Thieves
Twilight trotted through the front doors of Candlekeep’s library. Bookshelves towered around her. Ahead, a familiar curving staircase rose to the upper levels. Beside the stairway, a counter waited, empty. Twilight furrowed her brows. There was always a chronicler at the counter.
Her hooves glided silently on the stone floor as she approached the counter. She set her forelegs on the wooden countertop and peered over it. “Hello?” she called into the empty space. “Is anypony here?”
“Nopony is here now,” a voice said from behind her.
Twilight whirled. Pinkie Pie stood between her and the door. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me, Pinkie.”
Pinkie didn’t even smile. “You didn’t save this place.”
Twilight blinked.
“You didn’t save Star Swirl.”
Twilight swallowed. She remembered. “I know.”
“You didn’t save me,” Pinkie said.
Sunset Shimmer stepped out of the shadows behind Pinkie Pie. A cruel, wavy blade floated in the icy blue aura of her levitation. Her eyes flashed red, and a screaming knife of pain drove into Twilight’s mind.
Twilight writhed on the floor of a crystal cavern. The shimmering bars of a Force Cage separated her from Sunset Shimmer. With a cold expression, Sunset Shimmer ran the tip of her dagger down Pinkie’s foreleg. Twilight screamed violet. She felt every instant like the dagger was passing through her own flesh.
“Do you see?” Sunset Shimmer said. Blood flooded out of the wound on Pinkie’s leg, pooling on the floor. Pinkie stared forward, her gaze empty and blank.
Sunset Shimmer wrapped a foreleg around Pinkie’s head. She ran the dagger from Pinkie’s ear to her shoulder. “Do you see?” she repeated.
Twilight clutched her head. “Stop!” she cried. “Please stop!”
“Don’t you feel it?” Sunset Shimmer asked.
“It hurts!” Twilight moaned.
Sunset Shimmer shoved Pinkie onto the ground. “Pathetic.” She turned away and dropped a potion on the floor. “You’ll feel it soon,” she said as she disappeared into the shadows.
Pinkie crawled forward, smearing blood on the stone. She snagged the potion with a forehoof and pulled the stopper out with her teeth. She drank greedily, and her wounds closed. She dropped the potion and looked up, fixing Twilight with a cold gaze. “Why didn’t you save me?” she said.
Warm tears ran down Twilight’s cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t strong enough.”
Twilight woke with a gasp. She pulled the soft sheets around her close. Soft white light slanting through a curtained window dimly illuminated the room she’d fallen asleep in last night. “Pinkie...” she whispered. She rubbed her eyes with her forehooves, smearing warm tears across her cheeks.
The events after she stepped out of the caves and into the Sun barely registered in her mind. Rarity had taken them somewhere safe. After a long, exhausting walk through winding streets, they had arrived at a mansion by the harbor where they could stay the night. The mansion belonged to the Thieves Guild.
“Twilight?” Spike said from the foot of the bed.
Blinking, Twilight pushed herself up into a sitting position. As she stirred, Spike clambered over the footboard. He rushed over and put his arms around her shoulders. She tensed.
“It’s okay, Twilight,” Spike said.
“What’re you doing?” Twilight said.
Spike flinched and drew back. “Comforting you...” he murmured, his eyes falling.
“I’m fine, Spike,” Twilight said, throwing off her blankets with a flick of magic.
Spike lifted his gaze and looked her in the eye. “I heard you say ‘it hurts!’ just before you woke up.”
Twilight turned away. “Just a dream,” she said as she slid out of the bed until her hooves touched the floor. “Did you get the chance to talk to Celestia while I was asleep?”
Spike shook his head. “I’m not letting you do this,” he said. “I may just be your familiar, but I’ve been with you every step of the way. I know when you’ve had a nightmare.” He slid off the bed and repositioned in front of her. “What hurt?” he asked, staring up at her sternly.
Twilight sighed. “You’re not just my familiar, Spike.” She reached out and brushed the spines on Spike’s head as she rose fully off the bed. “You’re my friend. I’m sorry.”
