//------------------------------//
// To'Ao'Coltriella 
// Story: Growing Pains 
// by Peroth E 
//------------------------------//

	The road was filled with an unbroken line of travelers from all over Equestria. The old, the young, and everypony inbetween was walking towards Canterlot. The declaration of potential war was enough to set even the oldest, creakiest of individuals at the steady pace, but few ponies actually believed this was the cause of the travel. Why would Celestia send out the notices by mail? Why not just use her communicative magic to spread the word?

Many of the non-unicorns were entirely unaware that communication by magic was now impossible, though only a few more actual unicorns knew, or sensed the silencing shell placed around the whole of their country. But orders were orders, and nopony disobeyed an official statement from Princess Celestia. Though if it was an elaborate prank, the number of guards ponies watching the travelers certainly gave it a more authentic feel.

Though it wasn’t just the guards ponies there making sure everypony was safe and secure. Trails of sparks and smoke followed Soarin as he kept to the skies and scanned the roads beneath him, watching all the ponies carefully to make sure each individual one was a-okay. Some called him laid-back, some mistook his coastal-accent as a sign of immaturity and a lack of intelligence, but the truth was that his training made him amazingly perceptive and responsive to any sign of trouble, and he could be very good at spotting trouble.

He wasn’t the only one of course, all the Wonderbolts were on duty escorting civilians. It wasn’t a publicity stunt, the Wonderbolts were simply as much into public service as the guards were when their country was in a dire time of need. There was little time to show off when ponies were in danger, and as such, the Wonderbolts had a long, outstanding record of public service when they were on their royal duties.

Of course, they had to earn that as a team, and if some ponies weren’t being team players then there was the slight chance that maybe, just maybe something could go wrong. That was why, when they were passing through a town, Soarin had to land. He walked slowly and agitatedly forward to poke the side of one of his closer friends. “Spitefire, you’re zoning out again.” The golden mare blinked rapidly, turning her head away from the guard she’d been speaking to and faced Soarin. “C’mon, you’re supposed to be up there with me.” It was hard to tell with the goggles but he was giving her a firm, level glare.

“Mm?” She answered, and Soarin sighed, honestly wondering why ponies tied him to the inattentive, laid-back role of the group. “Oh, sorry Soarin.” The Pegasus finally apologized, nodding to a guard in thanks. Spitfire was up in the air, followed closely by her teammate. “Sorry, I’ve just been hearing rumors lately and I’ve been checking in on them.”

“About the war?” Soarin asked as they began to scan the road beneath them. He didn’t want to think about war. The idea of war, the potential for war, the glory of war, it all seemed so chaotic and against everything Equestria stood for, yet the more he saw the more he was seeing signs. Ponies in armor were being spotted everywhere, the evacuations were sudden and the guards weren’t taking any leeway with it, but even worse he heard from a reliable source that Horshire was… Gone. Not a single pony was there, yet everypony’s valuables were. Word hadn’t gotten out yet about the fate that befell Horshire.

Celestia was still readying herself in explaining where over three-hundred ponies went to.

“Not just the war.” Spitfire answered, stopping to watch one particular pony acting a little oddly, though it turned out she only had an itch. “I’d been hearing the guards talking about it for a while. They say they’ll be expanding the military for the coming war.” Soarin slowed in the air, prompting Spitfire to do the same. “Something wrong?”

Soarin sighed, and sped up again, “Can we not talk about ‘the war’? The war that’s probably not going to happen?” He sincerely wanted to believe himself. “It’s probably just a bunch of hubbub over nothing. Just some ponies wandering in with armor in, confusing the guards.” He stated, making Spitfire turn up her mouth in a contemplative manner.

“There has to be more to it. War wouldn’t just be randomly declared because armored ponies started appearing. Unless there were attacks, or somepony had information,” she pushed a passing cloud forward to keep it moving with the crowd and landed on top of it, leaving room for Soarin to do the same, “I can’t see it just being a big hoax. Celestia’s not that foalish.”

Soarin grumbled softly as he sat, knowing she had a point, “Okay, so Celestia wouldn’t call war unless she had a serious reason to do it, but what if she’s just overreacting? I mean, expanding the army all of a sudden without giving us any information seems a little odd to me.”

“She’ll probably tell us once we get to Canterlot, she just wants everypony to hear it.” Spitfire reasoned, using her wings to propel them along in the air at a reasonable speed so they could keep close watch. “I mean, it’s kind of win-win for her, she keeps us close and safe and gets us together to tell us what’s happening. Not to mention no pony will be traveling far so it’ll be easy to get the army going quickly.”

Soarin grumbled heavily again, staring down as he tried to focus on watching, but he just couldn’t get the whole situation out of his head. He was angry and terrified this sort of thing was happening, and he desperately wanted to just stop hearing about wars. “Why are you asking around about it anyways? We’ll be doing service in Canterlot too.”

Spitfire rubbed the back of her head, and quietly contemplated her navel. Soarin turned his head to stare at her, and finally she spoke up, “I was thinking about enlisting.”

Soarin turned so sharply that Spitfire reared back in instinct, and his face got so close to hers, she could see through his goggles, “Enlisting!?” He nearly shouted, but he kept his voice low enough he wouldn’t disturb the ponies passing below, “Tell me you’re kidding! We already help the citizens out and we have a full time job practicing for our performances anyways!”

“And how long are we going to practice for?” Spitfire demanded, frowning as Soarin snorted. “This is a war, Soarin, this isn’t us practicing, this is actual war.”

“We don’t know that!” He retorted, getting some looks from below.

“We have a really good bet on it! We can’t just ignore this and pretend this isn’t happening, we have to be prepared, that means we have to make uncomfortable choices. Practice has been suspended, Soarin, you saw the memo, and no way the manager is repealing it anytime soon.” Soarin snorted, but Spitfire continued, “The airways all over Equestria have been restricted outside buildings, Cloudsdale is even being flown to Canterlot and it’s being repurposed for the military! You can keep pretending this isn’t happening but we have to think ahead. I’m going to be joining the Royal Guard, at least my skills will be put to use there and I won’t be sitting around pretending I’m doing something because the Princess says we are.” Spitfire crossed her forelegs.

Soarin stood there, trying to form words and sentences, but he just kept twitching, opening and closing his mouth, and working his face muscles angrily as he tried to answer. Finally, he stomped on the cloud petulantly, “Well, y’know what? Maybe I don’t trust you going to war!”

“Oh?” Spitfire huffed, “You think I’m too weak or something?”

Soarin answered immediately, insistently, almost as if he was covering for something, “You’re a team flier, you’re at your best around ponies you know, who know your moves and can match them, ponies as experienced as you.”

“Meaning what? I won’t make friends in the military? I won’t have a unit I’m trained with?” Spitfire just grew more and more annoyed at how childish Soarin was being, “You think I’m just rushing in without looking, don’t you? Think I’ll get myself killed?” She accused, aggravating feelings mixing in her stomach.

“No!” Soarin answered loudly, making several ponies below stop walking to stare up. Soarin carefully untensed himself, his body shaking as he lowered himself to a sitting position, all while Spitfire watched him with a confused stare beneath her goggles, “Because…” He panted, and pawed at the cloud. “Because I’m going to be there to make sure you’re okay.”

Spitfire stared at him passively for a moment, and wordlessly approached him. Soarin tensed, but then his long time captain, and equally long-time friend hugged him. It was not gentle, it was rough and very clingy. “You’re going to join with me?”

Soarin blushed beneath his mask and stared at his hooves, looking half-ashamed, half-embarrassed when Spitfire let him go. “We’re a team, aren’t we? We eat, practice, perform, and hang out together. The only thing we don’t do is sleep together.” He paused, Spitfire just stared. “In the same room. Separate beds. Platonically.” Spitfire rolled her eyes and groaned, “Look, it only makes sense that if you go into this, I should too. I can keep an eye on you and you’ll have a familiar pony on your team, right? It’s…” He lowered his head, “Win-win…”

Spitfire gently stroke his back, and smiled earnestly, “Soarin, you don’t have to. I’ll be okay by myself, I promise I will be.” But even as she spoke he was shaking his head, almost angrily at that.

“No, no way. I’m not gonna leave you hanging. If you go, I’m going, as your teammate. Whatever everypony else on the team picks is their own decision but I’ve made mine.” He said firmly, lifting his head up as he watched the crowd below, sighing heavily as he tried to settle his beating heart with duty.

Spitfire rubbed his back quietly, and just smiled to herself. “We’re gonna be a great team out there.”

