Rarity stepped into Talbot’s shop. The noise from outside disappeared the moment the door was closed. Floorboards creaked beneath her. Instead of being covered in dust and smelling like the basement of a library under attack by mold, Rarity was met with a clean store and a pleasant aroma coming from candles that had been placed in each corner. She needed to know what scent was burning and passed a shelf full of candles on her way to the pot in the nearest corner.
Talbot appeared, cutting her off and scooping the candle burning in the unlabeled jar ahead of her. “Fancy pony with luscious mane like?” Talbot inhaled deeply. “Mother’s recipe. Quiet Time. Many in stock. Also available as soap and shampoo. Twenty bits for candle normally, but fifteen for friend of princess pony.”
Bottles clinked together at a different location in the shop. Talbot smiled at Rarity and set the candle down before hurrying away. She followed him, passing a shelf full of toys, another stuffed with blankets, and one full of various tiny statues meant to be placed in gardens. They both found TwiCord with a glass bottle containing a thick, yellow gel gripped in her aura.
“Ahh, princess pony has found Talbot’s herbal recipes. Refreshing and invigorating. Good for whatever may ail you. That bottle is topical analgesic. No matter where you rub it, it always feels better.”
TwiCord set the bottle down. “You’re a jack of all trades, aren’t you?”
“Master of none,” Talbot replied. “Talbot interested in many things. Always making things or collecting things. It is living.”
TwiCord moved towards the counter at the front of Talbot’s shop. He followed eagerly. Rarity noted the aisle that contained candles as she returned to TwiCord’s side. Since she would soon be dropping enough money to make most ponies pass out, she felt she could treat herself to something. Nothing had a price on it. Talbot bargained. He was likely very good at it. Rarity kept her curiosity in check for now.
Talbot’s counter was of the variety found inside a sandwich shop. Five types of hard candy were available, including something that looked a lot like coal. There were three shelves behind the counter, but only one in use, which displayed various spices to be used in pipes. A door leading to Talbot’s private apartment and the basement could also be seen from the counter.
Talbot seemed to sense a good deal about to come his way and relaxed a little in his position of power behind the register. “What interests you, ponies? Why have you come to Talbot’s shop?”
“We’re here to buy lunatoite,” Twilight said. “We heard you have it.”
Rarity’s heart started beating faster. A metallic smell entered her nose. It was time to spend big money.
Talbot chuckled. “But Talbot has already offered princesses his lunatoite. They refused his price.”
TwiCord chuckled with him. “Did you know that if a national emergency was declared, the princesses would be within their rights to seize your lunatoite without paying you to protect Equestria?”
Talbot squinted and scratched at his head. “Uhh. . .no. Talbot did not know that.” He realized something and straightened up. “As if national emergency would ever be declared in Equestria. You and other Elements of Harmony do fine jobs. Talbot grateful for your service, by the way. That truth.”
“Thank you for the compliment. You’re right about all that. However. . .” TwiCord trailed off, causing Talbot to fidget a little. “It would be within my power to issue a decree calling for the forfeit of all lunatoite in order to manufacture better armor and weapons for our military. All I’d have to do is convince two of the other princesses to side with me to gain the right I needed to put it up to a vote. Just so you know, one of them happens to be my sister-in-law. Oh, and Luna always agrees to anything in favor of a stronger military. Swaying public opinion wouldn’t be all that hard. Problems in Equestria have been on the rise as of late.”
She was crushing him. He would be forced to give her a better deal. Rarity didn’t bother stepping in. TwiCord was only bargaining. There was a slight edge to it, but TwiCord hadn’t gone past what Rarity would expect from the real Twilight.
“When, not if, I pass this decree, I won’t just be coming for what you have in stock,” TwiCord said. “I will also make you tell me where you found it. If you want to do things the hard way, that’s your choice. Here’s the easy way. I would like to make you a generous offer for a small amount of your lunatoite right now and I want to encourage you to accept it.”
