Chapter 7: Howling under the Stars
A quick scan of the blackwagon’s common room revealed not a single soul was inside. Twilight looked over to the corner where she normally saw a slouched over figure covered in a black cloak who was completely still, save for the subtle rising and falling of his chest that resulted from breathing. Now, all that remained in the corner was the cloak that covered him, and there was no sign or indication of here he might have gone. It was just as Rukey said outside, the minstrel had completely vanished.
“He really is gone.” Jodariel grimly stated. Applejack, Fluttershy and the Nightwings all followed Twilight inside the wagon to confirm the minstrel’s disappearance.
“Of course, he’s gone! What, Jodi, did you think that I was just messing with everyone.” Rukey accused her. When the Demon merely crossed her arms and said nothing, her answer was pretty clear. “Oh, come on, you gotta be kidding me! You guys are so critical!” The Cur sat down and continued to pout.
“Oh, it’s alright, Rukey. I’m sure they don’t me it.” Fluttershy comforted him. The pegasus then used her hoof to scratch him behind the ear. While the Cur initially flinched away from her touch, he eventually leaned back at let her continue. “Does that feel good?” the timid mare asked him.
“Eh…., it’s fine…I guess.” Rukey muttered under his breathe. Twilight did hold back a smile when she looked down and saw his tail wagging a little bit.
“Wait, that there was a person in that corner?” Applejack questioned. “I just thought that was just an old pile of blankets over there. Why didn’t he say anythin’ all this time?”
Hedwyn gave the orange mare a shrug. “We’re not too sure. Before we found Twilight, we just found him collapsed on the side of the road one day and took pity on him. We took him in, gave him food and water, and all he said was ‘thank you’ before he went to sleep. Hadn’t heard a thing from him ever since.”
Jodariel let out a sigh and went to the doorway. “Reader,” she addressed the alicorn. “You, me, Hedwyn, Rukey and Applejack will go outside.” The horned woman then looked to the moon-touched girl. “Mae, please stay inside while we are all out. Go get some rest for tomorrow morning.”
While Mae nodded in agreement with Jodariel’s orders, Rukey spoke up with a different plan. “Eh, you go on ahead there, chums. I’ll stay here with Fluttershy and give her a run down on our situation here in the Downside. You know, the Commonwealth, the Rites and all that?” The purple mare inwardly agreed to this plan, seeing how Rukey could explain this world to Fluttershy much better than she ever could.
Jodariel was quiet for a moment, but she eventually nodded. “Very well. Keep an eye on both her and Mae while we’re gone.” The Demon exited the wagon, followed by Hedwyn and Applejack. Before Twilight left to joined them, she turned to Rukey to ask him a question.
“Hey Rukey, are you sure you don’t mind explaining everything to Fluttershy?” she asked him. Instead of receiving a response from the Cur, it appeared that he was lost in the affection he was receiving from the animal lover.
“Don’t worry, Twilight,” the yellow mare said with a giggle. “Me and Rukey will have a nice little chat about this world while you and the rest are out looking for that minstrel.” She then looked over to the moon-touched girl. “Mae, would you like join us?”
The girl’s eyes lit up at the mare’s invitation. “Oh, of course, Miss Fluttershy! I would love to tell you all about the Scribes!” She then scurried over and sat down next to Rukey.
Twilight smiled at the group, happy to know that Fluttershy was setting in with the Nightwings swimmingly. The alicorn then made her leave and walked out into the night air. She noticed that neither Jodariel or Applejack were nowhere to be seen around the camp, however Hedwyn was there as if he was waiting for her. “Should we start checking for clues about where the minstrel may have gone around camp?”
The Nomad shook his head. “Jodi and AJ already left to check around the area. Right now, we need to look to where the stars are going to take us next. Then we'll go help with the search.”
The alicorn had almost forget that she hadn’t checked the stars yet, what with Fluttershy’s arrival and the minstrel’s disappearance. She gave a nod to the Nomad and looked into the night sky to seek out the next star. Almost immediately, she found a purple star twinkling brighter than the rest and began to focus in on it. Once their destination was set in her mind, Twilight pointed out the star to Hedwyn. “There, that purple star over there.”
“Ha’ub, the Midnight Star,” he identified. Following it should take east all the way across the Valley. I believe the next Rite will be taking place at a location called the Cairn of Ha’ub. It should take us about two days to reach it.” Hedwyn looked to Twilight. “Let’s go assist the others in the search now.”
