Amira awoke with a shiver. The wet grass and the soggy ground had sapped her warmth and left her with a painful chill. Splinters of cold shot through her legs when she rose from the damp ground. She longed for the warmth of Saddle Arabia as she tried to shake off the unfamiliar cold. She scanned the clearing, painted purple by the dawn. About an hour until sunrise, by the looks of it, she estimated.
I’m not moving on without Brant, but I need to get moving. I will come back for him, once I reach the Princess. She’ll have the guards needed to form a search party, and I can lead them to the cave. I know I can find it again from the air, she thought. I must.
Amira grabbed her saddlebag from the grass where she had dropped it and started to walk. Wait… This is too light. Where’s my carpet?
“Please,” she pleaded aloud, “please, please be here.” She knew that her saddlebag couldn’t fit her carpet but she emptied the bag onto the wet grass anyway. She saw clothes and other ornaments, a coin pouch, less than a day's worth of provisions, and no rug. As a last act of desperation she searched the clearing, hoping against improbable odds that it had fallen nearby.
Yet the carpet was not there, and she should have known it all along. It wasn’t there because she had set it out to dry in the cavern, because it had been stolen away by the sloped floor. She stamped her hoof and tears of frustration welled in her eyes. How can I find Brant now?
She felt herself on the verge of breaking down like the night before and restrained herself. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and returned to her saddlebag. Surely the princess will have Pegasi to aid in the search. She has to.
She has to, Amira hoped, since I am of no use now.
She started to gather the contents that had been strewn around in her search. She simply tossed some into the bag, such as the coin pouch. Others she placed with great care, particularly an elaborate jeweled bridle that was part of her diplomat regalia. At least I still have that. I wasn’t going to blend in among all these little Equestrian ponies anyway, so I might as well dress to impress.
Amira fastened the bag and slung it over her back. “This is no time to mope. I’ve got work to do,” she assured herself. She stood up tall. Her slender legs had strength in them yet. I think I traveled north from the cave, so Ponyville should be further to the northwest. As long as the sky stays clear and I stick to open areas, I think I can make it to the forest’s edge before sunrise.
She struck out, treading carefully over the uneven ground of the forest and watching for signs of any large wildlife. She pushed her way through the underbrush and the lush vegetation sprung back. The forest bore no trace of her passing, rejecting her like her homeland had.
After some time, Amira spied open farmland through the gaps in the trees. She was excited to be free of the shadowy woods and sped up to a canter. As she ran, she saw movement in the corner of her eye. It seemed the forest had planned a rude farewell for her.
A dark green tendril lashed out from the underbrush and wrapped around her ankle. From the same bush a massive purple flower toppled over into the path. Its petals bloomed and revealed a dripping maw rimmed with tooth-like thorns. The vine pulled and tugged her toward the mouth but Amira planted her hooves and resisted. Once she had a firm stance, she severed the vine with a swift kick. With a parting look of disgust, she shook the remnant off her leg and galloped the last distance into the light.
Amira stepped out into a pasture and squinted her eyes against the change in brightness. It was just after sunrise and the fields shined green and gold. She scanned for a place to rest then approached a large flat rock a safe distance from the gnarled trees of the forest. She sat down next to the rock then opened her bag and spread the contents over-top.
She lifted out a small mirror that was miraculously unbroken after the chaos of the trip so far. She slipped its woven strap over a hoof and looked herself over in the reflection. She was a bit scratched up and exhausted, but otherwise unharmed. This is worse than I expected, she grimaced. I can’t drop in on a princess looking like this.
Amira focused her will onto her other hoof and a green aura formed around it. She swept it over the scratches on her face and body and wisps of magic soaked into her flesh. The visible damage faded as the energy hastened her body’s natural healing ability. Amira’s vision blurred and she shook herself to clear the lightheadedness. This spell was good enough for small scratches but it was quite taxing and would be dangerous to attempt on severe wounds.
Next, she set about cleaning up the rest of her appearance. She spent a good half-hour brushing away all the tangles and twigs from her mane and tail. Her coat required equal care. It was matted by days of travel without a good combing and sleeping in the grass had worsened it. A bit of makeup around the eyes accented her natural beauty and also served to hide her lack of sleep. Some polishing of her hooves…and done—You're as pretty as a princess, she thought. Her stomach rumbled, making its own royal declaration.
