When a butterfly with wings colored yellow and little splotches of pink settled on Lightning Bug's nose, she almost wanted to cry. The isles of Meteoras were always so alive with greenery and living things --where there weren't factories and cities of course-- but she had seen so little of it for almost three months. She was deployed to the border and only saw the craggy cliffs and rocks that dotted the Meteoran-Dynamis border, right across where the dragons lived. Once she was chased past the stormwall, not only was the environment even more inhospitable, she was also even more alone. No other ponies; pegasus or not, could keep her company.
That was why meeting Polaris, brisk and abrasive though he was, was such a relief to her. But even after surviving challenge after challenge as they scaled the mountain, the thought of sweet green grass and other ponies to talk to seemed like such a distant thing, like the light at the end of a tunnel.
And yet here they were, tunnel crossed, light on the other side. Clean water flowing in the stream beside them, trees of all shapes and sizes gently bobbing in the cool air, and an entire settlement of ponies waiting to meet them down below.
“How?” Polaris shared many of Lightning's ponderings, though perhaps in a different order. While Lightning watched with nostalgic marvel, the unicorn was careful and pensive. “We barely got here in the first place with our lives! How could ponies settle here?”
“The valley must protect them from the badlands,” Lightning said.
“Indeed!” Polaris said. “But how so? How can any pair of hills or cliffs manage to nurture all of this? And the sky, it’s so blue! It’s not even nearly as arid as it was out there! And I can’t even see the stormwall from here. It used to dominate our vision from every angle. It didn’t just vanish, did it?”
“Wait a second!” Lightning unhitched her radio and turned it on. Tinny music poured from the speakers; an old fisherman song if she got the genre right. She was pretty sure she hated it, but being the first sound from Meteoras in days, for a moment it was the most beautiful song she ever heard. “Polaris look!” she bounded over to him and held it up. “It works, it works! I can try and call for help!” She changed the frequency and held down the button. “This is Private Lightning, does anybody read me? Private Lightning of the Seventh Division, friendlies please respond.” She let off the button and received no answer. “Huh?”
She cycled the frequency again, and nobody answered. She could go back to the music channel, and she was sure she would find another station if she kept cycling, but nobody seemed to hear her on the other side.
“It looks like I can only receive signals,” Lightning said. “Maybe you and I can take another look? …Polaris?”
Polaris probably hadn’t heard a word of what she said. He studied the bustling town beneath them and held his chin. “Something is very strange going on here. Or perhaps something is very, very wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Lightning stowed her radio away.
“What I mean is where did all of these ponies come from? The nations, and if so when? Those houses appear rather old from this distance… And how can they maintain such a biosphere with no outside help? They must be self-sustaining then, growing their own food and whatnot. …That being the case, they are still trespassing. Yes, of course, no pony should live in the badlands. This means it is up to us to…” Polaris had finally taken notice of Lightning. She carefully climbed down the cliffside and down unto the firm, grassy hill beneath. She moved back-hooves first and landed on all four on the ground.
“ ...Private, what do you think you’re doing?”
Lightning turned around from where she had just climbed down. She started following the dirt path down the hill. “I was just going down to meet them. Maybe they can help us, or they have food.” And she continued on her way.
Polaris’ eyes widened and he trotted after her. “Why would you do that? What if it’s not safe?” The moment he said that Lightning heard him gasp. When she looked back he was carefully setting down one of his back legs. He grumbled something to himself.
“You alright?” She asked.
“Oh, I’m fine!” and Polaris kept walking. “My point is this could be dangerous!”
“I mean…” Lightning looked past Polaris and back into the cave. “How could it be any worse than what we’ve seen out there?” She kept walking.
“My point exactly! We don't know the first thing about this place.” Polaris’ ears twitched. Lightning heard a noise, a soft creaking down, the hill, right around the bend. “...Hide.”
“Hide from what?”
Polaris dove for the bushes, and Lightning awkwardly followed suit. It was hard to comfortably tuck in her wings and helmet. She heard Polaris gasp again, but she didn’t want to ask and make a noise. After the first bout of rustling, the two held their breath and watched. The creaking sound was joined by the familiar sound of hoofsteps. Lightning’s place in the bush didn’t afford her a good look, but Polaris could see clearly.
A brown pony with a black mane pulled his cart around the bend and plodded along. The cart was full of logs and wooden beams, many of which hung out the back of the cart. He was heading perpendicular from the two of them and in the direction of the large settlement near the center of the valley.
“...Another galloway,” Polaris whispered. “Of course, the bard was a galloway too, and he only traveled for a day. Why would a bunch of Sylvain settle in the badlands?” The two watched as he passed by. He snorted once and flicked a bug away with his tail. “Most strange indeed.”
“What’s he doing? I can’t see.”
“Pulling his cart. Must be making a delivery, I’d imagine.”
“Let’s ask him where we are.” Lightning had hardly stood up before Polaris’ horn flashed and she was yanked back behind the bush.
“Are you crazy?” Polaris whispered. “No, don’t answer that, I already know.” Lightning flashed the faintest hint of a glare at him. He softened his tone in response. ”We have to think carefully here, Private.”
“Polaris, I think after everything we went through, I could handle another pony.”
“That’s not my point! I don’t know how they do it in the army, but in Lustre when faced with unknown circumstances, we approach the problem carefully and quietly, and that means not talking to the first stranger we meet!”
“I don’t know, I talked to you and things turned out alright.”
“Debatably.”
Lightning shook her head and stood up, and Polaris’ horn lit up again. “Polaris, quit it!” He didn’t even need to tug with his telekinesis to stop her. One of her wings caught a branch and got stuck. When she tried to shake herself free, she fell backwards. Polaris reached out with his hoof to grab her, and another surge jumped from her coat and shocked him.
There was a flash, they both screamed, and they both toppled out of the bush. The sound of birds flapping away sped over them. The pony and his cart pulled to a stop.
"What are you two doing up there? Shouldn't you be back in town with the others?"
Lightning carefully rose to her hooves and Polaris, seething, did the same. The stallion looked up at them from the bottom of the hill. He had an eyebrow raised and swished his tail about, but otherwise he didn’t seem very bothered, or very suspicious for that matter. He probably only looked over after they had stumbled out of the bush.
Lightning poked her head from behind Polaris. "Excuse me? Where exactly are we?"
"Private!"
The stallion squinted his eyes at the two of them and readjusted his hooves. "Why... This is Rat Tail's watch... West of Harmony, in the Valley of Life."
"Rat Tail's watch..." Lightning repeated to herself once as she glanced back up the cliffside.
"What are you, lost? First time away from home?"
"Er, something like that. How far from town are we?" Lightning asked.
The Stallion motioned his head over in the direction he was heading. "It's just a short trot that way. A gallop will get you there in no time, if you're in a hurry. I was heading there myself." The stallion glanced them over. "You look kinda tired."
"Do I? Um..." Lightning wiped at her face with her hoof and flapped her wings. "I guess I've been running a lot today."
Polaris gave a strange grunt of agreement. The stallion thought for a moment and nodded back at his cart. "You lot can hop on in the back, if you'd like."
"Can we?!" Lightning's eyes lit up.
"Sure. I'm hauling lumber, not like it can get any heavier."
"Oh, thank you so much, mister!"
Lightning bounded over and flapped into the air. She landed gently inside without so much as rocking the cart. “Come on in, there’s plenty of room!” she called down. Polaris did not join her. He walked up beside the cart, right behind the wheel, and watched the stallion carefully. The wooden wheels creaked, and they started slowly rolling down the path.
Lightning watched Polaris from the corner of her eye. He was definitely moving slower than when they were outside. Maybe he really was just tired. The cart moved along slowly enough at least, so he didn’t have to try very hard to keep up. “Didn’t mean to scare you earlier or anything,” the stallion said. “Just not used to seeing folks out this far this time of year.”
“Oh, it’s no problem,” Lightning said. “I’m just happy to see a friendly face.”
"What do you think you're doing?" Polaris hissed. "Didn't your parents teach you anything about talking to strangers?"
“Do you take passengers often?” Lightning asked the stallion.
“Guess not,” Polaris grumbled to himself.
“It’s been a hot minute,” he said. “I used to cart foals to and fro with my cargo till the moms and dads said they couldn’t ride no more. Only older ponies, and they’re heavier, so I try to do so in moderation.”
“I see. I used to fly foals around too!” Lightning said. “But only once or twice. Their parents didn’t like it either. And they got heavy. Had to tell them no.”
The stallion laughed as the wagon rolled over the rocky bed of a crystal clear creek. Lightning turned her head to watch the shimmering water from every angle and almost forgot to keep listening to the stallion. A little frog hopped from one stone to the other right in front of Polaris’ hooves, and he gasped and nearly lost his footing. Lightning heard him curse the slimy creature for being out of season or something, which didn’t make that much sense to her.
“Ain’t it the truth. You visit the other end of the valley and leave, and when you get back the next year, all the kids are so grown up you barely recognize ‘em, amirite? Where did you say you were from, again?”
“Oh… y’know…” Lightning swallowed. Polaris was shaking his head at her. “Out a ways, I guess…”
Lightning’s eyes were drawn to one of the white pillars in the distance. It rested right behind the rolling hills south of them, and a small group of trees cast a comfy-looking green blanket at its base. It was weathered with little pits and crevices, or it was covered with several long, sweeping markings that she couldn’t make out from this distance. She could make out the large crest embedded into the top, it almost looked like a trident, or a bow and arrow, or a flower.
“What’s that tall thing?” Lightning pointed to it. Polaris had been eyeing it as well.
“What, the monolith? That’s one of the Pillars.”
“Told you so.” Lightning smiled at Polaris. He scoffed and pretended not to hear her.
“Yep, at just about every corner of the valley, you’ll find one of those tall things jutting out of the ground. Apparently they were very important to the first few ponies who settled here, but now they just kind of stand there.”
The stallion slowed the cart to a crawl, and Lightning had to peak up from over the cart to see why. A little family of geese waddled across the trail. They were white with little black tips on their wings. She hadn’t seen any kind of geese for months. Most of the birds were either hiding from dragons on the border or getting gobbled up by mountchasers. She couldn’t take her eyes off their soft feathers and their shiny heads. Polaris eyed the waterfowl cautiously and scooted closer to the cart as they passed on the other side.
“Where did they come from?” Lightning asked. “The Pillars I mean, not the geese.”
The stallion chuckled. “Oh, who knows. Been there as long as anybody can remember. Some say the first ponies carved them from the mountains, some say Sir Rat Tail built them and set them up. Ponies say they’re magical but I’ve never been able to tell for myself. I just leave 'em be. Most other ponies do too, unless there’s a festival going on.” The stallion finally pulled the cart along again. “When it’s a holiday, they get strung up with all sorts of fancy colors and candles and lights... They’re a sight to behold at night, the type you’d ask a colt along to look at if you catch my drift. Or a filly, whichever it is.” He chuckled again.
