Camaraderie is Sorcery

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 3:10.1 - Defenders, Conjurers, Lords, and Merchants

Author's Note:

Translations

Chapter 3:10.1 – Defenders, Conjurers, Lords, and Merchants

The Brave Companions were at the end of a pier, awaiting the barge that drifted across the water toward them Rainbow Dash hovered in the air for a better vantage point, and Pinkamena had climbed the mast of a nearby ship and pulled out her spyglass to look out over the water. Spike peered over Twilight’s head as he stood upon her back, claws digging into the hood of her robes. He’s much too big for this anymore. Even Ream and Baldavin, normally unconcerned except when they were needed, were straining to see what lay in the distance.

To the west of Equestria was the continent of Stygra, a vast land completely alien to the ponies who now waited to cross over to it. When the unicorn crusaders had crossed the Shimmering Sea and landed on the eastern shores of Equestria, they’d had few problems wresting the land from the native pegasi, who had known peace for so long that they’d forgotten the art of war. The same was not true of Stygra, where additional crusades were called to spread the Word of Faust into the west. The unicorns had been successful in the end just as they had in Equestria, but it had taken many Western Crusades to conquer Stygra, for the pegasi there fought back, and fought viciously. When the Conjunction came, many of the new creatures that crossed into Equus had emerged or ended up in Stygra. Unlike Equestria, which was almost entirely populated by ponies except in the south; or the Eastern Continent, which was almost entirely ponies in the north and zebras in the south (though zebras were also becoming more prevalent in the north, with the expansion of the Zebrikaanian Empire); Stygra was a truly cosmopolitan land, where no race was dominant. It was also a land of endless war and instability, with fiefdoms rising and falling with the seasons. Any map drawn of the continent was assumed to be out of date within a few weeks, at most. It was here that the Brave Companions had been asked to travel.

Stygra was separated from the Westerlands of Equestria by a single strait that, at its narrowest points, was no wider than a very large river. The Brave Companions waited on the Equestrian side of one of these gaps to be taken across to the great city of Embariz. This was what the ponies and dragon were looking at, spying the city’s massive bulk on the far side of the water. A jumble of houses and warehouses spilled out from the high stone walls that surrounded the city, walls that stretched into the distance east and west, so that only from this side of the river could their full expanse be seen. Towers poked up here and there from behind the walls, but the skyline was dominated by the massive dome of the Keep of Klunz, bristling with spires of its own, including one at its apex that seemed to reach for the heavens.

Pinkamena and Rainbow Dash rejoined the others as the barge pulled up alongside the pier, satyrs and ponies stowing the sails and using long poles to push it in the rest of the way. The sailors all wore scarves wrapped around their faces, and it wasn’t just to ward off the lingering cold as winter gave its last gasp. The town that the Brave Companions were waiting in was empty but for them. A plague had recently swept through the Westerlands, killing most of the town and causing the rest to flee, no doubt spreading the plague as they did; but it had left here weeks ago, and ponies from neighboring villages had already come to clear away the dead. Plague always made one nervous, though, and there was also the situation on the other side of the strait.

“Please, come aboard,” a unicorn mare wrapped in a heavy cloak called from the center of the barge.

The Brave Companions hopped across, the sailors giving them space as they made their way over to the pony who’d addressed them. A canopy had been erected in the center of the barge, and the mare sat under it upon a cushion. She didn’t rise as they approached but gestured to the circle of cushions around a brazier surrounded by warm coals. Her cloak was inscribed with symbols of the Church of One, and a medallion in the shape of a seven-pointed star hung from her horn: a priestess.

“Mother Donia, thank y’ for meetin’ us,” Applejack said as she and the others formed a circle with the priestess.

“You may address me as Donia. A priestess I may be, but sadly, I have no congregation to mother,” Donia said with a pained smile. “I am afraid that there are few in Embariz who know the Word of Faust as we do.”

There had been a schism in the Church of One long ago, and the Western Church had gone its own way. Faust’s worshippers in Equestria and the Eastern Continent disagreed with their fellows in Stygra about many things, even if they professed to worship the same goddess. There were a few in Embariz, however, who preferred the Eastern doctrine enough that a bishop of the Church of One lived here, with a gaggle of priestesses to serve under her. It was all part of the strangeness that had brought the Brave Companions to the city in the first place. Embariz’s leaders had gone about requesting their presence in an odd manner. They had come to the city’s eastern bishop, who had forwarded their request to the High Priestess in Cant’r Laht, who had in turn brought word to Celestia and Luna, the former of which had then brought the word to Twilight Sparkle. It was a good thing that Discord had been fairly settled for over a month, otherwise Twilight would have been hesitant to leave Ponieville and come here. Apparently, the draconequus had found his own little pocket dimension to work his mischief in, and that would keep him busy for a while.

“Eiynit b’tangh ida, hn’ghan. N’moh i’iza leid n’dhih mrasz?^[1]” a half-pegasus mule approached Donia cautiously and asked.

“Thei, h’murrique^[2],” Donia replied with an idle wave of her hoof, and the mule hurried off. “We can speak while we cross. The locals are eager to return. They’re likely much safer here than they are in Embariz, but for them, the Unbroken Walls and the Keep of Klunz mean safety.”

Donia tossed a pouch of incense on the brazier, and a colored cloud of smoke billowed up. The reason the Brave Companions had been called here was that the plague didn’t seem to want to leave Embariz, and unnatural interference was feared. Neither the scarves nor the incense would help protect against the plague, but the protective enchantments Twilight Sparkle had placed over the Brave Companions would. During their time in the city, she’d have to keep it up; it would be taxing, but it would only be on eight ponies and a growing dragonling. She was sure she could manage.

As each of the Brave Companions made their introductions to the priestess, the sailors pushed the barge away from the abandoned pier and began the trip back across the strait. They drifted past abandoned ships and one partially submerged one that had tried to escape quarantine, but then they were out in open water. Every illustration of Embariz showed the river filled with traffic, ships sailing between the Agate and Blazing Oceans, barges transporting goods between banks and between docks, and pleasure craft drifting across the water; at the moment, it was empty of all but their lone barge. Any craft that passed this way would give Embariz a wide berth rather than risk catching the plague that stubbornly clung to the city.

“It is Bishop Merius’ will that I should accompany you everywhere you go in Embariz. She has absolved me of all other duties while you’re in the city,” Donia said as she added another pouch of incense to the brazier. “I will serve as guide and translator and will be able to go-between in most situations.”

“Most?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“There are twenty-two languages spoken in Embariz, not counting High and Low Equestrian or the Language of the Horns. I speak nineteen of them and can understand the majority of the dialects of each,” Donia replied, having taken offence.

“That many?” Twilight asked in awe. Suddenly, being able to speak Zebrikaanian and its Cainhiran variant along with the Equestrian languages and the Language of the Horns didn’t seem so impressive to her.

“Many languages are needed here, which is why the bishop was willing to offer my services as a translator,” Donia said, looking less agitated. “For conversing with most dockworkers and merchants, one must know the Tawny Trade Language. The city’s nobles insist on speaking in Old Osceriwic, and sorceresses commonly speak Rubicant. Then there are Embariz’s Defenders, who are a mix of Callicanni-, Selkine-, and Skogg-speakers.”