As the two walked into the night, Twilight raised a question that was bothering her. “Wait, what if we don’t find the minstrel tonight? We can’t just leave without him.” While the alicorn had yet to properly get to know the minstrel, she still thought it would be wrong to just abandon him.
However, the purple mare did relax a little when Hedwyn gave her a calm smile. “Worry not, my friend. We will find him, on this night or the other. He is sure not to have gone far.”
Twilight just couldn’t place her hoof on it, but Hedwyn always had a way to quell some of the worries that she had ever since she got transported to the Downside. Whether it was traversing the harsh environments of the Downside or in a tense situation during the Rites, the Nomad stayed strong and always pointed in the right direction for her and the rest of the Nightwings. Hedwyn was the type of companion that Twilight appreciated having on her side, given the alicorn’s (somewhat frequent) tendencies to cast self-doubt on herself.
Thus, the pair ventured out into the night to join Jodariel and Applejack in search of the mysterious minstrel.
Musical Cue - Through the Valley
Despite spending a few hours searching in the night, the group found no trace of the minstrel. It was then Jodariel decided it would be best to go back to camp and get some much-needed rest for the next day. While Twilight didn’t want to give up on the search so soon, her growing fatigue convinced her otherwise. Jodariel did assure her that they would continue in the morning. Thus, the group retired back to the blackwagon in preparation for the next leg of their journey.
The following morning, Twilight woke up to some good news. Jodariel had gone out early in the morning and discovered some tracks heading east, the same direction they were supposed to be headed in. Jodariel theorized that he may have went through Fallflat, the same path they took to the Spring of Jomuer. Twilight figured that was probably the most logical conclusion, it was decided that the blackwagon would go through Fallflat to get to the Cairn of Ha’ub. After everything was packed up and the driven imps (of which Fluttershy took an immediate fondness of) were fed, the wagon set out on its journey east across Jomuer Valley.
It was about mid-afternoon by the time the blackwagon had made it about three-quarters of the way across the dusty plains of Fallflat. The wagon can to a halt as Twilight, Hedwyn and Jodariel stepped out of it. Throughout the entire day, group had yet to find any trace of the minstrel. If they hadn’t had found him by now, chances were that he was not in Fallflat. While this was discouraging to the alicorn, Jodariel was much more affected by this.
“Blast. I felt certain that he would have gone this route.” the Demon grumbled. She then kicked up a bit of dust in frustration. “We save him in his time of need, give him shelter, and this is how repays us?”
“It’s alright, Jodi,” Hedwyn reassured her. “He couldn’t have left the Valley by now. There’s still a good chance that we’ll run into him on our way to the next Rite.”
The horned woman looked at him for a brief moment before giving a huff. “Let us not waste anymore time here then.” She marched back into the wagon, leaving the alicorn and the Nomad alone together.
“Apologies for that, my friend.” Hedwyn told the mare. “Jodi can get a bit aggravated during situations like this. It’s just not in her nature to be wrong about a hunch.” Twilight figured that this was probably a good time to bring up some observations she had made during her travels with the Nightwings.
“You seem rather familiar with Jodariel’s tendencies and behavior, if you don’t mind me saying.” she said, trying not to unintentionally add offense to the Demon or Hedwyn.
“Both of us have been traveling together in the Downside for a few years now. It would make sense to learn about one another during that time, correct?” he answered her. For some reason, Twilight felt as though Hedwyn was still holding back a few details about his relationship with the Demon. And she believed she knew what to call out to get those details.
“Hedwyn, that bronze clasp,” the alicorn said, indicating the piece of metal that was holding his cloak together. “It looks exactly the same as the one that Jodariel wears for her cape.”
Hedwyn said nothing and continued to look down at the clasp. Twilight was worried for a second that she had crossed some sort of line, but she relaxed a little when she saw a small smirk on his face. “You’re quite observant, my friend.” He then looked to the wagon. “Me and Jodariel knew each other a long time before either of us were exiled to this place. Ever since I was a boy, in fact. Back then, she was always watching over me and making sure I did get hurt. Although, now that I think about it, I don’t think that’s changed as much today.” The Nomad gave small chuckle at that.
