Gang Aft Agley

by The Phantom Man

Chapter 2: Dark Secrets

Sunlight shined through white curtains in the early hours of the day. Steel's slumber was disturbed by the light. He opened his eyes, only to see Sweetie Belle staring straight into them with a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Steel!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

"Uh, good morning, Sweetie. How long have you been there?"

"Since I had breakfast."

"And how long ago was that?"

"About twenty minutes."

"O...kay. You're patient, I'll give you that."

"Rarity wants you to come down stairs so you can have your breakfast as well."

"Great," Steel said as he rose up out the bed. "What's on the menu?"

"I don't know. I just had a bowl of oatmeal."

"Well, guess I just have to go down and see. When do you have to leave for school?"

"Still have thirty minutes."

"Okay, gotcha."

Steel and Sweetie Belle made their way down stairs and into the kitchen. Rarity was standing by the coffee machine.

"Ah, good morning Steel. I was just about to make some coffee. Would you like some?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

"As for you, Sweetie Belle. What took you so long to get Steel down here?"

"He looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake him."

"That's the whole purpose of waking someone, Sweetie Belle. You're supposed to disturb them from their peaceful slumber."

"Oh..."

"Anyway, Steel, what would you like to eat?"

"Food," Steel replied jokingly.

Rarity couldn't help but give out a slight giggle.

"Just kidding. You got any apples?"

"Of course."

Upon opening one of the cupboards Rarity surrounded a delicious red apple with the blue glow, lifting it out and placing it on the kitchen table.

"Help yourself, my dear."

"Thanks."

Steel trotted up to the table, took the apple, and started munching on it.

"I hear you offered to walk Sweetie Belle down to school."

"That I did."

"Well, that's very generous of you."

"Thank you."

"Once you return, I'll show you around Ponyville."

"That would be nice."

"Sweetie Belle, it's nearly time to go. You better go get your things."

Sweetie Belle did as she was told, and went upstairs to fetch her saddle bag.

"So, why did you offer to walk Sweetie Belle to school?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not. I'm just curious as to why you did it."

"Well, I'm probably going to be staying here for a while. So, I thought during our walk, me and Sweetie could get to know each other better. I don't want to be that pony that's labelled 'the awkward guest'. Plus, it just seemed like a nice thing to do."

"Well, I am happy that you did."

Steel glanced to his side as Sweetie Belle returned with her bag in tow.

"You got everything you need, Sweetie?" Steel asked.

"Yep," Sweetie Belle replied, in her ever-so-cheerful voice.

"You want something for a snack?"

"Sure, I'll take an apple."

Rarity then levitated another apple out of the cupboard and placed it inside Sweetie Belle's bag. Steel grabbed the bag in his mouth and lifted it onto her back. They both began making their way out the door, until they were stopped by Rarity.

"Steel! What about your coffee?"

"Just leave it, I'll pour it out myself when I come back."

"Very well."

With that, they exited Carousel Boutique and made their way towards the school.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over at the library, Clever had just woken up and was searching the cupboards in the kitchen. Hearing the commotion, Twilight came through.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Looking for breakfast," Clever replied.

"Surely you must have went through cupboards that have food in them by now."

"Yes, but there's no kiwis."

"Kiwis? I'm afraid I don't have any of those."

"What?! You don't have kiwis?!"

"Well, I'm sure the market has what you want."

"They have kiwis?"

"I'm sure at least one of the shops or stalls do."

Clever gave out a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"Oh Spike!" Twilight called.

A small purple dragon dragged himself into the kitchen in response to Twilight's call.

"Twilight, it's too early in the morning for any chores."

"Sorry Spike, but I need you to guide our friend hear down to the market."

Spike looked behind Twilight and saw Clever, who just gave a small wave.

"I don't believe we have met yet," Clever said, as he walked up to Spike. "My name is Clever Dodge."

"Spike," he said as he shook Clever's hoof.

"Well, if we're going down to the market to buy things, I'll need to go get some money from my brother."

"Oh, you don't need to. I'll loan you some," Twilight said.

"The last time I borrowed something from someone, it didn't end well. My brother has a bag full of money with him. I'll go and get some from him, Princess."

"Oh no, it's not a problem, I insist. And please, just call me Twilight."

"Well, it's just that I don't feel right borrowing things from others. Especially money,"

Twilight levitated a saddle bag over to Clever. She then proceeded to put ten bits into the bag, and place it onto Clever's back.

"There, that should be enough to buy your kiwis,"

"Are you sure about this, Twilight?" Clever asked.

"Of course. I'm pretty sure that there are better things to spend your money on,"

"Well, if you say so. Don't worry, I'll pay you back."

"No, don't bother. Consider this a friendly gesture."

Clever accepted the bag a levitated it onto his back.

