Chapter 5: A New Home
The first thing that Twilight realized was that this island was MUCH bigger than she thought it would be.
From her high perch on the balcony, which Twilight estimated to be AT LEAST twenty-five stories above the ground, she could see most of the city below the castle and the lands beyond it. The city itself was bigger than Canterlot, but the design of the buildings gave it a much more earthy feel, just like Ponyville. About one in every four buildings appeared to be actual living trees with reddish bark, the same color of the wooden furniture in her room. It made her think of her library in Equestria too, at least before Tirek came along.
I wonder if one of the trees has a library in it! And if they know how to grow these tree homes, maybe I can FINALLY find a way to regrow the Golden Oaks Library!
If I…ever get back…
No, don’t, don’t think about that right now. Just focus on the city.
The non-tree-buildings, which appeared to be a mix of shops, restaurants, and houses based on their designs, never seemed taller than four stories based on the positioning of their windows. Yet all of them looked lively, painted with bright, happy colors as ponies moved all through the streets and between the various shops. There were also a scattering of palm trees, implying that the island was somewhere in the tropics.
Though the hot yet pleasant summer weather here was also a good giveaway, given that it’s still early spring in Equestria.
Beyond that, there were plots of farmland and orchards and wide open fields full of nothing but grass. Those plains went on as far as she could see on her right, wrapping around either side of a large mountain in the far distance, and on her left the ocean stretched out past the far horizon. Though she couldn’t tell how tall the mountain was from this distance, it still appeared to be HUGE. The only thing she could tell was that all of it, from the city to the rolling fields to the ocean, was massive.
And stunningly beautiful. She couldn’t explain it, but everything just seemed spectacular. The fields especially. For some reason, even despite her tiredness, she had this sudden urge to just…run. To run through the fields, with the wind in her mane and the grass beneath her hooves.
That sounded lovely right about now.
This place would be an amazing for a vacation.
Well, you DID say you wanted to take one before Sparrow showed up.
Yes, but THIS was NOT what I had in mind, BRAIN.
“If I may,” Sparrow softly spoke from just behind her, directing her attention away from the scenery. “I believe the view may be even better from the air.”
As he spoke, he slowly extended a hoof and knelt down before her, offering a ride.
Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it again. She had no idea what she wanted to say. She REALLY wanted to see more of the surrounding land and city, given how at least half the view WAS cut off by the castle, but kind tone or not, she still didn’t like him. Yet not liking him and wanting to see more of the island weren’t mutually exclusive. She could still enjoy the view and despise her flyer.
Plus, he was asking her permission rather than simply sweeping her off her hooves and into the sky. Giving her a choice in the matter. And given his magical talent, chances were she would be safe on his back even if she were to somehow fall off.
Which is good, because I CAN’T fly right now and it’s all his fault. At least he’s trying to help make it up to me.
It could be worse.
Twilight nodded slowly, accepting his steadying hoof as she climbed up his wing and settled on his back. Once she was in place, Sparrow quickly stood back to his full height, making Twilight squeak in surprise. Opening his wings to their maximum length, Sparrow gave a powerful flap and within three seconds they were airborne and rapidly ascending. Twilight held on tightly as the wind went rushing by and in only a few wing beats, the two of them had cleared the top of the castle.
Then Sparrow slowed his ascension and opened his wings to glide, giving Twilight a full 360-degree view of the surrounding area.
The castle was made of cobblestone, giving it an old but sturdy look. Yet despite the dull colors of the rock, it still looked rather welcoming. Almost homey, somehow. The grand wooden entrance doors on either side of the castle were wide open, allowing ponies to easily flow into and out of the castle. There was a wall surrounding the castle with a vast and impressive garden in between the two, but the wall had four silver gates that were currently wide open to allow ponies in and out.
It's very different from Canterlot, which only has the one main entrance, yet I think like it this way. It makes the castle feel more open to the public while still remaining impressive and majestic. It…probably wouldn’t be that bad of a place to live, and if it’s so open to the public I would at least get to meet new ponies, even if I’m not allowed to leave without Sparrow’s permission.
The outside of the castle was decorated in bright orange and blue banners, one of which had a golden stitching design that looked like a young sapling glowing in the darkness of a cave. There were also a variety of balconies at all levels and stained glass windows that covered the sides of the castle, contrasting the dull cobblestone that surrounded them and adding to the welcoming atmosphere of the castle.
