The Kingdom of Heaven and Earth

by Bucephalus

Chapter 6: Valley of radiant winds

Kingdom of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 6: Valley of radiant winds

The room, despite its large size, felt cramped because of the presence of the three ponies. They sat in a form of a triangle, within respectable distance from each other. There wasn’t much of luxury to decorate their meeting. Just a single cushion for everypony, as well as a cup of water in case one was needed.

Threat hung in the air like a heavy shadow, hiding in the corners and growing deeper in the darkness. The ponies kept eyeing each other, clearly having no trust to anypony but themselves. There was one cushioned seat left in the makeshift conference-room, but the one who should have sat there was nowhere to be found. This absence did not surprise anypony, though, and so the pony sitting on the left started.

“So, what is this? I am quite busy in Canterlot these days, what with our dear Princess Celestia being quite keen on making sure all my ponies end up behind the bars,” a sneering colt asked. “I have no recollection of agreeing on meeting such dangerous looking ponies as you two.”

The dirty brown stallion with uncouth mane and tail, not to mention a gaze that made you double-check the location of your wallet, was known as Midnight Oil. His rough and untrustworthy appearance, however, was rather misleading. The cream-colored eyes and the Cutie Mark of a burning lamp, when combined with the fact that he hadn’t taken a bath in few weeks, made him seem like a normal thief. However, those who had known him for long knew better.

Midnight Oil wasn’t just any thief. He was the leader of the Thieves Guild of Equestria. The respected “Count of Crime” looked right at home in the run-down room. In fact, he was the most relaxed looking pony of the three.

“You cannot sneak away like a fox this time, Midnight. You know exactly why you’re here for. Because we demanded you to be,” another stallion answered, looking rather fierce. “What I want to know is why we even had to do such a thing? Usually I don’t associate myself with street-rats.”

The older stallion shot quite a glare towards the mare sitting not far away from him. This pony was known as Bayard, and as if to emphasize the white shine of his coat, his mind was like a gleaming, sharp knife. Despite his large size, Bayard was rather fair-looking stallion, graceful and handsome with a Cutie Mark in the shape of a diamond that stuck out of a lump of coal. The ice-blue mane of Bayard hung on his shoulders, being well-kept just like his tail. However, despite the very aristocratic look he had, Bayard had clearly a posture of somepony who knew how to handle himself in a battle.

Not only that, but Bayard was the leader of the Merchants’ Guild of Prance, the Equestria Branch, and he was a very influential pony. To see him in such a room would have made his many female fans faint from the shock. However, there he was, eyeing the two other ponies like they had been his worst enemies. And they nearly were. The only thing that made the atmosphere of the room even somewhat civilized was the momentary truce between the ponies who had gathered.

“Speak for yourself,” Midnight Oil chuckled. “Your ego is nearly enough to push me out of this room, oldie.”

“Now, now.” A third voice entered the conversation. “Don’t act like that, you two. Though it is good to see that neither of you has changed a bit. The reason why you two are here is because of me. I used the old right to call forth this meeting, after all.”

The mare who spoke was as beautiful as Bayard was handsome. She was tall and lithe, covered in golden jewelry from head to hooves, and her eyes were like two emeralds that bore into everypony she turned her gaze upon. The purple pegasus’ name was Glorious, though everypony who had seen her even once knew that the name was fake. Glorious was clearly from some foreign country. Her features were too sharp to be ones of a pony born in Equestria. And the way she had done up her white mane reinforced that image.

But as beautiful as Glorious was, only fools thought her as nothing more than a pretty face. The way she carried herself reeked of danger, and for good reason. She was, after all, leader of the Assassins’ Guild’s sect in Equestria, and an accomplished fighter herself. No one crossed her without regretting it at some point. And on top of that, she had infamously long memory and a habit of holding a grudge.

“But, I was expecting there to be at least one more participant,” Glorious continued and looked at the empty spot with the cushion. “You three were the Generals I really wanted to talk to, after all.”

“Then you were wasting your time,” Midnight Oil cackled. “I haven’t seen Cleitus face-to-face for three years. And if the rest of the Twelve Heavenly Generals found out about this little pow-wow you’ve arranged, we’d all be treading on a pretty thin ice.”

The Twelve Heavenly Generals. A collective name given by the Neighponese immigrants to the twelve ponies that headed the twelve largest guilds in Equestria. This name then spread to a more common use as time passed. These guilds were in charge of keeping the seedy underbelly of Equestria in check, while Princess Celestia ruled over the actual country. In time, their influence had grown, and these days the Twelve Heavenly Generals had a certain amount of influence in the public politics, too. None of the guilds could oppose the Princess, but on a smaller scale, they could affect what happened around the country. However, Celestia tolerated the guilds and their scheming, because they kept the darkness of the country at bay. Some could have called the Generals a “Necessary Evil”, if their existence could have been summed in such black-and-white way. But things were never that simple.

“Well, it cannot be helped, then,” Glorious sighed. “The two of you will have to do. You see, there is a pressing reason why I have called you here.”

The smile on the purple pegasus’ face did not promise anything good. Both Bayard and Midnight Oil had seen how Glorious conducted business. And whenever she was about to strike, that same smile spread on her face. It always fell short of a real smile, becoming more of a warning sign of a predator about to pounce. But a simple expression was not enough to drive either stallion out of the room.

“As you two probably know, the situation has gotten rather tense recently, especially near the borders,” Glorious explained. “If nothing is done, Equestria will be pulled to a war that nopony wants. And not just with Marecedonia. Threats seem to be looming both inside and outside.”

“Your words are meaningless,” Bayard snorted. “We both know that amongst the ponies causing these chaotic ripples in our once tranquil lake are both Cleitus and you. Mercenary work and fighting was always handled by Cleitus and his army. But these days you have begun taking steps on his territory, expanding the services of your guild beyond simply assassinations.”

“Oh, but I am not the only one, am I?” Glorious laughed. “For example, you merchants have lately been very active on both spying and assassination. In other words, you are stealing jobs from two other guilds instead of just one. Isn’t that a bit shameful?”

“We are just doing what is written in our contracts. Contracts are the life-blood of merchants, after all,” Bayard answered with a frown. The tension between him and the mare was getting worse. “You cannot fault us for doing something that is expected of us these days.”

“Well, I guess that is understandable. I just wanted bring up the fact,” Glorious answered nonchalantly, before turning to look at Midnight Oil. “And you, dear thief. I’ve been hearing some interesting tales.”

“Of course you have, we’re thieves, after all,” Midnight said. “There is really nothing you can say to me that would give you any psychological advantage over me.”

“Really now?” Glorious chuckled. “Then what about the fact that you have been quite generously helping Princess Celestia when it comes to dealing with her political enemies, overstepping your position as the guardian of the darker side of Equestria? Not only that, but I’ve heard that you sent your best two thieves to a certain small town south of Canterlot, where they have been keeping an eye out on some rather important ponies for a long time. Are you aspiring to be some sort of hero of justice these days?”

“I don’t have to explain my actions to you, Glorious,” Midnight Oil said and spat to the floor. “This country is a free place, even though you try to extend your rusty chains everywhere. No matter how you try to make it sound like we’ve got our own territories and places here, the fact remains that Princess Celestia rules this land. And under her rule, everypony is free to do what he or she wants. This is just a land where we are allowed to live our own lives, nothing more, nothing less. So don’t try to make it sound like we’re having more influence than we actually do.”