Talbot nodded eagerly, happy to get out from under the pressure. “Fine, fine. Talbot accept gracefully and with pleasure. What can Talbot do for Princess Sparkle?”
“I will need three pounds of lunatoite. You will get seventy-five thousand bits for it.”
Rarity’s ears flickered. That wasn’t the amount they had agreed on earlier.
Talbot slammed his paws on the counter and leaned forward. “Seventy-five?!” Talbot almost had his face in TwiCord’s. “That almost no more than what diamond would go for in same amount!”
TwiCord raised an eyebrow at him. “And?”
Talbot backed away and folded his arms across his chest. “Be reasonable. Ninety-five thousand.”
“Eighty and not one bit more, Talbot. Take it or leave it.”
Talbot growled and winced in pain. As much as she preferred paying less, Rarity’s heart went out to him. Neither of them knew what effort had gone into finding the lunatoite.
“I can offer you something more, Talbot.” Rarity flicked her mane back with a hoof. “In case you don’t already know who I am, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Rarity, the Element of Generosity and the proprietor of Carousel Boutique. Fashion is my trade, but I think I might have some room on my floor for your lovely candles. My customers would be sure to visit your shop after sampling them.”
Talbot drummed his claws on the counter. “This is what Talbot get for not taking princess Luna’s offer. Live and learn. Fine. It is deal.”
The promissory note from earlier materialized in TwiCord’s aura. She laid it down in front of Talbot. “I will have you write the amount we agreed on in the provided space.”
Talbot tapped the document with a claw. “This check blank! How you get president of bank to sign it?”
“Do you see the part where I cosigned? That’s how,” Twilight replied.
Talbot hesitated. “Could you pay in bits?”
TwiCord used her aura to yank the promissory note into the air. Talbot cried out and grasped for it eagerly as it slipped out of his reach. TwiCord wasn’t going to let him have it.
Talbot opened his cash register, took out the drawer, and retrieved a fountain pen with a bottle of black ink. “Never mind. Talbot also accept checks.”
Released from TwiCord’s aura, the note drifted down to the counter. In less than a minute, five simple digits were on the note. It really was only paper. TwiCord seized the fountain pen with her aura and drew a line after the last digit.
Talbot placed the check beneath the drawer inside his register. “Lunatoite is not on floor. Too expensive. Is in basement. Please allow Talbot a few minutes to get it.”
He left the room through the door behind the counter and closed it behind him.
“Thank you for talking him into giving us a better deal,” Rarity said.
“No problem. That’s what friends are for,” TwiCord said.
Rarity wandered over to the candles and picked up one called Be Sweet. There were four of them. The enhanced aroma of honey and beeswax smelled better than Quiet Time. She hurried to see if he had it in a shampoo and procured the last bottle in stock. Rarity double checked to see if the scents matched. They smelled much better than her trusted brand, Mane Attraction. With any luck, they would be as good to her hair.
TwiCord appeared, eating coal candy from a paper bag. She offered it to Rarity. “Want some?”
Rarity pulled a black chunk of hard candy from the bag with her aura and popped it in her mouth. The intensity of the cinnamon was a little too much for her. Her cheeks caved in and she had to stop herself from drooling. TwiCord snickered.
They were drawn back to the counter by the sound of a door opening and closing.
Talbot placed a burlap sack on the counter. “Here is. Bag of candy for princess is on house.”
“We will need to make sure this is authentic since we are spending quite a bit of money,” TwiCord said. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead. Appraisal already done by another unicorn. Talbot never cheat his customers.”
TwiCord set her candy down and emptied the contents of the sack onto the counter. Two chunks of lunatoite fell out. It resembled gold, only the color was lighter. She motioned for Rarity to have a look.
Rarity wrapped her aura around the lunatoite. Never having checked it before, a new composition entered her understanding. Obtaining familiarity with the substance was instantaneous. She could check for the typical signs of a duplication. A portion no larger than a single grain of sand did not match with what she knew was real lunatoite.
It was fake.
