//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: Long Distance // by Ezn //------------------------------// Chapter Sixteen Joyous Dawn looked into Princess Luna's eyes with a sympathetic, almost mournful expression. "Are you sure you don't want to accompany me today, Princess? I'm quite certain it will be a spectacular event."   "No thank you, President Dawn. We have no great love of dragons, diplomatic strides made in our absence nonwithstanding. We are quite certain that thou hast the capabilities necessary to accomplish what thou desirest. Go with our blessing, but ask us to accompany thee no longer."   Dawn frowned. "Is your Majesty certain?"   "VERY." Luna's voice remained calm and resolute, despite its rise in volume. "We fear we may not be able to act politely in the company of dragons. We fear we may not want to. In times long past, dragons roasted and devoured many of our subjects. That is not a wound easily healed."   "But surely" – Dawn paused – "as the old adage goes, time is the elixir which heals all wounds."   "And I have not had so much time as others." Luna's voice quivered slightly, and Dawn relented.   "I shall see you later, then, Princess Luna. But before we part, I have something else to discuss..."   ***   A long shadow spread out from the base of the wrought iron gates leading into Golden Harvest Farmstead, and was soon merged with three other long, pony-shaped shadows, until all four were covered by an enormous, jagged dragon’s shadow.   "So this is the place, huh?" asked Venkra.   "Apparently," replied White. "I wonder how they're so sure the dragon's going to turn up here tonight – it's not like he's known for his co-operative spirit."   "I'd be more interested in how this 'Joyous Dawn' thinks she's going to persuade him to listen to her. I've never known a dragon willing to listen to a pony just because."   "I imagine that's exactly why we've been invited," White said grimly. "Just be on your guard and if we're lucky this won't end too catastrophically."   Venkra affected a look of mock-horror. "Shame on you! I'd expect a little more optimism from one so young."   "Faith in positive outcomes when one knows better That is the mark of a fool and often a debtor," Sibwashie added.   The three equines entered the farm's entrance archway with little ceremony – that they left to Venkra, who swooped over it and announced her presence with a blast of green fire. A few metres away, a sizable crowd of ponies had already gathered around the platform the president was going to speak from – the entirety of which turned around in shock.   "Calm down, everypony," a familiar voice called over a megaphone. "This dragon's friendly."   Ocean Glider put her megaphone down and jumped off the wooden platform, a wide smile nearly splitting her face in two. She cantered over to her friends excitedly. "So glad you made it! President Dawn is very eager to meet you all."   "Indeed I am."   Ocean Glider swivelled around. "M-Madam President! When did you arrive?"   "Oh, not terribly long ago. I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself while everypony was setting up, so I just slipped in without calling attention to myself. Sometimes it's nice just to observe, don't you think?"   President Joyous Dawn, Sky noticed, looked a fair bit younger than she'd expected, and also a good deal more striking. Her red coat and black mane where both a few shades darker than what was usually natural, and the latter was tied up on her head in a very tight bun. A pair of thin spectacles sat on the end of her nose, and she had a presence.   "Now, Ocean, please introduce me to these friends of yours I've heard so much about."   "Of course, right away."   Joyous Dawn shook hooves with each of Ocean's equine friends, looking each of them directly in the eyes, and lent a hoof to two of Venkra's claws.   "Mr Noise," she said to White. "It's come to my attention that the sole Lunar Republican outlet of your revolutionary business was destroyed in the recent Port Welcome dragon rampage. It's my pleasure to personally inform you that your shop will be fully repaired by the state at no cost, thanks to the fundraising efforts of one Mr Sweep Stake."   "That's great news! Thank you... uh, Madam President!"   Joyous Dawn smiled photogenically. "I'd love to stay and chat a while longer, but we'll be starting soon, so I'd best get going. We must continue this conversation at a later stage."   As the president trotted back to the platform, Ocean grinned and nodded at her friends. "She's inspiring, isn't she? I knew you'd like her!"   All four travellers nodded vigorously and voiced their agreements, but White knew – with a faint ignition of his horn – that the other three had found her just as unsettling as he had. Politicians, he thought.   Before long, Joyous Dawn was poised in front of a lectern, and Venkra was hovering overhead, eyes alert for danger. Dawn used her telekinesis to neaten a stack of papers before placing it on the lectern. She then turned her eyes skyward.   