“But not everypony is satisfied with that,” Glorious curtly retorted. “We each have the way we want to do things, and our policy has always been a respectful distance from each other. But there are some factions that want to change that way of thinking. After all, even though nowadays most of us are known just as one of the twelve guilds of Equestria, there is one faction that has a history longer than that.”

The beautiful eyes of the mare shone in the dimly lit room as she switched her gaze from Bayard to Midnight Oil, and then back again. Tension was rising, and those in the room knew that if the words that were about to be said would be released to the public, it could start open fighting on the streets. Nopony wanted an open clash between the guilds, but it was clear that in the wake of the possible war with Marecedonia, something else had begun to move.

No. Perhaps it could be said that something had began to move long before it.

“Our factions have no need to fight with each other. We all have an external threat, do we not?” Glorious smirked. “That threat being… Cleitus the Black.”

Perhaps Glorious expected a silence after her revelation. Or then she expected yells of disbelief from the other ponies. However, that was not the case. What followed her words was a rough, barking laughter that came from the doorway. As the three ponies quickly looked at the direction of the new voice, their eyes widened in disbelief. After all, before their very eyes, they saw a stallion they had never expected to see.

It was Cleitus the Black. His midnight-blue coat masked him into the dim light of the room almost perfectly, creating an eerie sight. Cleitus’ green eyes locked onto Glorious, and the grin on his face indicated that despite what he had heard, Cleitus was amused.

“I see,” Cleitus said and started taking slow steps towards the group. “A small conspiracy meeting with the intention of getting rid of me and my mercenaries. You’ve gotten pretty good, Glorious.”

The sound of Cleitus’ hooves hitting the floor sounded like bells of death to the other three. Their instincts flared up, being ready for any sort of attack the stallion could have done. However, instead of showing hostility, Cleitus seemed mostly just intrigued by the talk the three were having. In the same way that a cat is intrigued by the sight of mice dancing on the table.

“Sorry for being late, my fiancée has an annoying habit of nagging whenever I don’t clean my armor after a mission,” Cleitus said with a grin as he sat down. “Do continue, guys. What was it again? Oh, yeah, banding together against a pony who has become an obstacle to your growing power. Sounds logical, if you ask me.”

“No, no, don’t get my intentions wrong,” Glorious answered, recovering quickly from the surprise appearance of the mercenary. “I simply wanted to hold a meeting to decide how to make sure a certain wild stallion with unfortunate connection to a rather dangerous country will not cause open chaos on the streets. You can understand reasoning like that, no?”

“Ha, sure I can!” Cleitus cackled. “If you ask me, I think you should cut off his head immediately to ensure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Like, for example, take that water you have foolishly put in those cups, and cut you down with it immediately.”

The sudden spike in the tension was nearly enough to spark into an open fight. Midnight Oil was already looking for what he could use as a weapon. Bayard’s magical power was slowly rumbling, as the unicorn prepared for anything Cleitus could throw at them. Only Glorious stayed calm. And that was mostly because she knew that she was safe. After all, there was an assassin from her own guild hiding in the attic above, ready to kill Cleitus on a moment’s notice if he proved to be a threat.

“Now ain’t that a nice reaction?” Cleitus asked with a malicious grin. “You’re all ready to go for the kill if I show any sort of hostility, huh? That’s good, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. I’m glad that the Generals are not such pushovers as most of the ponies I’ve met in this country.”

The aughisky calmly took a hold of the cup next to him with his magic, and raised it to his lips. He drank some of the water before putting the cup down. All his movements were made with perfect confidence, showing that he was not worried at all even though the three others were clearly ready to attack him. Cleitus gave a small chuckled and then glanced at the ceiling above him, as if to make sure of something.

“However, this kind of thing is awkward, you see. After all, I am an aughisky warrior. Once I sense bloodlust, I have hard time suppressing my own hostility. Usually I have to take it out on somepony in the end, before I can calm down to do business,” Cleitus explained. “For example, in this case it would be…”

In that instant, the ceiling above Cleitus shattered into hundreds of pieces. Wooden chips rained down to the floor, like some sort of grotesque rain. But that was not all. Those chips were dyed red from blood, and thus they stained the floor with their color. And amidst those falling pieces was something much bigger. A body of a pony clad in white garb fell down behind Cleitus. The wound on the now-dead assassin’s chest indicated that his heart had been pierced by something sharp and fast. In the span of few seconds, the assassin that had been guarding Glorious had been killed, and none of the guild leaders had been able to do anything to stop it.

It was only after they saw the dead assassin that the leaders realized what had happened. Using the water in his own cup, Cleitus had cut through the floor and the assailant, with speed that was too fast to be caught by naked eye.

“Now then…”

Cleitus shifted his posture and looked at the three ponies in front of him. His calm demeanor was a surreal sight when there was a dead body of a pony behind him, in a small puddle of blood. But it was that very calmness that gave pressure what the aughisky said next.

“…Shall we continue the meeting? I’ve played around enough for now.”

****

The cozy rattle of the fire was one of the few sounds that could be heard in the silent night. Other than that, the only thing Twilight could hear was the soft breathing of her sleeping friends and the distant sounds of the animals that lived on the edge of the Everfree Forest. However, silence was the natural sound of the plains that spread from the western edge of the forest all the way to the mountains that stood like a natural wall protecting the city of Los Pegasus. It was on these plains that the group had put their first true camp, after a journey in the tunnels below the Everfree Forest.

As idyllic as the scene was, Twilight could not help but to feel an odd tinge inside her head. The silence, the stillness… the purple unicorn was glad that she had things which to occupy her mind with. She did not have to let her mind wander as long as she was doing something.

Unlike her friends, Twilight Sparkle had opted to stay up to take care of the first guard-shift. This way she could also take care of the letter she had intended to send to Princess Celestia. What had affected her decision was also the fact that by taking the first shift, she could sleep uninterrupted till the morning.

The only miscalculation she had made was that she could not send the letter immediately, seeing that Spike had been the first one to actually fall asleep.

So, after finishing her letter, Twilight simply enjoyed the sight of the vast plain that eventually turned into what was known as the Windswept Valley. The night sky and the innumerable, brilliantly shining stars above made the grass of the plains glimmer like it had been covered with diamond dust, and the gentle breeze rocked the grass back and forth, reminding the purple unicorn of sea. She had only seen a sea once, back when she had been on a vacation with her family. Just like that seemingly endless sea, during the night the plains seemed to have no end at all. Only the faint dark shape of the mountains in the distance told the truth.

“San Galiceno mountains, huh…?” Twilight muttered to herself.

The San Galiceno mountains. They were the location of the one stop they had to take during their trip to the town of Kinskyton. On those mountains lied the famous Fort Stronghoof, where Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor, had trained before joining the Royal Guard. It was also in that place that the strange picture had been taken. What the connection between Shining Armor, Cleitus the Black and Fort Stronghoof was, Twilight couldn’t even begin to guess. But she knew that the answers lied in that old military base. However, she had no idea how they would get so high up in the mountains.

Therefore, they would have to find a town near the fort, and ask for directions.

“Oh, Twilight! You’re awake. I thought for sure that you’d have fallen asleep!”