"Right. Food." she said. All the magic and danger had burned through her energy. She made short work of her last remaining rations but her hunger wasn’t sated.
Amira began to don her diplomat's regalia. With practiced ease she put on her bridle, stockings, and pearl necklaces. Then came the hard part: securing her saddle while she was limited by the ornate outfit. In the past she always had an assistant help with this, but now she would have to make do on her own. After several attempts she managed to position the bag so it would not fall off every time she reached for the straps. She twisted her neck around and could see them just behind her withers, but she couldn’t quite reach them with her teeth. Frustrated, she stamped a hoof and glared at the straps. I’ve seen Unicorns do this… She continued to stare, pulling at the straps with her mind. Finally a white light enveloped the straps and they started to move. In fits and starts they snaked their way through their corresponding buckles and fastened themselves.
“Yes!” she cheered but the smile dropped from her face and she glanced around.
I must get into the habit of hiding my magic. She had convinced herself that the Equestrians would be frightened by magic so different than theirs. But in truth if anypony was frightened by Amira's magic, it was Amira. Frightened, and ashamed.
Once everything was in place she set off across the open fields toward the town in the distance. Toward Ponyville.
Amira entered a vast orchard. She followed a dirt path that wound its way through fields of apple trees and near several farm buildings. She admired the orderly fields and trees as she walked and reveled in the contrast from the chaotic forest. As she had expected, there were no ponies around on the edge of town this early. Then she spotted three fillies at play on a distant hill. One of them, yellow with a red mane, spotted her and waved. After Amira waved back the filly turned to her friends and pointed at Amira. The three fillies had an animated conversation then bounded off over the hill toward the town.
Amira continued her steady pace and several minutes later she saw the three fillies again. This time they were accompanied by nearly a dozen ponies of various ages. The herd milled about near the houses that made up the edge of the village and waited for Amira.
I haven’t even reached the town proper and I’ve already attracted a crowd, Amira mused.
When Amira neared, the ponies gathered around her and chattered like birds. Amira stood out over the crowd as she was nearly a head taller than the tallest spectator.
“Whoa. She’s all grown up but doesn’t have a Cutie Mark?” marveled the yellow filly from before.
“Are you an ambassador or something, Miss?” asked a white Unicorn filly.
“No, silly. She’s clearly some kind of performer. Look at her cool outfit,” an orange-coated Pegasus said.
“Yay! Is the circus in town? I love the circus!” a brown colt shouted.
“Now that there is a fine mare. Hoo-wee!” an older stallion jeered.
“I’d visit her embassy any day, if you know what I mean,” said another.
After the first wave of remarks had ended and the ponies weren’t talking over each other, Amira spoke. She fell into her familiar high tone and pretentiousness, “I am here on diplomatic business, but I am absolutely famished from my trip. Would somepony kindly direct me to a tea room or similar establishment? I would be ever so grateful.” I hope all of this spectacle distracts them from my suspicious arrival, she thought.
An Earth Pony in a tailored waiter’s outfit rushed forward and knelt before Amira. “I was on my way to open my cafe for lunch, but I’ll get it ready early for you, madam.”
Amira nodded slightly. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.” She followed him as he led her into town and through the streets of Ponyville. Most of the crowd dispersed and returned to their morning routines as vendors or shoppers in the marketplace, store owners, or farmers. A few ponies stayed and followed Amira like an entourage, perhaps hoping to see something more to gossip about.
The waiter talked about his job and his restaurant as they walked but Amira was too hungry and distracted to pay attention. She didn’t even catch his name. A moment later they arrived at a small cafe with a few outdoor tables. He set out a cushion for Amira at one table, directed the tag-along ponies to the other tables, and hurried inside.
Amira sat down but couldn’t relax. Again and again the events from the cave ran through her head. If those Dogs are actually working for the Sheikh, they’ll keep Brant to lure me back. But if they’re not, what will they do to him? They were definitely trying to capture us, so I doubt they’d just kill him, but why else would they want him? She rose from the dark thoughts, pulled away by a familiar smell.
“Saddle Arabian coffee, for the ambassador,” the waiter beamed and set down a cup. “I thought you might like a reminder of home with all the traveling you must do.”
His heart’s in the right place, but I could do without reminders of that place right now, she thought. Not going to turn down Arabian coffee though. She thanked him and took a sip. It was divine. The exhaustion slipped away, beaten back by the coffee’s warm aroma and rich flavor. At least Saddle Arabia still has a few good things...
