//------------------------------// // Honesty and Generosity // Story: Stellar Council // by PizzaculousPony //------------------------------// Twilight had been walking for at least two hours. She looked back over her shoulders, her friends were still unconscious and Pyre was busy keeping them warm. She had made a magic scan to make sure they were okay, luckily it was just a very strong sedative spell, and unluckily for her she had been carrying them for miles. She would let her life down for them, but she was growing tired, and her hooves ached. Talking about pain and hooves, she still had that gash from earlier, oh, and of course her wings started aching. How she longed Aries' advice, he was always good with directions. She let out another tired sigh, and watched the hot air of her breath condense into a small cloud. She squinted at something in the distance. It was dark and stretched for miles. A forest perhaps? A forest would do them good, if not to shield them from the wind that was currently hitting them, then to provide some firewood for a campfire. Her ears perked up at the thought of a nice and warm camp, she smiled hopefully as she picked up the pace, with her friends following closely behind, levitated by her magic. Once they were closer, Twilight confirmed her suspicions, it was a forest. By the looks of it, the forest had been once tropical but thanks to winter nearing and the temperatures dropping, curtesy of the eternal night, the forest had started dying. The leaves were becoming more pastel and some even started freezing. Not good, if I am correct, this forest should almost never freeze up, even during winter. The coldest the temperatures get are during autumn...Yet again a lot can change in a thousand years. Twilight thought. She stopped when she came to a small clearing that was drier that the rest she had encountered and set her stuff down. Then she slowly placed her friends in a circle around Pyre so that they keep warm. Once her magic had dissipated she couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Who would've guessed that carrying four grown ponies, their amour and weapons they were carrying for at least fifteen miles, could be so magically exhausting?" Twilight picked up her sword and shakily brought it above her head and sliced down on a branch. With careful measure she cut the branch until she had quite a few small logs. She unceremoniously threw them on a patch dirt, where no grass grew, and charged her horn with a fire spell. Slowly, the logs caught fire and Twilight fought the urge to throw herself into the warmth, instead opting to take the less painful route and laid next to it. "Pyre, want to join me?" After receiving a happy squeak he and Twilight moved the prone bodies of her friends near the fire. "You know what?" She yawned loudly. "I'll go ahead anndd...take...a...nap" Her eyelids slowly closed and Pyre slowly crept up to her side and snuggled into her, putting a wing over her, drafting her in a metaphorical blanket. "What are they doing here?'' asked ruff male voice. "I don't know Pharynx, I'm not a little witch to see the future." huffed a female voice. They were currently behind a bush looking at five prone equine bodies and a bird. "Yeah you're right, I'm sorry. You aren't a little witch, you're a big witch." "SShhhhhhhhh" She brought a hoof to her mouth. "They'll hear us!" "C'mon they're out cold we could just-" He was interrupted when an orange was stuffed into his mouth. "Whem difd hyou get thisgh?!" "Magic! Now shush and watch the master do her job." She smirked and channeled her magic through her curved horn, as warm red light lit the surrounding area and a red flame raised around her. When they subsided, a female phoenix was in her place. She flew up and landed in the quickly set up camp. She screeched and woke up the phoenix who at first had a defensive stance before relaxing. He gave another screech and flew towards her. When he was very close, the flames erupted once again and in her place was now a white female kirin. "BOO!" The phoenix screeched louder than he had ever screeched in his immortal life he fell backwards and landed on a glassy coated mare, who woke up with a start and scream that began a chain reaction until all of the group was awake and screaming. They looked around wide-eye. "What- Where are we?!" The only thestral asked while looking around. "I don't know all I remember is-" The glass-like began but was interrupted by a fuming the orange one. "They betrayed us all of them!" Then his ears twitched to a side. "Wait, did you guys hear that?" The kirin, who had return to her bush in the chaos, tensed up she turned her head back to see that her changeling friend had accidentally crunched down on the apple. They both looked at each other wide eye. 'My, how the tables can turn...Ponyfeathers! The kirin mused at her misfortune. She poked her head out the bush but this time she was met by two ruby red orbs. Her eyes followed the orange-red fur until she found that they had a muzzle. She looked back at the orbs who was looking at her sternly and she smiled sheepishly. "H-Heeeeeey there. Crazy weather we're having huh?" She tried but he reached out and pulled her out of the bush. He then but one of his front hooves on her back to hold her down. "Who are you, and where are we?" He growled. "Aries! Don't be so brutish" The thestral scolded him. "Yes! I think we're moving too fast! You haven't even taken me out on a date!" The kirin taunted and in return she received a blush and a scoff from him. "I'll take that as a no. Well to answer your questions, lover boy. My name is Winter Melody, I'm a kirin as you are no doubt unaware of-" "Actually," Aries said. "We know what kirin are." ''That's a pleasant surprise! You're a strong adventurer with a brain, that's great for our relationship, my love, I hate cliche guys." That earned a few chuckles from the rest on his expense. "Anyways, like I was saying. I'm a kirin, and you my friends, are a few minutes away from the kirin village. Annd before you ask, I woke you up -my way- because your lavender friend over there is maybeee...kind offf...bleeding from that injury." Their heads shot to look at the lavender mare's prone body. The big dark blue stallion is the first to react. "Twilight!" It's become apparent ,now that Melody could see clearly, that the lavender mare was not...in the best of conditions. There was a small pool of blood under her leg. Her chest was slowly raising and falling. 