//------------------------------//
// Chapter Thirteen: Reunion 
// Story: The Amulet of Shades 
// by Sparkle Cola 
//------------------------------//


  Fillydelphia Sky Docks, 2:39 AM


 

Narcisse scanned the terrace of the Fillydelphia Skyport as the Excelsior’s hatch slowly closed behind him. Unsurprisingly, the area was vacant as he made his way towards the terminal’s entry, his hoof-falls echoing off of the large glass view windows as he approached. 

The whine of the motors let him know that the Excelsior had already been cleared for departure, likely expedited for it’s journey due to the privileged station of House Pavo. Most likely his uncle needed the airship for some financially lucrative transaction—something that would outweigh the prestige of being featured in one of Luna’s notorious Equestrian Operations.

Narcisse spared a final, wistful glance as the ship did a slow pirouette in the air, the propellers spooling up. Then he straightened the collar of his Rarity-exclusive double-breasted trench coat turning with purpose back to the terminal. He needed pure professionalism for this mission, not nostalgia and whimsy. Hopefully, his early morning arrival would give him an advantage as he narrowed his search. 

Scanning the facade of the terminal, he noticed a lone pegasus: a mare standing beneath a cantilevered overhang that sheltered the terminal entry from the elements. As he approached, he glanced around for any other pony that might be watching and waiting. Should he cast a defensive spell? After careful consideration, he decided he wouldn’t waste the energy. This was Equestria after all, not some lawless faction of the once proud griffon nation. 

After another moment, he identified her as operative 004 of the Agents of Moonlight. While she usually kept her mane braided while on assignment, it was the reddish hue of her eyes that finally tipped him off. 

“Agent 012?” The pegasus had stepped in front of the terminal access, blocking his passage. 

“What, you’ve been demoted to sky dock security?” Narcisse smirked. He watched in growing humor as her eyebrow slowly lifted. There weren’t many agents that could tolerate Narcisse’s sense of humor, but that was fine. He didn’t often tolerate their entire demeanor. Agent Morel, on the other hoof, was another matter. She merely gestured with her nose before trotting off to the side of the terminal.

Shrugging, Narcisse followed, lowering his voice to a whisper. “Why are you here? And at half-past three in the morning, no less?”

“Updates from Canterlot.” She held up a file folder with the primaries of her left wing. “If you would be so kind as to put up a privacy spell?”

“But of course.” Narcisse drew up the appropriate spell and activated it. “Okay, Maven. What news?”

“New events, Narcisse... Same theme.” She passed the folder to his magic. “About four hours ago, there was an attack on Twilight Sparkle’s security team while they were doing a sweep through the Fillydelphia Convention Center. The attackers included a blazing hot Nirik and a changeling morphed into a rather noisome otyugh.”

Narcisse looked back up from the file, an eyebrow raising at Maven’s tone. She was always such an artist at understating the facts of a case. “The Hades is an otyugh? Sounds like you choked on your spit there.” Turning the page, Narcisse’s other eyebrow headed skyward to join it. “Oh...”

“I don’t know what in Luna’s starry mane it is either. One of Captain Berrytwist’s team is a Minotaur named Wade Tinkerman. He says it’s monster from Minos.”

“The monster from Minos…” Narcisse muttered. “Sounds like a B movie.”

“Indeed. The report has the rest of the details. Something-something about a sewer monster.”

“Did you just say something-something?”

“Just so.” Maven stood straighter and elevated her voice to command-level. “Read your report and seek your quarry, agent. The Fillydelphia office remains ready to assist. Find the perps before this gets any bigger.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” Narcisse deactivated his spell as he watched the pegasus take off and circle into the air. As he lost sight of her, a lone police siren sounded in the distance. As if to answer the sound like a call-to-arms, two more added their voices to the din. Narcisse let out a sigh, wondering if that was a portent of a busy morning.

Straightening his collar one more time, he made his way into the terminal. 


Fillydelphia Police Station - 2:40 AM


Heralded by a series of pops, the sound of air distorting and snapping out of the teleport’s way, Twilight and her security detail quickly took in their surroundings. All except the minotaur—he had crouched down and was holding his stomach.

“Hopefully that’s the last time I’ll be doing that,” Wade grumbled. “Ugh.”

“Buck up, Tinkerman.” Fizzlepop taunted. “If you can’t do that, then catch up.” With that, she started trotting towards the main entrance of the Police building, at the top of a flight of concrete steps. Twilight wondered if her security captain was being a little hard-nosed, since it wasn’t every day she conveyed a group of creatures through a five-point line-of-sight teleport. Such an experience would be a little unsettling for non-ponies. She was only able to pull off the maneuver so quickly because she had glanced a map before they moved out. 
 
A blizzard of activity—and reports—whirled in and out of the building. Police cars lay abandoned in the parking lot, their lights still strobing. At least their sirens were off, contrasting the additional vehicles that were still approaching in the distance.  

The police mare in charge was just noticing Fizzlepop’s team approach. Flanking Fizzlepop were the smaller of her two griffons, the lone dragon of the group, her unicorn specialist Mazuma Gaines, and her medic, a pegasus named Nebula. Twilight also noticed Onyx, the team’s diminutive changeling, sporting her normal black chitinous appearance.  

Climbing to his cloven hooves, Wade popped his back a few times before coming up alongside his charge.“Let’s join in, eh your majesty?” Wade’s gravelly voice was polite, but his self-assured air made it clear he didn’t want to discuss his earlier upset stomach. “Better’n lazing about the hotel before brekky, right?

“Brekky?” Twilight smirked at the minotaur’s regional slang. 

“C’mon, let’s catch up before my team gets in trouble. They neglected to bring the heaviest hitter of the group.”

“Oh? And who would that be? The minotaur with the biggest pectorals?”

Wade inclined his head with a grin. “...That would be you, your highness.” With that, his hulking form trotted ahead.

Shaking her head, Twilight quickly followed, activating a spell to listen in to her security captain’s ongoing conversation with the police mare at the doors. 

“...I’m Vice-Captain Kenford Jade. Thank you for responding so quickly, Captain Berrytwist—the Fillydelphia North Precinct appreciates your concern. Fortunately, the detainees are back in their cells. We have them more heavily sedated now.”

“What happened?” Fizzlepop queried.

Jade sighed. “We have more questions than answers at this point. Don’t know what I’m going to tell the press, either. We’re focused on getting first aid to our most wounded. Three medical teams are inbound from the medical center, but other than that… You should probably just stand by. No offense, captain.”

“That’s fine.” Fizzlepop nodded. “Number of wounded?”

“Eleven officers injured, plus a nurse.” The police chief bit her lip. “A few are in critical condition, but I’m not clear on those details. I just know a few cases are bad.” 

