//------------------------------// // Level 1 - A Letter to the Princess // Story: In Want for a Wand // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// The small doorbell jingled as another customer entered. Spirit Rez set the cappucchino down on table three, smiled politely and headed back to the counter. He took a mug of coffee and a chocolate one into his light blue magic and floated them onto a tray. "Here, please get them to Fluttershy and Rarity, they're outside." Lyra Heartstrings, his new part-time employee, nodded and took over as Spirit turned to see who had entered. "Now what can I get you?" He needed to lean his head back to look into the customer's eyes. "Hey Jonathan, how's it going? Want some coffee, with three sugar?" "You read my mind", said Jonathan, smirking. "I'm gonna be over there." He pointed with his thumb at a seat in the corner of the café. Some heads had turned when Jonathan had entered but when they recognized the town's resident human they returned to their conversations pretty quickly. Everypony who visited the Steaming Cup knew by now how he and the earth pony Mara Dust had saved Ponyville from a mysterious ghost attack. Jonathan had earned himself some respect back then. The fact that the human was wearing decent clothing and no more bandages also helped a lot. Surprisingly, it had been Rainbow Dash - the pony who was usually one to talk about her own victories - that had spread the news. By the third day after Nightmare Night even the last pony in town knew that the ghost that had been haunting Derpy was gone. Spirit waited for the cup to fill, then personally brought it over to Jonathan, easily weaving through the tables, comfy wooden chairs and sofas. "Here you go." He put the mug down on the table and gave the human a closer look. Jonathan looked tired; the circles under his eyes were darker than usually. His white shoulder-length hair was messy even though Spirit suspected it had been combed this very morning. He could not grasp how the man managed to get his mane so untidy in such a short time. Spirit Rez's own orange mane and tail were in top shape even though he had already been up for hours. "Long night?", he asked. "Yeah." He waited for a few seconds, as usual, until Jonathan admitted, "I tried to do some Enchanting again..." As Jonathan rubbed his neck in frustration, Spirit looked around the café. Everypony had what the had ordered and Lyra was at the counter, ready to jump to any table where somepony wanted to make an order. Good. That meant he had a few moments off. He sat down on the chair next to Jonathan. "Still no good?" "Nah. Twilight made some suggestions, again, but it's no use." Jonathan frowned, his frustration obvious. Spirit could swear a streak of his white hair was curling upwards as Jonathan spoke. "I don't think it's the gems. They are perfectly fine. Rarity agrees by the way, she keeps promising to find me more of them." Spirit nodded soberly. "Hm." "I think it's a channelling problem", mused Jonathan, taking a careful sip from the coffee. "Oh yeah." He closed his eyes for a moment, appreciating the flavor. Note to self: Jonathan likes stronger coffee better, thought Spirit. He grinned internally, happy that his friend enjoyed the drink. "Channelling problem? How do you humans cast your magic anyway? You don't have horns. Do you use your hands like Earth ponies use their hooves?" Jonathan tilted his head. "I don't really get it either. We can cast smaller spells just like that - if the caster is gifted. For the bigger stuff, we use magical tools. But I can't, not anymore. Try to imagine you suddenly can't cast any spell. At all. Just like that." He snapped his fingers. They sat in relative silence for a few heartbeats. The clinking of spoons and the murmur of quiet conversation filled the room, creating a calming background noise. "Maybe you need one of those tools, then", suggested Spirit and shrugged. "And that's where the dog lies buried", countered Jonathan, taking another sip. "You guys don't have them. Only as props, like that one blue-coated performer." "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Listen, I gotta get back to work but maybe you wanna come over later?" "Sorry, I promised Twilight to help her with her book sorting today." Spirit whistled sympathetically. "I see. - Well, a guy needs to stay liquid, even when he's living in a library", he agreed. "Exactly. How's Mara by the way?" "Oh, she's doing well, been helping quite a lot of ponies lately. She's loosened up some more since she got her Cutie Mark, it's really amazing." "I bet", grinned Jonathan. "Take good care of the mare." "You