Some of the windows depicted rolling plains. Other depicted orchards or forest or even mountain ranges. And still others depicted villages, just like the pillows on her new bed, yet in far more exquisite detail. All of them were just as, if not more, beautifully crafted as the windows in Canterlot Castle, and Twilight could just imagine what it would be like to stand in the middle of the hallway or room that had even one of these windows.
So much color…
The city completely surrounded the castle on all sides, expanding outwards until it came in contact with another wall, which in turn had a few houses outside of it. There were a total of ten gates evenly spaced along the wall, and between each of them stood a massive half-circle arch that must have risen at least five stories into the air, each scaling about half of the wall. There were nine of them in total.
Are those arches…glowing? I can see light, and the wall beneath the arch looks…off somehow, but I can’t make out the symbols. And why are there small flashes of light every now and again? I think I’ll need to investigate those later.
Directing her attention away from the arches, Twilight turned to get a better look at the rest of the island.
While the west side near the very edge of the town had an ocean, there was no sign of water in ANY other direction, reinforcing Twilight’s initial thought that for an island, this place was BIG! In fact, it turns out that there were TWO mountains far to the east. Twilight hadn’t been able to see the second one behind the first from her balcony, but up high, she could see that there was SNOW on the second peak, despite the fact that they were certainly in the tropics. THAT’S how tall it was.
She could also make out no less than three other cities: one that was a floating city like Cloudsdale; one that she could just barely make out further down the ocean coast; and a final one in the center of the rolling hills inland.
“Wow…” she whispered, her eyes constantly tracing the land as Sparrow slowly evened out until they were hovering.
“It is quite a sight, I agree,” Sparrow said with a hum. “It’s why I tend to do a morning lap around the island before I get to work in the morning. Seeing it all really does help me remember how lucky I am, and remind me of who I am supposed to look out for every day.”
“Every day?” Twilight asked.
The bigger alicorn nodded. “Just my way of looking out for everyone, no matter where they live in my kingdom,” he said, his wings banking slightly as they circled the city high in the sky.
He flies around the whole island every day, just to remind himself of who he’s protecting? That’s…really touching.
And a far cry from the conqueror of Equestria.
Not now, brain. Just…not now.
How can somepony who turned my life upside down so easily appear so…caring? Ugh, how can one stallion be so CONFUSING!?
And, wait. How big IS this island? Even at Rainboom speeds, flying around all of Equestria in one day would be a lot to ask of Rainbow Dash time wise, not to mention the amount of energy that would take, and that’s assuming Sparrow can move that quickly given his size.
And I somehow doubt that Sparrow starts his day by waking the entire island up with a Rainboom.
“How big is this island?” Twilight asked in wonder. “I can’t even see the other side!”
“It is roughly one-tenth the size of Equestria. Roughly,” He said, scratched his chin before nodding.
“It’s THAT BIG!? How has no pony ever found this place, or even just caught a glimpse of it?” Twilight breathed, still looking over the landscape. This wasn’t some place that could just be ignored.
“Magic,” Sparrow said, his voice suddenly…regretful? “My magic, many years ago, was used to permanently hide the island from outside view after…a rather disturbing attack on my people. It isn’t perfect, but it keeps us safe, and that’s what matters.”
‘Was’ used? So is the island no longer hidden? Or did he cast a spell years ago that just used his magic as a base, and that is still protecting the island to this day?
“Am I…allowed to go see it? The rest of the island?” Twilight asked, her voice wavering uncertainly. She was unsure if she WANTED Sparrow to pick up on her uncertainty in her voice or if she was MAD that she couldn’t stop herself from sounding as such. “Or am I restricted to the castle and town?”
Part of her mind was still clouded by the anger she held towards him and told her she would be kept in the castle and town. However, another more logical part of her mind looked at their brief interactions TODAY and said she would be free to go wherever she chose.
In truth, she had no idea what to expect right now, and her exhaustion was not helping matters in the slightest.
“You are not my prisoner,” Sparrow said, sparing a glance back at the unsure princess on his back. His words were calm, yet Twilight could still hear a pang of regret in his voice, as if he disliked the fact that he ever gave her such an impression. “After everything I have put you through so that you would come to my home, it would be unfair of me not to let you explore it fully.”
Wait. Is this the first time he’s admitted that what he did was wrong? Explicitly to me, at least? That’s…well, I still don’t forgive him, but I can at least respect the fact that he’s admitting he was a jerk. Knowing you made a mistake is the first step to fixing it, even if it doesn’t help you correct the mistake. And it will make any future apologies at least a bit more genuine.
