A gentle knocking on the door roused Traveler from his sleep. “Hey, Traveler,” came Bravery’s voice. “It’s time to get going.”
“Jus’ five more minutes,” Traveler mumbled, pulling the blankets up a little. Going out could wait a couple of minutes. Besides, that wouldn’t be until morning anyway.
Wait, if they weren’t going to go investigate until morning, why was Bravery waking Traveler up? It could only mean… Traveler’s eyes went wide and he jumped out of bed, rushing towards the door and swinging it open. “What time is it?!”
Bravery took a surprised step back. Traveler hadn’t noticed it before, but the guard looked a lot less impressive without his armour. It probably had to do with his messy mane. “Uh, it’s about nine in the morning.”
“Nine in the morning?!” Traveler shouted. “But I—” He glanced back at the bed. “I only closed my eyes for a few minutes.” He glared at the bed. It really was too comfortable for it’s own good. Traveler would have to put it out of its very comfy misery soon, if only because it ruined his plans he hadn’t made yet.
“You must’ve been more tired than I thought,” Bravery said. “Did you sleep well?”
Traveler looked at Bravery, then glanced at the bed for a second. “Yes,” he grumbled. “Yes I did.”
“Great! We’re all set to go,” Bravery said, heading down the stairs.
Traveler followed after him. “Wait, why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“I tried,” Bravery said. “So did Glitter. You didn’t react to anything.”
Traveler felt his cheeks heat up a little. Some elite he was, sleeping through wake-up calls. “So, we can go now? You don’t have to put on your armour, or eat breakfast, or something?”
“Nope!” Bravery said. He had reached the front door, and even though he had his telekinetic grip on it, he hadn’t opened it yet. “Me and Glitter already ate before you woke up. And I don’t have to wear my armour because I have to be all incognito and stuff.”
“Ah. Don’t let on you’re a royal guard, to keep things subtle.” A sensible strategy. If Traveler had a clearly visible royal guard traveling with him, it might cause the Stone’s thief to do something hasty. That could be disastrous, so this was a much better solution.
“I dunno,” Bravery said. “These were just orders.” He pushed open the door. “But hey, let’s get started, okay?” He motioned for Traveler to go ahead.
Traveler rolled his eyes and stepped outside. He was giving Bravery too much credit. “Enough talking, let’s get searching.” On a whim, he decided to go right. Had to start somewhere.
“Whoa, hey,” Bravery said, running up to Traveler and stopping him. “Do you even know where to start?”
“No,” Traveler admitted. “Do you?”
Bravery took a step back. “Uh, not exactly. Well, probably in one of the seedier districts of the city.”
“Then that’s where we’re going,” Traveler said. “Er…” He looked around. “Wherever it is. Lead the way.”
Bravery nodded. “The further you get away from the castle, the more… questionable the ponies get. This way.” He set off into town, with Traveler trailing behind. “I guess we’ll start near the far edge of the city.”
“Questionable, huh?” Traveler said. “I didn’t know ponies could do anything besides be nice to each other all the time.”
“Oh, far from it. Though from what I’ve heard, we’re nowhere near as bad as changelings.” Bravery chuckled. “I mean, the ones still serving Queen Chrysalis. Changelings here tend to be a bit weird, but helpful.”
Traveler snorted. “Helpful? That doesn’t sound like any changeling I know.”
“You’d be surprised!” Bravery said. “Changelings are excellent at construction. The speed of an earth pony, combined with the mobility of a pegasus. And that sticky goop you guys can spit out is pretty useful as well.”
That made sense, at least. Changelings could create a new hive at high speed, blasting pieces of rock away with magic, and keeping everything from collapsing by sticking it together. “What else are they fit to do?” Traveler asked.
“Uh, lemme see…” Bravery paused, staring up at the sky for a second. “Acting, security, fashion, baking… A lot of stuff, really.”
Traveler stopped and stared at Bravery. “Okay, I can imagine acting and security, but fashion? Baking?”
“Fashion isn’t that out there, is it?” Bravery continued walking. “One changeling can be any model imaginable, so they can make every style work. As for baking, I think it has something to do with you guys not needing food, so you’re better at focusing on making stuff taste great.”
“That… That sounds really useless,” Traveler said. “Shouldn’t they be doing other things? Things that aren’t useless?” He quickly caught up with Bravery. “You know, like military positions?”
Bravery shrugged. “No need. Everypony can do whatever they want in Equestria, as long as they make sure they don’t break any laws. Changelings are included in that.”
Do whatever you want? That sounded like a recipe for disaster. Traveler didn’t want to imagine what the hive would look like if changelings could do whatever they wanted there. “Anyway, enough chatting. We’ve got a thief to catch.”
