Twilight actually lost track of how long she sat up on that hill, trying to figure out a plan. Long enough to examine the town in minute detail at least. Twenty six buildings, most of which were made out of wood. One of which was rough brick, and appeared to be some sort of school-house. The paths were all of a fine gravel, almost fine enough to be used in garden paths back home. The area around the town was thick with sturdy looking trees with bushy crowns that were all in bad need of a trimming. And every single one of the buildings was visibly occupied.
That had been the real stickler. Her first thought - not a bad one she was sure - was to find some abandoned barn and hole up for the night. It would be a touch rough, but she’d dealt with rough a time or two before. Unfortunately, it seemed abandoned barns belonged firmly in the realm of mythology along with Breezies and heroic coincidence. Even from all the way up here, she could hear the raucous celebrations of the ponies below and the smell of roasted vegetables was enough to make her mouth water just a little.
She was stuck. There was no chance of getting to some other village before she became exhausted and no hope of this lot giving up before dawn. For all she knew, they were going to keep going until long after dawn and that presented a problem. What could she do? She needed somewhere inside to sleep. Why? You could find a nice dense cluster of trees out there and just hide in the boughs. That would make logical sense, but her logic was not precisely running on all four hooves at the moment. Besides, the last thing she wanted was to be caught outside by her pursuers.
No, she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she was exposed. She needed someplace to hide. Preferably someplace with a cushion and a blanket, which she had all too belatedly realized she had forgotten back at the house. Shiny would be laughing at her right now, but there was nothing for it but to keep on. Okay. If I walk right into the hamlet, they’ll probably recognize me and I’ll be held and shipped back for a reward. Which means I need to sneak into somewhere. Given a new target, she began more carefully scanning the buildings until a single unlit window caught her eye.
Well duh. Why hadn’t she considered the attic? Surely nopony would be caught up there during a wild celebration. It would be noisy and very dusty, but it would suit for the night. She would just have to be very careful about leaving when she awoke. I’ll simply sleep light. I should awake long before they’re sober enough to care about a hooded and cloaked traveller wandering through town. There. A solid plan that didn’t have any strong likelihood of disaster. She was actually quite proud of herself for that.
That meant it was time to get into that attic. Not a serious issue, actually. Even if the range was a little farther than she’d have liked. Twilight made certain her bags were secure before wiggling her flank and carefully taking hold of the magical forces around her. Slowly this time so as not to create any flash and spectacle, she wove the fabric of the world around her and focused on her destination. A tiny pop of air and a feeling of sudden movement and she was atop the roof of the building in question. Hah! As easy as Hearths Warming pie.
The next part, not so much. Ever carefully, she slipped down to the windowsill and pressed her nose against the frosted glass. It was just barely big enough for a pony to slip through, but that was all she needed. Twilight closed her eyes and focused her magic into a little grabber, carefully groping inside the window for the latch. Around the edges of the thing. Hm. A cross bar? No… What was keeping this window secure? There was no sign of any kind of lock. Was it some kind of earth-pony secret? A mechanical latch? or-
She slipped a little and scrambled against the sill, shoving her hooves into the window on instinct and finding herself - and the window - tumbling end over end until she fell with an inglorious thump on the slightly dusty floor of the attic and the window swung around once more before coming to a halt with a subtle click. Pressure lock. Twilight, you really, really need to stop overthinking everything.
She rubbed at her forehead and felt a surge of panic, throwing open the latch of her saddlebag she pulled out soft clothing in a whirlwind of motion until she came to her case. In tact, and the glowing coming from between the seams was still faint and steady. Gah… Well, at least it can stand up to some abuse. That’s a good thing. That meant she now had some time to glance around her, and she was actually quite happy by the sight. The place wasn’t thick with dust, but there was enough of an appreciable layer that she was certain she wouldn’t be bothered until morning.
It took a few minutes to find a place to hang her hammock, but once that was accomplished she was as comfortable as she could hope for without a proper cushion. Her travelling cloak suited for a blanket, and once she’d bundled her clothes back into her back it did a fair enough job as a pillow. The raucous sounds below might have made it difficult to sleep… if exhaustion hadn’t chosen that moment to sneak up on her and knock her clean out.