know I do", said Spirit, grinning back, and returned to the counter. •° "I need a wand", declared Jonathan. "Sorry, what?" Twilight raised her head from the parchment she was writing on. It was so long that it stretched down to the floor, disappearing somewhere between the bookshelves. The library of Ponyville was flooded with sunlight that shone through the windows, the rays dancing on hundreds, no, more likely thousands of books. "Nevermind", he said and resumed stacking books in alphabetical order. "Just something... Nevermind." "Okay, if you say so", muttered Twilight and picked up the quill again with her magic. The scratching sound of the feather started to grate on Jonathan's nerves. He put down the book he was currently holding ("Brewing in Cauldrons: A Lost Art") and sighed. The scratching stopped. "You know", said Twilight, "maybe we should take a walk." He frowned. "You go ahead, I gotta take care of something." "All right, but if you want to talk about it, I'll listen", assured Twilight. Her eyebrows were still knitted together as she gave Jonathan a concerned look. "Thanks, I know. But really, you take the walk, I'll be fine." The alicorn gave him another look, then shrugged and rolled up the parchment. As Twilight left the library, Jonathan went to the basement. The large, almost circular room stretched beneath the roots of the oak, adding a significant amount of storing room to the house. There were only a few books here and they were not on the shelves that covered the walls. Strange gadgets and material for all kinds of experiments took up that space instead. Jonathan descended the stairs, passing by an enormous collection of erlenmare flasks and reagent vials, and went over to a large carton in the basement's corner. He crouched down and opened the flaps, revealing the only items that didn't belong to Twilight or her baby dragon Spike. Jonathan rummaged in the box, putting aside the things he wasn't looking for. A small oil lamp, joined by a small box of chalk; next came some books, then a paper bag of cookies - Jonathan wondered how he could have forgotten about those. Folded letters. And what he was actually looking for: fresh parchment and a battered quill. Twilight had offered to give him a new one but Jonathan had insisted on buying his own things with the money he earned from working at the library. Once, when he had enough, he would pay for his own apartment or house. The last item that left the carton was an inkpot. Jonathan returned everything to the box, save for the writing material and the cookies. He sat down on the lowest step of the staircase, readying the blank parchment on his knees. Of course it was paper, not actual parchment, but old naming habits die hard. He carefully screwed the inkpot open and dipped the quill into the dark liquid. Hour Highness, Oh crap, that was wrong, she didn't want him to use any honorifics. Jonathan groaned and readied a new sheet. Maybe he could reuse it when he wanted to annoy Twilight. Dear Luna, Light, that still sounded weird. She had offered her friendship but still: she was a freaking princess! Twilight was a princess as well, but Jonathan had known her as just 'Twilight' when they had first met so this was different. So how should he put it? Dear Luna, thank you for your recent offer. Though Twilight and my other friends are excellent company, He hesitated. ...things have gone slowly since Nightmare Night. Mara Dust is doing great and Ditzy has fully recovered from her injury. I am still adjusting to life in Ponyville and started working at the library. I would like to pick up my old profession again - Enchanting - but I cannot because my magic is still being blocked from active channelling. A talk with Spirit Rez (The yellow unicorn who is Mara Dust's fiancée) gave me the idea to create a wand. Jonathan put the quill down and ate a cookie. Should he tell Twilight? He still had not sent the letter away. He could ask her when she got back from the walk. He shook his head. This was his problem. He had only told Spirit because he needed to vent but he would solve this on his own. I know the materials required for the wand but the problem is that I do not know where to find them. It would be Starwood, a special kind of Mystic Essence, a flawless Star Ruby (I already asked Rarity in a different context, she does not know where to find the special kind I would need) and an enchantment. Do you by any chance know a unicorn who specializes in enchantments or something similar? If I asked Twilight she would put all of her resources into research - but I know she does not have time for it right now. She is already busy