By then, Twilight had made it to the top of the stairs and Fizzlepop was turning to acknowledge her. “This is Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Fizzlepop gestured with a hoof. “While my specialty is more in combat and strategic deployment, perhaps the talents of my liege could be of some help?”

Glancing the officer’s name tag, Twilight drew herself up. “Please, Captain Jade. Let me know where I can help. I am a skilled healer, and our team also has a certified medic.”

Captain Jade’s face relaxed into a warmer smile. “That is excellent news. Any aid you could render would be most appreciated!” 

Twilight was glad the police mare was able to bypass her political position and get right down to business. She watched as Jade turned and gave a sharp whistle, getting the attention of a stallion heading back down the stairs.

“Hey, Flint! C’mere and be helpful.”

Flint, a steel gray and black earth pony, trotted up the stairs. “I am being helpful, ma’am! I was just about to—” The sight of the Princess stopped the stallion’s mouth.  

“Take Princess Twilight and her team straight to our injured officers below. Provide whatever they ask for.”

“I—um, right away, Captain! Princess?” He inclined his head briefly, before his face warmed into something more effusive. “Uh, right this way.” 

As Twilight followed him into the building, she glanced back over her shoulder. Fizzlepop and company were hot on her heels. . “Captain Berrytwist?”

“Your grace?”

“If the area isn’t secure, use your team as you see fit to prevent any more casualties.” 

“On it,” came her Captain’s curt reply.

They continued forward, dodging pockets of activity from the officers left on duty. Rounding another corner, they arrived at a stairwell heading down, where Flint turned to address them. “The worst of the injured haven’t been moved, your highness. They are down where the holding cells are.”
 
“Are you sure that’s wise?” 

“No other choice. They are in no condition to be moved without more medical assessment. C’mon.” 

Glancing back at her captain again, Twilight turned and followed him down before the group rounded a final corner to take in the scene. While she could see a couple of ponies being attended to on the edges of the room, what drew her eye were the bodies in the middle of the floor, hidden under blankets. A better view was obscured by several officers that were standing in the way, likely wondering about what else they could do. 

Twilight's approach drew the attention of all of the room’s occupants, but she couldn’t be concerned with that. Scoping the room’s condition, she took note of a few gouges torn across the left wall, and several light fixtures askew, having been ripped from the ceiling. 

Her impromptu guide spoke up. “Stand aside! Princess Twilight and her team are here to help.”

There were four. Each pony was propped strategically with pillows and blankets, so the officers were at least treating them for shock. Calling up a triage spell, Twilight scanned each pony for their vitals, not liking her findings on two of them. 

“Blood pressure.” She muttered, before turning to Nebula. “Get a drip running for this one. She’s in desperate need of volume expansion. Seconds matter!” As Nebula opened his medical case, Twilight lifted the blanket back, failing to stifle a gasp at the poor mare’s injuries. The bandages failed to hide the charred, angry red flesh of her third-degree burns. Another wrapping of bandages was bundled around the mare’s wrist. Twilight frowned at the injury it covered: the limb had nearly been severed. 

While Nebula worked, Twilight turned her attention to the stallion by the unconsicous mare’s side. Steeling her shaking  knees and fighting the bile gathering at the back of her throat, Twilight peeled back the blankets over him. His burns seemed almost as bad, with large patches of his yellowish-orange coat missing along his back. As she continued her scan, the stallion’s blood pressure began to fall dangerously low as well. Doubling back to check on the other two officers and finding their condition to be stable, Twilight got the attention of the magic specialist in Fizzlepop’s group. 

“Mazuma—his blood pressure is plummeting! Join your magic with mine, have a spell that can direct more blood flow to his vitals. Watch how the mana flow interacts with my spell matrix, and once you have it, join in.” The pale blue unicorn nodded, studying Twilight’s magical field before lighting up her own horn in a glowing vermilion light. 

Once Nebula had finished placing the IV, he stood up and called Wade over. The minotaur looked distinctly uncomfortable, but he lumbered forward. “Okay, Wade,” Nebula importuned. “I need you to stand there and not move.” Before Wade could respond, Nebula had flown up and attached the IV bag to one of his horns.

The Minotaur folded his arms, looking rather unimpressed.  “You know I’m getting you back for this, right?” 

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Nebula! Get another IV started on this one!” 

After another few moments, Nebula had the 2nd IV placed and had called one of the bystanders in uniform over to help. While he did that, Twilight directed still others to reposition the wounded carefully so that their burned areas were higher than the rest of their bodies. Finally, Twilight got the attention of Flint and sent him running for a supply of cellophane. 

Fizzlepop and the rest of her team took up positions near the holding cells, and she noted that they were focused on a single small changeling and a rather disheveled looking kirin. Looking past the kirin, Twilight noted several burn marks on the wall. 

Finding the stallion’s blood pressure improving by the second, Twilight brought her attention back to the mare. Frowning at what her spell was finding, Twilight got Mazuma’s attention. “We're not out of the woods yet. The mare is not stabilizing!”

Mazuma nodded, her eyes tight with worry before she ignited her horn for a repeat performance. It was as that moment more sirens could be heard approaching in the distance.  

Finally, the medical crews are finally here. Twilight allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Maybe she’d have to lobby for better funding of hospitals and emergency transport crews. It seemed to take far too long for them to get here. At least further help was only moments away. She caught a glimpse of the mare’s partially burnt name tag.

Only a little longer… Hang on, Comet Gleam!


*        *        *



Fillydelphia Police Station - 2:55 AM




Taking a deep breath, Twilight let out a sigh as her security captain continued to hold her—a timely hug, if a little uncharacteristic of Fizzlepop. After so many dangerous adventures with her friends, why had she never seen carnage of that nature? Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the bloodied texture of that mare’s charred flesh. 

Twilight’s eyes gravitated to Fizzlepop again. She probably has experienced this situation before, from her days as the commander of the Storm King’s forces. Although… she probably didn’t deal with post-traumatic stress with hugs back then. Hmm.

As the medical crews finished securing the remaining casualties in the last ambulance, Twilight allowed herself to get lost in Tempest’s hug. Cadence’s deep breathing technique wasn’t as effective as she thought it would be right now, for whatever reason. 

“Are you going to be alright, Twilight?”

Twilight smiled into the fur of her Captain’s chest after hearing her first name. For Fizzlepop to have become this sensitive to her emotions was not lost on her. She wiped at her nose with a hoof as she pulled away. “No honorifics, huh?” 

Fizzlepop’s smile looked slightly embarrassed as her cheeks flushed. “Wasn’t acting in an official capacity…”

Twilight chuckled as she wiped at her eyes again, heaving a large sigh. “So. Now what?”