“Fascinating,” Polaris mumbled. Lightning watched him squint at the pillar. It was awfully tall, seeing as they had gone a long ways down the trail, and the pillar had yet to lose any detail. “I cannot for the life of me identify that symbol,” he said more to himself than anybody else.
“I’m more interested in this Rat Tail person,” Lightning said.
“You mean you’ve never heard of him?” That time the stallion actually sounded a little surprised.
“Um, not really. I didn’t even know the watch was named after him,” Lightning said.
“...Huh.” The stallion stayed quiet. At first Lightning was afraid he would be angry, or suspicious. “Well, I guess some parents don’t like forcing the histories down their kid’s throats.” The stallion just shrugged and didn’t say another word.
A cloud blocked the gentle sun for almost a whole five minutes. They were very close to the settlement now, and the distant sound of voices grew much louder. Lightning’s hooves and wings tingled the way they usually did right before she met a large group of ponies — three parts hope, and two parts doubt and another two parts anxiety if she was being honest.
"Where exactly are you taking all this lumber?" Lightning asked the stallion.
The cart left the dirt road and came unto a trail of gravel and the stallion grunted. They followed the trail as it lead up to the first bridge into the town. "The Festival's the day after and we gotta hurry. All the banners gotta get hung up and that stage’s gotta be completed or else we'll get an earful from Paper Pusher and Timewinder." Lightning nodded along, and the creases in Polaris' brow grew deeper and deeper. "What about you? I thought any guards would be off-duty today."
"Oh, I'm not a guard, I'm a scout," Lightning said.
"They're recruiting scouts now? First I've heard of it... Say, are you two doing anything for the festival?"
"Us? Oh, um..."
"Nothing, hopefully," Polaris said. “I don’t suspect we’ll stay in town for very long.
"Well that's a shame. You'll miss out on the games, music, and all the free food."
The very mention made their stomachs growl, but hopefully he didn't notice. "F-Food?" Lightning whispered.
"Of course! There's carrot-sticks, sandwiches, barbecues, the whole nine yards. People all over celebrate, but when it comes to town square, people really pull out all the stops to honor Sir Rat Tail."
The cluster of houses finally started to take shape, and Lightning glanced over the town. It had to be a hundred houses or so, bunched together in the center and lightly dispersed further out. They had already passed by a house or two on their way over, but they were empty. Apparently every resident was gathering in the center with all of the cobbled streets and planted trees. Already the gentle scent of warm cobblestone blew along the cool wind, along with the scents of cut wood and sawdust, paint, even the smell of something cooking.
It reminded Lightning a lot of home. “You smell that, Polaris?” She asked.
The scholar crinkled his nose. “The odor of labor interspersed with cheap street food? Can’t say such a thing surprises me. This is all very galloway.” Polaris mumbled to himself.
“...Galloway?” The stallion asked.
Just then a shadow flew over the two of them. A pegasus filly the color of wheat swooped right above the cobbled path. “Taking passengers again? How do you ever manage to make it on time?”
“Eh, I was already late. What’s another five minutes, y’know?”
“I may, but Timewinder sure won’t.” The filly glanced at Lightning before she swooped away again. “I’ll tell them you’re coming.”
“Thank you!” he called after her. Lightning could see movement bustling in the streets ahead, but it was hard to stay focused on so many moving parts from so far away for very long.
“You all live with… a pegasus?” Polaris breathed. Just then a few more shadows flew over. Three pegasi dashed through the air as they tugged along a large white sheet like a sail. They came to a stop at two large posts right at the entrance to town, and they hung up the cloth and tied it into place.
Harmony Heritage Holiday, all day <final date here>
All ponies welcome!
“Oh… a few,” the stallion said with a chuckle.
The group of ponies gathered around their hoof work. “Dude! You forgot to put the actual date on the banner!” One cried. ”Now we have to send it back!”
“It won’t be finished in time, do you know how long old lady Brush takes to paint a road sign? A whole banner won’t be ready in time for the morning after.”
“One moment,” one mare stepped back and produced a brush and a few small jars of paint from her saddlebag. The horn on her head lit up, and the brush flew up to the banner and lathered the misprint with a fresh sheet of white. She painted over words colored with bright red ‘This Saturday!!’ The words were as elegant and swirly as the signature on the corner of a painting. “There we go, good as new.”
The small group cleared away so the stallion and his cart could pass. Once they were under and past the sign, they were finally in town. Lightning craned her neck to look at the banner from every angle possible, while Polaris’ jaw hung open and he never stopped watching the group of ponies. “Galloway, pegasi, and unicorns?” He asked.
“Didn’t you read the banner?” The stallion asked.
“All ponies welcome,” Lightning repeated as a smile spread over her face. “Even us?”
“I don’t see why not. Harmony’s never been the sort of place to turn any folk away.”
“Harmony, huh?” Polaris finally looked away and scoffed. “What kind of a name is that for a village?”
“Oh, it’s not the village,” the stallion said. “This is Townsquare… which has a town square which is where I’m going, but that’s beside the point. The whole valley is Harmony, where there are ponies living, that is.”
“Is it safe to live all the way out here?” Lightning asked. “What about the dr-- I mean, what about the monsters in the badlands?”
“What about ‘em?”
“What if one gets inside the valley?”
The stallion laughed. “Oh, it happens every once in a while, but it’s nothing the guards can’t take care of. Besides, even if there was a monster loose in the valley it would still be the safest place for hundreds of miles. Nothing evil ever makes it past the tunnels, so the stories go, and most ponies have just believed that this is the safest place to be -- even compared to the three nations, not that I would know much about that, I never left the valley myself.”
The street they strode down was lined with carts of supplies and tools, and ponies of every shape and size. When they weren’t standing to the side of the street talking, they were hard at work hanging up bright banners of every color of the rainbow. Lightning saw galloway ponies pulling or pushing heavy boxes into place while unicorns lifted banners and signs up high so that pegasi could fly up and hammer them into place. They all jabbered and bantered as though they knew each other their entire lives, even the ones from different tribes.
It made Lightning think about back home in Meteoras, listening to all of the ponies at school or work, talking to each other like it was the most natural thing, even though some were soldiers and some were workers and some were farmers; here ponies of every tribe did the same exact thing, and they thought nothing of it.
“Where did they all come from?” Lightning asked.
“Well you see,” the stallion said. “After the dragon’s reign ended and the alicorns healed the land with their magic…”
“Oh, I know that!” Lightning shifted in her seat. “But how did all of these ponies end up here in the first place? Meteoras, Sylvain and Lustre are all miles away from here.”
“Well…” The stallion bobbed his head around as he thought. “I guess you’d have to ask sir Rat Tail.”
“Can you take us to him? Do you know where he is?” Lightning asked.
“Er, kind of. Once we get to town square, you’ll see.”
Town square was a large circle of cobbled street, perfectly tessellated with polished stone. It was surrounded by large buildings at every angle, most of which looked like they came out of an old picture book. Some were two stories tall, some were on stilts and had ladders leading up to the front door. Some roofs were thatched with hay and grass, others were tiled with crude shingles.
In the center there was a large, winding tree growing from an uneven hole in the road, and beside that there was a statue. Ponies were working hard on a large stage in front of the tree, and off to the side, closer to the edge of the square there was a large group of foals and their teacher.
The valley rose up around them in the distance with all its trees and steep cliffs. The north the wood grew denser, and a little east it looked like a river fed into a marsh. West the cliffs were steep and pale colored with no vines or trees, and looming over the entire settlement was yet another of the white pillars, this time with a different crest at the top.
“There he be,” The stallion said after the cart pulled to a stop. They had parked right beside the half-finished wooden stage. He pointed in the direction of the tree, about a gallop or so away.
Lightning squinted at the busy ponies working, and past the small group of foals. “Which one is he?” She asked.
“The one made of marble, I reckon.”
“The statue?!”
“But of course,” Polaris said. “This founder of theirs had to have been an historical figure. Didn’t you catch on from the gentlecolt’s stories?”
“...I guess I just wasn’t sure.”
The stallion unhitched himself, and Lightning hopped out of the cart and thanked him for the ride. She spun around and took in the sight. The pegasus from earlier and some other ponies approached the cart and she backed away behind Polaris. The stallion started unloading his lumber, and the other ponies helped. Lightning watched pegasi carry away beams of wood with one at each end, and some unicorns lifted the wood out with their magic.
The two stepped away and approached the massive tree. She kept glancing about the town. “It doesn’t feel real,” Lightning said.
“No, it doesn’t,” Polaris said darkly.
“Who do you think he was?” Lightning looked at the statue. It seemed to be a galloway pony, but he was very gaunt and slender and covered in robes.
“Indeed, I’ve racked my brain and I can’t think of even a passing mention of the pony he described. …How have I never heard of him?”
"Now, we all remember the story of Sir Rat Tail," Echo Shade said as she gave the statue behind her a nod. “He built all kinds of things while he was alive, but what was one of his greatest achievements?" Her voice rang clear and cheery above the clamor of voices and hammers in the background.
The foals all sat together in a neat clump as Echo Shade read from her material and pointed to the important historical hallmarks with her hoof. Slashbuckler had his bucket of tools resting beside him as he flew in place and hammered nails into the top of the newly-erected archway. Echo Shade cast him a meaningful glance, her own little reminder how he promised to be quiet. He rolled his eyes back at her and carefully, gingerly tapped the nail as softly as he could. "What's something that Rat Tail built that we can see every day, no matter where we live in the valley? Can anyone tell me?" Echo Shade smiled to the foals.
A bright and earnest foal raised her hoof. "The Star Pillars?" she asked.
"The Star Pillars!" Echo Shade smiled and pointed at the massive stone-white formation that rested just outside of town. Even from this distance they could clearly make out the carvings scrawled along its surface and the single symbol etched into the top. "Each of these represents one of the six virtues --pillars if you will-- of Sir Rat Tail's way of Harmony. Who can tell me what this pillar represents? Anybody?" Echo Shade pointed at the pillar's carving. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow and tried very hard to look like she was forgetting something. "Who knows what the anchor… looking… thingy represents?"
"I know! The anchor is Faith!"
"That's right!” Echo smiled and produced a small map with six crests scattered across. She held it up for all the foals to see. “Now the flower over by the Cloven Woods, who can tell me what the flower Star Pillar represents?"
"Mercy!" Said the same foal.
"Yes, and how about the pillar with the swirling sun over by the springs?" The foal opened her mouth but Echo Shade politely stopped her. "Maybe someone else can tell us?"