Spike dipped his head, color showing in his scales.
Twilight slowly walked past Spike and over to the window. “Sunset Shimmer hurt me. She hurt Pinkie too.”
Spike raised his head, his eyes widening with worry. “You mean... like torture?”
Twilight reached out with a hoof and opened a gap between the curtains. A grey sky greeted her. It was raining, or it would be soon. “I don’t know, Spike,” she said, letting the curtain fall. “Maybe it was torture.” A shiver ran down her spine. “She wanted something from me. She kept talking about my potential.”
Spike followed her over to the window. He rested his elbows on the sill. “When I asked Celestia about your potential, all she said is she had high hopes. There was... something in her eyes though. I don’t know how to describe it.”
Twilight chewed on the inside of her cheek. “That’s all she had to say?”
Spike nodded.
Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof, near the base of her horn. “I think I need some time alone to think things over, if you don’t mind. I’d explain more, but... it’s hard. I don’t even remember a lot of it.” She moved her hoof down, touching her stomach. She had no physical scars from her experiences in the cave. How long was that spike in me? she wondered. I shouldn’t be alive.
“Okay,” Spike said as he turned away from the window. “I understand.” He headed for the door.
As he reached up for the handle, Twilight turned around. “Spike, could you see about getting me something to eat. Please?” She hardly felt hungry, but she knew after her ordeal she needed to eat something.
Spike nodded. “I can do that. I’m a messenger.” He opened the door. “Maybe someday I’ll actually be able to help,” he muttered.
Before Twilight could open her mouth, Spike slammed the door shut behind him. She sighed and rubbed her temple. “You do help, Spike,” she murmured.
Twilight sat at the desk beside the window in her room. Droplets of water clung to the thick glass panes. The wind pushed choppy waves across the bay outside. Grey clouds blanketed the sky, drizzling water into the ocean. Beneath her window, ponies carried heavy crates on their backs toward a huge three-masted carrack moored at a pier over a hundred hoofspans away. Bands of metal armor gleamed along the sides of the vessel. A distant forepony shouted angry orders.
Canterlot Harbor, Twilight thought as she gazed out at the bay. It’s not as big as Manehattan’s. She looked down at the desk. On it was her watch, and a plate full of scrambled eggs and mushrooms. With a fork, she prodded at her breakfast.
Grimacing, she dropped the fork and floated the watch up to eye level. Are you hiding something? she wondered. She focused her magic. She had managed to prepare her full compliment of spells that morning; casting a first level spell like Identify was almost inconsequential now that she had a night’s rest, especially with the aid of the Ring of Wizardry she wore on her horn. Immediately, she knew the watch did more than tell time.
Layered in beneath the Alteration enchantment driving the arrows around the face of the watch was a subtle Divination effect. The effect reminded her of a key, and though she could not tell the exact properties of the enchantment, she could rule out any form of scrying. The wizard Cadance asked to check the watch was correct; it was harmless.
How could Sunset Shimmer have known I had it anyway? And all it did was get a little warm. She rubbed her eyes. I’m jumping at shadows. If there was any reason to think that the watch could be used to track me, I would have left it in the caves. She frowned. Then how? she wondered. How did she pluck me from interplanar space? She flicked the watch open. It was a quarter after nine.
With a sigh, Twilight set down the watch and picked up a forkful of eggs. She stared at it, noting the black flecks of pepper. You were tortured in a cave for three days, she reminded herself. You have to eat. She slid the eggs into her mouth and swallowed. She’d let them get cold. Frowning, she shoveled down another bite, hardly chewing.
Twilight pulled Star Swirl’s journal out of a bag beside the desk. She’d secreted it away inside a pack of her traveling gear she kept in Rarity’s Bag of Holding. She set it beside her plate and flicked it open. With her magic, she picked up a ready quill and dipped it in ink. Midway down the page, after her last entry, she set her pen to the page. She wrote while she ate.
The 24th of Rotting 944
I had another nightmare last night, the first one in a long time.