----------

Rarity was the first to pick herself up as she felt the caravan come to a stop. They may have been passing through another check-point, but still, she was curious. On the floor at her hooves, Fluttershy shifted her weight from Rarity to Twilight, who returned the pressure as well as she could while doing the same to Rainbow Dash, who had her eyes closed and was in her thoughts. Pinkie Pie laid next to Dash, unusually quiet, but she was smiling at least, and on her other side, Applejack was doing her absolute best to stay awake. “Uhn, the city would have to be so very big, wouldn’t it?” The farm-girl yawned.

Rarity stared outside through the tiny little slit window, then glanced down to her companions. “If I’m not mistaken, I think we’re at the palace.” She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the monumental structure’s… Courtyard. She couldn’t see the front after all. Though what she could see was a marvelous series of statues and pillars, though curiously, not a hint of green in sight…

Applejack lifted off the floor, shaking the sleep out of her eyes, and stretched. Dash opened her eyes to watch as Applejack peaked out a window. “Certainly looks sorta Palace-y from this way.” She nodded quietly.

“Their décor is certainly questionable. I don’t see even a small spot of green! What sort of palace doesn’t have an intricate network of flowers and plants for its courtyard?” She asked, narrowing her eyes. “At least they took time with those pillars, but a bit of gold and silver does not make up for lazy gardening!”

Twilight lifted her head curiously, but didn’t want to leave the winning position of being between both Dash and Fluttershy during their relaxed state. Pity the universe didn’t want to keep her there. The door to the cart opened suddenly, letting the dark wagon fill with sunlight. Twilight grit her teeth and shut her eyes, and heard Dash groan right next to her in pain as they blinked away the pain. Through the dark spots, Twilight vaguely made out the shape of the unicorn that had captured them. “Get out. Don’t make too much noise, don’t ask questions, just follow me. We’ve interrupted the king during his lunch, he will not be happy.” She said tersely, and Twilight nodded.

“Follow me guys.” She whispered to her friends as they all stood up slowly and began to walk out of the wagon, following Twilight into the light. “And stay quiet.” She took the first step off the wagon and onto the ground in front of the unicorn. All around them stood guards, but not the same ones from before. These ones didn’t have face-concealing helmets, just ones that guarded the cranium, and their legs were visible from the inside. None of them looked entirely happy, but then again, her own group didn’t look too satisfied either.

“Move.” One of the guards, rather than wearing the traditional bronze-colored armor, wore silvered armor, with a red flag draped over one of his sides with a white star on it. Twilight guessed he was the leader of the guards here, and quietly went around the wagon as the captain lead them. What she could see of the castle courtyard was fairly impressive. Sun-baked bricks of clay, large enough to hold an entire pony on top, were laid flat in the standard layers pattern, though the road leading straight up to the palace steps were a brighter gold color. Other than on the main road, there were pillars that were cut to have a tall, thin, pyramid shape, with symbols carved into the middles that said things like “Wealth”, “Power”, “Honor”, “Reason”, on each side, though the word was different for each pillar. It wasn’t entirety impressive for a palace, though the sheer number pillars made up for it. As did the worrying number of steps.

“Please don’t tell me we have to climb those in this heat…” Rarity whimpered, standing just behind Twilight as they all stared up the staircase. Applejack and Dash looked impressed but not perturbed, nor did Pinkie, though she herself, Fluttershy, and Rarity were notably less than pleased.

“How many steps are there?” Applejack had to ask, glancing to Pinkie for some reason. Twilight glanced over to the pink mare and watched her eyes move up and down the steps over and over again before answering.

“Two-hundred and seventy-nine.” She said without fault, making Rarity groan. Nopony disagreed with her, but Twilight was cocking her eyebrow oddly.

“How would you know that?” The unicorn asked, staring over the gently smiling pink mare. Twilight nudged her with her side, and Pinkie brightened up some. She was still troubled, confused, scared, that made sense, but she still wanted to see Pinkie smile that never-ending grin of glee. “Lemme guess, your Pinkie sense told you that?”

“Nope! I just used my eyes.” Pinkie blinked rapidly as if to prove her point. “Like this! You have four legs, Applejack has six freckles, there are a total of twenty-eight guards around us, and there are seventeen birds in the air!” Pinkie looked mighty proud of herself as Twilight looked up, and saw the barely visible birds flying around up ahead, then looked down to Pinkie.

“She’s got a gift.” Rarity explained with a tiny shrug as Pinkie began to hop up the stairs, the girls just behind her. The guards around them kept a good distance from them, their blades hanging dangerously close to the mares’ sides, a warning that their captors were ready to kill if necessary. The Belezians walked behind them, observing carefully as they held up the spell that prevented magic. “I wonder if invasion is standard for them…” Rarity mused in a low voice to all her friends as they climbed the steps as a brisk pace. The guards wouldn’t let them slow down, usually giving small growls if one of them paused for even a moment.

It certainly added to the tenseness of the situation. Even with Twilight’s rousing words fresh in their minds and the relative comfort they’d found laying among eachother, the number of ponies assigned to keep them moving, the clanking of their equipment, and the darkness in their stares left the six feeling small and quiet. At the very least they were confident they might not immediately be put to death.

Twilight hoped.

Twilight made it to the very top, stepping off the last step with a little less grace in her stride due to being winded, and stood in front of a pair of magnificent brass doors, with mighty brass handles, and enormous brass knockers, and it was being guarded by great metal dragons, made of brass! Already she could see the theme: brass. Lots and lots of brass. It fit with being in the middle of a desert but glancing to the look of bemusement Rarity had she could see that Rarity had also been expecting a little more… Variety. Maybe toss some gold in? But no, brass! Everywhere there was brass. If you weren’t walking on it or being defended from the elements by it, it was made of brass.

Except for the captain. He was silver.

Twilight licked her dry lips. Yes she was feeling dehydrated right now. She turned her head to glance to her friends, as well as the Unicorns stepping past them to approach the doors, and got one good look at the city. The palace steps were raised higher than the already tall walls of the city, and staring outwards she could see the rings of the city expanding the further and further they were. In her eyes, the place just never seemed to stop stretching. It was somewhat awe-inspiring that this vast city sat in the middle of a desert with a little of itty bitty towns and outposts laying around. She wondered what else lay in this land…

“Don’t stop moving. We’re nearly there.” The head of the guards said, oddly reassuring as he used his hoof to smash the knocker into an indent. It sounded like smashing large, flat-bottomed pots together again and again through a microphone pointed directly into her ear, and she imagined her friends didn’t like it any better than she did.

The doors opened without the slightest creak, the yawning entrance revealing a long hall with multiple doorways to the sides and tall pillars, along with paintings and artifacts such as urns, old swords and spears, and several intricate sculptures, all made of brass of course. Twilight heard a loud ‘harumph’ by her side, “Do you think it would kill them to add something other than a shade of brown to this dustbowl they call a kingdom? Maybe some reds or blues, or we could go for broke and try green.” Most of the group began to snicker as the purple-maned unicorn stopped behind them.

“I’d advise your party to keep quiet while they retain audience with the king. They wouldn’t want to be made examples of, would they?” The elder unicorn snarled, making Twilight pipe down immediately, and signal for her friends to do the same.

“They’re pretty gung-ho, let’s just be quiet and keep ours head down.” Twilight whispered as the unicorn stepped around her, walking towards a set of equally large double brass doors at the opposite end of the wide, fanciful hallway. As they walked, the guards suddenly closed in around them, forcing them into a tight group, Rarity and Dash at her sides brushing against her with each step. “What are you doing?” Twilight whispered, but the guards did not even turn to acknowledge her as the Unicorn turned to face them.

“From here on out, I must rob you of your sight. You will not be allowed to see the passage.” She told them in a hushed whisper. Twilight could only watch uneasily as black cloth was passed to the Belezians, and Twilight turned to reassure her friends and calm them down as they began to wrap the cloth around their eyes. Blinded, the guards kept the moving with gentle nudges of their knees, directing them to turn by pressing against their sides as they went left, then right, then downstairs, then right again, then left then right then down then right then up and Twilight began to lose track of the directions they were going as they started to be rushed along, stopping only when the unicorn called for them to.

Twilight twitched her ears to listen, and then the blinds were removed. Panting softly from the short work-out, they stared up and saw they were in front of a door, more ornate than the entrance itself. There were golden and silver symbols all over it, most of them just meaningless shapes, but there was a straight string of symbols going across the middle of the door above the handles in the foreign language. “‘Thrones are Built for Tyrants’?” Twilight whispered to herself, again, the strange language rolling off her tongue simply. The elder Unicorn gave her an… Interesting look to say the least as the door was opened.

The guards split off from the group to line the walls of the long, wide room. The six mares they left behind gasped as they saw the room.