enough dealing with her new duties as a newly crowned princess. That sounded a bit dumb - Luna was a princess, too, but Jonathan did not know whom else to ask; Spirit Rez specialized in making drinks and the only other unicorns Jonathan knew were Rarity, Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Belle. And that one shop vendor in The Well Brushed Coat. She didn't count either since Jonathan was sure that she had no knowledge of Enchanting Spells. I would appreciate any suggestions but please take your time. I am aware that there are more important matters that need your attention as a princess. Thank you again for your previous help. Hoping that you and your sister are well, I remain your friend, Jonathan Baker P.S.: Mara says Thanks for the Cuteciñera gift. The hairband looks really good on her as Spirit keeps pointing out. Jonathan nodded, lowering the quill again. That should do it. •° Arcus Tangens groaned in annoyance and shook his head. He leaned back and sighed curtly, then bent over his desk again to re-check the map of Ponyville's Train Station area. He was right; he really had forgotten to measure the diameter of the second drain behind the platform. He had marked it on the map but that was no use without the numbers. Arcus spat out the pen and wondered if he should go and complete the map today or leave it to his colleague tomorrow. "Ah, whatever." He rolled the parchment up with his nose and attached a sticky not to it. The day was over, period. And it had been the last day before his fortnight of vacation, praise the sun! Time to enjoy fall and go trekking in the mountains, oh yeah! Well, technically it would be sixteen days. Arcus stored the parchment in the flat basket on his desk marked "To Do" and grinned. He had already attached a post-it note which said, "That means you, Caramel!" He hopped off his chair and turned to say goodbye to Caramel who was just returning from the closet. The caramel-colored earth pony had put away the surveying equipment. He had been struggling with the Fillydelphia Rods; they kept falling out of the small space. Eventually he had used a pendulum's string to tie them together, getting a glare from Arcus. "We do have a rope for that, remember?", hinted Arcus, arching an eyebrow. "Oh, right", stammered Caramel, hurrying to follow his green-coated colleague's advice. He rummaged in the closet, almost knocking the rods over again, until he found the indicated rope. He reappeared from the tiny storage room with a flushed face. "Thanks." "Don't worry, you'll be fine", said Arcus who started to get a bad conscience for leaving Caramel alone for the rest of the week. "Pendulum will return on Monday after all. I forgot an entry on the map, please take care of it, okay?" "Yeah. Well, Arc, you have a nice vacation", said Caramel and smiled. "Thanks." Arcus smiled back. "See you in two weeks!" He nodded at his colleague and exited the office. As he stepped outside, he took a deep breath, wondering what he should do with the rest of the day. The wind caressed his coat and made his short blue mane and tail bounce a little. It was already quite cool in the evening; Summer was definitely over now. There was still much going on in the streets but everypony's pace had quickened after Nightmare Night. It was only less than two months until Hearth's Warming and the pegasi were on time with the fall weather this year, that much was certain. Maybe Spirit's shift was already over. Arcus headed for the Steaming Cup, whistling while he walked. •° The sun was low above the horizon, her golden rays illuminating the straw roofs of Ponyville. The sky glowed in all shades of orange and red. Twilight cantered along the streets, deep in thought. Jonathan had been strangely distant the last few days. He kept disappearing into the basement and even though it was not the only place he spent his time Twilight suspected something was going on he did not want her to know about. Weren't they friends? They had saved each other's lives several times now, didn't that count for something? She sat down on a bench in the center of town, facing a café on the opposite side of the street. Ponies went about, some of them entering or leaving the two-story house. A wooden sign hung above the door, depicting a blue cup of coffee with a bit of steam rising from it. Her frown deepened as she kept mulling over the facts. Was the human avoiding her because he felt guilty for staying in the library? It would not be a surprise; he had displayed discomfort about it before. But no, that was not it. Twilight could tell by the pleasure with which Jonathan ate anything Spike made for lunch. A