The ones without the Specter are the worst. Despite the red eyes and the skull, I’ve come to find its presence comforting. While I do not believe it is my friend, I do not think it is my enemy. This nightmare had Sunset Shimmer instead. She hurt me, and she hurt Pinkie Pie.
What disturbs me most is the possibility that this nightmare contained the fragments of a memory.
I have to find Pinkie, wherever they took her.
A knock came at the door to the room. Twilight quickly blew on the ink and flicked the journal shut. She slid it into her pack and turned. “Come in!” she said.
Rarity pushed the door open. She stepped into the room and stood beside the four-poster bed where Twilight had slept that night. “Hey, Twilight,” she said. “How’re you feeling?”
How’re you feeling? Twilight repeated in her head. She looked out the window and absently speared the last mushroom on her plate. Are you okay? She bit the inside of her cheek. What do you think, Rarity? “I’m fine,” she said.
In her peripheral vision, she saw Rarity sit down on the bed. “We found her things,” she said, reaching into her Bag of Holding. “It can’t have been more than an hour or two before we found you.”
Twilight set her fork down, turning to Rarity as she pulled out a set of items from the bag. Rarity blinked, her eyes glistening as she placed Pinkie’s cloak, her sash, and her shoes on the covers of the bed. “I can’t shake the feeling that we just missed you just after you made your own escape. I think the thieves snooping around in the mines drew your captor away. If we had been there a few minutes sooner...”
“You couldn’t have known,” Twilight said as she stood and slowly walked over to the bed.
Rarity looked at the floor. “I should have.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry. I told you they’d leave her behind. I thought they would. She was an earth pony! We could have—”
Twilight rested a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Rarity,” she said. It was mine, she thought.
“I knew you’d say that,” Rarity said, glancing up at her with a small smile. “Don’t blame yourself either, okay?”
Twilight looked away, focusing on Pinkie’s sash. “We’re going to save her, no matter what it takes.” She gestured at the items on the bed. “Hold on to those. Pinkie’s going to need them.”
Rarity slowly nodded and started to float the objects back into her bag. “I came up to tell you that the Grey Fox wants to talk to you.”
Twilight sighed and stood up. “I suppose he thinks I owe him something.” She picked up her swords from where they leaned against the desk with her magic.
“I did promise him our help with his problem if he helped find you, and he did,” Rarity said. She held up a hoof, pointing at her swords. “Don’t bring those. He’ll think it’s disrespectful. We’re his guests, under his protection.”
“The situation has changed,” Twilight said. “We have to find Pinkie. What will happen if I refuse to return his favor?”
Rarity shook her head. “He’s not like that.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “He runs the Thieves Guild, Rarity. I think I’ll keep my swords.”
“If you insist,” Rarity said. She stood up from the bed and opened the door. “Come on, you shouldn’t keep him waiting. We don’t have many friends here.”
Twilight approached an open door at the end of a hall. A layer of plush crimson carpeting in the hallway cushioned the fall of her hooves. On the far side of the door, a unicorn with an off-white coat and a two-toned pink mane sat on a heavy desk in the center of a marble floored office. She was tall and slender. Her hooves glinted with polish, and she held her head with a smooth grace. She conversed in hushed tones with a pony sitting in a cushioned chair turned away from the door. Around the high curved back of the chair, Twilight could only see the white muzzle of a stallion.
As Twilight approached the doorway, a burly earth pony stepped out of an alcove and blocked her path. He eyed her with a scowl. “Swords,” he said, holding out a hoof.
The mare turned her head and looked at Twilight. Her heavy purple eye shadow almost hid the sharpness in her eyes. She whispered something as she gracefully slid off the desk. The stallion in the chair turned. His horn split his blue hair into a perfect part. He wore a crisp black suit. The mustache on his lip twitched as he smirked. “Bouncer, let Twilight Sparkle in,” he said.
“Your funeral,” Bouncer said as he stepped aside.
Twilight raised her head and walked into the office. Her hooves clopped sharply on the marble as she crossed the threshold. She paused a few paces into the room and glanced around. Golden trim lined the floors and ceiling. White curtains hung over large windows, letting in muted light. “You wanted to see me?” Twilight said.