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight greeted her friend as she walked into the light of the campfire. “It’s not time for your shift yet. You should go back to sleep.”

Pinkie Pie had crawled out of her makeshift bed and now sat besides Twilight, peering into the letter the unicorn had been writing. The pink pony seemed to be in a bit more mellow mood than usual, but that was no surprise. They had days worth of travelling in tunnels behind them, not to mention the daring escape from the monster that had turned out to be what amounted to a sentient forest. Still, Twilight was surprised to see that her friend was even this energetic. It was a sight she found most reassuring.

“Nah, I’ll keep you company!” Pinkie answered and smiled to Twilight. “You seemed like you were about to turn into Ms. Gloomypants over here, so I came for the rescue.”

“Aha, I… see,” Twilight said, unsure what to make of that. “Did I really seem that down to you? I wasn’t even thinking about anything sad. So don’t worry. I’m alright.”

“Oh, no you’re not,” Pinkie answered, looking Twilight as if admonishing her. “Others might not notice it, but your Auntie Pinkie Pie knows. You’re doing something reaaaaally dangerous, you know.”

“W-what? No I’m not,” Twilight tried to defend herself. For some reason, she felt as if Pinkie’s words had struck a little too close to home. “Don’t be stupid, of course I’m not doing anything dangerous.”

“I’d rather be stupid than let my friend suffer all alone!” Pinkie proclaimed. Then, with an almost hushed tone, she continued. “… You’re trying to run away from it, Twilight.”

At that moment, Twilight’s head jerked up as if she had heard something calling her name. She felt sweat appearing out of nowhere and dripping down her forehead. Pinkie’s question had been the one she hadn’t wanted to hear. Not now, not ever. Not at least during the mission Princess Celestia had given them. She had thought that she would have been able to cope with it until she was alone again, with no burden of Equestria’s future straining her back.

But she had been wrong. Just like that, her friend had asked just the question she had been afraid of asking herself.

Feeling that lying on the soft grass was uncomfortable, Twilight slowly stood up and took few slightly irritated steps forward. Her eyes wandered back to the flames of the campfire, but they did not see the red depths of it anymore. Instead they saw somewhere far beyond it, into a rainy night not too long ago. The purple unicorn turned her head away in a hurry, and began pacing back and forth, never straying too far from Pinkie Pie.

“… I can hardly sleep, Pinkie,” Twilight finally admitted, and even to her own ears her voice sounded hoarse. “These last few days of our travel, I’ve done almost nothing but stared at whatever was above me when you have been sleeping. Lying there, on my back, I’ve… I’ve tried to keep my mind in other things. In the mission, for example. It feels as if that is the only thing I can do to make sure I don’t just start yelling and screaming suddenly. It’s… It’s the silence that does it. Not the silence of the surroundings, but the silence of others.”

Pinkie chose not to interrupt her friend now that she had finally started to open up. She simply watched as the unicorn’s eyes switched their target around the camp, never stopping into one spot for a long time. It was like her body was reflecting her words, advancing only in short bursts.

“And if I do manage to fall asleep… I just relive that moment again, over and over. I feel again how I’m consumed by that dark rage, and how I can barely think anything because of the blood-red haze that clouds my mind. But worst of all… I see that monster looming over me. I see his sneer when his magic cuts the very connection I have to the aether. I feel the pain… the unimaginable pain of losing my horn.” Twilight’s voice trailed off into a whisper. “And even when I am awake, it does not go away. Do you know how glad I was we were in those tunnels for so long? Because of them, I didn’t have to think about rain at all. Because in t-the rain lies the source… the source of all that pain.”

Twilight, finally unable to hold back the tears from her eyes, turned to look at Pinkie Pie with desperation creeping into her face. Wet drops, ones that could never be beautiful, fell from her eyes and stained her cheeks.

“It hurts, Pinkie. It hurts so much.”

The next thing that Twilight felt was how she was captured into a gentle, yet firm, embrace. Pinkie’s right front leg tied itself around her shoulders and pulled her closer, into understanding warmth. Needing no words, Twilight buried her snout into the pink, fluffy mane and let her quiet sobbing be muffled by it. Sweet smell of cotton candy drove away the saltiness of her tears, allowing Twilight’s rapid heartbeat to calm down.

“It’s alright, Twilight. It’s alright,” Pinkie whispered. “That pain isn’t coming from your body. It’s from your memories. It’s going to be alright.”

“No it’s not! It’s not going to be alright!” Twilight nearly shouted and pulled herself away from Pinkie. “I can’t think! Even when I tried to use a spell with the help of the tome, I failed! I couldn’t figure out how to defeat the golem! I was so sure about my opinion that I started arguing with Rarity back in the ruins! Rainbow Dash nearly suffocated when she was trapped in the soil, following my orders! All of it was my fault! I can’t remember stuff I’ve studied for years, and have to blindly trust that star-cursed grimoire!”

Twilight’s face reflected her outburst. Tears falling from the reddening eyes had all but dried up, but they were replaced by the almost hysterical expression and teeth that gnashed against each other. Her mane was a mess, stuck into her face like it had been soaked. Pinkie, showing uncharacteristic determination, caught Twilight by the cheeks and forced the unicorn to look her directly into the eyes. Neither knew if Twilight’s yelling had caused the other ponies to wake up, but even if it had, they did not care.

“Twilight. Stop. Being. Silly,” Pinkie spoke one word at a time. “Nothing that happened was your fault. But if you blame yourself, you’ll end up even worse than worst. The problem is that you think and think and think till your head starts to hurt, but you don’t realize. Twilight, it won’t go away. You cannot shove those memories aside if you want to return to what‘s normal. You just gotta accept them and face them. And… I know it isn’t as easy as I make it sound. It’s super-duper hard, actually. But I know you can do it, Twilight. Just talk to us, your friends. We’ll help you.”

Twilight forced her breathing pace back to normal and let Pinkie’s words soak into her mind. She knew she was pushing aside the issue. She knew that she needed to understand what she had experienced, to accept the loss of her horn. But the mere idea of going voluntarily back to that moment of rain, blood and sorrow filled her with dread. She never wanted to experience it again, even in her own memories.

But maybe… maybe Pinkie is right. Twilight’s thoughts were begin to become as calm as her body. I have my friends. I’m not alone. If I explain them what is happening, surely they can help me. I don’t have to be alone with this. Even if I don’t go back to that memory, my friends can surely figure out what I should do to make all of this go away!

Twilight, feeling like she had run a marathon, collapsed gently against Pinkie’s shoulder. The pink earth pony smiled gently and stroked her friend’s mane like a mother strokes the mane of a filly. For a moment, the two of them simply sat there in the light of the campfire, allowing the silence to wash over the anger that had flared up.

The two ponies heard nothing else but the occasional crack of wood that was broken by the fire, and the soft breathing of their friends. As the drowsiness that follows great emotions finally caught hold of them, the two sat down to the grass, Twilight still leaning on Pinkie Pie. The unicorn had found her answer to the dreadful question that had plagued her for now. She would not face it alone. After all, she knew that her friends could give her the answer, if she simply gave it time. In the meantime, she would be able to focus on the mission.

I simply don’t have to think about it. Twilight felt relieved as she voiced her conclusion in her mind.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie shifted her position a little and looked up, towards the sea of innumerable stars above them.

