The auction house was massive, and for something as momentous as a noble's collection being on the block, it was packed. Impisi had been right about the dress code, with no creature there daring to be caught in bare fur, or even merely with an accessory. Full clothing, with shoes, was a must. His dark suit fit him comfortably, and Kisu was wearing a glimmering golden gown, making them easily look the part of a wealthy interspecies couple who'd been drawn in by the promise of rarities.
The outfits helped them blend in, but also had the advantage of covering their marks. While he wasn't sure how much the Thunderstrikes knew about mark icons, and whether that would be enough to recognize that sun, moon, and star symbols were often associated with magical talent, it was better safe than sorry to keep his two crescents under wraps, and Kisu's knife was also best kept beneath cloth. No one seemed to be giving them even a passing glance, and from his seat he could spot a few other ponies, all with non-pony companions; one couple, an earth pony and a donkey, even had their foal with them, the young mule squirming in the tiny, yearling-sized suit they'd been forced to wear.
The auctioneer caught his attention, and it took a moment for the species name to click. He was a behemoth, albeit one not yet nearly large enough to match what the name implied. The elephant-like bipeds were a lot like dragons, in lifespan and in growth rate; the foals were not much larger than pony ones, the adolescents and young adults a bit taller than most adult ponies, and over centuries could become the sort of creatures that casually pushed mountains out of their way. This one was clearly young--he and Savannah likely would have easily stood eye to eye--but he was dressed to the nines just like the guests, and didn't seem at all nervous in the face of the crowd. A kelpie was sitting nearby, likely a relative of the duke, who was overseeing the sale.
It was sitting here that Night Light found himself starting to understand why Princess Celestia would trust Farasians so much as to bring them into her network. Kisu had said it herself on the ship, the values she promoted weren't hard to agree with. Farasi had been a nation founded on a continent rich with sapient species, and many of them had integrated flawlessly. Equestria, meanwhile, was almost entirely ponies, and sometimes integrating just the different varieties of pony seemed as if it were an ongoing job. She likely looked to Farasi not just as an ally, but a place to emulate.
As Night Light sat there, looking out at the diverse crowd, he made a promise to himself. He promised that even when he retired from his work for the Crown, he would do his part to nuture the harmony he'd seen here back home. Every life he touched would be encouraged to embrace the different with open forelegs, to learn about other species and other lands. He was just one pony, but Lady Dawnlight had been a lesson in what just one pony, with the drive to do what was right, could accomplish.
"Look alive, Mr. Light," came Kisu's voice, snapping him out of his musings. "There's our beast."
He followed her gaze, and once he did, it wasn't hard to pick Needles out. His sprawling mane of white, fur-like quills that surrounded his head and ran down his back were nothing that could be properly contained in clothing, a problem that many hedgebeasts had. "Trimming" the quills was possible, but time-consuming, and in their colder-climate home was counter-productive to keeping warm. He had clearly compromised between this clash of dress code and biology by wearing the front of a suit, which Night assumed was held to his body with a series of fastenings at the shoulders and waist.
He both admired and pitied the efforts of the cuff links to hold sleeves closed over such tree-trunk-like arms. Not only were those arms crossed in front of Needles's chest, but his tail was lashing behind him, which naturally had those around him shuffling away to avoid sudden tearing of their own outfits, and his short muzzle was wearing a permanent, cold sneer.
Crimson Flame was right next to him, and also easy to pick out. Kirin were a rare sight, as the species' original home was highly insular, to the point where he'd heard some individuals once claim that they were a myth. She suited her name perfectly, blood red mane paired with burnt orange coat and scales of a deep maroon, and her dress and shoes were the deep black of tar. Her expression was no friendlier than Needles's, eyes narrowed as she glared at everything around her, twitching with the energy of an equine looking for something to kick.
"And our mare," he replied, noting that neither had seemed to notice any scrutiny. "I have the fireproofing spells active."
"Good." Kisu shifted in her seat, but so close to her it was clear that she was tense, and no true comfort would be found. "Hopefully no one else in the crowd has their sights set on our prize."
Night breathed a laugh. "If they do, it'll be too rich for their blood very soon." He'd been granted permission to bid whatever was necessary to secure the amulet, with the Crown covering it all, and he doubted anyone else here, including the Thunderstrikes, could claim such a generous benefactor.