“Indeed I did,” the stallion said. He clapped his hooves together. “Bouncer, why don’t you close the door?”
Bouncer reached for the door handle, muttering, “Why do I even bother?” He slammed it shut. Twilight tensed, nearly flinching, at the loud bang.
“I see you’ve come dressed to impress?” the stallion said. “The clothes make the mare, I always say.” He glanced at his companion. “Don’t I always say that?” The mare smiled at him as she walked toward a couch beneath the windows.
Twilight blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Your swords,” the stallion said. “You dress like a warrior.”
Twilight shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?”
The stallion gestured at a straight-backed chair on the far side of his desk. “Come, have a seat.”
Twilight stepped forward and settled into the chair. The mare climbed onto the couch and picked a book up off the table beside it. She flicked it open.
The stallion extended his hoof across the desk. “Most ponies know me as the Grey Fox, but you can call me Fancy Pants,” he said with a wink.
Twilight tentatively extended one of her forehooves. “Twilight Sparkle, but you already knew that.”
Fancy Pants gripped her hoof and shook it vigorously. “It’s good to meet you, Baroness,” he said, grinning. “I trust the accomodations were to your liking.”
Twilight pulled her hoof away. “What do you want?”
Fancy Pants reached up and tapped his chin thoughtfully. “That’s really an excellent question. A warm safe place to sleep at night. A nice, big family. A smattering of wealth and power. Happiness, I suppose.” He shrugged. “For now, I think I’d settle for a bit of gratitude.”
Twilight groaned. “Sorry.” She leaned forward and held her head in her hooves. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
Fancy Pants gestured at his suit. “What am I?”
Twilight looked up and peered at him. “I don’t know yet.”
Fancy Pants pointed at her. “You dress like a warrior.” He tapped his chest. “I dress like a businesspony, and I am a businesspony.”
Twilight quirked a brow. “A businesspony? I thought I was speaking to a thief.”
Fancy Pants chuckled. “Am I not what you expected? Should I be wearing a mask?” He gestured at the room around them. “Should this be an underground lair?” He leaned forward, propping his forelegs on the desk. “Let me ask you something, Twilight. If I am a thief, why don’t I have to hide? Why am I here, in plain sight, in a waterfront mansion?”
“Is it because you’ve bribed law enforcement officials?” Twilight said.
Fancy Pants grinned and drummed the desk with a hoof. “Hah! Good answer.” He leaned forward. “The Thieves Guild exists because everypony benefits more by having us than by getting rid of us. I am a businesspony, and I maintain my position by making good investments.” He eyed Twilight Sparkle. “I lost some good ponies trying to find you, because rumor has it, you and your friends are very good at what you do.”
Twilight pushed her chair back. “Sorry to disappoint. I’m not a warrior, and I’m not a good investment. All I am is a pony who wants her friend to be safe.” She stood up. “You might have heard about what happened to Pinkie Pie. I won’t let anypony stop me from getting her back.” She glared at Fancy Pants. “I don’t care what debt you think I owe you. I don’t care about what you want from me. I will not abandon my friend.” She turned away from the desk. “Again, thank you for your hospitality, but me and my friends are going to leave.”
“And do what?” Fancy Pants asked.
Twilight paused. “I don’t know,” she murmured, hanging her head. She closed her eyes, remembering a moment from her nightmare.
‘Why didn’t you save me?’
“You can’t fight the Grey Wizards, Twilight Sparkle.” Fancy Pants said. “Not alone. They bested the spellcaster that captured you.”
Twilight whirled. “I will fight them!” She slammed her hooves down on the desk. “I will tear them to pieces until they let her go, or they take me where they took her!”
Fancy Pants calmly looked up at her. “Admirable.” He smiled. “What if I told you I had a better way?”
“What?!” Twilight shouted. “If you know how to find her, and you haven’t told me—”
Fancy Pants placatingly held up a hoof. “No, Spellhold’s location is a well-kept secret. However, I believe my organization has the power to get you access.” He eyed her. “In the meantime, I need you to do something for me.”