Fizzlepop scanned the scene. The frenzied activity from ten minutes earlier was mellowing out, the growing tranquility odd in its dichotomy. “That’s up to you. We could return to the hospital, and try to get you some sleep…” Fizzlepop hesitated as she watched Twilight’s changing expression. “Or… we could go visit Nova and Zerrin. We only need to follow the ambulances…”

Wade’s gravelly voice broke into their conversation. “Not on a multi-leap teleport we don’t! You two can tele-hop from here to Canterlot if you like, but I’m walking!” 

“Nebula?” Fizzlepop queried.

“Captain?”

“Do me a favor and boop Wade’s nose. That’s an order.”

“I, uh…” The pegasus flapped into the air. He stared at Wade’s narrowing gaze for a second, then shrugged. He complied with the order, glancing away and his lips pursed.. Wade blinked and furrowed his eyebrows.

Fizzlepop nodded. “That’s better.”

Twilight giggled, before her eyes trailed after the departing vehicles with another sigh. “Sleep is out of the question. I want to visit Nova… and Zerrin, bless his heart. But before we do that, I need to send a message to Celestia. You think the Fillydelphia Police would mind if I borrowed some stationary and a quill?”

Fizzlepop raised a brow, letting go of the princess. “You serious? After your work tonight, you can borrow all the quills. You might have to adopt this station as your newest fiefdom.”

Twilight made a swiping motion with her hoof. “Quit it. I do not have any fiefdoms. I keep telling you that!”

“Really?” Her security chief’s mouth began to twitch upwards at the corners. 

“Ugh.” With that, Twilight rolled her eyes and trotted back into the station, leaving her grinning security captain behind her. After a minute, she had composed a letter to Luna. She didn’t have to wait long, enjoying a fresh donut and some coffee brought out to her team while they stood by, before a burst of magic coalesced into a responding letter. 

“Huh. Luna works fast.” Twilight took the scroll in her magic and broke the seal, unrolling it as it hung in the air.

Dear Twilight,

Celestia is up and we are both happy to hear you are well.

We are sorry to hear of the injuries sustained by ponies at the Fillydelphia Police Station. Thank you for acting so quickly and doing what you could to save the lives of the more severely injured. 

We have already been briefed on the events at the Convention Center. Whether they are related to the Library incident in Manehattan remains to be seen, but you should be made aware of one additional incident. 

Manehattan General Hospital’s lead psychologist, a unicorn stallion by the name of Minty Clove, has somehow been affected by his interactions with the librarian, Moonlight Sigil. He was stopped before he could do more serious harm to the patients he was caring for, but several are now being treated for poisonous overdoses, and one is in a coma. We are still assessing the situation there, and Minty is now in custody.

You should also know that Celestia tried her utmost to help Moonlight, and I as well made an attempt. During our magical contact with Moonlight Sigil’s mind, the both of us were besieged with a powerful influence. We are unsure of the nature of the influence, whether it was a magical effect, a product of Moonlight’s mind, or was from some more powerful entity. I believe it to be the latter.

Whatever the reason, based on recent events, we fear a contagion of some kind. Until this is better understood, no creature, pony or otherwise, should attempt any magical link with any of those considered affected. All others who have even had peripheral contact are right now being sought so their health can be ascertained.

Based on these reports we would prefer you cancel your speaking assignment tonight and come to Canterlot directly via the express. Having failed to heal the Librarian, and now with both a doctor and two custodians affected, we would like you to try the Elements of Harmony. All affected creatures will be carefully transported to Canterlot until all of the Elements are assembled, at which point we suspect that they will prevail. Please return at your earliest convenience so we can remedy these matters. 

Lastly, we wish you to be safe. Trust in your Captain and her team, and come to us speedily. Your friends, 

HRH Luna Nocturnis
HRH Celestia Solaire

Twilight blinked as she finished the letter. Her withers gave an uncomfortable tingle as she reflected on the surreal feeling. Only a day and a half ago, she was being briefed on the Librarian while visiting Celestia with Starlight Glimmer. Now, she was somehow mixed up in the craziness, and it seemed like there was now a pattern.

Twilight bit into her hoof to swallow her unease, then passed the scroll to Fizzlepop. “We need to take the first express to Canterlot. Be right back.” Fizzlepop’s turquoise eyes scanned the letter while Twilight entered the precinct yet again, this time looking for Captain Jade. 

Two minutes and three questioned officers later, she found the Captain in her office. Two more minutes and Jade was accepting of the news and fully supportive. 

“Thanks once again for your help tonight, Princess Twilight. I’ll notify the proper authorities of your change in plans. Perhaps you would consider postponing instead of cancelling when this is all over?” 
 
“I would be more than happy to do so, Captain Jade. You’ve been a credit to Fillydelphia’s law enforcement. Thanks.” Giving the surprised officer a brief hug, Twilight turned and trotted back outside. 

Before she reached the door, Twilight’s ears perked up as she heard a pair of heated voices. Pushing her way outside, she took note of a pair of ponies a few yards ahead. Fizzlepop and her team had formed a half circle and were watching the show. If she didn’t know any better, Twilight thought she saw the minotaur pass the dragon some dried Apple Family Crisps before the two shared a fist-bump. 

The unicorn on the left was delivering some kind of impassioned speech to articulate in grandiose terms how the pegasus was little more than a donkey-cleaner. The unicorn was clothed smartly in a luxurious trench coat, and if Twilight didn’t know any better she could’ve sworn it was one of Rarity’s designs. Atop his head was an elaborately coiffed reddish mane. By all appearances, Twilight guessed the pony was a noble, but there was something…dangerous about the way he carried himself. 

The pegasus, an aquamarine stallion with a wind-swept mane full of muted red and orange shades, intimated that the unicorn should retract his horn back into his sheath, with a follow-up comment that he was thankful he wasn’t born an overcompensating eunuch-corn. 

At that, three things happened simultaneously. 

First, Stormclaw blew a jet of fire into his fist and then sprang it open, shaking his hand. Waving the smoke away, he gave a toothy grin. “Ohhh, smoked!” 

At the same time, Nebula clutched at his chest with a hoof and fell over, feigning a heart attack to the delight of Mazuma and Wade. 

Finally, Narcisse happened. The enraged unicorn ignited his horn, brilliant lighting crackling along its surface as he drew a bead on his pegasus foe.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” 

Windows across the street shattered from the Royal Canterlot Voice, as delivered by Her Highness Twilight Sparkle. Noticing the immediate results of such a sonic exhibition, Twilight shrank back, hiding her face behind her wings. Luna had been giving her lessons on better control with the Voice, but she was still working on ironing out the wrinkles…and the harmonics. 

Just to make sure nopony would do something they might regret, Twilight formed a barrier between the two instigators, making it strong enough to impress her brother. Watching the two as they continued to glare daggers at each other through the transparent field, Twilight came up between them.  

“Now. Would anyone like to start by telling me what is going on?” She looked from pony to pony, before her eyes fell upon her security detail. All of them looked like they wanted to hide their faces, save for the minotaur and the dragon—they frowned at the prospect of losing their fun. 