"Wait, why can't you take him to the market, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Spike, I have to go and tell Princess Celestia about our new arrivals,"

Spike sighed.

"C'mon, Clever, let's go."

Spike and Clever made their way out of the library and began heading towards the Ponyville market.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me last night, Sweetie?" Steel asked, as he and Sweetie Belle continued on their way towards the school.

"Huh?"

"You were going to tell me something, but then Rarity called for you to go to bed."

"Oh yeah. I was going to ask if you wanted to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Yeah!"

"So, what's the story behind them?"

"Well, me and my two friends, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, were being made fun of for being blank flanks. So, we started a group dedicated to getting our Cutie Marks."

"I can tell that you haven't had much luck in finding out what your special talent is."

"Yeah, I know."

"And you want me to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Yeah! It'll be super fun, I promise."

"I'm not so sure, Sweetie. Don't you think I'm a little old for that? I mean I'm as old as your sister."

"I'll have to talk to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom about it. Though, I'm sure you'll be allowed in."

Steel and Sweetie Belle then reached the school.

"Here we are," Sweetie Belle announced.

The school kind of looked like a church. To the left side of it, there was a playground. There were already fillies and colts in there. It was clear to Steel that the school day hadn't started yet.

"So, this is your school, huh?"

"Yep, this is my school!"

"Seems like a decent place."

"I guess."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, sometimes it can get quite boring. Stuck in a building for most of the day."

"Sweetie, you might want to cherish your moments at this school."

"Why?"

"Because, you're not going to be here forever. And, I'm sorry to say, life doesn't get any easier when you do leave school."

Steel was trying his best not to sound cruel.

"I never had the opportunity to go to school when I was your age."

"Why?"

"Because...we didn't have anything like this where I stayed," Steel replied as he gestured towards the school. "When I was your age, I was out...um...working."

"Why?"

"That's just the way my life was. My family wasn't very wealthy, and I couldn't really on my dad to make money. So, I had to work to make money to keep our house."

"What about your mum? Wasn't she there too?"

Steel hesitated before he answered, "No, Sweetie, my mum wasn't there."

"Oh..."

There was a couple of seconds of silence before Sweetie Belle came out with another question.

"So, what did you work as?"

"Well...I...um..."

Just then, the school bell rang, and all the fillies and colts started running into the schoolhouse.

"Well, would you look at that. It's time for you to go."

"Wait, you didn't answer my-"

"You don't wanna be late for class, do you?" Steel said as he gently pushed Sweetie Belle towards the entrance of the school. "Have a nice day, Sweetie."

Steel then zipped away from the school, and Sweetie Belle walked inside.

"Whew, that was a close one. Now, let's see if I can take any steps towards bedding Rarity."

Steel began walking back towards Carousel Boutique, but was stopped as he heard a familiar voice call out to him. He looked up and spotted Robin flying over to him, with Rainbow Dash on his back.

"Steel, would you be so kind as to take dear Rainbow to the hospital?" Robin asked, as he landed next to Steel.

"What? Why can't you do it? I have things to do as well, you know."

"Well, I don't."

"Exactly, so you take her."

"You don't understand. Taking Rainbow Dash to the hospital would interrupt my day of doing nothing. If I took her there, it would defeat the purpose of my day plan. That would require me to do something, rather than nothing."

"You're a lazy prick, you know that?"

"Yes, I know,"

Robin dumped Rainbow Dash on the ground and began flying away.

"Hey! What was that all about?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Sorry, you're not my problem anymore,"

"Just remember, you're living in my house!"

Robin was already gone, leaving Rainbow Dash alone with Steel.

"So, shall we get going?" Steel asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"I take it you're going to get that wing checked."

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

"Look, I'm sorry about that. You attacked my friend. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing."

"Well, at least we have that in common."

"Huh?"

"Why do you think I attacked your friend in the first place?"

"Well, it's Robin. It could've been any number of reasons."

"Y'know, after spending some time with him, I can see what you mean by that."

"He's a real pain in the flank, ain't he?"

"You can say that again."

"So, why did you attack him?"

"I thought he was another gryphon I know."

"I take it you're not exactly on good terms with this other gryphon?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Steel and Rainbow continued to talk as they made their way down to the hospital.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here we are, Ponyville market," Spike announced.

"Wow, this is quite a nice little place. It's beautiful in the sense that it doesn't go over the top with anything fancy."

"Well, Ponyville ain't exactly the kind of place where all the fancy ponies live."

"Why do you keep referring to the residents here as just ponies. Are there no other species among you?"

"What d'you mean?"

"Are there no gryphons living here?"

"Well, not that I know of. They live in the Gryphon Kingdoms."

"That must be where the king was from originally."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. So, where do they sell the fruit?"

Spike gestured over a stand that sold both fruits and vegetables.