'Yes, I shouldn't have tried to sugar coated that. Oh well, they probably won't remember after this. Speaking about remembering, where is Pharynx?' As she thought that, there was a ruffle of leaves behind her. "Hey! Get off of her!" Then, the weight was lifted of her back. Looking up she saw her changeling friend on top of who she guessed was Aries. He snarled, and bared his fangs at Aries who struggle to get back up. Slowly he stated rising, but before Pharynx could react he was lifted off by Melody. "Now Pharynx! We're friendly." She stretched out the word 'friendly' to emphasize her point. "If you don't calm down I will tell Thorax.'' She threatened the struggling changeling, until he eventually calmed down. "We are so sorry. My friend here can get a little carried away, he's very overprotective. Oh but don't worry he isn't competition." "W-Whaha?! Melody! I'm going to pretend you didn't just insult me!" He sounded slightly indignant but Melody ignored him. "Now, we're going to help you. You just tell us what to do." She addressed Aries. "A-Ah- yes. Well I can't tell you, I'm not too good at...Healing stuff." He explained circling his hoof in the air, looking a bit flustered. "Listen, I still don't trust you completely. But thank you for waking us up I guess. And sorry for pouncing on you, Winter Melody, right?" "Yes love, you can call me Melody. All my friends call me Melody." "Right. Could you stop calling me love now? The joke is kind off getting old." "Nonsense! Only I can say when it get's old, and trust me that nickname is staying." Winter smirked. Aries groaned, but then couldn't help but chuckling at her. "You know what? I think we're going to be good friends." "Wow, what a way to friend-zone me." She made the effort to seem downcast and sad. Which by the way had the desired effect, and Aries looked distressed. "No! That wasn't what I meant. I-" "So you do love me!" She beamed. Now it was Pharynx who groaned. "Don't worry she's just playing with you, she's really good at that. She always makes others laugh, at your expense." "You're making me seem evil!" Melody complained. "Okay, okay. I'll admit she makes it up to you later, but still." Then he pointed to the lavender mare on the floor, now with the others around her, talking in hushed tones. "You should probably go to them. Don't give me that look, ok? I know how you feel, you don't trust me enough to leave me alone. But believe me, me and my brother completely left the hive, we don't even have access to the hive mind anymore." "Hive? Sorry, I'm not familiar with your species..." Aries trailed off. "Changeling." Pharynx responded, his tone becoming cold. "Right...Anyways, Melody-" "Huh?'' She asked, getting caught off guard. Yes, she had been paying attention to the conversation, but she was still caught off guard. "If it's okay to you guys. I'll be keeping you captive until I can be assured you won't hurt us in any way." Aries said as a matter of factly. "Wait, what?!" Orion was frustrated. Who wouldn't be? His sister once again insisted to do things alone and ignore his previous warnings NOT to do that. Granted, it was over a thousand years ago, but still. Oh and by the way cette sister was now currently bleeding out before him. The wound wasn't mortally deep, but the fact that they didn't know how much time had passed didn't leave them with a good feeling. Orion tensed up as he heard a sharp sound to his left. Pisces and Lilly were tending to her. Lilly as the 'lead doctor' and Pisces serving as her assistant and he was the assistant of the assistant. Yes, he had fallen far, not that he minded. In fact, he was happy to help to keep his sister...you know...alive. He watched as Lilly inspected the wound. Her expression a worried frown mixed with an unsettling professional face. "Orion, get me the 'manticore tooth'." He reached for her saddle-bags, luckily Twilight had carried their saddle-bags, he hesitated at the multiple veils and ingredients. "You have them labelled right?" "Yes, and if not it's the golden powder. Don't inhale it or touch it." She responded , never tearing her gaze from Twilight's leg and started removing the hoof guard. Orion reached in with his magic and levitated the glass containing the powder she described. "Ah' got it!'' He called back. when he turned he was met with two confused faces. Pisces spoke up first. "Since when did you have a country accent?" "Well you don't spend 900+ years in Appleloosa without it growing on you. It just slips out sometimes." He shrugged. "Now, not to be rude or anything, but we should focus on what's important right now." He pointed his head at Twilight's prone body. "You're right.'' Lilly sighed and grabbed the glass with her mouth, but then she hesitated and unfolded on of her wings and placing the glass on top of them with expert balance. "Pass me my tools. A bowl, spoon and grinding stone." "Right away!'' Orion complied, getting what he was asked for faster than last time. He stole a quick glance at Aries, only to see him tying up an insect like creature and the kirin, back to back. "Okay, Pisces, I need you to find water as quickly as possible. Orion take her place and apply pressure on the wound." Orion