~~~~~~~~~
The rays of sunlight streaming into her bedroom as she awoke were actually kind of pretty today. And all the scents and sounds around her put her in a reasonably cheery mood The smell of lavender and soap from the freshly laundered dresses the maids were putting away after last night. The faint hint of dust and varnished wood from her desk. Freshly brewed tea and warm biscuits. The scent of sweet lemon from Rarity’s perfume. The distant scent of oatcakes from-
Wait. Rarity’s perfume?
Twilight felt her eyes snap open with instant awareness of the world around her and she nearly rolled clean off her hammock while spinning around to look right into those crystal-clear blue eyes that belonged to nopony else she knew. Rarity was wearing what could only be described as a bright green peasant's dress and a somewhat plain bonnet in the same colors. She was smiling faintly and sipping from a chipped earthenware teacup while Twilight stared at her in shocked disbelief, feeling her breathing coming in rapid pulses. “Sleep well?” Rarity asked in a conversational tone, freshening her cup from a cast iron teapot as she did so.
All at once, Twilight felt her entire mood collapse into a pile of rubble and she sank back into her hammock. No doubt Mother was outside with the carriage waiting for Rarity to bring her down gently. No doubt she’d demand Twilight turn over her notes and invention and hoof it off to some foalish scholar who’d think she’d just made a bomb or something and destroy it.
Then a hoof touched her shoulder gently. Twilight started in place, and looked up to see a bemused Rarity giving her quite the look. “Don’t despair, darling. Nopony sent me here but myself.” She huffed haughtily and tossed her mane to one side. “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if somepony official hadn’t been sent by now. Your mother was positively beside herself when nopony could find you last night.”
“But...How did you?” Twilight stumbled over her words, trying to figure out precisely what was going on. Why would Rarity follow her? Why on earth would she need to? “Why did you…?” She tried to voice her thoughts, but for some reason she could not form the words. Bloody ashes, she was completely out of sorts! So she huffed and closed her eyes firmly until she could get a proper hold of herself.
Rarity, bless her, remained silent for the minute it took her to reorient herself. Then she spoke quietly just as Twilight opened her eyes. “Twilight, you’re a very intelligent mare, but you do occasionally miss the obvious. Your escape route was blitheringly obvious to anypony who cared to look for it.” She sipped her tea again, giving her a very patient look. “You’re fortunate I decided to come looking for you myself, I was able to confuse your trail a bit.”
“No, that’s not-” She facehoofed. “Ugh. Rarity how did you find me here!?” She wasn’t sure what else to say at the moment. Frankly, she never did very great thinking before her first cup of coffee.
But Rarity’s smile remained gentle and serene. “I am… familiar with the farmers here.” Her lips twisted her smile into something more mischievous. “Mother would never approve, but it is important for us to know the ponies that work the land. Hmf. Not that I much care what Mother approves of these days.” She twisted a lock of mane around her hoof, looking thoughtful. “When your tracks stopped at the town, it wasn’t terribly difficult to divine that you’d taken refuge somewhere here. Fortunately, Mayor Mare is an understanding sort.”
“Mayor… Mare? That sounds incredibly generic.” Twilight could feel her frustration start to mount, then quickly buried it under cold logic. Right now, Rarity held every hope she had of a future in her hooves. It would not do to unduly antagonize her until she reached Canterlot.
That actually made Rarity laugh, though. She covered her laugh demurely with a hoof, her eyes sparkling. “It does, doesn’t it? It’s actually a very old earth pony tradition. When somepony takes an administrative office, they typically take on the title of the office as their name until they are replaced. It is supposed to ensure that respect is paid to the power of the office, not the pony itself.” She shook her head once, then exhaled softly. “Twilight… What are you doing running off like this? I’d heard you had some sort of dustup with one of the barons, but surely it hadn’t been that serious.”