“And how do I know you won’t leave me out to dry once I’ve done what you ask?” Twilight said.
“You don’t,” Fancy Pants said. “But do you have a better option?”
Twilight slumped back into her chair with a sigh. “No.”
“Excellent,” Fancy Pants said with a grin. “There’s a tavern in the slums called the Copper Coronet. It’s a Thieves Guild operation, and I think the pony in charge there is moving behind my back. I need somepony to investigate.”
Twilight furrowed her brows. “That isn’t all, is it?”
“If it was, would I need a warrior?” Fancy Pants said. “I’ve already sent somepony to look into the Copper Coronet. The problem is, I haven’t heard back.” He looked Twilight in the eye. “There’s a war in the shadows. You help me win it, and I will get you to your friend.”
“Alright,” Twilight said. “How do I begin?”
“The first thing you’re going to need is a license to practice magic within the city. From what I hear, you’ll need one,” Fancy Pants said.
Twilight blinked. “I already prepared spells, and cast one this morning. Will that be a problem?”
“Was it over third level?” the mare on the couch said without looking up from her book. Her voice was smooth and carried a foreign accent.
“What?” Twilight said.
The mare set her book down. “Le spell you cast. Was it over third level?”
Twilight shook her head.
“They can track magic, but they only seem to mind those with significance,” the mare said. “Not every unicorn with a magic trick needs to be monitored.”
Fancy Pants tapped his hoof on his desk. “Fleur, why don’t you see to it that Twilight gets her license?”
Fleur smiled as she rose off the couch. “It would be my pleasure.” She strode up to Twilight. “When would you like to leave?”
“The sooner, the better,” Twilight said. “I was planning on speaking to the Grey Wizards anyway.”
Twilight rode inside of an enclosed carriage. Despite the cushion on the seat, every bump reverberated through her as the wheels clattered over the rough cobblestone street. She sat wedged between the outer wall and Rarity, with the mare the Grey Fox called Fleur directly across from her. With six ponies, all of her friends and Fleur, the seats in the carriage were cramped.
I should have insisted on walking, Twilight thought as she stared out the small square window in the carriage door. Fleur had suggested the carriage, probably for her benefit. I’m not the same filly I was in Candlekeep, she reminded herself. She’d traveled, and she’d learned to endure. She’d made it from the mine entrance on the mountainside to the docks yesterday, even after everything.
The weathered buildings lining the narrow street passed outside the window as the carriage wound its way around a tight turn. The stench of urban filth filled the air. A pony wrapped in rags walking along the side of the street paused and looked up at her with hungry eyes as she passed. Twilight looked away.
“There is a bit of a slum between the docks and the government district up the mountain,” Fleur said. “We should be clear of it soon.”
“Isn’t there a sewer system in the city?” Twilight asked, wrinkling her nose.
“There is higher up the mountain,” Applejack said. “These folks just get the manure that washes down from above.” She blanched. “And here we are, traipsing through in a gilded carriage. Ain’t right.”
“I’m surprised somepony hasn’t tried to rob us yet,” Rainbow said, glancing out the window warily.
Rarity shook her head. “Nopony steals from the Thieves Guild.”
Applejack frowned and folded her forelegs. “Ya got that right. They’re too terrified. Probably get their hooves chopped off by some thug.” She looked at Twilight and Rarity. “Why are we still working with these ponies anyway? I mean, they helped us find you, but—”
“And now they’re going to help us find Pinkie,” Twilight snapped. She glanced at Fleur. The mare wore a small smile; if she was offended, she didn’t show it.
“We’re heading to see the Grey Wizards, aren’t we?” Fluttershy asked, her voice barely rising over the clatter of the wheels. “Maybe we can talk to them and work things out.”
“Maybe,” Twilight said. “They did arrest Sunset Shimmer. Maybe they aren’t unreasonable.” She eyed Fleur. “If the Grey Wizards are cooperative, we wouldn’t need the Thieves Guild, would we?”
Fleur shrugged. “Per’aps.”