“As such,” Sounds parrow continued unabated, “you are free to go wherever you please. I only ask that you take at least one guard with you if you are ever outside a town. My island is safe, but…well, better safe than sorry. Especially in a new environment.”
“That’s…reasonable. And surprising. Aren’t you afraid I’ll try and run?”
“No. I trust that you will uphold our deal. And given how beautiful my kingdom is, it would be a crime to keep anypony from experiencing all it has to offer. Though perhaps wait until you are recovered before venturing out of the city, hmm?”
“I feel like I would need to do that anyway,” Twilight said. “Still…thank you? I guess?”
“You guess?”
“I am still stuck here, on an island, with you…”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing,” Sparrow said in a tone that Twilight was SURE indicated that he was currently pouting. It almost made her laugh. Did kings pout? “Besides, we aren't alone here. There are thousands of other ponies, all of whom I am sure would love to meet and befriend you. Or would you prefer us to be alone on a desert island? I think there might be one to the southeast if you would prefer that better.”
Twilight deadpanned at him as he turned to smile playfully at her.
He chuckled. “Only kidding, my dear.”
Before she could think of a response to that, Sparrow suddenly cheered, “Now then, off to town!” and folded his wings. Twilight barely had time to go wide-eyed before the two of them began to quickly plummet like a rock, causing Twilight to scream as she grabbed onto his neck for dear life.
Immediately, he flared his wings out again, bringing them to a halt about fifty feet lower in the sky.
“Twilight? Are you all right?” Sparrow asked, twisting around.
There was panic clearly evident in his voice and on his face, but Twilight did not care at all.
“NO! What the hay was THAT!? Why did you just decide to FALL OUT OF THE SKY!?!?!” she screamed, panting as she groaned. Her weak muscles did NOT enjoy the sudden tensing as she had grabbed onto him, and now all four of her legs felt unpleasantly tingly.
Seriously, what the HAY!? I officially take my thank-you back! Once I have my strength back, I am totally gonna PUNCH HIM!
Or maybe have Spike set his tail on fire.
No, bad Twilight. Spike shouldn’t be taught that, even if this MANIAC WAS PLUMMETING OUT OF THE SKY WITH ME ON HIS BACK!!!
“I’m sorry,” Sparrow’s voice reached her ear, barely audible over the winds this high in the sky. Yet even then she could hear the momentous amount of regret tinged in each word, causing her to pause in her angry internal monologue.
“Truly. I…” He swallowed hard and looked away. “Diving from the sky like that was something I was terrified of doing until a good friend of mine convinced me to give it a try when I was a young colt. It’s just…something I’ve always done, a little bit of adrenaline that reminds me of my friend, who has long since passed on. I guess I just…got caught up in the moment that I forgot that you weren't her.”
"I didn't mean to scare you like that. I have no excuses…”
Twilight opened her mouth to scold him some more, but a memory of her own brought that to a halt.
Rainbow once took me flying BEFORE I had wings, and she didn’t even bother to slow down as I screamed my head off. Not to mention all the loops and spins she did that had me puking once we landed.
Heck, her first lesson of my flight training was to push me OFF A CLOUD to see if my reflexes let me hover. She didn’t even WARN ME, and both those incidents were completely intentional. Save for the me getting sick part.
So you’re just going to forgive him?
…Yes, Brain. THIS time. He DID scare me, and my legs DO hurt more now, but it was a mistake. And he did stop immediately once he realized I was panicking.
“Just…give me some warning next time,” Twilight said, holding back her anger save for an annoyed snort. “And maybe wait until I can actually FLY again. I would at least feel better knowing I have my own wings to catch me.”
“I promise, I will not do that again without asking,” Sparrow said, sounding relieved as he turned back to her, only to snort slightly. “And, um, s-sorry about your mane, hehe,” the large alicorn chuckled as his horn lit, teleporting in a small mirror and a comb.
Twilight blinked, looked at the mirror, and groaned. Her mane was sticking back at such a ridiculous angle it reminded her of the time Fluttershy had been licked by a manticore. Not exactly what she would call ‘style,’ and definitely something that would make Rarity faint in shock.
And I JUST combed it too! Great, juuuuuuuuuuust great. At least I have a comb now.
“Very funny,” Twilight muttered, taking the comb from him with her wing and the mirror with her hoof. “Can we go see Spike now?”
"As you wish,” Sparrow said, his wings tilting slightly to allow them to move into a very gentle decent, the ride perfectly smooth. So gentle in fact that Twilight was certain it would take them at least ten minutes to just reach the top of the castle again.