At this, the nervous chatter of the gathered crowd died away into murmurs and then silence. Many of the ponies turned away from their president on the platform and followed her gaze to the early evening sky, scanning it for a long, black reptilian figure. They were not to be kept waiting.   The keen-eyed and alert Venkra was the first to notice a dark, jagged shadow against the clouds, which she pointed to with a claw, uttering, "Look!"   Swiftly, the black dragon swooped down to the audience awaiting him. Many of assembled ponies gasped as they saw, for the first time, the scourge of their country's farms, and their frightened gasps soon turned to angered grumbles, but never to outright shouted abuse.   Joyous Dawn's strong, stern facial expression remained perfectly in place even as the dragon flapped towards her, its glowing red eyes glaring. Dawn cleared her throat and then began her speech.   "Oh, ancient and powerful dark dragon, how you have brought woe and misery to this land!" she cried, her voice washing over the crowd even as it blasted the dragon. "Look upon the faces of those ponies you have brought ruin to!"   The dragon continued to glare at Dawn instead.   She continued unabated. "Look upon the faces of the hungry and the starving, the poor and the struggling! Know that it comes as a result of your senseless destruction."   "But no! I have been unfair! You did not cause this, noble dragon!" Dawn held a hoof to her forehead dramatically.   Gasps of surprise rose from the crowd.   "You have been bewitched – this needless destruction was not the product of a thinking mind, nor a feeling conscience. Some vicious, malevolent force inhabits your mind, and forces you to wreak destruction against your will. Truly, a more hideous fate has not been conceived of!"   The dragon blinked, and the glow from its eyes appeared to dim slightly.   Meanwhile, White noticed a pair of unicorns – a mare and a stallion, both with coats of different shades of green – at the back of the audience light up their horns faintly, their eyes shifting around as they did so, as if they were afraid of being watched.   When nothing floated in front of either unicorn for more than a minute, White started getting suspicious.   "But fear not, noble beast!" Joyous Dawn boomed, drawing White's attention back to her. "Your salvation is at hoof!"   Admiring gasps rippled through the crowd as they stood transfixed by their leader's theatrics. Her voice boomed loud, clear and sincere, and White could see something wet glistening on the fur below her eyes.   "Using the ancient magical techniques taught to me by Princess Luna herself, I will rid you of your mind's affliction!"   At this, Dawn's horn lit up brilliantly, and she bit her lower lip in an act of exertion. The unicorns White had noticed at the back of the crowd increased the brightness of their horns simultaneously.   White's curiosity was eating away at him. No longer able to resist it, he closed his eyes and lit up his own horn.   Is this mare crazy or something? That dragon's going to burn her up if she tries to use magic on him!   I hope President Dawn knows what she's doing...   Now this is the kind of thing I like to see! Fearlessness like that reminds me why I voted for Dawn in the first place.   A searing pain shot through his head, and he bit back tears. So many thoughts... so many minds... gotta focus...   White cast his perception above the crowd, breathing a soft sigh of relief as their cacophoneous thoughts were reduced to background noise. This high in the air, only one mind was visible.   Kill. Burn. Destroy. Kill. Wait. Wait then kill.   White surmised that this was the dragon's mind and then suddenly realised that he was seeing into a dragon's mind. That shouldn't be possible!   With a dragon as young and unacquainted with his own kind as Melvin, it made sense that no mental barriers had been constructed to block White's interloping, but a dragon who looked to be significantly older than Venkra should not have been susceptible. Even in her madness, Venkra's mental barriers had remained intact.   Maybe this guy's also unfamiliar with dragonkind? White reasoned, still feeling suspicious. Hmm. I wonder what Joyous Dawn is thinking...   White cast his perception downwards, and slightly forward.   Be free. Be free. Escape your mental shackles, great and noble creature! Think, feel, reason!   White felt slightly taken aback. Is she actually doing this? I was certain it was...   Dawn's cutie mark, as White had taken note of earlier, was a telescope overlayed on an hourglass. How does that translate to curse breaking or mental manipulation? White asked himself. He was reminded of Ditzy Doo back in Ponyville, and how cryptic and indirect cutie marks were capable of being. With a dissatisfied huff, he turned his perception back to the dragon's thoughts.   Wait then kill. Wait then burn. Wait then destroy.   