From the Ashes

by Benjamin Lawe

Chapter 8: Chasing Tales

From the Ashes

Chapter 8: Chasing Tales

“Please Sheriff!” the yellow earth pony pleaded, “You can’t do this! We have to do something!”

"Stop it Braeburn!" the brown-coated lawpony snapped back, "You're being reckless-"

“Reckless?!” Braeburn yelled, “You’re asking me to give up on, and betray my cousin and her friends and you call it reckless?! Who’s side are you on Silverstar?!”

“His side!” Sheriff Silverstar cried, “My responsibility is to keep this town, and all the ponies in it safe. And the only way to do that is to let him have his way!”

“But we can’t let that happen!” Braeburn retorted, “It’ll only get worse for everypony unless we do something! Even if I have to do it on my own, I won’t let-”

“Stop it!” Silverstar cut in, indicating his badge, “This ain’t some kid’s game! This badge makes me responsible for the protection of everypony in Appleoosa. It ain’t like I want to turn on those girls who helped us, but if it’s to save my town, I’d do it in a heartbeat!”

“You’re the one who doesn’t get it!” the brave earth pony responded, “He’s counting on you to do nothing! But if you got everypony to come together and stand up to him, we could change things!”

“No we couldn’t!” the sheriff retorted, “He’s too powerful. And when we failed, the whole town would suffer for it! I can’t let that happen...

“I know you want what is best for everypony, but I know what’s best.” he continued strictly, “There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and endangering the townsfolk is nothing short of stupid.”

Braeburn was furious, but he couldn’t deny that Silverstar was trying to do the right thing. He held his tongue; this wasn’t easy for anypony...

Sheriff Silverstar exhaled deeply. “This arrangement is hard on all of us. You especially.” he said sympathetically, “But you have to understand what’s at risk if we don’t cooperate, and understand what’ll happen should things turn sour.”

“It ain’t right.” Braeburn protested, “No matter what you say, or what’s at stake, I’m gonna go warn my cuz.”

Silverstar discarded is broad-brim hat in resignation. “I can’t stop you.” he sighed, “Heck, I don’t even want to stop you. But be warned kid, if your little plan goes south, you’re on yer own. I won’t come to save you, nor will I let anypony else. I have a duty to ‘em and I won’t give it up on account of you or your cousin.”

Braeburn left the room with purpose, throwing Silverstar one last defiant glare before he disappeared outside in the early Appleoosan morning.

Silverstar just stayed behind and leaned back on his chair with a pained sigh. “Good luck kid.” he said after him, “You’re gonna need it...”

* * * *

It was also early morning in Canterlot, and the girls had gathered at the day palace like Luna had asked. She sat content, with Caliber to her left while the girls before her chatted idly as they awaited the remaining ponies of their group to show up.

Applejack was the last of the girls to arrive, and she quickly noticed they were down one stallion. “Where’s Marco?” she asked her friends, “He did decide to go through with his part, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, he’s going to come, I think he’s just running late.” she hushed her voice, “He never came back to the library last night. I think he stayed at Zecora’s hut.”

“Zecora’s?” Rarity asked, concerned, “I wasn’t aware those two were back on speaking terms...”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Well, there isn’t anything like a sleep-over to get ponies back on each other’s good sides!” she exclaimed, “Good for them!”

“Ahh... I don’t think that’s why Marco visited.” Applejack interjected, “I reckon they probably got to workin’ on a whole bunch more of those nasty potions of his.”

“Oh.” Rarity said flatly, “Well, doesn’t that make a whole lot more sense?”

“Relax Rarity, this isn’t like the last time.” Twilight said reassuringly, able to pick up on her friend’s doubt, “The princess gave him permission after all.

“Oh, and no offense to you Dash, but you two are chasing down a pegasus on the most wanted list.” she continued, lowering her voice, “I’d feel more comfortable knowing somepony had a way to defend themselves should things go bad.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow to that, but not for the reason Twilight thought. “I get what you’re saying Twi; the prophecy wasn’t the most flattering thing after all...” she said seriously, “But aren’t you the ones who are more likely to be in danger?

“I mean...” she added, flustered, “What if Luna was wrong and Terra is already at Appleoosa? What if... what if-”

Applejack snorted no so subtly. “Well, if I didn’t know any better...” she teased, “I’d say you were worried ‘bout us R.D!”

“I am not!” Rainbow Dash said defensively, “I just that... uh, I won’t be there if you need me!”

“Don’t flatter yourself there Rainbow!” Applejack joked, “I’ll be there to make sure everything goes smooth, you just gotta focus on your end.”

“I am focused on ‘my end’!” Rainbow Dash retorted, “But while me an’ Marco might be able to handle it if things go bad, what’re you guys gonna do if you get in trouble?”

“We can handle ourselves.” Applejack insisted, “Even if you ain’t with us, we’ve made our way through messes like this before. Like with Nightmare-”

“Quiet.” Luna said suddenly, rising from her position.

Applejack stopped immediately. “Oh no, I’m so sorry princess...” she said ashamed, “I didn’t mean to offend-”

“It’s not that.” Luna cut in smoothly, “But you shouldn’t mention that topic at the moment. He’s here.”

As if on queue, the doors to the day palace creaked open and Marco strode through with some familiar heavy saddlebags secured to his back. “Sorry I kept you.” he called out as he continued on towards them, “The boys outside insisted on verifying the contents of my bags...”

Marco altered his posture as if to indicate the bulging baggage he was carrying. “It took a while.” he smirked deviously, “There was a lot to get through.”

Fluttershy looked at the princess with a confused look on her face, unable to understand how the princess could tell he was about to come in. “How did you-” she made to ask...

“Shh...” Luna whispered, smiling ever so subtly, “It’s a secret.”

Marco completed the group of ponies by joining Pinkie Pie who was taking it was taking it easy next to Fluttershy and Twilight. “Whoa! Those look heavy!” the pink pony commented, “What cha got in there huh?”

“I think those are the necessary measures the princess was talking about.” Twilight answered, looking sideways to Luna as she did so, “But Pinkie’s right, those look heavy...”

“Yeah, well... I’m not about to take any chances.” Marco replied as he placed the saddlebags on the floor and sat down, “I looked up everything I could find on Tager, and I found sources claiming her to be a villain, but others that said she was a heroine. Some say she’s battled dragons, while others say she’s attacked children. The only thing I really learned was that I should be ready for anything.”

“You mean ‘we’ right?” Rainbow Dash called, swatting Marco in the shoulder playfully, “Because I don’t think you could even handle Gilda without me!”

“Of course.” he replied with a reassuring smile, “I’m counting on you.”