Twilight was quite touched by the history the two of them shared. It seemed that under the tough exterior that Jodariel had on daily, she had a caring, almost motherly, nature to her. That would explain why the Demon had accepted Mae so quickly after finding her and why she was always concerned with where the girl was all the time. The was about to ask for more details about the horned woman, but Hedwyn shut that down fast.
“Best you don’t bring up the past with her yet, Twilight. Jodi isn’t comfortable discussing it, especially with those she’s just met. She really is warming up to you and your friends, but not to the point where she’ll put her guard down. Just be patient with her.” Hedwyn then walked to the door of the blackwagon. “Come on. If we leave now, we should make it out of Fallflat by nightfall.”
As much as the purple mare wanted to know more about the Demon, she had to listen to Hedwyn’s wishes and hold on to her questions. Once she and Hedwyn made it back inside, the blackwagon started up again and continued on across the Valley.
The alicorn walk back to where she kept the Book of Rites to see if anymore of the pages had opened up. Unfortunately, it seemed that the pages were still sealed to her, meaning she couldn’t pass the time with a good read. Instead, she looked around the common room to see what everybody else was doing. Applejack was keeping Mae company while the girl was playing with her sticks again, Hedwyn was helping Jodariel look over a few maps of what she assumed was Jomuer Valley, and Rukey and Fluttershy were have a small chat. Twilight decided to walk over to the pegasus and Cur to see what they were discussing.
“Oh, hey sister,” Rukey greeted her. “I was just telling Fluttershy here about how we found you out in the desert and patched you up.”
Fluttershy looked to her friend with concern. “I’m so glad Rukey and his friends found you out there before it was…t-too late.” The timid mare looked uncomfortable around the topic of what might have happen to Twilight if the Nightwings were too late. “How are you feeling, by the way?”
“I’m feeling a lot better now, Fluttershy. I still need to where these bandages on my forelegs for the cuts and scrapes, but other than that, I’m fine.” While the alicorn appreciated her friend’s concern for her, she had some questions for the timid mare herself. “So Fluttershy, has Rukey filled you in on the Rites? Do you still have any outstanding questions about them?”
Fluttershy gave a small shrug. “Not particularly. Rukey said that it might be our only way home, so I suppose we should help the Nightwings with them. I don’t feel very good about leaving Angel Bunny for a long time. I know Treehugger usually feeds the animals when I’m gone, but Angel really hates it when I keep him waiting for me.”
The alicorn did feel a pang of guilt when she realized that the yellow mare was taken away from her rather important responsibilities. Said guilt then reminded Twilight of another question she had for her friend. “Um, so just out of curiosity,” she began asking. “You wouldn’t happen to remember how we all got here to this world? Something to do with me messing with that mirror to the human world?”
The pegasus tapped her hoof to her chin in thought before coming to a conclusion. “Well, I don’t know what happened exactly. I remember walking into the room with Applejack where we saw you, Starlight and Rainbow already near the mirror. I think you already casted a spell on it and then it began to glow a whole lot. Next thing I knew, there was a bright light and then I found myself falling through that portal.”
Though there were still major portions missing, Twilight starting to get an idea of had happen on that day. According to Fluttershy, both Starlight and Rainbow Dash were in the room with her during the blast, so it was highly possible that the two of them were sent to this world as well. “Was there anypony else in the room other than us?” she asked her friend.
“Well, I didn’t see anypony else in the room, but I did hear the door behind us slam open. Although the blast happened so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to turn around and see who it was. I’m sorry.” The timid mare apologized. Twilight certainly did like the idea that possibly even more of her friends got dragged into her mess.
“Woof, sounds like you guys got yourselves in quite the sticky situation, huh?” Rukey asked nonchalantly, though he did hesitate when he saw the down troughed looks the mare had on. “W-Well, do fell so down! I’m sure we’ll come across those friends of yours in no time!”
Suddenly, the wagon came to a sudden stop causing the trio to lunch forward a bit. When the wagon was completely still, Twilight saw Mae bolt out of the door, followed by Jodariel and Applejack. Hedwyn look to the trio, also confused at what was going on. Once they all exited to wagon out into the evening air, Twilight asked Jodariel what was going on. The Demon gestured over to Mae for her answer.
“They’re coming! They’re coming for us! We have to be ready, we have to!” the girl began shouting while wildly looking around the area in search of something.