“Anyone? No?” Twilight turned to Fizzlepop, appraising her commander as she waited. Fizzlepop opened her mouth to reply, but the Canterlot unicorn beat her to the punch.

“I am Narcisse Pavo.” Narcisse stood up straight and tall, sweeping a hoof through his mane to improve whatever imperfections might be present. “Operative 012 of the Agents of Moonlight. I’m here on assignment from Princess Luna. This trash here,” he indicated the pegasus with a hoof, “is on assignment to spy on me. And needs to get out of my way as I pursue the yellow mare.”

The pegasus began to sputter incoherently about apprehending the yellow mare for Princess Celestia until Twilight raised a hoof. “You’ll get your turn. Agent Cirrus, right?” Cirrus stopped grousing when he realized he had been addressed by name. With a sudden grin, he turned back to Narcisse, yelling through the barrier. 

“You hear that, hornhead? This princess knows my name!”

“I’m quivering with excitement.”

“Not another word.” Twilight rolled her eyes. These two operatives were like a pair of foals. She glared at the pegasus. “I’ll talk to you in a moment; but as for the both of you, I’m going to need all of the details of this case before I return to Canterlot today” Twilight slowly panned her vision back over to the unicorn. “Narcisse?” She paused for effect, before making her voice sickeningly sweet. “You may go first. If you would follow me?”

Narcisse opened his mouth to retort; he was no foal! But then again, this was a princess he was facing. 

Hesitating a moment longer, he finally dropped his head and followed in her wake. Twilight smiled to herself. She wondered if it was bad that the discomfort of a Canterlot noble made her feel better about this whole mess. Rarity probably wouldn’t approve, but Rainbow would be on her back by now laughing. Looking over her shoulder, she got her security chief’s attention. “Captain Berrytwist? I want you in on this too.” 


Fillydelphia - Chrissy’s Croissants - 7:48 AM


Her stomach churning in anguish, Tempest slowly lowered the newspaper before lowering her head to the table of her booth. The silverware rattled with the impact of her forehead. Her ears angled forward as she heard Meadow pick the paper back up, but other than that, she didn’t move while her friend was likely reading the same article she had been. 

The table wasn’t all that comfortable, but at least the cool surface helped soothe her developing headache. Squeezing  her eyes shut tighter, Tempest rocked her forehead back and forth, her horn tapping the side of her water glass each time she rolled to the right. The headlines across the top of the paper were still fresh in her mind’s eye.


Police Center Pandemonium Related to 


Convention Center Crisis!


Fourteen ponies injured, including two from Princess Sparkle’s Guard



Of course, she knew collateral damage might be possible.

Of course, she knew that utilizing Maelstrom’s spell might bring about another “librarian incident.”

But this? Fourteen ponies injured, two in critical condition? How had the number of casualties climbed so high? Things couldn’t have hardly gone worse! Tempest reached up and pulled her ears down towards her eyes, sighing heavily. 

“Why did I listen to you, again?”

“Hm?” Meadow perked up. After a moment, there was a rustling sound as the paper she had been holding seemed to settle around Tempest’s head and shoulders. Tempest peered back up,
bewildered to find she was now under a makeshift tunnel composed of the Daily Fillydelphia Press. Meadow’s sparkling yellow eyes met her gaze at the other end. 

Not bothering to move from the ridiculous set up she was in, Tempest continued, her voice muffled within the boundaries of the paper tunnel. “Why did I allow you to convince me to use that spell?” Tempest knew it wasn’t a fair question to ask, but she couldn’t help it.

Meadow’s mouth drew back into a straight line on one side. “All I did was name the options, Tempest. You chose the best one. That’s all.”

“The best one, eh?” Tempest closed her eyes and returned her forehead to the table. She blew out another sigh, the gust or air disturbing the fur on her thighs. 

“C’mon, Tempest.” Meadow murmured, her voice canned within the newspaper. “It’s not that bad. At least none of those ponies died, right?”

Ignoring the sudden urge to yell, Tempest sat bolt upright. “It’s bad enough!” she seethed.  “Maybe nopony died, but several came close!” 

Tempest fell back against her bench again. Rewinding the last minute of their conversation, she glanced around the room. The cafe wasn’t overly busy, but these were things better discussed in complete privacy. Realizing that, she activated a muffling spell, making their conversation unintelligible to others who might try listening in. 

Meadow mirrored her, leaning back and letting the paper settle down to the table again. She spun the front page around to face Tempest, and placed a hoof over the words Pandemonium and Crisis in the headline. “It’s bad. I know, it really went bad... But you know we were in a bad situation… We took a calculated risk. We hoped the problem had been contained.” She tapped the headline with her hoof. “Neither of us had any control over what happened at the police station. That debacle wasn’t. our. fault.” 

“Like Hades it wasn’t!” Tempest retorted. “I didn’t see anypony else that—”

“And!” Meadow raised her voice a notch to still be heard. “Besides that, you know that this is a newspaper article. Those press ponies love sensational news, so the information may need to be taken with a grain of salt.” 

“Grain of salt…” Tempest stammered before frowning. “More like a whole saltlick. And sensational or not, you can’t fudge a number like fourteen.”

Meadow looked down, frowning, before giving a pensive reply. “Maybe not. But... at that point it was out of our hooves. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I can totally blame myself,” Tempest sighed. “It’s a theme to my life... discover my mom is a Princess, and then blame myself for failing her in her time of need. Discover a new technology for amulets, then blame myself when the most powerful amulet ever wholly fails to turn the tide. Discover a second chance to redeem my mother... blame myself for—”  

“Okay, stop.” Meadow cajoled, holding up a hoof. “Let’s get some food in you. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise.”

“I don’t know, Meadow. After a mess like that, I’m not sure we should—”

“Oooh, no!” Meadow reached a hoof out and grasped her spoon, pointing it at the larger pony. “You aren’t folding that easy, Tempest.” The spoon waggled. “Remember what you said back in Manehattan? Free Luna above all else? Even if a few ponies end up getting in the way!”

Tempest’s eyes flicked from Meadow’s spoon to the ardent gaze of the little earth pony. In her peripheral vision, she could tell that Meadow’s actions had drawn the attention of a few ponies in neighboring tables and booths.

Meadow was right. This was the risk that they were taking, and she had to accept the moral consequences of having some ponies affected by her efforts. 

Even if these things led to her eventual imprisonment, she was willing to live with that if it meant her mother could be free.  

“Okay. Point made. Scene also being made.” Tempest placed her hoof on Meadow’s wrist and gently pushed it back down to the table. “That being said, I don’t want that point made again and again. And I don’t want to get threatened by a spoon.”

The smaller mare giggled.

