
Sky Flare grinned. “Great! What mission are we taking?”
“Patience,” I said smiling, “Have everypony meet back here in an hour for our mission briefing. I’ll give out the details then.”
She frowned at me forcing her to wait, but she nodded and trotted off towards the kitchen.
‘Now then,’ I thought, ‘Time to figure out our game plan.’
An hour later, I entered the main room of the Guild and found Sky Flare, Gale, Clyde and Landias already standing around the largest of our tables as they waited for me.
“So?” Sky Flare asked eagerly, “What’s our first mission going to be?”
I chuckled at her and pulled a large rolled up map from under my left wing. Using the magic of my bracelet, I spread the map out atop the table for all to see. From a chest pocket on my vest, I pulled out two small pins, one with a silver cap, and another with a red. Carefully, I stuck the silver capped pin into the map, roughly where the Timber Wolves Guild was located within the Everfree Forest. The second pin I stuck into a small village several miles to the West of us.
“Far Stables?” Sky Flare said aloud as she read the name of the village where I had stuck the pin, “Isn’t that where we met Clyde?”
Clyde let out an annoyed snort and nodded. “Yeah,” he confirmed, “It’s also where those thugs tried to steal my wagon.”
“Exactly.” I said. I withdrew a small bundle of papers from under my right wing and tossed them onto the table. The papers spread out atop the map, revealing them to be three wanted posters with masked Ponies sketched into the fronts.
Sky Flare slid one of the posters closer and frowned at me. “These are the posters you had the Sheriff there make up… What was his name again? Colten?”
“Sheriff Colten Ironhorn,” I said, “Not the friendliest of Unicorns, nor the most capable of law enforcement.”
“It’s not really his fault,” Sky Flare said, “I’ve explained that to you before Silver. The further you get from Canterlot, the harder it is to keep anything but towns and villages safe.”
“Oh I remember,” I said, “But it was this town that started it all for me. That, and the Sheriff’s inability to do anything when travelers like Clyde get robbed on their way from place to place. If we hadn’t flown over Clyde when we did, I might never have gotten the desire to make all this happen. So, it’s only fitting that the troubles that brought this Guild to life be the first place we set right with the authority that has been given to us by the Princesses.”
“Far Stables is the better part of a week from here though,” Clyde said, “And it’s none to gentle of a trek.”
“Most of our issues are going to be far from here,” I said, “But that’s to be expected. Canterlot can take care of itself. It’s every place else that’s in need. As we get more members, things will get easier. But for this mission, I think it’ll be best if Sky Flare, Gale and I take it on. Clyde, you’re not a fan of conflict, and I will respect that by keeping you out of any missions I can that could involve a fight of some sort. Besides, there’s plenty enough to do around the Guild still anyways, and Landias… I think you’d be best right here too. I don’t like the thought of leaving just one Pony here alone for any length of time, not unless it’s me. I’d take Winter with us too, but he won’t be back for another few days yet, and I don’t think I can wait any longer to get our first mission underway.”
Sky Flare scoffed at my mentioning of Winter and rolled her eyes at me. “We’ll be just fine with us three,” she said, “Besides, Winter still can’t fight his way out of a wet paper bag and you know full well these bandits won’t come nicely.”
“We know of three Bandits,” Gale chimed in, “But we should assume there are more. The reports given about them are too vague to count as reliable.”
“I agree,” I said, “So we’ll assume there are more. Always expect the worst, that way you’ll never be surprised.”
Sky Flare glared at me as I ignored her to reply to Gale and snorted irritably. “So what’s the plan then?” She asked with a huff, “They won’t just be lined up waiting for us when we get there.”
“We’ll get a cart when we reach Far Stables,” I explained, “We’ll load it up to make it look like a good target and go for a trot through the woods. Right along the same path where they got the jump on Clyde. We’ll take our time of course, and set up camp in the woods if we have to. Break a wagon wheel or something that’ll leave us looking like an easy target to any unseen eyes. We’ll catch any Bandits that show up, and from them find out where their hideout is and how many more they may have there. We can drop them all off in Far Stables after that and collect on the bounties to cover our expenses.”
“Sounds simple enough I guess…” Sky Flare said, though she sounded unsure.
“We’ll need to pick up a few supplies from Ponyville before we set off,” Gale said, “But we should be able to make good time if we leave by noon.”
I nodded to him, then looked around the table. “My thoughts exactly,” I said, “Any questions, comments, or concerns?”
“Just be careful…” Clyde said with a sigh, “I know I shouldn’t worry, but I will… So just be careful.”
I smiled at him and nodded.
“This is part of the job, eh?” Landias mused, “I’ll bet a fair few tales will be told in this hall before long then. Though i’m afraid I won’t have the best travel food for you this time. But by the time you lot are ready for your next go at things, I’ll have you the best meals any Pony could dream of for their nights away from home.”
“I look forward to it Landias,” I said, “Now, unless there’s anything else, Sky Flare, Gale, gather what you’ll need and be ready to take flight come Noon. I’ll do the same, as well as get together the documents from Celestia giving us the authority to act as an independent arm of the law.
“You’d best pack your armor too,” Sky Flare commented, “You know full well we’re going to be getting into a fight before the end of this.”
“I will if you bring yours.” I laughed.
“You know full well you and Gale are the only Ponies with armor, Silver!” Sky Flare snorted, “And unlike yours, mine isn’t a rush order from the Princesses finest. So it’ll be weeks yet before I can pick it up.”
“Then it looks like I have a few weeks before I can wear mine,” I teased, “Afterall, we can’t have the Guild show up with only some of its members looking the part.”
She glared at me for a moment, then trotted off towards her room. “If you get hurt again, it’s all on you, Guild Master Silver Wing!”
I shook my head and looked at Gale. “Honestly, I don’t think armor is needed against a few bandits,” I said, “I mean, Sky Flare, Clyde and I beat them up without much issue the last time. We just didn’t bother to stop them from running off. That, and I’d feel horrible if I scratched a gift from the Princesses.”
“Gift or not, armor is meant to be worn,” Gale said simply, “And any scratch on said armor is an injury lessened or prevented for the wearer. But I make no suggestions to the Guild Master, I am merely stating my own thoughts on the matter. If you are confident these bandits will not be an issue, then I will heed your wisdom.”
I half frowned at his statement, then noticed the concerned look on Clyde’s face. “We’ll bring armor just in case,” I sighed, “But I really don’t think we’ll need it.”
Gale nodded and trotted off for his room.
“Better to be safe than sorry.” Clyde said simply.
‘Easy for you to say,’ I thought, ‘You’re not the one that has to carry it.’
“I’ll pack you what I can,” Landias said, “Though it won’t be much.”
“I appreciate it,” I said, “And Clyde, while we’re gone, if you could please take Landias into Ponyville so he can get whatever he’ll need to cook for us in the long run, our stomachs will all be grateful.”
Landias chuckled as Clyde nodded. “Can do.” He said.
“Great.” I nodded to them both, then excused myself from the table to get my own packing started. I didn’t expect things to be too difficult with this mission, but I was still excited for it. This would be my first real step towards being who I was in my world. My first step towards helping people again and making things better for those I could. This would be the something I needed to hold my focus while Dawn learned what she could to get me back home again. I felt a shiver run down my spine and grinned in anticipation. This was going to be fun, and I just couldn’t wait for it all to begin.