Faye stepped out of the shower and buried her mane in a towel, wrapping another around her tail and starting the long process of drying her body with a third.
I hovered nearby, listening as her stomach audibly growled. Our food wasn't ready quite yet, so we had been shown to our quarters early, much to the delight of anyone who wanted to wash up. The castle was spacious enough and its lord generous enough that all six of us were granted our own chambers: for the first time in my life, I had a private bath that wasn't shared with housemates or anyone else.
It was a little awkward to use, being designed for dragons that could exceed my own dimensions in any number of ways, but aside from having to stand on our hind legs to reach the shower controls, it was surprisingly luxurious. Stone tiles with colored mineral veins formed the walls, the ceiling and large swaths of the floor. Whoever had built this had access to a top-tier quarry, and someone they wanted to impress. It also looked newer than the rest of the castle, especially the old-fashioned walls and exterior. Someone had spent a lot of money renovating this place and keeping it relevant.
"Thanks for letting me do that," Faye said, sponging water out of her fur.
"There are things it's worth living up front for," I said with a shrug. "Instead of just staying in the back of my mind and spectating. Life's little pleasures. You know?"
"Yes, I know," Faye sighed. "You've banged your head against our mental blocks too. You know how it is."
"It's still worth saying," I pointed out. "Anyway, have you noticed how nice this place is?"
Faye nodded. "I was actually just thinking the same thing."
I folded my forelegs in midair. "I wonder why. You think they just have a lot of money from taxing the trade, or something?"
"Well, I've been thinking," Faye mused. "And one thing stands out to me. Seigetsu made it sound like this town is pretty out of the way in Ice Dragon territory. The war, the church's seat of power... They're all far away. And Lord Terutomo seems like a nice enough guy, but if this is really the middle of nowhere from his church's point of view, what do you suppose he's doing all the way out here?"
I blinked. "Yeah, that's a good point. Good leaders probably don't get shipped off to places like this without a reason. You think he's actually got some dark, scary secret? Or that he's being punished by the higher-ups with an unimportant assignment?"
"I don't know," Faye said. "It's possible he's not as nice as he seems. There's apparently at least one supernaturally good secret keeper in town. But this also could be a situation like Icereach, where there's something a lot more important about this place than most ponies are aware of."
"You mean like how Icereach was holding a finished fleet of rockets loaded with explosives?" I asked.
"Like that." Faye nodded. "Or how it was also holding us."
Right. Enough ponies in Ironridge knew about who and what I was that I had been sent off to an insular research colony to hopefully grow up free from knowing about changelings, their queens and their impact on the world...
"Let's switch back," Faye said, finishing up with her drying. "We wouldn't want to be late for dinner."
"Sure," I said, drifting closer. My old, unwashed coat hung on a bar near the door, feeling more and more like a relic of a distant past. But it was a choice between that, or showing off my blood-colored legs, and I wasn't sure either of us were strong enough to handle the alternative yet.
Hopefully we could wander the city, and would find a clothing shop that sold something a little more suited to who we were now.
Corsica ate until her stomach hurt, and then ate far too much more.
"You dragons sure didn't slack off in cooking class," she said, collapsing with her chin on the table when she was actually, legitimately sure this time that she couldn't eat another bite. "Blurrrrgh..."
Terutomo chuckled, holding court at the head of the table. "My people have always been proud of our culinary traditions. But come! Now that you are fed and rested, will you not tell me more of your quest? What takes you to a barren desert like Catantan?"
Corsica glanced at Halcyon, who was still packing food away on account of not eating quite as ravenously. Was there any coherent strategy in place for what to or not to say? This was the kind of thing they should have coordinated earlier...
Nobody spoke, and Terutomo looked moderately disappointed. "I'm starting to get the impression you lot aren't very talkative."
"Don't take it personally," Corsica said, heaving herself upright. "We've had a lot of dust-ups with untrustworthy officials. In Ironridge, nobody needs a reason to take advantage of you beyond you leaving your guard down. This is just the way we've turned out."
"And now that we're here," Halcyon added, "instead of a breath of fresh air, we're running into magics we can't hear about without breaking them and religions that are for dragons only. It's not that we want to be antisocial. Just getting some mixed signals about whether or not this is the way things are done."