did so immediately and quickly noticed her body temperature going down. "Lilly, her temperature is lowering, should I get Pyre to warm her up?" "It is?! It wasn't lowering before...Ah sharp-fangs! Yes, we need him right now. Where is he anyways?'' Orion looked around and spotted his orange feathers from behind a bush, cowering. "Pyre, come on! She's just a kirin don't be afraid. Twilight needs you right now." At the mention of his friend/princess/owner he dashed out of the bush and dapped his wings around her. "Good. Orion, how fast can Pisces fly?" "Pretty fast but nowhere near professional thestral flyers. Luckily thanks to her small size she's very agile, something very useful in this forest setting. If anything she's our best choice." He assessed. Lilly nodded with a relived sigh. She sat on her haunches and rotated her wing to keep the glass upright and balanced. "Well then, looks like we'll have some time before we start healing the wound. It wasn't infected, or I couldn't find any infections at least." "So...Sharp-fangs?" He teased, a playful smirk played at his lips. Lilly blushed a little and scratched the back of her ears. "It's a thestral expression, like pony-feathers. It started when a thestral bit his tongue with his fangs. I believe he screamed 'damn my sharp-fangs!'" She dramatically waved her arms around and made a crazy face. "And then it stuck." She concluded causing them both to laugh. When the laughter subsided an awkward silence replaced it. Or at least it was awkward for Orion, he couldn't tell if Lilly was feeling the same. The forest temperature felt like it was raising and he began sweating. 'Okay, I need to see Pisces about this. This is getting ridiculous!' "Soo..." He started. "How is life in...Thestral-land?" "It's actually called Noxtralya. And well, I don't know where to start." She replied. While she talked the unscrewed the lid to the glass containing the manticore tooth. "Depends on what you want to know." She grabbed the glass with her mouth and poured some in the bowl, filling it more than half way. "Hmm. Well what about any games or sports?" He suggested. "To talk about sports I need to explain our magic real quick. Unless you know of it?" She sealed the glass once again and plopped it in her saddle-bags. "I-I could use a little reminder." He looked away in shame. He knew absolutely nothing about thestral magic. All he knew were the things they couldn't do, like walk on clouds or control the weather. "Thestrals don't have the same magic as pegasi. We can't walk on clouds or directly control the weather. HOWEVER!" She said in an enthusiastic that caused Orion to jump a little. "Our wings allow us to catch and control air currents. So we can beat the fastest pegasi in open air. But in an enclosed space we risk getting injured or if we're in limited air space...like a racetrack! We run the risk of loosing control of the currents and it can cause accidents. It also allows us to do tricks with little to no momentum needed." She emphasized the fact by opening her wings. She made a small jump and suddenly shot up in a loop-d-loop, landing gracefully on the ground. "Using the currents we can also 'push' clouds. We just control them and the wind carries the cloud, so in a way we can control whether it rains or not." She puffed out her chest in pride and tried to look a little bigger but Orion still towered over her. "So, sports. We have races, in fact we have two 'race-sports'. 'The Tidal' which is who can better use the currents to fly at amazing speeds and beat the other to the finish, it's a straight line that stretches a long distance. The other is 'The Rings'. As the name suggest is a regular equine race track, the sport is to prove your control. The goal is to make more laps than your opponent in a set amount of time.'' "Which one was your best?" ''The Rings definetly-" "Lilly, I got the water!" Lilly came dashing in. She held a gourd in her mouth that leaked with water. "Great! Sorry Orion we'll have to finish the conversation some other time." Lilly grabbed the gourd and added some water to the manticore tooth. Orion saw it bubble and fizzle, slowly dissipating into the water. Lilly then used the spoon to dissipate it further. Orion was going to ask what it was but Pisces beat him. "Why are you using the manticore tooth? I mean yes, it relaxes her but how could it heal her?" "It's not supposed to heal her, but imagine waking up to a burning leg while it's being disinfected. It's just an anesthetic. To disinfect the wound I need a little bit of help, and only Twilight can do that." Lilly leaned in and nudged Twilight on the side with her muzzle. Twilight groand but otherwise remained asleep. "Twilight, wake up..." Lilly said, an edge of caution in her voice. "Mmmno...." Twilight grumbled as she folded her ears in defense. Orion watched with amusement. Lilly was always afraid to overstep her boundaries with Twilight. He sighed and placed a hoof on Lilly’s shoulder. "Here, let me show you. Oh! And take some notes." He smirked. Oh he had waited for this moment to mess with Twilight. "Twilight quick!" He said, his voice drenched in fake worry. "Blueblood is coming! And he has a small red engagement ring-box with him!" "NO!" Twilight woke with a start. She looked around with irritation before settling her gaze on him. "Don’t. EVER. Do. That. Again." He gave her his best sympathetic smile...Even though on the inside he was feeling very smug. "Sorry Twilight but we found you passed out when we got woken up." "Woken up? By who? I though I told Pyre to let you sleep." She glanced at Pyre’s sheepish smile with suspicion. "That’s not important right now. What is important though, is disinfecting this." Lilly pointed at Twilight’s hoof. Twilight for her part regarded it as nothing important. "Does it have a little infection? I’m sure