“Well, at least somepony’s taking this seriously.” Rainbow Dash said, while not so subtly looking to Applejack, “And you say I’m the one who needs to stay focused...”

“Now, hold on there Rainbow.” the farm pony interjected, “He ain’t the only one who came prepared...”

“You’re not what I’m worri- urm, ‘unsure’ of.” Dash managed, trying to cover up her concern as she indicated Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Rarity standing idle and unequipped behind her, “No offense guys, but what’re you gonna do if things get ugly?”

“Actually Dash, some of us have been working rather hard in that department.” Twilight said unexpectedly, “I for one revised some powerful magic, and even Rarity came over to get a handle on a some spells.”

“Rarity?” Fluttershy asked as she looked over to the well-groomed unicorn, “But I thought you said you weren’t very good with magic?”

“Oh, well... I’m not.” Rarity admitted, “But Twilight here showed me something she thought I could manage, and it went rather well if I do say so myself.”

“Rather well?” Twilight questioned, “It went great! Even I could barely get one to work properly, but you could do a whole bunch in only a few seconds!”

“Wow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, excited despite her lack of understanding, “But I thought you were the best at magic Twilight?”

“Oh, she still is.” Rarity said modestly, “I just found something I was good at.”

“Come on already...” Applejack said impatiently, “What’s this something?”

Rarity paused, unsure of how to word it. “Hrm, how should I explain?” she begun, “do you remember those little pony figurines I sometimes make from branches and the like?”

Applejack tapped her muzzle with her hoof as she thought back to that one night she had spent with Rarity at Twilight’s library during the stormy weather. At a few times during the evening, Rarity had used her unicorn magic to fashion wood and leaves into intricate little pony figures...

“Oh yeah, I do remember those little things.” Applejack said, having recalled the events, “What about ‘em?”

Twilight stepped forwards to do the honours. “Well, the skills involved in making those are central to a certain kind of spell I was looking in to.” she explained, “It’s called ‘totem magic’. It’s very tricky and very unique, but it will come in handy if we get in any kind of trouble.”

“What’s a totem?” Fluttershy asked, speaking up, “What does it do? How does it work?”

“Erm, what Rarity has to do is create a figurine like she normally does, but make it look like one of us instead.” Twilight replied, “The more detail she puts into them, the more effective the resulting totem will be.”

“Heh, well I don’t think detail is gonna be a problem...” Applejack teased, “But what does a totem do?”

Twilight exchanged a look with the princess. She could tell Luna knew. “The totem serves as a substitute if we get hurt.” she said simply, “No matter what happens, as long as Rarity makes a figure of you and puts magic in it, the totem will take the hit.”

Marco blinked back the ideas forming in his head. The image of Rarity conjuring such powerful magic didn’t seem natural, there had to be a catch involved. “It sounds like you’re talking about some kind of voodoo magic or something...” he said aloud, “Besides, it seems too good to be true.”

Luna nodded silently. “Indeed, that is a magic both ancient and powerful that you have discovered Twilight.” the princess said, shedding some light on the topic, “As you no doubt know, an ironclad rule of magic is that as power increases, so too does the risk. The art of totems is no exception. I would advise against attempting this without proper care. It can easily backfire.”

“How?” Rainbow Dash asked, “It sounded pretty foolproof to me.”

The princess looked down indifferently to Twilight and Rarity. “First of all, an incomplete totem will not work.” the princess warned, “If somepony takes stock in being safeguarded by something without knowing that it could fail them can get hurt unnecessarily. Secondly, and most importantly, if the connection between the totem and the subject is simple enough for your friend to make, then it has to be universal. In other words, while an attack on the user would be redirected to the totem, an attack on a totem will also be redirected to the user.”

“It’s too risky.” Caliber added, breaking his silence, “No matter how dumb the enemy might be, they would eventually figure out all they had to do was attack the totems.”

Twilight shook her head, she obviously did not agree. “Rarity and I have already discussed it, risks and all, and we have decided after testing it that we can offset the negatives.” she countered civilly, “If done properly, we can make sure it can’t be used against us.”

“That’s a bold statement.” Caliber commented, “Care to back it up?”

Twilight stood beside Rarity as if her dependability was under scrutiny. “First of all, for a totem to be used against a subject, it must obviously already exist.” she explained, “Normally, a totem would be brought with you and used when it was needed, but Rarity can make a high quality figurine almost instantly from most materials.”

Twilight nudged her friend. “Rarity is very good at making effective totems.” she concluded, “So far, she can make six of them in about a second, and they all work. If she doesn’t make them until the instant they are required, they can only work defensively.”

Marco pondered what Twilight had just said. “Not that I don’t have faith in you or anything Rarity, but something like that would require constant concentration.” he said carefully, “To figure out who’s in danger and make a statue of them before they can get hurt, all the while ensuring the quality is good enough... it can’t be an easy thing to do. Can you handle it?”

“I think we are all forgetting that this is being done just in case something bad happens.” Rarity replied, “And even if it does, I hardly expect that this kind of magic will become necessary. But to answer your question, yes I do believe I am capable of doing what Twilight explained. And should it become necessary, I will not hesitate to use my skills to their fullest.”

“Well, if it goes as you have described, I see no problem with it.” Caliber said, abandoning his objections, “It’s a unique way of using the magic, but it does indeed play to your advantages.”

The guard captain quickly noticed that Luna was silent, as if she were contemplating something. “What’s the matter princess?” he asked her, “Do you still have doubts?”

“Some.” Luna replied honestly, “But I find myself more interested in your conviction Miss Rarity. And while I would be lying if I said the concept of depending on totem magic did not irk me, I am more than comfortable putting my faith in you after seeing your temerity for myself.

“In any case, you make a valid point.” she continued, breaking her authoritative air, “These are only precautions. Even if Terra knows enough to go after Scryer or Tager, he has been removed from the world for more than a thousand years and he used the majority of his power to seal my sister. I am sceptical as to weather he has the capacity to be an active threat at this stage.”

“That’s a relief...” Fluttershy breathed, happy that all the dangerous things everypony was discussing were not necessary, “You girls had me worried.”

“Sure is!” Pinkie Pie agreed, “Totems and Tager and Terra sound totally terra-fying!”

I hear ya...” Applejack added, “I sure-as-sugar wasn’t looking forward to turning these hooves against nopony...”

“It certainly is comforting to think I needn't bother with this strange magic...” Rarity chipped in, “It’s terribly unladylike to get involved in this... ah, as Marco puts it, ‘voodoo’ business...”

The chatter continued as the girls begun to relax, feeling as though they had the wrong expectations of what was to come. But while they were feeling less on edge after what the princess had said, Luna herself hadn’t eased up.