A younger foal tapped his forehead. "Um... Dig... dig-viction? No... Dignity!"
"Dignity, very good." Echo Shade put the map away and pointed with her hoof to each of the six pillars in the distance. Some were very near to the town square, some were very far away, on the other edge of the valley, but all were almost completely visible. "The Eye is prudence, the fortress is Conviction, and the wings are Hope! Each of these represent the six virtues Rat Tail thought most important to ponies."
"How come Hope looks so different from the others?" a foal asked.
“Show us with magic!” One said. “Tell us the special meaning with your magic!”
Echo smiled. Her horn lit up and she lifted up the slip of paper. She pointed to the crest. “You see the wings? Those six wings represent..."
Slash's hammer missed a nail. It bounced off of the wood and made its way into his shoulder and unto his hoof. "Aww, BUCK!!" It plopped to the ground and he gripped his throbbing hoof.
"Slash!" Echo instinctively covered the nearest foal's ears. Her horn stopped shining. "The kids??"
"Hrrrrrng... Brick...!"
"...Better." She let go of the foal's head and looked back at her notes. "Well," Echo checked the time on the town hall's clock. She could already spy a few mares and stallions returning from their work to collect their children. "...I'm out of time, so you'll have to hear all about the virtues and the star pillars during the history tour Saturday!" When the foals were disappointed, Echo Shade just smiled and said "Don't worry, admission is free, and we’ll have plenty of time for magic and stories then. Just remember to ask your parents! …So they can pay us Lorekeepers and we can put food on the table."
“It went well, I take it?” Smokey Sky asked Echo. His back was saddled down, as it were, with packages. His sister Snow Feather was right behind him, a few paces away with a considerably smaller bag. She gently weaved around the parents and foals as they left the statue.
“As well as it could, I suppose,” Echo Shade flipped through all of the pages in her little script that she never got the chance to read. “It’s really hard to fit an entire lesson into everyone’s schedules on such a busy day.”
“Mhm,” the smaller unicorn shook his short tail. “Looking after the little ponies is important when most of the parents are busy, I suppose.”
“You’re making me sound like a glorified babysitter,” Echo said.
Smokey looked over at the stage being constructed, and then to the archway Slashbuckler was working on. Currently the pegasus guard was hobbling on three legs as he tried to clean up his spilled tool bucket. He accidentally stepped on his bad hoof and staggered, and the tool bucket spilled over again. “...I mean…” Just then his sister joined them.
“Tall Tail wanted us to finish the arch for Slash,” Snowy chirped as she hopped over. “What’s wrong with him? What happened?”
Echo watched as Slash attempted the delicate task of balancing the heavy tool bucket with his head and inching back to the arch. She nickered and swished her tail. “Oh, Slash is just being Slash today,” she said.
Smokey looked both ways before he crept closer to Echo and whispered. “Is he still going on about the whole drago--”
“Sh!” Echo’s horn flashed and her eyes flared, and the little unicorn flinched.
“I was just asking.”
Echo took in a shaky sigh and closed her eyes as she readjusted her scarf and her mane. “He is not ‘going on about it,’” Echo said. “For now, at least.”
“He seemed so worried,” Snowy said. “Did he forget about it?”
“I hope not,” Echo said. “After everything Tall Tail went through for him. Is he back from the meeting yet?”
“No,” the two said in unison.
“We found him outside the hall earlier,” Smoky said. “He just told us to go and find Slash and help with decorating the archway.” He shook the collection of packages on his back. “Should we, uh, wait for him to recover, or…?”
Slash was presently testing all four of his hooves again. His bucket did not finish its journey to its original resting place atop the arch, it just lay next to him as he rested against one of the poles. “No, that should be fine.” Echo thoughtfully tapped her hoof against the pavement.
“Do you think the other elders are actually mad at him?” Snowy asked.
“Who, Slash or Tall Tail?” Smoky asked.
“Tall Tail.”
“What, for humoring Slash again?” Smoky snorted. “I can’t imagine why. He’s way too lenient with him. With both of them if I’m being honest.”
Echo’s horn lit up again. “Now see here you little--”
“Oh miss Echo Shade?” an older mare and her foal came up beside them. “Do you have a minute?”
“Um, of course!” Echo looked back at the siblings. “Go help Slash, don’t rile him up, don’t say the D-word!”
“Yes, Echo,” the two said. And they clambered away.
The mare carried her foal on her back, and she kept trying to climb up on top of her mother’s head. Echo Shade kept gently pushing the little pony back with her magic as the two chatted. "I always hated history when I was her age, and I can barely get her to do her homework, but she loves listening to you.” Echo shot a small sparkle of magic from her horn, and the foal slumped back in her seat, absolutely mesmerized. "I don't know how you do it, miss Echo,"
"Neither do I, to be honest,” Echo made a twirling shape with her magic. “I just like hearing and telling a good story, that's all."
"Don’t be so modest! With all these foals for one little presentation, you must be doing something right."
Slash of all people got a good laugh out of that. Echo briskly bid farewell to the mare and marched over to the blue-coated pegasus. Snowy had already flew on top of the arch. Smokey opened a package of streamers and sorted through the colors. Slash had a start when he saw Echo standing over him with that look on her face, and he swallowed.
“Hey Slash, what color goes on the first pole?” Smokey asked.
Slash shook out his hoof. “Blue.” Smokey unearthed a blue streamer and passed it up to Snowy, and then moved in circles to wrap the first arch in a spiral of blue cloth.
"Whatever happened to your 'dragonwatch'?" Echo asked in a harsh whisper.
“What?”
“Your dragonwatch, whatever you told me when you brought back the stupid stick.”
“Oh that. You gotta speak up, I couldn’t hear you.”
“Excuse me for not wanting to start a panic.”
Slash tried to stand upright as he held his hoof. "I'm workin' on it," He said. "Just as soon as I hear from Tall Tail, besides you’re one to talk about making a fuss.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Slash, what about the other pole?” Smokey asked.
“Blue,” Slash said. He looked back at Echo. “Don’t act like you weren’t going to start another one of your light-shows,” he said. “That woulda brought production to a standstill and Timewinder would have gotten on our tails.”
“Slash?” Smokey asked again.
“What?” Slash had to look up. Snowy had carried her brother to the top of the arch and they both now sat there with their colored streamers.
“What about the middle color?” Smokey asked.
“Blue again,” Slash said.
“...Are you sure you haven’t just been telling us your favorite color?”
“Do I look like a pony who likes blue??”
The two siblings shrugged and went back to work.
“...Don’t tell me you smashed your hoof just to get my attention earlier?” Echo asked.
“No, that was my hammer slipping again,” Slash shook out his hoof. “I gotta talk to somebody to fit a grip to my tools. And then I gotta find my shield... and finish these chores for Hack Saw like I promised... and I think Sprocket wanted me for something?"
Echo sighed and shook her head. "So much for staying focused for once," she said to herself.
"I'm plenty focused!" Slash said. "I'm so focused on all these things I said I'd do before, I'm making sure they get done before I do the new thing. Even if the new thing involves dragons."
“Not so loud!” Echo said suddenly. "Dragons near the valley is a big deal so unless you’re absolutely sure about what you saw you don’t just go saying stuff like that!”
Slash sighed again. He tested his hoof on the ground. “Right, right. Sorry, won’t happen again. I’m just excited, that’s all.”
“You were excited earlier. And you sounded so urgent, and worried."
"I am," Slashbuckler said. "But there's no use freaking out about it. Nothing's gotten into the valley yet, at any rate." And he went back to picking up his tools.
Echo smiled and nodded, right before she finally spied Cedar Seed the lumber pony and the two companions waiting by the tree. One was a pegasus, and the other was a unicorn. She knew a couple of dark unicorns, but she never knew a charcoal-black one with a silver mane. She'd seen yellow pegasi before, but never one so golden with bright, cyan eyes. Come to think of it, she didn't even recognize their clothing. The unicorn wore a saddlebag so fancy it couldn't have been made in town, and the pegasus sported a whole suit of armor, the likes of which not even the guard had equipped.
Maybe the couple in the general store started selling a sweet new saddle she hadn’t heard about, or maybe Satin Splash started making costumes for the festival. Echo’s mind raced for every possible reason for the sight she saw, but she could only come to one conclusion.
The two foals tacking banners into the poles above her were of the same mind. Snowy looked below and saw the odd party make its way to the stage by the tree. She nudged her brother just as he was about to pound a nail into place with his hoof. “Smokey, look!” she said.
Her brother leaned off of his perch as much as he dared. He squinted at the two stranger ponies talking in front of the tree. “Those aren’t… no! ...Could they?”
“Do you see their clothes? I certainly don’t recognize them, or the ponies wearing them,” she said.
“Me neither. But that would make them…”
“Outsiders!” the two foals cheered at once as they looked at each other.
“Smokey, Snow!” Echo called up to them. “What did I just say?”
“We didn’t even say the D-word!”
“That’s not my point!” Echo gawked at the two stranger ponies. Now her mind was really racing. What could this mean? She already had an idea how her master and the other elders would react, especially on such an important date. “What if the elders or Slash--”
"What's the matter? Echo?"
"Hm? ...Oh! Nothing!" Echo averted her gaze. The last thing everyone needed today was an actual reason for him to freak out.
Slash looked over at the stage. Several ponies were already hard at work with the beams of wood from the cart. "Echo? Did you see something?"
"Nothing at all! Nothing strange at all!" She sidestepped in the direction of the stage. "Nothing to freak out over! Like you said… Just stay put for a second and watch the twins for me? I’ll be right back, I just need to check something…"
And then Slash's eyes popped out of his skull. "Outsiders!" He snarled and pawed his hoof on the ground. His wings flexed and he sank low to pounce like a Heleo on a cliffside.
“Slash, no! Remember what we just said about--?”
And he took off. He kicked over his toolbox in the process, and he bashed his shoulder into one of the poles on the arch. It rocked back and forth, and poor Smokey was nearly dumped onto the ground. Echo steadied him with her magic, and then Snowy caught him.
“...Guess not.”
The large clock nestled into one of the buildings struck the hour, four in the afternoon. Lightning Bug studied the large tree as she sat in its shade, while Polaris squinted at the statue. He kept throwing glances over his shoulder. “We mustn’t let our guard down,” he mumbled. “For all intents and purposes, we’re still in the badlands. …Honestly though, how can any of these ponies act so calm? Do they have no clue about the beasts or the dragon?”
“This tree’s gotta be at least a hundred years old,” Lightning said.
“...What?”
“I can tell. See how thick the trunk is at the bottom? Trees this thick have to be at least a hundred, maybe two. Do you think they built the statue before or after it was planted? Maybe someone can tell us.”