Is he overcompensating after scaring me? Or is he just making it smooth so I can brush my mane again?
In the end, it didn’t matter, so Twilight just tried to focus on fixing her mane. By the time she was done, they had drifted low enough to brush the top of the castle and were continuing to descend down to the city below. Sparrow took large looping circles that gave her a perfect view of everything the city had to offer.
Whether it was the well-crafted marble fountains, or the small park on the north and south sides, all of it looked even more beautiful up close. And despite the height, quite a large number of ponies would actually stop and wave up at them as they passed.
Does Sparrow make a habit of going into town? Or is everypony just that nice? Is it both? I know he flies around the island every day, but Celestia and Luna rarely have time to leave the castle most days outside official events.
Then again, the island is smaller than Equestria, so it makes sense that he would be less busy.
When they finally slowed to a stop just above the road, they were hovering right next to a large reddish-brown tree building. They were to the south of the castle, and the sign outside the tree indicated that it was a LIBRARY!
BOOKS!
No, bad brain. Spike first, then books, thought Twilight, shaking her head to clear it.
Swinging her legs around to his left side as he landed, Twilight blinked as Sparrow extended his wing, bending the feathers into a set of steps. She stepped on it gingerly, expecting her weight to make the wing crumple, but surprisingly, it held up, and she easily walked to the ground.
All over the small clearing, ponies moved about their days. Most would give a smile and a wave at Sparrow, one he would acknowledge with a nod and smile of his own. There were a few that ignored him, but those ponies looked harried, like they were in a rush, or were busy talking or reading as they walked and weren’t really paying attention. But the vast majority of them DID notice him and acted as if were nothing special.
It…wasn’t how she expected the ponies to act with their leader simply dropping out of the sky. If Celestia or Luna just randomly flew down from the castle, ponies would probably be bowing, and no pony would be able to ignore them. Even Twilight still bowed to them up until she had gotten her wings, despite her close relationship with Celestia.
Maybe he likes to be treated more normally? Celestia and Luna usually try to keep up a regal appearance whenever they go out, save for a few occasions like Nightmare Night, but if Sparrow acts more casually around his ponies, maybe they treat him more normally as a result?
“Twilight!” Spike’s voice rang out.
Twilight turned and looked to the opposite side of Sparrow where a still bandaged Spike was hopping along on his crutches. A unicorn guard with a tan coat, a brown mane and, and pink eyes followed closely behind him with a box on his back while a mare pegasus guard with a red coat, blue mane, and orange eyes followed in the air. Both of them were wearing orange armor, though the unicorn had a blue torc with a green gem in the center that stood out from the rest of the guards she had seen. “You’re awake!”
“Yeah, I am,” Twilight agreed happily as she walked around Sparrow and nearly ended up falling on the dragon in a massive hug. She hadn’t meant to do that, given how her legs had basically given out, but he didn’t seem to mind or be in pain as he eagerly returned the hug. “But what about you? You still look pretty bad. Are you ok? Should you even be walking around right now?”
“I’m fine,” Spike said with a smile as he waved a claw to try and dismiss her concerns. “Doc says I’ll be good in about a month. But till then, I just need to keep using these and take it easy.” He gestured to the crutches. “Not that bad, considering the height of that waterfall.”
“You are NEVER allowed to go over that waterfall ever again. Or try to teleport halfway across Equestria,” Twilight scolded as she shook her head and hugged him tighter (though not too tight). Still, she was happy to see he had actually been taken to the doctor.
However, any further talk was interrupted by a loud series of squeals. Twilight barely had time to turn around as a group of at least thirty foals all lunged at Sparrow. Rather than standing his ground, Sparrow let out an overly dramatic cry as he toppled to the ground, skillfully avoiding the foals as they clambered all over him.
“ARGGGG NOOOOO!!! FOALS!!! MY ONE TRUE WEAKNESS!!!” Sparrow cried in a definitely-fake tone of voice as the foals all piled on top of him while Twilight just stood there, dumbfounded.
He, that, foals, huh?
Of all the things Twilight expected from the ruler of a distant kingdom that had essentially forced her into an engagement, playing with a herd of foals in such a childish and silly way was so far beyond what she expected. She could have sworn that she heard some part of her brain breaking from the effort of trying to understand what the hay was going on.
Yeah…I got nothing, her brain said, and Twilight couldn’t help but agree.