The waiter tried to give her the meal at no charge but she insisted that she should pay. He became much less insistent when he realized the scale of her appetite. She was larger than local ponies and quite a bit hungrier than normal. When Amira had had her fill of pastries and coffee, she paid the pony handsomely and moved on.
Amira needed no guide to find her next destination. She could already see the towering spire of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle and it shone with the light of the sunrise behind it. Her eager entourage realized where she was headed and dispersed. It seemed that the business side of being an ambassador just wasn’t exciting enough for them.
The castle was an unusual sight even to Amira’s traveled eyes. A giant pearlescent tree of aquamarine rose into the sky and clasped a purple structure inside its trunk and branches. Golden rooftops rose above the leafless branches and a large crystal star towered higher still. The massive golden door was prominent and unattended, and Amira pondered the lack of guards as she approached.
At the door she drew herself up and took a deep breath. This is the easy part where I get to play ambassador. I’m not looking forward to revealing why I am actually here. She lifted a hoof to knock on the door but it opened before she could touch it.
A small, purple dragon with green spines stood in the doorway. He bowed and gestured for Amira to enter. A butler, I guess? He looks familiar, she observed as she stepped inside and took in the strange decor. It seemed that everything was either made of crystal or had a tree motif, or both. “Welcome to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle,” he said in a pompous tone, then smirked. “It drives Twilight crazy when I call it that, so of course I keep doing it. She’s up in the library right now. She saw you coming and couldn’t remember your name so she’s trying to find it in a record somewhere,” he said and rolled his eyes. “I figured it would be easier to just talk to you. I’m Spike. What’s your name?” he asked and extended a clawed hand.
"Ah," Amira paused, caught off guard. “I am Amira Nouri Rosana, ambassador for Saddle Arabia. Thank you for your hospitality despite the lack of notice.” Out of habit, she returned Spike’s greeting by tapping his claw with her hoof. So much for playing ambassador. This became casual awfully quick, she noted.
“Don’t worry about it. This castle is so big and empty; we might as well fill it with guests.” Spike led her inside and Amira followed him up the large staircase that ran up the trunk of the ‘tree’.
They ascended two floors and stepped onto the third floor landing when realization dawned on Amira, “Wait a minute!” She turned to Spike. “I recognize you. You’re the dragon from the Equestrian Games, aren’t you? It was you who stopped that ice cloud from falling on everypony. Including me!”
Spike puffed up proudly. “Oh, you saw that? I was pretty amazing that day, wasn’t I?” he bragged.
"Yes, I was there, and that was amazing." Amira smiled. The smile turned a bit mischievous and she added, "However, your singing performance was something else entirely."
Spike cringed and his face turned cherry red as he recalled his pitiful attempt at the Cloudsdale Anthem. Amira covered her mouth with her hoof and tried not to laugh.
Spike was not amused. "Oh, ha, ha. Let's never speak of that again," he grumbled. He attempted a stern look and failed. That was the problem with being a baby dragon—no matter how serious or angry he was, he always looked cute. The glare he shot Amira reduced her to a fit of giggles.
It was nice to laugh for a change.
Amira's laughter was infectious and Spike’s mood relented. "Okay, I'll admit it was pretty bad," he said, and laughed with Amira.
When they reached the upper landing, he pointed to the library. “Go on in and find Twilight. I’ll get some tea and snacks.” Amira made to mention that she had just eaten, but he had already scurried off down a hallway.
Amira stepped into the library and was immediately overwhelmed. Not only was it decorated from wall to wall with beautiful dark hardwoods and crystal pillars, but it was absolutely massive. Bookshelves lined every wall and towered all the way to the ceiling several stories above. Ornate spiral staircases lead to the higher levels, and golden ladders on rails provided access to every part of the shelves. Every shelf held books of all kinds, from simple to elaborate and from modern to ancient. She couldn’t even begin to estimate their number. She steered clear of one section that was cordoned off with velvet rope. It held perhaps three dozen books that were severely damaged or even charred beyond recognition.
She wandered the aisles between the shelves in a daze, distracted by the scale and beauty of it all. A large, gold astrolabe on the far wall caught her eye and she turned her head to look. Her tired legs continued to move forward out of habit and she bumped into a ladder. It slid smoothly on its rails down the aisle.
“Ah!” a surprised voice called out overhead. Amira heard the flutter of wings and looked up.
