Contest of Champions

by thatguyvex

Chapter 16: At Wits End

Stepping onto a Elkheim longboat for the sake of participating in a race across choppy, wave strewn waters was normally something Carrot Top would never have considered doing, for rather obvious reasons. The moment her hooves touched the deck she could already feel the sickening sensation of wobbling in her stomach that signaled her seasickness. She’d taken some herbal mix in a swiftly brewed tea not long before, one of her own devising, and it was helping a bit. Enough that she didn’t instantly turn green and hurl herself towards the railing, at least. 

But this was going to be tough to do. Tough, but worth it, she thought as she saw Frederick at the longboat’s rudder handle and he smiled at her with pure, buckish charm and enthusiasm. 

“What do you think of the boat?” he asked, stomping a hoof on the firm wood of the deck, “No finer craft for coastal sailing than an elk-built longboat. Granted, I prefer to get around on wyvern-back, but there’s something to be said for the rugged appeal of seamanship.”

Carrot Top managed a small smile despite still feeling a woozy sensation creeping up from her gut, and she prayed her herbal concoction would hold up. Giving the ship a curious look, she said, “I saw these when we arrived on the island. They didn’t have sails then, and had these handles on the front and back?”

She’d noticed the change but hadn’t thought much to question it until now, and Frederick gave a knowing nod as if he’d expected the question.

“Your eyes aren't deceiving you. These ships are well suited to coastal sailing, but fare poorly in the open ocean. We cervids circumvent the issue by equipping our longboats with wyvern grips that allow our mighty aerial mounts to ferry our ships over oceans.”

“Why not just build ships more suited to ocean sailing?”

“Oh, a few of the clans do, but traditional longboats are... well, traditional,” Frederick said with a somewhat self-deprecating laugh, “Might as well try to peel the stars out of the sky than peel a denizen of Elkheim from tradition. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve enjoyed this trip away from home.”

His hoof briefly touched her own and she felt a brief thrill at the lower octave of his tone, “I’ve gotten to experience plenty of non-traditional things I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“Oh? Is that the extent of my appeal? That I’m non-traditional?” she asked, then at his look she gave him a playful slap on the shoulder, “Joking, Frederick. I’m joking.”

“Apologies. It just made me realize that there’s only so many days left before we both return to our homes...” he said, then shook his head as if to banish the clouds for his thoughts, “So let’s make them count! Ready to win a longboat race?”

She gave him a coy look, “I seem to recall Wodan saying something about you not being able to swim?”

“Ahem, well, so I might not precisely have a lot of ocean-related experience, but honestly who needs to swim when they’ve got a perfectly fine boat and an even finer mare to share it with?” Frederick said, extending a hoof to her, which she took with a laugh and let him take her into a quick embrace.

Glancing at the shore, she noted that Frederick’s wyvern, along with several other of the great winged beasts, were milling on the beach and watching the gathering of Elkheim cervids and the growing crowd of onlookers from various races with hungry airs. “Um, is it safe for them to be untied?”

“Hm? Oh, they’re fine. We fed them this morning so they won’t get peckish until at least the afternoon. Still, wouldn’t suggest anyone wander too close,” Frederick remarked, going to the boat’s fore and calling over to the shore, “Andrea, you’ll make sure our wyverns don’t mistake any passers by as snacks, won’t you?”

Andrea had been tuning her fiddle upon the shoreline. She gave a small flourish of her cape and bowed, “Fear not, Prince, I’ll keep our wyverns calm as babes. You just concentrate on not crashing your boat.”

“Pfft, crash? You all need to have a tad more faith in me than that.”

“Mmmhmm...” Andrea’s eyes sparked with undisguised amusement and she cast a look towards Carrot Top, “Do look after the fool, will you, since I’ll be too busy watching irate wyverns to do so myself?”

“I’ll try,” Carrot Top replied, “No promises, though.”

Looking at the wyverns, who appeared imposing even at a distance, she asked, “Just how do you keep something like that from eating somepony when it wants to?”

Andrea’s eyes sparkled as she held up her fiddle, “Have you not heard that music soothes the savage heart of the beast? Truth be told, Elkheim wyverns are well trained and unlikely to run amok, but just in case my music really can work wonders with them.”

“And I’ll be trusting you to do so,” said Frederick, “My utmost thanks, Andrea.”

Each longboat was roughly forty paces in length, and perhaps fifteen wide. They were solidly carved from what looked to Carrot Top to be one solid piece of wood, which must have come from a truly enormous tree. Shaped like one long bowl, with seating for oar rowers on either side, the boats had mountings on either end for wooden handles, and a circular mounting in the center for a single tall mast. The wyvern handles were presently dismounted and placed in secure rigging along the foredeck, their wood marked by dozens of claw markings.  Presently the mast mounting was up, and from the masts hung sails of incredibly vivid colors, each one bearing a different marking or picture. Some showed fierce beasts like the wyverns, others bore mountains, blades, or helms. These symbols were matched by carvings along the length of the boats, and upon figureheads at the fore of the vessels. These detailed carvings looked near alive with detail, and they further gave each longboat the feeling of a personalized work of art over merely being a conveyance. Most of the figureheads bore the visages of various cervids, some proud and noble, others appearing pious. Shields were mounted along the sides of the longboat, often decorated with similarly intricate symbols and carvings.

“Hey,” she said to Frederick, “I noticed this one here is the only one that’s got a symbol of a tree.”

She nodded at the sail, brilliant sea blue in color, with a stark white depiction of a magnificent tree whose roots and branches spread to cover more than half the sail’s surface. The tree motif was carried over across the longboat, with it’s carvings resembling intricate root systems and branches, and the figurehead being that of a painfully beautiful elk doe with a crown of interwoven branches. 

“Ah, Yggdrasil is the symbol of the royal family,” Frederick said, looking upon the tree etched into the sail with a complex look of equal parts reverence and partially hidden frustration, “You’ll find no others in Elkheim who use the World Tree as our sigil. These boats are carved from the tree’s very branches.”

“They’re that big?” Carrot Top said, stifling a gasp. She knew this tree that was so important to the cervids was supposed to be huge, but to be able to carve entire boats from it’s branches? Frederick gave her a joyful smirk.

“I could make a quip about everything growing ‘big’ in Elkheim, but I’ll spare you that and merely promise that if you truly wish it, one day I’ll show you Yggdrasil.”

A silent moment passed between them, Carrot Top gulping as she wondered when that ‘one day’ might be, given the Contest would be ending soon, and who knew when or even if the Prince of Elkheim would have time to see a carrot farmer from Equestria, or indeed if Carrot Top herself would be able to go on a trip to Elkheim. 

Rather than give Frederick any kind of answer on that front, she cleared her throat and glanced over the other boats, which were rapidly filling with cervid crew. She noticed Wodan was at the rudder of one boat, and Sigurd was further down in another. The boat she and Frederick were on was also being boarded by numerous cervids, all in excellent shape. Carrot Top watched as they took positions among the benches, grabbing up oars, and the group at the fore of the ship started using those oars to push off from the shore.

To Carrot Top’s surprise, Frederick broke into a swift paced and deep throated chant, with more rumbling baritone than she would’ve imagined coming from him. The other cervids on the crew picked it up immediately, stomping their hooves in time with the strokes of their oars. It was in Elheim’s native tongue, so Carrot Top had no idea what was being sung, but she found herself stomping her hoof along with the tune as she stood beside Frederick and the three longboats moved away from the beach.

From what she understood the race was a lap around the island itself, with whomever reached the same shore they shoved off from being the winner. Carrot Top gulped as the ship started to bob into the deeper waters, its motions of swaying up and down starting to work it's unpleasantness upon her innards. On the shoreline she could see the onlookers cheering the ships on, and tried not to envy them for having their hooves on dry land. After all, she’d chosen to be here, knowing the risks and consequences. Seeing Frederick beaming a smile at her, she told herself it was worth it, and steeled herself for what was to come.

The longboats cut the waves with the efficiency of blades, smashing water across the decks with every wavecrest pierced. For the first ten or so minutes the three ships were evenly paced with one another, but it quickly became apparent that Wodan’s vessel was pulling ahead. Not surprising, given Carrot Top could clearly see the moose controlling two oars that normally took three or four cervids to maneuver just one.

“He’s really unbelievable,” Carrot Top mused, recalling the way the arena had been smashed up during Wodan’s bout with Dao Ming, “It doesn’t even seem natural.”

Frederick’s rough laugh had an edge to it, “Wodan’s strength is legendary, although I’d say his stubbornness matches it. I half expected him to stop me from doing this, just to protect me.”

“Has he always done that? Protected you, I mean?” Carrot Top asked, gulping as her stomach kept doing internal flips. She hoped she wasn’t starting to turn green. Maybe doing this had been a bad idea, after all?

“Not always Wodan,” Frederick said, “Just always someone. Whomever my parents saw fit to have be my watchdog that day, week, or month. I do envy you, the trust your friends have in you, Carrot Top. Makes me appreciate that you’ve trusted me, too. I’d never get the same treatment from an Elkheim doe.”

She smiled at that, but was busy hanging on for dear life on the railing now, and trying very hard not to lose her breakfast over the side. Yup, she definitely needed to work on that herbal blend. What she currently had just wasn’t doing it. Frederick noticed her distress and said, “Are you alright?”

“I’ll live. Just, uh, don’t know if I mentioned this... but I get seriously seasick...urp...”

He blinked at her, “Oh... well, I could turn the ship back to shore-”

“No!” she said, shaking her head and taking a deep breath, “Even if I hurl over the side, just get me close enough to one of the other ships and we can call it ‘projectile warfare’. That oughta slow Wodan down.”

“Hah! You are something else. I’ll spare Wodan the embarrassment of facing your deadly secret weapon, but just hold on and I’ll do my best to keep the ride smooth.”

The ships were curving around the northern bend of the island now. Black and ominous, Rengoku rose from the thick forests coating this side of the island in all its towering might. It momentarily distracted Carrot Top from her churning guts to look at the massive, dark edifice, it’s thick outer ring and odd crystal mountings... seeming different to her eyes than when she’d first seen it upon arriving at the Isle of the Fallen.

“Huh, weird.”

“Hm, what is?” Frederick asked, his eyes focused on steering the longboat.

“Is it me, or does that thing look... I don’t know, shinier?” Carrot Top said, eyes now narrowing at Rengoku’s soaring central towers. She wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not. It just seemed to her like the fortress walls looked less... dilapidated than before. As if it were somehow shaking off it’s many centuries of dust and rust to leave it’s walls shining with a dark luster. 

Frederick now chanced a look at Rengoku, tilting his head in curious contemplation, “I don’t know, but I suppose it does look a bit more foreboding today than usual. Then again, that might just be the sun catching it at an odd angle. What are you thinking? That something’s wrong?”

“I’d like to say it’s just my imagination playing games with me, but there’s been a lot of weirdness going on, so I’m not about to just ignore it when my gut instincts are telling me something’s off...” Carrot Top said, but despite her words she wasn’t certain what to do other than mention this to Trixie when she saw the mare. 

Suddenly there was a shout from one of the cervids at the front of the ship, a water deer who pointed off the longboat’s starboard bow with a cry of, “Whale!”

Carrot Top saw the dark shadow breaching the water just ten feet off the ship’s side, a large hump blowing off a spout of water as the great underwater beast breached for a breath of air. The whale must have misjudged the speed or angle of the boat, or perhaps just not noticed it, because it was far too close.

Frederick heaved upon the rudder, steering the longboat hard to port to avoid colliding with the whale, but the sudden jerking of the ship left Carrot Top off balance. A moment of nausea and dizziness from her seasickness overcame her and before she knew what was happening her hooves and head had all but switched places as she tumbled over the side. She had a split second to take a breath before splashing into the deep, cold water.

Darkness surrounded her, and she felt an undertow drag at her from what she figured had to be the whale diving back down, unaware of any problems it might have caused. She scrambled with her hooves, trying to get her bearings. She knew she had to swim, and while she still felt sick, she was oddly much better swimming in the ocean than she’d ever be on the deck of a ship.

She wasn’t panicked, just annoyed with herself for letting herself fall overboard. How embarrassing. With a calm mind she looked for sunlight. It was generally a bad idea to swim blindly, because if she picked the wrong direction she’d just end up going deeper. So she took a second to find where the light was, and started swimming towards it.

The whale’s undertow had dragged her a bit deep, but not so much so that she was worried about drowning. It was a tad eerie, being surrounded by so much dark, endless water. She wasn’t scared of the ocean, but it wasn’t hard to imagine any number of predatory aquatic nasties out there, circling her, even though she knew statistically the odds of that were low.

She was nearing the surface when she spotted the shadow of the longboat circling towards her general location, and then she found herself almost gasping in shock at seeing Frederick leaping into the water!

Did he even know how to swim!?

Nope, apparently not. She saw him flounder about trying to swim down, but he mostly ended up flailing about randomly. Then, when it became clear he didn’t know what he was doing, he started panicking. 

Oh sun’s ashes, that idiot’s going to get himself killed!

Her lungs were starting to burn, but she changed directions and went towards her struggling elk. Her ire at him was only somewhat cooled by the fact that, when he saw her swimming towards him, he stopped flailing instantly and wore a look of pure relief on his face.

You dope. I wasn’t in any danger, she thought with rueful fondness as she grabbed him, and started kicking for the surface.

Her lungs were screaming for air by the time she and Frederick reached the ocean’s surface, and both let in grateful gasps that drank in the air for a few moments.

“You... nutjob... why’d you dive in... if you can’t swim?” she asked. 

“I, uh... just kind of... acted without thinking,” he said, glancing back at her, “I was terrified of losing you.”

Carrot Top didn’t know how to respond to that, hiding her face as the cervids on the longboat started tossing lines to them, “What am I going to do with you?”

“I have several suggestions, although none fit for doing in public.”

“I can still let you drown, you know.”

Once they’d caught a line and were hauled back aboard, the other longboats had already gained an insurmountable distance from them. It was unlikely the other boats had even noticed the incident. While there were a few grumbles among the cervids on Frederick’s boat about the race, but far more were just happy that their prince hadn’t drowned, and more than a few slapped Carrot Top on the shoulder for being able to drag him back to the surface. She felt more than a little embarrassed about that, given she’d been the one to fall overboard in the first place.

Sometime later, back on shore, after a generally hearty laugh was had over why Frederick’s boat had fallen so far behind during the race, and Wodan and Sigurd both had also thanked Carrot Top for keeping the prince from drowning, Carrot Top and Frederick both went for a stroll down the beach to finish drying off from their dunk in the ocean.

Once they were a decent distance out of view from anycreature, the both sat down to watch the ocean waves roll in. A comfortable silence hung between them, but Carrot Top felt a stab of anxiousness. Frederick seemed to sense it, leaning into her a bit. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she said, perhaps a little fast, “But, thanks for what you did. Dumb as it was, it was also sweet. Just don’t do it again, okay? Wouldn’t like losing you either.”

What he said next came in a strangely subdued tone, for Frederick, who was usually always speaking so boisterous. “But that’ll happen, soon enough.”

She looked at him sidelong, and Frederick returned the look with a wane, pained smile, “I mean, in a few days, we both return to our lives. And whatever we have here will be like a mere dream, fading with the passing of days.”

For a second Carrot Top thought about that, and hesitantly she said, “We both knew that before we started this, Frederick. Are you wishing we hadn’t?”

There was a shocking intensity to his voice as he said, “No, Carrot Top. That I could never wish. I’m just being an overly dramatic young buck, I guess. Near death experiences bring out the inner poetic in me, perhaps. I’m just realizing now, sitting here with you, that I really am going to miss you, Dame Toppington, when the Contest ends and I return to Elkheim, and you to Ponyville. You really do bring something out of me that no other has, and if I regret anything, it's that I’ll never have the chance to find out just how deep this feeling goes. But even if it did go deeper, even if we both felt that way, it'd never be able to...” Frustration entered his voice, "One day I'm going to have to marry for the sake of crown and bloodline. One day you'll meet a very fine, and very fortunate pony to share your life with. I just wish by the very boughs of Yggdrasil that I'd been born as that pony, instead of as Prince Frederick of Elkheim.

It was about as close to a confession of love as he could get without outright saying the words, and in many ways, Carrot Top understood what he meant. This fling had started at just that, an exciting, and fun experience that Carrot Top had gone for because she just found something endearingly attractive in Frederick and for once she wanted to indulge in something she wanted rather than always worry about whether she should want it. She’d known from the start it wasn’t going to go anywhere, and that it was essentially a temporary thing. Only a part of her, like him, regretted that she might never get the chance to find out if these warm feelings might grow any deeper. 

With a soft sigh she leaned a bit more into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Frederick, you know I’m going to miss you too, right? Whatever else happens, that won’t change. I’ll go back home, yes. I’ve got a farm I love, and a life with friends I cherish. But I’m never going to regret meeting this goofy, noble, funny, and handsome elk prince who shared even this small piece of time with me. And, for the record, before you meet the equally fortunate doe you'll marry for crown and blood, and I meet whoever I might share my life with in the future, there's nothing that says we can't meet again to share some more moments with each other."

He wrapped a hoof around her shoulders, holding her close as his chin rested atop her head, his voice a yearning whisper in her ear, "I'd like that. And as it happens, being prince, I do have some pull in deciding when and even who certain envoys to Elkhiem might be for diplomatic visits. I think an Equestrian Knight of the Realm and genuine champion would make for an ideal diplomatic visitor, and why, as prince it'd be rude if I didn't see to that visors every want and need while she was in my homeland."

She nuzzled his chin until his lips met hers, and she drank in that warmth from him for a good, long time. 

---------- 

There was little for Raindrops to do except try to clear her head and catch up with her family. She hadn’t been able to see them as much as she would’ve liked, so far, and was happy to meet up with her little brother and parents at Heroes’ Rest and then hit up the festival grounds. Half the stalls had changed from the other day, many showcasing new cultural exhibits. 

“We’re so proud of you,” her mother was saying, her cheeks’ rosy from grinning, “I knew you enjoyed your martial arts, but I never imagined you’d make it so far in a competition like that!”

“Heh, it’s no big deal, mom,” Raindrops said, trying to hide the fact that she was a bit pleased with herself. She hadn’t gone into the Contest with any real desire to win, but to get as far as she had surprised even her. Maybe all the adventures she and the girls had been on, combined with her taking her training more seriously than ever, had ended up paying off more than she thought? 

