Shortly after she had found the note that was left behind, Moondancer wasn’t sure what to do. Even though Albedo’s letter didn’t say anything that would seem potentially too alarming, the timing of this note as well as the alchemist cautioning her when it came to the research they were conducting didn’t exactly feel right with her. Not only that, but if Albedo was investigating something, the alchemist should’ve had someone at least accompany him. Yet, instead he went off by himself. Even Klee, the young girl that saw him as her older brother, had no idea where he could be right now.
So, after a few moments, the unicorn decided that the most logical choice was to try and run this situation with one of the smartest ponies that she knew. If anypony could possibly make heads or tails of what was going on, it had to be Twilight. After all, Albedo occasionally left his sister in the company of Spike and his friends whenever they conducted tests. In her mind, maybe Twilight knew about something that could at least point them in the right direction. Or at least, try to figure out what exactly Albedo was doing.
Yet, when the unicorn informed her of what was going on, the alicorn’s first response wasn’t quite the kind of response that Moondancer was hoping for. “Wait, slow down a moment, Moondancer. Albedo’s not with you? I thought you two were making progress on the Crucible.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Moondancer told her, “Yet, I found this under the door to the guest room at the cottage this morning. I tried asking Fluttershy if she happened to notice him when he left, but she told me that he came back to the cottage and stayed pretty much like any other day over the last few weeks. Same goes for her animals as well.”
At that, Twilight took a moment to look back at the letter again and carefully scan over what was written. After a moment or two, she found a particular pair of words that happened to catch her attention. “So, based on this, Albedo is out somewhere investigating a disturbance. However, you have no idea what exactly he means and where exactly he might be headed. That’s a bit troubling, especially since we wouldn’t know where to start.”
“If I may make a suggestion,” the two mares heard Spike speak up as he was with Klee at the Cutie Map with parchment and crayons for her to draw with, “You could try asking Pinkie Pie. She would always know if something’s off because of that ‘pinkie sense’ of hers I think.”
At that point, her friend from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was a bit puzzled by the dragon’s words, “I’m sorry, but… what?”
The princess of friendship blinked for a moment, shortly before looking back at Moondancer, “Yeah, that might take a bit to explain. But it could be a good starting point.”
“Maybe I should explain,” Spike said as he looked at the unicorn now, “Early on when Twilight and I first came to Ponyville, we learned that Pinkie has a strange … trait, one would call it.”
“Wouldn’t many ponies think that she’s strange when you first meet her?” the unicorn asked.
“Fair point, but I think after I’m done explaining, you’ll realize that this is stranger. For some reason, she’s able to predict events that haven’t happened yet based on involuntary twitches. Something she calls her ‘pinkie sense’. Almost everyone in Ponyville has practically accepted this by now, yet I say almost because I don’t know how some of the students in her class would think on the matter.”
“Woah woah, hold on a minute,” Moondancer interrupted, “You’re telling me… that she can somehow predict the future based on body language. How does-?”
“Moondancer, it’s easier just to accept it,” Twilight interjected as she looked towards her friend, “I tried to find an explanation into her sense. Needless to say, it did not go well for me.”
Unfortunately for her, her friend and former classmate wasn’t entirely convinced, “How exactly-?”
“Over the course of a few days that Twilight tried to understand her sense, Twilight probably racked up more medical bills with the Ponyville General Hospital than anypony else in town. Including Rainbow, and she’s a Wonderbolt.” Spike deadpanned, “Also, when Discord was asked about it, even he couldn’t provide an answer.”
“The only thing about it that we do know is that it predicts more… immediate events,” Twilight told her, “For example, a twitchy tail would mean that something’s going to fall and that could be enough time to pull a friend out of danger. It’s… complicated, though if Pinkie did feel something off recently, then maybe it can help us-”
Before Twilight even had the chance to finish speaking, a loud bang was heard as everyone turned to see Pinkie Pie herself come through the door with a cart of baked goods being dragged behind by her tail, “Good morning, everypony!! How is everypony doing today!?”
“Speak of Tartarus,” Twilight muttered, before she waved a hoof towards Pinkie, “We’re doing well, Pinkie. In fact, there was something we wanted to ask you.”
“Ooh, ooh! So you were the ponies talking about me! No wonder the fur stood up along my neck and I had a tickle in the knee. Heehee, gosh I sound like Zecora,” the earth pony giggled, “So, what was it that you and Moon-Moon wanted to ask?”
“Uh… Moon-Moon?”
“Well, that’s a nickname for you of course,” Pinkie told Moondancer, “I mean, Moon is just my little way of remembering Princess Luna, so I thought ‘Moon-Moon’! I got nicknames for everypony, like Dashie, AJ, Twi-Twi-.”
“Err, yes uh… Anyways,” A now rather awkward Twilight spoke as she tried to regain control of the current conversation, “We were wondering if you felt anything strange last night. Moondancer found a letter from Albedo this morning saying that he was investigating a disturbance he felt last night. Considering we don’t have any ideas as to what he meant, Spike thought we would ask if you felt anything. Like with your Pinkie Sense?”