“Hold on.” she said gravely, stopping everypony, “While I said the odds of winding up in a confrontation with Terra are slim, I should tell you what I know about his ‘ability’ so that you can respond properly if the worst case does arise and you do find yourself against him...”

“Ability?” Twilight questioned, “What do you mean?”

“How do you think he escaped the ceremony?” Luna asked her, “Haven’t you wondered what that dark power was that he used to teleport away and seal my sister?”

Marco’s ears perked at that last part. True, he had witnessed for himself the force Luna spoke of, but he wasn’t there to see it used against Celestia. “Yeah, that was weird...” he commented, “He was not a unicorn. How could he use magic?”

“That’s easy.” Luna replied, “He did not.”

“I don’t understand...” Twilight said confused, “What could it be if not magic?”

Luna took a deep breath and let her mind wander. “Well, first of all...” she begun, “You are all aware that my sister and I have control over the sun and moon respectively?”

Everypony unanimously nodded. “Well the same goes for Terra.” Luna clarified, “He has control over the earth. Yet while you may perceive me and my sister to have a significant impact on Equestria by controlling the rise and fall of the sun and moon, you must have trouble imagining what form the control over the earth takes...

“It is this control that he used to seal my sister and disappear himself.” she continued, “He commands the laws of his creation, and I have come to learn of the ways in which it is manifested.

“For you see, and as you no doubt have learned, Terra and I battled in the past when I was taken by the evil that was Nightmare Moon.” the princess said directly, “My actions may not have been my own, but the memory remains. Our match brought us both to the brink, and in our stalemate, the core facets of his power were revealed to me. I may very well be your best resource in informing you of his abilities.

Twilight made sure the ponies around her were giving Luna their attention. This could prove to be vital information, she for one would not waste a chance to gain some insight.

“The manipulation of gravity is one such ability.” Luna said informatively, “When we battled, whatever barriers I raised could not defend against his blows when he imbued them with what seemed like infinite weight. Using the same ability, he can control the force behind objects. I have seen boulders float as if they weighed nothing, and feathers split the earth.

“Time is another of his domains.” she continued, “Of all his abilities, this one can be the most devastating, but it’s weaknesses were made known to me in our conflict. He cannot stop time, nor manipulate time in a universal sense. He may use it to slow or speed up the relative time of himself or a single target, but he can only do it for a short while, and cannot do it in quick succession.

“His final power is the one he used to seal my sister and escape the ceremony.” Luna concluded, “He can contort space, slipping through the seamless and bending it to his will. It essentially allows him to teleport and evade, but it is a significantly slower process than doing the same with magic. There are facets of this that I have not worked out however. It seems that he can reposition like objects, and it also seems he can do so without limit, unlike the magical alternative.

Luna let her voice trail off as what she had said sunk in. It was a lot to take in, and none of it was good news.

“How in the hay are we supposed to compete with any of that?” Applejack blurted, “Seven ponies up against something like that-”

“The last thing I wish to do is put you and your friends in danger.” Luna cut in, “And were it the case that Terra could use these powers against you, I would not be asking you to do this.”

“What do you mean princess?” Twilight asked, “He can’t use his own power?”

Luna shook her head. “It is not that he cannot, but that he will not.” she corrected, “If Terra was ever to summon his full power, I would be able to sense it right away and find out where he was. He knows this, and he most likely knows he cannot afford for me to find him or where he’s hidden my sister.”

The princess levelled her gaze. “Now, if you get into a fight with him and he is forced to use his earth powers, I promise to come to your aid.” her voice became dead-serious, “I swear to you that no matter what the situation, I will immediately intervene should that possibility arise.”

Caliber strode in next to the girls, carrying a pair of strange objects. “That’s what these are for.” he said, passing Twilight one of them, “These will allow the princess to teleport to you no matter where you go.”

The guard captain gave the other one to Marco while Twilight inspected the odd accessory. Whatever it was, the thing was beautiful. It was a pendant of some kind, and it had a glittering amethyst gem set into a deep obsidian housing. The way the colours went together made Twilight feel like the necklace was an extension of Luna’s being. It was faint, but she could feel strong magic emanating from it.

In the background, Marco passed his pendant over to Rainbow Dash since he was not particularly in the mood to accessorise. They both seemed ignorant of the energy coming from the objects that Twilight could feel.

Caliber made his way over to Twilight, who was still staring intently at the necklace. “As you can probably tell, these are not your regular pendants...” he said to her, “Princess Luna spent a fair deal of the night forging these things with nothing but her magic. And they really are something special.”

“I’m sure you know that teleportation is a tricky business.” Luna added, explaining for herself, “The same rules apply for alicorns and unicorns when it comes to the act of magical transportation. One can only teleport to a place one has been previously or can physically see.

“But these things that the captain has given you are, as he said, something special.” she continued, “Each one of them is essentially a small piece of me and my magic. As long as you wear them, no matter where you go I will be able to teleport to you, because on some level, I am there with you.”

Rainbow Dash looped the pendant Marco had passed to her around her neck. She liked the colour, but there would be no way she would ever admit it to her friends. “Speaking of teleporting wherever we go, shouldn’t you guys be on your way to the station?” she asked Applejack and the others, “Doesn’t your train leave soonish?”

“Oh no! I totally forgot about the train!” Pinkie Pie gasped, “We’re not gonna be late are we?”

“Relax. There is still plenty of time for you to get there.” Luna said gently, “But now would probably be as good a time as any to depart. Though do not rush, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to express them-”

Luna was interrupted by a subtle cough from Caliber, as if was trying to remind her of something. It only took a few seconds before that something clicked inside her head.

“Oh, and girls... I have re-thought sending the four of you on your own to Appleoosa.” Luna mentioned, “The captain has convinced me to send two of his most trusted with you since I’ve ordered him to stay here.”

Luna nodded to Caliber, who responded with a little nod of his own. “Come in boys!” he called out.

At the announcement, the double doors to the study flew open to reveal two pegasus guards, clad in pale silver armour. One was young, obviously a rookie, while the other was older and seasoned. In their matching armour they looked similar, but in reality they couldn’t be more different...

“Boys?” the older one remarked, “I suppose I should choose to take that as a compliment.” he bowed humbly for the small group before him, “I am Sergeant Ceasler of the Equestrian night guard. At your service.”

“And uh, I’m his partner Slayde...” the younger one stuttered shyly, uncomfortable around the girls, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Caliber laid a hoof on each guard’s shoulder, “These two will accompany you to Appleoosa and help you complete your mission.” he said, continuing their introduction, “They’re a real pain in the flank, but I couldn’t think of anypony else I’d rather put my trust in.”

