//------------------------------// // The Things To Learn From The Dead // Story: Imperial Forclousure // by The Sound of Loneliness //------------------------------// "This way, Mistress. I dusted your items every day," Shadow proudly whispered. Showing them a whole room lined with boxes, stands and shelves with books. "I knew you would need them again one day." Rich whistled, "And here I thought a Princess would have more luggage with her than fits in this house." "I did not have much of my own things to bring with me. Most of these are filled with the things from your tower, Nightmare. I also took the most valuable jewelry. I couldn't let such precious things be sold off by the ruffians that infested the Palace after Sparkle took over. Your student barely understood the difference between a racketeer and an entrepreneur," Daybreaker grumbled. "That is jaded of you, dear sister. I suspect you made the whole Palace know exactly what you thought! Or, poor Rarity must have broken all her legs, trying to put down the flames!" Nightmare Moon chuckled at her own joke. "Nightmare, I don't understand your mirth," Daybreaker responded with a sigh. "You died, your throne is lost and your followers are scattered. What is there to be so joyous about?" "Don't you see? Daybreaker, we are finally free!" Nightmare Moon spun around, her body forming a small vortex. "Sister, we no longer have to hide behind the walls of our palace and hundreds of soldiers! We no longer have to work day and night to keep our ponies from suffering! We are free! We can do whatever our hearts wish! Why would I be upset?" "I... thought you would be less enthusiastic about your life's plan coming into nothing," Daybreaker reminded. That soured Nightmare Moon's mood. "Tiny, dear, would you come here?" she beckoned, changing the subject entirely. Tiny carefully stepped into the room. "I would like to show you something while we are here. My Shadow, where do you keep my old helmet?" "Right here, Mistress. I only polished it yesterday," the changeling enthusiastically trotted to one of the glass stands. Tiny had to stretch her entire body to look inside, there, together with more pieces of armor laid an ancient, several times splintered and fixed, helmet fashioned out of blue metal. Tiny never saw an actual helmet before, only those that construction workers had. "This is a very personal thing for me, a relic you may say," Nightmare Moon spoke, using her ethereal body to carefully lift the item out of the container, the lock did nothing to stop her and gave in almost as soon as she touched it. "I spent a thousand years wearing this in my exile. I want you to have it. I have no need any longer and I'd rather you have it than it lying in here with no use." "Uh..." Tiny stared at the helmet far too big for her in confusion. "It is... big." "Wear it," Nightmare Moon presented the item to her. Tiny lifted the helmet and lowered it on her head, being careful for her horn to pass into the opening. "O-aaagh!" Tiny cried in surprise. The helmet rapidly shrank until it hugged her head snuggly. "May it protect you as well as it protected me, dear sister." "Mistress, did you say we are leaving?" Shadow was visibly upset. "We have to find Princesses Twilight and Luna, dear. We shall take what we can use from my things and leave." "Finding Luna won't be easy, sister. She disappeared immediately after you were gone, Sombra went with her. She told no one where she was going. For Twilight Sparkle, I fear, we won't find her at all. If she fled at all, I don't know where." "Fled from what? Sister, would you clarify what exactly happened?" "After Sparkle took over, things steadily went from bad to worse. She attempted to continue your policies, but she was nothing like you. Weak-willed and hesitant. One by one, the competent officials sensed where the wind was blowing and deserted," Daybreaker gave Rich a fleeting glare. "Sparkle had to replace them so she made her choices. They all were decent enough in their fit, except for one. Apparently, Sparkle could not find anyone better to manage the Empire's finances than Flim and Flam brothers. In no time at all, the industrialist brothers overruled, the, frankly speaking, weak Princess. You should have chosen Cadance, she did much better." "Was that the time you decided to flee?" Nightmare Moon beckoned. "Yes. I did as your student decreed, you did appoint her as your successor after all." "You did as Twilight told then? Sister, that does not sound like you to obey to one like her." "I... had a moment of clarity. I understood why you chose her and not me. Your decision was wise, sadly Sparkle wasn't ready to shoulder the weight." "Uhmm... Is that