Rarity narrowed her eyes, peering at Fleur. “Who are you, anyway? I remember Fancy Pants, but not you.”
Fleur smiled. “No, I don’t believe I’ve ’ad the pleasure.” She extended a hoof. “Fleur De Lis.”
Rarity shook Fleur’s offered hoof. “Rarity.”
Fleur dipped her head. “I know. Fancy Pants tells me many stories from before ’e reached the position at the ’ead of our organization.”
“What do you do for him?” Twilight asked. “Are you a wizard?”
Fleur shook her head. “I am not a wizard.”
“She’s probably his lover,” Rarity whispered in Twilight’s ear.
Twilight twitched her ear in annoyance and focused on Fleur. “You seemed to know a lot about the magic regulations.”
Fleur nodded. “I am in the business of knowing things. You ask many questions, no? I am ’ere to answer them.”
“What do you know about Spellhold?” Twilight asked.
“Mmm, Spell’old,” Fleur said with a knowing smile. “They call it an asylum. Some ponies are gifted with unique magical abilities, and they say it protects us from them. Typically, if you break the rules, you pay a fine. But if the Grey Wizards cannot control you, they send you to Spell’old. It is a prison, really.”
Twilight frowned, glancing at the floor of the carriage. “I don’t suppose you have any idea where it is either.”
“The Grey Wizards ’ave many secrets. Spell’old’s location is their favorite one to keep,” Fleur said. “No road reaches it, and no ship will take you there.”
Twilight took a deep breath and leaned her head back. I’ll find you, Pinkie, and I don’t need a ship or a road to do it.
As soon as the Carriage came to a lumbering stop, Twilight shoved the door open and jumped onto the pavement, glad to be free. In the middle of stepping aside to allow others out after her, she froze in her tracks, one foreleg cocked in midair. The spires of Canterlot Castle towered above her.
The structure emerged from the mountainside, leaning out over the slopes below. Aqueducts poured flows of pure glacial water into reservoirs and channels. Rich purple and gold roofs covered walls and turrets built from grey stone.
Twilight slowly turned her gaze down, off the edge of the cobblestone road that switch-backed up the mountain to the gates of the castle. Urban sprawl spilled down the slope, flowing like a mudslide until it reached the bay beneath the mountain. Warrens of narrow roads wound through the grey-shingled roofs.
Beyond the boundaries of the city, a patchwork of farms and collections of huts rolled toward the horizon, broken by the blue threads of rivers and channels. Shafts of sunlight flared through the thin layer of clouds above the city, marking the end of the scheduled rainfall. The faraway specks of flying pegasi pushed plumes of moisture across the sky. In the distance, beyond the farmlands, the green mass of the Everfree Forest creeped across the landscape.
“Beautiful, no?” Fleur said from beside her.
“Yeah,” Twilight said. She hadn’t seen much of the city. On the way to the guildhouse, she’d kept her eyes on her hooves, and on the carriage ride all she could see was a small rectangle out the window. She glanced up at the gleaming golden highlights on the castle and furrowed her brows. Below them were the same stinking slums they’d passed through to reach the gates.
Fleur followed her gaze. “The castle was built ’ere almost four ’undred years ago by Empress Radiance.”
Applejack stepped around from the far side of the carriage. “I’ve been meaning to ask... how does it stick out from the mountain like that? Looks unstable.”
“The Empress allowed a small group of wizards to mine the crystals within the mountain, and in return they ’elped ’er with its construction,” Fleur explained. She turned away and walked up to the team of ponies that pulled them up the mountain. She whispered something to the lead pony and passed him a few bits.
“Canterlot isn’t like Manehattan,” Twilight mused quietly.
Rainbow quirked a brow at her, rounding the carriage behind Applejack. “It’s not? Could’ve fooled me. Tons of ponies, and everyone in charge is out to get us.”
“I was talking about how Manehattan was a city before the Time of Troubles, and Canterlot was built after,” Twilight said. “You can’t see the same echos, like the straight streets.”
As Rarity and Fluttershy climbed out of the carriage, Fleur flicked her muzzle toward the castle gate. “Shall we?” she said.