Overhead, a purple Pegasus flapped awkwardly and a massive stack of books bobbed and floated, wrapped in pink magic. As it dawned on Amira who she was looking at, she saw the top book slide free.
The Alicorn reflexively reached out for it with her magic, but at the cost of her hold on the other volumes. “No, no, no,” she stammered as she lost control of the entire pile. The pink glow disappeared and dozens of books plummeted toward the ground and startled pony below.
Twilight Sparkle abandoned flying and pooled power into her horn. Beams of magic shot from her horn, engulfed all the falling books, and slowed their fall to a feather’s pace. Twilight, however, continued to fall at full speed.
Amira was rooted in surprise and watched all of this with a detached sense of disbelief. A princess of Equestria is about to fall on my head. Is this really how I die? Squashed under a purple pony?
With the books under control, Twilight extended the spell onto herself and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked down for the first time. “Bwah?”
Twilight was startled by the sudden appearance of the large pink pony below. Her concentration faltered and she resumed plummeting. She landed on top of Amira and the impact sent them flying sideways into a bookshelf. A shelf snapped and dozens of books cascaded down onto the two ponies. After the dislodged books settled, the tomes from earlier finished their slowed descent. They landed gently on top of the chaotic pile like fashionably late party guests.
“Twilight! Amira!” called a panicked Spike as he rounded the corner at a run. His apron was splashed with spilled tea. “I heard a crash from the kitchen! What happened?” He stopped running as soon as he spotted the pile of books then shook his head. “Why am I not surprised?”
Spike jumped on the pile and dug into it. He tossed books aside at a lightning pace acquired from years of experience. Soon he had uncovered the two ponies, but it was his turn to laugh at Amira’s expense when he saw her position. Twilight and Amira were entangled with their legs wrapped around the other in an intimate, if accidental, embrace. “Twilight, do I need to put up ‘Warning! Book-valanche zone!’ signs in here?” he joked. He clutched himself and rolled on the floor in laughter.
The pink and purple ponies untangled themselves and attempted to stand. They seemed uninjured but both were a bit woozy and neither could balance well. In unison they teetered and sat down on their haunches. Amira chuckled, “Some nobility we are: knocked senseless together in a ring of books.”
Twilight grinned. “Personally, I prefer my book forts a little more orderly. I think this one needs to be condemned.” Despite the dull pain and disorientation, or perhaps because of them, they both burst into laughter.
Once he knew they weren’t seriously hurt, Spike rolled his eyes. “Mares… I’ll never understand them,” he muttered as he picked up and stacked books for sorting later.
After a more proper introduction and a little first-aid for bonked heads, the ponies and dragon sat around a small table in the library. Amira didn’t waste time bringing up the topic of Brant and the Diamond Dog attack. However, she was careful to avoid any mention of why Brant and Amira had been traveling in the Everfree Forest. “A rescue party should be formed as soon as possible. Do you have guards we can send?”
Twilight snickered at the thought. “I may be a princess, but my kingdom is… different. We don’t have all that formal stuff like guards. What I do have are some amazing friends that will help us, and they even have experience dealing with Diamond Dogs,” Twilight explained. She put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “Spike, can you go gather the girls? Pinkie Pie should be at Sugarcube Corner this time of day and she can help you find the others. I’ll stay here with Amira.”
Spike nodded and ran off, leaving Amira and Twilight alone for the first time since the ‘book fort’. After an awkward silence Twilight spoke first, “Um, I’m really sorry about falling on you earlier. It’s been almost a year but I’m still learning to use these new wings. It looks like flying and carrying that much at the same time is still a bit beyond me.”
Amira dismissed the comment with a wave of the hoof. “Oh, please do not fret it, Princess. I am the one that startled you with that ladder, and I have been through worse on the trip here." Amira fidgeted as she continued. "Actually, your abilities to fly and use magic are both amazing to me. Back in Saddle Arabia, the only natives with wings are the catlike Purrsians but they are pretty rare,” she said. And the only one with magic is… me, she continued in her head. “Your wings are just beautiful, and you have learned to fly so quickly.”
Twilight beamed. “Aww, thanks. I still have a lot to learn but I guess having the best flyer in Equestria as my coach has helped out.”