“Mae, calm yerself!” Applejack tried to calm her down. “Whatcha see out there? What’s goin’ on?!” The moon-touched girl gave no response, giving the farmer intense worry.
Hedwyn looked to her horned companion. “Does she mean what I think she means?” he asked seriously.
“I believe so.” Jodariel stated. “Rukey, go secure the drive imps and ensure there don’t go outside.” The Cur gave a salute and scurried back in the wagon. The Demon then looked to the two ponies. “You three help us set up camp for the night, we do not have much time.” Twilight and Fluttershy nodded and got straight to work at setting up camp. As that was going on, Applejack continued to try and calm Mae down with somewhat successful results. The sun had completely set by the time the group completed setting up the campsite. It was then Twilight tried to figure out what exactly was going on.
“Jodariel, what exactly are we preparing for here?” the alicorn asked.
The Demon continued to scan the horizon. “They are coming for us.”
“They fear the Scribes! They fear the Scribes, I know they do!” Mae mumbled as she rocked back and forth.
Twilight looked to see that Applejack was still by the girl’s side. “She’s been goin’ on about “they” for a long while now. What the hay is she talkin’ about?”
“Howlers,” Hedwyn answered her. “Ravenous creatures that are often the end for most exiles in the Downside.”
The alicorn gave a worried look as she looked out to the horizon to see if she could spot any of these Howlers approaching. Dangerous wildlife was nothing new to her in Equestria. If a pony wasn’t careful, they could be the victim of terrifying timberwolves if they were to stray far into the Everfree Forest. Only this time, Twilight was a bit more nervous about these Howlers since she had no idea what they even looked like.
Rukey had re-joined the group as he was also looking rather nervous. “So, what exactly are we going to do here?” he asked.
Twilight looked to see that Fluttershy was shaking like a leaf. “Um…I-I don’t suppose hiding in the wagon is a good strategy…right?”
“They fear the Scribes!” Mae yelled out again, while Applejack continued to try and calm her down. It appeared that everybody was unsure of how exactly they were going to deal with the enclosing Howler attack. Everybody except for one.
“Calm yourself, Mae.” Jodariel stated in a calm and collected voice. The Demon then rushed back into the wagon. Before anybody could ask what exactly she was doing, the horned woman returned carrying the Nightwings’ metal sigil that was originally resting in the common room. Though the sigil looked quite heavy, Jodariel held it with ease and dropped down on the dusty ground. The Demon then pulled out the Ashen Coal and began striking it with her dagger over the sigil. Once sparks started to hit the sigil, it then suddenly burst into the familiar blue flame that Twilight had seen during the Rites. Jodariel then looked to the others. “We shall give them a reason to fear us, as well.”
“Uh, Jodariel,” Applejack began to question. “How exactly is the pyre suppose to help us right now? I thought this thing only appeared during those Rites?”
Hedwyn answered the farmer’s question before the Demon could. “We can use the raiments and the Book to defend ourselves.”
“Precisely,” Jodariel continued. “With the pyre going and the Reader under our watch, we can use our aura to banish the Howlers away. It will just like in our Rites.”
Hedwyn then turned to the purple mare. “It seems like we need your help for this one, my friend. You up for it?”
Twilight was slightly taken aback by the sudden request but was quick to shake it off. It looked like it was her time to step up to the plate again, and she was more than ready for it. “Alright, but if we’re doing this, maybe it would be a good idea to just have one of you out here. That way, I don’t have focus on moving three of you one of a time.” The alicorn reasoned that having one exile to guide would allow her focus more on the impending swarm rather than on three exiles.
The Nomad gave a nod. “Alright, so I guess we need a volunteer.”
“I will do it, Miss Twilight!” Mae responded. “Please, you have to let me! I know the Scribes will protect me!”
“Now hold on just a minute there,” Applejack objected. “Mae, this could be real dangerous. These Howlers sound like they mean business. Ya should really just go hide in the wagon.”
The moon-touched girl gave the farmer somewhat of a pout. “But, Miss Applejack, I really want to help! I did a good job in the last Rite, you said so yourself! Do…do you not think I can do this?”
“W-well, it’s just that…uh…” The farmer was struggling to figure out a way to convince the girl with hurting her feelings. She glanced over to Hedwyn and Jodariel in hopes of gaining support for her, but both of them just shrugged, indicating that they were perfectly fine with Mae volunteering. Finally, the farmer looked back to the girl’s pleading face and hung her head in defeat. “Aw alright, fine. Go get yer robes, sugarcube.”