why you left our homeland behind, Mister Rich? Was Twilight Sparkle a Princess not to your liking?" Nightmare Moon turned her attention to the senior stallion. "Ehh... Yeees, my Lady," Rich decided not to lie. "Well, I suppose we cannot expect all ponies to be loyal to the end," Nightmare Moon sighed. "Sister, are you certain that she did not flee herself?" "Knowing her devotion to our subjects and to her friends specifically, I would not imagine her doing that. If we are to find her, we must go back to the Empire, or whatever state it is now. Shall I pack my things?" "Pack your things? Is it your intention to come with us? I thought you liked it here in your cozy home." "I want nothing more than to come with you... if you would have me. I mused long on why everything turned out like this, but I see now. You are not simply my sister, you are my monarch," Daybreakrer proceeded to bow to the ground. "I will carry you back onto your throne if that is what your orders are." "But I told you already, I don't want to go back to the throne! Sister, I like how things turned out! I am happy to be relieved. Our ponies would govern themselves now and we need not to worry anymore. Don't you see how beautiful this is, sister dear?" "Mistress, if I may, would you really leave your own subjects?" Shadow tactfully asked. "They would be overjoyed to see you return." "Yes, Nightmare, you always kept telling us about responsibility," Daybreaker stood back up. "Would you go back on your own guidelines?" Nightmare Moon sharply turned away from both mares, "Sister, just so you know, we would accept any-" "Never," Nightmare Moon sharply bashed. "I will never go back there. You do not understand! This is no privilege, this is a prison! Once you sit on the throne, you can never stand up from it again. Only in death does this sentence end. I thought I would spend eternity on that damnable throne, tending to all my subject’s all needs and being hated for it! Sister, death was my rescue, not my doom." "If that is your wish..." Daybreaker spoke with a visible peeve and bowed her head. "I... will pack us some essentials then. No more than an hour." "Thank you, sister." Daybreaker quietly left the room. "Mistress, what should I pack from your reliquary?" Shadow asked with a similarly downed voice. "Nothing, my Shadow. Say, have you brought my ingredient collection here?" "Some, Mistress. Do you require anything particular?" "We need chalk and some powdered amethyst. We also need wards." "The gate spell ingredients? Mistress, are we leaving through the gate? But where?" Shadow wondered aloud. "We are going on hooves, Shadow. The gate is for us to return when needed. It would be much more convenient than carrying all things that we might need with us." "Ah! I see! I will bring you the ingredients right away, Mistress!" the changeling enthusiastically set to work. "Good. Now, Tiny, come here, I'll need you to open this book on a specific page for me." Tiny cautiously walked up to her older sister and took the offered book. "Right... I'll go see if Lady Daybreaker needs help with anything," Filthy Rich quickly caught on. "Which page?" Tiny asked, staring at the book as if seeing it for the first time. "It says: 'Fickle Legs' Transportation Circle,' it will be in the back of the book." Tiny obediently started looking. "Here are the ingredients, Mistress," Shadow put down a tiny pouch, a piece of chalk and two vertical rods with round bases. "There, Tiny. What does the instruction say?" Nightmare Moon floated behind her sister's shoulder to have a better view. "It says to draw the circle as in the illustration, place the channelling rods on the focal points and pour powdered amethyst on top." "Simple enough, isn't it, sister?" "Yes..." Tiny answered unsurely. "I wrote it down myself," Nightmare Moon said proudly. "There is a whole lot more to it than this, but I only ever cared for the practical part. Twilight Sparkle knows the specifics better than I ever did. Now, shall we?" Tiny stared quietly at the picture of the circle for a few long moments before taking a long breath and taking up the chalk. "Uh-hum..." Nightmare Moon softly hummed, checking the circle with the book. "Good work, sister. This should suffice. My Shadow, would you see if Daybreaker is done with her things?" "Yes, Mistress," Shadow departed after a short bow. "Now, put the rods on the circle and pour the amethyst on top, just a tiny bit, we will need it in the future." Tiny cautiously did as instructed. "Mistress, Lady Daybreaker needs a little more time," Shadow quickly came back. "Also, she requests you to find Mister Rich something to do so he would stop wandering through the estate." "So