As they marched through the city, burdened with bags of money, an enterprising griffon spotted them. "You look like you need a haversack, and not just any haversack!" He produced what looked like a normal backpack. "It fits many times its normal size, while being weightless." The griffon made a quick two grand, and the fillies were relieved to be able to pour the rest of their riches into the magic backpack and wear it easily.
Pinkie looked at Gneech as they approached the stately house that the wizard would live in. "Hey, Gneech?"
"Yes, Pink Horse?"
"Are you going to come with us, to Equestria that is? Or are you going to stay here?" She sounded quite curious, and tilted her head at him a bit.
Gneech gestured at Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. "Gneech is with them. Where they go, Gneech follows, and Gneech have good life. Beside, you say dragons like Gneech are there, so Gneech make new friends, maybe?"
Silver Spoon threw a leg over Gneech. "You're the greatest, Gneech."
Diamond nodded. "Glad I didn't kill you back then."
Silver's expression soured a little, but Gneech didn't seem to mind at all.
They arrived at the gate of the wizard's house. Pinkie spotted a little button and pushed a hoof against it. A moment later, an elderly voice called out from the plate the button rested on, "Who is it? Why is there a herd of ponies on my doorstep?"
Diamond held up the note they'd been given. "We paid for a spell. Open up."
"Hmm, alright..." The gate clicked and opened a few precious inches. "Come inside, and wait in the first room. Don't touch anything."
They shuffled into the house, looking around curiously. The first room was designed for people to wait, with chairs and cushions. The walls were decorated with paintings of fearsome beasts, noble griffons, and other scenes that implied a life of adventure.
Pinkie looked from one to the next with soft oohs and aahs. "Whoever lives here has been through a lot."
Diamond nodded lightly. "Good, then maybe they can get us where we want to go without bungling it up."
The door leading further into the house opened and allowed a wizened griffon to emerge. He had a long white beard that hung from his beak. Silver Spoon wondered if that was normal, or if he had put it there to look more dignified.
The wizard rose up to his hind legs and threw out his talons. With a clap of thunder, a staff appeared in his right talon. "Now then, the note said you required teleportation? All of you, I gather?"
Pinkie bobbed her head. "That was a cool trick. Could you show me how to do that?"
The wizard arched a brow at Pinkie. "Perhaps another time. My fees for schooling are quite prohibitive."
Silver Spoon made a circular motion. "All of us, sir, and thank you."
"To where would I be sending you?" asked the wizard in imperious tone.
Pinkie raised a hoof and waved it manically. "Ooo! Can you send us back home, to Equestria? It's a different world."
He studied them carefully a moment. "Huh, so you are extraplanar. That explains some things... Your friend there is not." He gestured with his staff at Gneech. "I could banish you home, but he could not follow that way, being native to this world."
Diamond and Silver both agreed silently that losing their first and loyal servant was not acceptable. "Pass," they both said in unison without trying.
Pinkie pouted at the setback before tapping at her chin. "Do you know where Queenie Iliana is? She could get us all home."
He chuckled softly. "Finding that elusive pony would cost more than you've paid, to say nothing of then transporting you to her side. She is a spellcaster of no small means, and it would be a true challenge to thwart her wards." Whether he could pull off the task or not was irrelevant, as he was confident the matter of the cost would turn away the question.
Silver Spoon huffed. "We don't need to get home right this second, like, anywhere that's not here will do."
Pinkie quickly threw up her hooves. "Not anywhere! How about Viljatown? It's a nice pony city."
Diamond Tiara nodded. "Fine, that works. We'll live like royalty while we wait with better company."
The wizard gestured to the center of the room. "I need you all to gather together and hold hands, or hooves as the case may be."
They gathered into a circle and the wizard held his staff out. "You, small pony, take this side of the staff, while the older pink one, take the other end. I will transport us to the mythril map. I've been there no few times. After we arrive, I'll return home. You've paid for both transports. I assume you have no one that needs to come back with me?" They all shook their heads. "Very well, let's begin."
With a powerful intonation, the wizard bent the will of the universe to his whim. The staff pulsed with powerful magic, and they were no longer in Cuachan. They appeared in Viljatown, with the sounds of ponies clip-clopping all around them. The guards that stood before the mithril map noted their appearance, but didn't move from their post.
The wizard pulled his staff back. "Done. Here you are, Viljatown. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a book awaiting my attention, and I don't plan to linger." The griffon knocked the staff against the ground and vanished back where he came from, to that snowy city up in the mountains they couldn't even see anymore.