For a moment, Pinkie began to scratch her chin with her right hoof to try and remember anything, all while moving her tail so that the cart could wheel over to the counter in the kitchen. “You mean like… a doozy?” she pondered, before looking back at Twilight, “No, I didn’t feel anything like that. The only thing I felt early this morning was an itch at my flank and my left ear twitching. Usually, that means that something or somepony is missing or out of place. Maybe it’s because Mrs. Cake changed the temperature on the Thermostat-”
“Albedo,” Moondancer interjected as they let out a deep sigh. Despite their best efforts, it seems that all this was doing was just confirming something they already knew. There wasn’t anything new to go off of or anything that could explain what’s going on. They were still stuck at square one without anything they could do. “He’s not here and left Klee with me.”
“Aww, don’t be so sad Moon-Moon,” the earth pony said as they tried to sound positive, “Hey, I know! Maybe we can ask around town! I’m sure there’s somepony that’s seen him. But who do we start with?”
As Pinkie was trying her best to help though, that was when Spike noticed something. One of Pinkie’s ears flopped, then her knee twitched and her eyes began to flutter. Immediately, the dragon stopped what he was doing and looked back at the alicorn in the room. “Twilight, doors!”
“Wha-?”
“You know, doors!” the dragon spoke again, motioning towards Pinkie and Moondancer. It took her a few seconds, but she was quick enough in order to catch what he meant as Twilight looked all around the room. Yet, she only had enough time to pull both mares away from the front door of the castle as they slammed open once again. This time though, the creature standing at the entryway of the castle was not who they were expecting.
“Really now? I come back from my trip only to find that many of my friends aren’t even here to greet me on my return! Talk about lousy hospitality.”
“Hey, it’s a strange looking lizard!” Everyone now heard Klee speak up in joy, before the little girl raced over towards where the draconequus was and tried to tackle/hug him, “Can we be friends, Mr. Lizard?”
“Uh… s-sure,” the draconequus that was now sweating bullets replied nervously, “Anyways, before you ask… I was on vacation. However, I got roped into helping a friend bring some companions back to their home. Lot to explain, so little time and-” At that point, Discord looked around the room and paused, before looking down at the little girl that was hugging him first before he looked back up, “Was I… interrupting something?”
“Well, first things first,” Twilight before looking at the unicorn that was not that far from her, “Discord, this is my friend Moondancer. Moondancer, this is Ponyville’s residential draconequus, Discord.”
“Uh, h-hi.”
“Second, we were trying to find someone that Moondancer was working with for the last couple of days that just went missing this morning,” the alicorn continued to speak after her friend's nervous introduction, “They just so happen to be Klee’s older brother, Albedo.”
“What a coincidence,” Discord grinned, “Those are the two I happen to be looking for. My friend was asked by someone they knew to help bring them back safely and we got some help-” At that, the spirit of chaos blinked, before looking back at Twilight, “Wait, you said that he’s missing? NOW of all times!? Everything is almost ready to go on our end and now he just dips like that?”
“U-uhm, M-Mr. Discord-?”
Before Moondancer could speak, Discord held up his eagle talon to his mouth to shush the unicorn, before making a fist with his lion paw. After he extended both the pinkie and his thumb, he placed it up to his mouth as a bit of magic was felt around it, “Hey, Tone-Deaf Bard? We have a bit of a problem. It seems that one of the friends you wanted for me to bring back decided to wander off and he’s nowhere to be seen. Could you call your little helpers back-?”
Those who were watching noticed that Discord paused for a moment, before moving his paw away from his head as he looked at it in disbelief. “Wait, slow down. They’re not here? Where could they have-?” Another brief pause, before the answer on the other end caught him off guard, “They went to INAZUMA already!? Are they that impatient?! … No, no, it’s fine. We’ll just find some other capable hands to help. Hold on a second.”
After another moment passed, he moved his eagle talon to Klee’s forehead and pressed it gently, before speaking into his paw again. “Alright. There’s someone who lives out in the woods… Not that far from Mondstadt, you say? Then that will work out perfectly. I’ll get back to you when everyone’s ready.”
Afterwards, he unclenched his paw and moved his talon away from Klee as Discord turned back to Twilight and the others. Which left one of them to speak up, “Uh, what was that all about?”
“Well, my little pony, you and your colleague weren’t the only ones who were working on trying to get them back home. It’s a bit a long story, but right now, I got some good news and bad news,” the draconequus cleared his throat, before using some of his magic to move Klee back to the Cutie Map, “Bad news is that the generous and possibly kleptomaniacal helpers that have been assisting my friend and I last time around have decided to travel abroad without so much as telling us. Good news though is that we were lucky enough to find a suitable replacement for the time being until they come back… I hope.”
“Wait, h-hope-?”
With a combined snap of both his talon and his lion paw, a new figure dropped from what appeared to be an opening in the fabric of existence as they landed on the table. This figure was a boy that looked to be younger than Albedo but relatively the same height, with scruffy gray hair and clothes that appeared disorganized and torn at some places. On their back was a gem similar to the one that Klee had on her backpack, only that it was on their back and was the color purple instead of red.
Needless to say, they were rather confused. “L-lupical-?”