Feeling utterly useless and frustrated, White opened his eyes and let his spell fizzle out and die. Dawn's horn was still emitting a blinding light, and the dragon was still hovering in front of her, staring her down his horrible expressionless red eyes.   Until he wasn't.   Dawn groaned with effort and a blast of magic exploded from her horn, washing over the dragon's snout and wiping it of its blank expression. All of a sudden, the dragon roared, gasped and flapped his leathery wings around haphazardly, soon losing altitude and landing unceremoniously on his rump.   Venkra stifled a chuckle.   White glanced at Sibwashie, who looked back with disbelief plastered on his face and then immediately back at the dragon.   The dragon's eyes had lost their red glow, and now looked like the eyes of a normal dragon, bar that they were beset by a sense of confusion and fear uncharacteristic of the race.   With dry lips and a cracking voice, the dragon spoke: "W-where... am I? What happened?"   There was a flash of magic as Joyous Dawn teleported to the dragon's side.   Awed murmurs turned into joyful shouts as the crowd shook off their stupor and approached Dawn and the dragon. Somepony in the middle started saying "Joyous Dawn! Joyous Dawn!" over and over, and soon enough it became a chant.   White scanned the chanting, deliriously happy crowd, but saw no sign of the suspicious unicorns.   "How are you feeling?" Venkra asked the black dragon, who was still blinking his eyes and looking around in a daze.   "Rested," the dragon replied. "It feels like I've just woken up from a quick nap, but I'm certain this isn't one of my usual napping spots."   "You'd be correct in that assumption," Venkra replied. "You're on an island full of ponies, a good long way away from Dragonia."   "No... that's definitely not somewhere I can see myself taking a nap. Thank you, Ms...?"   "Venkra. And it's an odd dragon who uses titles – only my Uncle Kasdar does that. You sure you don't make a habit of napping among ponies?"   The black dragon immediately rose to his hindlegs and puffed out his chest proudly. "The noble and brave Huldor, you will find, is quite unlike most dragons, and not because of where he chooses to rest! I am an explorer, Ms Venkra, so of course I have more refined manners than your average dragon!"   Venkra bit her lip and White's horn glowed involuntarily. Do you have any pony spells to turn him back? I think I liked this guy better when he didn't talk.   "Well then, Mr Huldor, let me be the first to welcome you to The Lunar Republic and wish you a pleasant stay," Joyous Dawn shouted, drawing the two dragons' attention closer to ground level. "As president of this fine nation, I assure you that you can expect nothing but the best from its citizens – and its fantastic weather! I'm sure even the splendid state of some of our natural caves might have you reconsidering your desire not to sleep among ponies!"   "Thank you very much for the warm welcome, Ms 'President'. I think I'm going to have a wonderful stay here, but first, could you shed some light on how I came to be here in the first place? I've never been to an island of ponies before, and my memory's feeling terribly hazy at the moment."   A sudden pain shot through White's temples. Come on, let's get out of here! Ow! Alright, fine, we can go.   White turned around to slip away, motioning for Sibwashie and Sky to follow him, much to their confusion. Venkra had already flown to the farm's gate and was waiting for them impatiently.    "What was that all about?" White asked, perturbed.   "It's getting late," Venkra said, looking up at the night sky. "We should all get back into town and get some sleep... well, not me, but you ponies."   "How thoughtful!" Sky said.   White cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, how uncharacteristically thoughtful."   Venkra bit her lip for a moment before breaking down. "Look... it's just... I really don't like that Huldor guy. He thinks he's so much better than the rest of us, just because he's 'independent'. As if being a loner is a point of pride or something. Dragons need friends."   Sibwashie nodded and cleared his throat.   "Dragons, zebras, ponies and mules all do, it's how we are made We have a story of a zebra like Huldor – Tlambo the Black-Sprayed." "What did Tlambo do, Sib?" asked Sky. Sibwashie's voice slipped into a familiar groove as he began to tell the tale of Tlambo the Black-Sprayed. "In the days of the tribes, the zebra Tlambo thought himself better than others 'His arrogance and pride is a pain, his loss would be a gain,' said his brothers. So they sent him away to meditate in the wilderness and learn to value community But his journey had great hardships, which he blamed on others, and gave himself immunity. "The hatred in his heart grew until he cursed all zebras and every civilised race He painted his white stripes black with sticky tar, each on from his tail to his face. He drifted from settlement to settlement, stealing scraps and howling But his infamy grew and soon they all knew to keep him out, faces scowling. "Tlambo tried to start a farm on his own and grow good food to eat But that year there was a terrible famine, killing even the grass beside the street. Tlambo saw the storehouses the tribes had stocked when they had the opportunity And his heart grew sad and hungry, and he finally understood the value of community. "Tlambo entered the tribe a beggar and tried to plead for food, He had forgotten how to rhyme, and everyzebra thought him rude. But they took pity on the poor fool and nourished him until his ribs no longer showed For this he was grateful, and forever mindful of the debt to society he owed. "One zebra is not a tribe, for one zebra can be starved by a drought A tribe thinks, a tribe works and a tribe will see every storm out."   ***   White couldn't sleep. For the first time since he'd first used his telepathic powers, he'd been having weird, disturbing dreams that kept shocking him awake. Eventually he gave up trying to get to sleep and just lay in bed, eyes open and staring at the ceiling.   He'd heard a voice whispering to him in his dreams, but it wasn't a very whispery sort of voice. Instead, it sounded like a low rasp, and whispered brief, unintelligible things that sounded almost like words, but not quite. It reminded him of the simplistic and repetitive voice he'd encountered in the black dragon's thoughts. Maybe he's unaware of his powers, like I was. He is an 'independent dragon', after all.   White remembered breakfasts with Sky and Sibwashie, when they would speak groggily of the dreams that had been keeping them up at night, and suddenly he felt a sense of kinship with Huldor the black dragon. What if I could teach him to use his powers, like the Dragon King did with me?   Perking up at this bright idea, White closed his eyes and focused his magic. His horn glowed and he slowly expanded his field of view, passing over sleeping and dreaming minds until he found the one he was looking for.   Fly over water. Dig up dirt. Eat shiny food. Find cave.   Shame, thought White. For all his grand speech, this guy's not all too bright. But maybe I can help with that.   White quickly prepared a thought, and then shot it through. There is a teacher who would like to help you, Mister Huldor. I am that teacher. With your permission, I can teach you to use your natural telepathy.   Who you?   My name is White Noise. I am a student of the Dragon King.   You come. Come to me. I want learn.   Well, actually I don't need to go to you; I can teach you without physically being in your presence.   No! I want to see you. Come. Find me.   Alright, if you insist. I'll come find you. Stay where you are.   White's horn dimmed and he wrinkled his snout. Shrugging, he shucked off his blankets and hopped out of bed.   As far as White was able to tell, Haldor was across the street, in what looked like a large warehouse. It struck him as odd that a dragon would choose a warehouse to sleep in over a cave, but a quick glance at Venkra ­– who was curled up on the roof of the inn he'd been staying in – put the question to rest. Dragons are weird.   The warehouse was built like a barn, and its street-facing wall was dominated by a large set of double-doors. They were locked, but White soon found smaller door to the right that wasn't and quietly slipped inside.   It was dark inside the warehouse. White called out for Huldor, but received no answer. Maybe he's asleep, or shy?   A glow from White's horn lit up his corner of the large room, and he slowly made his way into the centre, scanning for a large, black silhouette. "Hello? Huldor? I'm here. I've come to teach you."   There was a quiet sound of scuffling and muttering behind White, and he turned around. "Huldor? Is that you?"   Someone chuckled. "Sort of."   Before White could determine who the voice belonged to, something hit him on the back of the head. His legs gave way and he felt himself crash onto the ground. The chuckling returned, and then was silent.   ***   White's eyes fluttered open and he blinked in the dim lamplight.   "Are you quite alright, sir?" a voice asked.   "Yeah, I think... ow, my head."   "Just lie down."   A damp, cold cloth pressed against White's forehead, to the right of his horn. His eyes focused and refocused. The cloth was being held in place by a yellow hoof.   "Who..." he began.   "My name's Barley, sir," said the voice. "I found you knocked out outside the warehouse next door. It's very lucky for you that I was working late. You might have – oh, Madam President!"   White's winced at Barley's sudden exclamation. Wouldn't it be funny if...   "Good evening, Barley. Oh, and hello to you to, Mr Noise."   A door shut quietly and a set of hooves clopping against the floor at a brisk pace. President Joyous Dawn soon stepped into White's vision, looking as immaculate and keenly attentive as ever.   "May I ask what happened to your head, Mr Noise?"   "I'm... not sure."   "I found him lying in the alley outside that abandoned warehouse next door, Madam President," Barley chirped. "Do you know him?"   "We met earlier this evening. Barley, the gentlecolt you're rubbing ice on is Mr White Noise, the founder of Dragonfire Delivery."   "Oh! Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir!" Barley thought for a moment before adding, "Although perhaps it might have been more of a pleasure in different circumstances. Oh well! How's your head feeling?"   "Much better, thank you." White was already standing up as he said this, eager to get back to the hotel. An odd sense of dread was building in his throat.   "Wait..." Joyous Dawn said, in a voice that was soft and airy, but just loud enough to give White pause.   "Since you're here anyway, there's something I've been wanting to discuss with you."   "It... can't wait till morning?"   "Well, it could, but time is money for busy and enterprising individuals like us. That, and it's related to bringing whoever attacked you to justice."   Barley gasped. "You think he was attacked?!"   "Ponies don't just fall unconscious right outside abandoned buildings by themselves, Barley."   White glanced at Dawn and Barley. He wanted to leave, to get back into his warm bed and go to sleep and forget all about this, but there was something very firm and commanding in Dawn's tone. It can't be wise to snub the president.   "Alright, I'll listen to what you have to tell me," he said.   "Wonderful!" replied Dawn. "Let's go up to my office – we can talk undisturbed there."   Wordlessly, White followed Dawn up the stairs. He hadn't had much experience dealing with politicians, let alone the odd kind of politicians in the Lunar Republic. Though he wouldn't say it around Ocean Glider, there was something about these "presidents" that seemed almost heretical – like they, mere mortals, thought they could do the job of the Princesses.   Joyous Dawn's office was very clean, and the desk had been pushed against the wall to make a large, empty space in the middle of the room. A thick Sheepersian rug covered much of the carpet.   "Please, take a seat," Dawn said, motioning to the rug. "I find that desks imply a certain power relationship that works counter to the kind of dynamic I like meetings to have. We shall both sit on the rug and discuss matters as adults and equals. I believe, Mr Noise, that we can help each other out."   White bit his lip and silently wished he was back in bed. Still, he sat down on one side of the rug, and Dawn took the other.   "Now, White – may I call you White; you may call me Joy – let's get straight down to business. You were attacked earlier, and I'm reasonably certain I know who by."   "Yes?"   "The hungry, White. When a pony gets hungry enough, she goes a little crazy and starts causing trouble. Because of the drought in Zebrica and the dragon attacks here, there's not as much food in the Lunar Republic as there should be."   "Oh. Okay, sure." White wasn't really sure.   Dawn closed her eyes for a moment. "Now... this ties in to the original reason I wanted to see you, White. Had you not appeared in my lobby this evening, I would have sought you out tomorrow morning, for I am in need of your help."   "What for?"   "Very to-the-point! I like that! However, I'm afraid this particular matter isn't one that I can be to-the-point about. To understand what I require of you, I must first tell you a little story. I take it you've heard the legend of Princess Luna's gift to the Lunar Republic?"   "I have, yes."   "Good, good. What most don't know is that it has a second part..."   White's ears perked up with interest for the first time since he'd sat down on the rug.   "It begins with a meteor shower..."   «-oOo-»   In the fifteenth year following Princess Luna's banishment, a great and beautiful meteor shower was seen from Trough, a small farming village not too far from Equestria's eastern shore. Many wishes were made on those falling stars that evening, one of which had a particular significance.   A unicorn filly of a poor family – destitute Lunar sympathisers in hiding – wished for falling star of her own, to cast a light over her bed and keep the monsters away while she slept. Moments after her wish was made, there was a flash outside her window and a soft pock in the dirt.   She immediately ran outside to investigate, and lo and behold, there in the dirt outside her window lay a smoking meteor.   Because the rock was far too hot to pick up with her hooves and she had not yet learnt how to use magic, she left the rock where it lay and went back inside. She could hardly sleep all night, so excited she was.   The little filly was woken up early the next morning by a shrill cry of surprise from outside her window. It sounded like her mother's voice.   "What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked, poking her head out of the window.   "Oh darling, there's an enormous beanstalk that wasn't here yesterday," her mother replied, very flustered.   And indeed, she had good reason to be flustered, for the little filly turned her head and saw a thick, green beanstalk that reached far into the heavens. As she gaped at the sight, it occurred to her that the stalk had grown right where her fallen star had landed.   