it’s that important. What I want to know is, are you guys o-?" "Nononono no. Princess." Lilly did her best scolding tone. "I am fixing you up, like it or not. Besides you have little cuts and bruises everywhere." Lilly used her hooves to gently part her coat to reveal Twilight’s very bruised back. Lilly used the spoon and poured the manticore tooth all over Twilight’s wound. "This will help, but trust me, this may hurt...and burn...at the same time." "Oh dear stars, what have I gotten myself into?" "Relax, it won’t be too bad. Besides I need your help. I need your earthpony magic to correctly smash the Foogle Leaves." "Foogle Leaves?" "Yes, they are regarded as the best disinfectant and healer plant in Equus." Lilly beamed as she reached into her saddle bags and pulling out pink leaves with green spots. "Then why isn’t it used in hospitals? I heard they aren’t that rare." Pisces asked, eyeing the leaves wearily. "Because without a strong enough anesthetic like manticore tooth...The patient will faint because of the pain, some might endure long-term damage." Lilly said with a serious frown on her face. Now, Orion trusted Lilly. But his big brother instincts were telling him to burry those leaves miles away from were they stood. He had to restrain himself from stomping on them. "Twilight, I need you to grab these in one hoof. Channel earthpony magic and then slam it against a flat surface. Orion could you get something like that?" "Yes Orion, will you please help contribute to my suffering at the hooves of a healing plant." Twilight begged sarcastically. "It won’t be that bad! Trust me." Lilly grumbled. "I do trust you, it's just...You made it sound terrible." Orion looked around until he found a large flat rock next to the fire. He touched a hoof to it and yelped back. Hot. Definitely hot. He grabbed the rock in his magic and levitated it next to Lilly while he went towards Aries. He was engaged in a conversation with the two captives, and he seemed to be enjoying it. He decided to wait a few seconds until a break in the conversation occurred, then he went to speak with him. "Aries." "Yeah?” "Twilight’s awake, also, who are they?" "My name is Winter Melody, just call me Melody. And this here is my friend Pharynx, he’s a little rough around the edges but he can be a really good friend if he tries." "Not to be rude or anything, but what are you?" Orion asked looking at the bug like creature before him. He was black and had holes in his hooves, it reminded him of cheese...And he just destroyed cheese for his tastebuds. "None taken." Came his hoarse reply. "I’m a changeling, shapeshifters who feed on ponies’ love." "Oh...Well that is...Interesting." Orion laughed weakly and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly finding the forest vegetation very interesting. "Oh don’t sugarcoat it. You don’t trust me, and honestly I don’t blame you. Our new pal Aries said that honesty is the best way to show you’re harmless." "Well that sounded like we’re trying to get on their good side for something." Melody, the kirin, sighed looking at Pharynx with an annoyed expression. "That’s not it. We just want to prove that we don’t want, have, need to hurt you guys. We just wanna help...In our own way." She said smiling. "Aries, why are they still tied up?" "Uuhh...I forgot. I was so caught up in the conversation I forgot to untie you guys." He said sheepishly. "Sorry." "It’s okay. But you aren’t making a good first impression for our date." "Are you saying you’re quitting on me? And this fast?" Aries said smugly. Orion, now very confused turned to Pharynx for some insight, only to be met with a simple shrug. "They’re competing on who gets fed up with the joke the fastest." Pharynx groaned. "They even bet bits. And I, somehow, got roped into being the referee." "Ah." Came Orion’s sympathetic response. "I’m Orion, his friend." Orion offered a hoof to Pharynx and a small smile. Pharynx, on his part seemed pleasently surprised. "Are you sure you want me to shake your hoof? All the ponies or kirin that we’ve met never offered or took our hooves." "Positive." Pharynx smiled and took Orion’s hoof into a firm shake. "Excuse me for asking but, 'we'? "Oh! Right. You see me and my brother, Thorax are crashing at Melody’s until we get a place and identities figured out. When I said ‘we’ I meant me and him." "I see. Well, you hang on tight, when this is over I’ll try to get you sorted out. If I can’t, maybe Twilight can." "Twilight...The bleeding mare? I didn’t get a good look of her but I did notice a horn and wings. How come no other ponies have both?" "She’s an alicorn she has pegasus, unicorn and earthpony magic." Orion quickly explained. "We-" "AH! BY MY STARS, THAT BURNS." "Are...On an adventure...More like a quest really." "To do what?" "To save our mother from herself and thus ending the eternal night with the Elements of Harmony." Orion sighed. "Wow. That’s rough buddy." "Yeah. Sorry to keep this short but, I’m going to check up on her." Orion said pointing at a restrained Twilight. She was, in fact, being restrained by Lilly and Pisces while the former was struggling with the medicine. "Twilight, for the love of everything that is good on Equus...STAY PUT!" Lilly screamed at Twilight. "NO! HOW CAN I STAY PUT WHILE YOU TORTURE ME?!" Twilight screamed, the noise reaching The Royal Canterlot Voice levels. "W-What do you mean?! I’m curing you!" "WITH POISON?!" "No! Now young princess chin up and take it like a mare!" "Well. I’M SORRY. I DONT NORMALLY LIKE WAKING UP TO SOME TARTERUS FORGED PLANT!" "Twilight! Honestly you can be quite foalish." Orion, having watched the scene from a far, saw Aries approaching the mares with a deadpanned expression. "Aries. Not. Now." Pisces grumbled, her voice quivering as she attempted to further restrain Twilight. "Let me do this." He gave a sly