Terutomo looked thoughtful. "Honestly, I've never known anyone to be that interested in our religion and customs before. Tell me, in your homelands, is this sort of information readily available, something creatures are constantly sharing with each other? Or is it the same way as it is here? I can't tell if you're telling me you've got culture shock about how differently things are done here, or if you're saying you're too used to secrecy to take hospitality at face value."
"The latter," Corsica said. "Trust me. No one tells you anything in Ironridge."
"I see," Terutomo said. "And I can't impress or delight you into changing your minds and opening up a little?"
Halcyon said nothing. Corsica had nothing to say.
"I have, after all, opened my home and my city to you," Terutomo pointed out. "Done no wrong by you, unless I've crossed a cultural rule I was unaware of. And from the briefing my sister gave me, you seem to want to book a lengthy journey on one of my ships. Now, I daresay you'd be hard-pressed to find a friendlier transport mogul, or even another one willing to hear out your request at moment's notice, completely for free. So forgive me if I'm confused why you aren't making use of this opportunity to petition me."
Halcyon looked like she had just swallowed a fly. Leif was giving her a look that said if you want to be the leader, you need to lead.
Corsica took a deep breath. She had not signed up to be the face of the party and didn't particularly want to be on the hook for anything wrong she said to the dragons, but-
"Fine," Papyrus said, grumbling and getting to his hooves. "I'll do it. Cowards, the lot of you." He flashed a look at Halcyon and everyone else on her side of the table, then cleared his throat, turning to address Terutomo. "I'm a special envoy from Ironridge. Technically a bodyguard, but capable of acting in a more official capacity than any of these goons, at the very least. Ironridge has recently experienced some unforeseen transitions in its government and world alliances, at least with countries north of the mountains. Its new rulers have a bit of a history with the monarchy here, and while it would be grossly inaccurate to call them opposed to each other, the Equestrian Crown isn't, shall we say, the very first and foremost party we're here to petition for aid. Rather, we're looking for some old war heroes and friends who may or may not currently be living in Equestria. A 'getting the band back together' deal. Our friends at the top have a tenuous enough position that they'd like to get some of their old friends back on the stage, you see."
Terutomo looked pleased. "Now that's more like it! And as such you prefer to keep your silence in the presence of official channels who may have cooler relations with your city's new rulers."
"You catch on quick," Papyrus said with a swagger. "So? What'll it be? Now I imagine you're going to want to hear more about who exactly it is we're working for."
Terutomo considered this. "I think you may have underestimated our sovereignty from Equestria as a whole. Not that I blame you, when the line is as fluid as it is. Any bad blood between your new government and the Equestrian monarchy would be entirely up to the Holy Cernial Convocation to decide whether it applies to us as well. And while I do report to them, Snowport is my city, and as such the jurisdiction of decisions like that falls to me, at least as far as matters like lending you a boat are concerned. Hearing what I've heard from you, I do think I would like to be convinced of the nobility of your cause before I put down resources to backing it. But, if you're lucky, I'll be the highest authority you'll have to convince. Now, does that loosen any of your tongues a little?"
Halcyon opened her mouth. "We're looking for a mare called Starlight, and another called Fluttershy. First one's probably in her late twenties, second-"
"Fluttershy?" Terutomo perked up. "The Element of Harmony, Fluttershy?"
"Yeah, that," Halcyon said. "I heard that title back in Sires Hollow..."
"Well, she, at least, shouldn't be too difficult to find," Terutomo said, folding his arms. "The Elements live in a town called Ponyville - fantastic name, I know - about a day trip south of here by train. That said, I had no idea she was known in the north, let alone considered a 'war hero' there."
"She's not," Papyrus droned. "That one is-"
Halcyon's eyes lit up, ignoring and interrupting Papyrus completely. "Only one more day? For real? That's awesome!"
"-less important," Papyrus sighed, finishing after Halcyon and giving her a pointed look. "My overexcitable sidekick here just wants her autograph, or a smooch or something. The one most of us are here for is Starlight. Starlight Glimmer."