“But how do I get Celestia’s attention? How do I get her to come to me—without my mother interfering? If Luna is under Celestia’s power, there’s just… there’s just no way I can…”

“Agreed.” Meadow nodded her head “And besides that, Celestia has layers and layers of protection. Guards, and guards guarding guards. What would you recommend?”

“I don’t know. First off, I need to make a big enough distraction to get Canterlot’s attention. I need the royal guard on alert. I need them to be looking for an advantage. I need them to need amulets.”

Meadow scratched at her mane, her eyes narrowed in thought. “I don’t know, Tempest. I’m not sure you are going to get the guard to start adding something to their normal gear without some serious scrutiny and questions being asked. Especially something claiming to actually be amulets. I’m not sure that plan will work.”

“Well, how else am I going to gain eyes all over Equestria?” Tempest whined. “The guard has access to the places I want to see! I’ll know where Celestia is most of the time!”

Meadow lifted up her glass of water, squinting at Tempest through it with one eye closed. “Hm. What if we use the post?”

“The post?”

 “Sure.” Meadow opened both eyes, slowly lowering her glass. “What other group of ponies can get practically anywhere? They have an exhausting job, for all the ground they have to cover. Why not give them amulets for endurance?” Suddenly, she chugged the glass back, draining the water down to the bottom, wiping her mouth with a forehoof. “Bill it as a life battery or some such thing. Maybe it’ll catch on without much of a stir?”

Tempest mulled that over, sipping at her own water. “That makes sense… Okay, Meadow, you’ve just come up with a new plan A. Either way, aside from amulets, the plan was also to create some kind of large scale event, something with little to no chance of actually hurting ponies... Maybe some kind of natural disaster. And we’ll be ready to hand out mountains of amulets to aid in the effort. Which will give me eyes on the ground.” 

Meadow blinked incredulously. “How much did you get out when you were holed up developing your master plan for Celestia back then?”

Tempest’s cheeks colored. “After leaving school? I was a little zealous, okay? I had something new: I was obsessed that it would win my mother back.”

“So you were a shut-in for how long?”

“Most of ten years...” Tempest muttered, her cheeks now burning. “Why, what’s wrong with the plan?”

“First off, you need alicorn level magic for a natural disaster, and last time I checked, you weren’t sporting wings.” Meadow thumped the table with a hoof. “Secondly, if you want less risk of killing anypony, a natural disaster is not the way to do it! 

At that moment, the waitress appeared, a middle-aged unicorn mare carrying a little pink notepad and a sunny disposition. “And what can I get you two dearies?” 

Tempest looked from her back to Meadow again, her expression disheartened. “A reset button. Either that or an ‘easy button’.”

Meadow just shook her head and stood up on her seat placing both forelegs on the table. “What she meant to say is that we both have a hungry button!" She pointed at her own cute navel for emphasis. Tempest wheezed in surprise before dropping her head, pressing her ears back in mortification. “And for this button I wanna do crepes with fruit and whipped cream!”

Peering back up, Tempest looking askance at her posing friend. “The hay is a crepe?”

Meadow shouted all the louder, imperiously directing a hoof back at her friend. “She will have the same!” 

Chuckling to herself, the waitress flipped open the top of her notepad. “Alrighty then. Why don’t you have a seat there, and then you can order all right and proper dontcha know?” 
Sitting back down, Meadow licked her lips. “I’ll have the blueberry… And Calypso here, since she’s having a not-very-good day, will have the strawberry. Oh, and bring us a whole pitcher of orange juice!”

The waitress continued writing, her tongue poked out to the side before she finished with a flourish. She gave a sidelong glance at her yellow-coated customer. “Well, we can’t have you miserable on such an important day, now can we? Why don’t I throw in some stuffed hash browns on the house? We can't have you all frowny-faced on Friendship Day!” 

“Ooo! That sounds great!” Meadow glowed with pleasure, wiggling her hips back and forth on her bench. “Make it a double, and I’ll pay for my half!” 

“Very well.” The waitress grinned widely. “Coming right up.” 

Tempest watched her trot back to the kitchens before turning and giving Meadow an even look. “How can you just… be so certain over there? Aren’t you bothered at all?”

“Of course I am!” Meadow huffed. “But I’m coming to grips with it. So should you. This feeling of discomfort will pass… give it a bit.”

Tempest snorted as she unfolded her napkin and placed it across her lap.

“How about another alternative plan that doesn’t involve natural disasters? Or even the distribution of amulets?”  

“I’m listening...” Tempest sipped at her water again, wondering not for the first time how her meal topics so often wandered into the weird and outlandish. “Let’s hear it.”

“Okay. So, what if, instead of creating a ruckus in a boom town, we create a non-life-threatening effect in a major city?

“Sounds... Unimpressive. If nopony is threatened, nopony will care.”

Meadow grinned. “Oh... they’ll care. Because it will be a race against the clock. What is the potential range of one amulet? And can its effects be carried further than that range via smaller amulets worn by unsuspecting ponies?

Tempest rubbed at her chin, trying to figure out Meadow’s angle. “A magical effect? One that creates a race against the clock?”

“Of course! And one that can only be approached by one particular princess in Equestria. Nopony else would do. And when Luna comes to fix the problem...” 

Tempest’s eyes suddenly widened. “Celestia will be alone!”

Meadow grinned slowly. “Bingo. Gold star.”

Tempest leaned back, her brow furrowing. “Who are you, and what have you done with our innocent little Manehattan Meadow? Or does she have an evil twin residing in Fillydelphia?”

“Evil. Heh, right. So, what do ya think?”

Tempest closed her eyes and thought for a minute. She was ninety-eight percent sure she knew what Meadow was suggesting. She hadn’t tested the maximum range for a single amulet effect, but her analytical mind salivated at the possibility. Said mind also wondered at the hidden devious nature of this little mare. Had she just misread her character earlier, or was it something else? Something just seemed off…  

Tempest slowly smiled. “We’ll have some research to do. Probably far from where we’ve made a stir.” Tempest trailed off, squinting out the window at the crisp, November morning before coming to a firm decision. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. Yet again, Meadow, you’ve come up with another brilliant and useful idea…”

“That’s me!” Meadow grinned. “Usefully brilliant! Either that or brilliantly useful...”

“You’re both.” Tempest held up a hoof for Meadow to tap her own against.

“Okay.” Tempest took a deep breath. “We’re going to need to set up a base of operations. And we’re probably going to need bits. Lots of bits. Which brings us to the twins.”

“Right.” Meadow rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“Let’s check their progress before the day gets too old. We can help them if they haven’t found a horn yet, and with your new idea, I want to update our orders so they can get started making these endurance amulets. Besides, I don’t trust those two at all, any more than I would trust a diamond dog to sell me something at a good price.”

“Good idea.” Meadow agreed.  “And they’re probably going to need more workers, as well. Demand is about to go up. You think they’ll be able to do that?”

“If it means more bits? I suppose so. We left pretty explicit instructions, so let’s see if they’ve followed them or not.”