Twilight fidgeted in place. Rarity clearly didn’t know what had caused her flight, but knew enough to be troublesome. Should she lie? Could she lie? “I…” No, better to tell most of the truth. She didn’t have to tell Rarity precisely why she’d run… just the reasons. “I can’t sit around the estate letting my brain rot forever, Rarity. Mother has been utterly unreasonable in refusing me admittance to a magic school.” She swung her hindlegs off the hammock and stomped one into the floor imperiously. “I will not be denied my right to a proper education before I am trapped by duty. At the least I shall spend my dutiful years doing practical work for the good of Unicornia and ponykind. Not just foalish politics.”
For a moment, she was certain Rarity was going to give her some speech about duty. But instead, she nodded shortly, biting her lip for a moment and turning her head away. “I can understand that desire, I suppose. Though what inspired you to make such a dramatic exit last night…” She shook her head. “Regardless, I’ve a duty of my own to see you someplace safe.” She nudged her hoof at Twilight’s bag with a sad smile. “You’re not going to make it to Canterlot on this alone, darling.”
Twilight felt her defiance wilt. Of course she wasn’t, not if a cityfilly like Rarity had followed her so easily. Mother would not send amateurs to hunt her down and bring her home. “What am I going to do then, Rarity? I’ve got to get there before Mother catches up to me.” There was no time to stand on pride, she had to enlist Rarity’s help somehow. She didn’t even bother to hide the desperation in her voice when she threw her hooves out to grab her shoulders. “Please… You know so much more than I do about this sort of thing, you’ve got to have some idea of what I can do.”
Rarity hid her shock well, though not well enough to hide her surprise from Twilight completely. “Well I… Suppose I could at least get you to Silberfelton. Spare a few bits for a chariot ride.” She rubbed at her chin, looking down. “I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I followed you. I suppose I was just concerned that something dreadful had happened, or perhaps your mother had dropped some dire news on you.” She sighed heavily, tapping her forehooves together. “Not that I don’t sympathize, darling. I’ve done what I can here, but there’s so many better places that need my help. Perhaps… perhaps it is finally time for me to admit that I must strike out on my own to truly do the most good.”
Then, Twilight got an idea. Twilight got a slick, clever, surprisingly practical idea. “Then come with me to Canterlot!” She suggested brightly, feeling a new energy surge in her veins. “You’re quite smart enough that I’m certain we can get you admitted to Celestia’s School. They’ve got lots of teachers for every kind of subject, too!” She bounced out of the hammock, grabbing Rarity’s forehoof in her own. “Maybe you could find someone to sponsor you into Parliament. You could surely do a great deal of good in the High Seats.”
And funnily enough, she believed that. Sure, Rarity was perhaps a bit naive at the best of times but that didn’t mean she didn’t know how to get things done. “Mm. Not a bad thought, though you’ll forgive me if I lack confidence that I’m Academy material.” Rarity finished her statement with a warm chuckle and a hoof through her mane. “Still, I worry Twilight. You’ve charged off on this little quest of yours without much thought.” Rarity’s brow furrowed, and she looked Twilight dead in the eye. “Are you certain that you will find success in Canterlot? It is not precisely a gentle city.”
Truthfully? Twilight didn’t know, but now wasn’t the time to admit to that. Now was the time to show as much confidence as she possibly could, and project it as firmly as possible. Lessons from her mother, of course. “Yes, I am.” She bit down on the dozen or so qualifiers to that as they’d only harm her case. She had to be careful, the last thing she wanted to do was scare Rarity back home to mother. Then she’d basically have no hope whatsoever of getting to Canterlot ahead of Mother’s agents.
Rarity seemed to be waiting to see what else Twilight might add to her declaration, but Twilight kept her lips buttoned tight. “I…” Rarity hesitated, then took a deep breath. “I suppose it would not hurt to escort you to Canterlot. At the least if things do not go to plan you’ll have somepony who can get you home safely.” Then she brightened considerably. “Cousin Fleur could help us, surely!”
Twilight blinked at that one. “Who?”
~~~~~Bulliontown, that morning.~~~~~
The chariot came to a dirt-skidding halt in front of the manor house, and Sunset Shimmer was not too proud to admit she was ecstatic to be back on terra firma once again. “Toldja we’d get here by morning.” The smug, absurd, insane pegasus said mockingly over her shoulder. She didn’t even look winded, and that was insane. “Hey, I said I was the fastest pony in Equestria. Did you think I was kidding?” The pegasus captain polished her hoof on her chestfur, and Sunset decided it would be best not to dignify that with a response.