“Gee, thanks captain.” Slayde remarked, “That’s sweet. Well, half of it at least.”

“Try and take this seriously please.” Ceasler said disapprovingly, “As I understand it, our task is of utmost importance.”

Luna stood up to the pair. “Indeed it is.” she said, hijacking the discussion, “But it is good to stay relaxed, for now at least. The ride to Appleoosa is a long one, and I would prefer for you not to be on edge all the way there.”

“On that note, it is about time you lot were on your way.” Caliber said, pulling an envelop from a fold in his royal armour, “I’ve got your tickets here, and the whole rear carriage has been reserved for you.”

Caliber passed the girls a ticket each, then Slayde and Ceasler approached to collect theirs as well. “You two should leave your armour here.” he told the pair, “When you get to the train station, you are not night guards, nor do you have any affiliation with Canterlot or its princess. Understand?”

“Roger that.” Ceasler responded as he unclasped his breastplate and let it fall to the floor.

“Got it...” Slayde replied casually, taking off his golden helmet to reveal that the mane extending from its top was not his own. The silver mane on the helmet remained as he set it aside, and let his natural orange mane breathe.

When Ceasler removed his helmet however, the mane stayed behind. The silver hairs on his head obviously belonging to him. As his headgear came free, the girls could clearly see a wide hole on the top that allowed his real mane flow out and take on the same appearance as Slayde’s fake mane.

“Alright then...” Luna said, “Your train leaves in two hours. You’ve been to Appleoosa before, but I’ll remind you that it takes a full day to get there.

“You will arrive at around this time tomorrow, and your carriage has everything you’d need for the big trip.” she continued, “If there are no more questions, then I’d like to ask sergeant Ceasler and Slayde to lead the way.”

There was nothing but silence. Marco could tell that they were ready to depart.
“Stay safe.” Marco commented, knowing the girls would soon be off. He subtly looked over to the two night guards, “Don’t let anything happen to ‘em you two.”

Ceasler and Slayde returned Marco’s gaze. The old sergeant looked back vacantly while the young pegasus offered a weak smile. And while Marco might not have recognised them, the two night guards sure as hell remembered the pony who had assaulted them that night. They had been debriefed thoroughly on the incident, and swore to keep whatever interaction they had had with Marco tame, but they were far from comfortable in his presence.

Marco considered for a moment if he had met the two before, but his thoughts were promptly interrupted as a certain shy pegasus crept up on him. “Oh Marco...” Fluttershy squeaked, “Please be careful-”

“Hey, that’s my line.” he replied, cutting her off, “I’ve got the great Rainbow Dash looking out for me.”

“Ha, that’s right! The great, uh... me!” Dash called pointing a hoof to her chest proudly, “You guys don’t have anything to worry about!”

Applejack looked flatly at her pegasus friend as she revelled in her praise. “I can see you’re gonna have yer hooves full with this one.” she said softly to Marco, “I wish ya luck...”

Marco chuckled lightly. “Yeah, thanks for that.” he said back, “And I wish you luck too. Take care of the others alright?”

“Just try and stop me.” she said with resolve, “We’ll see ya’ll back here, and I’ll have brought this Scryer fella back with me!”

And with that, the rest of the girls bid farewell to Luna, Caliber, Rainbow Dash and Marco before they left on their way to the train station with their tickets in hoof and pegasus guards close behind. They were told to stay safe, trust their escorts and keep an eye out for Philomena whenever she would come to deliver and receive messages.

This left Marco and Rainbow Dash alone with Luna and the guard captain. But they were quickly joined by Paragonia, who swooped in low from some unseen entrance and perched himself upon the princess’ back.

“Ah, you have returned my pet.” Luna said as she nuzzled the creature and removed from his grasp what looked like a letter, “Which means it is time for us to be off.”

“Where are you going?” Rainbow Dash asked, “To see the Neptune guy?”

“No, not yet.” she answered while reading the note that her pet had delivered, “And when I say ‘us’, I mean all of us. Excluding the captain of course...”

“Does that mean-” Marco made to ask, but the princess saw it coming...

“Indeed it does.” she said, discarding the letter, “The griffin known as Gilda has been located, and Paragonia has come bearing the name of the town in which she resides.”

“Can you teleport them there?” Caliber asked, “Do you know the place?”

“I do, but I have never been there.” Luna replied in deep thought, “Though, I do know of a place nearby. I can get us in rather close.”

“Wait...” Rainbow Dash stammered, “You’re teleporting us? While A.J. and the others have to take a train?”

“Like I mentioned before, I can only teleport to places I have previously been.” Luna explained, “The exception being the places you ponies go with my pendants around your necks.

“I was sealed away for one thousand years remember?” she continued, “The last time I roamed Equestria, it was a different place. Appleoosa for example, did not exist, nor was the land on which it is built part of pony land. It was uncharted, and nopony had yet ventured there.”

“Which means the fastest way for them to get there is by train.” Caliber said for her, “The princess couldn’t help them.”

“But for us it’s different?” Marco asked, “You have been to, and can teleport us to where the griffin is?”

“Near enough.” Luna replied, “Now, if you would be so kind, could you two please move in closer? It is harder for me to teleport us as you are.”

"You're doing it now?" Rainbow Dash asked in her surprise, "What's the rush? Can't you at least tell us where we are going?"

“There will be time to talk after we arrive.” she said as she approached Marco and Rainbow Dash, “You can ask all the questions you want while you recover...”

Caliber smiled knowingly as Luna came in close to the two ponies in front of her. Without a doubt, ‘recover’ was the right word for it.

“Now, if you would be so kind...” she continued, “Please come together so I do this as easily as possible.”

Rainbow Dash silently obeyed, closing the distance between herself and Marco. Paragonia hugged his master tightly as she let her horn light up and her powerful alicorn magic flow.

As the white magic enveloped him, Marco could see Caliber looking through the sparkling veil. “Happy travels you two.” he said with a smile, “Try and hold onto your breakfast!”

The brilliant magic reached its climax and the whole chamber was bathed in white light. When it faded, Caliber was the only one left in the room. Alone in the empty chambers, he smiled lightly to himself. Partly because he knew what awaited those two ponies, but mostly because he was glad that for once it wasn’t him getting teleported.

* * * *

“Urrgh... I think I’m gonna hurl.” Rainbow Dash groaned, staggering as she tried to reattain her bearings, “Who knew teleporting could make you so queasy?”

“Tell me about it.’ Marco replied in agreement, “It feels like my guts got left behind...”