“I had no idea there was such a variety,” Twilight said, and she looked to Spike, who sighed and pulled out quill, ink, and parchment to write Donia’s words down. “Is there no common tongue?”

“The Tawny Trade Language comes the closest, at least when speaking to anyone who has to do any kind of business, but it won’t do for your purposes. You’ll be meeting with the city’s leaders, and they’re a prickly bunch insistent on having things their own way,” Donia said.

Embariz had grown very large during their conversation, and it filled the ponies’ sight. The lifeblood of Embariz was trade, and the docks that covered the Stygran bank were built to funnel as much blood in as possible. At the moment, however, they were mostly abandoned, a grim portent for a dying city. The only activity that could be seen among the motionless cranes and sagging rigging was a barge being loaded with the dead and set ablaze, to carry the ashes of plague victims to a watery grave. The sailors on the barge the Brave Companions were on pointedly refused to look in that direction. Still, they managed to safely guide the barge into its dock and secure it, and the Brave Companions disembarked.

“Faust-tyr-pedinohn t’dadta yaddei h’tyr repidi^[3],” Donia told the sailors as she disembarked, giving a half bow that was copied by most of the crew.

The priestess led them up past the docks and warehouses and through the spillover city outside the walls. There were more signs of life and death as they ascended. Washing hung up on clotheslines to dry, though there were places where the washing had clearly been there for days or weeks and the home it belonged to had a plague marker scrawled on its door. Feral dogs ran through the streets, searching for scraps. Some ponies actually showed themselves, but quickly hid inside when they saw the party coming up the path. Blocks were missing from the city, burned down in an attempt to kill the plague, leaving only ash and cleared ground for mass graves behind. The trek was depressing and unnerving, and Twilight Sparkle found herself unnecessarily checking that her enchantment was still in place to protect her and her friends. It felt as if she were choking on the air, but it was probably just the stench of death coming from corpses that hadn’t been collected and burned or buried yet.

Things became livelier once they passed through the city gates, which, despite the plague the city was suffering, stood wide open as if inviting ponies to leave and spread it through the countryside; or, perhaps they knew it would be pointless, with the lower city already infected. While the streets of Embariz were far from full, neither were they empty. Creatures kept their distance from each other as they did their business, but they still did business. The bazaar they passed through was alive with ponies buying and selling, and the smells of heavily spiced food in the air almost overcame the odor of wrongness that permeated the city.

Embariz embodied the mixed nature of Stygra, mingling in a variety unseen in Equestria anywhere except maybe Onon’r Laht. Satyrs, in Equestria rarely seen outside of the Storm Isles, played a game of cards with a wily-looking felis in a battered cap, holding the cards in their hands and paws respectively. A zebra showed off a rug to a bison who had abandoned her tribal ways, his goat assistants rolling it out for inspection. A brightly colored gryphon ran a talon across a row of earrings, trying to grab a customer’s attention, while eating from a skewer of meat held in her other claw. None of them gave the Brave Companions more than a passing glance as they trotted along. The plague had made them wary, though maybe not wary enough. How many of them will be dead in a week? How many of them will be dead tomorrow? Scarves seemed to be the new fashion choice in Embariz, with the headwraps made from any kind of material the wearer could get their hooves, claws, paws, or hands on. It made it difficult to tell if someone had the plague, but some of them didn’t look very well just from the bit that was visible.

They weren’t very far into the city when Donia led them off through an alley to a humble church. It was barely larger than the Ponieville chapel, and it was sandwiched between other buildings as well. Donia didn’t take them inside but passed the church and led them into the house on its left, the home of Embariz’s bishop and the priestesses under her. It was a cozy home, quite unlike the mansion of Vice-Pontiff Sabalus that Twilight had visited earlier in the year.

“Your excellency, the Brave Companions,” Donia introduced them to Bishop Merius as she led them into the house’s quaint study.

“Welcome,” the matronly mare greeted them as she set aside the book she’d been reading. “How are you finding Embariz?”

“Empty,” Pinkamena answered before Twilight could think of a more diplomatic answer.

“Yes indeed,” Merius replied sadly. “This plague is killing Embariz, but too slowly to cause real panic. Ponies tell themselves that it will pass, like all other diseases that sweep through the city, but so far it refuses to do so. Some say it is a supernatural plague, others a curse on the city caused by whoever they most hate or fear at the moment.”

“What do you say?” Twilight asked.

“I say that I do not know, I merely pray for deliverance from it,” Merius replied. “It is a peculiar plague, though, I will give it that.”

“Your excellency, maybe you can clear up exactly what we’re supposed to be doing here,” Rarity said. “I’m afraid our instructions from Regent Celestia were rather … vague.”

“Curing the plague, of course. Or, barring that, find out what has caused it so somepony else can cure it,” Merius said. “You’ll need to speak to Embariz’s leaders, as they’re the ones who’ve requested you come here and solve their problems.”

“Who are they?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Defenders, Conjurers, Lords, and Merchants,” Twilight quoted from the brief research she’d managed to conduct on Embariz before coming here, and Merius nodded.

“And in that order,” the bishop said. “Though you will want to fit in a meeting with Embariz’s Western Pontiff as well, since he carries as much weight as the others, even if he is not an official member of the city’s governing factions.”

“Divide and conquer again?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I wouldn’t advise it,” Merius said. “With the plague ravaging the city, the factions are more on edge than ever, and appearing to show favoritism, even unintentionally, to one group could start fighting within Embariz’s walls—the last thing that is needed right now.”

“Right, so before we can investigate the plague, we must meet with the Defenders, Conjurers, Lords, Merchants, and the Western Pontiff. Anything else?” Twilight asked.

“Donia will be at your service,” Merius said, inclining her head toward the priestess that had been waiting patiently at the edge of the room. “Go with Faust, and end this plague.”

As a group, the Brave Companions left the bishop’s house and returned to the unnervingly empty streets of Embariz. Donia led them down a series of widening tracks, until they were on a main thoroughfare leading directly to the center of the city and the Keep of Klunz. It was within that massive fortress that the leaders of the city resided, an urban center unto itself. Much as Embariz had gradually come to dominate their view on the barge ride across, the Keep of Klunz grew to fill their field of vision as they trotted toward it.

On one street corner they passed, a crowd had gathered around a pegasus standing upon an abandoned crate. Despite the plague, they were packed in tightly to hear what she had to say. The pegasus was dressed in what was clearly a priestess’ robe, but of a style undoubtedly distinct from the one worn by Donia. As she gesticulated wildly and spoke passionately in a language none of the Brave Companions could comprehend, the amulet around her neck jumped around. Despite the priestess’ harried motions, it wasn’t difficult to make out the symbol dangling at the end: a vertical bar with three bars of varying lengths crossing it.

“What’s she sayin’?” Applejack asked.

“That the plague is the judgement of Faust upon the city for its sins,” Donia said derisively. “Blasphemous to proclaim as prophecy that which one merely wishes to believe, even more so for a mare to do it. It would only be a bit better if she claimed the prophecy had come to Western Pontiff Cathraxis. A stallion pontiff. Sometimes I think the Western Church is beyond reconciliation.”

They didn’t encounter any more Western priestesses proclaiming prophecy, but the incident had put Donia’s tail in a twist, and she still had a stern look about her by the time they reached the Keep of Klunz’s gates. They looked incredibly sturdy, able to withstand any siege, and very unwilling to open at the moment. A felisne guard lounged against the nearby postern gate, his tail flicking back and forth lazily. He straightened as Donia approached purposefully, pulling his spear upright.

