10| What The Future Holds
“Are… you sure it’s a volcano?” Celestia dubiously asked.
With a roll of my eyes, I levitated over and opened one of the geography books, pointing out one of the paragraphs within. “A caldera is formed when the magma chamber under a volcano collapses when it dies, which is what the mountain range around Mercy is. I’d venture that the earthquake from several years ago was the result of unstable rock shifting around and collapsing inwards.”
Celestia took a glance at the book, considered what I had to say, and sighed. “As much as I enjoy a history lesson, Luna, I can’t remain here any longer because I still have those ponies waiting in court. I’d be happy to sit down with you afterwards and discuss everything in more detail while you take care of the scrolls that accumulated in your absence.”
“Wouldn’t something like this take precedence over sorting out other ponies problems? If that map stallion digs underneath Mercy, the town might collapse like it almost did from the earthquake!”
“An extreme scenario,” Celestia said dismissively.
“Within the realm of possibility!” I almost shouted, baffled that she ignore something like that.
“Luna, that’s enough!” Celestia boomed.
Everything went so quiet that I heard the trees rustling in the idle breeze outside.
“Fine,” I grumbled after a moment. “I’ll do your damned scrolls, then I’m going back to Mercy to warn the mayor about what’s happening.”
Without objecting, Celestia huffed to regain her composure a bit, then teleported back to the throne room. I turned back to Firefly as I closed the door.
“Sorry about that,” I said heavily.
“Eh, it’s cool,” Firefly shrugged indifferently. “Everypony has their spats, and you two are no exception.”
“True, I suppose. Anyway, take the afternoon off while I sort out the scrolls. If you run into Boreas, tell her she can have the rest of the day to herself. Come back an hour before sunset, then we’ll go back to Mercy and get the others. And before you go...” I added as we walked to the bedroom door. I activated the Lock spell, and the array emerged from within the wood. “Put your hoof on the keyhole.” Firefly did as I instructed despite her puzzled look, and her cutie mark bloomed from the array and sunk into it.
“What was that all about?” she asked.
“That spell locks all doors within the room it’s cast. If I’m not here and you need something, or need to leave me something where I can find it, then you can come and go as you please. Just be sure to let me know if you take something.”
“I’ll make a note of it if I do.” Firefly opened the door, and we saw Bastille walking up the hall.
“Starting your shift are we?” I asked as he took position to the right of my door.
“Sure am, marm,” he replied in his thick, token voice.
“Isn’t Veloce supposed to be with you?”
“Up here!”
Caught off guard by the sudden intrusion of the third voice, I looked towards the ceiling. Sure enough, the bat pony was hanging upside down from the rafters by her tail. I blinked and said; “What are you doing up there?”
“Would-be thieves are too busy looking left and right for things to hide behind and ponies to avoid. They don’t often think to look up. If they get brave and decide to take on Bastille, I can jump ‘em from above. They’d never expect it!”
“That’s good and all, but won’t the blood run to your head?” I said.
“Nah, a thestral’s vascular system is slightly different than a normal ponies; our blood vessels keep a more consistent flow so it doesn’t pool when we sleep upside down. I’m lucky because I don’t have to worry about my forelegs hitting me in the face when I do,” she finished with a giggle.
I had to grin at that. And with the addition of Bastille and Veloce’s signatures, having half a dozen top-tier guards able to access my room meant you’d have to be as dumb as a rock to break in. Since I re-calibrated the array after Celestia set it, nobody but me could activate it to add signatures.
Shortly after, I went down to the kitchen with the bag of corn I got from Harvest. To make a long story short, everyone within earshot hit the roof when the kernels began pinging off the sides of the pot. When I got back to my room with my bowl of popcorn and Luna’s favourite tea, one of the castle’s staff brought me the scrolls Celestia mentioned.
While I was taking care of them, time seemed to go by at a snail’s pace because I kept looking at the clock, counting down when I’d get to go back to Mercy. And you know what they say about clock watching. Finally, five o’clock came around. I heard a timely knock at my door and it clicked open, Firefly strolling in right on schedule.
“We ready to get this show on the road?” she asked.