“You looked like you had a lot of fun,” Snails said, although his eyes were locked on an exhibit from Cavallia that was showing off a plethora of colorful species of butterflies and more exotic insects taken from that portion of the continent. 

“I guess,” Raindrops said, flexing her wings, “Kinda glad it’s over, though. I’m sore from snout to tail. It’ll be nice to take it easy with just Wits and Magic left to do.”

“I’ve been trying to keep up with which teams are winning, but it’s been a bit hard,” her father said, eyeing a nearby food stall that was selling some rather interesting looking candies from one of the Griffin Kingdoms that looked a lot like caramel coated figs. “I know that kirin lady is still in the lead.”

“Dao Ming,” Raindrops supplied, “Yeah, she’s still in the first place spot despite only coming in second place during Strength. We’ve pulled ahead and are two spots behind her in third, and I think the Elkheim team is in second. Then behind us I think is Gwendolyn’s country, which got a bunch of points with her winning Strength, just not enough to get ahead of us. I don’t know, I haven’t been paying that much attention.”

“Huh, so if you guys win this Wits and Magic thing, would that be enough to win the whole shebang?” her father asked, and Raindrops responded with a flat shrug.

“Dunno. Maybe?”

“You alright, dear?” her mother inquired cautiously, “You look distracted.”

Raindrops hesitated. She hadn’t said anything to her family about what had been going on with the mysterious threat to the island that they’d been investigating, which that Grimwald bastard was tied to and why he’d attacked Ditzy. It went against her better judgment to keep silent about it, but Princess Luna and Abbess Serene had both seemed pretty insistent the matter be kept under wraps, to prevent undue panic. But surely she could tell her parents, at least? They’d know to keep quiet on the matter, wouldn’t they? 

Raindrops could almost hear Trixie admonishing her for letting the info slip, and she almost waved a wing at the imaginary, mini-Trixie hanging on her shoulder, telling her to keep her mouth shut. 

This all probably fell under the blanket of her knightly duties, but it still grated at Raindrops to keep information from her family. She knew her smile had to look incredibly forced as she told her mother, “I’m alright, don’t worry about it.”

Her mother knew her too well; she clearly didn’t buy it, but also didn’t press the matter. Instead she turned and blinked in surprise, “Oh, it’s that zebra fellow.”

“Huh?” Raindrops looked to see Tendaji emerge from the crowd. She almost tensed, but the feeling washed through her almost as fast as it had appeared. Tendaji wasn’t an opponent any longer, even in a peripheral sense of the term.

“Hey, Tendaji, what’s up?” she asked in a remarkably calm and casual tone, all things considered. He stopped and bowed his head to her, then to her family members in turn.

“I wished to properly and formally thank you, Raindrops, for your help in aiding me along my Path. I also wished to thank your parents, for the fine daughter they have raised.”

“Well, thanks I guess,” said Raindrops’ mother, looking distinctly uncomfortable, “I rather wish you’d done your ‘Path’ thing with a little less punching of my daughter, but I guess you two worked out whatever it was that was going on between you.”

“Ahem, yes, her Path and mine have merged, and now part ways, even if some small convergences remain before the Contest ends,” Tendaji said, inclining his head to Raindrops’ mother before looking back at Raindrops herself, “Which is the other reason I’ve sought you out. My wife, Aisha, knows of your search for the one called Zecora. She wishes to lend you her aid.”

“Looking for who now?” asked her father, but Raindrops just shook her head.

“Wait, how does your wife know about that?”

Tendaji tilted his head, “Her father, Nuru, has been keeping his ears to the ground, so to speak. Very little passes his sight unnoticed. Aisha merely wishes to help recover Zecora, with whom she once tread a similar Path with.”

Raindrops rubbed her forehead with a wing, “Look, I’m not even gonna touch the questions that raises for now, but if Aisha wants to help, then she can meet up with me and Trixie and then Trixie can decide if she wants to accept said help. Got it?”

“Of course. I shall convey your words,” Tendaji said, inclining his head, “You have my thanks, Raindrops.”

----------

Trixie made a mental note affirming the fact that she decidingly didn’t like tunnels, caverns, catacombs, basements, or any other generally underground area. She could think of next to nothing good that ever happened to her while she was underground, and it was becoming the setting for an annoyingly large number of her more unpleasant situations in life as of late.

Granted she hadn’t a reason yet to fully extend this sentiment to the tunnels beneath the monastery, but the generally poor lighting, musty odors, and continuous sensation of being watched did not add to the charm of the brazenly cold and empty stone halls.

“Your companions are late,” Dao Ming noted, the kirin having begun an odd meditative routine in which she sat what appeared to Trixie to be a most uncomfortable fashion, but apparently helped Dao Ming relax. The pair had met up at the doorway that would lead deeper into the monastery’s basement levels, and then to an entrance to the underground tunnels. They’d agreed to the time and place that everypony, and kirin, would meet up, and Trixie did note that they were a minute or so past the hour.

“Relax,” she said, “A few minutes won’t make much difference, and everypony had their own bit of business to take care of before we did this. Aren’t you supposed to be more patient as some kind of well-trained paragon of your people?”

“My training included lessons, many lessons, on punctuality,” Dao Ming replied, but Trixie saw a wisp of a smile quirk the kirin’s lips, “Then again, Kenkuro always did say it was better to be fashionably late than painfully early.”

Trixie paused, considering Dao Ming. Nettling curiosity got the better of her, and she wanted something to distract her from the wait. “Have you always known Kenkuro?”

“Since I was born,” Dao Ming said, “He... did more to raise me than my mother did. All of my lessons came from him. To speak, to read, court manners and etiquette, politics, numbers, martial arts, strategy, philosophy. I don’t think there was ever a time I didn’t have Kenkuro there, watching over me, providing his guidance, even when it wasn’t asked for. Heh, especially when it wasn’t asked for.”

“So he’s basically your father,” Trixie said in her usual blunt manner, not immediately noticing the way it made Dao Ming go stiff as stone. Blinking, Trixie said, “What?”

“I don’t know my father,” Dao Ming said flatly, “Mother doesn’t speak of him, and for good reason.”

There was something in Dao Ming’s tone that held an edge of warning. Trixie raised an eyebrow, softening her voice, “Didn’t intend to step on a sensitive spot, Dao Ming. My apologies.”

“It’s nothing you must apologize for, Dame Lulamoon. It’s simply that you... don’t understand how the Imperial family works. Or how my mother works. My father is no one. A nameless male, one of likely dozens my mother took to her bedchamber in seeking to bear an heir of her own blood. Once I was born, the one who sired me was no longer important. He... could have been anyone, from a guard to a noble to a palace cook for all I know. The Empress does as she pleases, as is her will and the law. It did not please her to take a husband. Nor did it please her to raise her daughter. Instead that honor went to the Blade of Heaven, Kenkuro. It is a duty he has discharged faithfully, and I am grateful for his tutelage...”

Dao Ming paused to take a deep breath, sitting up from her meditative pose, “I suppose he could be considered my father in that regard, but it is something I can never call him publicly. That said, who knows, perhaps when I become Empress I’ll do as I please as well, since by then my mother will have no say in the matter.”

The kirin’s eyes met Trixie’s, “And I tell you this, Dame Lulamoon, when I eventually bear my own heir, it will be I that raises them, alongside their father, whomever he may turn out to be. I will not let my child go without parents in their life.” 

Trixie looked back at Dao Ming and flicked her tail, thinking of her own home life in Neigh Orleans. “That’s laudable. A warm home makes for happy foals, I know this much. And blood isn’t required for that, so I say that when you do become Empress, give Kenkuro the honor he deserves as the one who raised you. After all, I have no idea who my own deadbeat father is, but my uncle filled in that role better than I imagine the stallion my mother slept with ever could.”

A moment of quiet understanding passed between the two mares, and when it passed, Dao Ming extended a hoof, “When the Contest of Magic comes, I would like nothing more than to beat you, Trixie Lulamoon, fairly and with no rancor between us.”

Trixie smirked, taking the hoof, “Right back at you, Dao Ming.”

Suddenly a voice boomed from one end of the tunnel hall, “Okay, now kiss!”

Almost leaping out of her own fur, Trixie spun about to see her friends arriving from further down the corridor, Cheerilee in the lead with a smarmy grin on her face. Dao Ming had the presence of mind to look mildly embarrassed, but otherwise remained composed, while Trixie readjusted her hat and shot Cheerilee a glare.

“I’ll kindly remind you, Cheerilee, that I know where you live, and how many pet fish you have.”

“Oh c’mon, I was just cheering on the budding romantic spark between rivals. Fierce competition leading to fiercer feelings, a tender moment alone in the dark corridors with nopony to see-”

“Don’t think I won’t let in the entire stray cat population in Ponyville into your house while you’re teaching class.”

“Yikes, okay, okay, I give,” Cheerilee said with a humored wink, and Trixie sighed. Looking at the rest of the group she noted an additional face among them, blinking at the sight of the zebra mare with her long mane bound up in small yet intricate dreadlocks. 

“Wait, why is... uh... she here?” Trixie asked.

“Apparently she wanted to come,” Raindrops said, “I didn’t think you’d mind.”

With a measured demeanor and simple bow of her head, the zebra said, “I am aware you have little reason to know me, so I shall introduce myself properly. I am Aisha, wife to Tendaji. I requested I be allowed to assist you in your search for Zecora.”

“Why?” Dao Ming asked pointedly, the kirin’s expression stormy with suspected, “What is Amaterasu's prophet to you?”

“Also, how did you know we’d be conducting a search in the first place?” asked Trixie.

“My father has observed your actions closely, and surmised your search would continue,” Aisha explained, “Although he knew not where your investigations would take you. He has no personal interest in either aiding or harming your efforts, but I have... personal reasons to seek Zecora’s well being.”

“Such as?” Trixie pressed.

In the gloom of the darkened corridor with only a few lanterns to provide light, Aisha’s face of black and white stripes blended in shockingly well, leaving only her eyes to gleam clearly in the murk. Those eyes shone with a great intensity that matched her voice, “Zecora is... was, what you might have called a friend. One with whom I shared a Path with, long ago. When her Path parted from mine, it left both pain, and many, many questions. I have not in the many years since that parting had an opportunity to ask Zecora any of those questions. I seek to rectify that, now. If I help rescue her, it puts her, however briefly, in my debt. She will repay that debt by answering my questions. That is all there is to it.” 

Trixie mulled Aisha’s words over. Zecora was an utter mystery, for the most part. A zebra with strange, prophetic powers, who for whatever mad reason seemed convinced that Corona was worth serving. Her past was utterly clouded, and if Trixie was honest, she didn’t much care. Why Zecora did what she did, or where she came from, was irrelevant to the fact that she was a threat to Equestria’s stability and peace. And Trixie’s own personal safety and that of her friends, which was somewhat of the higher priority for Trixie, truth be told. 

So she understood Aisha’s desire to get answers, if indeed the two zebras had been friends back in the day. Trixie didn’t particularly care, one way  or another, but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was whether or not she could trust Aisha at all. Raindrops had the most contact with these odd zebras, so Trixie gave Raindrops a look.

“What do you think? Is she on the level?”

“Wouldn’t have brought her if i didn’t,” Raindrops said, shrugging her wings, “Sure, she might be one of the bad guys, but there’s six of us, and one of her. Not worried about walking into an ambush.”

“But she might lead our search astray, if she is a conspirator,” Dao Ming said, “Bringing her here was dangerous.”

“Hmm... What's everypony’s else’s thoughts?” Trixie asked her friends, “I’m a bit on the fence on this one.”

“The way I see it,” Lyra piped up first, “If Aisha here is on the level, then the more the merrier. If she ain’t, then she might slip up and give us a clue she wasn’t planning to. I say we give her a chance.”

“Same here,” said Carrot Top, giving Aisha an apologetic smile, “I’m willing to trust you, and wouldn’t mind the help at all.”

“And to toss my two bits onto the pile, I’m pretty dang curious to see the look on Zecora’s face if we bust her free with the help of an old pal. Crazy mare is always getting the drop on us, it’ll be fun to get the drop on her for a change,” said Cheerilee, cracking an anticipating smile and rubbing her hooves together, “Which reminds me, how come she rhymes all the time, and you don’t, Aisha?”

Aisha actually blushed in the darkness, a moment of rose hue in the dark, “Zecora is very... traditional, in her manner. I’ve long since been out of practice, since I left the shaman’s Path to be with my husband.”

“Drat,” said Cheerilee, “I had bits on it being some kind of magic curse.”

“You can pay me when we get back home,” said Lyra with a chuckle. 

“If you’re all quite done, can we commence our search?” asked Dao Ming, “I’d rather not waste any more time that could be better spent seeking our mutual enemies.”

“Lead on, Miss Bossy Tail,” said Cheerilee, and Dao Ming rolled her eyes but did take the lead as the group began it’s long trek into the deeper corridors beneath the monastery.

It wasn’t long at all before the corridor they traveled down ended in an iron gate, one that Trixie had been given the key to by Abbess Serene for the purpose of this search. Beyond the gate, which swung open with a dull iron hiss, was a rough, natural cavern. Lyra, Trixe, and Dao Ming all provided light sources with their horns, but Carrot Top, ever resourceful, had her own light source with a vial of glowing blue liquid made via her alchemy that she hung around her neck from a leather cord.

The first half hour of their search took them down bending and twisting rock tunnels that dripped with faint condensation. Trixie had a map of the caverns provided by the Order, which had a basic knowledge of the caverns’ layout, although nothing terribly extensive. To ensure they didn’t get lost, Cheerilee wisely provided markings via chalk, and just to be sure, Trixie copied them with an illusionary script that’d last half a day, if necessary. 

After another hour of walking, it became painfully apparent just how huge this tunnel system was, filling the underground of the island like some vast honeycomb. 

“Is all of this really natural, do you think?” asked Carrot Top as they traversed a wider cave chamber that held several hanging stalactites that were low enough to make the mares watch where their heads were. 

“How should I know? I’m not a cave expert,” Trixie admitted, a bit of her frustration leaking into her voice. She had a sinking feeling they weren’t actually accomplishing anything down here other than getting sore hooves. 

“As far as I can tell they appear normal,” Dao Ming said, “But much like Dame Lulamoon, I am no expert. I do, however, know these caves are similar to ones beneath the Imperial Palace, or the Great Wall to the Dark Lands, so I’ve seen their like before.”

“Huh, what’s this Great Wall and the Dark Lands, anyway? I’ve heard the term, but Shouma’s still a really mysterious land to us Equestrians,” Lyra said, her bardic curiosity sparking brightly in her eyes. 

“The Dark Lands are a tainted place, far on our land’s eastern borders,” Dao Ming said, her voice sharp with distaste, “We know nothing of its origins, only that the land is poison, and its denizens monstrous. The Great Wall was built to protect the Heavenly Empire from the Dark Land’s encroachment, garrisoned by some of our finest soldiers. My sister, Tomoko could tell you more. The Wall was built by one of her ancestors.”

“That so?” Lyra had a notebook out, scribbling in it with a quill floating in her magical grip, “So have you ever been to the Dark Lands.”

Dao Ming paused, glancing back over her shoulder at Lyra, “Once, when the Empress visited the Great Wall for an inspection. I didn’t enter the Dark Lands, but I saw them from the top of the Wall. It was as if the land itself was... akin to an infection. Dying, dry, cracked, and gray. Nothing living was meant for that place, not anymore.”

“So nopony lives there now?” pressed Lyra, clearly fascinated as her quill kept scribbling. 

“Not anymore. Nopony sane. Tomoko’s ancestors once ruled a province beyond the Wall, but when the Dark Lands grew, that province died, and they built the Great Wall to protect what was left of their land. In exchange for their sacrifice, the Empress of that time gifted Tomoko’s family with new lands and retainer status to the Imperial Family.”

“Wow, makes me wish I could go to Shouma sometime. The stories your land has to be filled with is seriously tingling my lore thirst,” Lyra said, coughing politely at Dao Ming’s stare, “Not to belittle your country’s history or anything.”

“Not at all, I’m pleased you’re so interested. Perhaps one day soon, Shouma will be more open to visitors, and you can see our lands many wonders for yourself, Dame Heartstrings.”

A musing grunt issued forth from Aisha, and everypony halted.

“Something wrong?” asked Raindrops. 

Aisha’s face was still with concentration. They’d reached the end of the cavern to find another pair of tunnels moving off in two different directions, and the zebra mare was paused between them. Aisha sniffed the air, and then went to the stone wall between the two tunnels, tapping it with a hoof.

Trixie and her friends exchanged looks, and shrugs, before Trixie approached and said, “Are you seeing something we aren’t?”

“I’m not certain,” Aisha said, rubbing her hoof across the rocky surface in front of her, “This wall seems different, does it not?”

Trixie looked at it, frowning. All she saw was a flat wall, nothing special. Then again, she knew better than most that looks could be quite deceiving. She cast her magic sight spell and let herself look about with it, seeking any stray magical auras. The rest of the group clustered behind her and Aisha, and as Trixie was searching, Cheerilee said, “You know, this bit of wall does look kinda too flat to be natural. Most cave walls are at least a little uneven, one way or another.”

“Yeah, but this looks pretty even,” Carrot Top said, looking at the sides of the wall, “Although not all the way around. At the ends here it goes back to rougher cave wall.”

“Sounds like a secret entrance to me!” Raindrops aid, pounding her hooves together, “Just find the hidden switch, or maybe I can smash a way through?”

“Everypony hold on,” Trixie said, “Let me finish searching, first, before we start smashing.”

After another minute of looking around, she let out an annoyed scoff and ended her spell, “No magic auras.”

“No trigger, either,” Cheerilee said, finishing a careful feel around with her hooves, “If there’s a switch, it isn’t here.”

“Are we even sure this is a secret door, and not just a coincidentally, if oddly, flat bit of normal cave wall?” Carrot Top said.

“No, there is more here,” Aisha said, having sat down in a strange, cross-legged pose, her eyes closed as she took in several deep breaths, then opened them again. When she did, they were somehow sharper than before, almost gleaming. “Others have passed this way.”

“How can you tell?” asked Lyra, but Raindrops stepped forward.

“It’s that weird sight thing you, Tendaji, and Nuru showed me before, isn’t it?” Raindrops said, “You’re looking at patterns.”

“Yes. Threads and patterns, connected auras and paths. I can only see what is recent. All such things fade quickly. Yet there is the smallest trace here of three auras, passing this wall. I cannot know of the switch for certain, but a concentration of aura lingers on the stalagmite to your left, Raindrops.”