“Aom Pikzire Adapenzojarol lind sapigyadz Nønge Hepiketa Katerinald mrow nekí^[4],” Donia told him, and he stepped aside and rapped a knocker against the door.

“Ile Hondereliri Pegeter sonole esri meor vild Condolliar Alighei Caterina^[5],” Donia repeated as a felisne officer stepped out in response, and he beckoned them inside.

The guard on duty tipped his conical helm to the mares as they passed into the Keep of Klunz. A narrow passageway took them through to main entry hall, where there was a long-bearded stallion with a pointed hat leaning heavily on a twisted staff. He blinked his eyes inquisitively as the Brave Companions approached and raised a hoof imperiously while he barked a word whose meaning couldn’t be mistaken.

“He wishes to cleanse us from the plague,” Donia explained as the sorcerer gyrated his staff. “It has been kept mostly outside the Keep of Klunz so far, and the city’s leaders wish to keep it that way. This will be over in a moment.”

Magic washed over the Brave Companions, and Twilight Sparkle paid close attention. The spell cast upon them was very similar to Twilight’s spell of protection, and the sorcerer looked puzzled for a moment as he probably realized that everypony but Donia was already protected from the plague. He waved them on once he was finished, and Donia again took the lead.

“Do y’ come ‘ere often?” Applejack asked the priestess as she led them though vast pillared halls and up spiral staircases.

“With the bishop, from time to time,” Donia responded. “She has taken it as her mission to convert the leadership of the city with the expectation that the rest will follow suit.”

“Has she had any success?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“No, but she hasn’t driven them away yet. They still invite her here to speak to them,” Donia said. “Truthfully, I believe it is mostly because through her, they can hear news of Equestria they might not otherwise be informed about and has nothing to do with genuine interest in the Church of One.”

The interior of the Keep of Klunz was as impressive as its exterior, and surprisingly well lit. Sorcerous lights provided by the city’s Conjurors shone wherever it was impractical to have windows, torches, or candles. The keep was a massive conglomeration of fortress, palace, and city, with distinct districts visible as they passed through halls and rooms. Twilight knew from her research that the keep’s rooms extended below as well, and they could provide shelter for the entire city of Embariz in times of crisis. The current crisis, however, did not seem to have warranted such measures—that, or the city’s leaders had decided that to let potentially infected creatures into the keep while it had not yet passed the walls would be a bad decision, especially because it placed their lives in danger. It was nothing new; in times of plague, kings and queens often closed their gates and let their subjects die while they cowered behind their walls. Sometimes, however, the walls didn’t protect them, from the plague or from their enraged subjects.

The felisne officer that had let them in down below was standing expectantly in front of a set of doors that practically screamed “throne room” as they approached. There were many paths through the Keep of Klunz, and this felis had apparently found a more direct one that had allowed him to scale his way up here and announce the Brave Companions’ arrival. Chatter in multiple languages could be heard from the other side of the doors. The felis raised and dropped the elaborate knocker on the doors and let it rap twice before they began to swing open. Mechanisms in the walls could be heard tapping as counterweights fell and pulled the heavy doors upon their tracks. Not enchanted to be lighter, like those in Equestria; interesting.

As the door swung open, the room was revealed to be filled with felii, the bipedal cats common throughout Stygra, many dressed in ceremonial or practical armor. The throne room seemed to be turned sideways, wider than it was long, to allow the crowd of felii to all stand along the back wall to either side of the throne. The throne itself was a large wooden chair with weapon racks built into the armrests, and it sat atop a low stone podium that allowed for two felii to stand to either side. Seated upon the throne was a felis with chestnut fur and auburn highlights around her face that formed a mane, of sorts. She was clad in a burgundy dress, over which was worn a polished breastplate and scaled skirt, and a circlet with ornamental nose and cheek guards sat upon her head.

“Condolliar Alighei Caterina, sog emprezimole ede nif ile Hondereliri Pegeter di Equestria^[6],” Donia introduced the Brave Companions to her, before turning back to them. “Brave Companions, I introduce to you First Defender Caterina.”

Caterina rose from her throne and drew a sword that had been thrust into its arm. Donia held up a hoof to keep Rainbow Dash, Ream, and Baldavin from drawing their own blades in challenge, and Caterina sheathed her sword at her side. The Brave Companions hadn’t noticed it initially, but none of the felii on the podium had swords in the scabbards at their sides, having surrendered them to the throne when they arose, and Caterina had been merely retrieving her blade.

“Brave Companions, you know why you are here, so I will not insult you by explaining what was already relayed through your priestesses,” Caterina said in Callicanni, and Donia translated. “We Defenders are charged with protecting Embariz and policing its streets, but this unnatural plague has made our job … difficult. The peace has held so far, for the most part, but it cannot last forever, not if the plague refuses to leave. Districts have burned outside the Unbroken Walls, and the fire may spread inward if the sickness remains unchecked.”

“What makes you think the plague is unnatural?” Twilight Sparkle asked, and Spike prepared quill and parchment.

“We were untouched by the plague that ravaged the eastern side of the strait,” Caterina replied after Donia had provided translation. “Travel to the far bank was cut off as soon as it was known that it ravaged the Westerlands, and it had already passed by the time the sickness began here in Embariz. When it came, it came suddenly, spreading quickly and without warning, yet it has not spread outside of the city or to other ports on the route between the Agate and Blazing Oceans. Plague and disease have struck our city before and we have always survived, but it has never struck like this.”

“Anything else?” Twilight asked.

“Do you intend to examine the victims?” Caterina asked.

“It may be necessary to understand the plague,” Twilight replied. “I must admit that I do not know much about the plague, but if this one is unnatural as you claim, then I should know enough to determine if your suspicions are warranted.”

“You should speak with Doctor Borkes. His home is in the upper city, but I understand that he has set up a field laboratory for studying the plague in the lower city, up against the Unbroken Walls. You will most likely find him there,” Caterina advised. “The Defenders will be at your service if you need assistance in your investigation; simply call the nearest one over. Goddess-speed to you.”

“Thank you, First Defender. We will do our best,” Twilight Sparkle said.

The felii grouped up together to speak as the Brave Companions left the throne room, and Donia didn’t share the meaning behind any of their mewing. The doors to the throne room swung shut as their mechanisms propelled them, and the Brave Companions were greeted by an earth pony servant in gray livery outside. After speaking to Donia, she nodded and led the group along.

“The others are assembling to meet with you,” the priestess told them. “The Conjurers are next, and they’ve assembled not in their Conclave Hall, but in the Grand Conjurer’s tower. We’ll need to ascend into the dome in order to reach it.”

“Hooray, more stairs,” Pinkamena said, and Twilight wasn’t sure whether she was being sarcastic or genuine.

“I think enough time has passed since the last ascent that the struggle should be minimal at best,” Rarity commented as they faced yet another staircase among the many that riddled the Keep of Klunz.