“And… done!” I exhaled heavily with a flick of the quill over the last of the unfurled scrolls. “Glad I got that out the way. Give me a moment, and then we can go fetch the others.” I opened the door and told Bastille that we were going back to Mercy to get Midnight, Slipstream and Atlas in case Celestia came looking for me, and that I’d lower the moon if I was still in town.
Along with the saddlebags, I put the peytral back on I’d taken off earlier, and I was back to looking like a cotton candy reject.
While teleporting Firefly and myself back to town, I was aiming for the cafe we were at earlier. We made a sudden appearance mid air above a table and promptly crashed down on it, startling everyone around us, toppling the table and its contents. I nearly ended up getting skewered by some kebab skewers.
Everyone was staring at us, but the couple whose date (I’m assuming) we interrupted were none too happy judging by the scowls on their faces and food splattered everywhere.
“I uh, heh, sorry about that, folks,” I said sheepishly. Either I needed to fine-tune my teleportation, or the table was unintentionally moved in my way. I quickly righted the table, then fished out two gold coins from my bag to cover the food and drink I ruined. “Here, on me.” Then Firefly and I briskly cantered off towards Town Hall with as much of our dignity intact as possible.
“You sure know how to make an entrance,” Firefly dryly remarked, picking some pineapple out her mane and popping it in her mouth.
“Dude, gross,” I said, scrunching my nose as she swallowed.
“...What?” she replied, smacking her lips. “Still fresh.”
I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, Midnight wasn’t at the cafe to witness that spectacular failure, so we’ve got a bit of time before he shows up. In the meantime, let’s go have a chat with the mayor, then check if Atlas and Slipstream are still in the library.”
“Hmmm…” Firefly said contemplatively. “Mind if I suggest something?”
“You just ate some pineapple that got stuck in your mane. I’m not your judgemental skills are up to par,” I smirked.
“I think we should wait until Midnight shows up. We don’t know if the mayor is involved, and he even said that he remembers everyone. My suggestion is that Middy can use his invisibility to go with us, and when we leave, he can stay behind to see if the mayor tries warning any of his cronies. Potentially speaking, of course.”
“Despite the pineapple, that’s actually not a bad idea. Let’s check in on Slipstream and Atlas instead, then,” I said.
As Firefly and I approached Town Hall, we saw Atlas and Slipstream sitting on deck chairs Either side of Granite, smoking his cigar.
“Well hello you three,” I said as I went up the stairs.
“Howdy there, Corona,” Granite greeted with a polite tilt of his hat. “You come for your friends?”
“That I have, good sir.” I turned to Atlas. “How’d the day go?”
“Pretty well, all things considered. I’m ready to head back if you are.”
“Granite,” I began, “I just need to take these two back to work and I’ll be back to have a chat if you’ve got the time?”
“By all means,” he replied.
I was quick to whisk Atlas and Slipstream off to the castle, depositing them in the conference room for a discreet entrance back into the castle, and I returned to Granite momentarily. As Firefly and I were just about ready to talk to Granite, Midnight abruptly appeared right next to the stallion, much to the shock of Firefly and I. How he found us I had no idea, but at least he saved us the trouble of looking for him.
Noticing our expressions, Granite scanned around his surroundings, searching for whatever caught us by surprise before turning back to us. “Y’all look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
I waved it off. “It’s nothing. Anyway, there’s something you and I need to have a chat about.”
“Ah got some time,” he stated, getting out of his chair. “If y’don’t mind, Ah just need t’have a slash first.”
I rolled my eyes at Granite’s crass statement as he went inside, and Midnight took the moment to update us briefly.
“Nothing to report, unfortunately. I waited at the site where the equipment was stashed, but they were a no-show.”
I tsked. “Bit of a downer, but we’ll get into that later. Right now I need you to follow us inside and remain hidden except to Firefly and I. We’re going to have a chat to the mayor, and we need you to spy on him during and after. We need to ascertain if he’s in kahoots with the map stallion. When we leave after our talk, give it an hour to see if he does anything suspicious.” I’d give Granite good reason to do so, too. “Meet up with Firefly here when you’re done.”