It took exactly twenty three seconds before somepony came out to greet her. Naturally, it was a Captain of the Guard and his retinue in full armor. “Who in the name of the Crown do you think you are?!” the Captain growled menacingly with just the right degree of intimidation. Obviously somepony who knew his job, so that might make this easier.
She withdrew the sealed scroll from her saddlebags, the refractive wax and snow-white parchment bound in a shimmering rainbow ribbon as unmistakable in its origins as the sun itself. “Agent Sunset Shimmer, in her Majesty’s Service. I am taking command over you and your stallions, Captain.” There, that would make it simpler to accomplish her goals here. “I need your name, and then you can take me to the home of the unicorn named Twilight Sparkle immediately.”
For a moment the captain stared at her uncomprehendingly, then pulled his helmet off with his telekentic magic to reveal the… Well, he’s certainly handsome. Stallion beneath it. “I’m Captain Shining Armor, ma’am. Alabaster Guard.” He spoke in a very formal, respectful tone. More surprising was his rank. An Alabaster Guardspony? Here? “And the somepony you’re looking for usually lives here, too. Unfortunately for you, miss Agent Sunset, she’s already gone.” His voice went from respectful to extremely dark in an instant, his eyes narrowing and muscles tightening.
Something bad had already happened? She’d gotten here faster than she could’ve possibly imagined! “What do you mean ‘gone’, guardspony?” She had to get information before she could form a plan, and even more so before she could panic. “What happened here?”
The Captain’s head jerked up in surprise at that, “You don’t…?” Then he shook his head once and tucked his helmet under his foreleg. “Twilight vanished last night. Nopony is sure as to the circumstances, but we do know she took things from her room and headed west of here. Nopony knows anything else.” She stared for a moment, then Sunset facehoofed. Oh, bloody duh. Viscountess Twilight Sparkle. She knew she’d heard that name somewhere before. But that meant- “Are you going to go looking for her?” The Captain asked, his voice quiet and intense.
Sunset took a moment to take in the guardspony’s body language. Angry. Frustrated. And most importantly of all, scared. Scared for what? His job? No, the Alabaster Guard were loyal to the crown, not a mere Countess. That meant some kind of family connection. Cousin? No, too intense. Sister, maybe.That’d make him Countess Velvet’s son. She could use that kind of intensity in somepony with his effective rank and station.
That meant she needed to recruit him. “Yes.” She replied, keeping her voice quiet. “West could mean a lot of towns. We’ll start with Emerald City and work our way south, that’s the most likely place for her to run to.” Emerald city had one of the finest Mage colleges in Unicornia. If Twilight had experienced something traumatic enough to have Celestia send her here to retrieve her, that’s probably where she’d go. Poor kid. Young and untutored, stuck in this oppressive environment and under these foolish aristocrats… “We could use a guard escort.” She tossed that one at him off-hoofedly, turning back towards the chariot.
It took all of thirteen seconds for him to fall into line beside her. “Mother’s going to kill me.” He muttered, putting his helmet back on. But he didn’t falter a step. Sunset felt her lips pull into a grin. She could come to like this one. “So who’s the pegasus?” His voice was faintly muffled behind his absurd helmet, but loud enough to be heard the dozen or so yards away.
The pegasus mare cocked an eyebrow at him and grinned cheekily. “Captain Rainbow Dash. Royal Air Force. first wing.” She gave a flippant salute, and winked. “We gotta bring along the white-flank, ma’am? He looks pretty stuck-up to me.”
Sunset wanted to reach out and smack her, but mostly out of amusement. Instead, she intercepted his gaze to get her attention.“He’ll give us some authority around here so I won’t have to whip out my scroll every five minutes. Now get us into the air, we’re going to Emerald City.” And she only could hope her instincts were right. The last thing she needed was this poor mare getting herself killed before Sunset could catch up to her.
