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// 34 - Arrival in Viljatown 
// Story: A Dangerous Sparkle 
// by David Silver 
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The train proved comfortable and swift, as promised. They arrived in Viljatown mid-day. The passing scenery shifted from countryside to rural patches of farms, then a brief suburb before hitting the high walls of the city in a wave of darkness that passed over the train. They entered the city proper and all eyes were on the window, taking in the splendor of the rich city. The architecture was somewhat greco-roman, and the ponies were well dressed, even moreso than in Kadiston. Twilight compared it favorably to Canterlot, though it seemed to be resting on the ground instead of high on a mountain-side.



Dawn stepped out of his room once the train had come to a smooth halt. "Come, we have places to be."

The others already had their meager luggage ready, though Spike raised a claw, "Do we have a little bit? I promised a filly I would go with her."

Dawn frowned, "We are on a tight schedule. Tell her you are a Seeker and are on assignment. It is the truth of the matter."

Spike gave a soft groan, but hurried off to find Soft Mane with a promise to the others that he'd find them off the train.





Soft Mane and her mother, Grass Patch, proved not too difficult to find as they went down a similar hallway to get off the train. Spike waved at them eagerly as he came in for a landing. "Hey Soft, Grass. I have to get back to business. Seeker stuff." he shrugged softly, "I really want to get the tour, but our client won't let me, can I get a rain check?"

Soft Mane softly pouted, but nodded, "It's ok... We'll meet up before you know it." She held out a hand towards Spike with a sudden grin. He met it with a thunderous high-five and the two shared a giggle before he moved to hurry off. 

"Be good to your mom!" cried out Spike before he was gone from sight.





Twilight slowly swiveled her head, looking over the crowded city. "If Rarity was here..." she murmured. Suddenly Pinkie was at her side, squeezing.

"Don't worry!" she cried, "I brought a camera." She pulled out a tripod from that voluminous volume of hair of hers and slapped it to the ground. A moment later, a camera unfolded upwards on top of it, looking ready to go.

Twilight quickly set a hoof over it, "Hold up, Pinkie. I don't even know if they have those here."

As if on cue, Dawn wandered over to peer at the strange device, "What is that you have there? Some manner of spyglass?"

Pinkie shook her head as she made a grand gesture at the device that should not have fit in her mane, "It's a camera!"

Dawn raised a brow lightly as he did a slow circle around the device, "I'm afraid I have heard of no such thing. What is its purpose?"

Twilight slapped a fetlock over Pinkie's snout, "It's a toy from our world," she quickly interjected, "One that will do nothing anyway since we don't have the supplies to make it work."

Pinkie pulled back from the gagging fore-hoof before blinking a bit. "Oh yea, you're right. We can't develop the film." She bonked herself with a hoof, "We could take some pictures and save them for later though?" she suggested.

"Pictures?" asked Dawn, "It can draw?"

Long Road joined the group, just managing to fight his way off the train through a crowd that seemed to have little sympathy for him. "Oh, a dwarven light catcher," he said as he laid eyes on the camera. "Those are very expensive and rare, how did you get one?"

Dawn turned towards the donkey, "You know of it?"

"Sure," said the donkey, pointing at it with a hoof, "You point it at something and wait, then you do some sort of alchemy and you get a paper with an image of what it was looking at. Those dwarves sure know their stuff."

Twilight tilted her head a little, "That is a surprisingly accurate description of it, but it's from our world, not dwarves. Pinkie was holding it. Are you hiding anything else?" She turned to Pinkie with challenging eyes.

Pinkie neither confirmed nor denied this. Instead she moved up to press her snout into place and take a quick picture of the grand castle in the distance and the many buildings on the way. "Rarity will get to see it when we get back."

Spike suddenly flew out of an open window on the train and joined them in a hurry. Dawn nodded at him, "Good, we're all here. We have to be off to the Mythril Map." Dawn led the way for the party, pushing through the crowd as they made their way deeper into the city.

Twilight asked as they went, "Are there shops on the way? We have some coins from the contest we, uh, won, and gems from that minotaur. Pinkie, for all of her knick knacks, is still terribly unprepared. I would... prefer to make some things myself, but I won't ask for that much time."

Dawn sighed softly, "Yes, we will pass many shops along the way. I will point them out as we get to them. I suggest, however, you instead buy the supplies you need for her and work on the equipment while we are encamped or otherwise paused."

Twilight's ears perked, "That's a fantastic idea. Don't worry, Pinkie. I'm going to make you an ultimate party hat."