"Morning, Carrot Top."

"Ah, good morning Spike. Here to pick up a few things for the princess?"

"Nope, my friend here would like to see if you have what he wants."

"And what would that be?" Carrot Top asked as she turned to Clever.

"Yes, you wouldn't happen to have any kiwis in stock?"

"Kiwis? I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what they are."

"Oh, well, that's no problem."

"I'm sorry, I can see if I can get some for you if you want?"

"No, that's quite alright. You needn't trouble yourself."

"Okay, well, come back if you need anything else."

Spike and Clever walked away from Carrot Top's stand.

"So, what are kiwis anyway? Spike asked.

"They are a delicious type of fruit. Truly, the food of the ancestors," Clever said, with a slight twinkle in his eye. "Obviously you can't get them here."

"Well, you might be able to. I know somepony who might be able to get you these 'kiwis'."

Clever gave Spike a serious look.

"Take me to them."

Spike guided Clever to Sugarcube Corner. Clever took a look at the oddly, but appropriately designed building. He couldn't help but wonder if that was actually made out of real gingerbread.

"Haha, Steel would love the design of this place," Clever thought.

"This...is Sugarcube Corner."

"Isn't this where Pinkie Pie lives?"

"Yep."

"Also, if I may, that house isn't actually made out of gingerbread, is it?"

"Nopony knows."

"But, if it was, that would be impossible. It would just crumble as soon it started raining."

"Huh, I guess you're right."

Spike and Clever walked through the doors, only to be greeted with extreme enthusiasm from both Pinkie Pie and Jay.

"Well, it's nice to see that you're as lively as ever, Jay," Clever observed.

"You bet, and the best part is I didn't get a single hour of sleep last night."

"Are you being serious?"

"Yeah! I wanted to stay up all night! It was awesome!"

"So, what have you two been doing all this time?"

"Coming up with new cupcake recipe's!"

"And what did you come up with?"

"Absolutely nothing!"

"Of course."

At this moment, Pinkie Pie jumped in.

"I get the feeling that you're here for something," she said.

"Yes, we just came from the market, looking for kiwis."

"Kiwi's? You mean something like this?"

Pinkie Pie reached and grabbed a kiwi from seemingly nowhere.

"Where did you-? How the-? What?"

"Isn't she great, Clever!" Jay said.

Clever stood there with the kiwi levitated in a magical aura, confused about what had just happened.

"Well, that's Pinkie Pie for ya. The stuff she does hardly makes any sense," Spike said, noticing Clever's confusion.

"I just- Where did she even get this from?"

"My advice to you, Clever, don't question what she does. Just go along with it and you'll be fine."

"I think that may be best."

"Anyway, we'd best get back to the library, now that you have what we came for."

"Aw, you're leaving already?" Jay complained. "Can't you stay a little longer?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Clever replied. "Is there anything that needs doing at the moment, Spike?"

"I don't think so. We could hang out here a little longer if you want."

"In that case, I guess we'll stay here for a little while longer."

Pinkie and Jay let out a simultaneous 'woo-hoo' and started showering their guests with all sorts of pastry's.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, over at the Canterlot Royal Palace, Twilight was informing her teacher, and fellow princess, Celestia, about the four new arrivals in Ponyville.

"So, these four are from Inter Terra?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, precisely," Twilight responded.

"Interesting. Did they tell you why they left their home country?"

"From what I recall, they said something about the king being a tyrant. They also said that life there was generally unpleasant."

"I see. If it's the king I'm thinking of, he won't take kindly to those four leaving the country."

"So, what should we do about them for now, Princess?"

"They are free to stay, as long as they do not cause any trouble."

"Okay, I understand. And Princess?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

"What is Inter Terra? None of the history books I've read seem to mention it."

"Inter Terra isn't exactly the kind of place you want to find yourself in. It's dark, violent, and dangerous overall. I make the journey there every so often to renew a peace treaty that we have with the country."

"What are the peace treaties for?"

"Inter Terra is situated between us and the Gryphon Kingdoms. That means every time we export and import items, it goes past Inter Terra. What do you suppose would happen if the peace treaty didn't exist?"

"The Gryphon Kingdoms and Equestria would decline in terms of economy."

"Precisely. Inter Terra has already done that to us once, I'm not going to allow it to happen again."

"So, what does Inter Terra get out of this peace treaty?"

"We allow them to take some of our exports and imports, but since they are an independent country, that rarely happens."

"But, if there king is a tyrant, why are you letting him get away with it?"

"Twilight, it's not that simple. Inter Terra has always been an extremely cautious country, they have never taken kindly to outsiders. I already risk a lot by going into there and renewing the peace treaty. Inter Terra may be considerably smaller than Equestria, but our army would be no match for theirs. When it comes to war, numbers alone are nothing compared to skill. And Inter Terra has always had a ruthless, but extremely effective, army training program. To go to war with Inter Terra would be an extremely bad idea. The Gryphon Kingdom learned that the hard way."