The room was absolutely different from every other part of the castle. Waterfalls from the opposite side of the room coming out of the walls filled two deep, glass-covered basins around a red-carpet covered pathway in the middle that was wide enough to hold the six of them abreast to eachother. On the far sides of the pools of water were actual growing plants. No vegetables or fruits, but flowers, bushes, vines all the colors of the world in this simply lit, marble-made room. Hanging from the ceiling were clay troughs filled with more vine and flower-covered plants, while water dripped from pipes above each planter at key points. The room was positively gorgeous, with more green and red and yellow and white than the girls had seen since they entered the blasted desert. Up the pathway at the far end grew a tree. Genuine wood and leaves, and growing along the branches were actual red apples…

“Celestia’s mercy…” Applejack whispered, staring at the fine apple tree. “Civilization, at last!” She whispered, holding her hat over her chest while tears began to dot her eyes.

“The color!” Rarity sighed, pleased as she walked up and down the pathway, staring at the plants, bumping into Fluttershy as the demure Pegasus sniffed at the flowers with a small smile.

Twilight just watched the whole room with wide eyes, listening to the trickling of water, staring at the plants, taking in the strong smell of life… these plants had magic in them, but not just that but sharing it. Twilight couldn’t activate her magic to stare at the leylines, but she could simply feel it all around her. This one room had magic, this one beautiful room still had the power of life… “Wh-…” She whispered, briefly awe-struck by the small spring of life.

Then Dash suddenly appeared in front of her, a hoof-picked dandelion in her hoof. “Allergiessaywhat?” She asked speedily.

“… What?” Twilight blinked, then Dash pursed her lips, and blew sharply on the dandelion, making the seeds take flight into Twilight’s face. The little white fuzzies stuck to her face-coat, tickling her nostrils, and she sneezed sharply. “Dash!” She shouted, sneezing again and turning her head so the spray would land elsewhere. She sneezed again. Then again. Then Dash fell over giggling as Twilight kept sniffing and sneezing. The other girls watched as Twilight reared back, again and again, sneezing sharply and shaking her head, all while Dash kicked her legs with laughter on the ground.

Twilight couldn’t hear the whispering around the room, just the constant laughing of her friends as she kept sneezing again and again and again. Finally she managed to slow herself down, panting heavily as she rubbed her face with her hoof.

Dash was still laughing on the floor, but stopped when she felt somepony over her. She opened her eyes slowly, and found herself staring into a picked dandelion… And then the face behind it blew, coating her face with the fuzzy seeds. Dash briefly got a glimpse of curled, golden hair and a mischievous smile, before having to turn her head to sneeze. Once. Twice. Three times.

Twilight could only watch as a colt a head taller than her skipped away from Dash, wings flapping merrily as he danced around the mares, who slipped away from the colt to stand next to Twilight and stare at the male. He had a blonde, curled mane, and a very soft pink-colored coat, wearing two layers of cloaks designed to free his wings, one red, one blue, and a dark brown, gold-embroidered suit. The tips of his curled mane were dyed very light pastel colors, from pink, to purple, to green to red, each a different color, and looking absolutely… well…

Rarity’s jaw was nearly on the floor as she stared at the colt. The others looked no better as they simply stared at him. “… What is that?” Rarity asked, dumb-founded by the pony’s hairstyle. “What was he thinking!?” She demanded, managing to somehow, someway, keep her voice level. “Did he just let Spring sit on his head for a few hours!? Did he jump into the cotton candy machine!? I deplore you Twilight, tell me this is an illusion.”

“…” Twilight turned from the colt to Rarity, then back to the colt. “… Maybe?” She answered with an uneasy shrug, Dash finally standing up, rubbing her nose.

“Oh-ho, what’s this?” He spoke suddenly. Twilight’s mind stopped running as she registered that elegant, soft voice. Sweet as honey and gentle as cotton, yet it had a deep, powerful manliness that made Twilight’s jaw shake. Sweet Celestia, she wanted to melt… melt!

“Twilight?” Dash whispered, watching Twilight whimper as her little purple knees began to knock. “Twilight are you…?” She whispered, waving her hoof in front of Twilight’s face. She really did not like that oh-so-dreamy face she was making.

“Ponies that speak in an unknown language. Soft and tender as a newborn, girlish as a four year old filly. Refreshingly lovely.” He spoke sweetly, looking cheerful as he approached the six with grace. Twilight could see he was older by at least fifteen years, but he was still amazingly handsome. Then he began to caress her chin, giving her the goofiest smile as his mere touch made her heat up all over. The other girls could only stare as she closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. “And such an impressive horn on this one. So many questions, so many-”

“HEY.” The colt took a step back while every guard in the room suddenly ran forward with their blades in their mouths, closing in as Dash suddenly knocked away his hoof, looking enraged at the colt’s intrusion. It wasn’t just her, Fluttershy was now standing between him and Twilight with narrowed eyes. “Hooves off our Twilight!” Dash held up her angered stance, Fluttershy equally peeved as Twilight rapidly blinked her eyes, snapping herself out of her daze. The guards snarled, sword tips hovering dangerously close to the girls’ necks.

The colt, for his part, looked amused, “What’s this? Two winged guards?” He asked curiously, slowly approaching again as Twilight smiled nervously, taking a few steps back. Applejack and Pinkie Pie turned to face outwards by her sides, glaring at the guards as Rarity held up the back, giving one of the guards a very good stare down. “Or they’re all your guards? Mighty curious.” The colt calmly inspected each of them, his smile only growing. Twilight did everything she could to not quiver in want again. “Let’s talk, one to one. Colts, mares…” He waved his hoof, and the guards hesitantly backed away.

Twilight glanced around slowly, “Girls, you can calm down, he’s calling them off.” She whispered. Slowly the five other mares backed down, but their eyes nervously shot to every other pony in the room. They watched the well-dressed colt walk up to stand before the tree. Twilight stared as he made himself comfortable, then face the girls with a smile. “Wait,” She whispered, staring at him with wide eyes, “You’re-”

“To’Ao’Coltriella (The King of Coltriella).” He said, a hoof placed over his chest as he gave Twilight an almost smug look with his gray eyes, “Though you may simply refer to me as Ao as long as we’re in the same room. I must say, it’s not often we get such cute guests.” The elder unicorn behind the six snorted as Twilight just mumbled quietly and blushed, making both Fluttershy and Dash growl softly. The green unicorn left the back of the group to join her lord. “My sweet Sul, you surely must have a good explanation for interrupting my luncheon?” Twilight noted the way that even he spoke such sweet words, his face told a much more annoyed story.

Sul stood before the king with a nearly neutral look before she turned to face Twilight with an uneasy stare. She couldn’t read what Sul was thinking, but the elder mare looked back to her king before she could guess. “These six mares you see before you, my king, were witnessed flying Golding-bred dragons above the city.” She stated firmly. The king’s pleasant composure dropped immediately, and a very sour look took over instead. The bubbly joy Twilight had gotten from staring at his sweet smile was quickly replaced with meekness.

Twilight gulped and jumped forward, making Ao step back with a hard glare, “It’s not at all what it sounds like, we were-”

“Be quiet.” Sul ordered sharply, giving Twilight a very stern look before turning to face her completely, her mouth near her ear. “I will give him every bit of information I have gathered so far, you will stand there and try not to look aggressive. Fail to obey and I won’t remain neutral for long.” She warned in a low hiss, making Twilight take a few steps back as Sul turned to face the king.

“Well then,” Ao spoke, watching Twilight with a very displeased look, “Chain them, jail them, kill them, Sul, don’t bring this war-mongering filth into my palace! This is not a matter that needs my judgment.” Then he narrowed his eyes further, glancing to Sul suspiciously, sneering out, “Unless you’re suggesting I dirty myself with concubines?”

Twilight reared at the word, making her friends look to her nervously. She glanced around the room slowly, the guards looking much more interested in the conversation now as their eyes roamed… Sul had waited until he was finished, and then began to speak, “Not at all, To’Ao, I had meant no disrespect. When they landed outside the city the guards were sent to apprehend them. We had not expected the resistance they put up: the rainbow-maned mare had the ability to ignite herself and split into six and fought with blades, while the mare with the elongated horn fought more defensively using wind and walls. It took the intervention of the Belezians to deactivate their abilities and pacify them. Without their magic, they were unable to defend themselves during my field interrogation.”

She paused, as if to collect her thoughts, and turned to watch Twilight some more. The little purple mare glanced to meet her stare for a only a moment, looking very worried, terrified even. She was not the sort of pony with war training, and judging by the uncomfortable looks of the other five, neither were they. “And?” Ao asked, slowly stepping forward to take a closer look at Twilight.

“They speak an unidentified language, though the purple-mare is able to understand, speak, and presumably read Coltriellan, as she was able to read the message on the throne-room door unaided. They claim they stole the dragons from Golding while invading them-”

“No no, they invaded us, not the other way around.” Twilight chipped in. Sul and Ao stared at her quietly, and Twilight slowly backed down again. Fluttershy gently opened her wings and laid one across Twilight’s back for comfort.