good appetite meant that he felt welcome and appreciated. She sighed and stared at the café's door. Her ears perked up when a yellow unicorn and a leaf green earth pony left the house. They went over to her, smiling at the alicorn. "Hey Twilight! How you doing?", said Spirit. Arcus raised his hoof to greet her. "Hi, Princess Twilight." She grimaced slightly. "Just Twilight, please." Arcus set his hoof down again. "Right." Twilight said, "I'm all right, I suppose. Did you have a busy day?" Arcus and Spirit grinned at each other. "Definitely", sighed Spirit. "I can't wait for tomorrow", added Arcus. "I'm going to have a vacation in the mountains!" "That sounds fun!", said Twilight politely. "Do you know where you will be going?" "Not yet; that's something I will decide tomorrow." "Is your wife going with you?" "Nah", Arcus smirked, "She's on her own vacation - visiting her parents. She won't come home for another two weeks. We agreed to first travel alone and then spend a few days in Fillydelphia afterwards." There was a short silence during which they awkwardly smiled at each other, obviously out of smalltalk. Twilight took a sharp breath. "Actually, do you two have a moment to join me in the library? There is something I'd like to discuss." The two stallions exchanged confused glances. "Sure", said Arcus and Spirit shrugged. •° Jonathan was reading a book. Or rather he was trying to. He sat on the couch, his legs sideways, his back supported by a pile of pillows on the arm of the couch. The lines were slightly blurry. It took him a moment to realize that he had been staring at the same page for five minutes. He turned the book to throw another look at the title. Heirlooms - The Magickal Legacie of Starswirl the Bearded. It wasn't the book's fault he could not concentrate. Jonathan closed it, shaking his head and hopping off the sofa. He decided he needed a drink. It was late but not late enough to go to sleep yet. Not that he was tired at all. Twilight sure took her time tonight. Spike was already asleep. The baby dragon had been playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, bringing Dinky home afterwards. Jonathan straightened his blue shirt, shuffled to the kitchen and opened the fridge, hoping to find something useful. If he was lucky... A-hah. Twilight still had not gotten rid of the remaining apple cider. He grinned and removed a bottle from the fridge, then closed it with his knee, reaching for the cupboard above the kitchen counter to get a glass at the same time. A door slammed shut. Jonathan raised his eyebrows, then poured himself a glass. As he went back into the main room, a steaming alicorn stomped across the room, heading directly for the human. Uh-oh. Maybe he should not have taken the cider. Twilight, followed closely by Spirit and Arcus, had entered the library and man did she look pissed. Jonathan set the glass down, not before taking a sip to gain some courage to face the fuming mare. "Hey, Twilight", he greeted her cautiously. "You!", barked Twilight, her brows knitted together in a stern expression. "Look, I'm sorry, if I had known I wouldn't have touched the cider, but now it's open so -" "What", she asked, taken aback. "What cider? Oh, that one." Spirit, standing a few steps behing her, made throat-cutting motions, trying to warn Jonathan to watch what he was saying. Jonathan frowned back at him, then faced Twilight, forcing a neutral expression. "So this... isn't about the cider?" "No! Why would it be about the cider?! This is about you avoiding me for days!", corrected Twilight. Arcus went over to the couch and made himself comfortable. Spirit rolled his eyes. He shot a guilty glance at Twilight, who, oblivious to his behavior, poked Jonathan in the chest. "Wait, what?" Jonathan's confusion rose. "Come on, don't play clueless with me!" Twilight was getting more irritated with every second. "No, seriously, what's this about?", he asked, his voice steady. "You have been trying to enchant stuff for how long exactly?", asked Twilight. Jonathan cast an accusing stare at Spirit. "She asked. Was I supposed to lie?", he defended himself. The human sighed, disappointed. "You told her my enchanting skills are gone? Thanks a lot, Spirit." "Sorry", mumbled the stallion, looking to the ground. "I just don't get what the big deal is." "It's a big deal because it's the same as getting robbed of your Cutie Mark", explained Twilight in a slightly calmer tone than before. That didn't evoke quite the shocked reaction she had expected. Arcus just frowned and shook his head. "You lost me there", he admitted. "I thought humans didn't have any Cutie Marks?" Jonathan