After about a minute, Sparrow let out a final groan of defeat before letting his head fall back, closing his eyes, and sticking his tongue out for effect. The foals immediately stopped jumping and looked at him questioningly.
“Is he dead?” a small filly with a teal coat and a two-tone charcoal mane asked, poking Sparrow in the nose.
“NNOO!” Sparrow said dramatically, his head shooting up and his wings extending. The foals all squealed and tried to run, but between Sparrows legs, wings, and magic, he soon had all of them in his grasp as he proceeded to relentlessly tickle them with his feathers. All the children squealed and struggled to escape their captor, but any that did were quickly brought back to receive their punishment in full.
It was insanely surreal…and also insanely cute, and one of the last things Twilight expected.
Celestia, this day is confusing.
“Children!” a voice called out, prompting Twilight to turn as a panting pegasus mare ran up. She had a blue, orange, and pink mane that was tied up in a bun, purple fur, orange eyes, and a series of three books for a cutie mark. “Please, we can play AFTER your lessons. And I am including you in that category, Sparrow,” she added, glaring at the stallion.
“But I’m helping,” Sparrow defended, smiling innocently. “They have so much energy, they’ll never be able to sit in class for too long. This way, they’re all nice and tired and won’t have the energy to run around.”
…Is he being serious? Children don’t work like that! Between watching Flurry Heart, supervising the Ponyville foals during their research projects in the library, and teaching the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I SHOULD KNOW!
“That argument is just as flawed as the other fifteen times you have used it, so I’m not even going to bother explaining why you’re wrong,” the mare chided, though she was hiding a faint smile. Twilight had no idea if one or both of them were being serious or not. “Now then, children, excluding Mr. Sparrow, please come along, we still have more lessons to cover, and recess is over. You can all go out and play once we finish.”
This was met by a series of ‘Awwww’s from the disappointed foals, but Sparrow was still smiling as he released his winded captors.
“Might I ask what we are learning about today?” Sparrow asked, standing back up now that his tormentors were off of him.
“Modern history,” the mare said. “Specifically, we were just about to begin our studies on The Long Night and the mare responsible, Nightmare Moon.” She emphasized Nightmare's name dramatically, prompting the foals to huddle closer to each other. Twilight’s eyes went wide, especially when she saw a playful smile pass over Sparrow’s lips.
“Then you’re in luck,” he said before Twilight could try and react and/or escape. “Because we just so happen to have one of the heroes that defeated Nightmare Moon right here,” he said proudly, gesturing to Twilight.
“REALLY!?” All the foals exclaimed, turning for the first time to the purple alicorn and her dragon.
Oh dear oh dear oh dear OHDEAROHDEARDANGITSPARROWWHYYYY!?!?!
The foals practically pounced, and if not for Sparrow’s own magic taking effect to stop them, they would have undoubtedly bowled over the terrified Twilight. Of course, that didn’t stop them all from asking questions a mile a minute.
“You saw Nightmare Moon?”
“Was she big?”
“And mean?”
“Did you shoot her with rainbows?”
“Where was Princess Sun Butt?
“Were you scared?”
“Is that why you’re an aloroocrn…”
“Can you show us the spell you used?”
“Can you fly?”
“She has wings, of course she can fly!”
“Do you like cupcakes or pancakes better?”
That last one was SO much like Pinkie that Twilight giggled for a second before she realized that the pink mare would likely never get to meet this young colt who obviously shared her spirit.
It made her heart ache.
Girls…
It took her a few seconds to refocus on the foals, by which point several small arguments had broken out among the crowd before the mare let out a sharp whistle, prompting immediate silence from the children.
Wow, she was good.
“While I do thank you for the suggestion, Sparrow,” the mare said, “It would still be up to Miss Twilight to decide if she would actually be willing to share her story. Though I have to admit, a first-hoof experience would probably trump any of my lectures.” With a little shake of her head, she looked sternly at the foals. “However, we need to ASK, politely, and go back to class if she says no.”
The foals nodded, then, as one, spun around and assaulted Twilight with thirty pairs of big, pleading puppy-dog eyes.
“PLEEEEASSEEE?”
It was very much NOT FAIR.
What could she do against that? These were the very kind of puppy-dog eyes a foal used on their parents to beg for candy, or a new toy, and Twilight had seen enough children on sugar rushes to know that even parents couldn’t resist.
AND THERE WERE THIRTY OF THEM!!!
“I…suppose I can,” Twilight said shyly, blushing nervously.