Mae’s face lit up once again as she rushed back into the wagon to put on her rainments. With the decision made, Jodariel looked to Twilight. “Reader, you and Mae will stay out here and defend against the swarm. They will be going for the pyre in hopes of snuffing it out. If the flames die, so will our chances of surviving. The rest of us will hunker down inside the wagon.” The Demon then reached into her robes and pulled out the Book and extended it to Twilight. “Good luck.”
With a look of determination, the alicorn nodded at grabbed the Book with her magic. As this was happening, Mae had returned, now donned in the rainments and mask in hand. The rest of the Nightwings made there way inside the wagon for protection against the impending attack. Applejack continued to stand in place as she looked at Mae with worry. It was only when she felt a wing on her back did she break from her trance. “It will be alright, Applejack,” Fluttershy comforted her friend. “Twilight will watch over Mae. Let’s go inside now.” The farmer looked to her friend and gave a hesitant nod. The two mares then went inside the wagon and shut the door behind them, leaving only Mae and Twilight outside.
Night had now completely fallen over the landscape now, the roaring blue flames providing the only source of light. Twilight turned around to see that everybody was looking through the window from inside the wagon, with Applejack noticeably taking up the center. The purple mare’s attention was drawn away when she suddenly heard howling coming from the horizon.
“That howling sound, it means….they’re here! By the Scribes, they’re here!” Mae said. The moon-touched girl put on her mask and took her stance by the pyre. Twilight followed along and opened the Book in front of her. The pages then gave their familiar glow and the mare established the connection to Mae. Just as expected, the blue aura formed around the girl’s feet.
Twilight then let out a few more words of encouragement before they were both swarmed by the Howlers. “Okay Mae, we can do this! We just have to keep them away from the pyre.”
Mae looked over her shoulder and nodded. “Let us drive off these Howlers together, Miss Twilight. They will know the true power of the Scribes tonight!”
The alicorn peered over and saw one of the Howlers emerge from behind a large rock. The Howler didn’t appear too different from the drive imps from the blackwagon. Similar in small size and stature, albeit its fur was a darker shade of red. Small, black horns protruded from its head and its eyes glowed a sickly yellow. The creature let out another ear-piercing howl, revealing its sharp, black teeth. Unlike its imp cousins, the creature had no wings, so it had to resort to scurrying towards Twilight and Mae. The girl was quick to react and casted her aura at it. Once the blast hit, the Howler dissipated into the air, similar to how the adversaries were banished in the Rites. The victory was short-lived however as the mare saw more of the creatures making their way towards the wagon. While the Howlers were thankfully avoiding any attention towards Mae and advanced to the pyre, Twilight knew she had to protect the flame or else their only defense against the creatures would be lost.
Twilight guided the moon-touched girl to other side of the pyre to banish more Howlers. More and more of the creatures were appearing now; all of them making a beeline towards the flames. As the creatures began to clump together on the left side of the field, Mae made a large jump to the other side and banished all of them. Twilight noticed that while Mae’s aura and speed were very similar to Hedwyn’s, her jumping ability far outclassed the Nomad. The Howlers started to thin out now as the girl continued to banish them away. When Mae blasted the last Howler in the field, Twilight began to believe that the onslaught was over. Unfortunately, the alicorn was proven wrong when she the howling again, this time louder than before.
“There are even more coming, Miss Twilight!” Mae called out to her. “They sound much angrier now!”
The moon-touch girl proved right when they saw dozens of the creatures now racing towards them. Mae tried to cast her aura out to thin out their forces, but she only caused a small dent. She then began to run towards them, banishing some of the creature with her aura field. Unfortunately, some of the Howlers got passed Mae and jumped right into the pyre. The blue flames flickered a bit before settling back down. The alicorn acted fast and had Mae jump right back to in front of the pyre to intercept the Howlers. This back-and-forth went on for about 10 minutes as the moon-touched girl continued to hold back the ravenous creatures. Eventually, their numbers began to thin, and it looked as though they were becoming less aggressive.