wink Pisces way. Never a good sign, Orion noted. "Twilight listen to me. You. Are. A. Princess. You can’t be going around like a filly! Now, as Lilly best put it. CHIN UP. You have been named, in the distant past mind you, The defender of Equestria, Vanquisher of Monsters and Sheper of dreams-" "Not yet, mother still won’t let me dream walk. Something about-" "Don’t interrupt me." "Right, Sorry." "Ahem. Among other titles. Now are you going to let something as insignificant as an herb-" "Not insignificant." Lilly grumbled. "I’ll have you know that this herb is very-" "AHEM." This got a sheepish grin from Lilly. "-Are you going to let something as insignificant as an herb defeat you?!" "No." Twilight sighed and muttered out. "Are you going to let Nightmare Moon defeat you?!" "Now, let’s not get caried away-" "Twilight! We can do this! Repeat after me. We.Can.Do.This!" "How can you be so sure?" "Please Twilight, when have I ever been wrong?" "Multiple times actually. For example, this one time-" "Like I was saying... You don’t have to worry! We’re all here for each other! Trust me." He smiled at her and she smiled back. "Lilly," She called out to their thestral friend. "Administer the poison." She nodded determined. "Still not poison." Lilly grumbled but otherwise took the leaves and pressed then against Twilight’s wound. The leaves began to fizzle and bubble, and they also started radiating heat. Smoke began to come out Twilight’s nose and ears and she started to flush. Everypony, plus Melody and Pharynx who had approached them earlier, began to back away, very confused. Then the leaves calmed down, dissapearing completely. Everyone seemed to calm down, including Twilight. "You know what, that was bad, but not as bad as I thought-" Twilight was interrupted by her mane catching fire, her coat turning white and her eye color changing to a blood red. After a few moments the transformation died down and Twilight was back to normal. Everyone sat there, dumbfounded, staring at Twilight who in turn stared back with utter confusion on her face. Melody whistled after a few seconds, breaking the silence. "Wow Princess! Are you sure you’re NOT a kirin?" She asked in a jolly tone. The whole group began laughing together. She definitely wasn’t a kirin, Twilight knew that much was true. Even though they were laughing together she couldn’t help but feel melancholic. Remembering truly all the times she had been right to trust in what Aries had said. Twilight then felt the now familiar spark light within her once again. A hexagonal fire ruby appeared over the group. It slowly descended and incrusted itself in Aries’ golden torc. "Honesty." Twilight acknowledged. "Ironic given how well you lie." "Doesn’t mean I have to like it..." He grumbled. "I’ll have you know I value honesty above else. You just have to be a liar in my career." "Pirating?" "We’re merchants!" Screamed Aries and Pisces, seeming very annoyed. Much to everyone else’s amusement. "Hold up! Merchants?" The kirin asked. Now that she thought about it, Twilight hadn’t given the kirin a second thought, until now of course. She also noticed the bug-like creature besides her. "Pardon me, but I believe we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Tw-" "Twilight. I’m Winter Melody, but my friends call me Melody. Orion introduced you to me." "Oh. Thank you Orion. That simplifies things." Twilight thanked him with a small smile. Although, deep down she was secretly envying him. She had wanted to do her very special, over the top, royal introduction that her mother had taught her. But now she couldn’t. "Yes, yes, pleasantries. Now, is there a particular reason why you asked about us being merchants?" Aries rushed. He seemed a little too excited. "Yes. You see." She urged everyone to sit down. Twilight didn’t know HOW she did it, but she made them, well, she made Twilight feel like a filly listening to her mother retell stories of great victories. "Our village was once a thriving land." She conjured up a pretty novice illusion of what Twilight guessed was the kirin village. "Our citizens were the friendliest there was!" The next illusion was of kirins playing and laughing together. "But then, a fight broke out. To this day no kirin knows why. But it quickly escalated. We became fiery beings that accidentally destroyed their homes." The illusion of kirins, seemingly on fire, fighting each other in verbal smack downs. The fire grew until it ingulfed the houses until it receded and only a few planks remained. "'No more talking!’ Exclaimed our leader. She led us all to the stream of silence that left us mute and quelled our flames. Me and Autumn Blaze escaped before we got taken to the river. Autumn eventually convinced them to take an antidote she conjured up but-" "It didn’t work?" Lilly asked, intrigued. "Yes, very good, my child." Melody smiled. Petting the unsuspecting thestral. Lilly for her part just looked amused at the kirin’s antics. "Anyways, I was wondering if you had anything that could help." Melody asked with a giddy smile. Pisces and Aries looked at each other. Both were thinking, likely reviewing their inventory. They both shrugged and looked back at Melody. Aries was the first to speak. "We aren’t the ‘healy’ stuff experts. You’ll have to ask Lilly to see if she managed to rescue anything." He pointed at Lilly. At first she seemed surprised but then she began thinking. Bringing a hoof to her chin and closed her eyes in concentration. Everyone was staring at her expecting a response in total silence. Eventually Melody leaned into Twilight’s ear and cooed . "She looks like a pouting puppy." Twilight snickered and brought a hoof to her mouth to keep from laughing. Taking a good look at Lilly, she noticed that, Lilly, indeed looked like a pouting puppy when she thought. "Well I don’t know. Depends on what I have the rest was on the ship. And I didn’t take much..." Twilight watched as she started looking around in her saddle bags. I took a few moments for her to look back up again, sighing. "I haven’t heard a thing about the river of silence or it’s magical constitution. But I guess we could counteract the voice lost with some of the things I have here." "No. That may not work." Twilight spoke up gaining everypony’s attention. "Magical landmarks are all unique and have different magical immunities and such. Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth trying but it’ll be best to have a backup." She turned to Melody. "Does your village by chance have a library?" "Yeah but the books there are written in Old Equine. Only our leader can read it." "Oh please. You think a little Old Equine is going to get in the way of research? Pleaaase. While Lilly makes the potion, I’ll look for a backup plan." Twilight offered. There were some resounding agreements among the group and they decided that Melody would take them to the village while Pharynx would return to their house in the outskirts. The whole way back, a question was nagging at Twilight’s mind, her mother's words resounding in her head. And they soon began to grow in number. 'What did she mean by: I think my acquaintance will love to say hi to Andromeda for you?’ 'Will she harm her? No no. Andromeda’s too smart for that right? Surely I would’ve felt something...' 'Has anything changed? Not that I can tell...’ At that moment her hoof tripped on a root. Thankfully she didn’t fall and managed to regain her bearings. But it only helped to spark another question. She slowed her passes and soon she was situated near the back of the group near Orion. She gently tapped him with her wings to get his attention and leaned in to whisper. "Why did my gash not heal quickly?" "You depleted your earthpony magic." He responded in a mechanical way. "How? You were with me all along. The only time I used it was with those Tarterus-damed leaves. Long after It should’ve healed." He opened his mouth but his retort died out, something Twilight had hopped wouldn’t happen. Since he didn’t say it she would. "My stars are dimming...waning. So is my magic. I have as much as a powerful unicorn. If we waste more time I won’t be able to lower them." "Don’t say that!” He hissed. Twilight saw Aries’ ears perk up and face towards them. He was listening, though she doubted Orion noticed. "It’ll be hard but you can do it. You always find a way to pull through." "Care to share with the class?" Aries, who was now besides them asked. Yet it lacked the usual sarcastic or joyful tone, replaced by a much serious and cold tone shared by the duo. "You’re a smart colt when you want to. I think you can deduce everything from Orion’s outburst." He sighed and looked down at his hooves. "Yes. I may not be as smart as you two, but you were talking about that, right?" "Yes. But I’m telling her not to worry, we’ll get this sorted out and...If the worst comes to pass I’ll help you with my magic and..." "Risk magical exhaustion. I don’t want you-" "'Risking yourselves for my sake.' We’ve heard it before and let me tell you, Twilight. We want to. No matter what you say. You’ll either have to accept it or suffer through it." Aries cut in. Despite the seriousness in his voice it regained some of his confidence. "Alright." Twilight sighed out. "Wait really?" "Yes. I now see that you’re right. Unless I order you not to, you’ll always do it. And in that regard I’m not like my mother." "You’re not like her in a lot of ways Twilight." "What do you mean-?" "We’re here!" Sounded Melody’s sing song voice. The group came to a stop before a few reeds. Melody magically and dramatically parted the reeds. A warm yellow light invaded their eyes. When they adjusted they were met by the kirin village. Some houses were mounted on the trees and others were ingraved in the trees. A small stream wound around and there was a small market place. All in all, the illusion Melody had created earlier was pretty spot on. "All right let’s get to work." Twilight called, the coldness in her voice gone. "Lilly I trust you can find your way around?" This was met with a small affirmative nod. "I’ll try to find the library. Melody, will you mind telling me what you know about the stream? Maybe I can meet with your leader?" "Sure! I’ll be happy to take you to her. Right this way." "Thank you." The three mentioned departed from the group, leaving them to their own devices. She turned to Melody, who was giving her an odd look. "You’re worried." Melody stated. "It’s that obvious?" "No. You hide it well. I should congratulate you on that. You’re diplomatically trained?" "You could say that... But I learnt how to hide things on my own. I’m guessing you learnt how to read ponies or kirins the same way?" "Eeeeeh not exactly. My mom actually taught me some things herself, I just expanded on them." Twilight chuckled lightly "Well we have that in common. Anyways the stream of silence, what do you know about it’s magical attributes?" "Absolutely nothing." This caused both of them to chuckle. "We’re almost to her Highness’ house. It’s up this small hill. She should know about the stream." "Very well. I first want to ask you a few questions. What is she? A princess, queen, duchess..." "Lady. Lady Early Morning." "How would you describe her?" "Mostly calm, she does have her temper, but one must reaaaally be searching for it. Other than that, I guess...Ah, wise? Or at least she tries to be. You'll understand when you see her." Twilight nodded in understanding. "That reminds me of my aunt. Thanks Melody, I’ll see you around, I would prefer to meet her alone if you don’t mind." "Not at all. Have fun I guess." Melody walked away with a small smile on her face that turned out to be infectious, since Twilight found herself smiling along. She walked up the hill. The house was bigger than the rest. It was half engraved into the tree and the other stuck out. She walked to the door and knocked firmly. "Come in!" She heard a hurried voice call out. Twilight wrapped her telekinesis around the door knob an pushed the door open. Her worries were only incremented by the fact that she felt the more pressure than usual on her horn, meaning her magic was weaker. 