After a further couple minutes of waiting, Granite returned from down the hall and motioned for us to follow him. We went up a flight of stairs, to a door at the end of a hallway. Granite opened it up to reveal a more conservative looking office space that looked like Mr. Burn’s in The Simpsons. Firefly remained by my side while Midnight stood between Granite’s desk and the ticking grandfather clock in the corner of the right hand wall.
“Mind tellin’ me what this is all about?” Granite said, slipping into full-on business mode.
“I am here on official royal business on behalf of Princess Luna,” I said as diplomatically as I could.
Granite scoffed. “Y’all can forgive me if Ah don’t believe in ya. If y’are, then Ah’ll need more than just your word.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve got something quite convincing.” Instead of using my magic, I reached around the back of my head to undo the clasp of the peytral and pull it off, breaking the spell.
Granite’s eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. He was silent for several long seconds as he tried to fully comprehend the presence of the individual sitting before him. He lurched forward and began quickly fumbling around his desk in a vain attempt to tidy it up. “T-to what do Ah owe the pleasure of this’re visit, your highness?”
I smirked at the sudden change of character, but kept my cool. “Firstly, I need your word that nothing leaves this room. OK?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Good. To the point, a while ago, there were some maps stolen from the castle by a rust-red pegasus stallion. He has green eyes, and a treasure map-esque looking cutie mark. Have you seen him around?” It was time to see if Granite was the honest type.
“Ah’ve seen him here and there. Makes plenty of trips to Powder Keg and the general store. Mind if Ah ask what this is about?”
I cleared my throat. “You see, your town is built in the caldera of a volcano. The earthquake several years ago created the chasm outside of town because of rock collapsing underground to fill a void in the magma chamber.” Granite raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t say anything, so I took it as my queue to continue. “The maps that were stolen depicted this general area. Upon further investigation, we discovered gold deposits in the chasm.”
“Y’mean to tell me there’s been gold underneath our hooves all this time?” Granite said in wide-eyed disbelief.
“Amongst other things, yes.” Judging by his reaction, he didn’t know about the gold at the very least.
He blinked. “Would you mind elaboratin’, princess?”
“In a volcanic region such as this, and over millions and millions of years of intense heat and pressure, there are almost guaranteed to be other coveted precious metals and gems,” I said succinctly.
“Do you mean what Ah think you mean?” Granite replied, leaning forward in his chair.
Firefly turned to fix me a look of incredulity. “I think I’m in the same boat as Granite on this one, Luna.” Judging by Midnight’s stare, he was also equally interested.
“Diamonds,” I said. While that was true, I wanted to see if Granite would stay true to his word and keep our conversation to himself with some temptation. If not, Midnight would find out soon enough.
“Diamonds…” Granite said arily, leaning back into his chair.
“My main concern is this,” I continued. “Because of how the chasm was created, I believe that mining the area would prove catastrophic for everypony. The stallion who stole the maps wishes to mine underneath your town, invariably risking his life and that of everypony in your town. We seek your help in apprehending him and any accomplices.”
Granite slumped in his chair. “That right there’s a lot of information comin’ at me mighty fast, your highness. What Ah can do is tell the sheriff t’keep an eye out for ‘im, but we can’t arrest ‘im without evidence or probable cause.”
I remembered back to what Midnight told me earlier in the day. “Halfway between here and the crevasse is a campsite that had some mining equipment. Tomorrow, I can have one of my guards who has been there to accompany the sheriff, deputy, whoever, to the area to arrest anypony that shows up. You can understand my haste in the matter, right?” I said pressingly. I looked sideways to Midnight briefly, and he nodded approvingly at my suggestion.
“Sure thing, your majesty,” Granite said deferentially.
“Thank you for understanding,” I smiled. “If you don’t mind, I’m due back at the castle to raise the moon.”
“It’s been an honour to meet you, Princess, whether or not Ah knew who you were previously,” he added in embarrassment. “Y’all come back now, y’hear?” Granite said hopefully, waving farewell as we walked out the office.
I smiled in return. “Until next time, Granite. Thank you for being so helpful.”
After we got downstairs and out of earshot from anyone in the building, I asked Firefly; “Are you able to wait around for Midnight?”
“I’ve got enough magic for a return trip between the castle and town, so taking Middy shouldn’t be too big of an issue if he can’t manage the distance.”