The stalagmite in question hung low, at roughly head height, and Raindrops roved her eyes over it and gave it an experimental poke with a hoof. When nothing happened, Cheerilee slipped up next to Raindrops, “Here, let me. Seen a few tricks like this from masons in Zaidia.”

She ran her hooves around the stalagmite, biting her lower lip as she focused on the texture of the rough, stone surface. After a minute she smirked and let out a triumphant, “Gotcha.”

About halfway up the stalagmite a portion of the surface slid away easily with a press of a hoof to reveal a hollow within. Inside the carved hollow was an iron chain, dangling down from further up in the hollowed out stalagmite.

“Whoa, neat,” said Carrot Top.

Trixie was frowning, “Everypony be ready, just in case. Cheerilee, do it.”

Cheerilee nodded with an eager smile, and after giving the others a moment to ready themselves, she pulled the chain. A few soft grinding noises echoed in the otherwise silent cavern, and the smooth portion of wall raised upward, revealing an upward sloping walkway beyond. 

“Okay, so... do we investigate now, or go get help, just in case we’re about to walk into the baddies’ main den?” asked Lyra, holding her lyre with her magic and ready to unleash sonic spells at a moment’s notice. 

Dao Ming had no sword after hers had been broken during the Contest of Strength, but she still took the lead, withdrawing a spirit scroll for spellcasting. “We don’t know what lies ahead. If we go back, we risk our foes escaping, assuming this even leads to them.”

“Yes, let’s not make assumptions,” Trixie said quietly, her horn’s glow intensifying, “Let me check ahead with Cheerilee and see where this leads. Cheerilee, get close, and move quietly.”

“Invisibility, right,” Cheerilee noted, sliding close to Trixie as the mare wove an invisibility spell around them both. 

“We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Trixie said to the others, and led Cheerilee up the ramp that had been exposed by the secret entry. 

The path’s upward curve was sharp, but not so much that either mare risked slipping on the increasingly damp floor. Before long Trixie’s nose was twitching with the salty smell of ocean water, but she made no comment, keeping as silent as Cheerilee was. 

The path bent to the left after several hundred paces, then went on for almost as long before ending in a similarly smooth wall. However this one’s chain was not hidden, but clear to see on the side of the wall, and after Trixie gave Cheerilee a confirming pat on the shoulder, Cheerilee pulled the chain.

Sunlight nearly blinded them for a second, and both Trixie and Cheerilee had to blink several times to clear the glare from their eyes. The gentle roll of surf greeted their ears, and the ocean smell now filled their nostrils. Her vision now adjusting back to proper sunlight, Trixie saw the opening they stood in was situated inside the cliff face sitting alongside a familiar, sandy beach. 

Glancing around to confirm no one was around, she dropped the invisibility spell. “I know this place.”

“You do?” said Cheerilee, looking around until she spotted, far off to the left, the sight of the monastery built up upon the cliff in that direction, “Wait, this is the beach on the west side of the island. Isn’t this where...?”

“Yes,” Trixie said, glancing to where she could see the familiar stone monument that was one of the ‘anchors’ for the spell creating the barrier around Rengoku. “This is the same beach we suspect Zecora ran down before reaching the stairs leading up the cliff to the monastery. This must be where the ones who abducted her came from.”

“Do you think Zecora found this entrance, and that’s why she was taken?” 

“Possible. Even likely,” said Trixie, “I’m more worried this entrance leads right to one of the anchors for the barrier around Rengoku.”

“That’s a concern, no doubt. Do you think the monks know about this entrance to the cave tunnels?” asked Cheerilee, a disturbed look crossing her features, “Because I thought they said they didn’t have anything built down in the caves, or even sent people down there. But a secret entrance like that takes decent engineering to make.”

“Here’s another question,” Trixie said, her own face sour, “How many more entrances like this are there that we don’t know about? If there’s more than just this one, and the tunnels are as extensive as they seem, then anycreature with the right knowledge could get around the island undetected with ease.”

“Hoo boy. Well, on the bright side, we at least know we’re on the right track,” said Cheerilee, “If secret doors like this exist, then that means secret chambers can exist down there too, including someplace for our conspirators to hide out and hold an irate, rhyming zebra.”

“Yes, assuming we can scour every inch of what is probably miles upon miles of tunnels to find more hidden doors.”

“Hey, that Aisha was pretty useful for that. Her weird zebra sight thing can pick up on where more doors might be,” Cheerilee pointed out.

“Within a limited time frame, given she said auras fade away after a day or two...” Trixie said, trailing off in thought. She then turned around sharply, “Let’s get back to the others. I want to send someone to go inform Princess Luna of what we’ve found, and I’d like to as the Abbess some questions. The rest of the group can stick with Aisha and look for more hidden doorways. It could take days to just search a fraction of these tunnels properly, but we don’t have days. We’ll have to make do with what we can do tonight.”

Returning to the party and informing them of what was found, and the new plan, the group split up. Trixie, with Carrot Top and Raindrops coming along for mutual protection, would return to the monastery and talk with Princess Luna and Abbess Serene. Meanwhile Dao Ming, Aisha, Lyra, and Cheerilee would continue the search, making sure to leave clear marks of their passage. If they found any more hidden passages, they’d mark them, but not explore them until Trixie and the others could return. 

They agreed to meet back at this first hidden passage in three hours, which would place the time at early evening by then. 

With that, the group split, and none were the wiser concerning the pair of eyes watching them from the darkness of the second tunnel.

----------

“They’re getting closer,” Grimwald reported with a cheerful air, spinning his dark Fae dagger in one talon.

Only one other hooded figure was in the large chamber, sitting quietly in a cross-legged position near the glowing magical circle that filled the chamber’s center.

“It doesn’t matter,” the figure said, “The ritual is prepared. All that’s left is the last key, which will come shortly enough.”

“Hmm, might be, might be,” Grimwald said, yawning as he flopped down next to the sitting figure, “Then again, maybe those resourceful ladies will find this place before then and ruin the party? That could be a whole different barrel of fun by itself, but I have to wonder why the boss is cutting this all so close. Why not grab the last piece now? Tonight? Wouldn’t be hard.”

The sitting figure tilted its hooded head, as if in contemplation, “I do not know for certain, but I imagine it is because our leader wishes to see the Contest of Champions finished.”

“Didn’t know they were the sentimental type. You’d think, after doing all of this, going this far, they’d toss aside junk they don’t need,” Grimwald said, tossing his dagger high into the air. He rolled over onto his side, propping his chin in one talon while the dagger spun in the darkness above him, “You know, I can’t even be mad. I’m the sentimental type, too. This job started out as just a way to throw the world a curveball, sow a little chaos for the fun of it, but now all I can think about is-”

His free talon shoot out and smoothly caught the dagger before it fell back down to strike his own neck, and Grimwald held the Fae weapon in front of his sparkling eyes, “-when am I gonna get to fight that beautiful mare again?”

“You speak of... Dame Doo? You’ve rendered her into a dreamless sleep with the magic of the very weapon you hold. I doubt you’ll see her again.”

“Pfft, shows what you know. Yeah, I put her down so she and her gal pals couldn’t do the fancy rainbow light show, but let’s be real here, she’s got an alicorn in her corner. Only a matter of time before Ditzy’s naptime is over.”

“It doesn’t make a difference, as long as the ritual is finished before that happens.”

Grimwald licked his beak and rolled to his feet, sheathing his dagger up his sleeve and stretching his wings, “Then I’d better go lay some false trails and set up some traps and ambush points. More I can distract them the longer it'll take for them to find this place. They’ve got a zebra helping them out with a little second-sight, too. Could be a problem, don't you think?”

The hooded figure stiffened for a second, but didn’t say anything. Grimwald glanced at them and put on a smirk, “Oh, don’t worry, I won’t do anything to the zebra. I’m a nice guy, who only stabs when the pay is right, or if I’m bored, or if I really like the person I’m stabbing.”

“Your presence is tiring... if you’re leaving, do so. Play your games, just so long as they keep those searching for us sufficiently busy for a short time longer. And do not kill anycreature."

 “I hear you. Non-lethal traps only, non-vital organ stabbing only. I swear, you bunch are the worst sticks-in-the-mud I’ve ever worked with.”

With that, the chamber was silent once more.

----------

The next morning dawned amid a partially cloudy sky and the buzz of many excited, if somewhat confused spectators who had heard the Contest of Champions would be concluding that day with both the Contest of Wits and Magic taking place that very day. As a result, things would be getting started much faster than normal, with the Contest of Wits set to begin within only an hour past sunrise.

Trixie, not precisely a morning mare, was irate over the early start, but that was honestly the least of the troubles in her mind as she went about a swifter than usual routine of bathing and preparing herself to be presentable.

The previous day was frustrating, to put things mildly. Once she, Raindrops, and Carrot Top got to Princess Luna to explain what had been found, Luna had sent a message to Abbess Serene to speak with her personally about the unexpected entrances in the otherwise “natural” tunnels.

The Abbess had been very polite and patient in regards to answering questions, and had expressed seemingly honest surprise concerning the secret entrance that Aisha had helped them find. 

”I’ve no knowledge of such things existing in those tunnels and caverns, but it’s possible an earlier Abbot or Abbess had them constructed,” Abbess Serene said, expression troubled and pensive, “I can start searching the monastery’s records to see if there’s anything that can be found. Surely if monks were sent to construct those entrances in times past, there’d be mention of it somewhere.”

“See that you do,” Luna said, her eyes never leaving their focus from the still slumbering Ditzy Doo as the alicorn continued to work her magic on breaking the Fae enchantment keeping Ditzy in dreamland. “I find it most troubling that these tunnels have such secrets. I’ll be sending one of my own personal guards to... assist your monks in searching the record.”

“Of course,” Abbess Serene replied, turning to look to Trixie and the mares by her side, “If you wish, any of you may also search the records. If construction did occur, it must have required Elkheim runecraft to make the kind of hidden trigger and door you found. That should stand out in the records.”

“I’ll help give them a gander,” volunteered Carrot Top, “I’ll drag Prince Frederick along to help out.”

And so Carrot Top hadn’t even returned to their shared quarters until fairly late into the night, and had exhaustively reported having found nothing. Not a single mention of construction down in those tunnels. Which might mean nothing, or it might mean everything. Trixie was suspicious of the Abbess, but Serene was technically right that those entrances could have been built at any time over the course of the Order’s centuries of existence. 

And it was ‘entrances’, not ‘entrance’. With Aisha’s further help with her odd zebra sight, the search party had discovered more hidden doors, each one leading to the island’s surface in a different location. One in particular stood out to Carrot Top once it was mentioned, as it led into a small ravine in the northern forest, right near where she and Frederick had encountered a hooded figure examining the barrier around Rengoku.

Other entrances lead to different anchor points for the barrier spell, while others led out near the town of Heroes' Rest, or even alongside small hills near the contest fields. 

By this point Luna had brought in Princess Cadenza and even reluctantly spoken with Corona, coordinating an effort with the monks to guard the discovered entrances. If the conspirators were going to make a move, they’d have to get past vigilant guards to do so. That, or use entrances not discovered yet. Not to mention they hadn’t found any actual hidden chambers where Zecora might be held or where the hooded figures might be hiding out. A paranoid part of Trixie’s mind worried that with so many entrances to guard, and no way of knowing that all of those entrances had been found, that they’d stretched themselves thin and left openings the enemy could exploit. 

Since they weren’t Contest participants, Kindle had volunteered himself and Corona’s other minions to continue the search today. Trixie wasn’t thrilled about that, but she supposed Zecora was their comrade, so Corona’s team had an invested interest in continuing the search while Trixie and the girls were finishing the Contest.

“You look tense enough to break a boulder with your clenched buttcheeks,” Cheerilee noted as she joined Trixie in one of the shared washrooms, having just finished rinsing her own mane and now going about brushing it out.

Trixie snorted, “Colorful. And yes, I’m tense. How can I not be? We still haven’t found these hooded freaks, and still don’t even know for certain what they’re planning.”

“All the evidence points towards that fortress,” Cheerilee said, “The secret entrances lead to all of the anchor points for the barrier, and you and Dao Ming kept having those visions from the Warlord’s spirit. Seems pretty obvious to me that someone wants the big, bad, flying fortress of doom.”

“But we don’t know how they plan to break the barrier, or when they plan to do it! How am I supposed to focus on the Contest with something like that hanging over us!?” Trixie shouted, but felt Cheerilee give her a playful nudge with an elbow.

“We’ve been here before, Trixie. Time and again, we’ve been put in situations where the bad guys are a few steps ahead of us. Guess what? We still whomp ‘em, every time. Because they might have their plans, but we’re just too damn quick on our hooves and with our wits to do anything other than ruin their plans just when they think they’ve got it all worked out. Happened with Corona, happened with Tambelon, happened with Greengrass, happened dozens of other times. We’ll pull it off this time, too.”

Trixie took a deep breath, looking at herself in the mirror, and managed a small smirk, “Okay, okay, you’ve made your point. We’ll see what happens. I suppose it’s best to put on a good show and win as much as we can in the Contest, than to spend too much energy agonizing over what we can’t change. Ugh, I just hate relying on Kindle of all ponies, along with his second rate illusionist and that oversized turkey to do what feels like should be our job.”

Once they were done preparing themselves they went out into the main lounge of the quarters, where Carrot Top was waiting, somewhat bleary eyed from lack of sleep, and Lyra was turning her lyre while Raindrops waited impatiently by the door. 

“About time,” Raindrops said, “How long were you two going to be working on your manes in there?”

“Mmph,” said Carrot Top, “I didn’t have time to do mine properly.”

“You look fine,” said Raindrops.

“I could weave a quick illusion to smooth it out if you like,” Trixie offered, but Carrot Top waved a hoof.

“It’s no biggie,” she said with a yawn, “For once, I think I can live with it being a little mussy. Just wish me and Frederick had found something last night.”

Cheerilee couldn’t help but crack a grin, “From the way you were smiling and glowing when you got in last night, you two sure found something alright.”

Carrot Top didn’t even look embarrassed as she wore a smile that, to Trixie’s keen eyes, looked a tad saddened, “We made the most of our time, and that’s all I’ll say. But you know what I meant. Those records were long, dull, but spotless in regards to any information about those caverns.”

“Records are easy to destroy, unfortunately,” pointed out Lyra, “Maybe I should’ve come to help. I’m not bad at spotting inconsistencies with information like that.”

“Nothing we can do about it now,” said Raindrops, noting the clock on the wall, “We’re out of time, the rest of you got a Contest to finish and I’ve got a secret underground laboratory to keep watch on.”

Trixie felt an odd twitch in her tail and a twinge of worry that she knew wasn’t warranted. Raindrops was more than capable of taking care of herself. Still, Trixie couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Do be careful while you’re down there. I know it makes a certain sense to guard that place, but I also don’t like splitting up.”

She appreciated that rather than look offended, Raindrops just looked calm as she nodded and said, “I know what you mean, but honestly I’m just using this as an excuse to get out of having to bend my brain with whatever crap the Contest of Wits is going to involve, or being bored while you and Lyra kick flank during the Contest of Magic.”

Trixie turned her nose up, but smirked in pleasure, “Bored? Hmph, I guarantee the performance I and Lyra shall put on will be anything but boring to watch!”

Raindrops just snorted good naturedly at that.

“I just wish Ditzy was here...” said Lyra, wearing a stormy frown, “She ought to be with us for this, and because of that damn Grimwald...”

“She’s going to be okay,” said Carrot Top, giving Lyra a comforting pat on the withers, “Princess Luna is taking care of her, and who knows, she might even wake up today for all we know.”

“Yeah, still, it bites that she’s still down and out. I hope Dinky’s holding up alright, too.”

“We all are,” Trixie said, straightening her hat and making sure her cape was tied on tight, “And for them, no matter how the Contest plays out, we’re not leaving this island until those hooded conspirators are all found out and caught.”

The five mares all shared equal looks of determined confidence, nodding to one another before departing their quarters for what would turn out to be the final day of the Contest of Champions. They made their way through the monastery until they reached the main chamber, where Raindrops split off to go towards the underground levels, and the other four trotted out between the massive stone columns flanking the monastery’s entrance and entered into a bright and clear morning.

As before, the contest field had been changed to suit the purposes of the day’s Contest, or in this case Contests. As a result, two completely different and distinct stadiums had been created with the stoneworking of cervid runecraft.

One was a large rectangle of stone, open topped and with so many internal walls that Trixie couldn't imagine it being anything other than a maze. It’s immense size was daunting until she realized that along the rectangle’s southern edge there were multiple arched doorways, each one having a symbol carved atop it corresponding to the national symbol of each nation. So, logically, it seemed that each team had their own separate section of the overall maze to explore.

The other structure was an interesting looking affair. It was a cylindrical tower, but with the majority of its interior made up of open space created by stone discs held up by pillars along its sides and interior. Trixie could make out various staircases within leading up and down the various levels, and could make out other unusual objects, such as spheres or cubes of stone set up in odd positions. 

At a guess, she surmised the maze must be for the Contest of Wits, and the tower for the Contest of Magic. 

Seating for the island’s crowds of visitors were now arranged on either side of the maze and tower in two smooth, slightly curved lines. As before, the magical viewing mirrors were floating in place to provide spectators a closer look at the events to come, and already the large, stone seating areas were filling up with creatures of all nations by the time Trixie and her friends arrived. The air was buzzing with the ambient murmur of thousands of voices excited to see how this momentous competition was going to end. It struck a sour note in Trixie, as normally she’d bask under suh attention and be equally if not more excited to not only reach the Contest’s climax, but be able to really strut her stuff in the Contest of Magic.

...And yet all she could think about was what terrible scheme those hooded jerks were planning and if she and her friends would be able to stop it, and keep everyone on the island safe. 

Perhaps that was a sign she was maturing? Her priorities had certainly shifted over time, and she was more aware than ever of the responsibilities she held. The knighthood, being an Element Bearer, even this most recent accolade in being selected as one of Equestria’s champions, it all meant far more than glory she got to soak in. It meant taking responsibility for the safety of every single creature present, shouldering the weight of being the ones who had to take action when the next crisis emerged. 

Good thing Trixie had learned to perform well under pressure.

Upon their arrival, the mares were greeted by several monks who ushered them towards the south side of the maze. There, several other champions were already waiting, including Dao Ming, who was quietly conferring with Kenkuro and the tall, enigmatic minotaur, Greysight. Spotting Trixie, Dao Ming was seen whispering something to Kenkuro, who gave a brief nod and made a swift and inviting motion with one of his wings, beckoning the mares over.