“We’re not staying long enough to find out,” Polaris said.
“Why not? It’s better than the cave, or the dragon.”
“Don’t you get it, Private?” Polaris ran in front of her and turned to face her. “All of the ponies living here are breaking the ancient treaties!”
“...So?”
“So you should ask yourself if they can be trusted!” Polaris took a step forward and Lightning took a step back. “What drives a group of ponies to live in forbidden territory? What possesses them to make their beds in such a place? Are they descended from a band of banished convicts? Are they allies of the dragons? Are they under the sway of some eldritch mountain god?!”
“Now you’re just being silly.”
“Oh, I’m silly? Look who’s telling who they're being silly!” Lightning rolled her eyes and Polaris kept talking. “What of the accounts of ponies who disappear into the mountains never to return, what if this is their final destination? They could be held here against their will! And have I mentioned that those who break the treaty shouldn’t be trusted??”
“Polaris we’re just as guilty, don’t you think? Should I trust you?”
The unicorn’s nose twitched. “That’s…”
“I think I have a pretty good track record of telling whether someone’s dangerous or not.”
“Name one example.”
“You.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Polaris, please! They probably discovered the valley the same way we did, and just decided to settle here a long time ago. They’re not hurting anybody.”
“Intruders!” Something blue appeared a few gallops away. The two had hardly registered it before it broke into a run and bounded over.
“Woah, woah, wait just a second…!” Lightning ducked her head and backed away as it drew closer and closer. It leapt into air and pummeled into Polaris. The two spun over one another before the blue thing had successfully pinned him to the ground. They skid and rammed into the cart of wooden beams. The wheel snapped and it tipped over on its side. The wood clattered on the cobble.
“Gah! I am currently being hurt!” Polaris wailed. He found himself nose-to-nose with a blue pegasus. A messy yellow mop of a mane barely covered his eyes. His brand was some sort of shield.
"How'd you get in here? How'd you make it past the Kingsveil? Where did you come from?" the pegasus belted out question after question.
"As if unicorns come from anyplace other than the one, you oaf," Polaris said. “Get off me.”
"Oh, a smart-guy!" The pegasus said. "Let's see how smart you feel when your head's the middle ingredient of my muscle-sandwich!"
"No! Don't hurt him, please!" Lightning said, but the pegasus didn't seem to hear her. A small group of onlookers gathered. Workers looked away from their boards and nails excitedly hurried over and formed a very loose circle around the two stallions. Lightning was nearly squeezed out and had to shoulder her way back into view. Polaris and the pegasus were still staring each other down.
"Well, that figures," the stallion returned and walked up to Lightning. He cast a disdainful glance at his toppled cart. "Not exactly quiet around here this time of year, but when there's noise, Slashbuckler isn't far behind."
"How do I make him stop?" Lightning asked.
"Usually, you don't. Once he's set his mind on something it'll take an act of the Alicorns to get him to back down. Your friend's in for a bad time if he doesn't fight back. Of course you could always go and ask nicely, he's never been the kind to ignore a filly."
Lightning quit listening around the time he said 'ask nicely.' She galloped over just as Polaris threw Slash off of him and got to his hooves. The two stood rigid and glared at each other. "Lucky for you my glasses aren't broken," Polaris said. His horn flashed. "Otherwise there'd be a real problem."
"As if there isn't one already, intruder?"
"We're not intruders!" Lightning said. She ran and put herself between Polaris and Slash. "We stumbled in on accident, honest!"
“As if!” the pegasi glared at her. “Don’t tell me a Meteroan scout just happened to…” Slash blinked. “Wait a second, ohmigosh!” He hopped on his hooves and laughed. “You’re a real Meteoran soldier! I never thought I’d see one in real life!”
“Um…!” Lightning backed away.
“Wait,” Slash paused. “What are you doing all the way out here? How exactly did an outsider find the secret valley of life?” His expression darkened. “Are you all spies for the other nations?”
“Spies?!” Lightning cried.
“Of course not,” Polaris. “Think about it; if the likes of you can live in a place like this, how secret can it possibly be?” Polaris adjusted his glasses.
“You wanna buckin’ go?!” Slash stamped his hooves and ran for Polaris. He managed to bash Lightning out of the way by accident, and she toppled to the cobbled street. Her radio was knocked loose, and by some cruel happenstance, it managed to switch itself on as it clattered to the ground.
Grainy, fuzzy audio from some music station poured from the speakers, and every pony present was drawn to it. The crowd tightened around Lightning, Polaris, and her gadget, and she felt the color rise to her face. Lightning briefly wondered if any pony from the valley had even seen an electronic device before.
“Say,” one pony scratched his chin. “Is that one o’ dem newfangled battery-operated long-range two-way multi-channel portable-radios the pegasi make?”
“You are spies!” Slash said. “That’s it, you’re coming with me.”
“I think you’ll have to make us, pegasus!” Polaris reared up and flashed his horn.
Lightning ran between them. “No! I’ll tell you anything you want to know if you promise not to fight each other!” she cried.
“Yes, please!” yet another new voice called. “No fighting would be great if you’d all just hold a moment, quickly before one of the elders shows up!” Another pony ran up the path to meet them. Her coat was rosy and bright, and there was a long, thin horn on her head.
“Oh thank the Sisters,” Polaris said. “Another unicorn.” It was the first time Lightning had ever heard him sound so relieved. “Finally, someone I can actually talk to! Now then Miss Unicorn, if you could just tell me--”
The new unicorn’s horn flashed, and suddenly Slash lurched backwards, his hooves left trails in front of him. “Would you please excuse us for just a moment?” she asked Polaris sweetly. She gracefully turned away and put on the most terrifying smile neither he or Lightning had ever seen.“Slashbuckler!” she said in the tone that any child would recognize. “Don't you know better than to attack another pony like that? Is that how you were raised to handle visitors? Also, muscle-sandwich? Really, you have better threats than that?!”
“I got a little excited, that’s all.” Slash said with his ears drooping. “I didn’t mean to hit him that hard…”
Echo proceeded to get right up in Slash’s face. He dropped his nose just so that the rest of his head wouldn’t get poked by her horn. She hissed through grit teeth. “You already ran through town making a fuss today and you already got Tall Tail and the other elders anxious and I really don’t need this from you right now! What if you started an actual panic this time? What if one of the elders--”
“What is going on here?!” and everyone was quiet. “Why has production stopped?” Echo and Slash turned in the direction of an old, livid looking pony with muted colors and a gray mane. She stiffly but swiftly ran up to the gathering. Lightning hurriedly switched her radio off, stashed it away, and slipped behind Polaris as the old pony approached Slash and Echo. The crowd of ponies shifted open, and the various inhabitants awkwardly backed away from the old mare. Her expression became calm, if only for the resignation she showed the two ponies.
“Who…?” Lightning whispered.
“That’s Paper Pusher, one of the elders,” Echo whispered. “Just stay calm and don’t say a word, we don’t want her to notice you.
“Why is it so, miss?” the elder pony asked. Echo innocently pointed at herself, but the mare continued. “Why is it that whenever something goes wrong around here, especially on important dates, one of you two is always at the center of it? And how the alicorns smile upon me today, for I am graced by both of you at once!” She glared at Slash. “I’d think a guard trainee should show more reservation every once in a while.” And then to Echo. “Seeing as you’re a Lorekeeper, miss Shade, I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain the significance of keeping an historical event like this running smoothly and on track, and yet here I am! Do you think Rat Tail would have approved?”
Echo cleared her throat. “Now miss pushy…”
“What?”
“M-Miss Pusher! You’re absolutely right, and I agree with you one hundred percent! Slash was just playing with his new friend, and I had to break it up before it got any worse, you know how he is… boys, and all that.” She side glanced her pegasus friend. “Right?”
“Er… yeah, of course!” And Slash propped Polaris up and gripped him by the shoulder. Lightning did her best to keep herself hidden behind Polaris. “We were just messin’ around, that’s all!” Polaris did not look pleased, but he remained still and quiet. Paper Pusher squinted her eyes at all of them. Her eyes were so narrow it was hard to tell if they were even really open to begin with. She didn’t seem to notice Lightning, and didn’t seem to care much about Polaris.
“Hm…” The elder mare’s brow worked. She finally turned around, and Polaris was nearly dropped back to the street. “I suppose I could have asked for worse from you all today.” She glanced about the crowd. “Unless anybody saw anything strange they should bring to my attention?”
Lightning gulped, and she heard Polaris grumble.
“None I can think of,” the lumber pony said. “Nothing I’d call strange.” And to Lightning’s surprise, the other ponies in the crowd murmured their agreement. “Nothing folk like us could call strange at any rate.”
“I suppose that will do for now, then,” and Paper Pusher examined the toppled cart.. “Clean this mess up, all of you. I don’t care who pushed who, the elders will not stand for childish tomfoolery from our adult population.”
“Yes, Paper Pusher, Ma’am,” some of the ponies murmured.
Paper Pusher glared at Echo. “Expect a visit from your mentor soon, Miss Shade.” Echo smiled and backed away. “As for you.” And Paper Pusher pointed a hoof directly at Lightning. Her golden coat turned pale, and her wings clamped to her side.
“Er… yes?”
“Take off that costume. It looks ridiculous. Get back to work.” And Paper Pusher left.
Once she was out of earshot, just about every pony present let out a sigh of relief. Lightning flopped to the ground from behind Polaris. Polaris shook himself free from Slash’s grip and dusted himself off with his long tail. For a time the townsfolk didn’t even murmur amongst themselves.
“I can’t believe that worked,” Echo said. She looked at Polaris, and then at Lightning. “Outsiders in the valley. I never thought I’d live to see it! …You both okay?”
“I was until your friend attacked me,” Polaris said. Lightning saw him wince as he set his hoof down. His leg was hurting after all, she thought.
“Look, I jumped the gun and I’m sorry,” Slash said. “But the other nations being here in the valley is kind of a big deal!”
“Wait! So, is there going to be a fight or not?” one of the bystanders asked. “We’ve been doing nothing but hammer banners into posts for three stinking days!”
Echo shook her head. “Sorry folks, no street fight today,” she rolled her eyes. “Harmony will have to live up to its name for now.”
“Aww,” and the crowd slowly dispersed. Once they were gone, the only remaining ponies were the four of them and the small group working on the stage by the tree.
"Echo…!” Slash said with growing caution in his voice. “What’s Tall Tail going to say if he knew you were protecting spies from the elders?”
“They’re not spies, Slash. Can’t you see?” Echo pointed with her hoof. “The unicorn is obviously too frail for such a thing…”
“Hey!” Polaris was taken aback.
“And the poor pegasus is shaking in her boots!”