“By the way, if Granite asks, I’ve given you the rest of the day off to go shopping. That’s your cover while you wait for Midnight. Report back to me by seven, quarter past at the latest.”
“Understood, princess.”
As I put the peytral back on and readied myself to go back to the castle for the umpteenth time that day, when I walked outside I began to witness the shadows from a few of the taller buildings gradually grow longer against the ground. Slightly puzzled, I looked to the sky and, sure enough, my confusion was abated as I saw that Celestia had already begun to lower the sun. Grumbling to myself for the poor timing, I quickly darted past Firefly, and into the library to lower the moon out of sight of everyone else. Hopefully Celestia wouldn’t notice my slip-up. With dinner not for another hour at least, I suddenly found myself with a bit of time on my hooves. Feeling pretty proud with myself about how I handled things for the day, I decided to wander through town for a short while.
A number of the shops had already closed, and those that were still open had a smattering of ponies browsing the dwindling wares and produce stands that remained. Sadly, I couldn’t find Harvest to get some more popcorn kernels, but there were a few of the stalls selling sweet things to the fillies and colts that were in the markets with their parents. I decided to see if Firefly’s caramel apples were as good as she made them out to be, so I bought myself one while I meandered through town to see what else was available to get.
And as coincidence would have it, I was walking up the market street when I saw Harvest with his saddlebags chock full of groceries buying the last bag of carrots from a farmer’s cart, so I decided to say hello.
“We meet again,” I said as I approached.
“Oh sh–!” Harvest made an abrupt about turn. “Oh, it’s you again, Corona. Sorry, you caught me off guard.”
I smiled warmly. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was walking through town about to head home, spotted you, so thought I’d say a quick hello.”
“Speaking of if I may ask, you said you came through the forest to the north, so where is it you live exactly?” Harvest asked as he stuffed the carrots into his already full bags.
I was debating about being honest, but I decided telling the truth was for the best. “The Castle of the Two Sisters,” I said as discreetly as I could.
Harvest raised an intrigued eyebrow at that. “You don’t say? Have you met the princesses?”
I grinned slightly. “On a daily basis.”
“Y’know, I met Princess Luna once. Had to settle a case about a noble trying to buy up my land,” he said bitterly.
“Pray tell, what was he tryi–”
“Daddy, I got the potatoes!” an oh-so familiar voice chimed in.
I turned around, and… “Hayseed!” I exclaimed serendipitously.
Despite the sack of potatoes on his back, Hayseed gasped a mile-wide smile. “Lu–Corona!”
Harvest was beyond perplexed and looking between both of us. “Wait just a moment, how do you two know each other?”
That was a question as long as it was involved. Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer just yet, because Hayseed was poking Harvest and distracting him.
“Corona’s my friend!” he said. “Can we have her over for dinner? Oh pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!”
I tried stifling a giggle behind a hoof, I really did.
“Son,” Harvest said to Hayseed, “I would very much like to know how you two met beforehand,” he said questioningly, giving me the same look that Ms. Abacus was. I couldn’t really blame him, I just hoped not to get an... unwanted reputation.
“If it’s all the same to you, I can explain shortly?” I wasn’t sure how subtle I was being, but I couldn’t really pull off my disguise when there was ponies still about and potentially create a commotion.
“Well… I suppose,” Harvest said tentatively. “If Hayseed says you’re his friend, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.”
Hayseed promptly started bouncing up and down.“Yaaaayyyyyy!”
Walking beside Harvest made the ten minute trek a bit tense as Hayseed lead me to his home, smiling, skipping and pronking all the way like he had too much sugar. I took the time to eat my caramel apple, realising just how justified Firefly was in scoffing them down like they were going out of fashion. Eventually, I spotted the house, fresh out of Hayseed’s dream the first time I met him. I jokingly wondered if any ghosts had turned up, ominously chanting; “Return the slaaaaabbbbb…” The similarities between the two houses were rather jarring.
“We’re here!” Hayseed exclaimed, ignoring the two stairs and jumping onto the deck, pushing open the creaky door and shouting down the hall. “Momma, daddy and I are home and we brought a guest!”