typical, she makes a point of being a changed pony but she is still so similar," Nightmare Moon mused aloud. "Give Mister Rich a map and ask him to plot a course for us. We need to go to Mount Aris." "The hippogriff lands, Mistress?" Shadow asked in surprise. "Yes, Shadow. Go now," Nightmare Moon dismissed her changeling, eager to return to the more important task. She floated around each pole, carefully checking their position and alignment. "Good, sister. All correct. I fear we would need to wait for our other sister to finish before we can proceed." "Now what?" Tiny asked. "For now, let us see if there is anything else useful in my old things. It would be nostalgic if anything, I wonder if my figurines are here too..." "Figurines?" "Well, yes. I commissioned those for my strategic planning sessions. Quite vain, as I now see. But they were spectacular, I adored playing with them in my quarters." "You played with dolls?" Tiny smiled, imagining the scene. "Not literally, of course! And those aren't dolls, those are map pieces. They aren't soft or cuddly, they are for marking spots on a map," Nightmare Moon chided. Considering her statement finished, Nightmare Moon started searching through the room's numerous closets and glass cases. Tiny stood still and watched her sister's barely material body shift all over the room as if blown by wind, her mind had already accepted that she would not understand what was going on around her even if she asked and got an answer. In fact, It was a while before she understood anything. Ever since she met her older sisters. Why couldn't Daybreaker simply accept her as Nightmare Moon did from the start? What's the difference? If Daybreaker is a Princess, why is she living on some shoreline with nothing but mountains and forests for miles around? If Daybreaker was so powerful she could lift the sun, why would she be this submissive? Why couldn't all of them simply go back to Equestria? She had many questions, but she was already giving up on searching for answers. Tiny decided to look at Nightmare Moon's helmet instead. She was not an expert, but the helmet really looked old. Very old in fact. It didn't look fickle, from the thickness of metal it could survive a brick wall falling down on it. It was rife with scratches and cracks, those carefully sealed from the inside. The helmet itself could've been reforged entirely but instead, it was left with its scars, likely to preserve the history the owner had with it. There were new ones too, dents and scratches that were not smoothened by years of polish yet. It seemed like the helmet was in use all the way up until Nightmare Moon died. The leather lining on the inside was in a much better condition than the outer shell, it had some signs of deterioration, but only slight. The lining was likely replaced sometime recently. Finishing examining her new headwear, Tiny put it back on and moved back to the open case to examine the rest of the armor pieces. Those were not nearly as magnificent as the helmet, the armor was partial, not looking anywhere near like those knights she saw on pictures in the books Mister Rich got for her. Only the backplate and left foreleg plates were there. Just like the helmet, they were full of recent dents and scratches. The armor wasn't broken, but it was splintered in several places on the edges. "My... replacement armor," Nightmare Moon explained, noticing her interest. "I commissioned it to replace the one I lost when I was exiled. When I prepared to face Celestia, I elected to not weigh myself down, only wore a helmet, shoes and the peytral plate, just in case she would have guards or throws something at me. I was further away from the truth than I could imagine beforehand. "This is no true substitute, it barely survived a single battle, the peytral was broken beyond repair, it took a straight hit from a tank cannon. The metal shattered, but the shell ricocheted regardless, the enchantment was solid at least. It held admirably about shrapnel and smaller bullets. If I recall correctly, most greaves, poleyns and cuisses were more or less intact. Too bad it was too heavy to be practical outside the battlefield." Tiny only got about half of what her sister just said, but she wanted to hear more anyway. "Which battle?" "That was the last battle in our war against Queen Chrysalis and her changelings, the same creatures as Shadow. I was tired of the fighting and took the matters into my own hooves. I raised my Guard and went straight to Chrysalis and her hive. She was... let's say a bit misinformed to attempt an attack on us. She was very easily led to believe her favored tactics of sudden strike would work as well as it did ever. In