Although Trixie and her friends exchanged brief, confused looks, they made a quick canter to the trio. Trixie noticed Greysight was staring at them particularly hard with an unblinking stare. There was almost a pressure from that stare that left Trixie staring back with an automatic sense of challenge. However, the minotauress inclined her head and spoke in a surprisingly soft voice, “My apologies, I didn’t mean to make you uneasy, Alpha of the Element Bearers.”

“Huh?” Trixie’s eyebrows crawled up towards her mane, while Cheerilee stepped up next to her.

“She means she recognizes you as our group leader, Trixie.”

“Ah, yes, well, good,” Trixie said, clearing her throat, “And I wasn’t uneasy. Just curious why you were staring.”

“Forgive Lady Greysight,” Kenkuro said, “She’s the measuring sort, and does tend to forget to blink from time to time. Did the same with me, back when we first met, isn’t that right Greysight?”

“You were, quite literally, an odd bird,” Greysight replied smoothly, adjusting her grip on a most unusual staff in her hands that consisted of a bronze pole with interlocking gears towards its tip where a larger gear sat between a set of tubes, “It took me some time to get used to you, including your distinct sense of humor.”

“Still haven’t forgiven the bit with the honey and those wild hogs, have you? I swear I had no idea that the herd had entered its rut season!”

Greysight let out the kind of long suffering sigh only possible from one who had long since given up understanding a dear friend’s more eccentric qualities, and instead of responding to Kenkuro, turned her attention back to Trixie and the other Element Bearers, “Ahem, all that aside, it’s a pleasure to be able to speak with all of you. There may have been opportunities earlier in the Contest, but I’ve been busy with other matters, including tending to the spiritual needs of my fellow minotaur champions.”

“How’s Steel Cage?” Cheerilee asked casually. 

“Distraught,” Greysight replied with no preamble, “He doesn’t understand Iron Will’s choices, but has no recourse but to accept them, now. Believe it or not, I thank you for that, Dame Cheerilee. Steel Cage may possess great strength in the flesh, but his spirit has long needed tempering, and I believe his encounter with you will do him good, in the long run. It is forcing him to confront weaknesses he wasn’t aware he had, due to ego and a narrow mindset. Perhaps this experience will pry some of that narrow mindedness open.”

“Well, I’m not gonna hold my breath on that one, but as long as he stops bothering Iron Will, that’s all I needed to know,” Cheerilee replied. 

“So how do you two know each other?” asked Carrot Top, nodding towards Kenkuro and Greysight, upon which the pair shared a swift glance, seemingly communicating a wealth of meaning to each other with merely a look. Then Greysight nodded, and Kenkuro cracked his beak in a smile.

“Dame Trixie is already aware that I, Greysight, and old Nuru are old friends. We met long ago, when I was on something of a pilgrimage to learn more of the world beyond Shouma’s borders. We had our fair share of dangers, joys, and sorrows faced together, but this Contest is the first time we’ve seen each other in many years,” Kenkuro said.

“And Nuru is Aisha’s father...” Lyra added musingly, “And Nuru’s been keeping an eye on us.”

“As have I,” Greysight added, “I confess, before the rest of you came to realize there was a threat lurking on this island, I... suspected something was amiss. I even told Kenkuro and Nuru of this during the Grand Melee.”

“Is that so?” Trixie felt a knot of suspicion in her gut now. There were already plenty of people to suspect in regards to the hooded conspirators, but it felt decidedly convenient that those three would’ve been aware of a threat and decided to keep an eye on everything. “Then how can we be sure-”

“Please,” Kenkuro raised both his wings together in a gesture almost like a prayer as he bowed, “I ask you not to cast about such suspicions. I vouch for my friends, and if I am wrong then may the spirits themselves punish me for that oversight.”

Dao Ming gave the tengu a sympathetic look, “No one is accusing anything. I do wish you hadn’t withdrawn from the contest, Kenkuro. You deserve the honor.”

“Pfft, I’ve more than enough ‘honor’,” Kenkuro said, eyeing the spectator stands, “What I’d like more of is some good food, a nice perch to rest on, and the company of a fine female of any species. This is your day, Dao Ming, along with other youthful champions to prove themselves. Let the old have some peace and quiet.”

Dao Ming looked ready to argue, but took a breath and instead smiled, bowing her head, “I’ll endeavor to do you proud.”

To this, the tengu offered a warm look, “You have, and will continue to do so, I have no doubt. Now, I’d best get going, lest Dame Raindrops gets lonely on her vigil.”

Greysight raised her eyebrow at that, but made no comment on it as Kenkuro took wing and flew off back towards the monastery. A moment later she said, ``It seems things will start soon.”

She nodded at the sight of more champions arriving upon the field, including her fellow minotaurs. Steel Cage was walking past them, and while his physical size was no less prodigious, there was a distinct aura of defeat about him and the two other champions following him. Trixie could all but feel the vacuum of dejected funk following the minotaurs, and she didn’t really blame them. They hadn’t fared well in the Contest where their physical might would’ve been the greatest help, and the remaining two Contests could prove problematic for a species not known for having magic. They might do well enough in the maze, especially if what Trixie heard about the way minotaur cities were built was true, but she wasn’t sure what the rules for the Contest of Magic would be regarding the minotaurs. Even the griffins had the same weather control pegasi did.

“Hm, looks like our ‘champ’ is going to need a proper kick in the rear to get his mind back in focus,” Greysight said, “If you’ll excuse me. Good luck in the Contest... and any other challenges we face today.”

With those enigmatic words, she strode naway to join the other minotaurs.

“Spirits favor you today, Dames,” Dao Ming said, wearing a small smile of confidence, “Although I do fully intend to win, of course.”

“As expected,” Trixie replied, “Just don’t expect to, with us as your opponents.”

There was no hint of a pricked ego or barbed arrogance in Dao Ming’s laugh, only a clean, honest amusement at a now respected rival’s assertion. “Don’t disappoint, then, Dame Lulamoon.”

The six mares watched Dao Ming go to her presumed starting location in the maze, and then waited for the Contest of Wits to begin. It didn’t take long, once the last of the champions had arrived and the many spectator seating areas had been filled to capacity with an eager audience. Abbess Serene arrived to address both crowd and champions with a magically amplified voice and her face transmitted across the viewing mirrors. Trixie noticed the elderly mare seemed tired, with a dash less enthusiasm in her voice than usual, although she doubted many others picked up on it for the Abbess still spoke with a great deal of projected energy and poise.

“Good morning everyone, both champion and honored guests! It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the beginning of what will be the culmination of this grand competition between such skilled and noble champions. As was announced yesterday, we shall be holding both the Contest of Wits and Magic today, as to allow for more time for revelry in the festivities afterward. And first of those two events shall be the Contest of Wits!”

At a gesture from the Abbess, the doors in front of each set of champions swung open, revealing an odd, magical shimmer beyond. Trixie cocked her head, knowing illusion magic when she saw it. At a glance, she could see a faint waver of distortion overhanging the entire maze. The magical working seemed fairly basic to her trained eye, and she imagined it was layered on by the work of several illusionists among the monks who were unicorns. 

Without careful examination she couldn’t determine the extent of the illusions, but she imagined it probably affected perceptions inside the maze, likely tied to whatever challenges of wits were to come.

“The rules for this Contest are quite simple,” the Abbess said, “Each team enters their portion of this carefully constructed maze. Within lay puzzles, riddles, and traps tailored to challenge our competitors minds. Each set of challenges are different for each team, designed to reflect their country of origin. Score is determined by whether they finish the maze, how fast they do so, or if failing that, how far they get within the maze before the allotted time of two hours is up.”

“Hmm, sound simple enough,” Carrot Top said under her breath.

“Yeah, this is straight out of Ogres and Oubliettes,” said Lyra, “I wonder if the Abbess is a fan?”

“She said traps...” Cheerilee rubbed her chin musingly, “I wonder how that’s supposed to work? Going to assume they won’t be, you know, lethal or anything.”

“Probably just designed to slow us down,” Trixie theorized, “Regardless, we’ll need to proceed carefully.”

“Which is gonna affect our time,” said Raindrops, “Kinda clever, I guess.”

----------

The moment they passed beyond the threshold of the maze’s entrance, the absolute silence that followed struck as hard as thunder. 

“Wow, this is pretty creepy,” Carrot Top said, her ears twitching as she looked around. They could still see the tops of the stone walls around them, open to the sky, but the noises of the thousands of spectators were now gone, leaving the four mares in a stillness akin to wandering the caverns beneath the monastery.

“A silence spell, and a very well constructed one,” Trixie said, eyeing the area with her magic sight spell.

“Given that we’re supposed to be using our heads here, they spell is probably meant to prevent us from being distracted by the crowd or hearing the other teams chattering at each other,” said Cheerilee, stepping forward to be at the head of the group, “And since we’re on the clock here, we need to get moving.”

“Right on,” Lyra said, glancing left and right, “So,  uh, which way, fearless leader?”

The starting portion of the maze had a simple choice between left and right, both pathways showing sharp turns leading towards the other end of the maze. Trixie was inclined to head left, purely on gut instinct, but she was willing to let Cheerilee take the lead for now, since the warning of traps was something Trixie took seriously and didn’t want to second guess the only mare in the group who might know a bit about dealing with that kind of thing. Trixie was geared more to avoiding social pitfalls, not literal ones.

Cheerilee’s eyes flicked left and right for a moment, their green depths glittering... then she turned to the right, “This way. Walk behind me, single file. If you hear a ‘click’ at any point, stop moving.”

They got to moving, Cheerilee taking things at a pace balanced between caution and haste, all of the mares aware of the fact that they were competing for speed but keenly aware that getting caught by some trap would cost them valuable time. 

The first trap was right around the corner, as it turned out. Cheerilee immediately halted the second she turned the bend, throwing a hoof out to halt Trixie as she herself froze in place. Cheerilee’s other hoof had lightly brushed a tripwire strung so thinly across the pathway that Trixie had to blink a few times to even be sure it was there. Cheerilee took a deep breath, and very carefully examined the wire before stepping over it. One by one she got the others to follow suit, and they resumed at a slightly slower pace.

“Anypony wondering what that wire did?” Lyra asked, “I mean, none of the traps are gonna be lethal or anything, right?”

“Of course they won’t be,” Trixie said, “Probably have been anything from bathing us in itching powder to a stink bomb, or maybe splatter sticky goo on the floor-” she nearly rammed into Cheerilee, who had stopped again, this time at a T-juncture. Trixie caught herself in time, but Carrot Top, who’d been looking at some unusual patterns carved into the wall, bumped into her. This created a domino effect that knocked Trixie into Cheerilee, who was shoved forward into the juncture just as she had been bending down to examine what looked like an unusual depression in the ground.

Cheerilee’s hoof hit the depression with an audible click, and for a moment all the mares stood stock still. Trixie glanced back at Carrot Top with flaring eyes, and Carrot Top offered a quick, apologetic smile. 

Then the pathway on their left suddenly was closed off as stone walls shifted and slammed into place to cut off that direction, and then the same occurred to the path behind them. On the wall that had appeared across the path behind the group, a section turned and opened up, revealing the head of some aquatic, equine creature, reminiscent of the kelpie the mare’s were familiar with. A rumble was heard, and Cheeriee shouted, “Move!”

The mares all scrambled forward as a jet of water blasted out of the stone kelpie head. Most of them got clear, but Lyra was last in line and got knocked off her hooves as the water jet knocked her into the wall. She wasn’t injured, but she was soaked and took a few moments to get out from under the water, helped along by Carrot Top.

The water subsided, and a dripping Lyra spat water out of her mouth, “Okay, that was annoying.”

“And our paths forward are now limited,” Trixie said, frowning deeply, “Probably to force us down a longer route.”

“Sorry,” said Carrot Top, “I was just looking at these weird patterns in the wall and I wasn’t looking at where I was going...”

“No, it’s okay,” Cheerilee said, “I should have paid attention to those patterns as well. Look,” she said, gesturing at the walls of the path they were now on, “There’s more here.”

There were a series of markings appearing periodically along both sides of the wall. At a glimpse they appeared to be just decorative gibberish, a series of circles, half circles, and quarter circles all aligned along with triangular markings of various numeric quantities. Trixie hadn’t even noticed them, since the markings were small and blended in pretty well with the stone.

“I was so focused on looking for stuff on the ground I didn’t realize those wall markings were even there,” Cheerilee said with a hapless shrug.

“Alright, but do they mean anything?” Lyra asked, taking a closer look up and down the wall, “The same pattern seems to repeat, but it’s different for the left or right side of the wall.”

“Let’s move a bit further ahead,” said Trixie, her own thoughts starting to spark with theories, “I want to see if the pattern changes near a turn juncture.”

As it turned out, the pattern itself didn’t change when they reached a four way juncture, but after Cheerilee checked to make sure there was no trap in the center and the mares could examine the walls of all four paths, the pattern did alter depending on which direction they’d go.

“There’s a full circle with four triangle markings on the left path,” said Lyra, “And on the right path we’ve got a half circle with three triangles. The way directly ahead is a quarter circle with two triangles, then behind us the pattern corresponds to the pattern we have on the right and left pathways.”

“Hold on,” said Carrot Top, “The pattern is a little different on the way forward, too, with there being three  triangles on the right wall instead of two.”

“So what’s that mean? If I was going to guess, the circles are... what, moon phases?” Lyra suggested.

“That actually sounds pretty plausible,” said Trixie, “But then my incredible powers of deduction falter at teensy bit at the triangles. What does the moon have to do with triangles?”

“Actually, I don’t think it’s supposed to represent the moon,” Carrot Top said. The farm pony was in the center of the four way juncture, looking alternatively behind them with a contemplative wrinkle of her nose, then at each of the four pathways in turn and their corresponding patterns. “When we hit that trap, it stopped us from going left, closing up the walls. But the pattern on the left was a full circle with four triangles... carrots...”

“Carrots?” Cheerilee said, “You mean the triangles are carrots?”

“Well, maybe not, maybe I’m being simple minded here,” Carrot Top admitted with an embarrassed look, “But the circles make me think of the seasons. Like, well, the sun, and how much of it is out during spring, summer, or autumn. And for carrots, harvest time is usually summer. More triangles, more carrots, better harvest... and well, seemed to match what the better path is supposed to be.”

“That’s... kinda a stretch there,” Lyra said, but Cheerilee held up a hoof.

“No, I think she’s onto it. These challenges were made with each team in mind, right? So the monks know about Carrot Top’s occupation. Why not make a pattern a carrot farmer would recognize?”

“Point taken,” Lyra said, “So, that means we’re going left? It’s the most ‘bountiful’ direction to go, right?”

“If, um, If I’m right, yeah,” Carrot Top said, and Trixie took a deep breath and patted the mare on the shoulders.

“We’ll stake our performance on you being right! Onward, to the left!”

That pathway swiftly ended up curving to the north, and then further curving again in an S-shape. Cheerilee led the group at a more careful pace, just in case, but it did seem like Carrot Top had guessed correctly, for the mares didn’t encounter any traps along the pathway. However, just around the next bend they all came to a halt at what appeared to be a dead end.

Carrot Top gained a dejected look at the sight of the stone wall in front of them, her voice softening as she said, “Sorry girls, maybe I was wrong-”

“Don’t second guess yourself just yet,” Cheerilee said, giving the wall a closer look, and after a moment her face brightened with a grin, “Check it out.”

The other mares peered closer to see a symbol identical to Carrot Top’s cutie mark carved nearly imperceptibly into the wall, and Cheerilee made a gesture towards it for Carrot Top. “After you, Dame Toppington. Looks like your guess was right on the nose.”

After a brief hesitation, Carrot Top touched the symbol, and pressed inward. The stone shifted in a small block pattern, then the entire wall grinded out of the mares’ path, revealing a much larger, open space beyond. Carrot Top smiled with a bashful droop to her ears as her friends congratulated her and they advanced into the next area, although Lyra started to muse aloud.

“You know, it occurs to me that if these puzzles are designed for each group, then maybe we shouldn’t have had Raindrops sit this one out. With Ditzy already out of commission, if any of these puzzles were designed with pegasi in mind, we might be in trouble...” she trailed off as she noticed the others had stopped, and Lyra too took in the sight of the next area. “Ah, you see, just like this.”

A short rim of space about five feet wide encircled what was otherwise a deep sloping depression of stone in the ground at least thirty feet deep. The stone walls surrounding this circular area bore odd, square mirrors at regular intervals, with a different colored crystal above each one; red, green, or blue. Then, at the far end of the area, was the portcullis gate, kept closed by an ornate clock with both a black and white gem placed within it. In the center of the large depression a stone column rose, and at its apex, which was at around chest height to the mares, were a pair of mirrors on metal swivels. The mirrors had to have had some magical properties, because it was clear to see that they were reflecting sunlight back at one another to create an even beam, which Trixie estimated required some illusioncraft to create such a steady and coherent lightshow from a simple mirror. One of those mirrors has it’s beam pointed at it’s fellow, reflecting back on itself, but the other was angled so it was already touching the white gem at the gate. 

“Okay... so, what do we do?” asked Carrot Top, “I mean, I figure we’re supposed to screw around with those mirrors, but we can’t get to them without wings.”

“Hold on,” said Lyra, pointing at the column, “There’s also some kind of plaque with writing on it over there too. Can’t read it from here.”

“I could probably try climbing the column,” suggested Cheerilee, eyeing the stone edifice with a critical gaze, “Wouldn’t be easy, but I bet I could manage.”

“No need,” said Trixie, turning to Lyra, “Ditzy and Raindrops may be absent, but we’re unicorns. We have a means to get somepony over to the plaque and mirrors.”

To emphasize this point, she lit up her horn and grasped Cheerilee with a soft and steady tint of magical aura, lifting the mare off the ground. Cheerilee looked at herself, then back to Trixie with a sarcastically flavored half-smile, “You know it’s surprising how often I forget how convenient it is to have friends that can just float stuff around at will.”

“Truly those who have Trixie as a friend are blessed,” Trixie agreed, then she glanced at Lyra, “If you float Carrot Top over, I’m sure between the two of them they can do whatever Ditzy and Raindrops were meant to.”

“First let’s read whatever’s on that plaque. Probably a riddle to solve whatever we’re supposed to do with the mirrors,” said Cheerilee, and soon enough Lyra had Carrot Top caught up with her own magical glow, and the two unicorns floated their friends across the open space towards the column.

“Just, uh, keep a tight grip, okay?” said Carrot Top nervously, “I don’t think the drop would kill us, but I’d like to avoid any shattered legs today. Or any day.”