“Twilight? Do you want to hear a song?” Pinkie asked. Twilight, still suffering from few shushed sniffles, looked at her friend with a slightly confused expression.

“A song…? At this time of the night?” Twilight asked. Pinkie nodded and giggled.

“Sure! It’s not a loud one, so I think it’ll be alright. In fact, it’s kinda like a lullaby. At least my sister used to sing it all the time when we went to bed,” Pinkie said. “Let’s see if I can remember it…”

While Pinkie Pie mulled over her memories to find the words of the song from her past, Twilight felt that sleepiness was making her eyelids feel heavier and heavier. Unable to keep herself in the realm of waking, she drifted in and out of sleep. A stray thought about the possible nightmares passed by her mind, but it was soon driven away by a strange sensation.

This was the sensation of Pinkie Pie singing a song that Twilight had never heard of. With language Twilight did not understand.

“phainetai moi kênos isos theoisin emmen’ ônêr ottis enantios toi isdanei kai plâsion âdu phoneisâs upakouei…”

Maybe it was the unknown language, or perhaps it was because Twilight had never heard Pinkie singing something so peacefully. Whatever the reason, the purple unicorn soon found herself completely drawn into the land of slumber, unable to resist the sweet call of peaceful dreams she hadn’t seen in ages.

But, just before her sleep, one stray question passed through Twilight’s mind.

Just where has Pinkie learned language like this...?

****

The wind swept through the valley, speeding the journey of the six ponies. Somewhere far up above, a hawk let out a scream, as if telling of the magnificence of the clear blue skies. And soon enough, that hawk was joined by two pegasi, who could finally use their wings after days spent in tunnels below the ground. The ponies below watched with smiles as Rainbow Dash zoomed around the blue field, shouting in delight while performing her tricks. Fluttershy was taking it much more calmly, but it was clear that she was just as delighted as the blue-feathered pegasus was.

The journey through the plains had been without further incidents, and the ponies could finally feel like they were making progress. The sight of the sun and the white clouds, not to mention the green grass under their hooves, was enough to rejuvenate them after their long journey through the corridors of the old capital. The simple vastness of the fields of grass was something they hadn’t seen in the area around Ponyville. Even though they were still inside the borders of Equestria, they felt like they were well on their way on some unknown lands.

Twilight Sparkle enjoyed the wind that kept caressing her mane. Even though they had only taken a one stop during the midday, she felt energetic enough to keep her pace as a gallop, just like everypony else. The sudden feelings of freedom and hope that had reappeared with the sun were enough to make her forget her fatigue, and concentrate on the adventure ahead.

“Spike?” Twilight asked from the baby dragon riding on her back. “Did you find any towns nearby? We really need to find the route to the Fort Stronghoof.”

“Well, there’s seems to be a one near the root of the mountains,” Spike answered while reading the map. “With a pace like this, I’d say we’ll get there by the end of the day. That is, if you can really keep this up.”

“Oh, don’t underestimate us, lil’ Spike,” Applejack said with a grin. “Ah’d wager we’ll be there before the sun has even started to set.”

“Applejack, darling, don’t teach bad habits to Spikey-wikey,” Rarity said and frowned. “Gambling is not something somepony should learn at such a young age.”

“Oh, lighten up, pardner,” Applejack chuckled. “It was just a lil’ fun, ya know. Or what, don’t ya like gamblin’ because ya always lose?”

“I do not always lose!” Rarity protested. “I just refrain from making bets that are foolish from the beginning, and I do not think that young dragons such as Spike should learn about gambling. If simple greed has the danger of turning dragons into grabby brutes, I do not even want to think about what a gambling problem could do.”

“A dragon who keeps makin’ other dragons’ hoards grow?” Applejack chuckled. “But if ya think ya got what it takes, five bits says we’ll get to the town before dusk.”

“Oh, it is on,” Rarity answered. Her competitive smile was reflected on the orange earth pony’s face.

“What kinda town are we headed to, then?” Pinkie Pie asked while avoiding a rather large bush. “Do they have a bakery? They should have a bakery! Every good town has a bakery in it.”

“Well, this map says the town is called Ross-on-Welara,” Spike said while peering at the map. “Doesn’t really say anything other than that. I would guess that they are a bit different from the ponies in Ponyville, though. They live near the border, after all!”

“Aah, Ross-on-Welara?” Twilight asked with a smile. “I’ve read about it.”

“Why am I not surprised…?” Spike mumbled, being careful so that the purple unicorn would not hear.

“Ross-on-Welara is a town that has always been led by two mayors. These are usually a mare and a stallion, and most of the time they are married. That tradition goes all the way back to the Pre-Classical Era, when the there were actually two towns. They used to compete in everything, and even today the town holds a summer festival full of games in the honor of those times,” Twilight explained. “In any case, the two towns started having so much bad blood between them, that the young ponies of the town wanted to change this. That was why, when the elections for the new mayors came around one year, they voted for two younger ponies to the position. The trick was, these two ponies were lovers. Since these two sweethearts were the leaders of the towns, they quickly decided to unify the towns in order to create peace. Of course, the elderly complained, but in the end, everything turned out great. And from that day onwards, there have always been two mayors.”

“Oh, my,” Fluttershy commented while flying above Twilight. “That sounds so very romantic.”

“Hmph. What’s with the mushy stuff? I wanna hear about the battles!” Rainbow Dash complained shortly afterwards. “You said they had lots of awesome battles and competitions, right?”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said and smiled awkwardly. “I wasn’t particularly interested in details of those, so I concentrated on the political aspect when it came to the history of the towns of western Equestria.”

“Ugh, whatever,” Dash groaned and struck the air with her wings to get some height.

“Well Ah’ll be,” Applejack said with a smile while avoiding a rather large bush. “It’s nice to hear that even in such remote places ponies still are nice and friendly to each other.”

“We have Princess Celestia to thank for that, you know,” Twilight answered. “Under her leadership, Equestria has been in a state of uninterrupted peace since the defeat of Discord and re-establishment of Harmony. Other countries have not been so lucky. For example, Prance is known to have only narrowly avoided armed conflicts in numerous occasions. And even I do not have information when it comes to the lands beyond Mareterranean Sea. Except, of course, our current predicament with Marecedonia.”

“Ah, Prance,” Rarity sighed. “Say what you say about the politics of that beautiful country, but I must admit I would like to visit it again. The colors! The design! The brilliance! It was truly a country full of splendor and grace. Even Canterlot cannot compare to the sheer thought they have put to the mere design of their capital.”

“Oo, best baked goods recipes come from Prance!” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “They’re always both yummy and fill the tummy! But they also tend to be reeeeeally complicated, so it’s kinda hard to make them. Ooh, and did you know? When I was still a filly and went under the care of the Cakes, Mrs. Cake used to say that their leader was also a huuuuuge fan of baked goods! And when ponies of Prance were hungry, this leader even said: “Then let them eat cake”! Isn’t that just super-duper great!?”

“Let them eat cake? Qu’ils mangent de la brioche?” Rarity repeated with confused expression, which quickly grew into one of awkward realization. “Erm, darling? I do not think that sentence was as good thing as you think it is. Not to mention that cake is not part of baked goods.”