“Yes,” Bravery said. “Is there anything I need to look out for? I know those guards were disguised, but what about that Stone thingie?”
“That’d be difficult,” Traveler said. “The Stone constantly changes. The only way you’ll be able to recognize is it by testing every single gem in the city to see if any of them contains an enormous amount of power.”
“Oh. So, nothing?” Bravery scratched himself on the head. “Then how are we going to find it?”
“It was being transported in a black box, padded with red velvet cushions,” Traveler said. “It might be somewhere in the city.”
“A black box with red velvet cushions?” Bravery raised an eyebrow. “I thought changelings didn’t have luxurious stuff like that. We’ll have to ask around if somepony’s seen it.”
“Ask around? We can’t involve more ponies in this!” Traveler said. This really didn’t need to be more convoluted than it already was. Why was secrecy so hard for these ponies?!
“Like it or not, that’s the best way to find stuff. Most ponies will be glad to help,” Bravery said.
Traveler rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I wonder how long it’ll take to find—” he started, before something heavy bumped into him, causing him to wobble a few steps to the side. “Ow.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” a feminine voice sounded. Right next to Traveler stood an orange pegasus mare, with a dark blue mane and tail, light blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a sun, shining brightly through a circle of clouds. She looked a bit dazed, probably from just slamming into the changeling’s side. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Traveler said.
“You okay, miss?” Bravery asked.
The mare nodded. “Yeah, it was just a bump. I guess it was kind of literally bumping into each other, huh?” She giggled. “Anyway, I’m really sorry. Anything I can do to make it up?”
“Nah.” Traveler turned to leave. “Let’s go.”
“Oh, sure. See you, miss!” Bravery quickly took the lead again. When he and Traveler were out of the mare’s earshot, he said, “See? Glad to help.”
“Bet you ten bits that wasn’t a coincidence,” Traveler grumbled. “I’m leaving nothing up to chance.”
Bravery rolled his eyes and mumbled something. “Well, we’ve got to find information somewhere. We need somepony who can help us.”
Suddenly, the orange mare popped up in front of Traveler. “Hey, you need help? Why didn’t you say so?”
Traveler took a step back in surprise. “Wait, how did you…” He looked over his shoulder. “How’d you catch up to us that fast?”
The pegasus flapped her wings. “Duh.”
Oh. Right. “Well, I don’t need your help,” Traveler said. “So just go away and leave me to my job.” He continued on his way, pushing the mare to the side as he went.
“Uh, sorry, miss,” Bravery said. “We’re in a bit of a hurry.” He quickly caught up to Traveler, leaving the mare behind once again. “That was kinda rude, you know.”
Traveler paused and turned to Bravery. “Look, I don’t know if this has gotten through yet, but I’m not here to be nice. I’m here on a mission, and way too many ponies have already gotten involved in this!”
He paced left and right. He really felt like bucking something right now. Maybe the silvery trash can at the side of the street. “I don’t care about your pleasantries, or whatever! I just need to find what I’m looking for, get my normal life back, and that’s it!”
The orange mare’s head popped out of the trash can, balancing the lid on her head. “You’re looking for something? I can help! Please?”
“NO!” Traveler shouted, slamming the lid back down and pushing the mare back into the trash can. “Get lost!”
Traveler stared at the trash can for a while, panting heavily. After blinking a few times, he managed to compose himself. “Anyway. I just need to find that black box,” he said, turning back to Bravery and the orange mare. “And then— Aaah!” He jumped back in surprise.
“You!” He pointed at the orange mare. “How’d you—” He turned back to the trash can, then back to the mare. “How’d you get out?”
The mare shrugged. “I just got out. You know, hop, and I’m out.”
“B-But…” Traveler lifted the trash can's lid. Nothing inside, except for some random garbage. “I was looking at it the whole time! I didn’t see you come out at all!”
The mare shrugged again. “Not the whole time, apparently.”
Traveler looked at the mare, who was entirely clean, then inside the trash can. “But how..?” There had to be some sort of secret passage in there, but he couldn’t see it. He leaned in further. It had to be there somewhere!
“Uh, Traveler, what’re you doing?” Bravery asked.
“You saw that!” Traveler said, now hanging half inside the trash can, inspecting its insides. “She had to get out somehow!”
Bravery sighed. “So, miss. Maybe you can help us. I’m Bravery, and he’s Traveler.”
“Nice to meet you! My name is Summer Gale,” the mare said, giving a courteous bow. “How can I help you?”
“We’re looking for a black box,” Bravery said. “It’s got red pillows inside, and a gem.”