Before saying anything, she repeated the procedure on the other chunk and obtained the same result.
Explaining what she had discovered would be awkward, but Rarity had to do it. “Talbot, are you sure you grabbed the right item? This is a copy. It’s a good one, but it isn’t a hundred percent lunatoite.”
Talbot sneered. “What? That not possible.”
TwiCord held out a hoof. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to be needing that note we just gave you.”
“Talbot not liar,” Talbot said, agitated. “Already verified. Real thing. You must have made mistake. We go talk to appraiser. Now. Follow.”
Talbot marched to the door and opened it. His stride didn’t hide his anger. Rarity bit her bottom lip. Perhaps she had indeed cast the spell wrong. It was too late now. TwiCord took the lead and she followed her. The stairs leading down into the basement had been made wide to make moving objects through them more convenient. Talbot’s basement wasn’t finished, but cement had been added to serve as a floor. Electricity was present, providing illumination to all of Talbot’s tools. Rarity spotted a setup geared towards chemistry that Twilight would be jealous of, an alchemist’s station, and a large workbench.
The sound of two creatures giggling up ahead was unexpected. It came from behind a set of privacy curtains at the back of the basement.
“Stop laughing at me!” the voice of a mare demanded.
Her plea made the two creatures cackle even harder. Something about the tone in their voices was off. Talbot froze in place, confused. The malicious chortles had gotten to him as well. TwiCord put a hoof to her lips, motioned for Talbot to say put, and beckoned Rarity to join her as she crept towards the scene unfolding behind the curtains.
“The mages in this realm are so strange,” said a stallion with a voice on the edge of a growl.
“Let’s make sure we have this straight,” a cultured voice said. “You conjured us to assist you in obtaining the means to become an alicorn and you are offering us a tea party in exchange for our services?”
There was a pause.
The mare continued, “This is from master brewer Jasmine Leaf. It’s from her personal collection and---”
Roaring laughter kept the mare from finishing.
“Oh, my sides!” the deeper voice said. “You deserve to be punished for wasting my time, but this is the best laugh I’ve had in recent memory, so I’ll let you off with a warning. If you want even the tiniest hint, your offering must be more substantial, especially since your request involves shapeshifting.”
Rarity and TwiCord took opposite sides of the opening through the curtains without being noticed. TwiCord cautiously peered into the drama occurring behind the curtains. Rarity gulped and followed her example. She saw a bed, cabinet, bookcase and three stacks of books. A fancy wooden table was in the center of the room with three occupants seated at it.
The only recognizable species was the unicorn mare, who had a powder blue mane and a pumpkin orange coat. Her cutie mark displayed a set of grey runes enveloped in a white mist. A thing with an ape shaped face from which several pony legs tipped with hoofs managed to remain balanced on a throne as it sipped tea through a straw from a cup made of sterling silver. Rarity noticed a peculiar sigil had been carved in front of it. Joining it was an owl with unusually long chicken legs. It wore an ornate crown at the top of its head. A different sigil was in front of it.
Rarity went over their conversation. They were conjured and presented with gifts to persuade them to perform some sort of favor for the mare. It hit her. They were demons, which also explained the malicious aura they exuded upon being looked at. Rarity wasn’t too familiar with their kind, but she knew they were not to be bothered. Calling them out of whatever plane of existence they inhabited was highly illegal and came with a slew of severe punishments, which a princess could administer on the spot.
The royal owl continued, “While I can’t speak for my compatriot, I’ll tell you what you’ll need if you’ll give me your soul.”
“I’m not going to do that!” the mare shrieked. “Please. Have mercy. All of this was very expensive. I worked very hard to buy all this because I know both of you deserved the best I could get. Look, I have heard that one of the ingredients for the potion is the wings of a pegasus pony. Is that true?”
“Do you want the answer bad enough to give me your soul?”
“Forget it.” She turned to the other demon. “How about you? What do you want from me?”
“I’ll take the head of your father or the still-beating heart of your brother and a lot more of this Hearth’s Warming Mint. It’s delicious!”