grumbled. "Of course not... but Enchanting is actually my special talent. And when Discord turned me into a pony to amuse himself I did have an Enchanting Cutie Mark. Get it?" "Er", said Arcus. "Yes, I guess." "Yeeeah", drawled Spirit. "Okay... So how come that magic is blocked?" Twilight tapped her chin, then exclaimed, "Of course! It must be because the level of arcane energy in Equestria is lower than in Azeroth. That would explain why I could cast high level spells that easily when I was there... We need more effort to channel magic, that's why ponies might have developed foci over the eons. Unicorns have their horns, pegasi their hooves and wings and earth ponies their hooves as well. Alicorns have all three", she added quickly, grinning wryly. Her anger seemed to have evaporated as she entered 'the zone'. Jonathan rolled his eyes. "it still doesn't explain why I can't use any magic here. I didn't need a horn back in Azeroth, now did I. Besides, we already talked about this before. Why should I bother you with it? The Light started to come back, too." "This is different! The Light isn't arcane magic. You were the one who said so", reminded him Twilight, pacing up and down. "You said it is a universal kind of magic, theoretically accessible by anyone. But the Arcane depends on other circumstances like leylines and immanent energy. It can be measured. That's why Magic and Science are so closely related! If there is less magic in the air it gets harder to gather it for casting spells. It's the magical threshold, Jonathan. You're below it." She stopped in front of him, her eyebrows raised in excitement. Jonathan could feel the blood rush up into his cheeks. "Why, thank you for... clarifying. Are we done now? There is a book I want to read." "No, we're not", insisted Twilight, stomping her hoof. "I want to help! Why didn't you tell me?" Spirit hid his face behind his hooves. "Because it is my problem!", snapped Jonathan. "I don't see how you could help me with that. I tried to solve it, it didn't work, the magic is gone, I don't have any focus!" He overemphasized the words, contempt in his voice. "But I -", tried Twilight to interrupt. "It might not have occured to you but I have other things to do than running after some alicorn who thinks she can solve everybody's problems by obsessing over them!", he continued, unable to keep his voice down. "Now wait a minute!", croaked Twilight. "I don't obsess over things! Okay, maybe a little. Sometimes! But there must be a way to get your magic back!" "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?", spat Jonathan sourly. "Another success, another thing solved, who cares about the guy anyway, might as well be about one of your potions. No way, I'm outta here. I've had enough of your science crap." Slap. Twilight hadn't put much strength into the strike but it still hurt. The human held his cheek, speechless. The alicorn gaped at Jonathan, her mouth quivering. "How dare you!", she whispered. "I thought we were friends! How could you think you are just another project to me? I wanted to help you because you were sad, that's what I wanted to do! You - big - jerk!" She turned on her heels and rushed outside. Jonathan looked after her, unable to form a clear thought. A gentle nudge in his side made him flinch. It was Spirit. "Smooth, dude. She's right and you know it. Twilight is so clever, did you seriously think you could hide from her how much it bothers you?" Jonathan glanced at him, then dashed off. Arcus rolled his eyes and joined Spirit in the doorframe. "You think they'll realize that Priest already found the solution?" Spirit shrugged. "Maybe. I'm gonna sit this one out. Wanna go to my place and have a drink?" "Sure, if you pay for it", grinned Arcus. •° Jonathan hurried through Ponyville, looking into every alley he passed. He got some curious looks by the ponies still on the streets. "Excuse me, have you seen Twilight?", he kept asking several of them but all of them shook their heads. Did she fly away? He would not be able to get to her if she was sitting on a cloud. Which gave him an idea. He raised his head and searched the sky for clouds that looked out of place. There - one of them was not the usual fluffy white but a dark raincloud, no more than maybe eight feet in diameter. It floated idly above Sugarcube Corner. Jonathan skidded to a halt and hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Twilight!" As expected, there was no reaction. "Twilight, I'm sorry!" A lavender-colored muzzle peeked over the edge of the cloud. "I didn't want to be a burden so I avoided the subject. And I'm sorry for what I said." "Really?", came