“A black box, huh?” Summer tapped a hoof on her chin. “I think I saw a black box with red pillows in it earlier, but I dunno about a gem.”
“Hey, would you look at that!” Bravery said. “Hey, Traveler, I think we’ve got ourselves a lead!”
“We what?!” Traveler shouted, only his hind legs sticking out of the trash can. “You know, I think she used some kind of elaborate contraption to get out of there! She’s already gone, right?”
Bravery sighed again. “Where’d you see it?”
“At the edge of town,” Summer said. “Somepony was selling it near the harbour.”
“Great! Could you lead us there?” Bravery asked.
“Of course!” Summer said. “Gotta make up for rudely bumping into your friend somehow.”
“Awesome!” Bravery said. “Let’s g—”
A loud crashing interrupted him, caused by the trash can tipping over and spilling some trash into the street. It rolled back and forth as Traveler tried to get out, but to no avail. After a little while, it stopped moving. Traveler remained silent.
Bravery and Summer glanced at each other. “Er…”
A soft grumbling came from the trash can. “Help.”
The Canterlot harbour is not like your usual harbour. The main reason being the complete absence of water, which wasn’t all that odd, considering Canterlot was built into the side of a mountain. Not that this did anything to deter ships: instead of boats, the harbour was filled with countless airships, from small cargo ships to massive cruise liners. Around these ships, many ponies loitered about, like tourists, dock workers and the occasional sailor.
“So, where’s this vendor?” Traveler asked.
“Uh…” Summer looked around the harbour. “He should be around here somewhere. Err… Ah!” She pointed at a small, shabby shed. “There it is!”
Without hesitating, Traveler barged in. The shed itself was quite boring. No signs or anything, and the inside was mostly filled with random junk. There was a counter with a gray earth pony stallion behind it. His mane and tail were a silvery white and his eyes were red, with an ugly-looking scar over the left one. “You!” Traveler said, pointing at the vendor. “I heard you got a black box around here. Give it to me.”
The vendor raised an eyebrow. “What, to you? No. Besides, I already sold it.”
“Then tell me who you sold it to,” Traveler said. “In case you couldn’t tell, it’s important.”
“Don’t care,” the vendor said. “Can’t tell you anything. Client confidentiality.”
“Look, termite,” Traveler said, inching closer to the vendor. “I don’t have time to chat with you. Just give me that info and I’ll be gone.”
The vendor grinned. “Or else?”
“Or else I’ll give you a matching scar, but over a different cavity,” Traveler growled. “Up to you.”
The vendor snorted. “Try me.”
“Why you…” Traveler started, rearing up. Halfway through the motion, he felt a force stopping him, keeping him in place. Upon closer inspection, his hooves were covered in a light blue aura.
“Stop it, Traveler,” Bravery said. “You’re scaring him.”
Though the vendor’s expression portrayed nothing more than annoyance, Traveler relented. “Okay, okay, let me go.”
Bravery tugged on Traveler, pulling him away from the vendor, then let go. “If you keep this up, I’ll have to turn you in regardless.”
“Fine. Do whatever you want,” Traveler said. “But not before I get what I’m looking for.”
“You don’t have to be so fussy about it,” Summer said. “Let me handle this.” She went up to the vendor, chatting with him under her breath, soft enough that Traveler couldn’t overhear what they were saying.
“Right. I doubt this’ll get me anywhere,” Traveler said, staring at the vendor.
“You have to calm down, Traveler,” Bravery said. “You won’t get anything done acting like this.”
“I’ll get things done regardless of method,” Traveler sneered. “I’m one of Her Majesty’s elite. I’d like to think I know what I’m doing.”
“That’s not how it works around here,” Bravery said. “You can’t act like you’re the only pony, or changeling, in the world.”
“It’s how I work, okay?” Traveler said. “If you don’t like that, just do your job as fast as possible so I can act like that somewhere else.” He continued staring at the vendor. Maybe there was some kind of ledger in the store, or something containing the information of his clients. Traveler just had to find out where.
Throughout his conversation with Summer, the vendor didn’t let anything on. He spoke too softly for Traveler to hear, and Summer didn’t provide any cues. If this continued, Traveler might be forced to resort to a bit more legally questionable actions.
After a while, Summer thanked the vendor and went back to Traveler and Bravery. “I’ve got what we need!” she said. “He sold the box to some artsy type, who requested the box to be sent to a warehouse a few blocks away.”
Traveler stared at her, wide-eyed. “How in the hive did you manage to get him to tell you that?”
Summer shrugged. “I asked nicely.”
“See?” Bravery said.
“Impossible,” Traveler said. “You must’ve used some kind of persuasion method.”