“Did your father pick up the groceries on the list I gave him?” a somewhat vexed, feminine voice called out from somewhere in the house.
“Sure did, hon! How’s the little one doing?” Harvest replied with equal volume, stepping through the first door to the left and into the kitchen as Hayseed went down the hall. I followed Hayseed, and he turned left into the second door into a spacious living room. The kitchen was separated by a countertop that was fixed against the wall to the left which doubled as a table.
However, my attention was drawn to the heavily pregnant unicorn mare sitting on a sofa against the right hand wall, under a window that was letting in the remainder of the evening sunlight. On that note, lowering and raising the moon essentially meant using my magic to facilitate the process. I don’t know why it didn’t happen naturally like it did on Earth, but, I digress. Her white aura held a pair of knitting needles, and the coffee table, pulled close to the sofa, held all manner of items an expecting mother would need without having to get up. There was also a large basket full of different coloured wool balls on the table from which the thread was being pulled into whatever she was knitting. Her almost matte black coat was tinted with purple highlights that shined in the evening light, and her vibrant purple mane faded to a scintillating blue.
“She’s doing fine, babe.” The mare paused her knitting as she looked up to me. “Oh, hello, who might you be?”
“This is my friend, Corona!” Hayseed said for me.
“Hello,” I said with a friendly wave. She gave me the same look Harvest and Ms. Abacus did. “What’s your name?” I asked despite the brief, awkward moment.
“My name’s Nebula.” The spiral galaxy of dotted white, purple and blue stars on her flank seemed to corroborate that. “Mind telling me how you met my little Hayseed?” Nebula asked pointedly, her voice taking on an almost defensive tone.
“Can I tell them?” Hayseed asked giddily, to which I nodded and winked. “That’s not Corona, it’s really Princess Luna!”
Harvest and Nebula shot me looks of thorough disbelief, and Nebula snorted skeptically before resuming her knitting as Harvest continued unpacking the groceries.
“Are you sure, Hayseed?” Harvest asked over his shoulder.
“You see,” I began, “I was doing my thing in the dream realm when I noticed that Hayseed was having a nightmare. One thing lead to another, and bing-bang-boom, here I am.”
“Prove it, then,” Nebula said, fixing me a challenging, yet friendly stare.
Without saying another word, I reached behind my head and undid the paytral’s clasp.
Nebula immediately stopped knitting, staring at me with eyes that looked like they were going to pop out her head. “Uhm, hun,” she said extremely slowly. “You’re going to want to turn around.”
“Yes dear, what is i—” Harvest went completely rigid when he turned around. For the second time that day, he dropped what he was holding as his jaw almost hit the floor in abject disbelief. ”Princess Luna is in my house?!?!”
“It would appear so,” Nebula added, slowly resuming her knitting as a smile formed on her muzzle at Harvest’s reaction.
“I can’t believe we’re hosting royalty of all things!” Harvest shouted once again, still staring. Meanwhile, Hayseed was sitting on his haunches and sniggering behind both his hooves, trying to keep himself from exploding with laughter at what just unfolded.
“Congratulations, by the way,” I said with a smile and a nod at Nebula’s stomach. “Colt or filly?”
“I wanna filly!” Hayseed adorably chirped.
“Harvest over there wants another colt, but I’ve got a feeling about this one,” Nebula said.
“How far along are you?” I asked.
“Ten months down, one more to go,” she said longingly, rubbing a foreleg over the bump.
I almost forgot that horses are pregnant for eleven months. I never wanted to carry a kid for nine months, let alone two extra. Part of the reason why I didn’t want eating, pooping, and cry factories of my own. It’s why I preferred to hang out with my friends on Earth, not that they were any better after we went bar-hopping.
“Are you staying for dinner?” Nebula asked.
“That was the plan, but I do have to be back at the castle in half an hour, sadly." After I said that, little Hayseed look like Bastion took his favourite toy away. "I would love to take a rain check, or even invite you to the castle as my guests.”
“What do you say about that, hon?” Nebula called over to Harvest.
“Babe, you’re in no position to travel that far, so maybe in a couple months after we’ve sold the farm,” he replied.
I balked at that. “You’re selling the farm?”