Twilight languished on a low couch, fiddling with her watch hanging from its chain around her neck. She glanced around the room. A golden framed portrait depicted a spectacled unicorn staring down her nose. Twilight’s friends were waiting outside in the castle’s courtyard; Fleur could only get her inside to speak to the Grey Wizards.
Hearing Fleur’s dainty laugh, Twilight looked up. Fleur walked in through a curtained doorway with a short unicorn in a grey robe beside her. “This is Silver Quill,” Fleur said, nodding at the pony beside her.
Silver Quill beamed at Twilight. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll be your licensing representative today.”
Twilight flipped open her watch. She’d been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. “Great,” she said as she climbed off her couch, trying to inject polite cheer into her voice.
“Twilight here needs a license to perform magic within Canterlot,” Fleur said.
“No she doesn’t,” Silver Quill said.
“Excuse me?” Twilight said, glaring.
Silver Quill pointed at her chest with his hoof. “You already have one.”
Twilight took a half step back. “Huh?”
“Your watch,” Silver Quill said.
Blinking, Twilight looked down at the watch hanging around her neck. “Are you sure?”
Silver Quill reached out with a hoof. “May I?” he asked.
Twilight nodded slowly.
Silver Quill laced his levitation around Twilight’s watch and floated it into his hoof. His horn lit with a brief glow. “Yes, this is definitely a license, though I’ve never seen one quite like it. Only a few of these have ever been issued, or so I hear.” He leaned closer, his nose almost touching the silver locket. “You can cast any spell you want with this, no restrictions. You’re practically a Grey Wizard.” He looked up, eyeing her. “You didn’t know what it was?”
“It was a gift,” Twilight said. “I thought it just told time.”
Silver Quill flipped the watch over, peering at the blank back plate. “It hasn’t been keyed yet. We’d better get that done, or somepony might think you stole it.” He winked. “It’ll just be a quick spell.”
“I didn’t steal it!” Twilight snapped.
“Of course not,” Silver Quill sputtered. “Just, with your company—” he said. “Anyways, it’ll just be a quick spell.”
“Alright,” Twilight said hesitantly, glancing at Fleur. Her guide’s eyes betrayed a hint of surprise. She seems as confused as I am, Twilight thought.
Silver Quill closed his eyes and focused a flare of magic on his horn. “You might feel a brief tingle.”
A faint aura of magic flowed over Twilight’s coat. Lines of energy etched Twilight’s Mark into the back plate of the watch. The glow faded from Silver Quill’s horn, and he slowly opened his eyes. “There you are,” he said as he let the watch go. “Is there anything else I can help you with today, M’lady?”
Twilight lifted the watch in her levitation and peered at her Mark on the back plate. “Could this be used to track me?”
Silver Quill shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not. All the enchantment does is respond to spells cast by its wearer, informing us that the spellcasting is legal.”
“What if I were teleporting?” Twilight asked.
Silver Quill tapped his chin with a hoof. “Well, a license of that type does authorize you to use our gateways. And, of course, that sort of activity would be monitored. But, I can assure you that the gateway network is managed for the safety of all involved.”
“Right,” Twilight said, pursing her lips. Maybe Sunset Shimmer was working with somepony in the Grey Wizards, she thought. “You said this watch practically makes me a Grey Wizard?”
Silver Quill shifted on his hooves. “Well, sort of.”
“Could it get me into Spellhold?” Twilight asked.
Silver Quill blinked at her. “No... the point of the licence is to keep you out of—” He chuckled. “Oh. Very funny.”
“I’m serious,” Twilight said. “Your organization took my friend.”
“Oh,” Silver Quill said. “I’m so very sorry. If your friend is in Spellhold, I’m afraid you won’t be seeing them again.”
“Is there any way they could be released?” Twilight asked. “Can’t anything be done? She’s not even a spellcaster!”
“I’m sorry,” Silver Quill said. “Nopony sentenced to Spellhold can leave.”