The mare slumped across the table in defeat. “What have I done?”
Rarity heard TwiCord hiss to get her attention. With her head, TwiCord motioned beyond the curtains. It was time to crash the party. Rarity nodded. They both slipped through the curtains simultaneously, drawing a surprised shriek from the mare and friendly waves from the demons.
TwiCord ignored the demons and focused on the mare. “Hi! I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle and you are under arrest. Big time. Talbot, give me her name because I’m not fighting for it.”
“Marigold Wisp,” Talbot said. “Princess, Talbot swear he didn’t know she was up to this or he would have turned her in. She say she study old magic. How could Talbot have known she meant this?”
“This is getting lame,” the demon with the mangled face of an ape said to the royal owl. “Let’s blow this joint.”
“Agreed. Sorry, Marigold. Next time you want to call one of us, follow the instructions to the letter. Don’t just make assumptions. Thanks for the tea and the new furniture.”
Marigold squinted. “The what, now?”
The table, everything on it, and its matching chairs vanished in an eruption of white flame that left no damage behind. Marigold fell on her rear after her seat disappeared and yelped in pain. When she processed that the demons had robbed her, she began crying. Rarity wasn’t sure if she should feel sorry for her. In any case, Marigold should have known better.
“Alright, Marigold,” TwiCord said. “You might have not had much success with those two, but I am willing to cut you a reasonable deal. I know you have lunatoite. You would not have been able to make such a good copy of it without having some of it on hoof. If you give me all of it right now, you will only go without magic for a month.”
Marigold gestured to the cabinet near her bed. “My saddlebags are in there. The lunatoite is in the right pocket.”
TwiCord grinned. “Good. Fetch them for me and put them on the floor. Please don’t try anything funny.”
Still weeping, Marigold limped over to the cabinet. Rarity braced herself. Unicorns never took well to losing their magic. Marigold would fight. Anything could happen. Novices couldn’t summon demons. Marigold was at least an intermediate well on her way to becoming a master.
The cabinet door opened with a squeak. Marigold took out a boring, worn pair of saddlebags that didn’t match her coat. A hole in the bottom left pocket had been sealed using staples. She set the bags down as instructed and waited for TwiCord to say something. The saddlebags settled into themselves as if they were empty.
TwiCord whistled tonelessly. “Impressive. You’ve increased the carrying capacity of your bag by installing a void into it. If you went that far, I bet you also put a hex on the pockets, didn’t you?”
“Princess, I would never---”
“Do you think I was born yesterday? Remove the enchantment or spend the next year without magic. Take your pick.”
Marigold’s horn lit up. A silver aura surrounded the bags for a few seconds before vanishing. Rarity struggled to make sense of TwiCord’s request. If the bag hadn’t been booby trapped before, Marigold might have taken the opportunity she had just been given to set one up.
“Twi---” Rarity caught herself. “Princess, you can’t possibly trust her.”
“I know what I’m doing,” TwiCord approached the bag. “Do I reach inside the left pocket? Maybe the right one? Both at the same time?”
“The right pocket, princess,” Marigold replied.
TwiCord sighed. “I hope you’re a fast runner, Marigold.”
Following Marigold’s instructions, TwiCord placed her hoof on the right pocket and was about to search inside of it when she quickly switched to the other pocket. A blinding explosion erupted from the pocket. Sulfur and smoke filled the air as a deafening barrage of fireworks filled the room. Rarity got down on her belly and put her front hoofs over her head. Her ears were ringing, but she could still hear magic being flung across the room. A chill that burned her skin soared an inch above her back. She curled up, trying to expose as little of her body as possible. Someone collided into something. TwiCord let out a yell.
The fight ended as quickly as it had started. Rarity got off the dusty floor just in time to see Marigold making her way up the stairs at the other end of the room. She had her saddlebags with her. Talbot was a few hoofs to the right of where Rarity had last seen him, encased in a giant block of ice. Under normal circumstances, the expression on his face would have been priceless. TwiCord was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Rarity spotted a giant ball of purple fluff.