“Yeah,” Nebula sighed sadly. “With me unable to help, the work has been piling up, and the farm hands we’ve been hiring since I got pregnant haven’t been helpful or reliable.”
“Yeah,” Harvest added wistfully. “I can’t handle the workload of running a farm by myself, and after Hayseed’s little happening with the plough… When that noble tried running us off our land – and thank you for your help with that by the way, Princess – he and I had a long talk and he agreed to pay us a sum we could retire on. It would be a nice change of pace to settle down and raise our future son,” he finished with a smirk at Nebula.
“For the last time, it’s a filly!” she objected light-heartedly. “But yeah, he’s right. We’ve had a good run with this place, but circumstances have changed.”
“If it’s any consolation to you, I’d love to have you at the castle! The finest chefs, amazing scenery, the best doctors, and there’s even a small school for the colts and fillies while their parents work. How does that sound?” I almost sounded like The Godfather, making an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“Oh, could we?!” Hayseed beamed. “I’ve always wanted to go to the castle!”
Still knitting away, Nebula looked to up me contemplatively. “While that is an amazing offer, would you mind giving us some time to think it over?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t expect a split second decision after all,” I said.
“Thank you,” Nebula said gratefully. “If you’re not staying for dinner, how about some tea?”
“I’ve got twenty minutes to spare, thank you.”
“What’s your favourite?”
“Jasmine.” Rather, it was Luna’s, but it happened to be growing on me.
“You’re in luck,” she said. “Harvest, if you wouldn’t mind? And some juice for Hayseed, too.”
“Three cuppas and some juice coming right up!”
Talking to Nebula and Harvest provided quite beneficial. The money they got from selling off sections of farm, as Harvest said from when we first met, allowed him to support the farm for as long as he could. With that running out, it’s what drove him to sell the remaining land to the noble since he was becoming overencumbered with work. And then I found out that his farm and land wasn’t the only one being bought up. Various nobles from wealthy towns had been buying a lot of land from neighbouring farms, and having their own labour force do the work. Why? I had no idea, but I felt there was more to it than that.
By the time I looked at the clock, it was quarter to seven. I needed to get back to the castle before Midnight and Firefly did, then it was dinner time.
“I hate to break up the party,” I began as I put down my empty teacup, “but it’s time for me to go. I have some important business to take care of.”
“Awww,” Hayseed sadly chorused. “Can you come visit again?”
“I don’t see why not,” I said with a wink. “It’ll be a surprise, ok?”
That seemed to cheer him up a bit. “I like surprises!” he squeaked.
“Nebula, Harvest, thank you for having me, and good luck with the foal, too.”
“It’s been a privilege to have you, Princess,” Harvest said with a short bow.
“Please, call me Luna when we’re in good company. Formality is for on-the-job.”
“I never thought I’d see the day Princess Luna of all ponies would walk into our house and have tea with us,” Nebula giggled. “Have a good evening, Luna.”
“I’ll see you three, or should I say four, in the future.” To make my departure memorable, I made sure to leave behind sparkles of magic when I teleported back to my room. ...Right as I heard three knocks. Confused and impressed with the timing, I answered the door, but nobody was outside, not even Bastille.
I looked up to Veloce, and she looked back. “Did someone knock?”
“Nope! Been the only one here for the last ten minutes.”
“Where’d Bastille go?”
“Bathroom. Something about something he ate not agreeing with him.”
“I regret asking.” Veloce laughed at my discomfort, and I just rolled my eyes at her frolicsome joke. “Thanks anyway, though.”
When I closed the door and turned around, Boreas was staring at me through the large double doors with her forelegs cupped around her face like she was peering through a store window. I went over to let her in. “Yes?”
Boreas tilted her head at me, showing off her a gold ear piercing in her right ear, shaped like the crescent moon. “Notice anything new?”
I looked her up and down. “Nah, just some peeping tom trying to perv into my room,” I said with a roguish grin. Boreas tsked in return and rolled her eyes at that. “Nice earrings,” I finally admitted. “Did it hurt?”
“Well yeah, but it’s mostly gone now, just a dull ache that’ll go away soon enough. I hope you like the design choice. And look!” Boreas fished out five gold coins from… somewhere. “The metalsmith kept one coin and he let me have the rest!”