“I-I’m not shaking in my boots!” Lightning said shakily.
“Echo!” Slash whined and beat his hooves. “How else did they get inside?”
“Oh, that’s simple,” Cedar Seed said. “I gave them a lift.”
Slash blinked. “You let outsiders into the town?”
Cedar Seed shrugged. “I knew that already.”
“What?!”
Lightning blinked. “You did?”
“You kind of stuck out like a sore thumb, kid.” Cedar Seed walked around back to his cart. “But they weren’t hurting nobody, now were they? At least they didn’t topple over my cart. On that note, Miss Shade, if you’re done reeling in the blue bull, I’d like to get back to work before more of the elders shows up.”
“Oh, of course,” Echo stepped away, and Slash involuntarily followed. He nodded at her and got back to work unloading the cart. “I apologize on Slash’s behalf,” she said.
“It’s no problem,” and the stallion unloaded his first beam of wood. The other ponies helped him lug it to the stage. Polaris watched Slash from the corner of his eye as he carefully backed away towards Lightning.
Lightning never stopped watching the workers. One galloway mare struggled to heft one of the beams from the ground.
“Echo Shade!” two older foals ran over to the four of them. The blue unicorn colt was smiling. “You pulled the wool over Paper Pusher! Tall Tail would be impressed…. and angry, but mostly impressed.” He looked up at Lightning and Polaris. He narrowed his eyes and stood up straight. “I thought ponies from the nations would have looked more… dignified.”
“Dignified?” Polaris scoffed. “You try travelling three days in the wastes and see how presentable you look, little colt.” He offered Echo Shade a glance. “Why would you protect us from your leader?” Polaris asked. “Have you no sense of integrity?”
“She’s not our leader,” Echo rolled her eyes. “She’s just the keeper of records, and every time a festival rolls around she lets it get to her head and starts bossing everyone around.”
“And everyone deserves a little less of Paper Pusher in their lives,” Slash said. He awkwardly held his hoof out to Polaris. “Sorry for trying to smash your face in, I got a little excited.”
Polaris looked between Slash and his hoof and promptly batted it away. “Sorry for questioning your intellect.”
“What was that?” Slash frowned at him, and Echo stepped beside him.
“There’s no need to be hostile, really! We don’t mind visitors… they’re just rare, and we don’t even know your names or why you’re here… But I’m getting ahead of myself. We haven’t even been properly introduced yet, have we? Maybe we can just start over.”
Lightning envied how gracefully Echo moved. She closed her eyes, lowered her brow just a little bit and gently bowed. “My name is Echo Shade. I’m the apprentice Lorekeeper of Harmony.” She smiled at Slash. He sat and crossed his forearms and didn’t say anything. “...And you’ve already met Slashbuckler. Hero-wannabe and stuff-breaker extraordinaire. Oh!” Echo knelt down to the two foals. She ruffled the pegasus filly’s mane with her hoof. “And these are Smokey Sky and Snow Feather! They’re under the Lorekeeper’s care. …Not much more to say about us, I guess.”
“No, there isn’t,” Slash said coolly. “So long as we don’t get any trouble.”
“Indeed,” Polaris hesitated to say much. Lightning Bug was the one to answer her. “I-I’m, um…” She shyly kicked the air with her hoof. “I’m Lightning Bug, Private Lightning Bug. Pleased to meet you. …I like your mane. You’re very pretty-looking miss.”
Echo absolutely beamed “Aw, thanks hon! That’s not a complement I get often!” Slash snorted and rolled his eyes. “You don’t look so bad yourself. Once you have the chance to clean up after your trip I’m sure you’ll look great.”
“Thank you,” Lightning lowered her helmet and nervously tapped the ground. She held up one hoof to point at Polaris. “His name is…”
“Polaris.” The scholar reached out and shook Echo Shade’s hoof. “Professor-in-training, Polaris of Cynosura, at your service.”
“A pleasure!” Echo Shade said with a smile. “Such a gentlecolt… I know a pony who could learn a thing or two from somebody like you.” Slash rolled his eyes again and slunk in his seat. “I’d like to take a moment to apologize for the rough entry you two had. It’s been Harmony’s policy to welcome every and any pony who might find our little community. It’s just been so long since any pony from an outside nation actually wandered in that everyone got a little excited.”
“Harmony… the lumber pony said that too.” Polaris pushed his chair back and looked around him. “Is Harmony the town?”
“No, silly! It’s the entire valley,” Echo said. She pointed with her hoof. “All the way from the southern springs…” And she pointed in the opposite direction. “All the way back to the northern woods. Everything in between is Harmony! Where we’re currently sitting is merely townsquare, where the first ponies settled. Technically we’re in the Valley of Life, but wherever there are ponies there’s Harmony, so to speak. We’re all over the valley, some have houses on their own, some families live together, and there’s an entire other village in the northern corner. Most of us are here in the center for now. Whatwith the festival and all.”
“The festival for Sir Rat Tail?” Lightning asked.
“Yes exactly!” Echo excitedly stomped two hooves, and Slash eased her back with his wing. “Right, sorry. Have you two heard of him?”
“We haven’t,” Lightning shook her head. “I first heard about him from the nice Lumber Pony. We came into the valley from Rat Tail’s Watch, and he’s the one who told us what it was called.”
“Wait a second,” Slash sat up. “So you two came in to the valley from the west?”
“I…?” Lightning checked the direction of the sun and sang the little rhyme to herself again. Polaris held his brow. “Yes?”
“Then did you see anything on the way in?” he asked. “Did you see any dragons??”
“Woah, woah, heh…” Echo pulled Slash back. “He, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” She glared at her friend. “You can’t go scaring them with that sort of thing! Imagine if someone else heard you! Do you know what would happen if anyone thought a dragon was prowling outside the valley?”
Lightning’s throat was dry when she swallowed.
“...It would cause quite the stir, wouldn't it?” Polaris gave Lightning an uneasy glance.
“So you did or you didn’t?” Slash said.
“See what?”
“You know! The… the d-word! Giant scaly toothy thing?”
“Slash, that’s enough!”
“I just wanna know if they saw a giant… wyrm from down under. It’d be pretty hard to miss.”
Polaris averted his gaze. “Who can say…” He glanced at Lightning.
Lightning looked away. “I guess I can’t really say why we’re here, we’re just lost.” Echo Shade nodded hurriedly. “First it was the mountchasers, the torus, and then the… well, we just ran into the tunnels to hide, we didn’t think we’d find anybody out here. Have we done something wrong?” Lightning asked. “ If we should leave…”
“Oh no, not that,” Echo said. “We’re delighted to have you! So little changes around here if you can believe it. It’s just… the town is very volatile right now, as you know first-hoof. Um… anything you’d like?”
Polaris frowned. “What.”
“I mean is there something we can do for you? Anything to make up for the trouble we’ve caused?”
“What I’d like is an explanation,” Polaris said. “About where we are and what on Cabalos is really going on here.”
“Yes, of course! But maybe after we get you cleaned up and fed? My place, maybe?” Echo asked. “You certainly look like you could use it, and you do stand out.” Echo side-eyed the two foals. “Until then, we’ll have to keep this away from the elders.”
“All of them?” Smokey asked.
“Even your master?” Slash asked.
“Especially my master. You know how he gets.”
“But isn’t this important?” Smokey said. “Wouldn’t he know what to do?”
“Really, Smokey, if I’m being one-hundred percent honest, everything would go so much smoother if we don’t tell Tall Tail about anything.” Echo closed her eyes and nodded.
“Don’t tell Tall Tail about what now?”
Echo Shade froze. Nobody had noticed the thin, bearded pony slip behind her. His expression was far from amused when Echo turned around to face him. She gasped and tried to laugh. “Tall Tail!” She said.
“We’re in public, Echo Shade.”
“Master, I mean! Um… You’re never going to believe this but…”
“Outsiders,” Tall Tail said. “I know. My eyesight isn’t the best, but I could spot them from a mile away. Something you’d like to tell me?”
“...Sorry…?”
“And who might you be, exactly?” Polaris asked.
“Tall Tail,” the elder said. “Master Lorekeeper. It is my duty to educate young and old on oral tradition. Think of it as a full-time teacher at one of your schools with a more open schedule and zero pay. A little far from home, are we?” Lightning heard a thump and a shout. She turned around. Some of the ponies were struggling with the wooden beams from Cedar Seed’s cart. “Echo Shade.”
“Yes, master?”
“Are our guests hungry?” He pointed with his horn at a food cart at the edge of the square. The flimsy tables and chairs were empty, but the cart-owner was present and warming up his grill.
“Perhaps?” Echo said.
“Then let’s eat and talk. My treat.” He stepped away, and the two foals followed him.
“Can we join in, master?” Snowy asked.
“Haven’t you two had enough to eat today? Go and finish your work on the archway, then go and help with the stage.”
“But master,” Snowy said. “Slash broke the arch! It might topple over and… we’ve never really done anything large like the stage before and…” One harsh look from the elder unicorn silenced her. “Yes, master,” they both said. The two foals took off, and Echo lead Slash and the two Outsiders to the cart.
The counter was manned by a galloway with an indigo coat and a stained apron. Hardly anyone else was present. Tall Tail had everyone wait as he talked to the owner. The cart owner kept giving Lightning and Polaris weird looks as he cooked something from behind the counter. Any ponies that did pass them by regarded them carefully and quietly. She wanted to hide in her armor like a turtle. Soft, warm smells wafted from behind the counter and Lightning’s belly rumbled once more.
The galloway shuffled about busily while they waited. Echo looked like she had all kinds of things on the tip of her tongue, but she never actually said anything. Slash and Polaris stood at each other’s shoulders, but they just kept glaring at each other.
Slash was awfully wide for a pegasus, and if it weren’t for his bare hooves he was almost just a galloway with wings. He wore some kind of leather strap on his front leg, the type she’d see soldiers in storybooks wear. It occurred to Lightning how strange it was that a pegasus like him was so much taller than her, she wasn’t average height herself but still. He was almost as tall as a unicorn, without a horn of course.
Echo on the other hoof was very thin, almost dainty looking. Her scarf was thick enough to cover part of her shoulders, and it almost made her neck seem longer? It was pretty hard to describe, and it was a very pretty scarf. Her mane was pretty too, nicely groomed, and streaked with color. Lightning thought of her own unruly mane and wondered how a tall, long-maned unicorn like her managed to keep it so tidy.
“Almost done, Sir Tail, Miss Shade,” the owner, Stake was his name, barked over the counter. “Just another minute.” Tall Tail stepped up to the counter.
“Echo Shade?” he asked.
“Yes master?”
“Why didn’t you come and find me before dragging Outsiders into town?”
“I just found them here!”
