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// The Twelfth entry, or: Always keep promises, lest you look like a douchebag. 
// Story: Forward again, and again, and again. 
// by Zaravan 
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	We've been staying in the Castle for about a week as 'honored guests' and yet we feel the burden of carrying the news back to the others. When we first arrived, we marched next to Twilight with our heads high and proud. We had to make a good impression after all. We did attract a bit of attention. And wouldn't you know it, we were stopped by a Husband and Wife who thanked us at least ten times over for rescuing their daughter, who was apparently one of the slaves in the dogs' gem mines. Long story short, we made it to the Castle after having been thanked by at least twenty more ponies along the way. It felt nice, doing good and being thanked for it.

Anyways, we meet the other royals here. The tall white one, Celestia. The slightly less tall but you could hardly tell blue one, Luna. And the Noticeably shorter but still tall in her own right pink one, Cadance something-or-other.  We managed to get along rather well considering. We were invited to dine with them and we took the offer. Celestia is quite nice, but she's kind of condescending. When we asked why we were invited to the capital, she kept dodging the question and saying 'All in due time.' in a rather noncommittal tone. We weren't happy with this, and told her as such. She relented after we threatened to walk out, thinking she was wasting our time, and patience. Luna is rather brash. And loud. And kind of haughty in that old-timey royal kind of way. But she's at least more honest and to the point than her sister. Cadance is rather chatty. But she's quite empathetic. 

After the meal, Celestia guided us to what was apparently a less often used part of the castle. We all came to rest in a small, comfortable room with a few chairs and couches, and a warm, inviting fireplace. There, she told us a bit of new that was rather shocking. At least to Twilight.

Equestria was about to get double teamed by the changelings and the Gryphons. Okay, she didn't say it like that. But she did say that their Kingdom would come under very trying times. Apparently the last major war they had fought was a civil war. And they had never fought a war against multiple enemies on multiple fronts. They had heard of what we had done, that is, freeing the slaves and making a base in the Everfree, fighting the wildlife all the while. They were practically begging for our help. So we decided to all go back together in chariots, used for transportation in the air, and regroup with the others in the Everfree. Once there we would hammer out a deal. Maybe for a bit of gold for our services. But far less than your average mercenary group would charge.

I should get to sleep. We're going tomorrow. This bed is pretty comfy. We won't leave them to rot. I refuse to.