~~~~Rockstown~~~~
It was incredibly strange to be standing around so many earth pony laborers without them bowing and scraping to her. But Rarity seemed to be thriving, so she did her best to follow her lead. “Thank you all so much for your kindness.” Rarity’s voice oozed enthusiasm as a dozen voices rose up from the clamor. They were smiling, all of them. Some enthusiastically, some with a sort of wryness that Twilight could not entirely understand.
She hadn’t expected this. She’d expected some tutting, some anger, perhaps a few guilty looks. “Oh, don’t look so worried dear. Tsch. As though you’re the first mare to run away from that awful town.” That was coming from a wrinkled old earth pony mare with a green coat, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Reminds me of my granddaughter. Ya’ll’d like her.” She patted Twilight’s foreleg and tottered off somewhere, only to return with a foaming mug of what smelled like very strong apple cider. “Settle in, girl. Yer gonna be waiting a bit.”
And so she did, settling down to the floor and sipping the - Pft! Hard cider, apparently, while Rarity did her thing. And her thing apparently amounted to quietly glad-hoofing the locals and sorting through the crowd to find what they needed.
Namely, they needed a ride to Silberfelton. Otherwise she’d spend three days getting there on-hoof, and Rarity had put her hoof down on walking for three solid days even on a trade rode with proper supplies. Fortunately, trips to the city were common enough that Rarity had insisted they shouldn’t have a problem finding somepony who’d be willing to pull a cart for a few bits. Of course, everypony wanted to pull the cart. That meant they had to choose someone. Ugh. Why did everything always have to end up in some sort of complication?
“Ahem-hem-hem-hem! If I may interject?” The bright and absurdly cheerful voice cut through the chatter like a hot knife through fresh butter. The figure that strode through the crowd cut the kind of appearance that would have made her unforgettable no matter what tribe she hailed from. That she was an earth pony with a shiny and much coiffed mane and wore an impressive three-piece business suit only set her apart from the more utilitarian farmers to a greater degree. “I’m actually already headed to Silberfelton on my tour of the highlands. I’d be happy to offer you lovely mares a speedy arrival in my new Autoclopper Cart!”
Every head in the room turned to look at the new speaker quizzically. Then all of the earth ponies chuckled ruefully or with tolerant amusement, before one of them curved a hoof at her. “If’n yer lookin’ for speed Dame Rarity, she’ll getch’a t’ Silberfelton in no time flat. Course’ ya’ll might need some new dresses when yer done ridin’ her demon cart!” That set off a roll of raucous laughter amongst the other earth ponies.
Twilight, however, could not help but be intrigued. “Autoclopper?” That was truly absurd name, and perhaps just this side of obscene but… well. She was who she was, and this sounded fascinating. Somehow, it was faster than an ordinary cart? How could she have managed that feat?
“Eyup!” The strange earth pony chirruped, still with that stunningly white grin on her face. “You want to see it in action? We could get an early start!” She almost bounced in place with excitement, obviously eager to show off her invention to somepony.
Twilight couldn’t resist that kind of offer. After all, she had just as much eagerness to show her work to the Avatars. “Sure.” She could feel her lips twisting up into a smile. Maybe things were going to work out after all? “What do you think, Rarity?” She turned to her friend, hoping that she hadn’t just made a foolish decision.
But Rarity too looked vaguely intrigued, her head cocked to one side. “Well, I suppose its as good an idea as any. And the faster we get to Silberfelton, the more likely we are to find a chariot ride.” She squared her shoulders and put on her best smile. “But dearie, I’m afraid I’ve never met you before. Whatever shall we call you?”
Twilight wanted to facehoof, but now was not the time for physical expressions of aggravation. “Oh!” Instead, she delicately brought a hoof up to her mouth, and her cheeks burned. “Forgive me my discourtesy. To whom do I have the honor of speaking to?” Without even thinking, she fell into her old formal speech habits, doing a little courteous bow of her head towards their new chauffeur.
The earth pony mare laughed delightedly. “Silly. No need to worry about that stuff between new friends.” She extended her hoof with a giggle. “We just met, anyway! My name’s Pinkamena Diane Pie. But you can call me Pinkie!”