Luna stood with Paragonia perched on her wing, both of them looking down upon the two grovelling figures before them. “You get used to it.” she said, “But for your first time, you two are taking it quite well.”

Rainbow Dash stood up, having conquered her churning stomach. “Gee, thanks princess...” she remarked, “I’d hate to see what taking it bad is like.”

Marco got up as well, but he looked significantly more ill than Dash. “Where are we?” he asked, “How far from Canterlot have we come?”

“This is as close to Gilda’s location as I could bring you.” Luna answered, “As I said earlier, one can only teleport to places they have been before, but the last time I was here was thousands of years ago.”

The princess indicated the surroundings. “It would be dangerous for me to teleport to an area I haven’t seen in over a millennium, so I picked a spot I knew would not have changed or had any structures built so I could avoid materialising us inside of them.” she explained, “These mountains were inhospitable then, and they are inhospitable now. As for the town in which the griffin ‘Gilda’ was sighted, I know it to be near the outskirts of these valleys, though I cannot discern in which direction it lies...”

Marco took in the surroundings. Everywhere he looked he could see the same thing... claggy, freezing snow and brown, lifeless stone. Truly, inhospitable was the proper description. “You still haven’t told us where we are.” he said as he continued to assess the scenery, “What is this place?”

“I do not know.” Luna replied simply, “Hold on a moment...”

The princess flexed her wing as if to prompt the Quetzalcoatl perched on it to take to the air. “My pet...” she beckoned as Paragonia turned to face his master, “Please circle around this valley and report back to these two should you determine what the direction the nearest town is.”

The winged serpent made an odd sound by way of a reply, sounding like a mix between a low rumbling hiss and a gentle coo. Whatever it was, it was followed by the creature darting of swiftly on a very direct tangent.

Luna watched her pet fly off into the cold wind. “Sorry, where was I?” she said, getting back to Marco’s question, “Oh yes... if this valley has a name, I do not know it. But the town in which your target is based, and the town Paragonia is seeking out is known as Hordimare.”

“Hordimare huh?” Rainbow Dash said as she tapped her muzzle in thought, “Never heard of it...”

“That comes at no surprise.” Marco responded, “It’s a tiny town at the edge of nowhere, and it’s completely isolated and self-sufficient. It doesn’t import or export anything to or from the rest of Equestria.”

“Wow.” Rainbow Dash remarked, “How come you know so much about it then?”

“I read about it once.” Marco answered, “I took interest because of one the town’s fascinating social customs.

“You see, the area around Hordimare has numerous naturally occurring ravines and trenches that constantly emit a scalding mist from deep within the earth.” he continued, speaking in the same manner a teacher would, “Consequently, rope-bridges are an integral element of travel. But what’s interesting is the fact that while rope threading has slowly developed over the years from using grass to make them to using fibres, the town of Hordimare is the only place in Equestria that still practices rope construction from mane hair, which is the most ancient form of rope weaving. They say the act of using each-others manes represents teamwork and grants good luck to those who-”

“Okay, okay...” Rainbow Dash interrupted, seeing no end to Marco’s lecture, “We get it. It’s a little town with a lot of ravines and bridges.”

“And somewhere in this ‘little town’ is the griffin we seek.” Luna added, “And from her, we are one step closer to finding the first hero.”

Luna gazed out into the frozen wastes as if she were looking for something. “Now, I must see to certain matters such as preparing the captain for when I leave to visit Neptune.” she said, “But first, allow me to explain how I intend to keep you in contact with whoever is at Canterlot...

“When Paragonia returns to show you the direction of Hordimare, follow him until you can make your own way.” she continued, “At that point, he will begin moving constantly between your position and Canterlot, transmitting any messages given to him. You need not worry about him loosing track of you, for he can sense my magic in the pendant you have.”

Luna looked over the two silent ponies. “The next time we speak face to face, I hope you have a hero with you.” she said earnestly, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you to your travels.”

Marco maintained his silence, and Rainbow Dash looked over to him before addressing the princess. “Urm, no. We’re good. I think...” she spluttered, “I hope it goes well with the Neptune guy!”

The princess nodded comfortably. “As do I.” she replied, her horn starting to glow, “Good luck you two.”

With a blinding flash, princess Luna was gone, teleporting away and leaving Marco and Rainbow Dash alone in the frozen valley.

The two just stared out into the white expanse. Rainbow Dash was a moment from asking Marco what they were going to do next, but Paragonia swooped in low and thrust a feathered wing out, clearly pointing towards the south.

“Looks like we’re headed that way.” Marco said finally, thinking that was the question his companion was about to ask, “Let’s get out of this valley before we freeze to death.”

“What’s with you and the princess?’ Rainbow Dash asked suddenly, shooting right past Marco’s defences, “It was harder to notice back in the city, but when I’m the only other pony between you two, the tension is super hard to bear.

“I like, thought you guys were past that stuff.” she prodded, preparing herself for the big question, “What would happen if you two were alone?”

“Don’t worry Dash.” he said gently, “Nothing is wrong. It’s just... it’s a bit too soon. For both of us. You know, seeing each other so much. It is uncomfortable for me, her too probably... but I can respect the fact that recent events have rushed things. I won’t let my emotions get in the way.”

“Well, maybe you should think of this as an opportunity to smooth things out?” Rainbow Dash suggested, “Maybe those emotions will start going away the more you need to deal with them?”

“Maybe.” Marco acknowledged as the two continued to follow Luna’s pet, “Maybe...”

As they trudged through the snow, Paragonia stayed forwards so as to lead the way, and he was apparently unaffected by the cold air even though he was reasonably high up.

Marco didn’t seem to register the cold much either, and Dash guessed that he wasn’t new to regions like this. He was able to soldier on while she struggled to keep up, her wings quivering and her teeth chattering whenever she wasn’t talking...

Thankfully, she didn’t have to endure it for too much longer. Before either of them knew it, they could see a field of sundered ground not far from their position in the valley, and with a series of rope bridges tying them together, a humble town became visible beyond the hot mist.

As Marco and Rainbow Dash moved together onto one of the rope-bridges, they could see it was indeed weaved together with pony hair...

Rainbow Dash wouldn’t admit that she thought it was gross, but she became slightly more vocal about her reservations concerning its durability as she reached the halfway point. “Are you sure these things are safe?” she asked as calmly as she could, “How strong can hair be anyway?”

“Dunno.” Marco replied with a twinkle in his eye, “But I can think of one way to find out.”

He casually jumped up and down, swaying the rope bridge ever so slightly. Rainbow Dash went rigid as she kept her balance. “If this thing breaks, I’m not gonna catch you.” she warned, “I’m the one with the wings here remember?”