“Maybe I should just hop out a window and fly up,” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Even the pegasus couriers in the Keep of Klunz don’t leave the walls,” Donia said as they climbed. “If you were to fly out a window, you would be either shot by crossbows or struck by sorcery. Feel free to find the ascent and descent chutes that the winged servants use, however. Though they are well hidden.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t make any more comments about flying to the top, but she did have her eyes peeled for how other pegasi (and nimble felii) in the Keep of Klunz got around. She didn’t have any more luck than Donia had expected her to; the fortress was too tightly designed to easily give away secrets that would help an opposing force take over it. Up and up and up they went while also heading toward the opposite end of the keep from where they’d met the Defenders.

Donia slowed as they neared a stairway entrance guarded by a pair of guards, a griffin and a satyr, holding elaborate halberds. They crossed them over the doorway as the group got close, then almost immediately uncrossed them as a pony trotted down the stairs. An aged slate blue pegasus stallion with a voluminous, but neatly trimmed, white beard stepped out of the stairway. Exquisite white and red robes covered his body, and a towering mitre was perched upon his head, golden bands wrapped around it in three places with another golden band running from the brim to the peak from front and behind. Additional fabric hung down from the brim behind his head covering his mane; the fabric was also draped over his ears and hung down loose from the sides of his head. Behind him trotted two more guards (a pegasus and a donkey) as well as a young stallion with a black coat covered in neatly buttoned black garments and a cylindrical black hat, and a unicorn mare in the robes of a lesser priestess.

The latter pony carried a crosier that was topped not by a horn and wings, a seven-pointed star, or any of the other symbols used by the Church of One, but by the icon of the Western Church. The Church of One always emphasized the horned and winged aspect of Faust’s depictions, but the Western Church, having needed a tool other than conquest to appeal to the pegasi of Sygra, had downplayed the unicorn nature of Faust to the point that her horn was no longer represented in the symbology; only her wings remained. The Western Church’s icon consisted of a vertical bar with three crossbars, the center one wider than the other two, and the top one letting nothing of the vertical bar stick over the edge. The priestess passed the crosier to the pony ahead of her to hold and lean on as he turned to face the Brave Companions.

“Pontiff Cathraxis,” Donia addressed him, her voice on the very edge of being respectful. “N’moh m’na erzihd durt h’tiszd peifiloe iz leid Youpt Raethli?^[7]”

“H’lo n’moh erzihd, i’kle m’na n’moh selin,” he replied. “Melz eztlethz so oorook e’they Embariz kiqzlou, oozegn thisd sop i’tyr Eblez’ron Keminallisz ill’n.^[8]”

“Eid’pipat^[9],” Donia replied, unconvinced.

Cathraxis peered around the priestess at those with her, wheels turning behind his eyes as he pieced things together.

“Datalohn urzidhe leid Hautkip Okep’nhidohn,” he said after a moment, “Ithyd sekkisent’lethnor. H’zeedo tellamon i’ize?^[10]”

“Brave Companions, this is Western Pontiff Cathraxis,” Donia complied with his wishes.

“A pleasure to meet you, Your Holiness,” Twilight Sparkle said, and Donia translated.

“The pleasure is mine. I am well-pleased to meet you, but I fear that your coming to Embariz is a trap,” Cathraxis said, and Donia translated his words from the Tawny Trade Language into Low Equestrian.

“A trap?” Pinkamena asked.

“Yes,” Cathraxis said with a sad nod of his hairy head, “The leaders of this city plot against each other, and each no doubt intends to use you as a pawn in their schemes. The plague is merely an excuse for them to get you here.”

“You believe that the plague is Faust’s judgement on the city?” Twilight asked skeptically.

“Because of its leaders’ constant fighting among themselves and exploitation of their subjects. I warn you, Brave Companions, do not trust a single one of them. Have you met with any of them yet?”

“We have met with the Defenders,” Twilight replied.

“Ah, so you met Caterina,” Cathraxis said. “She has the potential to be a powerful conjurer, but instead pursued the position of First Defender. Why is that, do you think?”

“Do you have something against conjurers, Pontiff?” Donia challenged him, and belatedly translated her words for the Brave Companions.

“Of course not. Though our priests wear red at times, we are not like those Manehattanite heathens,” Cathraxis said, smiling at his own cleverness, “I employ conjurers in my own household, but they do not pretend to be something they are not or seek after a station outside of their circle.”

“If you say so,” Donia said in reply.

“Is there anything else you can share about the plague?” Twilight Sparkle asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

“Only be safe, Brave Companions. Faust’s judgement on this city is not for you,” Cathraxis said, and he motioned for his guard to lead the way.

His retinue departed, headed for stairs that led down into the Keep of Klunz.

“Is this the way to the Grand Conjurer’s tower?” Rarity asked as Donia’s eyes lingered on the stairway that Pontiff Cathraxis had initially come down.

“Pfft, hardly,” the priestess said, “Those stairs lead up to the High Tower. Nopony lives there.”

“Nopony?” Spike asked.

“It is purposefully unoccupied,” Donia said as she resumed leading them to where the Conjurers were waiting. “Long ago, Embariz was ruled by a king, but one king became such a tyrant that his subjects rose against and deposed him. No one that tried to take his place was much better, and so the Embarezzi decided that they would have kings no longer. The Defenders, Conjurers, Lords, and Merchants would rule the city, and the royal quarters in the High Tower would remain empty. I wonder what Cathraxis was really doing up there, and with Juniper, at that.”

“Who’s Juniper?” Pinkamena asked.

“The youth in black. He’s Cathraxis’s Archdeacon of Coin, and I hear his rapid ascension has ruffled some feathers in the pontificate,” Donia explained. “Are they looking for sites to build new churches, where homes have been burned away? Or were they looking for a secret place to discuss business?”

As Donia mulled it over, she led them through the halls and hallways of the Keep of Klunz until they reached the stairs to the Grand Conjurer’s tower. The spiral staircase curved up and up as they climbed past the dome’s curved top. As they passed windows, they could see the other towers scattered across the dome, including the High Tower at its apex. It reached toward the sky, majestic but abandoned. No banners fluttered from its balconies as they did from other spires.

Twilight Sparkle composed herself before following Donia through the last doorway at the top of the stairs. The Conjurers must have chosen to meet here just to see us sweat. Not very friendly of them when they asked for us to come here. The room on the other side of the doorway was an almost complete circle that ceded space to the staircase the Brave Companions had ascended, as well as another flight of stairs that led up to living quarters above the high ceiling. Cushions were scattered around the room, and the sorceresses and sorcerers seated upon them were rising now that their guests were here. It was like a crowd in Cant’r Laht—a multitude of colors from their robes but the same sense of superiority coming from everyone who wore them. The only difference was that the sorceresses would all have been unicorns in Cant’r Laht; here, it seemed every race was represented, though unicorns were still predominant. A unicorn mare with markings that showed zebra somewhere in her recent lineage stepped forward from the crowd of conjurers. Like the others, she brought a mostly ceremonial staff with her, topped with a miniature orrery, and a golden headpiece leaned against her horn.

“I am Grand Conjurer Selkie, head of the Conjurers of Embariz,” the mare introduced herself, with Donia translating it from Rubicant.

“Hello, I am Twilight Sparkle of the House Haltrotsun, personal protégé to Regent Celestia of Cant’r Laht, heir to the Throne of Cant’r Laht, and one of the Brave Companions,” Twilight introduced herself. She was pleased to see that Selkie was duly impressed by her long list of titles and surprised by the last bit as Donia translated it. She hadn’t wanted to introduce herself as the Brave Companions’ leader, although that was often her function and what she tended to be addressed as. They were all in this together, and it wasn’t just her who had to lead, even if that was what would most likely happen.