“Oh, relax, we won’t drop either of you,” Trixie said, then grunted slightly, “Although let’s try not to take too long. Our score time aside, this is going to get draining, and I still have a Contest of Magic to win after this.”

Once at the small, bronze plaque, Cheerilee examined the words and read them aloud.

”The ones who are all yet stand alone lead the way forward.
    In darkness or light, forever bound by the three they rule.
    Red for magic is their lifeblood, blue for the sky they claim, and green for the earth that loves them. 
     The three that are one make the one that are three, yet one has forgotten and remains forever alone, until she is blinded by her purpose no longer.”

A moment of silence passed after Cheerilee was done reading, and then she said, “Everypony get that?”

“Heard it, still trying to parse it out,” said Lyra, scrunching her face in thought. 

“Hey, raise me up to the mirrors,” said Carrot Top, “I want to fiddle with them.” 

Lyra obliged, and Trixie decided to raise Cheerilee up to the top of the column as well. There was barely enough space for the two up there, but it gave Trixie and Lyra both a chance to rest their horns while their friends examined the mirrors, moving very carefully to avoid slipping off the limited space at the top of the column. 

“Well, this one moves...” Carrot Top said, twisting the mirror that had been pointing at it’s twin on the other side of the column, “How about the other one?”

“Hm, seems stuck by something,” Cheerilee said, trying to budge the mirror in question and finding it holding fast, “And I’m not going to push too hard, lest I break something. Try pointing yours at one of the other colored mirrors and see what happens.”

Carrot Top nodded and carefully swiveled her mirror around, catching the beam on the nearest mirror, containing a blue gem. The light beam was reflected out of the mirror, going off at an odd angle, and was now tinted entirely blue.

“Ten bits says we’ve got to get the right colors to hit those crystals at the gate,” said Lyra.

“Makes sense. The words on the plaque must be our clue to figuring out which colors to use,” said Carrot Top, who then swept a questioning gaze across the other mares. “So, um... any ideas?”

“We could always just try random combinations. There aren’t that many possibilities,” Lyra suggested, but Cheerilee waved her hoof.

“That’d also take time. The riddle shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. Let’s go over it, piece by piece.”

Trixie had already been thinking it over, just making a point of memorizing the lines in her mind and considering their meanings. The first line that had stuck out in her mind was concerning the color red. 

“One of the first things I learned about magic during my studies was that in ancient times, red was considered the purest color in terms of magical power,” she said, and Lyra’s lips pursed in a sour look.

“Yeah, but that’s really old fashioned thinking, and only because the first unicorn royals from the original tribe had red magic auras. There’s zero truth to the color spectrum affecting magical talents.”

“Of course not,” Trixie said, nodding firmly, “But I doubt that the one making the riddle for this puzzle cared much about that, and just needed a color to represent unicorns, and it's a color any unicorn with a modicum of historical knowledge would recognize.”

Lyra conceded the point with a shrug, then said, “Which makes blue pretty obviously pegasi, and green the earth ponies. Where does that leave us, though?”

“First two lines have to be referring to the alicorns,” Cheerilee said, adjusting her grip on the mirror she held as she edged back to the center of the column and tilted her head towards the black and white gems at the gate, “I mean, it’s pretty obvious. ‘Ones that are all’, the ‘three they rule’, yadda yadda. Alicorns have parts of all three pony tribes, and we used to have two of them running the show until Her Royal Burninator licked too much salt.”

“You know she might still be able to hear you, even from up there, right?” Carrot Top said, glancing up at the sky where the golden ark of Corona could still be seen, hovering ominously. Cheerilee cracked a smirk and made a rude gesture at the floating vessel of ornate gold.

“Hope she can.”

“Focus, girls,” Trixie said, trotting along the length of the area's rim while still careful to use magic to give Cheerilee support, just in case the mare slipped. She reached the gateway and glanced up at the two gems, “Black and white... so, Luna and Corona.”

“Luna’s more of a really dark blue,” Carrot Top said.

“It’s close enough for riddle-work,” Trixie concluded, “But try aiming that blue beam over here, just in case.”

It took a little doing to find the right way to angle the mirror, but Carrot Top found it was entirely possible to aim the light beam from the mirror into the blue crystal mirror, then angle that beam towards the gate. However when the blue beam struck the black gem, nothing happened.

“Yeah, no way it was going to be that easy,” Lyra said, then her eyes lit up, “Hey Carrot, try aiming the blue beam towards one of the other colored crystals.”

“On it.”

A few moments later she had the blue beam aimed at a mirror bearing a red gem, and the beam of light that shone forth from the mirror that time had become a pale purple. Lyra chuckled under her breath, “I got it. Three that are one. That’s alicorns, right? So we mix all three colors together. See if you can get that purple beam angled at a mirror with one of the green gems.”

“Uh... I don’t think I can from this angle.”

“Then switch it around a bit. Aim at another mirror first. We just need to get the right angle that’ll let us hit all three colors, then aim that at the black and white gems,” Lyra insisted, and Trixie gave Carrot Top a nod of assent. After a few minutes of fiddling Carrot Top let out an exclamation of success as she found the right angle to get the colors of all three pony tribes mixed together, forming a dark beam that struck the black gem and... did absolutely nothing.

“Aw c’mon!” Carrot Top said, “That’s got to be the solution, right?”

Cheerilee was rubbing her chin, and then looked at the other mirror, the one that was stuck aiming a beam of sunlight onto the white gem, “...forever alone, until blinded by her purpose no longer.”

“What was that, Cheers?” asked Carrot Top, and the school teacher glanced over at her.

“Try to aim the black beam at this mirror.”

Understanding popped to fruition in Carrot Top’s eyes, and she quickly swiveled the mirror around, transferring the black beam to the companion mirror across from it. That black beam merged with the sunlight beam, filtering into the white gem. There was a clicking noise from the second mirror, and Cheerilee found she could not move it. With a grin, she got to work, changing that beam’s direction until it too had collected light from the red, blue, and green colored mirrors, and could be redirected to the black gem. In this manner, both the black and white crystals were illuminated by the combined beams of all three tribes.

The gates swung open with a barely audible noise of greased metal. 

“Well done everypony,” Trixie said as Lyra joined her and they both floated Carrot Top and Cheerilee back to solid ground, “It’ll take a larger brain teaser than that to stop our forward march to victory!”

“You do realize you’re begging for more riddles, right?” Cheerilee asked, and Trixie snorted, flicking her tail.

“Bring them on. No mere word soup will stop us.”

Lyra and Carrot Top shared a look and chuckled under their breath, but as they passed through the gates they resumed serious expressions, not forgetting that traps also could lay just ahead to slow them down. The maze resumed with its twists and turns, and bold as they were, progress was slowed by the necessity of Cheerilee carefully checking the way for any trap triggers. As impatient as Trixie was getting, knowing that every minute that elapsed was time for their competitors to make it to the end before them, she was extremely grateful for having Cheerilee along to help them avoid time consuming obstacles.

At around the third trigger Cheerilee found, this one a hidden pressure plate buried just beneath the ground, Lyra asked, “Okay, Cheerilee, I know you’re the most seasoned and traveled out of all of us, but where did you learn to do this? Some of your skills I get, but when did trapfinding become standard for world travelers?”

Cheerilee’s cheeks burned to a darker shade of magenta as she stepped over the pressure plate with very careful placement of her hooves, feeling for any additional ones ahead of her. “I, uh... didn’t pick this up from my travels.”

The other mares all looked at each other, Lyra’s brow expanding up in a questioning furrow, “Gonna elaborate on that?”

“She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to,” said Carrot Top, “It could be personal, you know?”

“It’s not a big secret or anything,” replied Cheerilee, looking as if she was trying hard to repress a heavy sigh, “Just had a coltfriend once who was really into LARP.”

“The bloody hay is LARP?” blurted Trixie, and Lrya raised her head and let out a chiming, full bellied laugh.

“I remember a bunch of ponies in college were into that from the Ogres and Oubliettes crowd I used to hang with. Even went to a few sessions when I was really bored,” Lyra said, “It wasn’t so bad, but not really my scene, either. Way easier to chill around a table with plenty of snacks and drinks rather than dress up and head out into the woods, you know?”

"No, I don't know," Trixie said, as baffled as ever.

“Well, the coltfriend in question was an engineer by trade, so he built some of the ‘dungeons’ he ran us through, complete with actual traps,” Cheerilee said, letting out a snort that was half old remembered annoyance, and actual fondness, “I got tired of getting bags of flour dumped on my head, so I got equally good at spotting his traps as he was at setting them up.”

“What the bloody hay is a LARP?” Trixie repeated, and Cheerilee glanced back at her.

“Pretty much what we’re doing right now, just with less convincing garb, more foam weapons, and a lot of arguing over rules.”

“...I remain confused,” Trixie said, then added, “Which for the moment I’m going to consider a good thing.”

They made what felt like good time across the next few turns in the maze, largely because the symbol pattern they’d initial encountered remained a theme through the maze’s pathways and now that they understood it, the mares could choose the most ideal route. This soon led them to a wider space that was shaped like an inverted triangle. The mares found themselves entering at the apex of the triangle, where the bottom of the triangular shaped room was formed by the wall ahead of them. A large, stone archway there revealed an open field beyond. The exit to the maze?

“Ha, we’re almost there!” Trixie said, rearing up with eager excitement, “Just one more room to clear.”

“Yeah, but what’s the deal here?” said Lyra, noting the floor, “This going to be another riddle?”

Laid out before them was a floor separated into a field of stone tiles. Each tile bore an Equestrian letter upon it, carved out in bold lettering that made them easy to read. Trixie found herself slowly lowering herself from her previous pose and taking a moment to look over the tiles, which started about four paces from the entryway, and went all the way up to the very stone arch that was to be their exit. The letters all appeared to be in an impressive jumble, although she thought perhaps she could pick out a few actual words, here and there.

“I know I said we wouldn’t be stopped by word soup, but I didn’t think these puzzle designers would take that literally,” she muttered.

“Hey, nothing stopping us from just floating our way across it, right?” Lyra said, lighting up her horn and picking up Cheerilee, “We could totally  bypass this.”

“I don’t think-” Cheerilee began to say as she was floated over the first few tiles. The moment she passed them overhead, a bell chimed from somewhere, and the open archway was suddenly closed by a set of stone pillars, “-...that’ll work,” Cheerilee finished with a flat look shot towards Lyra.

“Riiiight, guess those monks really do think of everything,” Lyra said, floating Cheerilee back to the starting area, upon which the pillars blocking the archway retracted.

“We’ll have to do this the right way,” grumbled Trixie, “Although I think floating us over should count as a witty solution, but oh well. Hm, must be a clue as to how to get across...”

“Over here,” Carrot Top said, going to the right of the entryway and gesturing at words carved in a simple poem format down the length of the wall. As the other mares gathered around her, Trixie adjusted her hat and smiled.

“Another riddle? No problem. The mind bending logic of Trixie and her intellectual companions shall have this figured out in no time...” she paused, and then glanced sidelong at her friends, “Sooooo... anypony know what this gibberish means?”

“Let me read it,” said Cheerilee, speaking in a slow cadence.

“To begin Equestria,
I bring an end to time,
Within all ponies,
And even zebra-kind,
The finale of life,
But absent at birth,
Necessary to pegasi,
Found in every pony of earth,
Dwelling in Stone,
Water or Flame,
My grandeur so great,
Even Celestia must contain,
Not in the Night Court,
But inside all peasants,
Vacant in Tyrants,
Within every Princess.”

Ponderously the four of them read over the riddle, and Trixie saw varied levels of puzzlement from her friend’s expressions. She wasn’t much better off, re-reading the carved words and considering how they might relate to the chasm of scrabble that stood between them and exiting the maze. It was tantalizingly frustrating to see that open exit so close, yet just that far out of reach, and not even knowing if any of the other teams had made it out of the maze themselves yet. She could just imagine Dao Ming standing out there, looking at the Equestrian team’s exist, and waiting for Trixie to show up with a smug grin...

Well, perhaps not a smug grin, Trixie admitted to herself, quick to remind herself that the kirin’s demeanor had smoothed out considerably since their first meeting. If anything Trixie’s eagerness for a win had little to do with proving anything to Dao Ming, and more just to add to the excitement of the final part of the Contest. Dao Ming was still ahead of them, and if they pulled off a win here, that’d put them near a tie in overall points. Trixie rather liked the notion of everything hinging on the Contest of Magic. A little ego-centric, maybe, but she believed she was allowed to soak in a little self-importance on occasion. She was humbler than a year ago, but she wasn’t dead. 

Not that ego would matter if they didn’t figure this riddle out.

“I don’t suppose anypony is seeing a pattern here?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Cheerilee shrugged, “But it’s got to tell us the right path across these tiles, so the pattern has to be there.”

The mares gazed at the titles, and Trixie tried to search out the words she saw occasional pop out of the chaotic mix. Like a word search, some letters lined up either in a line or a diagonal, spaced among the otherwise random jumble. It didn’t take her long to realize that almost every one of those words was inside the riddle itself.

“Look,” she said, “There’s ‘Equestria’, and over there ‘time’.”

“Water is right here,” Lyra said, nodding at some of the tilest nearest to them, “And I see earth further down.”

“Does anypony feel like that’s way too easy a solution?” said Carrot Top, “I mean, if we just had to cross using those words, I mean?”

“No, you’re right, that’d be way too simple, but it’s easy to test, too,” Cheerilee said, and stepped on the ‘W’ from ‘Water’. With a grinding noise the stone pillars closed up the exit, and Cheerilee nodded as she took her hooves off the ‘W’ and the exit opened up again. “See? So we know it’s not the words themselves.”

“Might be the order we need to do them in,” suggested Lyra, “Equestria is within hopping distance, and it’s from the first line of the riddle.”

“Give it a whirl,” said Trixie, and Lyra cracked a smile and edged close to the tiles.  With a dexterous spring, Lyra jumped out over the titles and landed with a bit of stumbling grace on the later half of the letters spelling ‘Equestria’. Unfortunately the exit closed once more and the bard let out a frustrated whinny.

“Alright, any other bright ideas?” Lyra asked, trudging back to the group.

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, Carrot Top said, “I feel like we’re missing something really obvious here...”

“Princess Luna often told me when I can’t solve a problem to change how I’m looking at it,” Trixie said, turning back to the riddle itself, narrowing her eyes at it like she was preparing to size up a particularly frustrating foe. What she was actually doing was reading each word and trying to think about it in its most simple, literal meaning. 

It didn’t actually take long for it to click, then. 

“Hah, that’s so straight forward no wonder we’d miss it at first,” she said and swiftly cantered up to the tiles while her friends looked at her with curious eyes. Trixie quicky re-examined the placement of the words and the letters around them, and felt even more confident as she realized that for all the myriad of letters surrounding the words, there was one particular letter conspicuously absent from the general stew, and existed only within the words that were spelled out.

“Observe, my friends, as Trixie’s brilliance has decoded this final riddle! With your help, of course. Trial and error and such.”

“Do you always do this third-pony speak when you’re in a good mood? I thought that was more you when you were sloshed,” Lyra said, and Trixie gave her cape a flippant twirl.

“I shall refer to myself in third-pony when dramatically appropriate. Or when I’m in a good mood. I deny all reports of what I do or don’t do during instances of inebriation, which I’ll remind you has not happened lately. Now then, watch and be amazed!”

“It’s the letter ‘E’, isn’t it?” said Cheerilee, just as Trixie’s hoof was lowering with a rather theatrical slowness towards the letter ‘E’ in the word ‘Water’. Trixie halted, stumbled, managed to catch herself and actually stand on the letter ‘E’, which consequently did not cause the stone pillars to raise and block their path... but Trixie just turned and gave Cheerilee a withering look.

“You just had to pop my dramatic bubble, didn’t you?”

Cheerilee did give her an apologetic smile and wink, “Sorry. I worked it out about the same time you did, but figured I’d let you take the lead. Just couldn't help needling you a bit there. You were kind of milking it.”

“Yes, well... I suppose I was,” Trixie admitted, but carefully moved her hooves to step on the next letter ‘E’, this one part of the word ‘zebra’, which would then get her in distance to stand on the word ‘Equestria’ with it’s two different ‘E’s. The exit remained clear as she did so. 

“Oooh,” Lyra said, gazing over her shoulder at the riddle, “I get it now. Is it just me or do I feel a little, uh... dumb for not figuring that out, like, right off the bat?”

“I think you’d have had to have run into that kind of riddle before to get it that fast,” said Cheerilee, “Although this feels a little anticlimactic for the finish. Almost too easy.”

“Don’t. Jinx. It,” Trixie said, and gradually all four mares managed to cross the tiles using the numerous letter ‘E’s available across the words. By the time they all got to the open archway which appeared to lead outside, Trixie continued to say, “I’m perfectly happy with getting through this maze without any further trouble. Lest we forget we have bigger concerns than just winning...this...”

She trailed off as she stepped through the archway, which proceeded to shimmer with an illusion that rippled like stepping through a pool of water. On the other side the mares found themselves at a four way split off of pathways, the maze stretching out ahead of them and making it clear they weren’t through with the Contest of Wits quite yet. Trixie turned a flat stare at Cheerilee, who somehow managed an even larger apologetic smile than before.

“Uh...sorry?”

----------

Raindrops leaned against the entryway into the Order of Legends’ hidden research chambers, one eye kept on the passageway leading back into the monastery’s basement levels, while the other was on one of the magical, floating mirrors that hung in the air a few paces from her. One of the monks had been kind enough to bring one down so she could watch the Contest while guarding the laboratory.

It was an interesting sight, she had to admit. She had no control over what the mirror showed, and it kept cycling between the teams every few minutes. Trixie and the girls were making pretty good progress, it seemed, and Raindrops had to chuckle a bit at their apparent antics as they solved puzzles and avoided traps. She had to admit, it looked kind of fun, and she was sorry she’d chosen to sit things out. But, guarding this chamber felt more important. If the conspirators made a go for it, they were going to run hoof-first into a very irate pegasus.

The mirror had shifted from Raindrops’ friends to one of the other teams, the minotaurs, who were doing... better than Raindrops would have expected. That female minotaur with the robes and weird clockwork staff was leading the bunch, and doing all the actual work, while mostly using Steel Cage and his two fellow champions as physical meatshields against the traps or living block shifters.