“Noted.” Marco replied, “I don’t feel like testing my luck with ancient technology anyway.”

The two ponies made it across the rope bridge without incident and the rediscovery of solid ground served as a nice welcome to the town of Hordimare. Satisfied, Paragonia let out another one of those unique sounds and flew away, bidding farewell and leaving Marco and Rainbow Dash alone in front of the town.

But then the pair realized that they really were alone. They were technically in the town, yet there was nopony to be seen. The bland, wooden houses were shut up tight, and gentle smoke billowed out of almost every chimney. Compared to the vibrant colours of Ponyville architecture, Hordimare looked bland with its brown on brown theme and thick snow.

And while it was a bit of a culture shock for Rainbow Dash, Marco appreciated the rustic atmosphere. He was also aware of why there was nopony in the streets. “Look at that Dash...” he said, indicating the nearest wooden cottage, “In Ponyville, the day might start when the sun comes up, but out here everypony stays indoors until the chill drops. My guess is that their day won’t start till noon.”

“Brrr... what time is it then?” she asked, “It’s too cold. What are we gonna do anyway? We can’t just knock on pony’s doors and ask ‘em if they’ve seen Gilda!”

“Settle down.” Marco said, halting the questions, “I know a place where we can talk to some ponies and get out of the cold. I just gotta find it is all.”

“A place?’ Dash questioned, “You say that like you’ve been here before.”

“Oh, heavens no.” he replied, “It’s just a hunch. A town like this has gotta have a bar or something...”

“A bar?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Like, what’s that?”

“A bar...” he replied with a raised eyebrow, “A bar’s a bar; I don’t-”

Marco quickly realized that such a thing definitely did not exist in Ponyville, and possibly not in Cloudsdale either. Dash had no reason to know what a bar was.

“How should I explain?” he said aloud, “It’s basically like a cafe or a restaurant, except they mainly serve drinks. Alcohol mostly, which is the stuff that-”

“I know what booze is, thank you very much.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “But a bar is the place you go to get it?”

“Ahh, kind of...” Marco replied, “But it’s more of a place for ponies to um, ‘hang out’ so to speak. You’ll understand when I find one-”

“Is that it?” Rainbow Dash cut in, thrusting her hoof out across Marco’s eyes, “B-a-r. That’s what the sign says...”

“Hrm? Where?” he asked as he followed her gesture, “I don’t... oh my. Yep that’s what we need. Nice find.”

“Yes! Look... smoke!” Dash exclaimed as she saw the chimney belching thick smoke out into the freezing air, “Smoke means fire and fire means warm!”

The pegasus shot off the mark, all to eager to defrost her poor wings, but Marco intervened just before she would have bashed the door down. “Whoa, wait up.” he ordered, stopping her from charging inside, “As you no doubt know, ‘booze’ tends to loosen the lips of otherwise restrained pony-folk, which is what I’m counting on to extract any information there is to be had on Gilda.

“So? What’s your point?” Rainbow Dash cut in, “I’m freezing my feathers off out here!”

“My point...” Marco interrupted, “Is that this is a winter land, so they would rarely get pegasi here since the air’s too cold for flying. They’re probably drunk, and your outspoken as it is. I don’t want things to get complicated.

“Look, you just go to the counter and get a drink or something and I’ll do all the talking.” he continued, “If they rarely get fliers, and there’s a griffin in town, we’ll have no trouble getting info so long as I do the talking.”

Marco handed Rainbow Dash a small pile of bits. “Use this to get something.” he said to her, “I’ll dig up any gossip there is and we’ll be out before you know it.”

While he spoke confidently, Marco was somewhat reserved about relying upon the word of ponies who’s morning routine consisted of getting drunk for breakfast.

He let Rainbow Dash go in ahead of him before he followed. ‘Well it’s like they say...’ he thought, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

Inside, Marco was talking to a few stallions while Rainbow Dash tried to translate the scrawl that made up the confusing menu, looking up indecisively while the bartender continued to gaze down at her impatiently. “Uh, what can I get for fourteen bits?” she asked him, trying to adhere to Marco’s strategy...

“The numbers on the right are the prices.” the stallion replied coldly, “If it’s less than fourteen, you ‘can get’ the corresponding item, which for your information are the words on the left side.”

Rainbow Dash bit her tongue. She knew the bartender was messing with her, but she promised Marco not to make a scene. Her best bet was to exit the frustrating situation by making a decision already. “Fine.” She snapped, slamming her hoof to a random spot on the list, “Gimmie this one.”

The stallion followed her gesture to the item on the menu. “Ah, a brave choice pegasus.” he replied curiously, changing his tune, “That will be eleven bits.”

Dash counted out the money and gave it to him. ‘Brave?’ she thought, ‘Where did that come from?’

At the other side of the bar, Marco had questioned two earth ponies who were way past their limits, and was on a third who seemed to be just as useless.

“A griffin.” he repeated for the hundredth time, talking to the aged pony as if he were just a colt, “Half lion, half eagle...”

“Yep...” the drunk replied obliviously, “Been havin’ trouble with an ice tempest up on the east side o’ town. Bastard went and froze up all of Ol’ Demalno’s brussels...”

“Gilda.” Marco said again impatiently, “Beak, wings, feathers, fur...”

“Ya ever seen an ice tempest kid?” the pony continued, bleary-eyed, “They used to exist all normal-like you see, but nowadays unicorns summon ‘em up just for terrorizin’ us modest pony-folk. They’re these pony-sized elementals that just wanna freeze everything up... and hell, this town’s gotta be only thing around that ain’t frozen...”

Marco shook his head, giving up. “So you don’t know anything about the griffin that’s supposed to be in town?” he asked, dismounting the stool...

“You young’uns are so impatient.” the old stallion replied, “I was just gettin’ to the dang griffin!”

Marco’s ears perked up. “Oh? You do know something?” he asked with energy, “About the griffin?”

The drunk pony smiled through ugly yellow teeth. “Well, maybe I do...” he hinted, “maybe I don’t...”

Marco could see what was going on. “Tell me everything you know...” he sat down opposite the earth pony once again, “And the next round is on me.”

“You gots yourself a deal there sonny!” the drunk replied with a glimmer of enthusiasm, “I’ll swap you a brew for a story.”

Marco nodded slowly and turned his head to the bar without looking. “Barkeep!” he called, “A cider for the gentlecolt, on me.”

The drunk stallion giggled. “Alright, alright... where was I now?” he pondered, “Ah yes, the tempest. Well, it just so happens that this griffin yer asking for heard about our little tempest problem, and offered to take care of it in exchange for a modest fee and some lodging on the edge of town.”