The little girl's parents had no love for beans, or for any sorts of uninvited plants on their property. Following a speedy breakfast, the father sharpened his axe and swiftly chopped the stalk down, removing its roots as well. His daughter sat quietly by and watched him work.   As the roots came up, pulled by the father's telekinesis, a delighted yelp burst from the little girl's mouth. "My star, my star!" she sang. "My star grew the stalk!"   Her father looked down at the rocky surface that had been beneath the stalk and was puzzled. He didn't know much about agriculture, but he did know that plants weren't supposed to grow out of rocks. Especially not monstrous beanstalks.   He ushered his daughter inside and brought the matter to his wife, who knew as little about agriculture as he did. For a good five minutes, they were stumped, but then they realised it must have been a question of magic, not farming, which they knew a good deal more about.   They discussed growing magic, teleportation, illusion and many other subjects, until the wife recalled a feat that their revered but ill-fated Princess Luna had once performed on an island not far from Equestria.   "Could it be that our Lady has blessed us with a fragment of her moon?" the wife hypothesised.   Her husband became very excited at this and rushed outside to take another look at the magical rock. Grass was already sprouting on it, but enough of its surface was visible for him to imagine it being a part of the moon. His wife soon joined him, and she agreed.   From that day forth, the family's luck changed. The magic of the rock allowed them to grow any fruit or crop they could want in abundance, and they used this for all kinds of incredibly successful business ventures, and to ensure they never went hungry. Within a generation, they had become the wealthiest family in Trough, and they prospered for a thousand years.   «-oOo-»   "I am the latest of that line – the Rockefillies, as they're sometimes called – and about a year ago, when I found out about the lunar magic at work in this country's farmlands, I realised that there was finally a way I could share that prosperity with the world. That's why I moved here and went into politics, you see," Dawn concluded.   "Well, that's a nice story," White replied, slightly confused. "I just can't see why exactly you need my help. Do you want to collaborate with Dragonfire Delivery somehow? I'd advise against trying to send moonrock via dragonfire – it'd be a fantastic way to destroy a precious family heirloom and little else."   Dawn threw her head back and laughed. "Ha ha, oh that is very funny, White! A tiny little moonrock is hardly enough to really share with the world, even with your astounding technology."   "I don't follow." White made a blank face.   Dawn's horn glowed and she pushed her spectacles up her nose. "I'm going to need the service of another of your many talents, Mr Noise."   "I... still don't..." A heavy feeling choked the rest of the words before they could escape White's throat. There was something about the expression on Dawn's face, the tone in her voice, the way she was slowly leaning towards him... something that made him terribly uneasy.   "I know what you can do," she whispered, now close enough to him that her snout tickled the rim of his ear. "It's my business to know ponies, and I have a power that helps me."   Dawn withdrew, even more slowly than she'd approached.   "Your friend Sky Wave's special talent is beautiful flying. Yours is communication magic. You're capable of standard unicorn telekinesis, altering the volume and pitch of your voice, magical severance, various hacks... and a particularly powerful brand of telepathy."   White watched Dawn's smile growing as he imagined his own jaw was dropping.   "I need that last one for a special project of mine. An important project that will change the world and progress pony civilisation like nothing else before. You like progress, don't you?"   Dawn's horn sparked, and a bell sounded. "I need you not to be alarmed at what you're about to see, White. It's something that would frighten and disturb the average pony on the street, but as a unicorn of science, as a magical scholar, I appeal to you to see it for what it represents to the future."   A shiver ran down White's spine, and his tail flicked involuntarily. He turned to face the office door.   Slowly, the door creaked open, and a unicorn entered. His horn was glowing, and there was something startlingly familiar about his face and colouring. Another unicorn entered shortly after him, and she too had a glowing horn and a quality of elusive familiarity about her.   They're the unicorns from the farm! White suddenly realised.   After the two unicorns had fully entered the room, a third unicorn followed them, walking stiffly and staring blankly forward. But she wasn't a unicorn – a pair of wings jutted out from her back.   It was Princess Luna. And there was a gag tied firmly around her muzzle.