A lot of the minotaurs’ puzzles appeared to Raindrops to be block and numbers related. She’d seen the female minotaur... Greyeyes or somesuch, Raindrops couldn’t recall the name, gazing at arrays of numbers and letters arranged across blocks and other big stone shapes. The arrangement of numbers made Raindrops’ head hurt, but the minotauress seemed to be able to make sense of them, having her burly counterparts shift blocks into seemingly more appropriate arrangements.

It was like that for every team, it seemed. The nature of the puzzles were different for all of them. The griffin teams seemed to be running into a lot of puzzles involving reading scrolls of history and heraldry, arranging shields iconography or historical texts in the right order, or maybe orders of importance to griffin culture? She wasn’t sure. 

Her attention was ratcheted away from the mirror as her ears twitched, picking up a noise from down the darkened hall. She was immediately on alert, turning to face a figure emerging from the dark.

“Who’s that!?” she demanded, wings flaring out, head lowered, hooves poised to leap.

“Fear not, my vigilant friend, it is only I,” replied a familiar voice as Kenkuro resolved from the shadows and stepped into the light of the torches flanking the hallway. “You were told you’d have company in guarding this place, were you not?’

She relaxed, but only a little as the tengu moved in his smoothly gliding, yet strangely hopping fashion to join her. “Yeah, Dao Ming said she’d bring you up to speed. Nice to have someone else here I can trust.”

“You don’t though, do you?” he said, flapping his wings to hop up onto one of the nearby tables to perch himself on the edge in a way that looked like it ought to be uncomfortable, but seemed to suit the raven-like bird person just fine. Raindrops bristled a bit at his question.

“Don’t take it wrong. It’s not personal. I figure you can be trusted, because if you were one of these hooded jerks running around, you’ve had plenty of chances to screw us over by now.”

“Ah, but what if I was being clever by trying to earn the trust of those I intended to turn on when the time was most ripe? As Tien Zhu once wrote; ‘Rare is the enemy that will tell you they’re your enemy before their time comes to strike.’”

She stared into his ink-pool eyes and her lips twitched upwards slightly, “You really like messing with people, don’t you?”

He let out a happy little caw of a laugh, “It’s one of my guilty pleasures, I’ll admit.”

“Yeah, the thing is I trust my intuition, Kenkuro. My gut tells me you’re a good one. Maybe not a decent one, but a good one. You could have let us die at the Grand Melee when Dao Ming screwed up with that lightning spirit. Instead you saved our tails. Thanks for that, by the way.”

He gave a slight bow, wing clipping over his chest, “My pleasure. I do hope you don’t think sourly of my young charge for her overzealousness.”

“I think I got a better idea of the pressure she’s under, after seeing her mom,” Raindrops said, “No offense, but your Empress is a piece of work.”

“She has... her own issues,” Kenkuro admitted, “I’ve known her a very long time.”

Raindrops considered just how old Shouma’s Empress was, a mare clearly in her mid to late forties, at least, then considered Kenkuro. “Uh, just how old are you, if you don’t mind my asking?”   

A mysterious smile touched his beak, and she couldn’t help but notice one of his wings strayed to lightly caress the hilt of his ornate katana, “Old enough. 

Raindrops just shook her head at that, turning her attention back to the mirror. Several of the order’s monks were quietly working in the laboratory beyond, but they were remarkably good at blending into the background, and were quieter than most mice. She couldn’t fathom a fraction of what they were actually doing, but considering Abbess Serene’s explanation earliery, Raindrops figured that was for the best. It still somehow struck her as... dangerous and a tad disingenuous to be using the Contest of Champions to study the magic of other races, but she understood the why of it. If Rengoku really was some kind of horrific, soul sucking fortress, it needed to be dismantled, not just contained. 

To think it’d been sitting there for centuries, and in all that time the Order of Legends hadn’t discovered a way to dispose of it, or free any souls trapped within was unsettling in a existentially horrific manner that Raindrops hadn’t imagined tangling with prior to adventures like what had occured on Tambelon. She almost pinned for when her biggest concerns were her own anger management issues. Then again, recalling her experiences with her friends, and the recent clash with Tendaji, she couldn’t regret anything that had happened. Crazy as her life had gotten, she felt oddly at peace with it all.

With her attention on the mirror, Raindrops saw her friends rapidly having to avoid a bouncing, magical globe of what appeared to be glue. Cheerilee must have missed a trap. The mares were barreling down a maze corridor, just paces ahead of the spherical, bouncing ball pursuing them, until Carrot Top fished out a clay jar from her saddlebag and hurled it behind them. The jar broke apart and spread what looked like a burst of spider’s web across the hallway, catching the ball and sticking it fast. 

“You and your friends have quite the assortment of skills,” Kenkuro noted, and Raindrops nodded idly.

“Some of it we had to pick up once things with Corona happened. Martial arts was just a hobby with me, until I realized knowing how to fight might actually make the difference between me and my friends coming back from a mission alive or not. Same thing with Carrot Top toying around with her concoctions, or Lyra’s and Trixie’s magic. Even Ditzy spent time recently trying to learn a bit more about how to handle herself in a fight, and that Sigurd fellow made that shield for her...”

“Knighthood is not a vocation to take lightly,” Kenkuro agreed, “Especially when a confrontation with Amatarasu is inevitable.”

“Well... we’re kind of hoping the Elements of Harmony will take care of the heavy lifting in that fight,” Raindrops admitted, her voice turning quietly solemn, “No amount of training or experience is going to let us take her down without those.” 

Kenkuro conceded that point with a bob of his head, but then said, “Have you considered what to do afterward? Assuming you stand victorious over Amaterasu and lay her ambitions low, what will you do afterward?”

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Will you maintain the mantle of knight and champion, or lay those titles down and return to living as you had before?” the tengu asked, and Raindrops met his dark eyed gaze with a questioning stare.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Call it professional curiosity,” he replied, a smile once more touching his beak, “After witnessing the change your friend Trixie has helped bring to Dao Ming, and seeing the quality of Equestria’s champions, I find myself wanting to know that if Shouma was ever facing a threat it couldn’t handle on it’s own if there’d be help we could legitimately seek from our western neighbors.” 

Raindrops considered that, then waved a wing, “I don’t know. Sure, if Shouma was in trouble, and we could help, I’m not going to say no, but the thing is... besides Trixie, I don’t think the rest of us really thrive on this adventuring life. Cheerilee used to, but she’s a schoolteacher now, and loves that job. Ditzy hates violence, and has a daughter she’d always be worried about. Carrot Top likes to flirt with adventure, heh, among other things, but her farm is everything to her. Now Trixie? She’s got her ambitions with the Night Court, and she can be a real loudmouth, but I think she takes to this adventuring stuff like a bird to flight. I almost think she’d be wasted in all that noble court stuff. Get her a problem to solve, people to save, and give her ego a bit of a scratch while you’re at it, and she shines. More than anypony I know, really...”

Raindrops trailed off, face taking on a briefly confused look of self contemplation before shaking her head, “As for me? I might have a knack for this, too, and moon knows my hooves are good for more than trotting. I just... don’t know if this is what I want my life to be.”

“A fair answer,” Kenkuro replied, “A part of me simply hopes for Dao Ming to have friends she might count on, in the future. She’s had precious little opportunity for making any.”

“I hear you, and hey, I don’t know what postage to Shouma is, but I bet she and Trixie can work out a way to pen pal it up-” Raindrops began to say, then paused as her head turned sharply to look down the corridor. Kenkuro had heard it a second before she did, and had already hopped down to stand in the entryway into the laboratory, his hand on the hilt of his blade.

What both of them heard was a sing-song voice, rich and feminine. 

‘There was a grand time when the world did dance
upon the edge of chaos and battle’s harsh chance
In such an era do heroes both rise and fall
Chasing fortune, honor, and glory’s bright call
But now the battles are done and order does reign
There is no place for heroes to seek their own fame
So it falls to a bold few to reignite the spark
Of conflict and mayhem, from embers in the dark’

Raindrops had been peering into the flickering gloom to try and see who was approaching, but Kenkuro wasn’t waiting. He darted down the corridor, and Raindrops swore under her breath as she took to the air to chase after him. Slow as she was, she was still able to follow Kenkuro’s loping steps until they both could see a figure approaching, quadrupedal and garbed in dark gray robes. Her hood was up, but by then Raindrops had recognized the singing voice. She’d certainly gotten an earful of it during the Contest of Art.

“Andrea!” she shouted, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Kenkuro pulled short, whipping out his blade, “Don’t talk, strike now, before she-!”

The distance between him and the cloaked figure, no doubt in Raindrops’ mind it was the female red elk skald, had closed fast. But not fast enough. Andrea had taken a step back, over what Raindrops could now see was a rune that she’d already carved into the floor with what looked like a dagger shaped from a dragon’s tooth.

Her face was now just visible beneath her hood, summer green eyes sparkling as the elk activated the rune, which blazed to emerald life. The stone heaved and rose beneath the rune, slamming a wall between Kenkuro and Andrea just as the tengu struck. His katana, miraculously and magically sharp, still cut the stone, but not enough to server through it. 

“Blood and ashes!” Kenkuro spat, hacking at the wall again, drawing a thin line through the stone but not nearly enough to bring the wall down, “I should have realized!”

“Realized what?” Raindrops asked breathlessly, “How could you or anyone guess one of these flankholes was one of the cervids? They’re so... you know, honor this, honor that...” 

“Well, no, I hadn’t the faintest notion Andrea was in on this, but I should have realized that guarding this laboratory could have been a trap.”

Raindrops looked at the wall, and slowly pieced it together herself. Sure, the lab might have been a valuable target, but it was also a really good place to trap a number of ponies (or other creatures) for awhile. If the conspirators had wanted to divide the forces arrayed against them, they’d just made the smartest move to do that. But, wouldn’t that mean...?

“Kenkuro, if Andrea just trapped us in here, then doesn’t that mean that the bad guys are making their move now?”

“It does,” he said, face grim, and he turned to her with his black eyes casting a serious light reflected from the torches around them as he gestured at the wall, “So, Dame Raindrops, just how strong are your hooves?”

Raindrops blinked at him, then gave the wall a look filled with the kind of ire only Raindrops was capable of as she began stretching, “That depends, just how sharp is your sword?”

----------

“I don’t like it down here,” Smoke said, turning her head about as she kept spying what looked like lurking shadows amid the vast cavern system that she and her fellow faithful were moving amidst in their search for Zecora. With word having reached their Queen of the discovery of hidden passages within the caverns, Celestia had commanded Kindle to lead a search while Princess Luna’s “champions” were busy with the Contest. 

Smoke was happy enough to follow Kindle just about anywhere, but she wasn’t happy about being in such tight quarters, underground, surrounded by darkness, knowing full well that dangerous creatures were out there somewhere who had the capacity to capture one as skilled as Zecora was. Smoke rather liked the odd but capable zebra mare. Sure, Zecora wasn’t exactly very sociable, but she had a certain confident wisdom about her that Smoke envied and hoped to emulate. It’d actually hit Smoke rather hard, when Zecora had vanished. 

It hadn’t helped, running into Trixie, and having to deal with that prickly unicorn’s attitude. Smoke wanted to find Zecora both because Zecora was a comrade, and also partially to stick it to Trixie, if only a tad.

She just wished Zecora’s captors had chosen a less creepy place to hide out in. At least she was with Kindle and Terrorwing. Kindle wasn’t exactly a fighter, but his relentless confidence was emboldening to the otherwise withdrawn Smoke, and it always helped to have a giant griffin in flaming armor along for protection. Terrorwing alone kept the area well lit, although Smoke still added her own light from her unicorn horn to keep the shadows at bay.

“Fear not,” Kindle said at the head of their little troupe, “Nothing will catch us unawares. Our Queen’s light will illuminate every corner of this dank pit, until we’ve scoured away every last place to hide, found our erstwhile companion, and laid low the fools who were brazen enough to steal her away from us!”

“Keep it down,” Terrorwing hissed through a clenched beak, “Unless you want to give away our position, birdbrain.”

Kindle ruffled his wings in irritation, but cleared his throat and said in a quieter tone, “I was just assuaging dear Smoke’s fears-”

“Assuage when we’re not hunting,” the griffin grunted, “Quite frankly both of you could have stayed back on the ark and done whatever ponies do when actual work needs doing. I can find the zebra on my own.”

“H-hey, there’s no need to be like that, Terrorwing,” Smoke said, “The Queen ordered us to work together, so that’s what we should do. I can spot any illusions the enemy might be using to hide themselves. Could you do that?”

Fierce, predatory eyes regarded her cooly, and Smoke gulped, but Terrorwing just shrugged his wings and said, “No. Just both of you try to keep it down. I thought I smelled something a few tunnels back.”

“I’ll have you know I wash daily-” Kindle began, but Terrorwing growled and silenced him.

“Not that you puffed up pigeon, I mean I caught a scent of another griffin. Might be that Grimwald fellow. Whoever it is, the scent is fresh, and we’re following it.”

Smoke and Kindle exchanged looks, both of them apprehensive and excited at the prospect of catching their quarry. They fell in behind Terrorwing, letting the hulking griffin take the lead as they went down several more twists in the cavern tunnels. Soon they came upon a wider cave, filled with a thick forest of stalactites and stalagmites that criss-crossed the gloom like the shadowed teeth of a hulking beast’s mouth. 

Terrorwing sniffed the air, eyes narrowing, and slowly paced forward, his steps now silent as a prowling cat’s. Kindle and Smoke couldn’t possibly match his natural predator’s grace, but tried their best to quiet their hoof falls as they followed him. 

They were only ten paces into the cavern when a smooth, laughing voice echoed from seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“What do we have here? The sun-blind, sun-addled chicken who can't see he’s got something brighter than any sun shining right next to him, a horn-head who’s self-confidence issues could cripple an army if it was ever weaponized, and an overcompensating boy who thinks magical trinkets make up for his lack of talent. If there was ever any proof that Corona’s half-flanked coup was doomed to failure, it’s you three. The zebra’s the only one among you who actually knows who she is and what she’s about.”

Kindle whirled around, seeking the source of the voice as he shouted in as much projected confidence as he could muster, “Show yourself, cretin! Show yourself and be judged under the light of the Sun!”

Smoke moved instinctively closer to him, covering his back, and narrowing the focus of her horn’s light to shine it across the area. She strained to hear any movement that might give away the speaker’s position, but heard nothing other than the voice’s mocking laughter.

“Light of the ‘Sun’, eh? You really don’t got a clue, do you? You really think your ‘Queen’ cares about you? Soon as Luna’s little A-Team gives her another Harmony Zap, she’ll either go back into the sun, or go back to whatever passes for ‘sanity’ among alicorns. And either way, you’ll be left behind. Abandoned. Sad, sad little wannabe priest. I wonder how bad your mind is gonna crack when you realize just how fake your faith really is.”

Smoke could tell how badly the words cut into Kindle by the way his face screwed up with twisted, fiery anger. She quickly started to speak, trying to reach out a hoof to touch his withers, “Kindle, don’t listen! They’re just trying to provoke-”

“YOU WILL BURN HERETIC!” 

“...you,” Smoke finished lamely as Kindle broke into a charge in a random direction down the cavern, all but frothing at the mouth. Or would have, if Terrorwing hand’t reached out, grabbed Kindle by the tail, and hauled the pegasus backwards.

“What do you think you’re doing, Terrowing!? I-”

“Will shut up or I’m going to sit on you while my armor is still active,” Terrowing said, making a point of the fact that the ornate plates still flared with magical flames as a few licked closer to Kindle. Kindle himself did possess charms to ward himself from fire, gifts from the Queen, but Terrorwing had made his point and the pegasus took a deep, shuddering breath, clearly struggling to control himself.

“Yes... yes, just a trick. Heheh, trying to trick me. A test of my faith.”

“Kindle,” Smoke said, “If they’re just yapping at us from the darkness, that must mean they’re scared to come at us head on.”

“Of course they are,” Terrowing said, flaring his own wings and drawing his sword from its scabbard, the blade itself igniting in bright sunfire, “I’m here. And ‘magical trinkets’ or not, they’re not stupid enough to show themselves so I can hack their wordy mouth off.”

“That right?” called the mysterious voice, echoing from every wall, “Or maybe I just don’t think you’re worth it ‘Terrorwing’, or should I just call you ‘Terry’. A failed son of a failed family. You already lost to the ponies once before. What makes you think it’ll be any different the next time? One failure after another, and when all is said and done what will you have left to show for it except a life wasted?”

As much as Terrorwing was trying to remain calm, Smoke could tell the griffin warrior was furious from the dilation in his eyes, and the heavy breathing that stemmed from his beak. He clenched out the words in bile ridden anger as he said, “Come into the light, and I’ll show you what’ll be different the next time I deal with those ponies. Won’t be anymore left of you than there will be of them.”

“How about you come and find me first, Terry?” cooed the mocking voice, and Terrorwing growled low, looking ready to spring and make the same mistake Kindle had, but Smoke, summoning up all the courage she could muster, got in front of the griffin and held up a hoof.

She wanted to flee his enraged gaze, but he looked at her and didn’t move, and she swallowed past a dry mouth as she whispered, “Has to be a trap ahead. L-let me spring it, and then you catch them. Force them to tell us where Zecora is.”

A small light of respect appeared in Terrorwing’s eyes as he gave a barely perceptible nod, whispering back, “Got guts for such a little mare. Go for it. I’ll back you up.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Kindle asked, and Smoke gave him a hopeful look.

“Just back up Terrorwing, I’m going to try and make the enemy expose themselves,” she said, and actually felt a spark of joy at the concern that actually appeared on his face. She turned from him and took a few steps forward, and then focused upon her horn as she laid out an illusion spell in front of her. Misty fog poured out of the ground and swelled up, flowing forward into the cavern. Smoke moved into it at a fast trot, heart thudding rapidly in her chest.

The fog cloud would obscure her a bit, but far from perfectly. She was hoping the enemy would still take the bait of her willingly separating herself from Kindle and Terrorwing, and assume she was relying on the fog to protect her, where in reality the spell was just to make it look like she was trying something desperate. Which she was, just not what she was hoping the enemy would expect.

About twenty more paces ahead she saw the cavern slope downward, and felt a tug on her leading hoof as it touched a tripwire. So there had been a trap, just like she’d thought. Fear punched through her as she wondered if these people were looking for more prisoners, or just to eliminate threats. She hadn’t thought this through. However instead of the lethal sting of some arrows or blades, or any other kind of deadly trap, she felt the heavy yet oddly relieving simplicity of a thick net smacking into her from some launching mechanism hidden among the stalagmites. 