the hesistant question from above. "Could you come down, please? I don't want to shout..." Twilight sniffed and got to her hooves. She stretched her wings and glided off the cloud which, no longer in physical contact with her, changed to its previous white. She landed a few steps away from Jonathan, looking to the ground. "For what it's worth, I'm still your friend", he said. "I'll tell you when something bothers me from now on, 'kay?" Twilight raised her head and looked at him. "I'm sorry, too", she admitted. "I didn't suppose you would think of my curiousity as an intrusion. It wouldn't be the first time I failed a friend because of something like that." He scratched his neck and gestured vaguely. "I don't really know why I didn't tell you. Maybe it's standing in your shadow. Don't get me wrong", he added quickly as Twilight opened her mouth, "I really like being friends with you and hanging out and stuff. But being a freeloader at first and losing my special talent next kinda made me want to achieve something on my own. Does than make sense to you?" He grimaced. "I think so", mumbled Twilight. "But why did you tell Spirit, then?" He snorted. "That's different. He's not as involved as you. Maybe that made it easier. You know, to get an independent, um, opinion." The left corner of her mouth went up. "Is that the reason why you wrote to Princess Luna who isn't even living in Ponyville?" He flinched. "Gotcha." The smirk spread on Twilight's face. "Okay, okay", groaned Jonathan, heat rishing to his cheeks - again. "I get your point!" "Don't worry so much, Jonathan. It just makes me worried, too. I brought you into this whole mess, remember? If I had not created the transdimensional portal with your help you never would have landed in Equestria in the first place." She approached him and her smirk turned into a genuine, if a little sad, smile. "I want to make it up to you somehow. Not because I owe you but because I want you to be happy." Jonathan sighed. "I see. But if that had not happened, I'd still be undead now", he countered. "So in a way we are even." "Just accept my apology, please." Twilight put a hoof on his hand. "We'll figure something out to get your magic back, I promise!" "Okay." He felt the pressure leaving his shoulders and relaxed a little. They did not hug. Jonathan was not the hugging type and Twilight knew it. She let her hoof remain on his hand a moment longer to at least confirm the reconcilement, then let go before it could get awkward. Well, more awkward. "Awww! That's so nice!", cheered someone directly behind Jonathan, making him jump and spin around to see who it was. "Pinkie, you nearly gave me a heart attack!", he gasped. "Oops, sorry", said Pinkie Pie, smiling widely. "I didn't want to interrupt such an important talk, but now that everyone's happy again, I thought I could say something. It's always great when friends talk to each other again!" Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Our quarrel lasted half an hour tops." "Yes! Isn't that terrible?", wailed Pinkie. Twilight laughed. "What do you think, Jonathan? Should we go back to the library and call it a night?" The human nodded. "Yeah, that would probably be for the best." "Oh, but you didn't come by today to get your Daily Cupcake!", noticed Pinkie. The pink pony dashed inside the shop and was back within seconds, a paper bag in her mouth. "It'sh with apple bitsh inshide!" "Thanks, Pinkie Pie", said Jonathan, grinning. "Nice of you to remember." "Anytime!" •° As Jonathan and Twilight returned to Golden Oaks, he suddenly stopped as he remembered something. "Wait, how did you know that I wrote to Princess Luna? I didn't tell Spirit that particular detail." Twilight tilted her head. "There was a letter on the table with a moon seal", she explained. "I drew the conclusion that you sent her one first and that was a reply." Jonathan frowned. When had that appeared? So Luna did not use dragon breath for sending her mail? "Anyway", he said aloud, "I wrote to her because I actually have an idea how to get a focus." "The wand!" Twilight's hoof went up to her forehead. "Of course! I should have listened better when you mentioned it. I'm sorry." "Forget it", Jonathan dismissed it. They arrived at the library. Twilight opened the heavy wooden door with her magic and stepped inside first, heading directly for the table in the main room. Jonathan closed the door and slowly wandered to the sofa, opening the paper bag he had gotten from Pinkie Pie. As he had expected, Twiligh was already back, levitating the letter over to him. "Come on, won't you read it?" He smirked - with tight lips because