“Thank you for coming at our request,” Selkie said. “We feel an outside eye can help settle this and clear us of blame.”

“Why would y’ need t’ be cleared o’ blame?” Applejack asked.

“The Conjurers are responsible for magically protecting Embariz. If this plague is unnatural, that means it was able to breach our defenses,” Selkie said.

“The magical barrier was intact when the plague arrived!” another Conjurer cried out.

“And fortified while the plague ravaged the eastern bank,” Selkie said wearily. “We all know this, but the others suspect us of defending our wounded pride, or worse. This plague is natural, we all know it. The Defenders, Lords, and Merchants will not listen to us, but perhaps they will listen to the Brave Companions.”

“If you already have proof, then that gives us a place to start,” Twilight Sparkle said, but Selkie began shaking her head as soon as Donia translated the word “proof.”

“We do not have proof, as such, only assurance that the magical barrier we keep over the city was not breached, so this plague must be natural,” Selkie said confidently. “We have been traveling through the city studying the plague, and everything points to it being a regular disease, but the others won’t hear it.”

“Is there anything you can tell us about the plague?” Twilight asked.

“Only what I have already,” Selkie said, and several of the other Conjurers nodded enthusiastically. “Speak to the other leaders. Assure them that the fault lies not with us. As a fellow conjurer, you must realize the importance of reputation. After all, how are we to study the sick and dying when rumors are running around that we let the plague in?”

***

The Lords awaited the Brave Companions in their Council Hall. Like the Defenders’ throne room, the Council Hall was wider than it was long. Inside were numerous chairs arranged in a semicircle, each occupied by an impatient noble dressed in their best clothes. At the midpoint of the semicircle’s arc was enthroned a pegasus stallion wearing an elaborate diadem.

“Ossen Telley Riverrun Isktelonley song Embariz, essen kreg elle leley ofos sigristar Aregikey Sootsenloe^[11],” Donia addressed the room in Old Osceriwic before turning to the Brave Companions. “Brave Companions, I present to you the Lords of Embariz, led by High Lord Riverrun.

“Now that you are here, how long will it take before the plague is gone?” High Lord Riverrun asked right off the bat, but his forthrightness didn’t seem to surprise Donia as she translated.

“It is hard to say,” Twilight Sparkle replied, “We have not yet had the time to study the plague.”

“Or try to cure it,” Fluttershy added.

“The Conjurers have been studying the plague and the Church has been attempting to cure it,” Riverrun said with a frown. “You were summoned here to investigate, to find the source, to put an end to it.”

“We came here of our own free will at your request and that of Embariz’s other leaders,” Twilight said, growing annoyed. “We are here to help, so do not try to order us around as if we were your servants or subjects.”

“This plague is a great threat to Embariz,” Riverrun replied, his tone only slightly more polite than before. “The Defenders’ role is to defend Embariz, ours is to govern and defend all the lands of the Embarezzo Protectorate. Our armies will stop anyone from fleeing Embariz and spreading the plague, but while they are turned inward, our realm’s neighbors may take the opportunity to rush us from behind. Tecoeseh, Ridding, Massoria … even the Hillenes might invade and seize our lands. This plague must end so that our gaze may turn outward again.”

“Is there anything you can offer us to help?” Twilight asked hopefully.

“If we did, then we wouldn’t need you, would we?” Riverrun said disdainfully. “Speak to the Conjurers or the Church if you want answers; our preoccupations lie elsewhere.”

The conversation dragged on a bit longer but nothing else of consequence was said, consisting mostly of vaguely condescending words from the High Lord with a few intercessions from the other Lords and worthless platitudes expressed formally. The frustration was almost unbearable by the time the Brave Companions were permitted to leave.

“Oh, is the High Lord always so … rude?” Rarity asked once they were outside of the Council Hall, the word she’d chosen not seeming to fully capture her annoyance.

“Always,” Donia answered as she led them to where they would meet with the Merchants. “Riverrun fancies himself a king in every way but the title and overdoes it in seeking to maintain that image. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to make a move to take the High Tower. The Lords’ armies are perfectly positioned to assault the city, after all, if it weren’t for the plague.”

The Merchants, like the Defenders and Lords, had chosen to meet with the Brave Companions in their usual gathering place, the Counting Hall. It was on the opposite side of the Keep of Klunz from the Council Hall, but there would be no vertical translation in the journey, so the Brave Companions were able to avoid climbing any more stairs for the moment. When they arrived at the Counting Hall, the doors were already open, letting the smell of musty paper waft out into the hallway. The Merchants had made a more practical use of their space than the other factions that controlled Embariz, setting aside only part of it for a meeting hall; even then, it looked like more clerks’ desks could be rolled in to fill the space when needed. Stacks of cubbies packed with scrolls filled the outer edges of the room, with clerks consulting them and bringing them back to nearby desks where they compared them to other scrolls packed with numbers. The clacking of abacuses could be heard over the chatter of the Merchants who stood in clusters in the middle of the room. They were dressed in finery only slightly less impressive than the Lords (probably by law), seeking to display their wealth as ostentatiously as they were permitted. The chatter ceased as they noticed the Brave Companions.

“Eklyn’norhn-rys-Embariz, m’na tellamon t’sildz leid Hautkip Okep,nhidohn-rys-Equestria^[12],” Donia said. “Brave Companions, these are the Merchants of Embariz.”

“Brave Companions, you have made it here at last,” a satyr of prodigious weight expressed his annoyance at the Merchants being visited last as he approached, the rings on his fingers glittering in the light that slanted down from the chamber’s high windows. “No matter, no matter, you are here now, and there will be no more delays to keep you from your work. I am Most Serene Merchant Dozalo. How may we be of assistance?”

“Is there anything you can share with us about the plague?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Only suspicions,” Dozalo said with a shake of his head. “Despite how our colleagues in the Keep of Klunz look down upon us, it is trade that keeps Embariz alive, and an attack on Embariz’s ability to trade is an attack on the city and upon its Merchants. Someone is attacking us with this unnatural plague.”

“Almost everyone seems to think the plague is unnatural. We will certainly look into that, but what leads you to believe this?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“It did not come in upon any ships,” Dozalo said.

“We’ve checked and double-checked, and it’s an impossibility,” another Merchant piped up, and Donia quickly translated.

“The plague must have started inside the city,” Dozalo continued. “If that’s not unnatural, what is? We’ve considered looking into things ourselves, but the streets are bound to become unsafe any day now, and we’ll need protection. However, when we tried to hire mercenaries to do the job, they all refused our silver.”

“All of them,” another Merchant cut in.

“There are three mercenary companies in the city currently, and none of them would take work from us,” yet another Merchant said.

“It makes you wonder,” Dozalo said.

“Makes you wonder what?” Rarity asked.

“Who has hired them?” Dozalo said.

***

Meeting with the leaders of Embariz had taken up nearly the entire day, but there was one other place that Twilight Sparkle wanted to visit before turning in for the night. With the help of a few souls still brave or foolish enough to be out on the streets, the Brave Companions found their way to the field laboratory of Doctor Borkes. He had set up shop in an abandoned cluster of homes constructed against Embariz’s walls. The homes were built around a courtyard, but the well in it had been boarded up and a pile of bones was heaped in front of a charred section of the Unbroken Walls. The doctor had evidently lost a lot of patients. The groans of diseased ponies could be heard on the left, but humming was coming from the building on the right. Tentatively, the Brave Companions followed the humming.