She knew better than to tangle herself up by struggling, and instead went still as the net bore her down. She wanted to appear as subdued as possible. It appeared to work, as she felt a griffin’s claws grab her and the net, hauling her up as the enemy sought to make her either a prisoner or a hostage.

Smoke immediately cut the magic to her illusion and let the fog vanish like a puff of smoke driven away by the wind. She found herself in the grasp of a mildly annoyed looking Grimwald, whose annoyance at the fog vanishing was replaced by a grimace as Terrorwing, spying his prey, let out a hunting shriek and rushed forward, Kindle loping alongside at an awkward gallop.

“Of for the love of-” Grimwald said, and threw Smoke at Terrorwing, “Catch, sparky!” 

Terrorwing didn’t catch Smoke, which sort of bummed her out, but her mood was instantly improved as Kindle did catch her, flying up to take both her and the heavy net smack in the face. Okay, so it wasn’t a flattering catch, and she feared she might have hit him in the face rump first (which caused no shortage of blushing on her end), and she ended up in a heap on top of the dazed pegasus. But he was okay, and so was she, and... now she was tangled in a net on top of Kindle. Any other day or circumstances that’d be fine, but now she started trying to get free as Terrorwing reached Grimwald with a furious warcry.

Terrorwing’s flaming blade came down like a vengeful comet, but Grimwald showed his trademark dexterous grace and wove out of the way. The magical sunblade still cut a molten path through stone, and Terrorwing, neither unskilled or willing to give up the momentum, pursued Grimwald through the cavern. The flaring blade of searing metal and flame cut asunder stalagmites and stalactites into pieces, Terrorwing pressing forward like a blazing centurion. Grimwald kept just ahead of the inferno of flame and steel with deft maneuvers, and soon the two griffins were moving out down a cavern slope, further and further away from Kindle and Smoke.

“Kindle, you okay?” Smoke asked, finally disentangling herself from the net and rolling off of him. The pegasus groaned, raising up propped by his two forehooves, eyes blinking and unfocused.

“Have you been working out?” he asked, and Smoke’s face burned. 

“N-no! ... maybe a little.”

Kindle recovered his senses with a shake of his head and stumbled up to his hooves. By now the light from Terrorwing’s sword and armor were about all either he or Smoke could see from the far end of the cavern, “Come, Smoke, we mustn’t be left behind!”

She nodded, taking his offered hoof up, and then both broke into a run. By the time they caught up with Terrorwing, however, they found the griffin alone at the end of the cavern. He was making an impressive display of melting out several carved chunks from the cavern wall, while letting out a string of profanity that Smoke only half understood, as some of it was heavily leaning towards griffin slang that made no sense to her. 

“What happened, Terrorwing?” Kindle asked, “Where is the dastardly knave?”

Terrorwing didn’t so much calm down as just... be slightly less murderous as he backed off from the wall and with heaving breaths stared at it for several moments. Slowly he gained enough of his wits to say, “The bastard just... melded with the wall.”

“He what?” Smoke asked.

“He went right into it,” Terrorwing said, “Like the damn thing was water.”

“An illusion?” Kindle asked, casting Smoke a questioning look. She approached the wall and examined it. It was covered in dozens of still heated marks from Terrorwing’s blade, the trails in the stone melted and still somewhat glowing. Careful not to burn herself, she touched the wall and frowned.

“No, it’s real,” she said.

“But then... how?” Kindle said, eyes filled with confusion.

“I don’t know. I don’t know of any spell that does that, and certainly nothing a griffin could do,” Smoke said, “But, this means that Grimwald could be anywhere in these caverns, if he has an artifact that lets him pass through stone.”

“He tried to take you,” Kindle said, “Would that mean he could do the same to anycreature he touched? Could he have pulled you through the stone as well?”

To this, Smoke could only offer an unknowing shrug. Terrorwing spat, sheathing his sword.

“Doesn’t matter. Bastard played us. Led us here, wasted our time, and...” he paused, suddenly stiffening. Smoke saw him lean down and pick something up from the ground. Moving over to him, Smoke peered at what he was holding. A single, singed feather from a griffin’s wing, cleanly severed near the base. 

“Is that...?” she began, and Terrorwing grinned fiercely.

“Must’ve clipped one of the loudmouth’s feathers just before he vanished. Hey, remind me, Smoke, our Queen is an ancient alicorn who’s thousands of years old and incredibly skilled at magic, right?”

Smoke, knowing what Terrorwing was getting at, and liking it, returned his grin with her own sheepish, but confident smile, “She is. Skilled enough to track exactly where the owner of this feather is.”

“And with him, Zecora,” Kindle finished, and all three of Celestia’s loyal servants shared a mutual look of satisfaction, but Terrorwing let out a sudden, disappointed grunt.

“But didn’t she already try magicking up Zecora’s location and it turned up nothing? Like something was blocking her spell?”

Kindle’s eyes flared along with his nostrils and wings, “Nothing can block our Queen’s magical might!”

“Kindle,” Smoke said, “It is possible, but that doesn’t make Queen Celestia any less powerful. It’s just that, with magic, certain things can easily obscure even potent scrying techniques, and we have no idea what our enemies are capable of. They could be using forieng magic. I mean, Grimwald just passed through stone, and that’s usually outside most unicorn’s ranges of power.”

With a hefty snort, Kindle gestured at the singed feather of the griffin in question, “Then what good does this feather do us?”

“Well, for starters, it’s possible whatever is blocking Zecora isn’t being applied to Grimwald,” Smoke said, “And even if it is, there’s a world of difference between trying to scry based on familiarity with the target, versus having something that was actually part of their body to act as a foci. Celestia’s scrying on Grimwald will be leagues more effective with this feather than what could be managed for Zecora.”

“Ah, I see...” Kindle said, fluffing his wings and spinning about, pointing a hoof dramatically, “Then let us not tarry, dear companions and fellow faithful! We must make haste at once back to our Queen’s side!”

As Kindle flew off back down the cavern, Terrorwing tucked Grimwald’s feather into Smoke’s saddlebag, which elicited a brief grunt of surprise from her at the sudden contact. 

“Safer with you than with me,” Terrorwing said, gesturing at his still flaming armor, “C’mon, Smoke, let’s not let the chicken get too far ahead of us. He’s likely to get himself lost.”

“R-right,” she replied, and the pair hurried to catch up with Kindle. 

----------

The final puzzle room greeted Trixie and her friends with an unusually somber atmosphere. The area was done up to partially resemble the throne room within Canterlot Palace, with a remarkable amount of detail put into the details of the walls and flooring, along with an impressive replica of Luna’s throne. However everything had a cracked, aged look about it as well, and there was quite a bit besides that which was off. For one, the room was filled with an impressive amount of junk. Trinkets and random shelves were piled about, along with various spots of furniture in various states of disrepair, and haphazard collections of seemingly random objects. At a glance Trixie saw everything from a school chalkboard, to a unicycle sitting atop a coffee table, to a novelty clock shaped like a cat whose tail bounced back and forth. 

The most striking feature, however, was the circular table in the center of the room, made of stone, and surrounded by six stone, high backed chairs. This seemed to stand apart from the rest of the area, mostly because it wasn’t piled with any kind of random junk. 

“I am officially confused,” said Carrot Top, “Which I’m going to guess is the point. Where do we even start with all of this?”

Lyra strode out into the chamber, swishing her tail with confidence, “We’ve got to be near the end of the maze! Let’s just start looking around. Whatever this puzzle is, we’ve got it.”

“I like that confidence,” Trixie said, “Alright girls, split up, each of us take a section of the room. Leave no stone, or random trinket, unchecked! As soon as you spot something strong, give a shout.”

“Does the entire room count?” asked Carrot Top, “Because, yeah, all of this is strange.”

“There have to be clues somewhere in here,” said Cheerilee, “Trixie’s right. Just start looking, and try not to get caught unawares by any traps. I don’t think we’ve got time for me to do a full sweep on my own, first.”

The mares all began to wander the room, Trixie heading for the center table while Lyra headed for the far end, Cheerilee checked the left side, and Carrot Top trotted off to the right. The table itself bore a faded but still impressively detailed carving that depicted rolling hills, soaring mountains, and familiar forests and river valleys. A map of Equestria itself. Trixie’s eyes narrowed a tad as she noticed that the table, like much of the rest of the room, was aged and damaged, with cracks running along the surface. She couldn’t help but note the cracks all seemed to originate from Canterlot itself, as if spidering outward from the capital to touch the rest of the country.

Coincidence, or did someone making this challenge have something they were trying to say?, Trixie wondered. Who had been in charge of developing the puzzles and traps for this portion of the Contest, anyway? Putting the question from her mind she turned her attention from the table to the chairs. Each one had a regal aspect to its design, their backs far higher than any pony would need to sit in them. They didn’t look particularly comfortable, either. Trixie immediately picked up on a couple of oddities. One was a slot on the left arms of the chairs, several inches wide. Then there were the markings on the top of each chair’s backrest, carvings in the shape of Trixie and her friends’ cutie marks. 

No coincidence there. Must be part of the puzzle.

“Anything yet, girls?” she asked the room, turning to look about at her companions.

“Hmm, well most of this stuff looks unremarkable,” Cheerilee said, sifting over a shelf of seemingly empty, blank notebooks. She then gestured at the blackboard that stood on wood pegs to her left, “But this is kind of odd. The board is blank save for the alphabet of several different languages, starting with Equestrian.”

“Okaaaay,” Trixie said, not sure what that might mean, if anything. 

“Nothing over here,” reported Carrot Top, trudging back from her side of the room, “Nothing besides that stupid clock that won’t stop ticking and is getting on my nerves.”

It was true, the novelty cat clock was rather obnoxiously loud with its incessant tick-tock-tick-tock repeating through the chamber. Trixie’s eye was drawn to the clock, but before she could put her hoof on just what about it seemed odd, Lyra’s voice spoke up excitedly, “Hey! Check these out!”

Having searched behind the replica of Luna’s throne, Lyra pulled out a collection of six gleaming swords, holding each within her golden aura of magic. Her friends approached as Lyra met them in front of the throne, and Lyra grinned, striking a pose with the six blades arranged around her, “You know I wasn’t half bad in the one semester I took of magical fencing, before I dropped it for glass blowing.”

“I don’t think magic fencing involves six swords,” said Trixie, “Pretty sure you’re only supposed to use one, at least by Canterlot regulation standards.”

“Do those have our cutie marks engraved on them?” said Carrot Top, blinking at the six swords, and after a moment of examination, Trixie realized the farmer was right. Each of the six swords were long blades of seemingly well made steel, or at least it certainly had a sheen like well made steel. Each had a silver cross guard and circular pommel, within which was not an engraving, but a raised embossment of silver in the shape of each of the mare’s cutie marks. Rather quickly Trixie realized the symbols were about the same size as the engravings on the chairs.

“It can’t be that simple,” she said to herself, giving the swords a pensive frown.

“What?” asked Lyra.

“The chairs around the table all bear one of our cutie marks, too, and on the arms of the chairs are slots wide enough to fit a sword,” Trixie said, “But that seems too easy for what could be the last puzzle.”

“We could always slot them in and see what happens,” offered Carrot Top, “I’m not going to complain if the monks ran out of ideas this late in the Contest.”

“I don’t know,” mused Cheerilee, “Doing things the wrong way might also activate a trap.”

“That another of your ex’s old tricks?” Lyra asked, “Whatever happened to the guy, anyway?”

“Oh, he lost interest in mares, ended hooking up with one of his buddies from another gaming group. I actually attended their marriage just a few years ago, real sweet couple,” Cheerile said with a faintly wistful tone, then with a self-reflective sigh she added, “I miss my fish.”

“So, we trying the swords out on the chairs, or what?” Carrot Top asked, and although Trixie had her misgivings, she didn’t see any immediate other option. There were still a few things about the room that stood out to her, but she couldn’t piece together how they fit yet.

“We’ll see what happens,” she said, “Time’s wasting, either way.”

Back at the table, Trixie began carefully setting the swords while her friends looked around the table, since this was the first time they’d been near it. Trixie flinched slightly when the first sword, her own, made a rough clicking noise when it was set in its place, but no traps were sprung, so she let out a relieved breath and continued on with the other swords. Meanwhile Lyra was looking at the map while Cheerilee was carefully examining under the table.

“Weird design,” Lyra said, “Also really old. The map, I mean.”

“Huh? How so?” Carrot Top asked, peering over Lyra’s shoulder.

“The arrangement of cities and towns isn’t modern,” Lyra explained, “You see how New Pegasus isn’t there? Or how Manehattan is so small? Fewer roads, too, and no railway system. This map is from a ways back. Pre-Corona, I’d say.”

“Think it means anything?” the farmer said, and Lyra shrugged, but then Cheerilee’s voice spoke from beneath the table.

“I don’t know if that means anything, but this might; ‘To restore what was sundered, remember all things have an order, even the Elements of Harmony. Recall the rules of language and time, and do not forget what Harmony stands for, and the path will be unlocked.’”

Trixie had just finished setting the last sword when Cheerilee spoke, and after noting that nothing was happening with all the swords set in place, her brow scrunched up as she ducked under the table, “Where did you read that?”

“Right here,” Cheerilee said. She was laying on her back, having scooted under the table, and pointed up at the underside of the table, just near where a stone support melded to the floor to hold the table up, “It’s carved in.”

“Nasty place to put it,” said Lyra, ducking down under the table as well, “Why’d you think to look here anyway?”

Cheerilee shrugged, “It’s where I’d hide a clue if I was making this set-up.”

Once all the mares were out from under the table they exchanged looks, Trixie sitting in her chair and plopping a chin on her hoof, “So, the swords didn’t do anything.”

“Not necessarily,” Cheerilee said, “I heard those clicks. They must have done something.”

“We’re probably not getting them in the right order,” said Carrot Top, “What did that riddle say again?”

After Cheerilee repeated it, Carrot Top closed her eyes in contemplation, “Rules of language and time... that’s pretty vague.”

“Not sure what it means either, but I don’t think the rest of the junk scattered around here is meaningless,” said Cheerilee, “The clues are there, we just have to put them together.”

As her friends all started quietly musing among themselves, Trixie glanced towards the only other source of noise in the room. The cat clock, which kept ticking in it’s loud, rhythmic pattern, made Trixie want to throw something at it. Why did it keep sticking out to her, besides it’s annoying noise? Slowly she got off her stone chair and trotted towards the clock. It wasn’t hanging very high up. Just within hoof reach, in fact. Looking at it more closely, two things struck Trixie in short order. One was that the cat clock had a paw modeled to be pointing outward, and it was pointing at something across the room.

Following the cat’s paw, Trixie saw it was pointing at the school chalk board that had the alphabet scrawled on it. Why would it be doing that? Was it coincidence? No, all of this was placed for a reason. The clock and chalkboard were designed to draw the eye beyond the mundane junk in the room, while still being camouflaged by it. 

Approaching the chalkboard, Trixie peered at the alphabets, eyes squinting as she looked at the carefully scrawled letters and then back at the clock. 

“Figure anything out, Trixie?” asked Lyra.

“Maybe,” Trixie said, “Rules of language and time. Could that be it...?”

“Uh, care to clue us in, Trixie?” Cheerilee said as the unicorn hopped on over back to the table and started removing the swords from their slots.

“The map,” Trixie said, pointing at it, “This way here points north, right? Imagine it as the face of a clock. Twelve is at north, which points towards this chair here... ah-hah, thought so! It’s Carrot Top’s.”

“Okay, it is, but what does that mean?” said Carrot Top, a look of bafflement on her face, but Cheerilee was already wearing a sudden, intense grin.

“Oh, I see where you’re going with this. Rules of language. Alphabetical order. Carrot Top, between the six of us, your name comes up first.”

“Also happens to be where time begins on a clock,” Trixie said, “Rules of time; clockwise. Can’t be coincidence that Carrot Top’s chair is at the north end of the map.”

“So you’re thinking we slot the swords in alphabetical order based on our names, starting with Carrot Top’s on the north end?” Lyra said, and in answer Trixie was already going for it. However even as Trixie was slotting the swords in, Lyra said, “Wait, something isn’t right with that. Trixie, hold up!”

“Huh? What?” Trixie asked, and Lyra looked at the map, tapping it with a hoof.

“There’s got to be a reason the map shows Equestria so long ago. It said follow the rules of time. Well, what would be important about this time frame?”

Trixie blinked at the bard, and Lyra rolled her eyes with a groand, “Duh, we’re not in it. We weren’t born thousands of years ago! The order isn’t our names.”

“But Carrot Top’s chair is at the north end. Clockwise, and alphabetical,” Trixie said, but Lyra shook her head.

“The riddle also said to remember the nature of Harmony. As in, what are the Elements of Harmony. Newsflash, Trixie, not us. We’re just the Bearers.”

Carrot Top suddenly spoke up at that, her eyes flashing wide, “OH! Generosity! I’m also Generosity! Which, uh... lemme think... A, B, C, D... I think Honesty would be next after that?”

Trixie paused, holding the swords poised in her magic over the chairs, “Well, that does make sense. Generosity, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty, then lastly Magic.”

Once the swords were slotted into place, however, nothing happened. Lyra frowned deeply, letting out a frustrated neigh. “Okay, so maybe it was our names?”

“No, I think you had it right,” Cheerilee said, “I think we’re missing something else.”

“Like what?” Carrot Top asked, rubbing her forehead, “I’m starting to seriously dislike puzzles, and I never much liked them to begin with.”

Trixie, too, was a little stumped. She thought that Lyra likely had the right of it on the order, but it was also clear there was one other factor they hadn’t thought of. Thinking over the riddle once more, Trixie decided to cast aside any preconceived notions of logic. After all, this was the Contest of Wits, and wit wasn’t always the same thing as logic. Oftentimes the key to a good, clever trick was in the red herrings and distractions. Play off an audience's assumptions. 

So if she was the one designing a puzzle, how would she think of the solution? Yes, all the clues pointed to the right place, but what if the mistake wasn’t in following the clues but in the mechanism of the solution? 

Recall the nature of Harmony...?

Trixie glanced at the swords, then at the chairs. She’d thought it was weird that the chairs had the cutie marks engraved in, and the swords had raised embossments of the same size. At a whim, Trixie went to Carrot Top’s sword, and tried tugging on the embossment of her friend’s cutie mark with her magic. Surprisingly, the object came out of the pommel, perfectly connected.

“What the hay?” Carrot Top blurted, “Those come out?”

