The Purloined Pony

by Chris

Page 23

Twilight opens the book as you glance nervously around the room, alert for any more boggies coming in to try... something. Actually, what could they really do to you or Twilight? They’re only a few inches tall, after all.

Then you remember some of the bedtime stories your mother used to tell you about goblins and hobs, and other tiny evil creatures. Hair standing on end, you go back to searching the room.

Twilight, meanwhile, is paging through the book, clearly looking for a passage that might be relevant to your present predicament. After a few minutes, she loudly cries, “Ah-HA!” and begins to read aloud:

“Among the boggies, each clan has a ruler. This ruler they name the Ceanntighern, their head-lord. The Ceanntighern rules by right of wits and knowledge, and any boggie of the clan may challenge for the title at any time.

“Only the Ceanntighern may lead a clan in a raid. Usually these raids are short, lasting a week or less. During the raids, boggies will typically ransack crops, as their hunger is nigh-insatiable despite their small size. They will also sometimes kidnap young foals, taking them back to their mountain lairs to perform menial labor for the rest of their lives.

“During raids, the Ceanntighern will establish a base near to town, typically in an abandoned cave. Great care should be taken when approaching, as the boggies will invariably lay down many traps to catch unwary intruders.

“The fastest way to end a raid is to embarrass or trick the Ceanntighern. Being made to look foolish in front of his followers will always result in challenges for the title, and the resulting confusion and disunity will force the boggies to retreat back to their mountain homes.”

“That’s it!” cries Twilight, jumping up and down with excitement. “All we need to do is find the cave where the boggies are camped, and find some way to trick their leader!”

You shake your head. “But what about all the traps? We’ll need to be careful. Maybe we should go get the other ponies.”

Twilight shakes her head right back at you. “We don’t want to scare off the boggies. If we get a whole herd of us together, they might just flee with Applebloom. No, I think it’s better if we go alone. Besides,” she adds, blushing slightly, “On the off-chance that this plan doesn’t work quite as well as I think it will, Applejack and the others will still be able to come save us. I read in a book that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Although you still aren’t convinced this is the best way to stage a rescue, you can see the logic behind Twilight’s argument. Together, the two of you set off for the Everfree Forest.

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