“Either way, they claimed to have stolen the dragons.”

“That does not explain the magic. From what I know about our neighbors, this is no ordinary magic, what is their explanation for that?” Ao demanded, staring at Twilight stiffly.

Sul stared back at Twilight with Ao, another uneasy expression on her face, and quietly she glanced back to her lord, opened her mouth, and spoke in something entirely different, “If I may, I suggest we switch to old Coltriellan to discuss this. She knows of entities that do not concern the common folk.” She turned to face Twilight with a curious expression, “I assume you know what I’m saying?”

“Perfectly.” Twilight answered, then shook her head, and opened her mouth again, “Perfectly.” She felt strangely confident with this, maybe it was just Anemone getting to her head…

Ao just narrowed his eyes further. This wasn’t right. Only three ponies here would understand a word of what was going on. His guards wouldn’t be able to react to idle threats, but he supposed he just needed a small wave of his hoof to dispose of any attacks. “Very well. We’ll speak in the language of my bloodthirsty father if it so pleases our invader.” He snorted at Twilight in open disdain as the guards just looked on in confusion.

Sul took a few moments to gather her thoughts, then spoke up. “She knows of Terraria.” Sul said. Ao’s face changed slowly. At first, it fell into dispassionate stare of thoughtfulness, and in the next second his eyes widened, his nostrils flared, and even Sul took a step back as the veins along his neck and jaw became visible with his rage.

“SHE KNOWS WHAT!?” He roared, making Twilight tremble as she tried to become very small, all while Ao began to toss his head around angrily, stomping around the tree, ears twitching angrily as he turned to stare at Twilight again, “A simple foreign witch knows about Terraria!? What possible explanation could she have for knowing royal secrets!?” He grit his teeth and approached rapidly, making Twilight back up as her friends closed in, but Sul gently stepped into his path.

“My apologies for interrupting, Ao, but please listen, it’s not just Terraria.” Ao restrained himself from pushing past her, but never took his angry gaze off Twilight. Fluttershy and Dash quickly put themselves in front of her again, staring the very king down as Twilight shivered behind them. “She knows of Anemone, and the fabled Celestia and Luna as well. She knows of the leylines, and claims Anemone sent her to speak with Terraria.”

“Anemone is long gone.” Ao snarled as he turned to face Sul, their faces nearly touching, “He committed himself to asylum in the sea thousands and thousands of years ago. Everypony who knows the legend knows of this, so,” he glanced to Twilight with a hard look, “bring her forward, away from her guards. I want to question her personally on these adorable little lies she brings before my court.” He turned, starting for the tree as Twilight seized up for a moment, glancing around to her friends slowly. They were her comfort, her pillars of strength, and he was asking her to be taken from them. Sul turned to give the orders as Twilight turned, and slowly slid out from under Fluttershy’s wing.

“Twilight?” Pinkie asked in quiet confusion, stepping after her, staying close to her back as Dash immediately moved to stand in front of Twilight again, acting as a wall. The guards closed in, but did not start grabbing once Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Dash stood their ground around the unicorn. Pinkie Pie gently nosed in closer to her, snout next to her ear. “What’s going on?”

Twilight took a slow, deep breath, and then whispered her answer, eyes closed to avoid Pinkie’s tense look. It just seemed so wrong on the wonderful little mare that inspired her. “He wants me to stand in front of him, alone.” She answered, and immediately felt her friends press closer to her. The guards began to move forward, “He wants to know how I know about Terraria and Anemone. He’s going to start questioning me, I think. You girls need to back away, just for a moment, so this can happen.” She then gave them each a small smile as they somewhat relaxed, and turned their head to look at her. “We’ll be okay, I would never do anything to get us hurt.”

“…” Applejack stood up, calm, collected, looked around slowly, and turned to face Twilight. “I trust ya Twi. We know ya’ll wouldn’t get us hurt.” She lightly nudged the unicorn with her hoof. “Give ‘em hell.” Twilight smiled broadly, and the entire group of them turned inwards to give her a brief group hug before backing away.

Both Sul and Ao watched this passively. The genuine affection they showed so shamelessly. They were not the hardened Golding soldier that demanded strict discipline in emotion. They weren’t like any soldiers, or foreigners they’d ever seen. Sul turned quietly to face her king. “What are you thinking, my lord?” She whispered.

Ao watched, eyes narrowed, and calmly shook his head as the girls left their friend, standing a few feet back, the guards retreating as their orders were finished, “Strange, for sure. Suspicious, definitely.” He whispered. He didn’t know. They weren’t the invaders they were used to: violent, lying through their teeth, begging for mercy or bartering information, they wanted to talk. About Terraria. There was trouble abound.

All the purple unicorn’s friends had stepped back. All except the blue one, who was keeping an eye on the king closely. Ao narrowed his eyes. “When I said we were to speak alone, I meant you and me. Not you, me, and her.” He stated in a low voice, and Sul nodded. They could tell this one was obstinate. Most likely her primary guardian. She was decorated enough, and she had the sword and the abilities…

Twilight turned to speak to the sky-blue Pegasus, but Dash merely raised a hoof. Everypony watched as she extended it to point at Sul, then Ao. Then she lowered it, raised her other hoof, and pointed to herself, and then Twilight. “I don’t care what he says. As long as that mare is up there, I’m staying here, it’s only fair.” She stated obstinately.

“Of all the times for ya’ll ta get hard-headed.” Applejack stated, but with an approving smile.

“She’s right, Twilight.” Fluttershy added, making the unicorn squirm uncomfortably. No, this was not what she had asked, this was not the time for Dash to get loyal on her, even if having her there did make warm up a bit.

Sul turned to face Ao, who was sighing deeply in frustration. “It’s only fair.” Sul shrugged, and Ao said a few choice words that gave Twilight a very nervous smile and an ear twitch. With Dash by her side, with the weight of her safety, and her friends’ safety on her shoulders, Twilight walked forward to sit before the lord of the city, Dash just by her side.

Ao paid closer attention. The blue one followed the little unicorn out of loyalty, she kept a close eye on the unicorn, as if checking her over repeatedly, and watched around her carefully, as if making sure nothing would approach them. Paid guards sat around waiting for action to come to them. Loyal guards checked every room at every moment to keep it safe in an otherwise bad situation.

After several moments of uncomfortable silence, Twilight turned to face Ao and Sul once again. The two sat passively, Ao more noticeably than Sul, looking calm once more, “… You are no soldier. No warrior. No Golding pony at all. Who are you? Where do you come from?” His voice seemed unusually tender, but he tried to recompose his detesting look as Twilight closed her eyes and gathered herself, opening them to look as honest as she possibly could while speaking through the tightness in her chest.

“O-okay,” she finally whispered, feeling Dash brush against her gently in comfort. Ao noticed. Not even his guards were that comforting, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I come from a far away land called Equestria.” She answered finally, 

Sul approached Ao said nothing. Then, Sul leaned over to Ao and they began to whisper to eachother, neither taking their eyes off Twilight as they spoke. Twilight watched them with a timid expression as they conversed, and finally broke apart so Sul could approach her.

“You mean…” Sul calmly started, then pressed her front legs together in obvious anxiety, “The Equestria? Home of Celestia and Luna?” Sul asked, watching as Twilight slowly nodded her head. Ao and Sul stared at eachother again quietly with unreadable expressions, then back to Twilight in quiet awe. “But Equestria is… That cannot be right, Equestria is cut off from the world, a sanctuary for Anemone’s chosen. Nopony has ever gone to Equestria, or ever sought it and returned.” Twilight stared at them. What did the world know about Equestria?

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Twilight whispered, staring down at her hooves uncomfortably, “Equestria has been my home since my birth. It is certainly wonderful, yes, but it’s not cut off from the world. We flew here after all.”

“Ahem.” Both ponies turned to look to Ao, “If I may, if you are Equestrian, then relate to us Celestia’s and Luna’s significance to it.” He ordered, actually fairly calm, though he still seemed very uneasy.

Twilight just blinked in confusion. Their significance? To Equestria? How were they not significant? Twilight quietly glance around back to her friends, then answered, “Princess Celestia, Alicorn of the Sun, and Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Moon, are sisters,” she started, piecing together all the history she knew, “and they are the daughters of Lord Anemone, Alicorn of the Sea. Every morning, Princess Celestia raises the sun to grant the world its light and its life-giving rays, and at night, Princess Luna raises the moon and the stars to grant ponies direction, peace, and sleep. They work together, side-by-side, to never grow too powerful or the ponies too reliant on one or the other to avoid the conflict Terraria and Atmos had created.” She answered, watching as Ao and Sul glanced to eachother again, and Ao quietly bowed his head in thought.