“She saw Cedar Seed haul them in,” Slash said.
“Yes, whatever,” Echo said. “And I know, I should have come and found you first, but Slash was all riled up, and there was a crowd, and Paper Pusher showed up and I didn’t know what to do because I’ve never seen another Outsider before and you remember what Sir Rat Tail said about when Outsiders come to the valley--”
“By the Alicorns, girl!” the elder shook his head. “I don’t care one bit where they came from. I would, however, like a little warning before you offer our house to a bunch of strangers! The ponies of Harmony are nothing if they’re not generous, but charity takes consideration, especially when we’re dealing with ponies we don’t know. Like you said, they don’t seem like they mean much harm, but the other elders may not think the same, so we have to think carefully. We can’t just roll out the red carpet just yet, but they are tired and hungry. I can’t offer my own kitchen, so for now they’ll have to settle for street food.”
When she was sure her master didn’t have anything left to say, Echo smiled at Lightning, but she ducked her head and looked away. Her wing moved up slightly to cover her face. She uneasily adjusted her helmet. “Aw hon,” Echo said softly. “Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here in Harmony. Nobody’s gonna hurt you…” Echo nudged Slash in the shoulder. “Right, Slash?” Her friend just sighed. A moment later Echo coughed. “So… you two haven’t been here before, by any chance?”
“Of course not,” Polaris said. “I thought that was clear. Why, if any pony caught wind of a settlement in forbidden territory, the scandal from the other nations would be horrific, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Echo thoughtfully tapped her chin. “And I assume it’s the same for your friend?”
“Companion. Yes, she has never been here either, assuming she isn’t lying, which I doubt.”
“Aw, you two seem really close!”
“Hardly. She lacks the capacity to speak untruth is all I mean.”
“Oh.” Echo didn’t really seem to believe it, but Lightning didn’t have the energy to argue. Polaris was right as far as she was concerned, mostly.
A silver tray rattled against the counter as Stake pushed it over to Tall Tail. “Have at it,” he didn’t smile but his voice was cheery, and he happily took the bits passed to him. Echo smiled as she passed around the food to each of her three companions; sweet-smelling things on kebabs drizzled in syrup. Polaris took his treat with his magic, and Lightning awkwardly held her’s with her wing. Tall Tail didn’t take any.
“Eat up, you two must be exhausted. It’s on us!” Echo said. Lightning peered closer at the food. “C’mon, let’s walk and talk. I’m sure you have plenty of questions.” The owner waved to them as they took their treats and walked around the square.
“And this is safe for pony consumption?” Polaris examined his kebab from every angle.
“Absolutely,” Echo said. Lightning warily sniffed her treat before nibbling. She took a bite. They were light and fruity like a cake, but they were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, almost like a piece of candy. Her eyes lit up. She took a bigger bite, and then another, and then another, and then in a matter of seconds her first kebab was picked clean. “She gets it!”
Lightning beamed. “That was wonderful! What exactly is this?”
“Grilled bananas. We grow them to the south by the hotsprings. It’s just warm enough down there for them to grow properly. Stake here knows how to grill them best.” Echo lifted up a stick of the fruit with her magic and daintily finished a few pieces. “They’re probably not the best you’ll ever taste in Cabalos - I’d wager outsiders would know better- but it’s the perfect treat after a long day of work. Or walking in your cases, perhaps.”
They were the best bananas Lightning had ever tasted, but she didn’t think to say it.
“I wouldn’t know about fruit,” Polaris’ treat disappeared much more slowly. “...But this is adequate. It beats oat bread every day at any rate.”
A few fillies raced them by down the street, one was a galloway and the other a unicorn. Lightning watched them pass. “Don’t stare, Private,” Polaris hissed.
“Sorry, I’ve never seen a kid from another tribe before. We don’t look too different when we’re young, do we?”
“Nope,” Echo said. “Our tribe-specific traits manifest as we grow older.”
“Indeed,” Tall Tail said. “Deep down, we’re all the same, just look to the children… That’s a quote from one of our leaders. Echo?”
“Morning Glory,” Echo said. “The third-ever leader of the valley, if I recall correctly. Slash shook his head at her, and she flashed a look at him before she turned to look at the two guests as they walked. “If you don’t mind us asking… how old would you two happen to be?” she asked.
“I appreciate your generosity miss, but that’s none of your concern.” Polaris now focused on his meal. Slash huffed and pulled an entire stick clean with one bite. He chewed loudly.
Echo gave Lightning a hopeful look. “I’m turning seventeen,” Lightning said. “Why?”
“You’re not exactly foals then,” Echo’s eyes were shining.
Polaris scoffed. “Do I look like a colt?”
“It was just a simple question,” Slash said. “You don’t gotta be so worked up all the time.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“Harmony, you two!” Echo said. “Harmony!”
“What would I know of such a thing?” Polaris grumbled.
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Slash said.
“Both of you, come on!” Tall Tail said with a sigh.
“They're fed now. So what should we do about them, then?” Slash asked.
“Oh, Echo’s plan was brilliant,” Tall Tail said. “Hard to go wrong with a wash and a meal after a long journey.”
“Why thank you!”
“However,” he said. “This will need to be handled delicately, we don’t want to attract any more attention than we already have. Once you all are finished eating, a trip to the springs would be a good idea. I believe Serenity has her baths set up by now, and these travelers do need it so.”
Their little trot took them all around town square. They got to see the tree and the statue beside it from every angle, and they passed by the major buildings. The Town Hall, the tallest and oldest building with the massive clock embedded into the side, towered over everything else. The Library, the guard station, and other small service centers were closed for the day. Most of the ponies were out and about working, and the group building the stage were still toiling away.
When Lightning looked over, the group of ponies had yet to lift their beam from the ground, the one that they dropped earlier. They were still making progress on the stage, but that one heaviest beam just wasn’t going anywhere. The two foals from earlier were pitching in by nailing streamers into the base of the stage while the older ponies moved wooden boards and beams.
“Master!” The two foals said when they saw Tall Tail. They hurried over. “Where’s Timewinder?” Smokey asked.
“Haven’t seen her, Smokey,” Tall Tail said.
“Good, ‘cause they’re super behind!” Snowy flexed her wings nervously. “Some of the beams Cedar Seed brought over got fractured by you-know-who and we had to send for more wood and now we’re short a couple of hooves!”
“An earful from Timewinder or Paper Pusher isn’t the end of the world,” Tall Tail said. “Just hang on a little longer before the other workers come back.”
And Tall Tail went on his way. Polaris was about to follow after, but he saw Lightning stayed in place, watching them build. “Let’s go, Private,” he said. “I don’t know about you but a bath doesn’t sound so bad.”
“They need help,” Lightning said. “Isn’t it kind of our fault that they’re behind in the first place?”
“I don’t think we have the privilege of taking responsibility for such a thing at this time.”
“But the elder told us to pitch in. She’s not my elder but…” and Lightning trotted towards the stage. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Wait!” Smokey ran up to her. “Didn’t you hear what the master said? You stick out like a sore thumb, what if somebody sees you? Then we’re just asking for the elders to show up!”
“The boy’s right, soldier,” Tall Tail said. “It would do more harm than good.”
“But--”
“Which is why I suggest you ditch the armor for now. I’d say that’d be a low enough profile to lend a hoof with the building.”
Lightning blinked. “Oh…” she tugged at her collar. “I just kind of forgot it was even there, I’ve been wearing it for so long. But what if somebody takes it? Or trips over it?”
“Nobody will, I’ll make sure of it,” Tall Tail said. “I’ll even run it down to be washed, if you don’t mind.”
“...Alright then…” Lightning sat down and worked with her helmet to get it loose. She undid a chin strap and unclamped something at the back, and then pulled. She made a face when it didn’t come off. Lightning tugged and tugged but it wasn’t coming loose. “...Uh oh,” she squeaked. “I think it’s stuck.”
“Here, let me help,” Polaris said as his horn lit up.
“No, I got it!”
“I insist, that looks dreadful.” He gently pulled at the helmet with his magic.
“It’s fine!”
“It’s probably that static electricity from earlier, here.”
The two pulled back and forth while Smokey watched. “Pathetic,” he said with a shake of his head. And then with an unfortunate pop noise, the helmet came loose and rolled uselessly at the little unicorn’s feet. He had a front-row seat to watch as her mane came billowing free from the heavy helmet, and settled in neat, spiky locks about her head. A long bang fell over one side of her face, and the rest curled down her neck. She blinked her big cyan eyes as she blew stray strands out of her face. She kicked off her boots and they landed beside her helmet. When Lightning Bug slid off the rest of her armor, It hit the ground with a louder thud than any pony present expected.
A long precious necklace dangled from her shoulders, free from the confines of her armor after so long. The pegasus scout happily stretched her golden coat and shook out her dark, streaked mane. Her bright wings flapped once or twice, and she wore a smile brighter than any she had worn before coming to the mountains.
“Finally!” she said. “I forgot how heavy that stuff was!” She hopped up and down with a spring in her step. Lightning Bug flew speedy circles around their little corner of the square, giggling like a school filly. “Woo-hoo! I can move again!” And she took off for the stage.
Polaris prodded her shed cuirass with his hoof, and it would not budge even slightly. “Indeed,” he mumbled.
Tall Tail slid the armor off of the ground with magic and set it aside. “And I’ll run this ahead to the cleaners,” he said. “Echo, you can take it from here, can’t you?”
“Of course, master. Hosting outsiders in our humble little town?” She tapped her hooves and squealed, and Slash’s eye twitched at the noise. “It would be a pleasure!”
“Good, have them back here by sundown for our rehearsal. After that, we can work out where they’ll sleep. In the meantime… Snowy,” he said. “Grab your brother and head home. We’ll be expecting company.” The filly nodded and ran up to Smokey, and her master trotted away.
One pony nearly got their shoulder trapped beneath the beam as they tried to force it off the ground. “Wait!” Lightning called to the workers. She rushed over and stuck her head beneath one end of the wooden beam and held it up for the mare. The mare smiled up at her and walked slowly so Lightning could keep up as they maneuvered the beam over to the stage. A pair of pegasi, one a stallion, the other a filly not much older than her, flitted over, and lifted the beam from their backs.
Lightning’s head and neck felt like they might float away from her body once the pressure was lifted. The two pegasi set the beam beside a unicorn and a galloway. The unicorn’s horn lit up as he marked several points on the wood with his magic, and the galloway took to the beam with a saw and deftly cut it in half.
Lightning ended up helping carry over four more pieces of wood. The whole time Polaris just watched. “She’s a hard worker,” Echo’s voice nearly made him jump, if only for the sight of the sulking Slash hovering by her shoulder.