Pinkie threw her hooves wide. "Welcome to Viljatown! This is a nice place, mostly. I've been here a few times. Follow me and I'll introduce you to a super nice innkeeper I know. She's kind of funny. She's asleep all the time, but she's super cool."
Diamond raised a brow. "Does she have good service?" They followed after Pinkie as she led the way through the city. Their clothes were warm for the sunny city, and soon they were unbuttoning them to let some more air come in.
"Oh sure. Her food is dee-lish, and she's always happy when she brings it. She's super nice." Pinkie pointed to the inn before pushing her way in. "Drowsy! You here!?"
Drowsy jerked awake at the shouting. She looked around quickly. "Huh? Oh, Pinkie." She smiled gently. "I thought you would have been gone longer, perhaps forever, but here you are, drawn to me with the power of fate. It's nice to see you." Her eyes fell to Pinkie's guests, looking them over one by one. "Oh my, a dragonling?"
Gneech looked quite happy to be referred to as such. "I am Gneech. You are?"
Drowsy put a hoof to her chest. "I am Drowsy End, occasional companion of Miss Pie. Yours is the only spirit that does not softly sing the song of their world, but you have started humming along perhaps?"
Gneech didn't grasp the meaning and looked perplexed. Diamond moved around him. "Drowsy was it? Nice to meet you. I'm Diamond Tiara, and this is Silver Spoon. We want the best room you have, three meals, one snack between each, and drinks through the day." She clopped her forehooves together. "Let's make it happen."
Drowsy looked at Diamond Tiara quizzically a moment before she turned her view to Pinkie. Pinkie quickly nodded. "She has the bits to pay for it."
The sleepy innkeeper smiled. She fished out a key and set it on the counter. "Here you are. You get the one room we have on the second floor. I'm sure you'll like it. I'll get started on lunch now." She half-fell from her cushion and made her way towards the kitchen, sleepy but peaceful enough.
Diamond snatched the key off the counter. "Let's go have a look at our room, enjoy lunch, and maybe have a look around town. Maybe we'll spot another hole that needs filling."
Silver Spoon giggled at the thought of it. "Imagine that, going back to Equestria with two conquests to share. Everypony will be so amazed with us."
Gneech followed along. "They will also be amazed at powerful dragon friend, yes?"
Diamond nodded. "I can't wait to go back and tell them all about it." Clearly she could wait, considering she turned down the offer to go back without Gneech. They arrived at their room and Diamond put the key in with her mouth before twisting it unlocked.
Inside was a plushly-appointed room that pleased Diamond. The fact that it seemed to be the only room on the upper floor was all the more reason to enjoy the luxurious exclusiveness of it. "We have arrived! And this is a pony city, right?" Pinkie nodded with a grin. "Great! They'll have some real culture to enjoy. Silver, want to have a night on the town?"
Silver Spoon smiled broadly. "I'd love to." She trotted into the room only to end up slamming into the floor muzzle-first. She looked back and saw she tripped over a book, just as she had so long ago. She sat up and pulled the book over curiously. The book seemed relatively harmless, but she noticed it belonged to a library in the city, and asked to be returned there if found.
She held up the book towards Diamond. "Hey, I'm going to bring this back to where it belongs."
Diamond made a dismissive wave. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Just be back by sundown."
Silver Spoon tucked the book of folk cures into her saddlebag and trotted down the stairs and out the door. She hadn't been alone much since they started the adventure, and it felt a little curious to be walking alone through the strange city. Her unease was put to mild rest at seeing so many ponies around. Sure, they looked a bit odd, but they were definitely ponies, and they accepted her as a pony, and that was good enough.
She walked up to a guard. "Excuse me, where is 360 Divine Terrace?"
The guard pointed northward. "It's a bit of a trek. You have to take a few turns to get there. Do you have a map of the city?" She shook her head. "Well... I guess I can show the way. Come on, little filly." Silver smiled as she followed after the guard.
She noticed he wore a crest that showed a pony with outspread wings. She had a horn too, on closer inspection. An alicorn? "Is that your princess?"
The guard peeked at her, then the crest she was looking at. "Oh, no, she's a Queen, little filly. You've never heard of Queen Iliana?"
Silver put a hoof behind her head. "Oops. I didn't recognize her." True enough of a statement. The guard accepted it, and they soon arrived in the religious district of the city. The address pointed them to Luminace's shrine/library. Silver shook her head as it become clear to her. She was being called by her goddess.