“Uh…” Summer scratched herself on the head with a hoof. “Does saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ count as persuasion?”
“Wh… But I… How?!” Traveler tried going over it again and again in his head, but it simply didn’t make sense. After a while, he decided to just give up. This whole concept was beyond him, for now. “Look, let’s just go to that warehouse, okay?”
“Yeah, I know where it is. Follow me!” Summer said, heading outside.
Bravery followed after her, but Traveler lingered in the store for a second. The vendor quickly slipped away, to a room behind the counter. How was it possible to nicely ask a pony like that for information, and have him comply? Thinking about it made Traveler’s head hurt. He knew ponies were soft, but this was a new low. However, the enigma that was the regular pony’s mind would have to wait, as Traveler quickly headed outside.
Like Summer said, their next location was only a few streets away, so the trip wasn’t long. The warehouse the box was supposedly delivered to was pretty small. Pretty dirty, too, as it was all run down. The windows were dusty and cracked, the paint on the wall peeled off in places, and the door was secured with only a rusty old padlock. There was a sign hanging on the door.
“Huh,” Summer said, walking up to the sign. “Opening times? That’s weird. Must be some kinda super exclusive warehouse!”
Traveler rolled his eyes. More like super terrible warehouse. “Let’s just get inside.”
“Can’t,” Summer said. “Look.” She pointed at the sign. Listed on it were the opening times of the warehouse, like she said. Fairly normal times, with it being closed on Fridays and weekends.
“So?” Traveler said. “This isn’t a problem.”
“It kinda is,” Bravery said. “It’s Friday, so the place is closed for the next three days.” He leaned in closer to the sign, thoroughly scanning it. “I don’t see any contact information here, either. Maybe we can ask that salespony?”
“No, he told me I couldn’t get back to him to ask more questions,” Summer said. “Something about having had enough threats for the day and closing shop early.”
“Not important,” Traveler said. “Entry is easy. The windows aren’t secured, so I can get in through one of those, grab the box, and get out. Easier than taking a love crystal from a nymph.”
“No, Traveler.” Bravery frowned. “You can’t do that. It’s—”
“—against the law, and you can’t let me do that,” Traveler finished, scowling. “Right. Is that really so bad, considering the importance of what we’re looking for here?”
“Regardless, I can’t let you do that,” Bravery said. “I can’t just forfeit my job.”
“Then do you have any other suggestions?” Traveler asked. “Wait around and see? Go follow one of those other leads we don’t have?!”
Bravery took a step back. “I… don’t know.” He gave a stern frown. “I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”
“Oh, oh! I know!” Summer excitedly said, flying up behind Traveler. “We can do this!” She put her hooves on the corners of the changeling’s mouth, pulling them up.
“Whah ih thih?” Traveler asked. This was hurting his mouth.
“Well, you’ve got a bit of trouble talking to ponies,” Summer said. “You need to be a bit nicer!”
Traveler frowned. “I hon’h hee—”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Bravery said. “If you want to get around normally in the city, you’ll have to treat ponies with a little bit more respect.”
“Yeah!” Summer said. “So no more frownies, and more smilies!” She took her hooves off Traveler’s mouth, and instead used them to push up his eyebrows, removing his frowns. This also caused the corners of his mouth to dip down again, which Summer decided also needed keeping up, so she alternated between the two. Eventually, she decided to stick one hoof on Traveler’s forehead, and another on one corner of his mouth.
“It’ll be worth it, I promise,” Bravery said. “Ponies will let a lot more slide if you’re nice, and the princesses might give you some more leeway as well.”
“Leeway?” Traveler repeated. “That’d be… useful.” Maybe he could somehow prove he didn’t need a foalsitter. Make it so he could get rid of Bravery, walk around the city on his own again. That’d certainly open up new possibilities. Or rather, old ones that had previously become unavailable. “Alright, let’s do it.”
“Woohoo!” Summer let go of Traveler, flying up and making a loop-dee-loop. “Now, I don’t mean to brag,” she said, landing again, “but I’m the nicest of nice. It’s even my special talent!” She all but shoved her rear in Traveler’s face, causing him to take a step back. “See? I can make anypony’s day the brightest ever!”
“...And?” Traveler asked.
“So I can teach you!” Summer whirled around again. “And totally for free, too. That’s just how nice I am,” she said with a smirk.
Traveler glanced at Bravery, who merely gave a confused shrug. “Uh, sure. Show me,” Traveler said. “Teach me how I can be nice.”
Ugh. That might just have been the second dumbest thing he’d ever heard, along with the dumbest thing he ever heard himself say. Regardless, it was necessary. And besides, how hard could being nice be?