Twilight gritted her teeth and looked down. She wanted to scream at Silver Quill. She wanted to draw her swords. She wanted Pinkie, not apologies. She wanted blood, and she could have it. What good would that do? she asked herself. Wordlessly, she turned and trotted for the door.
“That will be everything, Silver Quill,” Fleur said quickly. “Thank you for your ’elp.”
Twilight stepped out into the castle courtyard. She spotted her friends waiting on benches around a fountain near the main gates. They waved, seeing her. With a grim expression, she trotted over to them, Fleur following a few steps behind.
When Twilight reached the fountain, she whirled on Fleur. “You knew!” she shouted, ignoring the two statuesque Royal Canterlot guards in gleaming armor flanking the gates.
“I am sorry,” Fleur said. “Usually, the licences are small tokens, like a coin.”
“Knew what?” Rainbow asked, climbing off a bench.
“Did something go wrong?” Rarity said as she stood.
“That’s not what I meant!” Twilight said, still focused on Fleur. “You knew they wouldn’t help!”
Fleur dipped her head. “I could ’ave told you nopony leaves Spell’old, but would that ’ave stopped you from asking? You needed to ’ear it for yourself.” She looked into Twilight’s eyes. “You need to trust us, Twilight, if you want to see your friend. We are the only allies you will find in Canterlot.”
Twilight flared her nostrils and glared at Fleur. “If you’re using me, and if you don’t help me save her, you will regret it.”
Fleur glanced at Applejack. “Regardless of you and your friends’ feelings, we are not villains. If you ’elp us, we will ’elp you.”
Snorting, Twilight turned and headed out the gates. The carriage still waited for them on the road. She stopped at the edge of the road and looked down at the slums on the slopes far beneath the castle. “You’ll help us, like you helped them?” she asked, looking back at Fleur and pointing. “If the Grey Fox gets a return on his investments, does it matter that ponies are suffering?”
Fleur stepped up beside her and sighed. “We don’t run the city. Canterlot’s nobility governs from beneath the ’oof of the Grey Wizards.” She gestured at the slums. “What we give them is a chance to taste prosperity.”
“Fine,” Twilight said, spinning away from the edge. “Let’s get to the Copper Coronet, but when we’ve solved the Grey Fox’s problem, he’d better come through.”
Twilight’s hooves splashed in the mud when she stepped out of the carriage. She looked up at the building in front of her. A copper circlet gleamed on the sign above the door.
Paint stripped from the walls of the building, revealing bare patches of aging wood. As she looked up at the gutters, a loose shingle slid off the roof and plummeted into the mud at her feet. Twilight stepped back, making a face. “This is it?” she said.
Rarity slid out of the carriage behind her. “Doesn’t look like much.”
“Ah, Rarity,” Fleur said, still seated in the carriage. “You should know looks can be deceiving. Though the exterior may be rough, even the wealthy are delighted by what they can find inside.”
Rainbow joined them in front of the building. “So, let me guess, we’re a bunch of rich nobles here to enjoy ourselves?”
Fleur chuckled and pointed at one of Rainbow’s wingblades. “I don’t think so.”
“Then what’s the plan?” Twilight asked.
“Be yourselves,” Fleur said.
Fluttershy looked up at the building as she climbed out after Rarity. “I don’t think I’d go in there.”
Applejack hoofed the brim of her hat as she stepped around the back of the carriage. “Ourselves?” She eyed Fleur. “Weren’t we supposed to be spies or something?”
“You are,” Fleur said. “They know me, but they don’t know you.” She reached back and tapped the wall of the carriage behind her head. “Find out what you can.”
“Wait,” Twilight said, looking over her shoulder. “You’re not coming with with us?”
“This is where we part,” Fleur said as the carriage lurched into motion. She waved a hoof, and shut the door with a flick of her levitation.
Twilight stared after the carriage as it clattered away. “Be ourselves?” she murmured.
Applejack shrugged and walked up to the door. “Here goes nothing,” she said, pushing it open. Raucous laughter spilled out from inside the building.
Twilight took a deep breath and faced the door. Simple, Twilight told herself. We’re noponies. She stepped forward and filtered through the door with her friends.