truth, she had no chance. A very lucky outcome for us, however. A short, victorious war can go a long way to strengthen a nation." "Tactics?" At this time Nightmare Moon did not immediately answer, but she did stop her search and turned to look at Tiny again. Glowing, slitted eyes, burrowed into her trying to unearth all that was inside her. "You do not know what that word means, do you?" she finally asked. "Who were your host's parents?" "Don't know, we never saw them," Tiny answered, shaking a little from the sudden cold. "Your caretakers?" "Had none." Another starring round followed. "Where have you been living before you met Mister Rich?" "On the Bottle Street." "On the street?" "Yes." The stare shifted away from Tiny, her sister now looked at the floor before slowly turning away. She never said anything, continuing to quietly sort through the things. Tiny noticed that she kept looking through the same shelf for several more minutes until Daybreaker returned. "Sister, I am ready," Daybreaker meekly said, not even coming inside the room. "Do you want to examine our supplies?" "Yes, sister. I would like to," Nightmare Moon shallowly answered and moved out of the room. "Is everything well, Nightmare?" Daybreaker asked, stepping away to make room for her sister to float past. "Yes, sister, everything is well." Nightmare Moon was mostly silent for the rest of the day. She briefly checked Daybreaker's things, made Shadow pack a few books and some other things Tiny did not know. Daybreaker charged the traveling circle and applied some warding spells on the house, then, all of them went back to the mountain. Shadow wanted to carry the luggage, but Nightmare Moon made Daybreaker levitate it instead. There was far too much of it for just one pony, especially for someone so old. Ponies did not usually like when others reminded them of their age, but Shadow did not mind too much. Tiny even saw her hide a smile when Nightmare Moon told her off. Daybreaker visibly did not enjoy her lot, but she silently shouldered the load and levitated it down the trail to the village. Upon seeing them, they gathered a whole crowd. No one alive saw her ever leaving. Daybreaker silenced the questions and pleas, and explained in her typical cold-blooded fashion that they were not to go up the mountain again if they did not wish to get hurt. After that, Daybreaker dropped their baggage in a pile next to Rich's waggon. Nightmare Moon did not make her do anything more for now. Tiny helped Mister Rich to load everything on it, it became even more crowded than it used to be, but they managed. Shadow volunteered to help him move it. This time her Mistress did not protest. With both of them, the waggon moved easier and they covered a lot of land back the way they came a few days prior. They made their way in almost complete silence, save for the sounds of steps and an occasional cough from Shadow. Nightmare Moon was entirely silent ever since they left, she was always nearby but Tiny kept losing sight of her. Daybreaker trotted behind the wagon, her expression entirely impassive. Eventually, the time to lower the sun again has come. This time it only took Daybreaker a moment. She then silently took off a folded tent she brought with her and set it up, it only took her about a minute, that feat made Rich click his tongue and shake his head. She then took a few folded blankets, gave a pair to Shadow and headed inside her tent without saying one word. The tent was a large one, their whole waggon could fit in. Shadow said it was alright if they slept inside too, but both Tiny and Rich preferred their waggon. It was crammed more than ever, but it still felt very cozy. Shadow then asked her Mistress if she wanted her to stand the night watch. "No," was the only word she said for the whole day. Shadow silently bowed and headed inside the tent. None of them had any food since morning and no one talked about it. The next morning began with Shadow getting up early and making them breakfast, somehow managing to get the food out of the wagon without waking any of them up. By the time Tiny woke up the cauldron was happily humming with boiling soup. Nightmare Moon was still in exactly the same spot where Tiny saw her yesterday, seemingly not moving an inch. It was still dark and both Daybreaker and Mister Rich still slept. "Please be quiet, young Miss," the changeling said to her quietly, noticing her hopping down from the wagon. "Do not wake anyone." Tiny had no intention of being loud either way. In her experience, making more sound than needed tended to bring trouble, in this case, trouble had a name. Tiny could not imagine Daybreaker liked being woken. She sat by the fire