She was correct. More than correct, she was accurate, completely and thoroughly. This was the sort of knowledge only the most trusted and powerful of individuals knew. These were secrets being related that were thought only to be unproven myths, for treasure-hunters and glory-seekers and snake-oil salesmen, but with no fabrication, and correct. She knew their names, she knew what they controlled and represented, she knew their family tree and why there were two Princesses…

“So perhaps you are Equestrian.” He started, his eyes now looking over each and every one of them. These little creatures were Equestrians? Other than being so colorful, they seemed surprisingly normal… “Why does Equestria have an interest in Coltriella? More than that, what would draw Golding to invade it? I knew the war-mongers liked trouble but I never thought they’d attempt to shed blood in the land of the Lords.” 

Twilight explained her mission in short. Finding the brothers, refilling the leylines, stopping the invaders… a passionate speech, but Sul and Ao hardly changed, other than a softening in their stances.

Ao stared down at her for what felt like a very long time. He was no longer enraged or angry, but his mysterious stare still made Twilight nervous. “And you claim you’re here to help? Anemone tasked you and your friends with such a… Powerful request?” He asked, and Twilight nodded slowly. He closed his eyes, then opened them, “Fine then. All present are ordered to leave immediately. You are to leave me, Sul, and the foreigners by ourselves. We will be conversing in matters you do not need to hear. Eavesdroppers will be severely reprimanded.”

“What are you doing, my king?” Sul whispered, and Ao quietly watched the guards approach the middle of the room, looking confused but doing as they were ordered.

“I need more details, and I feel foalish speaking in my father’s tongue.” He answered as the guards stared up at their lord in surprise.

The captain, the silver-armored pony from before, walked forward with a hesitant step, “But… sir! We are here to protect you, what if they-”

“Sul will be more than enough in handling these six if they grow unruly. They are clearly not soldiers. I want everypony but those requested gone right now.” He waved his hoof, and hesitantly the guards obeyed. Dash gave Twilight a curious look, and Twilight gave her a little smile.

“I think we’re going to be okay.” She said to her guardian, who just quietly watched the guards leave, single-file, including the unicorns. The very unicorns that dampened the magic. She raised an eyebrow and turned her head to face the elder unicorn. She could sense the cold-feeling that put out her flames and stopped her from cloning herself leave. She could feel her magic again. Twilight turned to face all of her friends, “We’re being kept here to tell the king our story.”

“Tell him our story?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow, slowly, daintily making her steps towards Twilight and Rainbow Dash, “You mean the story only you can tell because only you get the language?” She smirked a little, good-humouredly patting Twilight on the forehead. “It’s not like we can just copy your ‘comprehension’.” Dash lifted her head up quietly to stare at Rarity with a bit of surprise. The other three moved to reform their little bubble around Twilight. As they settled around her, the warm, comfortable confidence she’d established since first affirming her friendship began to return.

Dash quietly slipped from her side though. Twilight gave her a half-glance, but Dash had a curious face on her. She moved from her side to the back, slipping behind the group and out of sight while Ao cleared his throat again. “If we may, I would like to begin going over the fine details of your story.” Twilight gave him her full attention. Any way she could help their situation, she would answer truthfully and honestly. “You were captured, correct? Where? How?” He asked.

Her friends stayed quiet as Twilight gave a tiny sigh, recalling the memory. The forest came back into view, as did the argument she and Dash had been having. She winced softly. “I’d gone into a forest with my friend Rainbow Dash - the blue mare - to visit a friend who had medical knowledge on sores and breaks. While we were walking-” She froze up immediately as she felt warm, rainbow-colored energy grasp her body. The grip of a soft, gentle giant slipped around her, squeezing not her, but something inside of her.

“What does she think she’s doing!?” Sul shouted, leaping in front of Ao, horn glowing in warning as Twilight twisted her head quickly to spot Dash, tiny wings flapping rapidly as a six-colored aura flooded from her body as she focused on Twilight. 

“Dash, what in Celestia’s name-” She gasped, feeling the magic pinch at something in her chest, and it felt like she was starting to divide down the middle as a white sphere of light appeared over her heart.

“I don’t know what ya’ll think ye’re up to,” Applejack growled, throwing her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s middle to pull her back, “ya’ll’re really getting’ us in hot water Dash and if ya’ll don’t-” she paused, the aura now sliding around her, and the white glow from Twilight’s chest appeared on Applejack’s as well, then Dash’s.

“Have you lost your mind!?” Rarity shouted, suddenly grasped by the energy as well, Fluttershy and Pinkie both gasping as they were held. The white glow appeared on their chests as well, and Sul and Ao both took a step back as a screen of magical light appeared between them and the six to serve as a barrier.

The magic around the six friends slowly twisted, turning into spiraling funnels of rainbow energy as Dash pulled her aura back inside her, the white glows slowly slipping into each girl. Twilight could only stare at Rainbow Dash in disbelief. The other four had mixed expressions, Rarity and Applejack of anger and Pinkie and Fluttershy watching the king and the elder unicorn with fright.

Twilight turned her head towards Ao, and her voice came out in a low whisper, “I’m very sorry about that. I don’t know what she was up to but I’m going to go talk her ear off-”

“Don’t apologize for me, I knew exactly what I was doing!” Dash retorted suddenly, in absolutely perfect Coltriellan. Twilight slowly turned back to face Dash, the most bewildered expression on her face as Dash gave her a smug grin. “Don’t give me that face! I was tired of being out of the loop. I’m pretty sure we all were.”

“Um.” Applejack glanced back and forth slowly, from Dash to Twilight, “I hate to interrupt but what the hay is going on?” The farm-mare’s eyes widened, and she covered her own mouth as if something very dirty came out of it.

“I understood that!” Pinkie exclaimed, her frightened expression turning to excitement quickly, “The premier party pony of Ponyville prefers potpourri and pumpernickel!” She frowned a little, touching her own chin, “It isn’t anywhere near as alliterative but I’ll make due!” She began to mouth off with random words as Rarity and Fluttershy glanced to eachother curiously.

“… I don’t think I understand.” Sul spoke up first as Ao just stared at the blue Pegasus with palpable shock. He assumed that this little creature was a Pegasus and solely a Pegasus. Clearly Equestrians were much more than they appeared to be.

“So, like, I have this magical ability to mirror things. Something about reflections and all.” Dash responded while holding up a hoof. “At first I thought it was just myself and random objects, but then I remembered Twilight telling me I had to get creative with my powers to get good with them. So, when Rarity mentioned copying her Comprehension I thought ‘why not?’ and gave it a try. Turns out I got the skills for it!” She never left the local speech, which was smooth and incredibly beautiful, if a little rough due to Dash’s voice. 

“Dash that’s…” Twilight started, watching the rainbow-maned girl in admiration. “That’s really good.” She finished off, making Dash smile hugely, more than a little red in her cheeks. “I’m proud of you! That’s amazingly creative, you really had me worried but that’s just so-” Twilight fumbled for words, “- so - !”

“Amazing? Incredibly? Awesome? I’m all of those and more. Told you I’d be working on this. I’m gonna be the best spell-slinger in all of Equestria if you don’t step it up Twilight! Honestly, you’ve been way too easy of an opponent. I was expecting a, I dunno,” Dash’s grin became very smug, and Twilight smirked right back, “a challenge? Maybe? No? Maybe I should be Celestia’s student then.” Fluttershy snorted, drawing Dash’s attention, who gave her a questioning look as Fluttershy just shook herself and chuckled. “Don’t believe me? I’ll show you guys! One day.” Dash continued holding herself proudly,  before another clearing throat got their attention.

Sul stared at them with one high raised eyebrow, and calmly pointed to Twilight, “I believe we were discussing the details of your journey. Afterwards, I have many questions to ask you concerning your home and your friend’s magic.”

“Right.” Ao nodded in agreement, eyes glued to Rainbow Dash now. Everything about Equestria, even the rumors and the myths, were adding up. He’d heard there was so much magic in the land and its ponies that they themselves could shape the weather and the animals. He had a number of questions he wanted to ask now, but kept them to himself for now. He’d have plenty of time for questions after their story was told.

“Alright,” Twilight took a deep breath to gain herself a non-awkward moment to recollect her thoughts, and started again, “While we were walking in the forest, we were suddenly grabbed in a net from a dragon-riding pony…” Close detail after detail spilled from her mouth as she explained each and every step she and Dash had taken to get where they currently where. They were paused at several points to go even further in depth on certain ponies or environments.

When Twilight first spoke of Rukafelth, Ao did not hesitate to demand precise descriptions and actions, and when Twilight explained them, Ao seemed… Abnormally reassured, but when Shallom was mentioned? She had wished her friends had not had her comprehension now. There was not a single good thing Ao had said in regards to Shallom, and Sul did not help when she reminded her king of a few other choice insults.