The waitress came by at that point, pushing a serving cart in front of her with their plates perched on top. “Here’s your breakfast, ladies!” Her magic lifted the two plates up, each layered with delicate rolled crepes filled with fruit and topped with whipped cream, with a generous helping of stuffed hash browns on the side. 

Tempest’s eyes widened. “That’s… a lot of food, Meadow!”

“Nah!” Meadow rejoined. “That’s breakfast! Eat up!”

There was silence for a few minutes as fried potatoes were wounded and pastries were devoured without mercy. But while Meadow was finishing her third glass of orange juice her eyes fell on an advert near the bottom of the back of the newspaper.  


Flim and Flam Presents!



A new, revolutionary technology that will improve your eyesight!

Results that cannot be refuted or ignored!

Come see our top secret, proprietary item - you will never need glasses again!

Optometrists are panicking that they will become obsolete!



Today only! 


3:00-4:00 PM and 6:00-7:00 PM.


Warehouse B


2014 Commerce Avenue South


Meadow’s face darkened as she read over the rest of the text in the advert box before looking up again. “What were those twins’ names again? Aloysius Devadander and Abercrombie?”

Tempest cocked her head at Meadow’s voice. “You mean Flim and Flam?”

“Them.” Meadow’s eyes narrowed as she turned the paper around, pushing it across the table. “Not anymore. Their name is now Mud. Let’s go stop by, hmm?” 


*        *        *


 


Fillydelphia Warehouse District, 10:30 AM


“That’s not Flim and Flam...”

“Shh! I know!” Tempest rubbed a hoof under her horn, trying to stave off a headache. “Just let me think for a moment.” 

They were talking in hushed tones, but Tempest activated a muffling spell, just in case. She squirmed as they continued to watch from their position, cramped in a narrow entry that bordered the upper metal stairway access to the roof. 

Slipping into Warehouse B wasn’t all that difficult, but it had taken time to work their way around the premises before realizing it would be far better to back off and simply teleport in. Going in through the front door was unexpectedly difficult; not because it was locked or hard to find, but because there were several ponies milling about, blocking all from entry. They were happy to pass out flyers, but beyond that, nopony was allowed entry until three o’clock, ‘not even Celestia.’ 

After fruitlessly trying to talk their way past, Tempest and Meadow decided to circle back to a higher vantage point. From there, about half a mile away, it was easy to perform a line-of-sight teleport to the roof of their private club.

In contrast to the clamor of the ponies outside, the interior of the warehouse was eerily silent, save for the work being done by the two ponies below them. Just past the edge of the mezzanine floor, Tempest watched them work on the floor below. Neither said a word, focused as they were on adding to the pile of apparently finished amulets. 

It was impressive. Not only had Flim and Flam located a unicorn horn and fabricated an emitter, they already had two ponies trained on performing the work.  

With a bright flash, the earth pony switched the cylindrical emitter off before setting it down on a nearby crate. He picked up the newly minted amulet, studying the surface carefully before blowing away a remaining wisp of smoke, passing it to his unicorn companion. From this distance, Tempest couldn’t read the inscription, but she figured the effect would be some kind of visual enhancement.  

Tempest wondered for a moment where Flim and Flam might be, scanning around the mezzanine from her position. No other ponies were visible on their floor, so she looked back down at the ponies working below. Her brows furrowed in thought. Why were those two so familiar?

Suddenly aware of an earth pony pushing up underneath her chin. Tempest sighed and stepped back to give her some room. 

“Thanks, Temp!” Meadow murmured. 

Checking again on their surroundings, Tempest whispered to the mare beneath her. “Those two look familiar to you?”

“I dunno.” Meadow trailed off, before giving a little giggle.

“What?”

“Nothing.” The smaller mare grinned. “Just a thought: wasn’t it only yesterday we were spying on ponies from a catwalk?”

Tempest rolled her eyes. “You’re actually enjoying this, aren’t you?”

Meadow merely shrugged, but after a moment her body language stiffened, her ears perking straight up. “Yes! We’ve seen both of them before!”

Tempest craned her neck to see. “Where? Where have we seen them?”

Meadow backed off, letting Tempest have a more direct view again. “Check out his cutie mark.” She pointed at the earth pony. 

Waiting for his flank to come into view, Tempest watched as the pony brought out a new crystal and affixed a template to it. As he turned, she caught a full view of the mark: a stylized horseshoe with waves of energy of some kind emerging from it. Tempest’s eyes widened, looking from the earth pony to the unicorn. “Studly Dee and Studly Dum?!” 

Meadow chuckled in response.

Looking back to the unicorn, who was charging up his horn for the next crystal, it was unmistakable—he had the same terrible manecut and the same tacky tattoos. These were the two henchponies that had been on watch in front of Flim and Flam’s offices yesterday.

As she watched, the unicorn started to bleed from his nostrils. Strangely, he didn’t even bother to wipe it off, not seeming to care as the flow dripped off onto the floor.

“He’s… bleeding.” 

“Bleeding?!” Meadow’s head suddenly emerged above Tempest’s, surprising her for a moment until she remembered that Meadow was using an amulet. “Huh.” Tempest flinched as Meadow’s voice was suddenly loud in her ear. “You think that’s from magic overuse?” 

“Most likely…” Tempest’s brows furrowed. “You’d think he would be in a good deal of pain by now. Weird.” 

Tempest pushed Studly Dum and Studly Dee at the back of her mind. Where were Flim and Flam—catching up on sleep after a long night?

As if listening to her thoughts, Meadow piped up. “So, where do you think chisler one and chisler two are?”

Tempest made to respond, but was interrupted by a new pair of voices emerging from an office door not ten meters to their right. The offices were built into the western wall of the warehouse, taking up most of the floorspace of the mezzanine. Each had a window that could see out across the walkway, and Tempest thanked the stars above that she hadn’t simply walked out in front of them. A continuous rail protected hooftraffic along the border of the mezzanine level, broken only by descending stairs leading down at regular intervals.  
 
Tempest pulled back as quickly and as quietly as she could, the back of her head bumping into Meadow’s nose. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead as she listened for their hoofsteps, but thankfully, the sound receded away from their position. Of all the offices Flim and Flam could have been hiding in, it had to be in the one that was only a few body lengths away. 

“That was close…” Tempest murmured in a whisper.

“Ndo, dat was righd on darget!” Meadow whimpered, her eyes watering as she held her nose.

“Ah! Sorry Meadow,” Tempest mumbled. She turned again and angled her ears to pick up what the twins were saying. 

“Well, Flim? Let’s go check on our trainees.”

“I’m still amazed they picked up amulet science so quickly!”  

On a whim, Tempest used a spell to form an atmospheric distortion that could roughly reflect the image of the twins as they walked away. This spell didn’t have the ability to produce a clear picture, but it didn’t have to.