“Drat!” TwiCord said, her voice muffled underneath all her hair. “She put a hex on her cabinet and had me bump into it to activate it. She’s clever. I think I like her. Let’s make her the seventh member of our entourage.”
“We’ll have to catch her before we can do that,” Rarity said.
A pair of scissors appeared and ventured into the ball of fluff. “It’s going to take me a few minutes to break this hex. She could be gone by then. Hurry after her, Rarity!”
“And just what do you expect me to do?” Rarity asked. “She’s good with magic. How much of a chance do you think I stand against her?”
Hair began flying everywhere. “She doesn’t have the guts to do anything drastic. The guards should be able to help you. Get going!”
Rarity clicked her tongue and took off for the stairs, noticing that Talbot’s eyes followed her as she left. They could free him later. She took the steps two at a time and sailed through the door into the shop. Rarity burst through the front door, darting into the busy street. Chatting with TwiCord hadn’t been a wise decision. Marigold was gone.
Finding her wouldn’t be impossible. She couldn’t have gotten far. If all else failed, TwiCord wouldn’t have any problems locating the rock she was hiding under, but Rarity didn’t want to rely on her unless she had to. She could fix this problem by thinking like a crook to figure out where Marigold had gone.
Immediately skipping town didn’t seem likely. Marigold would be too exposed out in the open. She would have to expect to be reported to the guards. Eventually, a team of them would be searching for her. Laying low in a tavern wasn’t an option. Unless she acquired a disguise of some sort.
If Rarity were the one practicing forbidden magic, she would bet everything on hiding in the docks. Paying for safe passage on a ship under a bogus name wouldn’t work when the guards had the town on alert unless she could put the captain under a spell. That was too difficult. It would be easier to hide in a container. Cheaters always loved it easier.
Unfortunately, Rarity thought of another possibility. She remembered hearing a train earlier. Marigold could also make her escape by sneaking aboard one of them. It would probably be better than going through the market to get to the docks. Less ponies would see her. Jumping a train was the better option. Rarity didn’t have the faintest idea where to go to get to the station, but she didn’t need to worry about it.
“I need a guard!” Rarity shouted. “Can someone please get me a guard? I’ve been robbed!”
Every pony stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to her. In a society where many of the inhabitants ran their own businesses or knew someone who did, theft was not looked upon favorably.
A pegasus mare in full armor bearing the crest of the town landed in front of Rarity, kicking up dust when she landed. “Swift Vengeance, at your service, Lady Rarity. How may I help?”
“Oh, thank you, Swift. I fear I’ve been had by Marigold Wisp.”
“Never heard of her. Mane, coat, mark?”
“Powder blue, pumpkin, and a set of letters that I believe are Old Ponish.”
Swift grinned. “This shouldn’t be too hard. Would you like to wait at the station?”
“No, I am going to look for her as well. The way I see it, she is in one of two places. The docks or the train station. If you find her, be careful. She’s good with magic and she is acquainted with spells she shouldn’t have access to.”
“Sounds like this will be fun. I’ll get the whole town on alert in a jiffy. Where do you plan on looking?”
Rarity bit her bottom lip. It was a difficult decision. “The train station.”
“Okay. Is this your first time in Neighpal?”
“Yes, but I would assume the station and the harbor are in the same general area.”
“And you would be correct. I saw you and Princess Sparkle at the fountain a little while ago. There’s a big signpost there. You can’t miss it. You’ll be able to make your way to the station from there. If you need help, just ask anyone. Be careful, okay?”
“Likewise, Swift.”
Swift leapt into the air and Rarity galloped back to the fountain. She had no problems making it to the signpost Swift had mentioned. The path she intended to take was opposite the shopping district. So far, so good.
“I can’t believe you sold more ‘n half our zucchini for seaweed!” said a mare who sounded an awful lot like Applejack.