“Why?” Marco asked, “Why would she offer to eliminate this tempest?”

“I can’t rightly say, but she called herself a bounty hunter, even though she was obviously just a wet-behind-the-ears rookie.” the pony responded, “Yep, I’ve seen a proper bounty hunter before, and she ain’t it. But she had the guts, that’s for damn sure.”

“Bounty hunter huh?” Marco frowned, “You talk as if you see hunters frequently.”

“Oh, sure. Because we do.” the drunk replied simply, “The valley over yonder is a favourite spot for any would be adventurers to test their mettle. Naturally, some of those fools happen to be vigilantes, but no matter what, they gotta pass through here to get to the valley.”

“Okay, okay... back to the griffin.” Marco said, steering the conversation back to his topic, “What was she doing here?”

“Well, she wanted to tango with the tempest so she could test her strength or something like that.” the old pony answered as he thought back, “But she wanted the lodging because she said she was waiting for somepony. A pegasus actually...”

Marco’s eyes narrowed. “Waiting?” he said, emphasising the meaning of the word, “You sure you don’t mean looking?”

“Nah, waiting is the right word.” the pony answered, confusion in his voice, “Staying here with a reason...”

“How many pegasi are in town at the moment?” Marco asked seriously, “Other than my blue friend at the bar?”

“You know, the griffin girl asked the same thing, but it’s the same answer for the both of ya. Zero.” the old drunk replied, “Other than your companion I mean...”

“Hrm... how close are we getting?” Marco asked himself out loud, “I wonder if this griffin has figured something out...”

“How am ah supposed to know?” the drunk replied, believing the question was for him, “I told ya everything I-”

Suddenly, the bartender approached the two ponies with the cider Marco had ordered for the old stallion. “Still finding fools to feed you drinks eh?” the bartender asked coyly, “This is the last one for you, ya hear me?”

“Oh don’t be like that!” the old pony moaned, “Ah... actually, never mind. I’m broke now anyway. Thanks for the brew kid!”

“Oh, and by the way...” the bartender said, tapping Marco on the shoulder, “I’m afraid I’m also going to have to cut your friend off too.”

“Friend?” Marco asked, but quickly went pale as he realized, “Oh... shit.”

The old pony snickered as he got stuck into the free cider he had been rewarded with. “One more question please...” Marco asked him as he made to leave, “Do you know where I can find the griffin?”

“I did say she had a lodge on the edge of town, but she won’t be there.” the pony replied, wiping foam from his muzzle, “She was going tempest hunting this morning, so ya should look for her up where we told her it’d be.”

“And where’s that?” Marco asked pointedly...

The drunk stallion laughed knowingly. “Where else?” he questioned with a grin, “Lost Valley...”

Marco left the old pony to his drink. Satisfied with the information, he made his way over to where Rainbow Dash was sitting. “Dash, I know where Gilda is.” he said, pulling her down from the bar stool, “Let’s get outta here...”

“Ah! Hey Marco!” the light blue pegasus exclaimed, almost falling from the bar stool as she did so, “What’s uh, did you say Gilda?”

At the sight of her, Marco’s face fell. “Damn it.” he muttered, having realized, “What did you drink?”

“I don’t uh... remember what it was called.” Rainbow Dash replied, “But I liked it.”

“Geez...” Marco moaned, addressing the bartender, “What the hell did you give her?”

The bar-pony pulled over a spare menu and indicated the drink Dash had bought. “Oh, excellent...” Marco said sarcastically as he inspected the item, “Trust her to find the cheapest and most potent thing here. More than one of those would have most ponies flat on their ass.”

Rainbow Dash swayed and found herself leaning against Marco for support. “Who was looking after who again?” he joked as he helped her out the door, “When I said you should buy I drink, I meant a hot chocolate or something...”

Now outside, Marco urged Rainbow Dash to take wing. After all, she couldn’t trip over thin air. “Seriously, you’re a mess.” he commented as she flopped around in the air above him, “I would’ve never thought you were such a lightweight-”

“Shut up.” the tipsy pegasus snapped back, “I’m fine. I just need to focus.”

Rainbow Dash narrowly avoided ploughing into a nearby street lamp. “Focus is right.” Marco snuffed a laugh, “Look, you don’t tell anypony I left you to your own devices back there, and I won’t tell anypony you let one drink get the best of you.”

“Deal.” Dash replied, conceding, “Anyway... what was that you were saying before about knowing where Gilda was?”

Marco watched Dash land next to him, committed to regaining herself. “I talked to a pony who knew that your griffin friend went out into the valley we just came from.” he told her, watching her put one hoof in front of the other as normally as she could, “Except she’s out hunting down something called an ice tempest, which is supposed to be in the valley on the east side of town.”

“Ice tempest?” Dash asked, forcing her concentration, “What in the hay is that?”

“No clue...” Marco replied honestly, “But hopefully, it’s not our problem.

“Oh and one more thing Dash...” Marco continued, “We came here looking for Gilda so she might help us look for the pegasus hero, but its possible she’s already found out where Tager’s gonna be.”

“Wait... what?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, not understanding, “Where?”

“Well, that’s the kicker...” Marco replied, “It could be here. In Hordimare. From what I’ve heard, Gilda might have had some way of knowing that Tager was coming here, and she got here first and is now waiting for her to show up.”

“Whoa. What has G been up to all this time?” Rainbow Dash breathed in surprise, “And Tager too. What in the world have those two been doing?”

“Hopefully you’ll get a chance to ask them.” Marco responded with a nod, “So sober up. It looks like you are in for a reunion.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head as she came to terms with what might be awaiting her in this tiny town. “But still... Gilda and Tager? Together?” she asked in disbelief, “What’re we gonna do? Go looking for them?”

“I was just thinking about that...” Marco replied, “And I wanted to run an idea by you.”

Marco leaned in close to the wobbling pegasus as he wondered how to word it for her. “Okay listen up. The ‘Lost Valley’ is a big place, and it’s dangerous too. I don’t want to go in there looking for Gilda and not find her, while being assailed by whatever dangers adventurers go there for.” he explained, doing his best to simplify, “Now, the pegasus hero isn’t here yet, or at least hasn’t come to town. I know because the locals haven’t seen any pegasi about. In other words, Gilda is still waiting for her to show up.”

“So?” Rainbow Dash responded, “Gilda might not even know anything, yet you want to wait with her for a hero that might not come?”

“No. I don’t want to wait for Tager to show up, I want to wait for Gilda to show up.” Marco corrected, “You get it? I said there are no pegasi in town, and Gilda’s looking for the one she thinks is coming. But you are a pegasus. And you are here.”