“No more than I, brother! No more than I. As for me, I’m still amazed by this windfall! If it weren’t for our two unexpected specialists, we wouldn’t have nearly enough to sell!”

“At least, we wouldn’t have this many and still be able to see straight from a lack of sleep. Everything is looking up!”

They arrived at a stairwell, both looking down at the stallions working below. The mustached one—Flam, if Tempest remembered correctly—scratched at his mane for a second. “Everything except for Headstrong over there.” He brought a hoof to his mouth and gave a single shrill whistle. “Hey! Heady!”

Flim cantered down the stairwell ahead of Flam who was still trying to get the unicorn’s attention, but Flam was soon following on his heels, the both of them dropping out of sight. Tempest peeked her head out again so she could see past the edge of the mezzanine floor, the two brothers becoming visible again as they trotted to the center of the room. 

“I say, dear boy.” Flim remarked. “Are you feeling okay there?”

Flam trotted up next to him. “Yes, uh. You have something… just there,” he quavered.

Headstrong looked up, his gaze rather vacant. “I… have something?” The unicorn dropped the emitter he was holding and reached up to touch his nose. 

“Idiot!” Flim barked, catching the cylindrical device in his magic before it caromed off the concrete floor. “Don’t drop the thing! Unicorn horns don’t grow on trees, you know!”

“Deuce?” Flam queried. “What’s with you?” 

The earth pony had been shifting his weight back and forth on his hooves. He paused his swaying to look at Flam, but his expression was a little slack. “Need… to make amulets.”

“Need?” Flam repeated. “It looks to me like you need to go to the bathroom.”

Deuce’s eyes widened. “Bathroom?”

“Yes!” Flam shook his head, looking between the bleeding unicorn and the earth pony that had started wobbling again. “If you need to go, then go!” 

Two things happened simultaneously. Flam’s eyes widened considerably while Deuce’s eyes looked up, half-lidded and fluttering. 

A rather obvious gushing sound was heard from directly beneath him.

“Celestia’s bits!” Flam roared, outraged. “What is the meaning of this, voiding yourself here on the floor?!”

Deuce ignored him as the yellow stream continued. Tempest could only watch, stunned, as Flam gave Flim a rather stupefied look.

“Hold on, brother…” Flim murmured, his voice holding a tension that immediately drew his brother’s attention. “Give me a second, I want to try something.” Flim straightened up and raised his voice a notch. “Deuce! Headstrong! Both of you lay down, right over there.” The two ponies followed him without question and began to lay down where he was pointing. “Now, hold each other’s hooves and don’t move.”

Without hesitation, the two ponies reached out and clasped hooves, laying on their sides to face each other in order to do it.  Flam followed on his brother’s heels, leaning in to mutter in his brother’s ear. “Tirek’s teats, what are they doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious brother? Just look at the size of that pile of amulets!”

Flam shook his head. “It’s a pile of amulets. What do they have to do with peeing on the floor? And Headstrong overextending his… magic…” Flam’s eyes began to widen in realization.

Flim grinned. “You see it don’t you? Do you remember the hypnosis scam we ran five years ago? The one that got us banned from Manehattan?

Flam sighed. “I try not to, brother.”

“These two are deeply susceptible to suggestion!” 

“I can see that, but why?” Flam frowned. “We didn’t do anything to them. When we asked Dorado to bring them back, he mentioned that they weren’t feeling well. But when they showed up last night, they seemed to be doing well enough to me...”

Trying not to miss anything, Tempest triggered another auditory listening spell as the twins’ voices fell to quieter levels. She had a sinking feeling as she thought about where this conversation was going. 

“Sure,” Flim replied. “They seemed well enough, but they hardly said a thing. They just agreed to try amulet making and listened with rapt attention. All we had to do was demonstrate a few and they had it!”

“Do you think those crazy mares had anything to do with it?”

“What, the yellow unicorn and her demon companion?” Flim frowned in thought. “Perhaps. We’ll need to give this a closer look, anyway. But first, let's make sure that these two have had something to eat, and can take care of… er… their bodily functions, agreed?”

“Do you think we should try to disrupt the hypnosis first?” Flam offered. “I mean… maybe they have a wife and kids at home. We did keep them up working the whole night.”

“Let’s move, Tempest.” Meadow spoke up in Tempest’s ear again, her tone decidedly too headstrong. “C’mon. This is the part where we step in.”

“But—” Tempest faltered, “they’re susceptible because of me. Because of Maelstrom. He did this… I need to fix it.”

“No you don’t.” Meadow growled. “You’ll do nothing of the sort. This is perfect!”

“How is this perfect?” Tempest retorted. “I find yet more surprises about what this accursed Eye is doing… and this is perfect?”

“Yes! You agreed that they were going to need more workers. You said we were going to require a ton of amulets. This is your moment. Now is when you should act. Let’s get Flim and Flam on the straight and narrow, and get them equipped for success. You’ll notice that they only hire the most shady and seedy sorts? Maybe those ponies will actually work for once in their life!”

Tempest looked back at Meadow, studying her face as if it was for the first time. She looked back down at her Eye. Would she have ever dreamed of Meadow saying something like this two days ago? Or did the Eye have yet another surprise for her, waiting to strike when she thought all was well? “I don’t know…”

Meadow wrapped a hoof around her neck and drew her close, muzzle to muzzle. “Either you go down there and claim this opportunity or I do it for you. Right now.” Her amulet started to glow as she lifted off of the floor again. 

“Okay, I’ll do it!” Tempest squeezed her eyes shut and heaved a sigh before she opened them. She forced herself to smile. “We’ll do it together.” Before she could have second thoughts, Tempest looked over, picked a spot on the warehouse floor, and teleported herself along with Meadow to the spot.

Quickly regaining her bearings, Tempest held Flim and Flam in her baleful gaze. The two unicorns furrowed their eyebrows at her, but that was quickly rectified with insta-smiles back on their faces.  “Why, Ms. Tempest and Meadow!” Flam cried. “Happy to see you both, I say—happy to see you both!”

“To what do we owe the honor of your swift return, ladies?” Flim followed up. “Do you find yourselves doubting what the brothers Flim and Flam can do?”

“Nah, we don’t have any doubts,” Meadow scoffed as she came around from behind Tempest to glare at the unicorns. “We are just curious about your advert in the morning paper.”

“Of course you’re curious!” Flam crowed. He was either not very good at reading the room, or he was merely adept at handling client concerns while doubling down on his sales pitch. “I bet you’re thinking to yourself: Hey! Those Flim Flam boys are brilliant! Their ideas are colossal!”

Flim jumped in. “That’s right brother!” As he continued speaking, the cadence of his speech suddenly began to have a musical quality. 

“Those two Flim Flam boys are great, and they’ve passed our onerous test. 
They didn’t stop at one but made a ton at your request”

Flam joined in not long after.