Corsica narrowed her eyes. Terutomo was paying closer attention than usual, and at Halcyon's reaction, a bit of tension left his shoulders. Odd...
"Not a prohibitively expensive ride, then?" Corsica asked, shuffling that observation to the back of her mind.
Terutomo shook his head. "Not in the slightest."
Leif pointed a wing at Halcyon. "We need to have a talk about exactly what you're going to tell this Fluttershy to convince her to help us," she pointed out. "But if we're really lucky enough to have her live so close to Ironridge, maybe she should be our last stop before we return. Unless we're skipping Starlight and Catantan, we have a lot of traveling still ahead of us, and most ordinary ponies don't like spending months on the road."
Halcyon frowned. "True... but we don't even know if we're coming back this way in the first place. Not unless we can get the airship flying again."
"Well, what options do we even have?" Corsica asked, leaning in. "As far as I'm aware, the only two real border passes are in Yakyakistan and the ruins of the Griffon Empire, both of which are about as far from here as it's possible to get."
"Legend says Starlight had an airship," Papyrus pointed out. "An alarmingly durable one, at that. Some even say you could ram a mountain at hyperspeed with it and the mountain would lose. Its cruising speed might be a decade or three out of date, and its fuel was notoriously hard to get a hold of, but maybe it's still alive and kicking?"
"I can't say I've ever heard of an airship like that," Terutomo said. "Equestria does have a number of airships, but the only ones capable of an international flight like that are military ships used by the Holy Cernial Convocation. Not that they would refuse you if asked by Princess Celestia... I assume you know this, considering you're searching for her by name, but Fluttershy has close ties to the crown. Princess Twilight Sparkle is the leader of the Elements, after all, and she was Her Majesty's personal student prior to joining her mentor as a divinity. If you're that wary of the monarchy, then be aware you're searching for someone whose relations to it are about as close as they come."
Halcyon blinked.
"Anyway, you all look like you have a lot to think about," Terutomo declared, getting to his feet. "Remember, even though Ponyville is only a day away by train, I'm still very curious what sort of stuff you lot are made of. Enjoy my city, meet my people, spend some time here. However much of a hurry you think yourselves to be in, if you're on the right side of history, it would be very much worth your while to stop and build some ties here. I'll see you again in... mmm, three days ought to do it. Enjoy yourselves out there."
He walked to the door and left, and soon Corsica and her friends were alone.
The castle, it seemed, was open to the public, and no one stopped me or anyone else as we explored and gradually found our way out to the plaza again. The corridors felt intentionally difficult to navigate, as if they had been designed to confuse an invading force, but I didn't mind. Nothing jumped out at me to take advantage of my confusion.
"Well, this is the softest prison I've ever been in," Mother remarked once we were outdoors, the sunset having completely disappeared from the horizon, a pleasant night breeze blowing in from the west.
"Prison?" Braen tilted her head at her. "We seem to be completely unshackled."
"Not all prisons are made of chains," Leif told her. "We might be free to do whatever we want, but we're being watched and graded on our performance. That dragon is deciding whether to help us, and he made it fairly clear that if we leave town early, he'll take that as a sign that we aren't interested in working with him. All things considered, this is a much lighter test than he could have put on a foreign delegation seeking free passage... but that's all the more reason not to underestimate it."
"The bigger question is, how much do you want his help?" Papyrus asked, stepping into view. "Because you left me to do the talking there, and I had to make some stuff up because I don't actually know why you hold your tongue sometimes."
"I think Papyrus makes a great leader," Braen declared. "Very confident when speaking."
Papyrus chuckled and grinned.
"There is a conversation we need to have, though," Corsica pointed out. "About why we're all here. Halcyon is the one with the plan. I'm her friend, and I've got nothing better to do. You two..." She pointed at Leif and Mother. "You're here because you're related to her? Because she just couldn't decide who else to give the writs to?" Finally, her hoof settled on Papyrus and Braen. "And you're here because someone thought we'd need backup and sent you along. But are any of these reasons really good enough?"
"And what if they aren't?" Papyrus casually threatened. "What are we going to do about it, randomly go our separate ways the moment something interesting comes up?"
"Yes," Corsica grunted. "Or have no satisfying answers when someone important wants to know why there are this many writ bearers all in one place, which is apparently so hard that it's never been seen before."