Yet, to the little girl who knew him, she was beyond overjoyed. “Razor!! You’re here!!”
“K-Klee!?!”
Elsewhere…
As he wandered farther and farther away from Ponyville, Albedo didn’t look back at any point as the alchemist tried to focus and press on. Only relying on a map he happened to find in Fluttershy’s cottage as he left early in the morning, the chalk prince had only one singular focus in mind. To find what it was that he felt mere hours ago and not let it interfere with what he and Moondancer were trying to accomplish. Yet, to stay in Ponyville was the equivalent of welcoming this unknown threat into town with open arms.
This was the only way to assure that they stayed safe. For either he would find whatever this presence was, or it would find him. And if it were the latter, then Albedo would want to keep whatever they were as far away from Ponyville as possible. Even though Twilight had told him that she and her friends had faced numerous threats before and were able to defeat them successfully, Durin was his responsibility. It was his teacher that created the dragon, and therefore, it was the alchemist’s obligation to set things right. So the farther away that he was from civilians, the better.
However, even though Albedo was by himself, he had the feeling that he wasn’t fully alone. While he had not encountered monsters, the alchemist had felt a presence following him after passing the base of the mountain where Canterlot resided. He had taken it upon himself to avoid potential places where others could see him, such as train stations and small towns. Yet, the presence was still there… and very persistent at that.
Only when he was passing through some trees and heard the snap of a twig did Albedo actually stop and turn around, one hand holding onto the sheath of his blade and the other being mere inches from the grip. “I know that you’re there. Whatever tricks you use cannot hide yourself from me.”
At first, there was silence. Yet, after a moment or two, a new voice spoke up as a cloaked pony stepped out from behind a nearby tree. “Well, this is a first for me. I did not expect for this to happen, or perhaps I’m getting too old for this.”
That did little to ease current tensions as Albedo still had his hand ready if he needed to draw his sword. However, the mare in question was quick to notice and let out a sigh, “Woah, easy there. I don’t mean any harm.”
“Really now?” the alchemist asked, “Then why exactly have you been following me? Are you a thief? Because I don’t have any money to give you-”
“No, no. Dear Celestia no!” she quickly dismissed the motion with an outstretched hoof, “I wouldn’t stoop so low as to steal from somepony. Besides, you just so happen to be heading in the same direction that I am. For what reason, that I don’t know”
“Then why conceal yourself with a cloak?” The alchemist tried to reason with them, before going a step further and removing his hands from his blade so the mare could feel at ease, “It would do you much better if you don’t try to give others the wrong impression.”
For a moment, everything seemed silent and it didn’t seem like Albedo’s words really did anything to improve the situation. Though, much to his surprise, that was when the mare pulled back her hood and revealed herself to him. The pony that was speaking to him was a unicorn that had whitish-gray fur and a darkened aquamarine mane with a red stripe along the center. Not only that, but the color of their eyes matched that of a particular bard he had seen once or twice wandering around Mondstadt.
“Forgive me, but it’s been some time since I had last spoken with another creature like this,” the mare replied back, “You don’t seem to be like any other creature I’ve met before, aside from the obvious. Who are you exactly?”
“Well, my name is Albedo,” the alchemist simply answered, “I’m an alchemist by trade. Though, from time to time, my occupation involves me having to conduct investigations in the field. I was actually going to look into something that I felt farther north of here until I noticed that you were following right behind me.”
For a moment, the unicorn looked away, before the chalk prince happened to overhear something that they said in a whisper-like tone. Almost as if they were hoping that they didn’t hear it, “So, they felt it too? Then I’m not going crazy. The wards have been broken.”
As soon as she said that though, the mare looked back up and nervously scratched her head with a forehoof. “Oh, I’m sorry. My mind has been all over the place recently. It gets a bit difficult to-”
“It’s fine,” Albedo retorted, “Though, back to the matter at hand, you still haven’t answered my earlier question. Why exactly are you following me? Because despite what you have claimed, I doubt that me heading the same direction you’re going is mere coincidence.”
“W-what makes you say that?”
“Because when I mentioned where I was going, you hesitated a little, before trying to brush it off like nothing happened,” he said, folding his arms as he asked one more question, “Who are you, really?”
For a moment, everything was quiet. The only sounds that were heard were the chirps of birds and the wind flowing past the two of them. Albedo didn’t know why the unicorn was silent and wasn’t sure if they were just simply gathering their thoughts or refusing to answer. Though, he had a feeling that his inquiries would hopefully get him somewhere. Not only that, but perhaps they could relate to the investigation he had yet to start.
Then, he got an answer. “My name is Breezy Gale. However, history knows of both me and my deeds by a different name. One that I believe every creature has heard about once. Or at least, some rendition of it. That name being Gusty the Great.”
“The mare who stopped the father of monsters?”
“The very same,” she nodded her head. Though, despite what she said, the unicorn did not look rather happy to tell him that, “Though, the thing is, no creature knows the entire story of what happened and why I did what I had to do that day. If what you are hoping to look into ends up being what I fear most, then you may need my help. But in order to completely understand everything, I need to tell you the full story.”