As if summoned by the praise, a flash of blue zoomed into the library. It left a rainbow trail in its wake and sent loose papers flying. The Pegasus slid to a stop and blurted, “I was at Sugar Cube Corner when Spike showed up, so I told each of the others and came here as fast as I could. I about caused a sonic rainboom between Fluttershy’s cabin and here.” She looked around. “Nopony else is here yet? Aw, yeah! Fastest again!” Her eyes finally settled on Amira. “Whoa! Who’s the model?”
Twilight introduced them, “Rainbow Dash, this is Amira, and she’s an ambassador, not a model.”
“Well she could be one,” she remarked then turned to Amira. “Nice to meet you Amira. You should talk to Fluttershy. She was a model once.”
Over the next few minutes the rest of the gang arrived and each received an introduction in turn. As an ambassador, Amira was practiced with learning names and faces and she picked them up easily. It also helped that the Elements of Harmony were quite famous. Amira merely needed to place faces to the stories.
A light-orange Earth Pony grasped Amira’s hoof with both of hers and shook it vigorously. “Pleased to meetcha’. I’m Applejack and you must be the one my lil’ sister was going on about. Applebloom said she saw the prettiest pony ever out by the orchard this morning. I figured it fer one of her silly adventures, not a real... watcha’-call-it... dignitary.”
“Oh, yes. I saw her and her two friends. They were quite lively,” Amira said with a smile.
Next, Amira greeted Fluttershy. When Amira mentioned modeling Fluttershy merely mumbled, “I’m not much of a model,” and the conversation fell flat. She eyed Amira’s mane, which was quite similar in style to her own, then sidled away and murmured, “I like your mane-style.”
Rarity seemed the most taken with Amira. The white Unicorn fawned over Amira’s delegate outfit, “Oh, I simply must incorporate this style into my next fashion line. I suppose I should save it for my summer line though, to fit the desert theme.”
Pinkie Pie was too distracted with planning some sort of welcome party to even introduce herself properly. She hopped circles around Amira and assaulted her with questions, “What’re your top ten favorite foods? Your favorite hot sauce? Your preferred confetti style?”
To Amira’s relief, Twilight seemed to understand the urgency of the situation. She shushed everypony and explained the circumstances, “Amira’s friend Brant was captured by Diamond Dogs and taken into a cave system southeast of here. We’re going to rescue him. We’ll have to travel through the Everfree Forest before we even get to the cave, so be ready for anything. Once we’re inside, Rarity and I should be able to navigate the tunnels with her gem-finding spell. This won’t be easy but our new friends need us and we all know exactly what that means, don’t we?”
“Yeah!” they cheered in unison. Even Fluttershy joined in with a faint “yay!”
Twilight resumed her planning. “Let’s get some supplies together. Spike, can you fetch a couple days worth of food for everypony?” Once he had left the room she turned to Rarity and whispered, “It might get dicey in there. I think it would be better if Spike stayed here. Can you ask him to mind the castle while we’re gone?”
Rarity nodded. After Spike had returned and set down the food she waved him over. “Oh Spikey-wikey, I need a favor from you,” she cooed. “We need somepony, or some dragon, to stay at the castle in case Brant returns or anypony else comes by.”
“Say no more, Miss Rarity. I’ll stay here and hold down the fort, er, castle.” He stood up tall, barely reaching Rarity’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Spike.” She kissed him on the forehead and the little dragon practically floated away.
Amira watched the exchange and felt a twinge of guilt when she was reminded of her own treatment of Brant. She busied herself with the provisions and helped pass out supplies to the others. Amira helped prune the excessive luxuries Rarity had packed and assured Fluttershy she wouldn’t need so much safety gear. Eventually, everypony wore a saddlebag well-stocked with supplies. Well, everypony except Pinkie Pie.
“Where is your saddlebag?” Amira asked.
Pinkie grinned. “I’ve already got everything I need,” she stated matter-of-factly. To demonstrate she pulled a grappling hook, a beach ball, and a layered cake from within her puffy pink mane, then stowed them again. Amira was dumbfounded and could only nod in response.
The seven ponies left the castle and Spike cheered from a balcony as they trotted away from Ponyville. Amira hung toward the back of the group and pondered what Twilight had said. ‘...our new friends need us…’ Were they really friends already? Could Twilight and her friends have accepted her so easily? And if they had, could she accept them?
Amira wanted to accept them. She wanted to make friends, but she couldn’t seem to get close to these ponies. Not while she was hiding her magic and her motives from them.
Here you go again, Amira, misleading the only ponies that care about you.