his mouth was full of apple bits and cupcake crumbs - and snatched it from her magical grip. Unrolling the parchment, he swallowed and read. "'My dear friend, while I am honored to be bestowed with such trust, I highly recommend talking to Twilight Sparkle about this. She may seem busy but she will be more than delighted to help you. There is no need for false pride.'" Jonathan grunted, his cheeks red once again. Twilight waved her hoof, urging him to go on. "'I believe the wand is a wonderful idea, but alas, I do not know any unicorns capable enough to recommend. The only ponies coming to mind, aside from Twilight, would be my sister Celestia and my humble self. Concerning the ingredients, I can only say that you will not find them in Equestria, based on the realistic assumption that if Rarity cannot obtain a gem it does not exist at all. I am truly sorry to be unable to assist you further. However, should you manage to obtain the objects I will gladly help with enchanting them! Night court is slow; I will eagerly await your reply for it is one of very few that I receive. Be well. Your friend, Luna'" Jonathan lowered the parchment. "Crap." Twilight, however, smiled. "Not in Equestria, you say?" •° Arcus Tangens wandered around in his small house, picking up supplies for his vacation. He scanned the living room for things to tidy up and the kitchen for leftovers. The bathroom was already shiny and clean and he had asked his neighbor to take care of the betta fish. A worn out pair of powder blue saddlebags lay on his bed. He stuffed a cloak and a long scarf into it, along with other clothes - ponies usually did not wear much in Ponyville but the weather in the mountains was a different matter. Then followed supplies for making fire, a first-aid kit, a compass and several maps, complete with his own annotations. He grinned when he thought of the mountains. Most ponies in town assumed that the Everfree was the only place in Equestria not supervised by weather guards but Luna's saltlick, were they wrong! In fact, only about half of Equestria's weather was under pegasus control. They just managed to use the currents that already existed and redirect them for their purposes so the weather in the more populated areas could be controlled. Derpy had told him of an instance when she had gotten into a nasty wind that had pushed her so badly off-course that she flew into the wrong direction afterwards. She ended up in the North instead of the South. It had been very embarrassing, to say the least. Arcus paused for a moment, dropping a map onto his bed, and sat down. He really would have liked if Spirit came along on his trip. It would be so much more fun. The sinking feeling in his stomach eventually passed when he remembered the new friend he had made. •° Thump thump thump thump! Arcus knocked at the library door with more force than necessary but he just could not control his nervousness. "We're open, just come in!", came the muffled voice of Princess Twilight through the door. He pushed the door open, slightly embarrassed, and entered to see a bigger chaos than the one at his own home. To put it nicely, Jonathan, Twilight and Spike were surrounded by clutter. "What's going on?", wondered Arcus aloud. "We're going on an adventure!", beamed Twilight. "It's not an adventure", corrected Jonathan, "It's a quest to get wood and a gem." "Same difference", said Spike, trying to step out of the pile of things without making it topple over. Arcus recognized travelling cloaks, bread, a first aid kit similar to his own and mostly books. Some of them were so big that Spike would have trouble carrying them around. "Oh, and don't forget to pack pillows and blankets", continued Jonathan, obviously picking up an interrupted conversation. "Why, I thought we'd stay at an inn", replied a confused Twilight. "The inn of Undercity has only coffins. You need to bring your own pillow." "Oh." "But there's lots of books, that's a plus." "Are you saying", groaned Twilight, "that we won't need any of these and I gathered them here for nothing?" Jonathan shrugged. "Princess, I never said we needed them. You asked Spike to get them." "How exactly do you intend to carry all that stuff around anyway?", wondered Arcus around. "Do you have a carriage?" Twilight turned to him. "No." She sighed. "Okay, definitely less books." Arcus grinned at Jonathan. The human grinned back, trying hard not to say anything. Spike just rolled his eyes. "Hmmm", muttered Twilight, pacing around the pile and returning most of the books to their respective places with her magic. "I wonder... Arcus, do you have any plans for the next few days?"