Papyrus shrugged. "Well, I'm lying about having nothing better to do, and you probably are too, and I'll eat my hat if she isn't either." He pointed at Leitmotif. "For all I know none of us are being honest about what we're here for, but you do have a point about our story not being compelling or coherent. So I vote we put our heads together, piggyback off what I started, and fib up a solid alibi that doesn't leave all of us staring cluelessly and hoping someone else will answer when pressed about it again."
"That's probably a good idea," I admitted.
"Excellent! Our fearless leader concurs," Papyrus declared. "So? Anyone want to put their real reasons on the table so we can claim they apply to all of us, or are we just going to keep looking for these two mares because Halcyon is lonely?"
I bristled. "I'm not lonely! I just..."
Papyrus stared at me with round, innocent eyes.
"Shut up," I told him. "It's... personal. Look, we're searching for Starlight because she can do something about the you-know-whats that are sealed under Yakyakistan and can also help Coda, and we're looking for Fluttershy because she might be able to fix the ginormous crystal tower that appeared in Ironridge for reasons. Neither of which sound remotely compelling or believable, I know."
"I'm just here because the alternative is wasting away in Ironridge," Mother said. "I've seen Halcyon this far. I'll see her a little farther."
"A touching story," Braen said. "I wish my own mothers were here on this journey. I am collecting performance data for Mother that she can use to help answer the question."
I tilted my head at her. "What question?"
Braen stared levelly at me. "The question Braen was built to answer."
"Well, now I'm curious," I said. "What is that question? You do know, right?"
Braen looked at everyone. "Mother is very concerned with what kind of legacy she will leave. Always thinking in terms of nations and decades. Always tell Braen, world is not perfect place, so is our duty to leave it better than we found it. But what does 'better' mean? Problem that confounds Mother again and again is that different ponies seem to have different definitions. Perfect world to one pony not look like perfect world to other. So, Braen was created to travel entire world, meet all sorts of creatures, and find out what they think is good in the world. What makes world worth living in."
My jaw hung just a little slack. "Seriously? Your mother made you to do that?"
"Indeed." Braen bowed to me. "It is exciting mission. As Halcyon was told, this is first time Braen finished enough to be allowed outside unsupervised. Life of Braen up until now marked by lots of curiosity and too many rules. But now, can finally travel world, collect data and experience things worth experiencing!"
"Well, someone knows the point of their existence," I said, impressed. "But that doesn't quite line up with what we told Terutomo, does it..."
"As for me," Leif said, "I'm here because Halcyon and I made a contract. She has some research she's pursuing. My own objectives hinge on learning the result. And so, I'm helping her until she can see it through, provided no more-promising avenues open up."
I shivered just a little. Even after Leif had started following me, I never made any particular efforts to get close to her, and times like this reminded me that we weren't actually that close, despite being technically family. Not that I made efforts to get close to anyone, but still...
"Like I said," Corsica cut in. "I'm just here because Ironridge stinks. And to follow Halcyon."
"Right," Papyrus yawned. "So the robot and the two old-timers might be telling the truth, and the rest of us are definitely lying. But none of your stories actually can cover all of us, and I'm the smoothest liar, so I say we officially change up the group and promote me to leader. All against?"
I tentatively raised my hoof. "Hey, hold on. What exactly does being leader entail? Because if you just wanna be the professional bluff maker..."
"Ponies should contribute according to their talents," Leif interrupted. "Whether we can count on Papyrus to have a silver tongue when he needs to isn't the question. The question is whether his slickness is what we want to be represented by." She gave me a hard look. "No matter who gets the arbitrary badge of 'leader', the reasons I'm here won't change. That said, Halcyon, your agenda would have suffered back there if Papyrus hadn't stepped in, and it still didn't go as well as it might have if you took charge yourself. Papyrus might have done this before, but he's also messed this up badly before. So you need to decide whether you're going to set the course for your agenda, or drift along and accept the risks of waiting for others to do it for you."
"Come on, lady," Papyrus groaned, "that was years ago! What does a guy have to do around here to live a little slip-up down?"
Leif focused solely on me.