It wasn't the first item to be brought out, however, and Night lit his horn for a few different things, made a few bids, tried to seem like somepony interested in art and in jewelry. One of the paintings, he even won the bidding on, and he was sure that the palace would find some place to put it. Or perhaps they would auction it themselves, as the princess was wont to do for charities. Needles, he noticed, was doing no such thing, not even pretending he was here for anything but his chosen prize, simply continuing to lash his tail impatiently as artwork, after vase, after furniture item, after clothing item came and went.
Then he saw it. Exactly how Princess Celestia had described. The horned head, the outspread wings, and the massive gemstone. He had no doubt that most who saw it would call it tacky, and he wasn't sure what the duke had seen in it, besides maybe recognizing the sheer age of it and assuming that must make it an antique of value. Night didn't know jewelry, but he assumed under most circumstances, it wouldn't go for much more than what the gem itself was worth.
The behemoth auctioneer cleared his throat, the voice amplification spell ensuring all would hear him as he started, "And now we have an unusual piece, a brooch of Equestrian make, depicting an alicorn. Can I have--"
"Fifty thousand bits." Needles's voice was like a thundering cloud, one massive hand raised high in the air, and other attendees looked at him before starting to murmur amongst themselves.
"I have..." The auctioneer seemed to stumble over his words. "I have fifty... fifty thousand. Can I have sixty? Sixty thousand for this lovely piece of jewelry."
Kisu tensed next to Night, and he trusted her to watch out for him as he lit his horn to signal his own bid. "Sixty thousand." Eyes were on him now, two fierce glares, and he gave them a sidelong glance, but otherwise tried to act as if they weren't there.
"I have sixty thousand, can I hear--"
"One hundred thousand bits!" Needles barked, and the murmuring around them intensified.
There would be no pretending that the amulet was of low value, not with his frantic jumping of the gun and throwing around such high numbers. Night supposed he would need to drop pretenses too. "One hundred and fifty thousand bits."
"Two hundred thousand!"
The auctioneer was no longer necessary, as the back and forth went on. Night would barely have a chance to speak his number before Needles spoke up, and while the battle saw a few others tentatively adding in their own bids, Needles would steamroll them too, scaring them off quickly. Not that they needed anyone else to bid them up when Needles was so keen to send the price all the way to Cloudsdale, and Night became aware of the stares that would go from beast to stallion and back again as if watching a game of table tennis.
All the while, Crimson Flame had started to stalk toward them, and he could see colours in her fur and scales shifting, her mane growing more flame-like and her eyes taking on a glow. Even with the fireproofing spell, he could feel himself sweating from the heat she gave off, and Kisu soon took her own threatening step forward, her golden eyes aglow and shadows growing deep around her hooves.
The crowd hadn't panicked yet, but the conversations around them were turning alarmed, and he doubted a behemoth so young would have enough strength to separate them if it turned into an all-out brawl and the accompanying stampede.
"One million bits!" Needles's voice was beginning to sound less like distinct words and more like full growls.
"Two million."
"Five million!"
"Ten."
Night could see the massive chest heaving, the quills that had been groomed to look like fur bristling, fists clenched so hard they were trembling, and heard the pling sounds of cuff links flying off to parts unknown. The sneer was now a snarl, teeth bared; hedgebeasts got the majority of their protein from insect sources, and didn't have the jaws for larger prey, but Night found himself wondering if Needles was going to lunge anyway and see if pure rage made up the difference in bite force needed to tear a pony's throat out.
"That's ten million bits going once..."
"What kind of money," Needles ground through clenched teeth, "Do you have to be throwing it around on a trinket, stallion?"
Night finally turned his head, looking past the two mares to meet fierce eyes. "Enough," was his calm reply, as he quietly readied a shield spell in his mind in case he did need to repel a sudden strike. "Why does a trinket of unicorn make interest you so much, my good beast?"
"Ten million going twice..."
"Twenty million!" Needles bellowed.
Crimson Flame hissed from where she stood inches from Kisu's muzzle. "Why are we bothering, boss? Let's just torch them and--"
"One hundred million bits."
The sound from Needles was something between a roar and a screech, and sent several attendees leaping over one another to get away from him. Night Light could spot various creatures in outfits labelled "SECURITY" making their way over, and so he waited, his horn still glowing from the bid as the shield spell hovered in the space between charge and cast.
When the sound faded, Needles, too, looked and saw what was coming, and he took a deep breath before sitting back down. Then he looked to his companion, and rumbled, "Return to your seat, Ms. Flame."
"But boss--"
Over her protests, and with his sneer back in place, he cut in with a cold, "They aren't worth your fire."