to chase away the night's frost. So far, it seemed the continuation of yesterday, no one talked and kept to themselves silently. Eventually, Daybreaker made her way out of the tent, quickly raised the sun and sat by the fire in her turn. Her mane was unkempt and sticking out at weird angles, she spent most of the time before breakfast straightening it up. Tiny woke Mister Rich, he grumbled a little until he remembered who else was with them in the camp. Although Nightmare Moon paid none of them any mind, he quickly hopped out of his improvised bed and joined them. He neglected his usually reasonably well-kept attire for the morning. Shadow retrieved exactly three bowls and filled them, and passed them to the ponies around her. Daybreaker took her bowl quietly, Rich quietly thanked her, when Tiny's turn came she decided to follow Rich's example rather than her sister's. Daybreaker simply drank up her bowl and set it on the ground, she then cleaned her lips with a spell. Daybreaker then retrieved her comb and started fixing her mane. Tiny and Rich took a little time to enjoy their soup. It was thin, but this was their breakfast after all. Shadow herself did not eat anything. She occupied herself with cleaning the cauldron and checking how well their cargo was secured. Rich did not enjoy her being so close to his possessions, constantly throwing looks her way, but he did not protest. Tiny knew from experience that it was because he knew he had no word on anything at all while the two powerful mares were close by. Tiny could feel it too, but to a lesser degree. A pony like Nightmare Moon had such an aura of authority around her that questioning her, much less disobeying her, felt unthinkable. It must have been due to the herd instincts she read about with Mister Rich on their way here. Nightmare Moon was the undisputed leader of their herd, immediately followed by Daybreaker, Shadow, Tiny herself and Mister Rich being on the bottom. Fascinating how their hierarchy built itself almost instantly when they all saw each other for the first time in one place. Unlike the natural environment, however, their hierarchy was not flexible. No matter what happens, Tiny would hold a higher rank than Rich and lower than Shadow. Nightmare Moon would not allow vies for dominance in any form, she already knew as much. Not that it would change anything as the only criteria for advancing in rank besides age was Nightmare Moon's favor. Tiny suddenly discovered that she wanted more books on the topic. Daybreaker finished combing her mane and put the tool down. Tiny knew exactly what she would do next, she hinted at it plenty with her constant glances, "Sister, do you feel better?" Daybreaker asked with a surprising concern, approaching the floating smoke that composed Nightmare Moon's body. The cloud twitched. "I... was just thinking. It is so easy to get lost in throught when there is nothing to distract. Sister, I feel no hunger, no fatigue, no pain. I can feel my body touching my surroundings, but otherwise, I can feel nothing." "Was this what you were contemplating, sister?" "Do you remember our foalhood?" Nightmare Moon suddenly asked. Daybreaker, taken off-guard, did not answer immediately. "Not much, I only remember one distinct moment. Celestia was playing on the carpet... I think it was blue." "Sister, I remember nothing," Nightmare Moon said completely emotionlessly. "Not a single thing before Celestia was coronated." "Memories fade away." "No, not like that, sister. Those memories would not fade. Something is wrong. I could recall what happened after Celestia slipped on the stairs. I remember it being a very fond memory but I just cannot remember anymore!" "Sister, there is no reason for worry. Memories go and return as they please. I am sure you will remember in a few hours, or at most days." "...Maybe you are right, sister, thank you. I should keep myself together." "Of course, Nightmare," Daybreaker nodded lightly and even smiled. "Are you ready to leave? Shadow is already checking the waggon, it will only take her a few more minutes." "Yes... I will be attending to our sister while we are on our way." "Sister, would you mind telling us where we are going?" Daybreaker said with a very light hint at irritation. "Maybe simply teleporting would be better?" "We must get to Mount Aris. I wish to travel there, movement helps to keep my priorities straight." "Mout Aris? Sister, if I recall correctly, Queen Novo was not very fond of us in the past. There is no reason to believe she would treat us now any better," Daybreaker cautioned. "This is the most likely place where Twilight Sparkle would've fled. She was friends with Princess Sky Star and