It led them to rooms filled with tables which held the corpses of plague victims, some of them cut open. The humming was coming from a gryphon dressed as a plague doctor, complete with a beaked mask over his actual beak. He was currently in the middle of slicing open a pegasus, knife held in his gloved claw. He tutted to himself as he removed a tumor and set it down in a pan alongside others.

“Priszya Borkes?^[13]” Donia tried to get his attention.

“Weloe unt t’go? Izlil unt t’go l’hyni ida? T’go untelz’gyr telli ida!^[14]” Borkes cried as he turned his goggled eyes upon the crowd of ponies.

“I’iza unt obrorgniz leid unzing-erk-cuniol’pir^[15],” Donia assured him. Before coming here, Twilight Sparkle had expanded her protective enhancement to the priestess.

“Unta’gyr lerodt unzing^[16],” Borkes said as he tried to run his claws through his head feathers out of habit, and instead smeared viscera across his waxed leather hood.

“Ler’rodat unt leid Hautkip Okep’nhidohn. M’nir yez’ulsz adae^[17],” Donia introduced the Brave Companions to the doctor.

“I am Doctor Borkes, surgeon and pathologist,” the gryphon introduced himself as Donia began translating for the Brave Companions, and he extended a gloved claw in greeting, but then thought better of it. “Don’t let this outfit give you the wrong idea. I’m not one of those talentless hacks offering baseless cure-alls and prodding buboes with their sticks. I’ve taken on this look to give the less discerning confidence in me and to protect my bare flesh from being splattered with phlegm, vomit, pus, and viscera.”

“Good to hear it,” Twilight said, a little put off by the offensive fluids he mentioned. However, she would have to get used to it if she was going to help with this investigation. “First Defender Caterina told us that you were studying the plague, and I see she spoke true. What have you learned?”

“That this is either not a plague at all, or my entire life’s study of diseases has brought me to an entirely wrong conclusion,” Borkes replied.

“Can you explain?” Twilight asked.

“Gladly,” Borkes said, and his mask crinkled as if he were smiling. “In short, diseases are living things just like ponies and gryphons, but are unable to coexist peacefully with us. These tiny, invisible creatures can live within us, but doing so does damage to our bodies and can cause complications such as these tumors in the lungs and on the flesh. They can reproduce at a rapid rate and jump from creature to creature to begin multiplying again. I have seen this pattern in every disease I have studied, including an outbreak of plague, but with this plague that now afflicts Embariz, the theory falls apart.

“It spreads in some cases, as one would expect, to a group around a carrier of the disease, but in others it simply appears out of nowhere. Symptoms appear at intervals that don’t match the growth of a population, and infection spreads through the body in unnatural ways. I have dissected many victims of the plague, and it’s brought me to a startling conclusion,” Borkes said, gesturing with his claws to the tables covered with corpses around him. “This is not a plague at all! Rather, it is something mimicking a plague just enough that, from outward appearances, it seems to simply be an odd strain. For example, the victims cough, but why? If this were a normal plague, I would say that it is to help expel the plague creatures and infect others, but all the exhalations are free from infection and do not spread the plague. No doubt they are unsanitary, but not because of the sickness that causes them. Very unlike any other plague.”

“Piszya Borkes^[18],” one of his helpers called as trotted into the room, pulling up short as she nearly ran into the Brave Companions.

“M’rinad leenos n’zinda^[19],” he told her and she departed. “Follow me and you’ll see.”

Borkes led the group out of his laboratory and across to the buildings where the infected hadn’t died yet. They were laid up in beds, on tables, and upon the floor wherever there was space. Sunken eyes stared out of the faces of those that were conscious, fixed on the ceiling. Several helpers moved about, swathed in protective coverings slightly less extreme than Borkes’, trying to tend to the plague victims as best they could.

“There are houses like this all throughout the city, not that most creatures realize. You would think that no matter what precautions are taken, at least some of those tending to the dying would contract the sickness themselves, but that is not the case,” Borkes said. “None of my assistants, nor any of the priestesses tending the plague’s victims in the other sick houses have gotten the illness during their time here. These ponies and gryphons and felii and satyrs look as if they have the plague, and it is certainly killing them, but that is only because that is what is expected to happen.”

Twilight Sparkle approached one of the plague victims, a young bison coughing fitfully in his sleep. She didn’t have years of experience in cutting creatures open and studying diseases like Doctor Borkes did, so she used the one tool she did have at her disposal. She reached out with sorcery and was instantly met by a different sorcery. It was in the bison’s body, suffusing his entire being, but concentrated in his lungs and the places where buboes were most likely to form. The sorceress reached out farther, and the same signature of sorcery appeared in every plague victim in the room. Borkes was right; this wasn’t a normal plague. Being a non-Source, however, he hadn’t discovered why that was the case.

“There’s magic here,” Twilight Sparkle said aloud, and Borkes asked for a translation.

“Magic where?” Borkes asked once it had been provided.

“Everywhere. In every creature with the plague,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “This sickness was brought about by sorcery, by somepony who knows enough about the plague to mimic it, but not enough to fool somepony who has studied plagues.”

“Of course,” Borkes said, tapping his covered beak with a gloved hand. “Everything fits. But, where did the plague come from?”

That was the tough question, the one the Brave Companions had come here to answer, and Twilight didn’t like where it was leading. There was clearly magic at work in the plague, but did the Conjurers not know, or were they lying? And if they were lying, was it just about studying the plague, or something greater? Were they attempting to cover up something a member had done, or was it a larger plot to bring the city to its knees and claim sole rulership? None of these questions could be answered easily.

***

The sun was setting behind the Keep of Klunz by the time the Brave Companions left Doctor Borkes’s laboratory, with his promise not to share what they’d learned. Others could draw the same conclusions that Twilight had, and they might not be so patient to figure out the whole truth as she was. Donia helped the Brave Companions to book rooms for the night and left them to their sleep and planning. There was still the matter of the mercenaries to look into, and they would need to confront the Conjurers sooner or later. Twilight didn’t want to believe that they had poisoned an entire city in a scheme to gain power, but she had grown up around sorceresses and knew full well that they were capable of such a thing. She slept fitfully with that thought, but she was refreshed enough by dawn to put in order her plan for the day. All those plans went out the window when Donia arrived.

Somehow—likely through one of Borkes’s assistants—word had gotten out that the plague had been caused by magic. Conjurers out studying the plague had been attacked and minor sorceresses not able to command the power afforded to those who resided in the Keep of Klunz or protect themselves had been dragged from their homes and hanged, burned, or drowned in retribution. Parts of Embariz were in an uproar, the Defenders struggling to bring things back under control. A mob had formed outside the Keep of Klunz, yelling for the Defenders, Lords, and Merchants to throw the Conjurers out. They had many creative ideas for killing them and ridding Embariz of the plague.

“Are you sure you want to go into the streets wearing that?” Donia asked as they prepared to depart their inn, looking worriedly at Twilight’s sorceress robes. They were different from those of a Stygran conjurer, but not too different.