“Yeah, the ponies of Prance were not happy about that, if I remember right,” Twilight agreed with a dry smile. “And I think Princess Celestia once told me the name of the aforementioned leader too. Was it… Tuna?”

“Tuna?” Applejack asked in confusion. “What’s with an appetizin’ soundin’ name like that?”

“I’m not sure, that’s just what the Princess called the leader.” Twilight shrugged while avoiding a rather large bush. “Though I can’t help but to think that the leader of Prance is a gigantic fish.”

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity said. “A leader of such a beautiful country could never be a cold, slimy, dead-eyed fish like what you can find in—“

“Erm, girls? What’s going on?”

Rainbow Dash’s worried voice cut whatever it was that Rarity was about to say. The two pegasi, who had been soaring in the skies, flew down and joined their friends on the ground. While Fluttershy seemed rather unsure about the problem, the mare with the rainbow mane kept looking around, clearly searching for something. However, the only thing that surrounded the ponies was the never-ending sea of green grass, and the distant white-capped mountains. The breezy plains seemed as normal as ever, and the other ponies could not understand why Rainbow Dash had stopped them. Nothing new had happened during their run.

And that was what made Rainbow Dash worried.

“What’s wrong, Rainbow?” Twilight Sparkle asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Can’t you feel it? Or, don’t you notice it? We’ve been going past the same bush over and over again,” Rainbow Dash said and kept looking around. “It’s… It’s almost as if we’re not moving forward at all.”

Now the ponies started to realize what had made their friend so worried. They started paying attention to their surroundings, and sure enough, it was a place they had seen multiple times during the past ten minutes: A gentle slope of a hill with a bush nearby right in the middle of the huge plain. There was nothing out of the ordinary with the spot itself, but it was clear that they had been past this spot numerous times. Some of them had even avoided the same bush during their gallop.

“Well, this is certainly strange,” Rarity commented. “Are we stuck in some sort of loop? If so, why?”

“M-maybe it’s another… another magical creature?” Fluttershy suggested.

The other ponies nodded grimly. They had been running into all sorts of creatures since their journey had started, the least not being the aughisky warrior called Cleitus the Black. So it made sense that this weird occurrence would have been caused by something. Things like this did not happen on their own, not at least in normal places like this plain. It would have been another thing had they been in an enchanted forest like Everfree Forest, but on this plain…something was clearly out of the ordinary.

“By all logic, this creature would have to be somewhere close,” Twilight said. “To get us trapped in this sort of magical loop, it would have to see the terrain relatively well in order to trap us, or otherwise the spell would have been very unstable, and we would have noticed sooner.”

“Ooh! So it’s playing hide-and-seek with us!” Pinkie Pie got excited. “I love hide-and-seek!”

“The last time a magical creature hid close to us, we plummeted in Celestia knows how deep hole,” Spike commented. “Sorry if I’m not exactly happy about this fact.”

“Don’t worry, lil’ Spike,” Applejack said with a grin and took her Chain Bridle from her saddlebag. “If Ah guess correctly, the culprit might be a wee bit closer than we think…”

With nonchalant moves, Applejack walked closer to the bush that stood like a sore thumb out of the grass, and aimed the chain at it. She whistled in a way that made it very clear that she was up to something, and then, without any indication she was about to do so, the earth pony swung the artifact and let the chain fly into the direction of the bush in a large arc. The golden links of the chain swatted the bush with an audible sound, making the other ponies wince. However, their expressions soon changed into those of confusion, as the bush started letting out painful yelps that sounded very much those of a pony.

“A-Applejack, how did you…?” Twilight wasn’t sure where to even begin.

“Piece ‘o cake, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled and crossed her legs. “If something needs to hide, you can betcha that it’ll use the only place where hiding’s possible.”

“That was… surprisingly logical,” Rarity agreed and looked over to Spike. The baby dragon simply shrugged. He was as blankly surprised as the rest of them.

“Alright, the gig is up!” Rainbow Dash yelled and hit the ground with her hoof. “Show yourself!”

“Oh, my, how awkward!” A strange, high-pitched voice came from the bush. “Ahahahaha!”

Although most of the ponies would have wanted to answer somehow, they found themselves unable as something rather unbelievable started happening before their eyes. The bush itself started moving and squirming, uprooting itself and hopping onto the grass. Before their eyes, the plant started taking a far more familiar shape, its branches creating four gangly feet and the leaves moving so that they became a mane and a tail. The ring-like pattern of the bush’s surface turned into a steel-colored chain around its neck.

In simpler words, the bush in front of the groups turned into a rather strange looking stallion with brown coat and a bright green mane. Last things that appeared were two amber-colored eyes, staring straight into Applejack who had just whacked him with her chain. And if that was not enough, the lower jaw of the stallion opened unnaturally long, and revealed a row of beautiful teeth.

“Hello to you! To both the ladies and the gent! What a coincidence to meet you here!” the strange stallion said. “Or maybe not? I must admit, that whack from the chain did not feel coincidental at all.”

“What… what are you?” Rainbow Dash asked. “A pony? Or… just what?”

“Oh dear Celestia,” Twilight muttered and smacked her forehead with her hoof. “I think I have a hunch…”

“Me? Well, usually they call me Blackberry!” The stallion introduced himself. “Usually being every decade or so. After the tracks from Canterlot to Los Pegasus were built, not much folk using this route, ahahaha!”

“Don’t worry girls, he can’t be a bad guy,” Pinkie Pie giggled. “He knows how to laugh right!”

“How… how does one laugh “right”, Pinkie Pie? Or, nevermind,” Rarity said and sighed, as the stallion called Blackberry started his high-pitched cackle again.

“This mare knows! This mare gets it! Oh, to meet such good company after so many years!” Blackberry said, overjoyed. He extended his hoof towards the pink earth pony. “Please, tell me your name!”

“I’m Pinkie Pie, but friends just call me Pinkie!” Pinkie introduced herself and shook hooves with Blackberry. “I’m part of Princess Celestia’s envoy of peace to Mare-whatcha-callit.”

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight stopped going through her tome to scold her friend. “That’s supposed to be a secret! Especially if he turns out to be...”

However, Blackberry didn’t seem to hear that at all. In fact, he didn’t seem to be interested about the fact that they were an envoy at all. Instead, when he heard the name “Celestia”, his eyes lit up and he let out yet another howling laughter, causing Fluttershy to lean back and cover her ears. It was beginning to dawn to the group that this stallion did not know moderation when it came to volume.

“Oh! Princess Celestia! Nice lady, I heard!” Blackberry said and chuckled. “Good with a pen too!”

“Oh, she is!” Pinkie nodded furiously. “We’re always writing her letters, and usually she writes back, too! You should see how neat her hoof-writing is!”

“Pinkie, I think that’s because she uses magic to write…” Rainbow Dash commented, but the pink earth pony did not seem to even register the words.

“Got it!” Twilight suddenly said triumphantly and raised her head from the tome. Her eyes were locked in Blackberry. “Let me guess: You’re a pooka, aren’t you?”

“Guilty as charged, hahaha!” Blackberry howled in laughter. “You’re quite a clever mare, aren’t you? I like that!”

“P-Pooka?” Fluttershy asked while peeking from behind Rainbow Dash, having gone there for safety. “What is that?”