“How long were you waiting outside?” I impishly asked.
“A few minutes...”
“You knocked the second I showed up!”
“I was impatient to show you the earring!”
“Alright, fair enough,” I said.
“So, what else did you get up to today?” Boreas said.
“The mission, shall we say, proved fruitful in a few aspects. Now I’m waiting on Firefly and Midnight to return and report in. Until then, I’m just gonna unwind.”
“Fancy playing chess until dinner? You win, you get a gold coin. I win, I get one from you,” Boreas said with a rather overconfident grin.
“Just because you’ve got money, doesn’t mean you can go gambling it away. I’m got hundreds of years of experience, and you’re barely twenty!”
“Scared I’ll win?” Boreas waggled her eyebrows, and I met her challenging gaze.
“It. Is. ON!”
We played until ten past seven rolled around. I’m ashamed to admit she won every single match. At least it wasn’t my money I was losing out on. At that point, there was a knock at my door, and Firefly and Midnight let themselves in.
“How’d everything go?” I asked them out the corner of my eye, not fully taking my eyes off the chess board.
“Checkmate again!” Boreas declared victoriously, trapping my king with a knight.
“Damn it!” I grumbled as I forked over another coin. “That’s three games in a row!”
“Aww, did the century old princess lose to a mare barely out of her teens?” Firefly taunted.
“Bite me!” I returned, huffing indignantly. They all laughed at me, and I grumbled at that.
“Granite didn’t do anything out of the ordinary; he just kicked back and read a book for the entire time I was in his office,” Midnight said.
“And while I was waiting outside, I recognised the map stallion from your description,” Firefly added. “He was sitting at the cafe we were at talking to a smartly dressed unicorn.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “What did he look like?”
“Black coat, silver mane, blue and white compass rose for a cutie mark, and he was wearing a suit vest with a pocket watch,” she said.
My eyes slowly widened as Firefly described the stallion. I knew who that was!
“Lumen!” I practically spat his name like poison.
“Who?” Boreas asked, pocketing the three gold coins into a coin purse with a smug grin.
“The same week my room was broken into, there was a land dispute between Harvest and Lumen. Lumen had been trying to run Harvest off his farm by planting crops, or letting the seeds blow over onto his land so Lumen could claim it,” I clarified.
“It didn’t work, did it?” Midnight said.
“I would have told him to take a long walk off a short pier,” Firefly giggled.
“No, it didn’t work.” Then my expression became sour. “This is just a hunch, but what if Lumen and the other nobles have been trying to legally buy up the land surrounding Mercy so they could mine it?”
“Seems logical,” Boreas agreed.
Midnight chimed in. “Are you going to tell Celestia?”
“Not until I’ve got the full story,” I replied. I didn’t want Celestia complicating things until I had the chance to sort them out. “We need to find out exactly which nobles have been buying up land, and who else is involved with the map stallion. Those stuffy nobles aren’t willing to get their hooves dirty with the work, so there must be others they’ve got on standby.”
“So, what do we do now?” Boreas said.
I looked at the time. A quarter past seven. “First, we have dinner. I’m hungry. Then, we get Bastille, Veloce, Comet, Ares, and update them afterwards. Tomorrow, we strike.”
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*gigglesnorts*
oh boy things sure are happenin
december be good month
Aiming for where she was earlier, huh? Depending on a few details about the world she's on, she may have been as accurate as she thought she'd be.
8625886
If you ask ten people how teleportation works, you're going to get ten different answers. I prefer to leave a margin of ambiguity in these sorts of things to let the reader make up their own mind in how these things work. Kate knows how to teleport, I just haven't said how she goes about casting the spell. One way to look at is that you never return to the exact same spot, you just return to the general area. It's the margin of error, really. In theory, a highly trained unicorn could reduce the margin of error to become more precise similarly how a sniper trains themselves to shoot at a bullseye.
I loved this new chapter, very entertaining it is.
I'm looking forward to what the future holds
8664540
I was certain the description was enough to imply that it was deliberate?
"What's your offer?!"
Very smart
And neither do the guards
I think a word is missing here
Ha!! Oh my god I loved that episode so much
I had a feeling that noble wasn't good when he showed up