“I am Twilight Sparkle Haltrotsun, personal protégé of Regent Celestia of Cant’r Laht and heir to the Throne of Cant’r Laht. I will not be cowed into pretending I am something else,” Twilight announced. “More than that, I have my friends with me. I will be fine. Let us go now, Donia.”

The priestess led them through city streets that seemed little transformed from the day before to the eye, but the emotion was different. Before, fear had permeated the air; while it was still present, riding upon that fear was anger. The citizens of Embariz had learned who was responsible for their suffering, and they were out for blood. Some of the bodies piled into carts had not died of plague but bore fatal wounds from sorcery or blades. Most creatures they passed simply watched dispassionately. Donia’s fears about the Embarezzi falling upon Twilight were misplaced, it seemed. They did give a wide berth to a group of ponies clustered around a Red Priest, taking advantage of the sudden swing in the city’s attitude toward magery to spread his religion.

The Brave Companions were able to skirt the mob outside the Keep of Klunz’s gates and reach the postern where they’d entered before, completely unmolested. The guards on duty there let them through without comment, apparently having been previously briefed on their appearances and to let them in. Donia spoke to a felisne servant once they were inside, who scampered off to find the Grand Conjurer. She returned several minutes later and led them on their way. After yesterday’s journey through the keep, it soon became clear where they were headed. The great hall devoted to the Conjurers, the Conclave Hall, awaited them at the end of their journey.

It was much like the other halls of the factions who ruled Embariz; a few arcane touches in the décor were really all that differentiated it from the Lords’ Council Hall. The room was almost half filled with Conjurers talking to each other in hushed, worried tones. The atmosphere was one of fear punctuated occasionally by frustration.

“Brave Companions,” Grand Conjurer Selkie said as she spotted them entering. “What have you done? You were called here to solve our problems, not make them worse.”

“Y’ lied t’ us,” Applejack said bluntly. “Y’ knew th’ plague was magical all along.”

“Yes, but we had hoped to discover its source before revealing so,” Selkie admitted just as bluntly. “You see how our subjects responded upon learning of this! This is what we had hoped to avoid!”

“We did not reveal it, but the truth would have come out sooner or later,” Twilight Sparkle said. “The fact remains that you were not truthful with us. What else have you held back?”

“Nothing,” Selkie protested. “Why do you think we have been studying the plague incessantly? To determine its origin and clear ourselves of blame for it.”

“I never accused you of causing the plague,” Twilight said.

“No, but the people of Embariz are,” Selkie said, recovering quickly.

“Are you absolutely certain that you don’t have a rogue conjurer among you who could have caused the plague?” Rarity asked.

“Absolutely,” Selkie replied, and there were many cries of protest that the unicorn would even ask such a thing when the question was translated.

“Are there any other powerful conjurers in Embariz who could have caused the plague?” Twilight asked.

“None. Anyone with enough talent to become a conjurer of renown joins the Conjurers. They must. It is the law,” Selkie said.

“That doesn’t leave many options, does it?” Rainbow Dash said.

“We did not bring this plague upon Embariz. You must trust me when I tell you that we would never countenance such a thing,” Selkie said.

Twilight wished she could believe her.

***

The Brave Companions were getting nowhere with the Conjurers. The members continued to profess their innocence, but they didn’t have any helpful suggestions which helped them look less suspicious than they already did. Twilight Sparkle hated to admit it, but it seemed increasingly likely that they were at fault. They probably had planned to create a crisis with the plague that would allow them to take over Embariz and place their Grand Conjurer in the High Tower, and were just clinging on to the end in hopes that things would blow over from lack of evidence. That was what kept the Brave Companions from going to the other factions and advising them that the Conjurers were at fault. There was no concrete evidence that they were responsible for the plague, only facts that suggested it.

With that in mind, they decided to leave the Keep of Klunz and follow up on their other outstanding lead. The Merchants had mentioned that three mercenary companies were currently in the city. These were the Howling Dogs, the Hawkers, and the Crimson Shields. The Howling Dogs had set up camp in the south of Embariz, in what had once been a garden district. It was a company of satyrs, minotaurs, and felii who all wore helmets carved to look like wolves’ heads. The Brave Companions were stopped at the entrance to their territory but finally managed to speak to a ranking commander, a half-minotaur, half-satyr brute who had fewer words for them than for the Merchants. The Howling Dogs had been hired by someone, but they wouldn’t divulge their client’s name.

The same thing happened with the Hawkers, more or less. A company made up mostly of gryphons, they were at least allowed to come into where they’d set up in the west of the city and speak to the leader of the company. She wouldn’t share much with the Brave Companions, except that they’d been hired and couldn’t say by whom. It was part of their client’s wishes, which they had to respect if they wanted to retain their status as a reputable mercenary company. When asked why some of their soldiers were sharpening their weapons, she admitted that some of the rioting had come close to them early in the morning and they’d helped the Defenders disperse the crowd. The Brave Companions gained nothing from the visit, other than to confirm what the Merchants had told them for a second time.

There would be no third confirmation, as they were unable to locate the Crimson Shields. They found where they were supposed to be easily enough, but when they arrived, the place was empty. The innkeepers who had given them rooms said that they’d left in the middle of the night, shortly after the riots had begun. Where they were going, however, they wouldn’t say. One would think it would be hard for an entire army to leave a plague-ridden city undetected, but somehow they’d managed it.

They’d come up empty on their investigation, leaving only one possibility: the Conjurers were guilty. It still didn’t sit right with Twilight, though. The sorcery in the plague had been so blatant, and sorceresses, whatever they called themselves, were usually more subtle. There was no solid evidence to clear or condemn them, though, so the Brave Companions kept investigating. They looked around the city for plague victims, searching for something, anything, that would decide things one way or the other. Again and again, they came up empty-hooved.

“M'na ullet m’na edyl’hadsz m’ein demmerytroum. M’ledelys tunis edyl’bitim’na leid Helkinohn yd’sospry izda^[20],” a lesser merchant said to another as the Brave Companions passed by, and one of the words caught Twilight’s ear: demmerytroum.

“What did she just say?” Twilight demanded, spinning around and inadvertently dropping Spike off her back.

“M’mono, alo tunis h’lo dullodz itzind h’lo prac’til edyl’selin?^[21]” Donia asked of the surprised merchant.

“I was just saying that I wish I hadn’t sold my dimeritium stock,” the merchant said, “I could probably sell it to the Defenders for a fortune now, maybe even earn enough to join the Board.”

“What happened to your dimeritium stock?” Twilight asked.

“I sold it a week ago, to a felis in a wolf’s-head helmet. Apparently, the Howling Dogs were buying up everyone, because a few days later, a gryphon from the Hawkers came by looking for dimeritium themselves. When I tried to buy some off other merchants, they said they’d been bought out by the Howling Dogs as well,” the merchant explained, her gaze growing more startled as she realized that Twilight was a sorceress.

“What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“I think I know what is happening,” Twilight said in revelation, “We need to get to the Keep of Klunz!”

***

The Brave Companions scrambled up staircases, Donia leading the way. To open a portal into the keep itself would be a grave insult, so Twilight had opened one near to the fortress, leaving the two merchants at the edge of the city stunned as the crowd of ponies who had suddenly begun interrogating them disappeared through a hole in the air. The mobs had grown, but they still managed to make it through to the postern gate, which had even more guards on it now and quite a few waiting inside. Once inside the keep, they ascended higher and higher, until they reached where they’d met Pontiff Cathraxis the day before.