“Ooh, does that book have stories about my kin?” Blackberry asked and his neck suddenly grew quadruple in length as he peered at Twilight’s tome. “You read them all? Do tell which story you liked the best!”

“Not stories, just facts,” Twilight said and pulled away from the head of the pooka. “Though I knew something about your kin already. You were originally ponies that used to live under Discord’s rule, but eventually you started to embrace the chaos. Your kin became just as bad as Discord himself, and you started calling him the rightful ruler of the world. In time, you absorbed more and more of Discord’s mannerisms, and eventually you became his shadow. Granted with a portion of his power, you became his army which he used in his fight against Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. And though Discord was eventually defeated, your kin were not, and some of you fled into the night never to be seen again. Only occasionally you pop up here and there in history-books, mostly causing misery and chaos.”

“Oh yes, that old stuff!” Blackberry cackled. “Though instead of fleeing into the night, it was more that we were too busy tripping on our own feet and laughing at our own jokes that the troops of the alicorns just gave up on us and left us there! Hahaha, not one of our finer moments, I know!”

Twilight gave a tired sigh while watching the pooka laugh in one of his uncontrollable giggle-fits. It was getting rather repetitive, not to mention that with Pinkie laughing with him (probably because of the mental image of such a silly army), the whole laughter resonated annoyingly. Finally, Twilight put her tome back into her saddlebag, and walked over to Blackberry, looking him straight into the eyes.

“So, what do you want? Why did you cast a spell to keep us from going further?” Twilight demanded to know. “Are you trying to get revenge? Or hinder Princess Celestia’s goals somehow?”

“Oh, nothing like that! Why would I do something sensible? There’s no fun in something like that!” Blackberry said and snorted, trying to keep a straight face. “I just wanted to make you lot answer a riddle. That’s all, hahaha!”

The six ponies, and one baby dragon, looked at each other in confusion. Very deep confusion.

“A riddle?” Applejack asked. “What the hay do ya mean by that?”

“A riddle is a riddle. A word-play, a puzzle of words, something like that? You all should know what a riddle is, right?” Blackberry said. “A simple and clean riddle! Nothing more and nothing less, hahaha!”

“…Figures. Pookas are known to be pranksters who get the ponies they meet into all sorts of weird situations,” Twilight sighed and glanced at her friends. “Alright, girls. The quicker we figure out the answer to this riddle, the better. If there is one fact the tome gave about the pookas, it’s that once they are beaten in their own game, they usually leave their victims alone.”

The purple unicorn then locked stares with the strange stallion and squinted her eyes.

“Present your riddle then.”

“Ugh, such a mood-killer,” Blackberry sighed over-dramatically, but eventually sat down and pointed to the ponies with his front hoof. “Alright, here goes. Try to pay attention to what I say, for this is not an easy riddle!”

The pooka cleared his throat, did a theatrical pause as if trying to get the ponies hold their breaths in excitement, but when all he met was blank stares and Pinkie Pie who's interested had switched to a particularly funny-looking cloud in the sky, Blackberry started his riddle with a somewhat sour expression.

“My feelings are like those of a number one. Yet I’m the opposite of what is some. Unfortunately I am like the bee in a bee. And only with a mirror do I someone see. Adjective is my current form. But for some reason, I am not warm.”

Blackberry grinned in delight.

“What am I?” he finished his riddle.

There was a long silence as the ponies mulled over the words that had just been presented to them. Especially Twilight was hard at work, wracking her brains to come up with an answer. To her, the riddle seemed strangely easy at first hearing, but after she started thinking about it, something started feeling off in the whole litany of words. Twilight asked the pooka to repeat the riddle a few times, and every time he complied, ending the riddle with his pressing: “What am I?”

“Err, ya gals think of anything?” Applejack turned over to her friends and scratched the back of her head. “Ah must admit Ah’m drawin’ a blank ‘ere.”

“Same here,” Rainbow Dash admitted, looking rather annoyed. “I don’t care about this sorta stuff, so I can’t think of anything.”

“Um, perhaps… perhaps we could try simply guessing? The riddle seems awfully hard…” Fluttershy meekly suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Fluttershy,” Twilight said and looked at the others. “Let’s just go over this systematically, okay? That way we can piece together the answer step-by-step. So we start with: “My feelings are like those of a number one”. How does “a number one” feel?”

“Like me, of course,” Rainbow commented immediately.

The group of ponies groaned, and with Twilight in the lead, they tackled the riddle in a more serious manner, leaving Rainbow Dash’s comment aside.

However, as the rest of the group focused on how to solve the riddle, Pinkie Pie seemed to be more interested in the scenery around her. She sometimes gave a vague yes or no if somepony asked her about something, but her general mood seemed to be oddly mellow. Blackberry, having noticed the pink pony’s strange mood, focused his gaze on her. Eventually Pinkie Pie felt his eyes at the back of her neck and turned towards the pooka.

“Hmh? What’s up?” Pinkie asked with a smile.

“Are you not going to try to solve the riddle with your friends? Or is it that you’re bad at riddles, hahaha?” Blackberry grinned at the pony.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that,” Pinkie answered and shook her head. “I figured out the answer to the riddle looong time ago. I was just thinking other things!”

“W-what did you say?” Blackberry seemed rather surprised. “You already figured it out? Hahaha! Then why don’t you answer? It would help your friends!”

“Because I’m not sure if you’re being honest,” Pinkie said with surprisingly serious tone and walked over to Blackberry. She poked him with her hoof, almost accusingly. “You see, I’m not sure if you’re being honest, or just fooling us. If you were honest, I’d shout out the answer immediately.”

Blackberry, sensing that Pinkie clearly knew what she was talking about, calmed down a bit. His absurdly wide smile disappeared, and for a moment, he shared a rather similar expression with the pink earth pony. Despite the difference in their sizes and how they looked, they did not seem all that different there, under the clear blue sky.

“Then, how could I prove that I was being honest? Pooka’s word does not mean much these days, I know,” Blackberry asked and snorted.

“Oh, that’s super-duper easy!” Pinkie said and gave him a brilliant smile. “Let’s do a Pinkie Promise!”

For a moment, Blackberry appeared completely confused. After few seconds he managed to recover, and chuckled loudly.

“That’s your own brand of geis? Unbreakable promise, no matter what? Haha, I like that! I like the idea! Making it one might be just fitting!” Blackberry said. “Sure! If you say that’s enough, who am I to doubt you, pony? Ahaha! So, what do I need to do?”

Blackberry, who had lived through many centuries, had seen his fair share of ponies taking up a geis. A geis was a vow akin to a spell, one that bound a pony forever to abide by it. To the pooka, the idea of this modern world version of a geis did not seem unfamiliar. In fact, he felt like there was something nostalgic in it.

“So, what do I need to do? Surely this promise must involve some sort of ritual, haha!” Blackberry asked.

“You just need to say what you’re promising. Like, promising to speak the truth and not mean to harm Princess or anything! You know, something to make us trust you. And then do this…” Pinkie said and made the gesture before her chest, before placing her hoof on her right eye. “…while you recite: “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

With a light-hearted grin, Blackberry leaned his chin against his hoof. After thinking for few seconds, he finally opened his mouth and spoke, and performed the required gestures at the same time.