Slowly, Crimson shifted back to normal, and she spat out a glowing ember before smothering it with a stomp of her hoof. Steam rose from her pelt as she made her way back to her seat, and continued to do so as she sat down, condensation forming on Needles's quills as the pair fumed. Security slowed their approach, but didn't retreat, and Night let the glow of his horn fade. Kisu was the last to back down, and he felt her lean against him slightly as she settled at his side.
"One hundred million going once..."
"You know that they're going to jump us the moment they have the opportunity, right?" Kisu murmured, the tension in her muscles obvious even through both of their outfits.
"I'll use a few illusions to shake them on the way to Impisi's," he replied. "We might want to see if we can rent a sky-cart for the trip back instead of going by hoof."
"That won't be cheap," Kisu cautioned as she feigned an affectionate nuzzle. "Not like Equestria. Lack of fliers means high demand and high prices."
"One hundred million going twice..."
"I'm sure the palace will consider the purchase necessary," he assured, "Along with dinner so that we aren't flying hungry."
"That was almost smooth, Mr. Light." Kisu chuckled. "I'm flattered, but you're not really my type."
He chuckled right along with her. "You aren't mine either. But I wanted to see what all the fuss was about when it comes to vegetables cooked with meat, and there's worse times to try new food than dining with a new friend."
"Sold! To the dapper unicorn and his zebra ladyfriend."
For all else present, the auction continued on, and the strange bidding war would be nothing but a footnote in their evening. For Night Light, while he indeed looked forward to a hot meal before needing to flee, he had that cold feeling in his frogs again, and knew he likely wouldn't have the chance. He had no true gift of prophecy, though--he'd met seers, and trying to speak to them was to end up reaching for something to soothe the resulting headache--and so he tried, at least on the surface, to appear relaxed, even throw a bid or two on some more items to keep up appearances.
He would get his chance to analyze the artefact soon enough, as much as part of him didn't want to look.
Kisu was laughing. Not a snort, not a chuckle, but full-bodied laughter, and Night Light grinned at his accomplishment as they made their way down Zebrat's streets, the amulet heavy in one of the saddlebags on his back. He'd been firing off misdirection spells the entire walk home, strategically obscuring the both of them from sight while sending imaginary figures off in different directions, and as they drew close to Impisi's restaurant, he'd found the confidence to start livening up the home stretch of their walk with stories.
"I haven't even gotten to the best part," he insisted as her laughter continued unabated. "Now, you must understand--you must understand that this mare was ancient. My Professor of Linguistics looked like the kind of mare who could talk about the good old days and mean Old Unicornia. But in unicorns, the last thing to go is magic. An elderly unicorn might not be able to walk or see anymore and will still be able to cast as well as they could in their prime. So she looked at everything that'd gone awry and I knew--I knew from the look in her eyes that she'd analyzed every little hex involved and then, once she knew what was what, she could take control of it herself, and she sent it right back at--"
They turned the corner. And stopped.
The door to the restaurant was off its hinges, one of said hinges laying on the ground surrounded by splinters. The windows were broken, the smoky scent that he'd associated with spices now thicker and smelling burnt. The sign was on the ground, looking like it'd been trampled and deliberately slashed. Night broke into a run on instinct, but Kisu was still ahead of him, the frantic hooves punctuated with her shout of, "Impisi!"
They had to slow down again when they entered, picking their way through the broken glass. Tables were turned over, tablecloths looked burnt, and Impisi was holding the leg of what had once been a chair, hovering it menacingly over the head of a hedgebeast who was tied up in that looked like the remnants of a potato bag.
"'Bout time you two got back," Impisi rumbled as the two approached, "You take a romantic detour or something?"
"What happened?" Kisu's voice was high and frantic. "Where's Savannah?"
"They got grabbed," Impisi said with a grunt, "But I returned the favour." She waved the chair leg menacingly at the hedgebeast one more time, before tossing it aside. "I'll leave him in your tender care while I clean up."
Night watched her pick up a broom, and noticed the faint limp she walked with, as well as the tremble in her hands as she started to sweep. He then looked at the tied-up lackey, who appeared dazed. He wasn't big, not like Needles--he would have only come to Night's shoulder while standing--and wasn't groomed like him either, the quills naturally flowing upward from tail to head rather than tamed to point downward. Kisu was also studying him, but in the way he remembered from the boat, like she was trying to skin him with her mind.
"Come on," Night said, giving her a nudge with his shoulder. "Let's take him to the back." And then he'd make sure the poor lout survived the resulting interrogation.