“For better or worse,” Polaris grumbled. “She can’t leave well enough alone.” Polaris’ eyes shifted about his surroundings. “This place is very odd.”
“How candid of you,” Echo said with a smile. “Most of us think so too, and we’ve lived here our entire lives.”
“Your entire lives…” Polaris frowned. “Very odd.”
Lightning struggled with balancing a smaller piece of wood on her shoulders. The mare from earlier tried to show her how to do it properly, but Lightning was so flustered she only seemed to do worse. Polaris saw the telltale shimmer appear on her coat, and small arcs of energy appeared between her hooves as she stepped along the ground. The mare stepped over to help her steady her load, and Cedar Seed did the same. Before Polaris could even cry out to her, their three shoulders touched.
There was no flash, but whatever power surged through Lightning’s coat sent the three of them hurtling to the ground, and both beams of wood were involuntarily launched into the air. Lightning watched wide-eyed for a split second before she raced into the air to catch one with her hooves. The second beam happened to fly in the general direction of Polaris and Echo, who was already scrambling to sidestep the oncoming projectile.
Polaris flashed his magic, and with nary an ounce of effort and without taking a single step, he had rendered the beam motionless in the air and gently set it back near the stage. “I know of shops that went out of business for such unsafe practices,” he grumbled.
Lightning’s face was flushed as she nervously set the beam back by the workers at the stage. “I am so sorry!” she said. “I-I guess I got nervous and jumpy or something and I normally don’t bump into people honest I just got scared and my coat it does this thing um I’m not really making sense but I never meant to get anyone hurt I just--”
“Girl, girl,” Cedar Seed shook his head. “Reel it in, no harm done.”
“...I’m sorry.”
“And stop apologizing! Look, Thistlewind nearly dropped a block on my head this morning, and I nearly ran over Pitt Fall’s tail a few nights ago, and you saw first hoof what happens when Slashbuckler overreacts. Honestly an electric personality is the least of our concerns, and accidents happen, we’re used to ‘em. So don’t even worry about it.”
“...Really?” Lightning tapped her hooves together. “You’re not mad at all?”
“Don’t even!” Cedar Seed pointed and smiled. “What did I say about worrying?”
“Sorry.”
“And stop apologizing!”
“Right. Sorry.”
The way the other ponies broke out in laughter made Polaris irrationally angry, but Lightning didn’t seem to mind, so he decided they weren’t laughing at her. “We’re probably going to be here a while,” Echo Shade said.
When Snowy found Smokey he was sitting in place beside where Lightning’s armor used to be. He hadn’t moved since she took off her helmet, and he wasn’t really looking at anything, he was just staring into space. “Smokey?” She waved her hoof in front of his face. “We’re heading home, no more work for us. Are you listening?”
“That wasn’t a filly,” the colt mumbled. “That was a mare.”
“What, the outsider pegasus? …Oh, great.”
The sky was turning orange with the sunset by the time the stage was complete. Really it was far from finished, it still needed to be painted and some poles needed to be installed, but the steps were measured and squared off, and the top was completely boarded off and level. Polaris even helped lifting the last couple of pieces over with his magic while Lightning and the other ponies worked up top finishing everything. Now they lay on the cobbled streets as the sun dipped and the ground cooled.
A little wooden cup slid next to Lightning’s head as she lay down. She instantly sat up and took it in her hooves. Echo Shade was standing beside her with a smile as she lifted another cup with her magic.
“What’s the cup for?” Lightning Bug picked it up in her hooves and turned it over.
“Drinking, silly!” Echo Shade smiled and waved her hoof. “All that hard work, wouldn’t you want a drink?”
“Drink what?” Lightning held the cup to her side, and just then she felt it grow heavy. The sound of pouring water tickled her ear. She turned around and saw a red-maned galloway filly. She had a tray with cups and bowls saddled on her back, and in her teeth she carried a cute little kettle that rattled with ice. “Oh, thank you!” Lightning took a sip, and it was some of the best iced tea she’d ever had, even compared to the little drink stand down the road back home. “That’s wonderful, did you make this?” Lightning asked. The galloway filly just looked at her. Lightning assumed the kettle in her mouth made it hard to answer. “It’s really really good, thank you again!” The filly blinked at her. Her eyes shifted one way, and her hooves slowly carried her away to the next pony in need of a drink.
Shortly after, the Timewinder everyone was so afraid of finally paid a visit. Like Paper Pusher, she was a thin, elderly mare, but her eyes were sharp and discerning, her mane was well-kept, and she kept a golden pocketwatch on a chain around her vest. She glanced about the tree and the stage and nodded to herself the whole time. “Good job, everybody,” she said. “We did good work today. We’ll finish construction tomorrow.” The worker ponies cheered and happily dropped to the ground, panting and smiling and chatting with each other.
“I owe you one, girl,” Cedar Seed wiped the sweat from his brow. “Even if we never had a snag, I don’t think we woulda had this done by now. Thank you. I guess picking up hitchhikers does pay off.” Lightning smiled and laughed. “And no offense to your people or yer culture or whatever, but the armor doesn’t suit you.”
“It doesn’t?” Lightning asked as she sipped her drink. “...What, because it blocks off my coat or something?”
“No, it just looks so suffocating on you. You’re a much brighter pony than the armor implies, and you really shine with it off. That’s a nice necklace by the way.”
“Aw, thank you!”
“Private,” Polaris walked over. “The pegasus is saying it’s time to go.”
“Oh, where to?”
==
The where turned out to be a few blocks from the square by the river, where there weren’t any houses. Some industrious pony had erected several massive barrels with ladders and planks beside them. They were filled with clear, steaming water and the vessels were warmed by piles of warm stones placed beneath them.
Slashbuckler lead Lightning and Polaris up one of the ladders while Echo Shade talked to to the owner pony. Lightning cautiously peered over the edge into the steaming tub. It had to be at least as tall as a pony standing on their hindlegs.
“Your rustic methods of water management are fascinating,” Polaris said. “Is there a faucet affixed to the side? Is there a soap and a towel somewhere? Where’s the bath?”
“You’re looking at it, genius,” Slash said. Before the two could ask another word, Slash’s forehead met with their flanks, and they found themselves tumbling over into the tub. Slash nabbed Polaris’ bag off his back as he fell and placed it on the plank. Warm water spilled over and made the hot rocks beneath hiss. Echo manifested a magical barrier and chatted with the pony as if nothing had happened.
Polaris was the first to surface. His glasses sat crooked on his face and he spat out mouthfuls of water. “What the actual hay?!” he shook his hoof at Slash. “A warning next time would be nice!” Slash just snickered.
Lightning didn’t surface so much as breach. She leapt a short distance out, twirled in the air, and landed with an even bigger splash than when she fell in. Polaris’ head was thoroughly drenched, and he used his magic to steady his glasses. When she surfaced again, Lightning swam in place and preened her wings and flapped the water off of them.
“I forgot pegasi are part water-fowl,” Polaris mumbled to himself.
“This is wonderful!” Lightning said. Even though she felt the layers of dirt flying out of her coat, the water never looked any dimmer. She could feel her tiny cuts and bruises warm up and fade, as if they were sighing with relief.
“Fascinating,” Polaris checked his coat, and lightly tasted what was left in his mouth. “It tastes like water from a mountain spring. …Which I suppose makes sense.” A large brush materialized from out of no where and attacked his head. “Gah!”
Serenity, the owner pony, leaned over the edge with a long brush attached to a pole. She scrubbed and scrubbed Polaris, and then she moved on to Lightning, who giggled and laughed as she worked the dirt off her back, and then she went back to scrubbing Polaris.
“Watch the mane, watch the mane!” he cried.
“This water comes straight from the healing springs to the south,” Serenity said. “Soothes your muscles, closes small wounds, and it makes your coat softer! Works like magic!”
“Does it preserve your youth, as well?” Polaris asked.
“Nah, that’s in the fountain to the north,” Serenity smiled and shrugged.
“Really?!” Lightning gasped.
“No, of course not! She’s kidding,” Polaris said. He paused and looked up. “You are kidding, correct?”
Serenity didn’t answer.
Once the two were fished out, they were given some privacy to dry off and work their manes. They stood on opposite ends of a different tub while Echo and Slash talked with Serenity. Baths were fun, but Lightning always found them exhausting. With this, she felt like she had gotten eight hours of sleep without even blinking.
“This place is amazing,” she said.
“I suppose any community could survive if they had a magical healing spring to solve all of their problems,” Polaris said. “Imagine how all of Cabalos could benefit.”
“I'm not sure how a magic bath could solve everyone's problems. First you said they were breaking the rules for living here,” Lightning said. “Now you’re mad they’re not sharing their stuff?”
“I didn’t say that,” Polaris threw down his towel and finished combing his mane. “It’s just… how very odd this place is.”
“Polaris? Why aren’t we telling them about the dragon?”
“You saw how much of a fuss they’re capable of! Besides, there’s a fair chance it will never make its way inside. The stallion said as much, didn’t he? Besides, if we survived its onslaught, these ponies will probably be fine.”
“...How’s your leg?”
“My leg is none of your concern.”
The four walked back to town square. It was very dark now, but several ponies had lit the streetlamps so it wasn’t hard to find their way. Every house had at least one window with light shining from it. Now the town seemed less like a workplace and more like a market. Food vendors were everywhere, selling meals and treats to any passerby. The whole time they walked, Echo Shade was humming and practically skipping.
They finally met Tall Tail beside the statue. A small audience had sat to eat and talk with each other.
“Well, you’re awful chipper,” Tall Tail said.
Echo squealed happily and nodded. “Aren’t you, Master? Oh, I feel like I’m in a fairytale!” She looked over at Lightning again. “Outsiders in the Valley! I bet things will be much more exciting around here for a while, and just in time for the festival too! Don’t you?”
Tall Tail let out a tired sigh. “Yes, child. I do.”
“Do you think it’s destiny, master?” Echo asked excitedly.
“Hush, Echo. Let’s not confuse them anymore than they already are.”
“Um, I’m not confused,” Lightning said. “At least, not as much as I used to be.”
“That makes one of us,” Polaris said with a frown. “I for one am dying for an explanation. How does a community this big find itself in the center of one of the most dangerous places in the known world? And whatever are all these tribes doing so close together? Have you no respect for the ancient treaties?”
“Have you come to arrest us, Lustrian?” Tall Tail asked playfully, which was strange coming from a unicorn himself. He led them to a set of pillows in front of the statue.
“Nothing of the sort!” Polaris said. “So long as you don’t secretly traffic ponies, keep that brutish pegasus away from me, and don’t pray to some eldritch mountain god, we should have no issues.” This earned him confused and concerned looks from the pony villagers.