“I promise that I won’t lie to any of you. I do not want to attack Princess Celestia, and wish just to atone for my past mistakes. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, haha!”

The sight of the pooka giving his Pinkie Promise made Pinkie beam like the sun itself. However, what shone even more radiantly was Blackberry’s neck. To the pooka’s complete surprise, he could feel magical energies radiate around him, as a lock created from his promise was formed. A ring of runes wrapped itself around his neck, announcing that the geas had been completed. Although he had thought it to be just a formality, Blackberry suddenly found himself bound by a magical vow.

It took the pooka a few seconds to recover from the shock. His face twisted from surprise to annoyance, before quickly settling into an accepting grin.

“You can stop, girls! He made a Pinkie Promise!” Pinkie informed the others.

“H-huh? Pinkie Promise?” Twilight asked, and her confusion was reflected on the face of the others. The pink pony simply giggled and pointed at Blackberry.

“Yeah! He promised not to lie or mean harm to anypony. You see, he just wants to atone for what he’s done,” Pinkie informed rather proudly. “So now that I know he’s speaking the truth, I can tell you the answer to the riddle!”

“Wait, you know it!?” Rainbow Dash asked, clearly shocked.

“Of course, silly,” Pinkie giggled and looked at the pooka. “The answer to the riddle’s question: “What am I?” is, of course: Lonely.”

It was clear that the answer had not been what the other ponies had expected. The meaning of the answer dawned upon the ponies, and they found themselves somehow unable to properly cheer at Pinkie for giving the proper answer. Instead, they found themselves seeing how the smile dropped from Blackberry’s face, and how the pooka sighed and squatted down on the ground while looking unusually melancholic.

It was a totally different situation from what the ponies had imagined.

“Well, that’s right. Or, rather, Pinkie is right,” Blackberry said with not a hint of happiness in his voice. “Well, good job ladies and the single gent. As promised, I’ll reward you by removing the spell.”

“Hey-hey-hey! Wait a minute!” Rainbow Dash yelled, surprising even Blackberry himself. “What do you mean you’re lonely?”

“Well, that’s kind of given, isn’t it?” Blackberry said. “It kind of comes with the whole deal of being sealed on the spot of capture, which is what happens to every pooka captured by the Royal Guard of Equestria after the war with Discord. Can’t blame them though, I was a pretty bad pony when I was caught. But in the last few decades with no visitors, even I have begun to understand what loneliness is. Alas, such is life.”

The ponies were surprised to hear such words from the mouth of the pooka. Only Pinkie Pie seemed to understand what was going on in his head, and she had an odd expression which reflected that. There were clearly signs of prolonged loneliness on the face of Blackberry, something which had been hidden so well by overbearing laughter before. But now, with all of that happiness taken away from him, it was beginning to become clear just what sort of thoughts must have ran through his head every day, while stuck in the middle of the plains.

“Sealed? You mean, you have been trapped here with magic?” Rarity asked, clearly still doubtful as to how she should feel about the situation. “That certainly explains why you are in such a remote location, but still… Why has nopony ever freed you from this place? Surely you’ve met ponies with such skills.”

“Nope, not a single one. You see, this seal can be created and released only with the equipment carried by the Royal Guard, which has been granted to them by Princess Celestia. Even with that tome of yours…” Blackberry pointed at Twilight. “…You could not release me. That is the fate of pookas these days. Or these centuries.”

“But… but that is just unfair,” Fluttershy added. “Well, while you may be a prankster, nopony should be forced to stay here after he has realized how wrong he has been before. Um, can’t you contact Princess Celestia to ask for a second chance?”

“And how would I do that?” Blackberry asked a bit sarcastically. “I am a prisoner of this spot, of that single bush. I do not have a magical connection to the alicorn royalty which to use to ask for a favor.”

“Twilight can do it! She can contact Celestia immediately!” Pinkie chimed in and bounced around happily. “Right, Twilight?”

“W-wait a minute!” Twilight stopped her friend by putting her hoof up. “I know how it might seem, but still: This is a pooka! How can we be sure he’s not just lying to us so he could get free to wreak havoc again?”

“I am afraid I have to agree with Twilight, dear,” Rarity said seriously. “Pookas are creatures that are naturally inclined towards mischief. I am not sure how wise it would be to let him free.”

“But he Pinkie Promised!” Pinkie argued back. “It even became a geis or geas or whatever, just like he said!”

“Huh? He what?” Twilight asked and her eyes shot to Blackberry. “You did a Pinkie Promise and it turned into a… geis? Is that what Pinkie meant when she said she could trust you?”

“I guess so. Looks like promises given to your friend here are not to be taken lightly,” Blackberry answered, uncharacteristically serious.

Twilight was clearly torn between the two choices. While everything she had read about pookas suggested there was no trusting in one, she could not argue back when it came to geis. They were promises made of magic, after all. Not only that, but it was a Pinkie Promise which acted as a geis. Nopony could tell just how powerful that could be. In other words, Blackberry was not able to tell lies anymore, nor harm anypony.

Twilight knew that nopony would make a promise like that as a geis if they were not serious.

Finally, tormented by the pleading eyes of Pinkie Pie, Twilight finally succumbed with a big sigh. She signaled Spike to her side.

“Alright,” Twilight suddenly declared. “I’ve learned my lesson when it comes to trusting my friends. And more than anything, I’ve learned to trust Pinkie’s intuition. Therefore… I think that giving you this chance might not be wrong, pooka.”

With a grin, Spike fished out his trusty quill and parchment and readied them in order to write the letter for Princess Celestia. After getting a nod from the baby dragon, Twilight cleared her throat and started talking.

“Dear Princess Celestia. While we have met with many dangers during our journey even though we have not even left Equestria yet, and will undoubtedly meet many more of them, that does mean that we do not come across something else every once in a while, too. For example, today we have met with a pony who, while dangerous before, has come to an apparent realization during his many years of loneliness. In other words, this pony has realized what he has done was wrong, but even so, he cannot leave the prison he was forced into because of his actions,” Twilight spoke. “While I and some of the others had our suspicions of him, Pinkie Pie decided to trust him. And this trust blossomed into something quite surprising. Willingly, this pony made a promise, one that became a geis, that he wanted simply to atone for his past, and make a new start. Thus, we can trust that he intends no harm to anypony, and always speaks the truth, as is dictated by his geis. For me, and for us, this is a sign that we should trust Pinkie’s judgment and the honesty of this pony.”

Twilight looked at the other ponies gathered around her, and when she saw them all smile encouragingly, she continued talking while Spike quickly wrote down her words.

“Therefore, I am requesting that you would send members of the Royal Guard to release this pony from his prison in the middle of the Windswept Valley. He has clearly learned his lesson, and more than anything, we believe that he needs company to show him how he can use his powers for good from here on out. And while he may have a rather quirky personality, I believe that you and all the others can appreciate a good laugh, something which he is very good at creating. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

After he had finished writing the letter, Spike sealed it quickly, and with a one mighty flaming breath, he had send it straight to the Canterlot Castle for Princess Celestia to read. With a wide smile, the baby dragon turned to look at Blackberry and gave him thumbs up. The pooka looked absolutely shocked at what had just transpired, clearly not believing any of it. Or maybe he simply didn’t believe his lucky to have met ponies with the answer to the problem that had plagued him for so long.