"I..." I swallowed. "I don't know how to weigh it. I don't know how to gamble on whether to trust someone. How to tell, in the moment, whether saying something will hurt my cause. I just don't want to mess this up."
"Failure is a part of life," Leif said. "It hurts. I know better than most, and there might be others here who know even better than me. But if you let that be a reason to do nothing at all, then are you even living? Besides, you'll never learn to roll with your mistakes if you don't make them." She turned away. "If you're not confident you can attempt it, then step aside now and let Papyrus take over. I want to see you grow, but I need to see you achieve your goals and finish that research."
"I'll do it," I insisted, taking a step forward. "I can do this. It's not that hard. I know there's a lot riding on me, so you don't need to turn up the pressure. But I... I used to be great at this, and I can do it again. Next time we need to decide whether to trust someone like that, I'll just go with it, okay?"
Leif looked, if anything, even more worried, but she nodded and stepped back. "Well. Carry on, then."
"Anyway," Papyrus yawned. "Now that we've settled our little leadership spat, I motion that we get some shut-eye. Also, I was going to vote against myself if I did win that contest just to annoy my backers." He winked at Leif.
"Eugh." Corsica shook her head. "This soon after dinner? No, thanks. I need to walk that meal off first."
"Gonna tour the city?" I asked. "See what's what? Mind if I come with?"
Braen nodded. "Me too!"
"Have fun with that." Papyrus saluted, turning and strolling back into the castle.
"Same," Mother grunted, turning to follow him.
Leif hesitated.
"Well?" Corsica looked at her. "You in, too?"
"...I think I'm going to do some solo recon," Leif said, sinking into the shadows. "I'll see you around."
We had seen the northern corner of town, were presently in the east, and had heard the south was nothing but rail yards. Not once, however, had the west come up in conversation, and so naturally that was what we decided to go check out.
The walled center of the city ran right up against the slope of the final mountain, and so the area beyond the western gates was essentially completely cut off from the outskirts we had seen when entering. Another drawbridge marked the exit beyond the walls, and suddenly an open road stretched beyond us, disappearing rapidly into the starry horizon.
This side of the city didn't seem nearly as developed as the sprawl running out to the north. Part of that, I suspected, was the wind: with no mountains or walls to interrupt it, it blew in from the west, countless miles of momentum behind its push. Tonight, it was gentle, but that wouldn't always be so. Another part was the trains: I saw lights moving in the distance as one approached and another departed, passing each other. The rails were close enough to the left that too much urban sprawl could quickly get cramped, and if they were at all noisy, building on the northern side of town was probably much nicer.
However, the city didn't stop immediately, either. Particularly to the north of the road, tucked up against the mountain, there were buildings and dwellings, a long line of them stacked between the road and the slopes. And the moonlight, at least, suggested that all the area around the tracks was farmland, supplying food to the denizens of the city, or making a surplus for export.
"Bet you that's where the farmers live," Corsica said, horn lit for illumination, nodding at the buildings to the right. "Wanna go look for a tavern or something?"
"A tavern?" I gave her an incredulous look. "I thought we were out here because you already ate too much!"
"Not for food, dummy!" She flicked my face affectionately with her tail. "For gossip! See what the locals are talking about. What better way to get an accurate picture of a city's character?"
I blinked. "Oh, right... How stealthy do you want to be about it?"
Corsica shrugged. "Why would we be stealthy? If they throw us out for not buying anything, they throw us out."
I glanced down at myself and hesitated. "It's just... I know no one's said anything yet, but you remember that creepy stallion who was in the castle when we first arrived? The batpony."
"Yeah." Corsica nodded. "What about him?"
I swallowed. "It's just... Batponies had a kind of reputation in Ironridge. Call me scared, but I'd rather not go through that whole song and dance again because someone mistakes me for one of those memory-erasers."
"That's stupid," Corsica huffed. "You've seen all of one of them here. Who's to say they're all batponies, or all batponies are them? Or even that there's more than literally one guy? Besides, you've been in plain sight since we arrived here, and no one has said anything."
Except Seigetsu, who wanted to introduce me to them because they presumably knew about changeling queen crowns, meaning whether the public recognized it or not, I was connected to them...