'I really need to get this over with. Then figure out how I'll lower the stars without killing myself.' "Is there something I can help you with-. A-Actually wait you c-can't talk...sorry." What she saw wasn't what Twilight had expected. A kirin younger than Melody and was sitting in front on a desk facing away from the door. She had a white coat and yellow mane, her horn was nothing more than a stick with a single red stripe. She was hastily jotting down notes and lifting other parchments. "Well, not exactly." Twilight replied looking around the room. It was messy, nothing compared to the organized studies of the rulers she knew. Papers were stacked along side books on various subjects, mostly magic, even more papers were glued to the walls. There were food stains on the books! She grit her teeth, now was not the time to lecture the young kirin about proper book and note organization. The kirin jumped at the sound of her voice and scrambled to turn around. "You found a cure?!" She asked with glee. She finally managed to look up and face Twilight. Her glee diminished significantly but she still retained a spark of hope. "Who are..." her voice trailed off when she noticed Twilight's wings and horn. "An alicorn?!" She quickly stood up rigidly and cleared her throat. "I mean. An alicorn. I wasn't aware that there was another alicorn aside from Equestria's princesses." She explained. "What brings you to our village. Can We aid you in any way?" "No, in fact I am here to help you. I would like to speak with Lady Early Morning." Twilight stated. "You are speaking to her. I am Lady Early Morning, leader of the kirin village." "Oh." Twilight smiled. "Then in that case, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. You see, I am very well versed in the arcane and I shall help you find a cure to the stream of silence." "P-Princess?! Equestria has a third princess? I have been so caught up trying to find a cure I-I haven't been keeping up with foreign politics." "Don't fret. This has been a recent development, and to answer your question, there are currently four Equine Princesses. Though relations are a bit tense, concerning the Eternal Night." "Eternal Night? I-Uh oh... I haven't addressed my subjects! They must be panicking out there! I-" "Have other issues to worry about currently." Twilight answered with a small smile. "My friends and I are on an...adventure of sorts, a quest, to end the Eternal Night. But first we will help you, it shouldn't be too hard." Twilight levitated the various parchments and notes glued to the wall towards her in an attempt to find something useful within the texts. Characteristics: 1- Somehow silences us and quells our flames. 2- I don't know! She frowned. The notes had useless comments Early wrote to herself. Maybe this was a mistake after all. I found a couple of references in folk lore dating back to around the 500's. -Snow White and the Seven Kirin p38 -The Fall of the Empire -passing mention- p584 (and yes I read it completely. Don't judge future me, I need time off.) -The Rise of Firebreath p213 "Tell me about Firebreath is he...?" Twilight let her voice trail off letting the question finish in Early's mind. "He was a fairy tale hero. He supposedly fought against the zebras during the Second Land War. But I couldn't find anything in historical texts of the SLW that even mention the stream." "Second, that means there was a first." Twilight muttered under her breath. She teleported an empty parchment and quill she spotted on the desk and began writing her thoughts. At the same time whispering them under her breath. "If it was over lands then, it must've exchanged hooves often. The stream could be made of either's magic, probably and attempt to weaken the other side. Zebra magic consists of mostly chanting and herbology, while an enraged kirin is much worse than an normal unicorn..." A thought occurred to her. The stream was currently in kirin territory. Early only mentioned having searched through records of the Second War. "I have an idea." Twilight stated out loud. "It may be a stretch but is a lead non the less. Do you have records of the First War? I'm looking for maps specifically, all the maps you can find from the start of the War to the end." "I-Uh- Yes we have some in the local library. But it'll take me a while to get them back here to you." "There's no need." Twilight replied with a wave of her hoof. "Libraries are my second domain. I shall do the research while you organize your study. It's no wonder you couldn't find the answer, you wouldn't be able to find the right notes in this mess. A good ruler must always be organized, consider it a rule of thumb." Without waiting for a reply Twilight walked back out. The temperature difference becoming more obvious as she stepped out and into the cold of the continuous night. Now there was barely any other light apart from the moon that shone too brightly for it to be normal. She let her thoughts wander to her mother, as she walked the streets to the plaza, ignoring the crowing crowd she was walking in. They soon moved on from Luna and, unfortunately towards a topic Twilight wanted to ignore. 'What was she going to do now the her world didn't exist anymore?' She had been robbed of a thousand years, dozens of acquaintances and friends, customs, home, culture. Twilight shook her head and ruffled her wings, mentally scolding herself. 