“Miss Twilight! I believe we are close to victory! Let us keep going!” Mae called to the alicorn. She then made another aura as the incoming Howler. Normally after an exile made a cast, the aura field around them disappeared for about a second before it returned around their feet. This happened when Mae casted that aura blast, leaving her defenseless against an incoming attack behind her. Apparently, one of the Howlers decided to avoid going towards the pyre and go after the girl herself. Twilight had no time to warn Mae and could only watch on in horror as the creature made a leap at the unaware girl. Before the Howler could sink its teeth into the girl, Twilight saw an orange blur rush out of the wagon and headed straight to Mae. It turned out it was Applejack as she stopped and quickly turned around to buck the Howler in the air. The farmer’s hooves hit their mark and the creature was sent back towards the ground. The girl noticed the creature on the ground and quickly banished it once her aura had returned. Mae then looked to the farmer. “Miss Applejack?! What are you-“
“No time, sugarcube!” Applejack interrupted her. “we gotta finish ‘em off!” She then took a defensive stand towards the remaining Howlers. “Alright, ya varmints, come any closer and y’all will be in for a world of pain!”
The alicorn regained her focus and continued the effort to hold of the remaining Howlers. While Twilight technically didn’t have a link to Applejack like she did with Mae, the farmer had no trouble holding her own as she continue to buck and Howler that got close to the pyre. Mae was then quick to banish the creatures that the mare had kicked in front of her. With the combined effort of the alicorn, the earth pony and the moon-touched girl, the swarm of creatures was shrunk down to only a single Howler. The creature made one last vain attempt to attack the pyre, but it was instantly banished by Mae’s aura blast. The night air was now quiet, save for the soft crackling coming from the blue flames. Twilight gave one, final scan of the area to confirmed that all of the Howlers were either banished or had retreated.
“Are…Are they gone?” Applejack said, slightly out of breath.
“I believe so, I no long here that dreaded howling.” Mae said with a sigh of relief. The girl’s aura disappeared as she removed her mask and turned back to Applejack. The moon-touched girl then suddenly knelt down to the orange mare’s level and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Miss Applejack. No one…has ever risked their own life to save me like that.”
The farmer was a bit taken aback, at first, but she then smiled and patted the girl’s back. “Aw, it weren’t nothin’, sugarcube. Ya did a mighty fine job at keepin’ those Howlers at bay.”
The pair separated from the hug when everybody began to exit the blackwagon. “Well done, my friend.” Hedwyn congratulated Twilight.
“Indeed. Although we were not expecting Applejack to intervene in the end.” Jodariel ended, glancing over at the orange mare from the side. Amongst the group’s conversation, none of them had noticed that Mae had begun to wander away from the pyre.
“Yeah, we tried to stop AJ from bolting out the door, but she was way too quick for us.” Rukey said as he scratched the back of his head.
“Thank goodness she didn’t get hurt by one of those unruly beasts. They didn’t seem very friendly.” said Fluttershy.
The yellow mare’s comment seemed to have caused Applejack to realize how reckless she just was. She began to kick some dirt with her hoof and looked to the Demon. “Um, Jodariel?” she began to apologize. “I’m sorry about goin’ out there like that. I just wanted to-“
“It is fine.” Jodariel interrupted her. “You were looking out for Mae. I would have done the same for her or anyone else here.”
Before Twilight could also reassure her friend, everything froze when they all heard a scream coming from Mae. They all quickly turned to the source of the scream to witness something that made the alicorn’s blood turn cold. On the edge of the campsite, the moon-touch girl looked petrified as she was staring at something from the shadows. It was too dark to tell, but it looked like it was another Howler. The concealed creature growled at the girl and looked as though it was ready to pounce. Before either Jodariel or Applejack could do anything to protect Mae, the creature pounced and went straight for the girl’s face. Twilight flinched away in horror, expecting the worse to happen to the poor girl.
Only to look back with confusion as she began to hear laughter.
Mae was holding the creature in her arm while she continued to laugh. When the girl stepped back into the light of the pyre, Twilight was finally able to get a good look at the creature. At first, it looked to be just an ordinary drive imp from the blackwagon, but there was something different about it. It was small, no larger than a beachball, and covered in bright red fur. It possessed tiny, blue wings in place of arms, and tiny, blue feet that could barely be seen. It had a brown face with a small, blue nose between its large, expressive eyes. Finally, there were blue horns sticking out from his forehead, although there was a red cloth tied around one of them. Nevertheless, the creature appeared to be docile, as it was still nuzzling against Mae face.