Corsica studied my expression. "You don't look convinced. Well, I wish nobody heckles you over it. For tonight, at least. Can't get too greedy."
I rolled my eyes. "If only fond wishes were in the habit of coming true."
"Who says they can't? Maybe I'm good luck." Corsica wobbled a little on her hooves. "Hey, you know what I heard brings really good luck? Lending your friends a helping hoof from time to time. I'm tired. Wanna give me a ride?"
"Hey, no, you were the one who wanted to come out here," I protested, dodging her attempt to slump onto my side.
"If Corsica is exhausted, I can give rides," Braen helpfully offered, standing and mostly listening to our conversation.
"Nah." Corsica steadied herself and straightened her mane. "Don't worry yourself. I'm just teasing someone who's not smart enough to appreciate it. Come on, let's go find a place to put our hooves up."
I hurried after her, scowling. "I'll have you know I'm plenty smart! Now get back here!"
Before too long, we were in what could generously be described as streets, straight enough not to be claustrophobic but crooked enough that anyone driving Seigetsu's motorized wagon would go insane trying not to clip a building's corner. The ground was sharply sloped, and just as many buildings seemed to be underground as above ground. With its love of angles and disrespect for their proper usage, the architecture felt almost like it was deliberately making a counterpoint to Snowport's elegant fortress, and I felt like seeing it during the day would reinforce that notion a hundredfold.
"Yo," Corsica called out to a dark, hulking figure at the edge of my vision. "You know any good places to get a drink around here?"
The creature walked closer, into her illumination. It was a four-legged fish.
Not a dragon. Very undeniably a fish.
I blinked several times.
The fish made a series of glubbing, blubbing noises that somehow assembled themselves in my head into coherent thoughts and words: around that corner, loud place, door's always open. Can't miss it.
Corsica saluted. "Much obliged, friend!"
The fish glub-blubbed again, something that I felt like should mean Enjoy your stay in Freedom Town! And then it lumbered away.
I looked at Corsica. She looked at me.
"Well, he seemed friendly enough," I remarked. "Or she. Or it. Do you have any idea what species that was?"
"Nope." Corsica shrugged. "But something tells me this might be their neck of the woods."
"That species is never before recorded in my data banks," Braen said, stepping up close beside me. "I would be deeply interested in meeting more!"
"Well, you heard them," I said, leading the way. "Let's go check out that address!"
For a moment, as she stepped through the door, Corsica had to hold her nose. An overpowering smell of salt and brine washed over her, and she eased herself into it, trying not to choke.
The tavern was packed, but also amply built, with a double-height ceiling sporting sturdy wooden rafters. Several batponies hung by their tails from those rafters, nursing mugs and leaving the floor up to the heavily amphibious life that provided much of the tavern's clientele: lots of fish and fish-adjacent things with legs, several spherical frogs, even a massive walrus squished in behind the far corner table. In addition, Corsica counted two polar bears wearing business suits, bowler hats and sunglasses, several things that looked like a cross between griffons and ponies, and some less-aquatic life as well: several chunky, furry things with pink noses covered in tiny tentacles and titanic claws that looked primed for digging, a squad of vest-wearing canines with dim colors and droopy ears and jowls, and an exceptionally lanky bipedal cat, who was tending rapidly and gracefully to the bar. And, of course, a few normal ponies and griffons as well, but they were in the heavy minority.
As a general rule, Corsica noted, the less pony-shaped a creature was, the bigger it tended to be.
"Woah," Halcyon whispered, standing in the door next to her. "You can't find a place like this in Icereach."
"Nope," Corsica muttered back, though the tavern was so loud that she wouldn't have been overheard unless she screamed herself hoarse. On her other side, Braen was vibrating with so much excitement that Corsica reached out a hoof to restrain her, just in case.
"Studly guy coming through," a gruff voice warned behind her. "Watch your step, clear a path..."
It was another suit-wearing polar bear, his black nose standing out like a punctuation mark.
Corsica squished to the side along with Halcyon and Braen, and the bear lumbered past. "Come on," Corsica beckoned, dragging the two of them forward in its wake. "This looks like a great place to get a read on the pulse of this town."