However, as they described Laputa, it was Sul who interrupted them. She asked many questions concerning the area, the lighting, the way things worked, the way things felt… Dash helped chip in, but the two ponies did not mention Teller Pen at all. Rather, Dash easily replaced any mention of Teller with her father, who had always acted as a guide to her as she grew up. When they reached Tanat, they had to put their heads together to remember every bit of conversation, every piece of history, the details of their gifts, and Twilight had to describe what meeting Anemone was like in absolutely excruciating detail. Despite how taxing this was, each word made Ao and Sul more interested, and they had them wrapped around their hooves by the time Applejack and Pinkie Pie joined in to talk about the battle with the Golding dragons and how they managed to turn one to their side. Ao once again had a cursing fit when they told him about Shallow attacking Princess Luna, but Sul calmed him down to have them continue. Then they got to the bit on the castle…

“-and after we’d set Princess Luna down, we went and snuggled Dashie after seeing her for so long but we were really confused because there were six of her but she said she’d explain later, and then she was like ‘who the hay is that?’ and we turned around and there was this really scary jester pony with-” Pinkie was forced to stop as the room dropped twenty degrees. Twilight turned her head from Pinkie up to Sul and Ao, and saw the dark looks in their eyes.

“So you met him. How did you survive?” Ao asked curiously, slowly stepping forward to give them a closer look, as if they’d somehow become unreal in the past few minutes.

“We weren’t doin’ too well, I’ll tell ya what. Gave us a good slashin’ that one did. If there hadn’t been so many Dashes we’d’a been in a heap o’ trouble.” Applejack explained, and Dash quietly sat and lowered her eyes.

“Tanat killed it. He pushes his tentacles into the jester’s face and tore it up, but the jester was stabbing him and… And,” Dash took a deep breath, and Twilight quietly pressed her shoulder to Dash’s, “they killed eachother. The jester disappeared after his head was pulled open and Tanat finally got to rejoin Anemone.

Ao and Sul remained deathly quiet, eyes narrowed as they slowly glanced to eachother, then back to Dash. “So he’s dead then?” He finally asked. The cold feeling the room gave off made Twilight shiver. Dash could only give Ao a confused look.

“That’s what I said, didn’t I? Tanat literally died taking out that thing’s head. He’s dead. He has to be died, or Tanat…” Dash just shook her head, and Ao nodded quietly.

“In that case, continue.” He ordered, and Twilight picked up the rest of the story, up to coming here. She was very careful to apologize about flying the dragons around above Golding, but Ao merely waved it off. When they finished, the six sat quietly as the king as his Archmage came up to the dais and sat before the great apple tree, and spoke quietly to eachother.

Several very long minutes passed as they two spoke. First five, then ten, then fifteen minutes Ao and Sul spoke, and the six remained awkwardly quiet. Each pony was feeling a little tired from the long, convoluted explanation, but they did their best to remain on their hooves.

They snapped to attention when Ao stepped forward again, flanked by Sul, and stood in front of Twilight with a somewhat amused face. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but he didn’t seem to be in the mood to shout more. “I have heard many fantastic tales over the years as king here. I have spoken to hundreds of way-farers, several of which have claimed to have traveled to or from Equestria, and all of them having the knowledge of a gnat about the Princesses and their kingdom.” He sat, and Twilight let out a breath of relief. He was relaxed. He wasn’t about to order them imprisoned anytime soon. “We’ve discussed our beliefs on the matter, and Archmage Sul and I choose to believe your story. You’ve shown no reason to warrant our suspicions other than a general lack of courtesy concerning your mounts. As the King of Coltriella, I welcome you six to my kingdom.” He cocked one leg’s knee out and bowed his head in quiet respect, prompting the six before him to duck into neat, practiced bows that would normally grant only one of the Princesses.

When they stood straight, Ao had retreated to the tree once more, and stood in front of it with a small smile. Sul paced in front of him, her attentions to the air around her as Ao spoke. “I am also granting you permission to speak to Terraria.” Dash let out a loud, relieved ‘YES!’ as Twilight felt the tension in her body dissolve, but they caught themselves when he held up a hoof. “But it will have to wait. Don’t give me those shocked looks, trust me, I understand how it feels to have your kingdom in peril, but this is a matter in which I personally have no choice.”

“And how is that?” Rarity piped up curiously, emerging from behind Fluttershy to be seen. “You are the king here, what’s keeping you from letting us go straight to Terraria? Is he the lonesome sort?”

Ao began to chuckle, a noise that was musical when he was happy, and he shook his head. “No, for you see, there’s only one pony here both Terraria and I must bow to in terms of position. Terraria’s current residence is blocked by old magical seals that nopony but one specific sort can open: a unicorn of royal blood.” To emphasis his current inability, his wings slid out from beneath the cloaks on his back, and flapped twice. “I am no unicorn, but as luck would have it, my daughter, Sadi’o’farrosun’o’eropafaniquehuomla (Princess of the flowing sands of the prosperous and magnificent homeland), was born when Terraria made the decree.” The six stared at him once he was finished speaking the Princess’s name. Dash’s eye twitched. “She is the only pony in all of Coltriella able to access the way to Terraria’s keep. As,” He interrupted any questions, “as for why you must wait, my precious daughter has been ill for several years now. We have doctors working around the clock to keep her healthy, and if there is a day she is well enough to use magic, I will have her help you.” He bobbed his head confidently as Fluttershy took an uncharacteristic step forward.

“I, well, um…” The adrenaline wasn’t boosting her confidence anymore. There was no danger here, not anymore as for as Fluttershy could tell, “I hate to possibly make light of your daughter’s situation, but Twilight,” she smiled confidently to her unicorn friend, “has learned a healing spell on our travel over. Perhaps if you let her-” The room went icy-cold once more as the king raised an eyebrow.

“I trust you to talk to Terraria, but under no circumstance are you to visit my daughter while she’s so frail.” His tone had gotten very violent, sending Fluttershy scurrying back behind Twilight as the six just stared at him in shock.

“Sir-” Sul tried to start, but Ao gave her a stare that commanded her to be quiet.

“I understand your quest as well as the implications, but my precious daughter is one of the few things I would sacrifice everything for. I have little doubt you are all good ponies, but on the off-chance you are on some foreign warlord’s pay roll, I cannot allow you to see her.”

“Sir this is highly disruptive and unli-” Sul tried to interject with a pleading look in her eyes, but Ao once again stared her into silence. “We could have her show us on some patients in the hospital…” She offered quietly, and Ao shook his head.

“We have the best doctors there are tending to her as we speak. What little Twilight can do our doctors are sure to be able to replicate with ease.” He stated with confidence, his eyes not focusing on anypony’s though, instead choosing to watch the ceiling. Something was agitating him. Twilight looked to Sul for some help, but the Archmage just sighed and leaned over to whisper into Twilight’s ear.

“He is in no mood to speak of this. I am sorry, I will try to convince him to let you have a try later. For now, we’ll work with what we have.” She stood back up, and signaled to Ao for attention. “If they are going to be waiting for the Princess to regain her health, then we’ll have to find them a place in the city.”

The king paused for a moment, then began to nod his head, surveying the six with a smile. “Of course of course! I am nothing if not a gracious host!” Twilight reached over and pressed a hoof to Dash’s mouth. “Homes homes, yes, you will definitely need homes, I should have no trouble granting you such permissions. Ah! I know the perfect place for six lovely young mares. Sul, if it would be no trouble?” Sul had already pulled out a piece of paper from a pack underneath her cloak, along with a pencil and a pair of reading glasses. “From the Royal Court of To’Ao’Coltriella, by my decree, the six mares known as Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie are to be given housing in the First Housing District in the available Gardet Home. Similarly, for living purposes they are to be given access to use of the royal treasury,” each of their six jaws dropped as Sul continued to write, and Rarity’s eyes began to glimmer, “but their purchases are to be regarded closely. If you have any questions on why they are being given such fineries, please direct a personal letter to myself, To’Ao’Coltriella. Signed by Yours Truly.” Ao wrapped up with a triumphant smile.

“Ac-acce-access to the r-royal treasury?” Rarity repeated in a whisper. Sul narrowed her eyes at the unicorn suspiciously while Twilight was just plain surprised they were actually being given so much help. It beat camping for another day though, it was sort of fun the first two nights but then it just became a pain in the flank.

“Limited. Limited access to the treasury.” Sul corrected, but Rarity seemed to ignore her. Sul snorted quietly while Twilight took a few tentative steps forward. “You will be granted several other bonuses as well, I suppose I should mention. Since you’ll be made residents of the First District, you will have unrestricted access to the rest of the cities outer rings.”