“I… I…” For a moment, Blackberry did not seem to know just what to say. He kept repeating that one word.

However, once his initial bewilderment had worn off…

“Starflank mare! That was wonderful! Simply wonderful! Who knew that even somepony like me would get another chance like this!” Blackberry laughed as his surreal body suddenly extended forward, making his head parade above Twilight like a balloon. “Ahahaha! How can I ever repay this to you?”

The ponies laughed with Blackberry. Now that his laugh was truly honest, it was easy to join it. Twilight smiled at Blackberry and nudged him to the side with her front leg.

“Well, first of all, you could leave comments about my flank to another day,” she said with mischievous grin. “And the only other thing we’d like is that you would remove the spell from around us so we could continue our journey.”

“Ahaha! I apologize! I guess praising the flanks of mares is seen as bad manners these days!” Blackberry chuckled. “But your request is easy to grant! And not only that, I shall help you even more! I heard you mentioning that you were going to Ross-on-Welara. Well, let me shorten that trip to you by simply tapping my hoof! It’s the least I can do, hahaha!”

“Well Ah’ll be!” Applejack said. “That’ll help a lot, sir! Ah think it might’ve been our lucky day to have met ya, then.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Maybe you can make another cool riddle ready for us so we can start solving it once we get back from Marecedonia.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll love modern Equestria,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Well, you see, there is much to experience. And once we get back, we can guide you. I can show you all sorts of plants and animals around Ponyville.”

“Yeah,” Spike nodded. “But watch out. Hanging out with these mares too long will make you too soft. We males need to do some male-only stuff every now and then, right?”

A claw bumped against a hoof as Blackberry and Spike struck them together, both grinning wildly. However, Spike quickly retreated as he saw what kind of glare Rarity was staring him with. Seeing this, the pooka howled in laughter, stopping only when he realized that Pinkie was standing right in front of him.

“Just don’t go screwing up now, Blackberry,” Pinkie said with a rare sort of smile. It was calm and gentle, almost a bit melancholic. “You’ve had enough of loneliness, right?”

“Exactly! Hahaha!” Blackberry laughed. “And don’t worry, friends! I will not let this chance go to waste! I shall go to Canterlot and show the Princess just what I can do when I try my very best!”

Having said that, Blackberry suddenly tapped the ground with his hoof two times, and in that instant the ponies started feeling strange magic surrounding them. It lasted only for few seconds before the spell itself actually kicked in, and in that time, Blackberry managed to give them a one last wink.

“I’ll see you again someday, then!” The pooka said and gave them grin as wide as Pinkie Pie’s plate on a cake buffet.

And with that, the biggest teleportation spell Twilight had ever experienced swished them out of their current location. Magic howled in their ears as during few seconds, they travelled through some unknown dimension in order to take a shortcut to whatever destination Blackberry had chosen for them. It was not the same sort of teleportation that Twilight herself had used, but it retained enough similarities for her to feel comfortable. Unfortunately, not everypony seemed to think that, as most of her friends were still screaming from surprise.

A blink of an eye later, and the ponies suddenly found themselves appearing right at the foot of a mountain that had still been in the distance from where they had met Blackberry. Only one glance at the sign that pointed up a trail and said: “Ross-on-Welara” told Twilight that they had arrived just outside of their destination.

But while Twilight still had a warm smile from this encounter that had turned from suspicious to a cheerful one, there was one pony who did not share same sort of warm thoughts. In other words, Rarity was frowning.

After all, the minute they had realized where they were, Applejack had turned over to her friend with a purple mane and asked with a mischievous smile.

“So, Rarity. About them five bits ya promised me…”

****

It was two days after the letter to Princess Celestia had been sent. On the plains of Windswept Valley two Royal Guards of Canterlot could be seen, wandering around aimlessly while occasionally talking with each other. However, it did not look like they were searching for anything. Instead, they were mostly just chuckling at each other and making weird faces, in the midst of complimenting each others’ looks. Finally the two ponies came to a halt, and started having a bit more serious conversation.

“Well, that went just great!” One of the guards said. “We look very dashing, don’t we?”

“Indeed we do, hahaha!” The other guard answered. “I must admit that it’s not bad to dress up like this every once in a while! Then again, we’re both me, so of course we both look dashing!”

“Speaking of which…” the first guard said and nodded behind him. “What will we do with the corpses?”

“Oh, we’ll just let them rot here,” the other said and grinned. “Nopony will miss them since we’re on the job, and it’s not like this route is used much these days, hahaha!”

The “corpses” that the two guards were referring to were another two guards who lied on the grass, their throats cut open and their blood seeping into the hungry soil, staining the grass under them red. However, in such a big plain, it would take a miracle for anypony to find them, just like one of the guards had said. For a moment the two who were alive looked at the corpses, before exploding into a high-pitched, roaring laughter.

“But to be serious for a moment, I guess we should contact him?” The first guard asked and took a flask of water from his saddlebag. “He’ll want to hear the news.”

“Oh, yeah! Hahaha, let’s contact him!”

Having said that, the guards poured some water on to the ground, until there was enough to form a small puddle. After that, they patiently waited while gazing into what depths the puddle had to be gazed into. It didn’t take even two minutes for a face of a stallion to appear on the surface of the puddle. It was not the face of either of the guards, but one that belonged to a midnight-blue stallion with a harsh expression.

“Hey, Cleitus! It’s been a while!” One of the guards greeted the face in the water. “How did it go?”

“As expected, Lysimachus”, the reflection of Cleitus the Black answered. “There seems to be a myriad of schemes going on in both Equestria and Prance. Princesses of both countries are up to something, and the guilds are bent on taking their slice of the profit that can be made. However, from the fact that they are trying to get rid of me, it’s safe enough to say that the guilds themselves, or at least some, are also planning something. Maybe they are trying to take advantage of the political unrest in both countries, which is slowly brewing because of…certain actions that have been taken by certain ponies.”

“Oh, speaking of certain ponies!” The second guard completely ignored what Cleitus had said. “I met up with the targets! In fact, it was because of their help that I have now taken this difficult double-role of two completely unneeded guards from Canterlot, hahaha! With this form, it should be easy to just waltz into the capital! Hahaha, I nearly felt bad for doing such a long-winded ruse to trick them! It was like fooling fillies! Though I can’t believe they thought that any pooka would be idiotic enough to be captured by Celestia’s soldiers, haha!”

“Then again,” the first guard added. “I got stuck with something problematic. Haha, I think I need to improvise awfully lot to get things done now!”

“Just be careful, Lysimachus,” Cleitus warned while scowling. “You might fool the other guards, but be careful around Shining Armor and the alicorns. They have ways of spotting that you are not who you are pretending to be. We do not want any more setbacks for our operations here. The prince is growing impatient.”

“Oh, I’ll be careful! Don’t worry!” The first guard assured Cleitus. “I’ll do my very best! But then again, I’ve never had a poker face like you have! So I might magnificently get caught too, hahaha! Since, you know…”

The two guards, the two ponies that the pooka known as Lysimachus had changed into, gave unnaturally wide grins of sadistic pleasure.

“…Seeing Pinkie again after such a long time just makes me want to laugh.”

Comments

[MssrPony]

Why this fanfic hasn't received more views is criminal.

A darn good read. Following this til the end.

So awesome~