“The swords aren’t the keys to the puzzle, these are,” Trixie said, “Lyra, help me remove the others. We’ll put them into the chair engravings in the same order we did the swords.”

The symbols fit into their respective engravings with smooth ease, and once the last one, Magic, was fit into place, the entire map table was infused by a soft, white glow. The old, cracked map flowed into a brilliantly colored and whole state, and even reshaped itself so that it became a modern map of Equestria with cities and roads springing up across its length. 

A loud grinding noise heralded the throne at the back of the chamber sliding aside, along with the wall restructuring itself into an open archway. Beyond the arch the mares could see open fields; seemingly the end of the maze!

“Think it’s real this time?” asked Lyra, and Trixie gave the exit a glare.

“It’d better be, otherwise we’re going to find out if simply chewing our way out through the walls counts as a ‘witty’ solution to the maze.”

The explosion of noise as the mares exited the archway and came out into the fields in front of the massive and packed seating blocks removed any doubt that this was in fact the end of the maze. Compared to the magical silence of the maze’s interior, the waves of sound stemming from the cheering crowd was nearly an assault on the mare’s ears.

Abbess Seren’s voice spoke in amplified words across the air, “And there we have our second team to emerge from the Contest of Wits! Please everyone, give another cheer for Equestria’s fine champions.”

Trixie adapted quickly to the noise and soaked in the roar of the crowd, standing up on her hind legs to wave her fore hooves to the onlookers. She could see upon some of the viewing mirrors floating around the crowd stands that there were replays occuring of her and her friends solving the latest riddle. Other mirrors showed other teams still struggling with their own challenges within the maze, but Trixie noted one particular champion wasn’t shown and had a sinking feeling she knew who as she lowered back to all fours and glanced to her right.

“Greetings, Dames of Equestria,” said Dao Ming, managing to look somehow both poised and humble at the same time, “I see you came out only a few scant minutes after me. As I’d expect from my... rival?” The kirin said the word with an experimental tone, as if testing it out, and seemingly found she approved it with a nod, “Yes, very close indeed.”

“And just what kind of puzzles did you have to deal with?” asked Trixie, trying not to look miffed, and likely failing.

“Hmm, how to put it? They were... oddly personal,” Dao Ming said, brushing some golden strands of mane from her face, “I didn’t much care for them, to be honest.”

“Well, second place ain’t bad in my book,” Lyra said, stretching her limbs and sitting down, “By my guess that still puts us in the running for overall first place, if Trixie can ace the Contest of Magic.”

“Really? I’ve been having the hardest time keeping track,” said Carrot Top, “Where are we on points?”

“Eh, I don’t know the exact number, but I figure the monks will update us once the rest of the teams finish,” said Lyra, “But we did good in Strength thanks to Raindrops and Cheerilee, and I totally blew it away on Art. I think we’re in good shape.”

“Dame Heartstrings speaks true,” Dao Ming said, approaching Trixie and bowing her head slightly, “By my own estimate, if you do manage to come in first in the final Contest, your victory will be secure. Of course, points-wise, even second place would not allow you to overcome my lead, so it must be first, or not at all for you. I expect a fierce challenge, Dame Lulamoon.”

“Hey, I’ll be there too,” said Lyra, “Don’t count out what I can pull off with this lyre of mine.”

“I shan't, Dame Heartstrings,” Dao Ming assured her. 

Over the course of the next ten minutes two other teams emerged from the maze. Shockingly enough the third group were the minotaurs, although by the state of them it was clear enough how that had gone down. Greysight was immaculately clean and composed, as if nothing in the maze had touched her, while Steel Cage, Brass Bearings, and Bronze Belly were all coated in various goo, bruises, bits of tar, and one of them had what appeared to be a small alligator still attached to their rear end. Obviously the trio had been the meatshields against the traps while Greysight had dealt with the puzzles. An effective strategy, given their third place position.

The fourth team was the zebra, but Trixie cocked her head in puzzlement at the team, because she only saw Tendaji and Siwatu emerge from the maze.

“Where’s that eldery fellow, Nuru?” she wondered aloud, and next to her Dao Ming glanced at the two zebra herself, and gave a polite shrug.

“I only saw the two of them enter,” Dao Ming said, “Elder Nuru was absent. Perhaps he felt tired? Despite his skills, one of his advanced age must still tire out faster than his youthful compatriots.”

Trixie made a soft ‘hmm’ at that, suddenly feeling eerily off put by Nuru’s absence. Then again, Kenkuro had dropped out of the Contest completely, having finished his duel with Nuru. Maybe the aged zebra felt the same way? 

However she found herself carefully watching the other teams as they in turn emerged over the next short time span. After the zebra it was the Zaldian unicorn that came out, somehow looking both pleased and dejected at being in fifth place. The camel from Naqauh came next, then the cervids... which caused Trixie to let out a concerned grunt.

“What is it Trixie?” asked Lyra, “You sound like you’ve got a case of gas or something.”

Trixie shot Lyra a sharp look, but nodding towards the cervids, “Sigurd and Wodan just came out.”

“Yeah, figured they might be one of the teams bringing up the rear this time around,” Lyra said, “They’re great warriors, but puzzles aren’t their strong suit, save for maybe Andrea. Huh, figured she might have pulled them ahead a bit but... wait.. where’s Andrea?”

“Yes,” Trixie said, voice growing emphatic with greater intensity, “Where’s Andrea? And Nuru?”

“Trixie, what are you saying?” Carrot Top gulped, “You don’t think that they’re...?”

“If they’re not, then no big deal, but if they are,” Trixie said, “And they’re not here participating in the Contest.”

“Then they might be making a move elsewhere,” finished Cheerilee, suddenly gaining a serious look on her otherwise relaxed features, “What should we do then?”

Trixie was about to answer that when she noticed Dao Ming was now looking at the crowd stands with a deeply concerned frown shadowing her features, “What is it Dao Ming?”

“I... don’t mean to cause further alarm, but I couldn’t help but notice something during the disturbing turn of you Dames’ conversation,” the kirin mare said, her voice tight and clipped, “But I don’t see my mother in the stands.”

Trixie turned blinking eyes towards the spectator seating area for the various nation’s delegates, squinting upwards, “How can you tell?”

“You’ve seen my mother’s regalia. Do you see an austentatious, glimmering headdress up there?” Dao Ming replied with dry irritation doing a poor job of masking her worry. She pointed for Trixie’s benefit, “Look there, that booth. There is Xhua and Lo Shang, but my mother isn’t with them. In fact, neither is Tomoko.”

“What does that mean?” Carrot Top asked.

“I don’t know,” Dao Ming said, “But I know I don’t like it.” 

----------

A short time earlier...

Empress Fu Ling maintained the exterior disposition of a jade statue. She watched the proceedings of the Contest of Wit with an imperious and guarded air perfected over many years of hard experience in the Heavenly Empire’s court. It was easy enough for her to project that mask, despite inwardly being unable to calm the disquiet bearing down on her ever since her argument with Dao Ming the previous night.

Why was the girl so unbelievably stubborn all of a sudden!? Prior to the Contest, Fu Ling’s daughter had been making wonderful progress. Diligent, dutiful, focused, and quite compliant. Fu Ling had even dared to hope she could finally consider the possibility that Dao Ming would be prepared to succeed her, that all of her fears of the courts eating her daughter alive were unfounded. Then, in a shockingly short span of time, Dao Ming had started to change. Not only did she start making grievous mistakes under pressure, such as foolishly trying to summon Raijin during the Grand Melee, but she was conceding ground to lesser champions such as that dirty, unrefined griffin, or those clowns from Equestria! Dao Ming had even grown so unruly as to directly challenge Fu Ling to her face! 

Kenkuro was no help either, assuring Fu Ling that these were good changes in her daughter, but the Empress was having a hard time seeing exactly how this would benefit her daughter in ruling the Empire if she started to abandon self control for... whatever this rebellious streak was. 

She couldn’t possibly have gotten this from her father, could she? No, more likely one of those other supposed champions were to blame. A bad influence, intermingling with other nations. She’d have to find a way to cure Dao Ming of this mindset once they returned home. Fu Ling was sorely missing Shouma’ by this point. Perhaps once she and her family were safely back in the Imperial Palace, things could slowly return to normal. She’d calm matters between herself and Dao Ming, once her daughter had cooled off, and maybe then she could reveal her intentions to officially declare her succession.

Her mental wanderings were interrupted by the sound of approaching hooves. She was seated alongside Xhua and Lo Shang in a well appointed VIP seating box at the top of the stone coliseum-style stands, well above the regular crowds. Other notables from different nations had their own seating on this level, much as with the other Contests, with Equestria’s nobility seated somewhere off to the Shouma delegation’s left, and the rowdy griffins to the right. Strangely the Equestrian Princess, Tsukihime, was not present, although Fu Ling’s Jade Guard reported that was due to the Princess of the Moon dealing with the pegasus champion who was injured during the Contest of Strength.

Currently the Equestrian nobles were being entertained by their neighboring nation’s Princess, Cadenza, who was continually escorted by the Equestrian Royal Guard Captain, whose name Fu Ling forgot but did note he was a pleasant enough example of stallionhood. She imagined, from the looks exchanged between him and Cadenza, that the two had an arrangement not unlike a number of Fu Ling’s own affairs, prior to Dao Ming’s conception.

However the hooffalls didn’t come from either of the walkways connecting the VIP boxes, but rather from the stairway leading down into the interior of the steating block. There, she saw Tomoko arrive, the red fur of Tomoko’s coat glistening a bit with sweat as if the mare had been galloping there. 

“Sister Tomoko, finally decided to join us?” asked Xhua with a haughty, but only half joking tone, “Your talk with the griffins went well?”

It was an odd occurrence that the griffins had experienced some manner of political trouble over the past night, the nature of which wasn’t entirely clear besides the fact that one of the Inner Kingdom monarchs had left the island in the middle of the night. Fu Ling didn’t care much about griffin in-fighting, but Tomoko had expressed concern over the matter and had said that morning she’d try to gather information among the griffins and join them for viewing the Contest later. 

Fu Ling listened with half an ear, eyes unconsciously glued to a viewing mirror showing her daughter’s progress through the maze below, while Tomoko approached and said, “I’m sorry Xhua, but this isn’t a joking matter. I’ve discovered something I think may represent a threat to us. A plot against the entire island.”

The Empress’s attention was snapped towards her eldest adopted daughter, eyes narrowing, “What do you mean?”

Earnesty flowed from Tomoko as she bowed her head of raven hair, “It’s difficult to explain, and it shouldn’t be done here in the open,” Tomoko said, keeping her voice low. She cast a glance towards Xhua and Lo Shang, “Brother, sister, I beg that you remain here and keep an eye on the Contest, while I explain matters to the Empress. Only she can decide how we must proceed, once she knows what I know.”

Lo Shang’s posture turned instantly from casually relaxed to the tense readiness of a warrior, his own training kicking in as he recognized the serious tone in Tomoko’s voice. A look passed between him and Tomoko, one Fu Ling didn’t fail to note, as he said, “I shall ensure the safety of our sisters, Tomoko, you have my word.”

Tomoko nodded, then turned to Fu Ling, “Empress, will you come with me to somewhere we can avoid prying eyes and ears? I don’t know who can be trusted, now, and it’d be safest to discuss this in your chambers at the monastery.”

Long honed instincts told Fu Ling that something was amiss, although she wasn’t certain what. Tomoko was her eldest, and although not related by blood, she had never shown anything less than complete dedication to the safety of the Imperial Family. Indeed it hadn’t even struck Fu Ling as odd that Tomoko would rather investigate the griffins’ squabbles than watch the Contest, such was Tomoko’s usual diligence. If there was a threat of some sort that she’d discovered, she wouldn’t bring it to Fu Ling’s attention without fully believing it was worth doing so.

Besides, Jade Guards were stationed nearby and she could bring a few as escort.

“Very well,” she said, “Xhua, Lo Shang, remain here and observe Dao Ming’s progress. Tomoko and I shall return shortly.”

As she followed Tomoko down the stairs, she nodded to two heavily armed guards at the bottom, “Come with us.”

The guards obeyed her command without question, the kirin falling into step behind her and Tomoko with their armor barely making a rattle. Tomoko was silent as she swiftly led them out of the coliseum block and headed towards the monastery, at least at first. Soon enough she started to speak, still in a hushed whisper, “It’s best we use the monastery, while it's largely deserted. We should be able to talk there without much risk.”

“What is happening, Tomoko? What threat have you discovered?”

“A plan to dispose of multiple nation’s leaders. The griffin sovereign who fled last night caught wind of one of the conspirators being a griffin champion, the very one Dao Ming has gotten so close to.”

“Gwendolyn Var Bastion?” Fu Ling said, almost laughing, “That ruffian?”

“Among others, I suspect,” Tomoko said, “Their plans involve distablising all nations, and putting in their own puppet rulers. Gwendolyn is simply the one chossen for leading the Griffin Kingdoms in this mad plot.”

Fu Ling made a show of nodding her head in thought, but she was carefully observing Tomoko. The younger kirin’s body language was a mixture of tension and controlled poise. Appropriate, given the circumstances. Fu Ling wasn’t quite sure what to make of this yet. The things Tomoko was telling her didn’t fully add up. “Replacing rulers for so many nations would be nearly impossible without a large cadre of fellow conspirators. Also, why do this here, upon the Isle of the Fallen, with so many powerful forces concentrated in one place?”

“Perhaps they thought it’d be easier to do it all in one fell swoop while all the leaders were gathered in one place?” Tomoko offered, “I know not, my Empress, what may be going through the minds of those who hatched this plot.”

“And what evidence do you have, merely from speaking with the griffins, that this plot even exists?” Fu Ling pressed, just as they neared the front steps of the monastery. She did note that, as Tomoko had said, the area was all but deserted. 

“Well?” she pressed Tomoko as they ascended the steps and entered the monastery’s main chamber, its grandiose size somehow ominous with the lack of any other creatures but themselves and the two silent guards following behind them.

“It would not be wise to speak of it here,” Tomoko replied, “Once we’re safely inside your chambers, I can explain it all, Empress.” 

Fu Ling stopped, “I think I’d rather you explain it now, Tomoko. Consider a command from your Empress.”

Tomoko paused, her back turned to Fu Ling. They were halfway across the main chamber, the tall ceiling and vast walls seeming to drink in all sound so that a deathly silence hung over the kirin for a moment. Fu Ling cast a glance for any monks, guards from other nations, or linering delegates, but the chamber was empty. With the Contest taking place, there’d be no reason for anyone to still be in the monastery. 

Tomoko let out an audible sigh, “I’d have preferred to do this in your room, but this is close enough. Also, I suppose this is as good a time as any to get this off my chest. Fu Ling, you are a horrendous mother.”

Fu Ling was already moving even as Tomoko sprang with a dexterity she’d never witnessed in the courtly kirin. Tomoko leaped over Fu Ling, whipping her forehoof out with the silken sleeves of her flowing garment making a metallic ringing noise. Fu Ling was fast enough to draw the hidden, slim dagger from her robes and parried what looked to be a pair of kunai throwing knives that Tomoko had flung at her.

Shinobi!? When did she train for-?

Fu Ling had no more time to think, as Tomoko landed as light as a leaf, and in one fluid motion drew a straight edged ninja-to from her dress and came at Fu Ling in a dizzying storm of steel. Fu Ling was well trained in the martial arts, and her own, shorter tanto dagger was a familiar weapon in either her hoof or her magic. She was able to block the first few strikes from Tomoko, but the younger kirin was in better shape, and clearly much better trained and practiced at her art. 

The ninja-to’s thin blade passed Fu Ling’s guard and she felt a sharp bite of pain on her left shoulder alongside the ripping noise of her fine dress. Snarling, Fu Ling used her magic to start pulling out a spirit scroll, intending to unleash no shortage of fury upon this foolish, upstart girl- but then her body started to rapidly go numb.

Worse, she saw that while her two Jade Guards had lowered their spears to accost Tomoko from behind, they would not save their Empress. The reason being that from the shadows between the pillars marking the monastery entrance a cloaked form burst out and with a prodigious jump, and landed between the two surprised guards. Striped hooves moved in strikes faster than any cobra, hitting deftly upon the sides of the guards’ helmets. Eyes rolled up into their heads and the guards fell, out cold.

Fu Ling wasn’t far behind them, her limbs filling with an oddly warm numbness as her mouth started to drool from lack of feeling. Her mind was starting to fuzz as well as she tried to recall what kind of poison Tomoko must have just used. The Soft Death? No, she’d be soiling herself as her bowels loosened if that was the case. White Lotus? Yes, that had to be it. A powerful paralytic, but not fatal. Her entire body would be useless for hours, breathing just barely possible, and her consciousness dulled, but she’d live.

Why? If the plot Tomoko had described was real, was not the point to dispose of her?

“Good timing,” Tomoko said to her robed ally.

“You knew I was following you, otherwise you would not have made your move,” said the cloaked one in a dusty, aged voice. Then the cloak fell back and Fu Ling, even past her fogging eyesight, could make out the lines of the elderly zebra stallion beneath the hood, “I’ll deal with disposing of the guards. You get her to the ritual. We don’t have much time.”

“You needn’t remind me,” Tomoko said, and paused as she picked up Fu Ling’s limp form, “You’re not planning to kill the guards, are you?”

“They’ll be placed somewhere secure and kept from revealing what has happened. It’s doubtful they’ll starve before being found,” the zebra replied curtly, “Now move, before we are seen.”

Despite her mouth being almost utterly num at this point, Fu Ling managed to croak out, “Why?”

Tomoko laid Fu Ling across her back, moving with assured steps deeper into the monastery.

To her question, Tomoko only gave her a brief look, filled with a long simmering and hidden disgust and scorn, “To correct past mistakes, and protect the Heavenly Empire. That, and to dethrone an unworthy Empress so that her more capable daughter can ascend.”

Furyu lent Fu Ling enough strength to form a few more words, even as her tongue struggled against her due to the numbing poison, “You... never worthy...”

A knowing smile crossed Tomoko’s face as she reached a spot along the wall of what seemed, to Fu Ling’s dimmed vision, a random corridor in the monastery. Tomoko touched a spot on the wall, and a hidden door slid open in the smooth, stone wall. “I know, Empress. I wasn’t talking about me. I could never run the Heavenly Empire.”

Her eyes grew fierce, with an almost mad light, a sisterly love of burning intensity, “But Dao Ming can. And will, once I’ve paved the way for her.”

With that, Tomoko entered the hidden entrance, taking Shouma’s Empress down into the dark.