“As well as,” Ao stepped down from his dais, an apple from the apple tree in his hoof as he took several slow bites, “some benefits for helping Coltriella in your quest. I assume Equestria is not suited to war?” He asked, his eyes calmly scanning over the six girls to inspect their physique. They certainly did not look suited to it. Skinny, gentle, soft, hard-workers, true, but not fighters. The blonde one was staring at his apple oddly though. He shrugging tossed her a second and… “She likes apples.” He stated, watching the almost savage display as her five friends backed away.

“You have no idea.” Pinkie answered between snorts and giggles as Applejack relished the flavor of the fruit. Rarity calmly began poking Applejack’s side to try and remind her where she was.

“Anyways, Coltriella is a nation of mostly Earth-bound ponies, but we do have a stellar number victory in the history of our warfare. In the interests of both Coltriella and Equestria, I think it would benefit the six of you, in your spare time as my daughter recovers, to visit our standing army’s General. She has been one of our greatest assets in these many years, possessing a brilliant mind and abilities on the battlefield. Those among you that fancy yourselves warriors should visit her, while the rest should learn tactics and strategies, and possibly some magic.” Ao glanced to Sul, who stood quietly, then glanced to her king and raised an eyebrow.

“I do have other duties to attend to, my King. Teaching magic to unicorns who already know magic might be a waste of time.” She pointed out, but the king glanced to Twilight, who shrugged softly.

“I don’t really know any offensive spells, and I would absolutely love to study that anti-magic spell you displayed.” Twilight casually mentioned, causing Sul to sigh. “I’m more of a utility Unicorn, but anything I can learn to help would be appreciated.” Her eyes sneakily moved to stare at Dash’s wings, before glancing ahead once more before her friend could notice.

Sul let out a small sigh, but nodded her agreement, giving Twilight a somewhat amused look. “If you’re going to be so insistent on interrupting my daily duties then I suppose I can’t turn you down.” Twilight smiled. Rarity considered herself. She wasn’t necessarily a warrior, Applejack and Dash were those, but she couldn’t remain totally useless in a fight…

“If…” Several eyes turned to Rarity as she approached, looking a little meek, “If it’s not too much a bother to ask… Would it be alright if I learned some ‘offense’ as well? Nothing big, just something that can, well, y’know, prove useful in a fight if one break out…” Applejack nudged her affectionately.

“Don’t hesitate to ask, little one.” Sul answered immediately. “I don’t see how it could be any more bothersome if I’m already training one new recruit. We’ll discuss times at a later date. For now, may I lead them to their new home?” Sul turned to Ao, who nodded rapidly.

“I will most certainly keep you girls in touch, just try not to cause any trouble. If you have any questions, please come ask.” Ao waved his hoof as Sul moved forward, nudging each girl along the way to get them to follow her. They did so, following her to the ornate doors and pushing through. They closed behind them almost as soon as the last of them were through, leaving Ao in his room alone. Along the walls stood the many guards that had been sent out, watching the girls somewhat darkly until Sul spoke up.

“Since you’ll be staying within the city walls, you must grow accustomed to the culture here. For one, there are exactly sixteen unicorns in all of Coltriella. Eighteen, now, including you.” Sul paused, and turned. Twilight and Rarity glanced to eachother in surprise, then back to Sul, who was now looking them over. “It would be for the best if we taught you an illusion spell now in order to hide your horns. We don’t want ponies making wild assumptions about your appearance here. Second of all, your friends’ wings.” Everypony turned to stare at Dash and Fluttershy. Fluttershy immediately pulled her wings in tightly, glancing around nervously as if she was already being judged, whereas Dash’s just twitched. “We have several Pegasi here in Coltriella, around three-hundred and seventeen during our last head-count, out of a total population of two-million, four-hundred and thirty-six thousand, eight-hundred and ten (2,436,810). They are primarily working for the crown as guards and scouts, unless they are the crown itself, whereas the Unicorns all work under me as the Anti-Magic Squadron, except for the Princess. That means every single non-Earth pony in Coltriella right now has their entire life dedicated to this very palace and everypony inside of it, sans a select few Pegasi who instead study the weather. I am going to sneak you two,” she pointed to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, “into that department. You won’t have to do anything, but if anypony asks, that’s your job.”

“Hold up.” Dash raised a hoof, and Sul paused, “You can do that for us so we don’t have to hide our wings, but you can’t do the same for Twilight or Rarity? You can just make something up.”

Sul let out a low, dark chuckle, and shook her head as if Dash was being amazingly dumb, “No, trust me, this is for the better. Your horned friends cannot be seen with horns outside your home. I won’t go into why, yet, but a little digging of our unicorn history will tell you why.” She glanced over to Twilight and Rarity. “My apologies, but it’s not something I’m proud of. Now, that illusion spell…”

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The First Ring, as Sul had called it, was primarily made up of, and made for, the wealthy, noble, or just plain lucky citizens of Coltriella. Twilight glanced upwards, unable to see the familiar sight of the feature that made her a magic-wielder just above her eyes. That illusion spell had really done the trick, she couldn’t even feel it when she tried to touch it, but Sul had told her it was a very thorough spell until its dismissal.

“You’re absolutely sure I look alright?” Rarity whispered worriedly behind her to Fluttershy. Rarity had treasured each and every inch of her own body, and Twilight understood completely that it felt so wrong having your horn missing.

“You look as wonderful as ever Rarity.” Fluttershy reassured her with a tiny smile, making Rarity squeak softly.

“You mean my horn was never noticeable before!? Oh…” Rarity hung her head, and Fluttershy gasped. “Was I truly so plain a unicorn even my precious horn could be looked past so easily? Oh my poor horn, I am so sorry…” She whispered, staring upwards where it used to be.

“I-I didn’t- not like that! I was just- I mean I wanted you to know that it-” Fluttershy stumbled a bit, both in words and in body as the group paused. Everypony shifted to the left as a carriage pulled by two ponies rolled by, decked out in jewelry, precious metals, and the window curtains, as Rarity pointed out, were silk. “I’ve never seen a carriage that pretty…” Fluttershy whispered as it continued down the path.

“Anypony with money here is almost obligated to flaunt it. I don’t know why, but if they can, they will waste it on looking as fantastic as possible. That was the local Bank Master, I wouldn’t go messing around with him, he’s the panicky sort.” Sul actually smirked a little, at a tiny little inside joke.

Even on ground-level there was practically no green in Coltriella. But, in the first ring, there were still plenty of other colors. Houses decorated in golds and purples, silvers and whites and blacks, reds, oranges, just about everything but green. The designs were also intricate. The houses reminded them of home, with the shingled roofs, large wooden doors, big windows, but they often had brass-engraved designs in them. Not words, just figures. They usually had ornate gates in front of them, leaving the streets somewhat cramped, but three of those carriages could easily pass by side-by-side and be just fine.

Brass statues also dominated most of the yards, whether they were symbols of wealth, power, honor, or intelligence, of the ponies living inside, or a few had guts to have a statue of To’Ao himself on the front yard. From the gates to the doorway there were flagstones, intricately carved and laid out, some with symbols marked in them, some without. Banners also hung from the houses with family crests on them, each more intricate and more indistinguishable from the last. The amount of detail and ego that went into each house was almost staggering, even if they didn’t have the non-standard, architect’s dream designs that went into each of the mare’s own personal homes.

All but Rainbow Dash could admit simply moving into a pre-built house, and Dash herself got off the hook since other than the furniture, she built her own cloud-home with the stuff just laying around the sky. Here, ponies paid to have other ponies build to their very designs and desires, doing their best to look the richest and the most prestigious. Of course, Twilight had to hold her tongue when thinking about these ponies and their designs. After all, she had an entire flying castle dedicated straight up to her…

In a very strange contrast, the ponies they saw were actually conservatively dressed. That is to say, they wore no clothing at all. Sure their coats were obviously dyed, varying colors that had no connotations to the earth itself, gold, silver, purple, and red being popular colors, though a few managed to pull off a light blue. Their manes were also well taken care of, dyed and teased into lovely white curls, to straightened and braided, then made a very pleasant blue color. These were ponies who took serious pride in their appearance, and apparently did not like the sun, since most of them were in the shade of houses, the houses’ front porches, or umbrellas.