Twilight Sparkle charged up the stairs to the High Tower, her breath ragged as she ascended, eyes fixed heavenward. Up and up and up the staircase spiraled, until she burst into the chambers that had once belonged to Embariz’s king. Centuries of dust had settled over almost everything, but not everywhere, and not only because of wind through broken windows.

“I thought the High Tower was abandoned,” Rainbow Dash said as she noted the hoofprints and footprints in the dust.

“It is, but no one is forbidden from entering it,” Donia said as she peered worriedly at the tracks. “I wouldn’t expect this much traffic, though.”

Twilight continued to walk ahead and follow the tracks, slowing as she ascended more flights of stairs. At last, she burst out onto the highest balcony that ringed the High Tower and looked down upon Embariz from on high. The height was nothing compared to Cant’r Laht’s vantage over the Equestry Valley, but it was certainly impressive to look down upon the massive city from above. That wasn’t why Twilight Sparkle had rushed up here, though. As she struggled to catch her breath, she reached out with sorcery, feeling for traces of past castings.

The sorcerous traces struck her almost immediately, in the same way her probing of the plague victims had. In multiple places, some stronger and some lighter, around the balcony were the remnants of powerful spells. It was exactly as Twilight had expected.

“What are we supposed to be looking for?” Donia asked in confusion as she peered out over the balcony while the Brave Companions all looked expectantly to Twilight.

“I do not believe that Pontiff Cathraxis’s journey here yesterday was a one-time occurrence,” Twilight said. “I think he is the one behind all this.”

“You know I am inclined to agree with you, but that’s impossible,” Donia said. “You heard what Grand Conjurer Selkie said; there are no conjurers of note outside of their ranks.”

“Not that they know of, but Cathraxis has at least one: Juniper,” Twilight said. “He may very well have more in the guise of priests and priestesses helping spread the plague while pretending to treat it. Selkie was so certain, which means she probably has not thought to check that her assumptions are correct.”

“Meeting Cathraxis may have just been a coincidence,” Donia said. “Any Conjurer could easily have come here and cast the spells instead.”

“It is possible, but I do not think it is so. There is a way to confirm my suspicions, but we will need to find the First Defender, High Lord, and Most Serene Merchant before they make a terrible mistake,” Twilight said as she looked over the edge of the balcony. Down below, the Crimson Shields had made their appearance, forming up before the gates of the Keep of Klunz. The Howling Dogs and Hawkers had also appeared, assisting the Defenders in pushing the mob out of the way.

The ponies hurried back down the way they’d come, nearly tripping down the stairs in their haste. Rainbow Dash shot ahead once they were in the keep’s dome and returned with a terrified goat servant. Through his bleating, Donia managed to ascertain where they could find Embariz’s leaders, and they were off again. Twilight was tempted to open a portal but didn’t want to risk it, just in case she was mistaken or the Conjurers reacted lethally on instinct, so they took the whole journey on hoof.

The Council Hall was filled with Lords and a collection of Merchants and Defenders when they burst in. All of Embariz’s leaders (barring Grand Conjurer Selkie) were here, and looks of remorse turned to shock as the Brave Companions arrived uninvited.

“What is the meaning of this?” all three demanded in different languages, their translators unsure what to do.

“Please, you have to listen me,” Twilight spoke quickly through gasps of air, and Donia translated her words into the Tawny Trade Language, which Caterina’s and Riverrun’s translators translated for them. “Have you already decided what to do about the Conjurers?”

“We have,” Caterina replied, the look of remorse returning to her features. “To depose a ruling faction is unprecedented, but their betrayal of this city is unforgiveable. It seemed an impossible challenge to even do so, as we are forbidden from taking up arms against each other, but Pontiff Cathraxis provided us with a solution. We have just approved the entry of the Howling Dogs, Hawkers, and Crimson Shields into the Keep of Klunz to depose the Conjurers.”

“You have to call it off,” Twilight demanded. “Pontiff Cathraxis has been deceiving you. He is the one behind the plague, and he wanted the Conjurers to be blamed for it so that you would allow his armies into the Keep of Klunz. With the Defenders busy quelling the riots, the Lords’ armies safely outside the city, and the Merchants unable to hire soldiers of their own, he’ll use his mercenaries to capture the keep and make himself sole ruler of Embariz!”

“Kesehi ile Sofroskato^[22],” Caterina swore softly.

“Are you convinced?” High Lord Riverrun asked, shaken and adjusting his diadem more than necessary. “Our own pontiff killing thousands?”

“True or not, we are about to let three armies into the Keep of Klunz with no way to keep them from taking over, and this Equestrian conjurer has opened our eyes to the danger,” Most Serene Merchant Dozalo said. “Call it off immediately!”

***

As the barge carried the Brave Companions across the waters back to Equestria, they stole a last look back at Embariz. The miasma and gloom no longer held sway over the city, but it would take some time for the population to recover from the dreadful ordeal. Not only would they have to cope with death having stalked their streets, but also the betrayal of the strongest religious authority they knew. The mercenaries hadn’t made it into the Keep of Klunz, but they had been close. There was fighting at one of the gates which had begun to open, but the Defenders had managed to hold them off. Pontiff Cathraxis, still in the Keep of Klunz, had been detained, along with Archdeacon Juniper, who was confirmed as a mage. The bishops of the city, after learning of Cathraxis’ plot to seize power, had promptly deposed him, appointed a new pontiff, and demanded he be turned over to them to try and painfully execute. With the secret mages in the pontificate rounded up and clapped in the dimeritium shackles meant for the Conjurers, the plague soon let up.

The North, Saddle Arabia, and now Stygra. The last year had seen Twilight Sparkle travel beyond the traditional bounds of Equestria. She’d faced down Trixie with the power of the Alicorn Amulet and seen Discord brought to heel. In all of this, she’d felt the eyes of her mentor watching her more intently than ever before, testing her, for what she did not know. Where would it take her next?

Comments

[TasermonsPartner]

While almost all your chapters are good, it's very apparent that chapters which feature almost all original content, like this one, are ones that you are much more passionate about than chapters based on episodes from the show. The worldbuilding, detail, settings, and characters are amazing in these chapters!

Still, I would've thought there'd be alittle more emphasis on Discord's transformation before we delved right into the nest adventure; perhaps what safeguards were put in place or how Fluttershy made him promise something and gave him encouragement in exchange or something. But at least he was mentioned for a few lines here. Still, the way this world is set up politically, one wonders what the fallout and ramifications will be when the other nations find out he he been "tamed" for Celestia (really for Fluttershy, though few will truly know that). Many some will even accuse the Companions of being in cahoots with him this whole time and setting themselves up to look like "heroes" whilst they looked after his shards?

Hmm, you'd think that the pontiff would've had a back-up plan for if was found out, but I guess not; or, at least, not when the coup was right on the cusp of succeeding. Still, a climax where he (or Juniper) tried to best Twilight with trickery or magic and she succeeded in defeating them alongside her friends wouldn't have made a bad ending either.

[Xanderfox]

I was expecting Catrina to be behind it. It was mentioned she had the potential to be a conjurer and Catrina is the name of a G1 Villian who happens to be a feline sorceress.