hippogriffs would've accepted her. Whether they will welcome us or not, we must reach them. Even if she is no longer there, she would have almost certainly been there at some point." "I see, sister. Should I attempt to disguise as Celestia again?" "No, no more of that." "As you wish," Daybreaker sighed. "I will fold the tent and we will be ready to go." As they prepared to set forth again, Nightmare Moon came directly to Tiny as she sat in her usual place at the back of the waggon. She seemed more focused now, "I hear Mister Rich made attempts to teach you to read, did he not?" she asked in her usual carefully weighted manner. Stutters and uncertainty were gone again. "Yes?" Tiny cautiously answered. "What else did he teach you?" "To count, to add, to subtract and to multiply, also a little of dividing. He also bought me books about history and bio-logy." "All in a few months? Why your host is supremely gifted," Nightmare Moon sounded almost surprised. "Who taught you to cast spells?" "No one." "You learned it yourself?" "Yes." "You should not dabble in the things you do not understand. You will hurt yourself one day," Nightmare Moon repeated yesterday's point. "I won't play filly games with you, we both know that you will continue trying," Nightmare Moon's voice shifted towards being cautionary. "Therefore I shall teach you how to do it properly. You would like to cast more than just the most simplistic spells from that book, would you not?" "Yes," Tiny cautiously nodded, guessing that any other response would not be wise. "Good," she nodded. "I brought some materials that we would need. Go on, retrieve them. You know the ones I speak of." Tiny climbed further into the waggon and took a small stack of books, tied with a rope, deliberately set apart from the rest of what Daybreaker took with them. She looked back at Nightmare Moon for approval. "Good," she nodded. "These are your means of achieving your goal. Treat them well and they will serve you loyally. Now, untie them, carefully." "Sister, we are ready to move again," Daybreaker reported with a submissive bow. "You may. I do not suppose we would be too much of a burden. Our little sister shall study on the way." "As you say," Daybreaker backed away, her head still bowed. The waggon quickly started to move, Tiny already had all her books free of their bind when Nightmare Moon took interest in her again. "The basis of all spellcasting is learning yourself first," Nightmare Moon began instructing. "Before any casting could be safe, you must first learn to control your own talent. Here is a simple exercise to start: open 'The Introduction to Sorcery' page six. What does the chapter name say?" "Tense Brow's Focus Orb," Tiny slowly read. "Read the next five sentences, aloud," Nightmare Moon said without even looking at the page, slowly floating behind the waggon as it rolled inside a bamboo forest. "Tense Brow's Focus Orb is a practice spell used for train-ing of the student's willpo-wer. It involves summoning a small ea...ther? ...orb and holding it for as long as possible. The spell is completely harmless even if failed. To perform Tense Brow's Focus Orb, the student must focus their horn on the suf-f-iciently sized free space and apply a highly focused burst of the student's might. If performed correctly, a small orb will appear in the selected space and will quickly shrink and disappear if not held with a focused field of energy." Tiny looked up at her older sister for more instructions. "Well? Get to it," Nightmare Moon said lightly. Her older sister made Tiny do that one spell for nearly the whole day, only allowing a short break to eat and recuperate. The next day was the same. So was the next week. The first few times were mostly easy, after she managed to cast the Orb. But then Tiny started to realize. Holding the Orb together for more than a few minutes at a time was hard. A strange animal cry, a road bump, someone reporting something to Nightmare Moon. Tiny never knew how easy it was to lose focus. It became frustrating, fast. She was made to sit the whole day in the back of the waggon, doing nothing else but holding the Orb. Nightmare Moon promised to let her have half a day to do anything she pleased... if she could hold the orb for one hour straight. Three days in, Tiny could do no better than ten minutes. She knew the exact time because Nightmare Moon looked directly at her and counted time by the seconds, never looking away or tiring, not even when someone else talked to her. Soon Tiny got annoyed, then angry. How could someone sit for an hour straight without getting distracted once? Nightmare Moon offered to show her how but in that case she won't get her free time. Tiny