Tall Tail laughed heartily while Slash groaned and looked away. “Well, we don’t trade ponies last I checked, and I think Slashbuckler over there will do whatever you want so long as you ask nicely, and finally we don’t pray to the Mountain King, that’s another matter entirely.”
Lightning giggled, but Polaris was perplexed. “Wait, so there is or there isn’t a mountain god?”
“As for your previous questions,” Tall Tail said. “All very good questions, but I believe the best way for a Lorekeeper to answer them is by what we do best.” Tall Tail produced a weathered book from his bag. He set the book down before Lightning and Polaris, who peered closely at the cover. Polaris was half-ready to break out his knowledge of old Cabalos languages, but despite the age of the book, the dialect it was written in was fairly contemporary to how ponies spoke presently. “That is to say, I’ll answer with a story.”
“The Might and Mission and Mystery of Father Rat Tail,” Lightning read the title out loud. “Sounds neat!”
“It sounds like a fairytale for foals,” Polaris said with a snort.
“Ah, but don’t you know, Scholar?” Tall Tail said with a chuckle. “Sometimes history is stranger and more incredible than any fantasy. Take Sir Rat Tail himself.” He pointed to the statue. Lit candles were placed at every corner of the base, and the stone horse’s figure was illuminated with every possible detail. Finally Lightning and Polaris both noticed the long, maned tail peaking from beneath the statue’s robe.
“Rat… tail,” Polaris said. He smacked his forehead. “Tail as in his long tail, not Tale as in story… okay, I get it now.”
“Yes, not everyone gets that right away,” Tall Tail said. “A rather strange pony, if I’m being honest, and I’ve known several strange ponies.” A few laughs from the crowd answered him. “And yet this odd and meek pony is responsible for everything we know. I’d say he’s grown bigger and more powerful since when he died, but the truth is even here in the very community he founded, his story is told very little. It’s up to his family, his descendants the Lorekeepers to keep his story --the true story-- alive in our hearts.” He looked over at Echo Shade. “Would you do the honors?” he asked.
“Me, master?” Echo asked as she pointed at herself.
Tall Tail smiled and nodded. “By all means.”
“Can I… you know?!” her horn began to light up.
“If you must.”
“YES oh boy oh boy!” Echo pranced to the front of the group and prepared to cast a spell.
“Chill out, Echo Shade,” Slash said. “You’re making us look like a bunch of hicks.”
“She certainly needed no help with that, I assure you,” Polaris shot back at him.
“Slash, contain yourself, please,” Tall Tail said. “The show’s about to begin.”
“Show?” Lightning asked.
Just then, Echo Shade hit her hooves on the ground and shot a cloud of magic into the air, and Lightning forgot about everything else around her. The powdery, sparkly mist began to twist and churn like a whirlpool. Different colors danced along the haze, and one by one different shapes appeared from the smoke. Three blobs of colors appeared, and each of them were accompanied by a pony of the same color; one a galloway, one a unicorn, and the other a pegasus.
In the middle of the three colors, a white shape appeared; the shape of a particularly long-tailed galloway colt.
“Long ago,” Echo Shade said in a voice that was strong and clear. “In the days when the Alicorns walked the earth, one colt dreamed of a world with no distinction of wing, horn or hoof. He was a talented, handsome young musician who was skilled with his hooves and with his words, but he carried with him a fatal blemish; he had the long tail of a unicorn even though he was born a galloway! He was dubbed Rat Tail by his peers, and he faced teasing and torment without end all his days. He had no friends and nowhere to call his own. When tragedy struck, he had nobody to turn to.
“It was in his darkest hour when he heard the legend of the Legendary Seventh Alicorn called the Wanderer, a benevolent soul who saw not three nations, but a single family of ponies. Her domain was music, and her realm was said to be the Mercurial Mountains, where no pony dared tread. Rat Tail put his faith in the legend, gathered up a group of misfits and orphans from all three tribes, and set off to find his dream.”
Echo Shade twirled her horn, and the magical shapes became a picture of craggy mountains and withered trees. A small group of ponies and their leader stood before a green, wooded valley.
“Their journey was long and hard, but it was through their trials that they discovered the secret Valley of Life. Rat Tail knew this was the perfect spot to build the home of his dreams; one where any and every pony could live together in peace.”
With another twirl, the magic took the shape of the galloway colt, now full-grown, surrounded by ponies of every shape and size.
“With Rat Tail as their leader, they built a small village. This tiny community grew and spread throughout the entire valley. Rat Tail studied the songs and legends of the Seventh Alicorn, and with her teachings he taught and guided the valley with gentle wisdom. Every pony knew peace and friendship regardless of wing, horn or hoof.
“Rat Tail believed it was the wish of the Wanderer that every pony and every nation would live together in peace and harmony. He believed that if the valley flourished, then they could be a beacon of hope not just to lost or wayward souls, but to all of Cabalos. So before he died, Rat Tail gathered the ponies together and christened their home Harmony. Their sons and daughters tend to and build upon his legacy to this very day.”
The magical shapes brightened, melded together, sparkled, and then burst soundlessly like a set of fireworks. The particles fluttered down to the ground and gently faded away after landing. One landed on Lightning’s nose and made her sneeze, which blew the flurry of sparkles away. Polaris flicked his ears irritably and shook his head to get the magic-dust out of his mane.
“So what did you think?” Echo Shade asked.
Polaris nodded tentatively. “That is some very complex illusion magic. You’re very talented.”
“Why thank you!” Echo said with a beam. “I’m just an apprentice but I think I got enough of a personal touch to the process. Young or old, ponies do enjoy a good story, and the visuals don’t hurt--”
“Which is why I wonder why you waste such a talent on light shows for foals,” Polaris finished. Echo was taken aback and frowned. “Rather strange to show it off to adults like myself and…” he gave Lightning a look, who started pawing absentmindedly at the falling particles like a bored kitten. “...Myself. All that aside, your story; this village was founded a very long time ago, and as it was inspired and/or ordained by one of the very Alicorns who placed the treaties to begin with, you are in no violation?”
Echo pursed her lips and swung her head to the side as she thought. “...Basically? All we do with that story is compress the first one hundred pages of that book into something more… digestible.”
“One hundred pages?” Lightning cried. She took the book and flipped it open. “All that took one hundred pages?” She was bombarded by an actual cloud of dust and coughed.
“Yeah, it’s one of the shorter volumes we use for history lessons, but still,” Echo said. “Ponies just don’t have the attention spans they used to, so it’s up to us Lorekeepers to distill the important parts and tell them in ways that are easy to understand.”
“And you truly believe your presence here is sanctioned?” Polaris asked. "By this... Seventh Alicorn?"
Echo looked at Tall Tail, who nodded. “Yes, we do,” she said.
Polaris pursed his lips and glanced to the side. He shrugged. “Interesting.”
“Polaris was right, you are sooo talented!” Lightning Bug said as she shook Echo’s hoof.
“Why thank you! I just wish I can pull it off half as well in front of a full house! …Full townsquare I mean. I do try my best,” Echo Shade tossed her mane confidently. “...When master lets me, I mean.”
“Hm?”
“Now then!” Tall Tail approached Lightning and Polaris. “It’s getting dark. I believe it’s time we sort out where you’ll be staying the night.”
“Oh! Lightning can stay with us, can’t she, Master?” Echo asked.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Yes! Girl time! I barely have any friends over at my place,” Echo cheered.
“Friends?” Lightning blinked.
“You’ll stay for the festival, won’t you Lightning?” Echo asked.
“A whole other night here?” Polaris asked. “We couldn’t, we must be off as soon as possible. I need to finish my chart, and you need to find your fellow soldiers, remember?”
“But what if they need more help?” Lightning asked. “Setting up the town sounds like a lot of work.”
“It is,” Tall Tail said. “But only because we take it so seriously. We don’t mean to impose on you two at all. If you wish to depart, I can see to it personally that you receive a proper escort down the mountain.”
“If the Kingsveil ever lifts, that is,” Slashbuckler said.
“You mean the Stormwall?” Polaris asked.
“Whatever it’s called, it hasn’t let up in days! Even if you guys left the valley, I don’t think anyone’s leaving the mountains any time soon.”
“Not with that attitude.”
The two stallions glared at each other. “Well then,” Tall Tail said. “Since my residence is occupied, I believe Polaris will need someplace different to put down his head. Slash, would you do the honors?”
“What?!” they both cried. “Why him?” again in the same voice.
“What are we, the ponies of Harmony, if we’re not generous and gracious?”
“Augh…” Slash lowered his head. “Right this way, your highness.”
“Lead the way, sir brute.”
“My pleasure, Prince Prissy.”
“As you will, blue bully.” They both went on and on as they walked out of the square.
Echo and her master led Lightning down the streets to the edge of town. Even though it was dark, the warm lights from the lamps and the houses made it feel cozy and jolly. Lightning smiled and kept up as they trotted along.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lightning saw a flash of color. She cocked her head and checked the backdrop of old wooden houses on stilts and thatched roofs, and she saw something that had somehow evaded her the entire walk.
During the day, it was hard to make anything out, but during the night, the large pillar practically glowed. Lightning walked up to it and craned her neck to see the top. It sat in a huge clearing. No houses or trees for several blocks in any direction. It was covered in lines and carvings, and at the top there was a large crest carved into the top, probably as large as her.
“I see you’ve found one of the Star Pillars,” Echo said.
“It’s so pretty…” Lightning said.
“You see the symbol at the top?”
“It looks like a shield, or an anchor, or a crescent moon…”
“This one represents faith. It’s one of the virtues of Rat Tail’s teachings. If you want, you can join in on the tour tomorrow! It’s bound to be a blast. I’ll be your tour guide for the whole valley!”
“One thing at a time, Echo Shade,” Tall Tail called over to her. He kept walking in the direction of their home, and the two fillies followed after.
It was hard to make anything out in the dim light, but inside their small cottage, Lightning made out the two foals curled against each other on a mat. A cold pot of soup sat on the stove, and the coals of a fire flickered against the shadows of the room.
Echo handed Lightning a pillow. “Just take any spot alongside the wall. Master will sleep upstairs for now, ‘cause y’know… awkward and all that.”
Lightning nodded and went to find a spot for her pillow. She lied down and turned over, and she heard Echo and her master talk before headed upstairs.
“It’s just like the saying!”
“Echo Shade, please.”
“The fates of all Cabalos will change when Outsiders enter the Valley of Life! Rat Tail himself said that!”
“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. Outsiders have come to the valley before, and I’m sure Outsiders will come after. There’s just a long period in between, that’s all.”
“But Tall Tail--”
“Echo, I’m glad you’re remembering your history, but as a Lorekeeper you’ll learn to tell the difference between Destiny and a happy accident."