Rainbow Dash finally understood. “So if Gilda comes back from the valley and hears there’s a pegasus in town...” she said realizing, “She’ll think I’m Tager?”

“Exactly.” Marco replied, “We won’t need to find the griffin; she’ll come to us. And we can get her to tell us where the real Tager is gonna be, or at least how she figures it out.”

Something was still bothering Rainbow Dash. “So what are we gonna do ‘till G comes back?” she asked, “We just need to wait right?”

“We could wait, but we need to make sure Gilda hears that there’s a pegasus in town.” Marco said, trying to hide his expression, “And for that to work, we need to make sure everypony knows you’re here.”

“How do we do that?” Rainbow Dash questioned, “How do we get ponies talking about me?”

“Well...” Marco replied with a cough, “It depends. Do you want to do this the easy way, or the hard way?”

“What’s the easy way?” Dash asked, “And what’s the hard way?”

“The hard way is you running around town painting pony’s houses and rescuing their pets from trees.” Marco said as he shook his head, “The easy way is for you whip up a tornado and bring it through town while screaming ‘I am a pegasus hear me roar!’ or something...”

“Marco!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, appalled, “There’s no way I’m doing that!”

“Haven’t you ever heard?” the grey earth pony responded, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity-”

“Stop it.” she interrupted, “I won’t do anything bad. But I also don’t wanna do any of that other stuff...”

“Well, there is one other thing we could do, and it’s neither naughty, nor nice...” Marco said, leaning in even closer, “It’s dumb, but it’ll do the job...”

Rainbow Dash snorted a laugh. “How am I not surprised-” she made to say, but cut herself off as her hazed eyes caught onto something, “Hold up a sec Marco... are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Marco followed the pegasus’ gaze and found himself staring at a black shape flying in low towards him. “It’s Paragonia...” he said, recognising the winged serpent, “That was fast. It’s only been a few hours hasn’t it? Has he got a letter?”

The jet-black Quetzalcoatl darted in and came to a hover just before the two ponies staring up at him. It dropped a note from its clutches and made that same weird sound from before...

“It’s the report.” Marco said, picking it up and opening it, “Hrm, looks like the phoenix was even faster than Paragonia. Twilight’s report is in here too.”

Marco gave Rainbow Dash enough room to place her head next to his as they both read the note.

‘Marco, Rainbow Dash, this is Captain Caliber.

I’m writing this report in lieu of the princess because she has already left the castle on her own business. I will be taking charge of communications for now, and I will continue to update everypony on each other’s progress until she returns. There has been no incidents in the city, and the guard is maintaining the peace in Luna’s absence. Applejack’s group should be well on their way to Appleoosa at the same time you receive this missive, and their last report was received an hour ago, saying that everything was fine on their end so far. Please update me on your progress and have Paragonia courier your reply as arranged. Good luck.’

“Looks like everypony’s about to get busy.” Rainbow Dash commented, having finished reading, “The princess sure didn’t waste any time.”

“And neither should we.” Marco replied, “Let’s get a reply sent quickly. Here, I’ve got the parchment in the saddlebags, you talk and I’ll scribe.”

Rainbow Dash collected her thoughts. “Ah, um... sure, I guess?” she stuttered as Marco readied his quill, “Wait, why don’t you do it? You’re better with words and stuff...”

“Well, we haven’t got anything urgent to add, so we might as well comfort your friends with a letter from you.” he said gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll edit it appropriately.”

“Ah, okay then.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to focus, “Hi, this is Rainbow Dash.
“Me and Marco made it to Hordimare just fine, and we know Gilda is around here too. Marco’s got a plan on how to track her down, but we’re still working on it. Oh, and also, we think Tager might be on her way Hordimare. We can’t say for sure and it’s all a bit confusing at the moment, but by the time we report again, we should have found Gilda and figured some of this out.

“Oh, and be careful everypony.” Rainbow Dash concluded, signing off, “How’s that?”

Marco scribbled onto the parchment for a few moments before he stopped and folded it. “Perfect.” he replied, passing the folded note to Paragonia, “I’m sure your friends will appreciate it.”

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash called as she saw the winged serpent about to fly off with the note, “Aren’t you guys gonna let me check it first?”

Paragonia didn’t seem to care. He would’ve flown away as intended, but Dash’s ‘liquid courage’ made her a little more imposing that she normally was. “Stop!” she insisted as she tugged the immortal creature by it’s tail back down to her level, “Lemmie see!”

The winged serpent responded by peppering the pegasus’ muzzle with his feathered wings, as if to say ‘let go’. Marco would’ve intervened if it wasn’t for what happened next...

Marco and Rainbow Dash hadn’t made it far from the bar when Paragonia came with his message, so when the bartender finally kicked out that drunken old stallion, his wobbly path back home inevitably connected with where the two ponies now stood.

He would’ve addressed Marco, but he didn’t have time to recognise the pony in the cowboy hat. His hazed eyes immediately shot to the creepy black creature the pegasus was wrestling with.

Now, it was at about this time that Marco remembered something he had read about Hordimare when he researched it all those years ago. The lore tells of a three thousand year old incident that caused the deep fissures surrounding the town. It is fabled that in that time gone by, a rouge star fell from the heavens and struck the ground, permanently sundering the landscape. The legends also told of a vicious creature that emerged from the fallen star, and wrecked havoc upon the land. They had a name for the creature but Marco couldn’t quite place it...

“Waah!” the drunk screamed, “It’s the black death! Everypony save themselves!”

That was it. The creature was dubbed ‘the black death’ in the legends. But those were just stories, there was no way Paragonia had that kind of history...

Marco shielded his ears as the drunken pony wailed and fled the scene, zigzagging in a stupor. Even Rainbow Dash and Paragonia paused their struggle and watched as dozens of pony heads popped out from their houses and observed the freaked out stallion.

But just as Marco thought he was about to see the locals dismiss the crazy pony on account of his elevated blood alcohol level, they too identified with the source of his fear and also started to freak out.

“What are you doing!?” one of the locals cried out, addressing Marco and Rainbow Dash, “Run away! That’s the beast of legends! The... the ‘thing’ that slithered out of the star that sundered this valley thousands of years ago!”

“It’s gonna kill us all!” somepony else screamed in the distance, “Somepony save us!”

Paragonia and Rainbow Dash just sat there, entangled in their paused brawl, watching as the whole town begun to loose their mind.

Marco whirled around to face the pair, an evil grin on his face. “What are you waiting for hero?” he asked with a wink, “Go save the village from the ‘scary’ monster! That will get ‘em talking!”