Rarity turned and saw an earth mare and stallion locked in a conversation. The stallion was pulling a cart full of barrels.
“You hush now, Scarlet,” the stallion said. “Once you taste how well it goes with rice, cream cheese ‘n cucumbers, you will hardly want to eat anythin’ else ever again.”
Rarity smirked. The working class was so quaint. She turned and took a single step towards the train station when a chill went down her spine. It couldn’t be. There was no way. She turned around and looked at the back of the cart. The stallion hit a small bump in the road, causing everything in the cart to wiggle. For a split second, Rarity caught sight of a powder blue mane sticking out of a barrel. Whoever was in the barrel shuffled around until their mane was hidden from view.
Rarity didn’t have the faintest idea of what she should do. She wasn’t capable of fighting Marigold. Tailing the cart would be the best option. A guard would eventually see her. If she flailed hard enough, they would know something was wrong. She wished for Swift to appear and glanced at the sky, hoping to catch her.
“Psst!”
Someone was trying to catch her attention. Rarity didn’t dare let her eyes off the cart.
A voice spoke to her in a hurried whisper. “Rarity, it’s me! Twilight! I’m in your saddlebag! Keep trotting. I see you found Marigold. Good work.”
A few ponies who were close enough to hear the whispers coming from her saddlebag stopped what they were doing and stared at her as she kept a reasonable distance from the cart.
“In order to stop her from using magic, you’ll need to get a nullifier around her horn,” TwiCord said, still whispering. “I’ve placed one in your bag. It’s a black ring with a garnet stone. That mare is going to flip out the moment she knows you have one, so try to catch her by surprise.”
Rarity clenched her teeth. “Why can’t you?”
“Because I know you can do this! You just have to believe in yourself!”
There was no sense in arguing any further. She couldn’t expect TwiCord to do most of the work, especially if it wasn’t dangerous. It seemed so easy. Marigold’s head was right beneath the lid of the barrel. If Rarity was quick, she could place the nullifier around Marigold’s horn before Marigold had a chance to retaliate. She was due for some good luck.
Rarity became aware of another problem before she could make her move. The farmers might recognize her. Acting contrary to their expectations would help stall for time. Achieving the desired results required something Rarity was not sure she could give.
Marigold had heard her voice.
Rarity needed to speak like a commoner.
It was for Spike.
Rarity twisted the muscles in her throat, eliminating the dignity of her regular voice. She got ahead of the pair and stood in their way to force them to stop.
“Hello, there!” Rarity said, thoroughly aware of how utterly bizarre she sounded. “You two have great cutie marks!”
The stallion and mare looked at one another and then at Rarity.
“Thanks?” the stallion ventured.
Rarity pointed at the cart. “Did you buy seaweed?”
“Sure did,” the stallion replied.
“Every last bit the merchant had,” the mare added.
Rarity made her way to the back of the cart. “Are you certain? It might just be regular moss. I am an alchemist. Let me make sure. It will only be a minute.”
“Say, do we know you?” the mare asked.
Her heart picked up its pace as a fresh burst of adrenaline prepared Rarity for anything. She climbed into the back of cart. “I don’t think so. I just moved here last week.”
The barrel full of seaweed was right in front of her. Every beat of her heart produced a tiny hiccup in the back of her throat. Rarity took the garnet ring out of her saddlebag and popped the lid off the barrel. Seaweed greeted her. Her aura sorted through it in search of a horn. A feeling of nausea overtook her. She might have chosen the wrong container.
She heard Swift Vengance calling out to her from the sky. “Rarity, what are you doing?”
“Yeah, you’re Rarity!” the mare exclaimed. “You ain’t no alchemist. What’s goin’ on here?”
An explosion knocked Rarity off the cart. She fell onto the pavement and rolled twice before coming to a stop. Pain didn’t follow. Neither did disorientation. Rarity spotted her saddlebag amongst the scattered seaweed and pieces of wood. A purple horn peeked out of the flap. It withdrew the moment she saw it.
“She’s making a run for it!” Swift shouted.