“Isn’t he the best?!” the girl said with a big smile. “He’s so soft!”
The alicorn was alarmed again when she heard a loud gasp from behind her. Twilight turned around to see that it was Fluttershy who gasped. The pegasus was staring at Mae and the creature with wide eyes as she was floating off the ground and hooves covering her mouth. “Oh, sweet Celestia…” the mare managed to whisper. She then dashed forward until she was right up in the creature’s face. “He is the most PRECIOUS little thing I’ve ever seen!”
The little creature tilted its head and sniffed the excited pegasus before it jumped from Mae’s arms and began to nuzzle her face. The animal lover happily returned the nuzzle and became completely enamored with the new animal. “Scree, hee!” it chirped. While Fluttershy continued to fawn over the creature, Mae walked back to the group.
“Hmm,” Hedwyn began to ponder. “It looks like a common drive imp, but there’s something different about it. it seems more…aware.”
“Can we keep him, Miss Twilight?! He’s so cute, and it looks like he really likes Miss Fluttershy! Can he come along with us?!” Mae excitedly asked Twilight.
“Um…” the alicorn began to say. It was a little uneasy for the purple mare to be put on the spot like this. She was a little unsure of whether or not it was a good idea to take in a wild animal just like that. However, the moon-touched girl was also giving her such a pleading look that it wasn’t like she could just say no to her. “W-Well, Mae. Taking care of a pet is a very large responsibility. And…uh…we don’t really know a whole lot about him. He could be much wilder and more dangerous than the other drive imps we have, and…”
“Actually, he says that his name is Ti’zo.”
The group looked over to see it was Fluttershy that had interrupted Twilight. The pegasus was wearing a happy grin while the Imp was perched on top of her head. “Scree-kiriri-ki-kiri!” he said with glee. Twilight had no clue what the Imp was saying until Fluttershy translated.
“Ti’zo says that he was able to find us thanks to the Howler swarm. He’s not very fond of them, though.” Ti’zo let out a small growl at the end of Fluttershy’s translation.
The Nightwings still looked puzzled that the pegasus was able to understand the Imp. “Uhh, you can…understand him, Flutters?” Rukey asked the yellow mare.
“Well, back in Equestria, Fluttershy always had this connection with animals. Guess it ain’t no different for this world either.” Applejack explained to the Cur.
The pegasus gave another small smile when the Nightwings seemed impress with her natural abilities with animals. Ti’zo then left Fluttershy’s head used his wings to flutter right in front of Twilight. The purple mare stood there as the Imp continued to look and circle around her, almost as if he was studying the pony. After a full minute of this, the creature gave a nod and return to his perch on Fluttershy’s head. “Kri-kiri. Kraa-hirriik-ii!” he chirped to the pegasus.
“What did he say, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked her friend.
“He said that he actually has a history with the blackwagon and would love to make it his home again. He also said that it’s a pleasure to see that the Nightwings have returned and are being led by a competent Reader.” The yellow mare explained.
While Twilight was certainly flattered by the Imp’s compliment, she still wanted to make sure everybody else was okay with him coming along. The looks on the Nightwings showed no objection against letting Ti’zo join them, the alicorn made up her mind. “Alright then, Ti’zo, your more than welcome to join us!”
Ti’zo let out a few happy chirps and put on a smile that reveal two, sharp fangs. Fluttershy was equally as ecstatic about the news as well. “Oh, thank you, Twilight! This is so exciting! Come on Ti’zo, let’s go set up a nice little nest for you inside!” The gave a nod and moved to rest on the yellow mare’s back. As she made her way inside, Fluttershy looked to the moon-touched girl. “Mae, would you like to help us?”
The girl gave an eager nod and followed the pair inside the wagon. Jodariel then looked to the rest of the group. “We should all go inside and get some rest as well. We have to make it to the Cairn of Ha’ub by tomorrow night. We also still need to find that minstrel as well.”
Everybody seemed to be in silent agreement with the Demon as Hedwyn, Rukey and Applejack followed her inside. Twilight made it to the doorway before she remembered to close the Book. As soon as she did, the flames of the pyre instantly disappeared, leaving behind just the Nightwings’ sigil. The alicorn gave one final look before heading inside as well.
While they had yet to find the lone minstrel, the Nightwings had gained another member for their journey. With that and along with finding some of her friends, Twilight was beginning to feel less alone.