'Not now. Focus on the task at hoof.' Now she was painfully aware of her surroundings. She was in a large kirin crowd, but she as the only not facing the plaza's center. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to check what all the fuss was about before heading to the library...Which she didn't know how to get to. "Careful...Careful..." Lilly repeated as a stack of ponies stretched above a boiling pot, Lilly was holding a flask, gently letting the liquid down. The others grunted under the weight, specially Orion who was at the bottom. "Why in the name of Equestria can we not use magic?!" Aries who held unto Pisces and Lilly, complained. "Do you want to explode?" Came Pisces' snarky reply. "Guys! Shush!" Lilly hissed. The liquid almost done pouring. Suddenly the door to the library was thrown open, Orion jumped and winced at the sound, something that started a domino effect that resulted in Lilly losing her grip on the flask. The four of them stumbled to catch the slippery little thing. Pisces managed to jump over the pot and catch the flask between her hooves. The group sighed in relief and turned to glare at the door. A dumb-struck kirin greeted them. The kirin gulped and slowly left the library, leaving it as empty as before. All four of them got up and regarded the potion that was brewing. "How sure are you about this?" Aries asked. "Pretty sure. This should counteract the effects of the stream. And if not...Twilight can always do her voodoo da she do." The door to the library was once again opened, only this time softer, and a familiar kirin walked in. "I have finished delivering Twilight to Early Morning." She announced in an over the top fashion, wearing an old announcer's illusion. She looked really proud , and the others were about to comment before the door was thrown and slammed into the the wall, taking Melody with it. A mad, panting alicorn was at the door. "This village. Has. No. Signs!" She stomped in and went into the history section. The door slowly closed, revealing Melody, comically splatted into the wall. "Worth it." She smiled. Twilight sat in a big pile of books. Whoever were the previous kirin in charge before Early Morning, reached out from the centuries to steal their precious time. Yes, she had been the one to offer their help, kind of, but this was ridiculous! She looked up to a clock, quite the invention, fifteen minutes had passed and she had yet to find anything. For something as big as a war, there seemed to be nothing everything had been erased. Ironically there were a lot of records on zebras. She reshelf all the books, taking a lot of care to preserve their order. They had at least served as a reminder to touch up on the kirin language, even if it was 'dead' as Orion had put it, after she asked for his help. If she had inherited anything from her mother, it had been her temper. She was in a desperate need to alleviate her tired frustration, not to mention she was still weak from the blood loss and magic depletion. She walked baack where the rest of her friends were preparing the potion. They were laughing between themselves, and Twilight felt a pang of envy, but decided not To ruin the mood. She took in a deep breath and approached with a small smile. Aries noticed and immediately asked "Any luck in finding what you needed?" Twilight winced and fell onto the spare cushion in the circle. "No. There are no records about the war nor zebra magic. I found the average size of a male zebra's reproductive organ, but no magic!" She threw her front hooves up and fell backwards, her wings opened. "Well, luckily, I'm almost done with the potion." Lilly smiled from behind the cauldron. "I just need the apple blood in the bag." She pointed at the bag next to Melody. But they all stared at her. "It's not from an apple family member right?" Pisces asked Aries, very confused. "I don't know..." He cringed as multiple glares were sent his way. "I bought it 'cause it sounded cool!" Lilly chuckled and corrected. "It's actually blood from a special kind of apple grown to the north. They bleed for some reason." "Magic! Literally!" Melody exclaimed, earning a few chuckles, she smiled proudly. Then she reached into the bag, the empty bag. "It's empty." she declared, showing everypony the bag. "What?" Lilly asked with a hopeful smile. "It's empty." Melody repeated. There was a long silence. Everypony knows what happens if you don't add all the ingredients into a potion in time. It explodes in your face, quite literally. "FIND IT!" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-Ooof!" A group of exiled thestral soldiers crashed into the ground and the branches of a forest. One of them landed in front of a vial containing a red liquid. She took it and sniffed. "Yeeeeeees" she squealed. "Captn', I found apple blood! Can I? Can I?" She asked, not like he could answer, he had his face slammed into the dirt by her. "MMMrgh" "Thank you!" "Hey!" "I already looked over there!" "I got it- No wait...URgh" "Twilight!" "What?!" "You dropped your crown!" "Thank y-OW. Aries! You stomped my hoof!" "Sorry. We don't have much time!" Twilight stopped amidst the pandemonium. They were all looking everywhere without avail. Out of the corner she saw Lilly stop. Lilly turned suddenly, with a determined look on her face. she marched until she got to her saddle bags and began searching through them. Then she suddenly took out the blue rose petals. Twilight's face lit up with recognition and understanding. She watched as she added the petals into the mix. The potion fizzled and then settled. She gave up her dream for these kirin... Twilight thought in awe. Yes, quite commendable.. She looked around, she could've sworn she'd heard somepony. She felt a familiar spark within her. He eyes looked up to see a gold torc and a deep purple gem levitate down and rest against her shoulders.