Pinkie clapped her fore-hooves together, "That sounds like fun. Will it have balloons on it?"

"Of course," said Twilight proudly.

They only paused briefly for Twilight to dip into a store of arcane supplies. The shelves were filled with assorted magic items, blank spell books, and several assortments of writing ink. Standing behind the counter was a pegasus stallion. He smiled at Twilight as she browsed, "What are you looking for today, Miss?"

Twilight began to describe in painful detail the exact parameters she needed for her project. The shopkeep seemed to understand her, quickly darting from shelf to shelf as he grabbed things up for her as she rattled them off. By the time she was done, there was a small pile of things arranged. "Would you like some spell ink?" he asked, "You can never have too much." Twilight seemed to consider a moment before nodding and requesting a small bag to put it all in. She soon returned to the party with her sack of arcane wonders.

Spike pulled up alongside Twilight, whispering in an ear, "I get the feeling we're being watched, but the crowd's so thick I can't pick out who's doing the watching."

Twilight shrugged at him, "We have a dragon and a donkey, reason enough for them to stare. Let them."

Spike nodded hesitantly, glancing around at the press of ponies from all side before letting the matter drop. 

They were soon walking alongside a large hedgerow, towering over their heads with carefully groomed greenery about ten feet up. An ornate gate leading into the hedge maze was guarded by several ponies in clear armor, swords hanging at their sides on loops. As Dawn Event approached them, they snapped to attention.

One of them held up a hoof, "Reason for journey and destination please."

Dawn drew out a map and showed it to the guard who squinted at it. "We have the word for a place five miles distant. Is that satisfactory?"

Dawn nodded, "That will do. We are on Seeker business."

"I'm afraid I need a more specific reason," stated the guard. 

Dawn sighed softly, "We are seeking an artifact of historic significance to please a goddess. Will that suffice?"

The guard nodded as a fellow made scratching notes with a quill held in mouth. "That will be fifty gold per head. I see five, two hundred and fifty please."

Dawn produced a small hoof full of platinum coins for the guard. For his trouble the guard spoke a strange word slowly and carefully. "Do you need me to repeat it?"

Pinkie suddenly burst into the conversation, "Nope!" She repeated the strange word as she rocked back and forth, singing it over and over.

The guard advised, "You will not want to say it again until you reach the designated place." He provided a crudely scrawled map to Dawn, and the group was allowed past.

Twilight looked around the narrow, but open ceiling, tunnels, "What is this place? I can feel intense magic all around us."

Long spoke softly, as if whispering in a church, "The Mythril Map. I've heard of it before. They say it can send a person to anywhere in Everglow, if you go to the right place on it, and say the right word."

Spike shrugged, "So we just came here to teleport away? Why didn't we just walk to where we wanted to directly? It'll be forever before I get to see Soft Mane again."

Twilight gave a soft 'aww', "My little Spike fell for a special somepony."

Spike lit up crimson through his scales, "What!? No! I'm just... worried. She has it rough."

Twilight waved a hoof, "It's alright Spike. You two look about the same age anyway. As your friend, we're here to support you."

Spike's blush only intensified, "Twilight... I care about her, not like that. Besides... what would the kids look like?"

Twilight didn't reply, instead frowning in thought as if she were trying to figure it out.

Pinkie took up the silence as a challenge, "They would be adorable! Who are we talking about again?"

Dawn softly grumbled before speaking up, "To answer your first question, Spike. If we went directly there, it would be weeks of difficult riding, instead of less than a single week, much of which was spent on the train. Our target is just north of Dragon's Peak." Spike opened his mouth to speak but Dawn continued, "Before you ask, yes, there are dragons in the mountains, no, we will not be stopping by for a conversation."

Long Road lowered his ears at the announcement, "Those are very treacherous mountains, I hear."

Dawn waved it off, "You are all trained Seekers. I expect you to deal with a mountain or two."

Spike seemed the least worried about it, doing a little loop in the air and snickering to himself.

Twilight gave a soft sigh, "Will the horses I summon be able to handle it?"

Dawn shook his head, "Another reason we are teleporting there. We will have to hike the rest as the mountain tribes did long ago."

They arrived at the point indicated on the map. Dawn led everyone to stand in a circle, then looked to Pinkie, "Go ahead, say the word."

Twilight asked quickly, "How do we get back?"

Dawn shrugged his shoulders, "The hard way." And the world melted away as time and space were brought into line, sending the group far away. Just as things started to dim, a small form rushed into the circle, pushing past a startled Pinkie and being pulled along for the ride.