     Now there’s amulets aplenty and a plan that will succeed
    So it’s time to take some action girls!
A plan that’s guarant—”

A sharp crack interrupted the song. 

With a move that was as graceful as it was shocking, Meadow pulled off a mid-air pirouette, solidly connecting a spinning back-kick into Flam’s horn. Landing neatly back on the other hind hoof, she shuddered before brushing her chest with a hoof. “I hate musicals.”

Tempest’s jaw hit the floor. Flam was on his back, out cold. Flim ran to his brother’s side. 

“Meadow! What in Equestria did you do?” Tempest ran up to the downed unicorn, her eyes wide. “You… you cracked his horn… badly!”

Meadow strode up next to her. “We need better compliance. A mare can’t be too careful.”

“...what?” Tempest could only blink.

Flim crouched low to the ground, lifting and cradling Flam’s head in his hooves. “You… you monster! You demon-mare!” Blood trickled from a fracture along the base of the horn. It ran two-thirds of the length towards the tip, at which point it splintered into secondary cracks. Tears shimmered in Flim’s eyes while his brother's mouth hung open.  “Look at what you did!” 

“What, you thought you could do whatever you wanted with the tech we gave you? Make whatever decision with impunity?” Meadow circled the twins, her voice cold and distant. “Actions have consequences.”

“‘Consequences?’” Flim spat back. He started to tremble in anger. “I’ll show you consequences!” He raised a hoof to his mouth and blew three sharp blasts. In a rapid reply, responding whistles sounded outside, and several sets of running hooves were heard. “You two are as good as dead!”

As if to punctuate his point, several rough-looking ponies started to stream in through the front of the warehouse. A few more came running in through secondary entrances on either side. Tempest could see a few holding weapons, and she counted at least four unicorns. 

Meadow glanced from group to group as they approached before she faced her companion grimly. “Tempest, now would be a good time for a shield.”

“A shield?” Tempest protested. “How about a teleport? Let’s get far away from here!”

Meadow looked disappointed and a little angry. “Are you kidding? You’ll never have a better chance than right now! You want a bunch of workers to make you amulets? You’ve got ‘em! Put up. Your. SHIELD!”

Tempest felt something cold clutch at her heart, but she had no time to second guess it. Lighting her horn, she conjured the shield. Feeding more and more energy into it as she hardened the matrix, she watched as the ponies approached. 

As they arrived, several earth ponies began to kick at the shield with their hooves while pegasi battered the sides and the tops with batons and daggers. After a few seconds of that, their unicorn friends waved them off and lit their horns for spells. Taking a breath, Tempest readied her shield for anything, but after a moment she chuckled in victory. The magical aptitude of these ponies was nowhere near enough to bother her, and their spells bounced off the magical field harmlessly.  Through this all, Studly Dee and Studly Dum continued to lay on their sides, holding hooves looking into each other’s eyes as if they were lovers or something. 

“You have quite the team.” Meadow mused. “Looks like you don’t have enough though. Any more on their way?”

“I assure you—” Flim growled. “My hired ponies are more than capable of tearing you limb from limb, and these are all I need. And once your friend tires out—”


“Tch. My friend could keep this up all day,” Meadow laughed before she stalked towards the unicorn. As she approached, the anger in Flim’s eyes slowly morphed into uncertainty before maturing into full-blown fear. “You have no idea who you're dealing with, Flimsy. Or how precarious your position is. We could end it right here.” She lifted a hoof, hovering it above Flim’s horn. “We could take back our emitter, disappear with a teleport, and you would be left with nothing.” She looked over at Tempest while Flim’s hired help rapped and banged away ineffectually at the shield. “T’would be a pity to start over, eh Temp?”

Tempest walked up to Flim as she tried to hold up the facade by staying her shaking legs. “You still want the job? All those bits could still be yours—maybe we got off on the wrong hoof. What do you want to do?”

“I’ll only do business with you if you heal my brother’s horn,” Flim replied bitterly.

Tempest thought over this. To get Flim’s compliance, she would probably have to win a bluff. “Consider it done.”

Flim blinked in astonishment, before giving her a cynical glare. “You’re no doctor!”

“No, I’m not. But with amulets, I don’t have to be. You work for me, and make the amulets we tell you to, I heal Flam’s horn, good as new.” Tempest stared him down, waiting. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Meadow’s smile of approval. “You meet our quota first, and We'll give you the freedom to make whatever you like, Flam’s horn fully restored. Interested?”

“But what about his horn right now? He’ll be in a lot of pain!”

He did have a point. But Tempest knew an excellent analgesic spell. She hadn’t tried it in an amulet application before, but she was pretty sure it would work. “I’ll take care of everything. But first I need you to cover your eyes.”

“My eyes? Whatever for?”

“I’m about to provide you with more workers.” Tempest pulled out the Eye. “Unless you want to end up like those two.” She motioned to the two stallions still staring into each other’s eyes. She smirked as she watched Flim shake his head before squeezing his eyes shut. That done, she drew upon the spell. Glancing to make sure Meadow’s eyes were closed before she released it, she let her shield spell fizzle out before bringing up Maelstrom's effect. It was over in seconds. 

Grinning, Meadow looked over all of Flim and Flam’s hired help. “Now. Everypony sit down.” The dozen ponies that had been so intent on violence and harm sat down without a sound. “Good! Now Flim… what have you learned today about keeping your workforce fed and allowing bathroom breaks?” 

The unicorn’s eyes traced back over to the yellow puddle left behind by Headstrong, giving a small shudder. “I’ll… I’ll take care of it.”

“Good...” Meadow crooned. 

“I’ll get on that pain amulet,” Tempest murmured. She walked over to the box of crystals the two stallions had been using earlier. Lifting one up, she paused and glanced back at Meadow. “I do have a question though.”

Meadow grinned in pleasure. “Sure, Temp, What’s up?”

“Maelstrom has fooled me twice so far with the effects of this magical eye. Let’s review what we’ve learned. Apparently if I vacate a pony’s mind for three minutes, they are rendered into a completely suggestible zombie. If I ensorcel a pony to empty their memories of the previous fifteen minutes they turn into something rabid and violent.”

Meadow nodded in agreement. “Sure. That seems to be the pattern. What’s your point?”

“And as for the pony I shared some of my most intimate memories with?” Tempest watched very carefully as she studied Meadow’s face.

It was an excellent poker face. 

But the pony she met on the ship from Gryphus? The pony that gleefully introduced her to her hometown of Manehattan? That pony didn’t know what a good poker face was. 

“Hello again, Maelstrom.”

Meadow looked perplexed for a moment, before she dropped her head and chuckled. When she looked back up again, Tempest’s heart plummeted into her stomach. Meadow’s eyes flickered violet as she laughed. 




End chapter 13