“Here we are.” The mares turned to look at the house Sul was leading them into. Compared to its neighbors, it was rather… plain. Made from basic, though pleasant stone, with shingles cut to look like wood, a door made from genuine wood, two windows, a simple gate with an equally simple locking mechanism, and flagstones that hadn’t been walked on in quite a while. “The Gardet Home, former residence of the Golding diplomat Gardet.” She stated, making several of the girls openly twitch in discomfort. “Don’t be like that, it’s a rather nice home and he left for his home country a year ago.” She reached into a pouch on her side and pulled out a finely rolled up parchment. As she lead them onto the front porch, she laid out the parchment and unrolled it to reveal a map, and with a small red marker, circled a tiny little house in the ring just outside the palace stronghold. “This is going to be your place of residence for the time being. Be sure to memorize its location, we’ve had ponies getting lost in the city before and it’s never a pleasant experience.” Twilight’s eyes scanned over the map as the items on it in some of the outer rings moved about. “This map is enchanted to forever show the city in its exact present. The construction of new buildings is a common sight, as is the destruction of old ones. If you ever get lost, speak to the guards and they can help you along.”

“This is a really impressive enchantment.” Twilight stated, honestly awed as she watched the map, like it was a screen showing her the entirety of Coltriella from a bird’s eye view.

“I would hope so.” Sul snorted. “It took me a decade and a half to come up with it.” Twilight glanced up to her as Sul continued to speak, describing the checkpoints between each ring and passed out several papers that would serve to show them as residents of the inner ring, granting them pass to almost anywhere. A decade and a half to make an enchantment? There were several spells at home that a master unicorn could spend several hours simply converting to create this enchantment, but fifteen years? Sul was supposed to be the Archmage! Surely she must have…

She was only one of sixteen unicorns. The best unicorn of those sixteen in fact. Glancing around slowly, she could tell everything, even in the richest part of the city, was hoof-made, no magic used at all in its creation. All the unicorns worked for the King. Working for the king probably meant being used for war… Twilight realized that Archmage Sul, leader of the magic-wielders in Coltriella, probably had absolutely no formal magic instruction outside casting fireballs, lightning bolts, and anti-magic shields. Part of her desperately wished she’d brought her magic books just to show Sul what all a unicorn is capable of doing… “It’s a very good enchantment.” Twilight stated again, a bit meekly.

“Well, for the time being, this map is yours. I have plenty more back in my quarters so don’t feel bad about taking it.” She looked to the door, then tugged out the key she’d picked up on the way here, and laid it in front of the six mares. “This is the key to the Gardet House. I would suggest getting copies made as soon as possible. Make yourselves comfortable, but be ready. You may get a messenger at your doorstep at any time delivering news of the Princess.” The girls smiled hopefully at that, and Sul turned away from them and started walking towards the gate. “Word of advice, don’t go stirring up trouble. I can say this from experience: the worst thing you could possibly do in a foreign land is get jailed there.” She called, before stepping out of the gate. She began to walk back towards the palace, the six girls watching after her.

“Well ain’t she a ray o’ sunshine?” Applejack muttered when Sul was out of earshot, glancing around slowly as several neighbors stepped out of their homes to watch the six girls. She couldn’t read their expressions, but she was very thankful when Fluttershy picked up the key and opened the door. The girls slipped inside and shut the door, Fluttershy locking it the moment she could.

All at once, as a single unit, they let out a collective sigh of relief. They were finally somewhere alone, out of the eyes of ponies who weren’t judging their every step. “Sweet sun of Celestia,” Rarity sighed as she rubbed her forehead, “and I thought my very own fashion shows were stressful.” She began to walk into the middle of the room. In the middle was a table with a single candle, covered in a small layer of dust from a lack of use. Everypony followed her to the table, where cushions that hadn’t been used for a long time were placed around it to be sat on, but merely stood.

It was kind of awkward. They were in a house simply handed over to them out of generosity but it obviously belonged to somepony before them, and was designed by that pony for themselves. Sure the pony had left, but it was hard to shake the feeling that they were little more than strangers taking over another pony’s home. It was not at all helped by being in a completely foreign country at the same time. Twilight had to take a deep breath to remember what she was doing here and why she’d made this trip. Every bone in her body was telling her she needed to go home and stuff her face in a pillow and let out a big scream.

Despite everything she managed to accomplish today, she still felt like she had done so little. Five days flying, inching steadily closer to Terraria. For the sake of Equestria she had readily left the land she’d called home, with no knowledge or idea of what the world outside would be like. She’d seen some interesting things, even picked up a spell and met a few new friends, and they’d reached their destination, only to hit another wall… A very stubborn and overly-protective father.

They had to wait. Twilight simply couldn’t conceive that after coming this far, they would have to wait. Part of her despaired, feeling that every second lost was another tick off Equestria’s lifespan, but she knew, knew she couldn’t press her luck. ‘Patience,’ she heard Celestia’s voice in her head telling her, ‘can overcome a mountain and traverse the deepest sea. But patience is the hardest thing a pony can ever keep.’ It had been a particularly frustrating evening she’d been told that. “The hardest part about patience is knowing when to act and when to hold back…” Twilight whispered to herself tiredly.

“… I just know I wanna kick that king guy’s butt.” Dash mumbled, drawing several worrying nods of agreement.

“Now girls,” Twilight straightened up a little, “let’s keep our heads together.” Twilight glanced around, and was met with silence. “Even if I want to do the same…” She finally admitted. Dash let out a playful laugh and gave Twilight a good nudge.

“That’s my girl.” The Pegasus stated, making Twilight smile some, pleased with the compliment. “So, we got a few days. What should we do? Other than go talk to those ponies that Sul mare pointed us out to. We’re going to need stuff like food.” Dash glanced around a little.

“I would actually like to look into their library here if we get the chance. If they have a library.” Twilight stated, hoof rubbing her chin in thought as Dash snorted.

“Of course you do egghead. We can go ask a guard about it, or Sul when you go see her.”

“Y’know, I get we’re in a new country an’ all but I don’t think we gotta go speakin’ their language all the time, especially in private.” Applejack pointed out.

“Goodness, you’re correct.” Rarity had immediately switched over to Equestrian flawlessly. Twilight noted how easily she processed the change in languages, and how her mouth practically adjusted to speak in her common tongue again. “For all we know they could be spying and listening in as we speak.”

“You don’t think they’d really do that, do you?” Pinkie asked, suddenly walking along the walls, curiously inspecting the interior of the house for nooks and crannies. “That seems really rude to go poking around a pony’s business!”

Fluttershy giggled softly, nervous as she watched Pinkie Pie search about, and Twilight’s forehead began to glow with magic as she scanned around the house. She started walking into the other rooms as the others waited. From a short exploration, she found there were two hallways on each side of the house. They ran parallel to the living room itself, keeping the house compact, but what separated them were thin, white-cloth screens with wooden frames. In the two hallways, at each end, was a door leading to a bedroom. The four bedrooms each had two beds, a dresser, a shared bathroom between the two closer bedrooms, and a closet. Across from the front door, on the other side of the main room, was a simple kitchen. All in all, it was a fairly large one-story house, but for six ponies it was somewhat cramped. The only real question Twilight had was why did one stallion, a diplomat at that, need four bedrooms?

She reentered the main room. “Nopony’s here but us. Nothing unusual other than the design. We’ll each at least have a bed though, and some spares.” She sat back down next to Dash, and then calmly waited.

“Right, so anyways,” Dash began again, rolling the map out onto the table, “we’re going to need food. We got shelter and stuff already-”

“- and there’s a water pump in the kitchen -”

“- yeah, so we should probably also look into ways of enhancing our skills.”

“And when we ain’t busy, we should all find a way to occupy ourselves.” Applejack stated, glancing around slowly, “Good ponies can go stir-crazy pretty fast with nothin’ t’do. Now I ain’t sayin’ we should go wild out there, but a look around the city definitely wouldn’t hurt us none. Just keep yer heads low and eyes open, I don’t wanna lose any of ya’ll.”

“That said, we should start taking a look. Soon.” Pinkie began ominously. Everypony glanced to her as her eyes shifted, and immediately looked to Twilight. “You!”

Twilight blinked, rearing back as a hoof was shoved into her face, “Me? What?” Twilight stared around as her friends watched her expectantly.

“Any second now…” Pinkie whispered, ear cocked. The other four slowly leaned in as Twilight began to sweat. Any second now what? What was Pinkie going on about? Did she know something she didn’t? “Three, two…” Pinkie paused, “One.” Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but then her stomach rumbled. Twilight’s jaw quivered as she tried to formulate an argument, as she tried to make sense of Pinkie once more, as physics once again took a backseat with a box of popcorn and just watched itself get defied, then slammed it shut. “Food time! Let’s go!” Pinkie began to skip towards the door, everypony but Twilight and Dash followed within moments.

Dash gently poked Twilight, then turned her towards the door. “C’mon Twilight, dinner sounds good.” Twilight hung her head, and slowly followed her rainbow-maned friend.

----------

Once there was a set-up to the introduction of a new land, and it took forever and a half to write.

Several months later, there was an editting of the introduction of the same new land. Took forever and a half to edit.

To'Ao'Coltriella and Archmage Sul, resident endless barrels of exposition.