accepted just to prove her point. Nightmare Moon asked her to walk by the waggon and asked Daybreaker to perform the spell, she nodded quietly. "Count," Nightmare Moon flatly ordered as the purple Orb appeared above Daybreaker's head. Tiny stared in amazement as Daybreaker not only held out the whole hour without any visible inconvenience but could also keep up with the wagon on hooves and cast spells, and set up camp. Nightmare Moon lightly cackled seeing her reaction. By the week's end, Tiny fulfilled the requirements. As agreed, no rest was offered and the demand was raised to six hours at once. Next week, they arrived back at the port town they left behind on their way to the mountain. Tiny overheard a few words about finding a ship. The stunned expressions of the pedestrians they passed indicated that her sister did not intend to hide a thing. Tiny snapped out of it before her mind could drift far away for the spell to break, it was a good run. They stopped again and Tiny had to go out of the waggon for Mister Rich to begin his trade. Daybreaker voiced her displeasure at this behavior, she was convinced it was a needless waste since the finances were not an issue. Nightmare Moon disagreed, as usual not breaking eye contact with Tiny for her count to not drop. Shadow was then instructed to search for a ship willing to ferry passengers and a waggon to some settlement to the west they called "Sheng Shi." Tiny dwelled on that name while she was preparing for sleep. The settlements in this country always had weird and funny names in a language she didn't understand. She sometimes heard that same tongue from the local ponies too, but most of them also knew another one that Tiny and everyone else in their camp could understand. She didn't understand why there had to be different languages, it would've been so much simpler to have a shared one. It was all back to usual in the morning. She had breakfast and it was back to practice. She still managed to have a few words with Shadow. Tiny wanted to ask her if she could teach her to shapeshift like she knew changelings could. Shadow stated that she couldn't do that anymore and went back to her business. Before Tiny had any time to think about it, Nightmare Moon was already on her with the day's practice. This time, however, she had some new challenge in mind. She made Tiny walk next to Daybreaker as the waggon moved through the town. It didn't take long, they didn't even leave the town. They soon stood by a large boat, while Daybreaker was negotiating the terms. The captain, a lousy-looking stallion with a huge hat, was quite honestly baffled by exactly the kind of passengers he was about to take on. The reverent disbelief took him when his eye wandered onto Daybreaker. The imposing mare let out a heavy sigh but did nothing otherwise. Nightmare Moon suddenly offered to make his ship always catch gale on their way to Sheng Shi. The captain was startled even more at which Nightmare Moon asked, rather snarkily, that he looks like he never saw a ghost before. She then expectantly looked at her sister, who proceeded to give the stunned stallion a golden earring. Nightmare Moon then led them aboard the ship without asking for anything further. Daybreaker and Mister Rich stayed behind to load the waggon. Tiny managed to hold her Orb from the morning, but as soon as she stepped on deck, she knew that it would only become harder from this point on. The deck never stayed still underneath her, it kept leaning away from her. It came as no surprise that her concentration failed when she almost hit her head on a barrel in the part of the hold they were allocated to. On the brighter side, she could now hold the spell while not standing still in the waggon and that was a boon, because there was much to see on the ship. As soon as the ship took off and started to sail along the shoreline, with the ocean on one side and the vastness of wilderness on the other, Tiny spent her every hour watching, with a little distraction from her sister who kept eyes on her all day long. Tiny saw so much space before, she has been on a shoreline before, but it wasn't the same. From the shore, the ocean looked like a hill, just hiding everything behind his bulk. On the ship, the impression was different, it was as if the ocean went on forever. On her second day, Nightmare Moon again distracted her. Tiny mechanically attempted to restart the spell but something was wrong. The orb was still above her horn. She looked at Nightmare Moon quizzically, but she said nothing more than it hit her, she didn't even remember she was holding the orb! Nightmare Moon then quietly withdrew, allowing Tiny to stay alone with the ocean.