"Why did the gryphons go to war with them?"

"Back when Inter Terra was just getting started, the Gryphon Kingdoms weren't too happy to have gryphons move to another country. They decided to try and take their citizens back by force. This inevitably caused a war between the two countries, with Inter Terra coming out on top. The war had only lasted a few months before the gryphons surrendered. Luna and I had no intention of making the same mistake, so we just let them be. When they started attacking our exports, I had to make a stand. I journeyed to Inter Terra and formed a peace treaty with them."

"Then why isn't this in the history books?"

"The king of Inter Terra personally requested to be kept out of the history books. He didn't want any attention being drawn to his country. He and his subjects preferred to be left alone. Inter Terrians like to keep to themselves, which is why they hate outsiders."

"Who was king when Inter Terra was in its early days?"

"During the war with the Gryphon Kingdoms, it was Lord Plume. The king I formed the peace treaty with was Lord Talon, which was his grandson."

"What about the current king?"

"To be honest, I am unsure whether the king I renewed the peace treaty with is still in power. He was Lord Talon's youngest son, although that could have changed when I wasn't looking. Did the arrivals say who their king was?"

"Unfortunately, no. But wait, why did Lord Talon's youngest son come to be king? Why not his oldest child?"

Celestia hesitated for a moment. She then began to speak in a more serious and dark tone of voice.

"There were rumours surrounding his rise to power."

"What were they?"

"When Lord Talon passed away, it was his eldest daughter, Lady Cloud, that was set to become the next queen. But, when I went to renew the peace treaty a few years ago, I was greeted by his youngest son, Lord Qwee Qwee,"

"Lord Qwee Qwee?"

Twilight was trying desperately not to laugh.

"This is no laughing matter, Twilight. This was one of the worst things that could have possibly happened."

Twilight regained her composure, and perked up to listen.

"Lord Qwee Qwee was the runt of the litter, as I understand. He was always being pushed around as a child. The only gryphon who ever comforted him was Lady Cloud."

"So, what happened?"

"After I had finished renewing the treaty, Lord Qwee Qwee permitted me to take a few supplies back to Equestria, as a sign of good faith. As I walked through the noble section of the country, I started hearing little bits and pieces surrounding the king's rise to power."

"What did you hear?"

"I had heard that before Lady Cloud's coronation, she was murdered. The killer was never found. Then royal family members were getting killed one by one until only Lord Qwee Qwee was left. Obviously, he was made king. After his coronation, he executed anypony who had made fun of him as a child. Anypony who crossed him was executed. Anypony who second guessed his rule was executed. He didn't care for his subjects. I had heard that criminals were running free throughout the country, and no attempt was being made to catch them. The guards there were all corrupt, they abused their power countless times. But, Lord Qwee Qwee didn't care. He only cared about himself"

"That's horrible. No, that's beyond horrible. That's just pure evil."

"Keep in mind, Twilight, that these are just rumours. That does not mean to say it actually happened."

"I understand, Princess."

"Very good. Now, head back to Ponyville and inform our guests that they are free to stay."

"Yes, of course."

As Twilight walked out of Canterlot Palace, she couldn't help but think about the story she had been told. It unsettled her, to say the least.

"To think that a country could have a ruler so cruel and malicious as to kill his own family members, and then not care about anything to do with his subjects. No, I can't keep thinking about that. Those are just rumours, remember? That means that it could all be one big lie. Yeah, that's it, it's not true. It can't be..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in Canterlot Palace, Princess Celestia was thinking about what she had told Twilight, as she was on the balcony that gave her a view of Ponyville. She knew that Twilight would want to do something, had she been told that the events surrounding Lord Qwee Qwee's rise to power were fact and not rumours. Princess Celestia already knew what Lord Qwee Qwee had done to become king. Princess Luna, Celestia's sister, then walked in on her.

"Sister, I passed Twilight Sparkle a moment ago, I gather she was up here speaking with you?"

"Yes, she was."

"I sense that something is the matter."

"It's Inter Terra, Luna."

"Do you mean the country which is between us and the gryphons?"

"Yes."

"What about it?"

"Do you know who their current ruler is?"

"It is Lady Cloud, is it not?"

"No, it is Lord Qwee Qwee."

"But, from what I've heard, it would be a disaster to put him on the throne."

"That is the problem, he is the king, and I fear we may be hearing from him soon."

"Why? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. Four subjects of his have arrived here in Equestria. I'm sure you know how Lord Qwee Qwee feels about outsiders and refugees."

Luna walked up beside Celestia on the balcony.

"This bodes ill for us all, Celestia."