The students cheered enthusiastically, bouncing up and down like the CMC when they had finally gotten their cutie marks. There was a slight flash behind her, and she turned to see that Sparrow had poofed in a blue cushion for her to sit on.
Wait, we aren’t going to go back to the classroom first? Am I just supposed to tell the story in the middle of the street?
Looking back towards the students, she saw that all of them, the teacher, Spike, his guards, and even some of the passing ponies were now watching her expectantly. The children were even sitting or lounging in front of her, like she was about to tell a bedtime story. Despite her reservations, the hopeful, happy expressions the foals’ faces were too much for her to resist.
“I will leave you to it,” Sparrow said. “I have some of my own errands to take care of, but should you need anything, simply ask Right Word,” he said, prompting a nod from the unicorn guard. “Silent Sky, Captain Bull’s Eye requested you return to the east wall, so please head there immediately. Twilight and Spike should be ok for the time being.” The pegasus saluted before taking to the air and quickly vanishing into the distance.
“Also, please be gentle, everypony,” Sparrow said. “Twilight is feeling a little under the weather today, and needs to take it easy. So no tackling her, ok?”
“OK!” all the foals agreed happily. Sparrow winked at them, gave Twilight one last loving glance, and with a final warm smile, he vanished right into thin air.
Why did he just give me such an…adoring look? It was…weird. Then again, he is a weird stallion.
I’ll worry about it later, if at all.
“So, where should I begin?” Twilight asked as she sat down heavily, a little unsure about…everything.
“How about when you came back to the tower in Canterlot and freaked out?” Spike suggested somewhat playfully, somewhat sarcastically, earning a few giggles from the foals.
“I was not ‘freaking out,’ I was legitimately worried because one of Star Swirl’s prophecies was about to come true. And…”
And off she went, weaving an engaging tale of how she became one of the saviors of Equestria, and how she met the most important ponies in her life. While it should have hurt to remember her first adventure with her friends given how far apart they were right now, it instead worked to lessen her pain by reminding her of all the trials they had overcome.
Discord, Changeling, Tirek, Starlight, the Crystal Empire, all of these had been challenges that she had overcome thanks to her friends and the lessons they had helped teach her.
This one was no different, and she would overcome it one way or another…
About ten seconds later…
Sparrow magically appeared on the opposite side of the city roughly fifteen feet in the air above his destination, giving him enough time to spread his wings and slow his fall as he aimed for an open spot on the road. This was his common method of travel, so the ponies below immediately moved to give him room to land. Upon landing, he gave a warm smile and slight bow to those who moved for him before looking to his destination.
In front of him was a large, three-story building with a large variety of wares both inside and out. The walls were dark blue, and the view through the windows told him that the store was fairly packed. Sparrow lit his horn and with a poof, his entire body shrank so that he was now only one foot taller than everypony around him. Even his crown and torc shrunk and readjusted to fit him. He could have gone as small as a colt if he wanted to, but that would take too much energy for such a short visit and he wasn’t in the mood to be buffeted by the customers, so he went with just being small enough to get inside without having to duck through the door.
That and making sure his horn wasn’t so long that he would accidentally knock everything off the higher shelves anytime he turned around. Hidden Treasure was still a bit annoyed about that after last time.
He HAD been drunk, but still.
Inside was very lively as ponies shopped for everything from food to antiques to gardening supplies and everything in between. The only thing you couldn’t buy here were beds and baths. But beyond that, chances were the owner had what you needed or could get it within a few days.
“Sparrow!” the clerk behind the counter exclaimed, waving to the smaller alicorn. Said clerk was an old stallion in his sixties with a pear-colored mane, a faint blue coat, brown eyes, and a cutie mark of an overflowing treasure chest. “What can I do you for?”
“I need a toothbrush,” Sparrow said, looking around for anything else of interest. The stock changed so frequently that he never quite knew what was here at any given time. “It seems it’s the one thing I’ve forgotten for my new guest. How have you been, Hidden Treasure?”
“Got a few new ones behind the counter. They just came in half an hour ago and I haven't had time to get them out,” Treasure said, reaching down and pulling out a few sealed cases filled with toothbrushes. “And you know, same old, same old. Just got back from a trip to Arbor, found some interesting wares, including an old soldier’s helmet from who knows how long ago.” He spread the products on the counter and fixed Sparrow with a sharp stare. “But I think I need to be asking you that question. I can tell when something’s bothering you, sonny.”
“Always could see right through my mask,” Sparrow said with a chuckle and a sigh as he pulled out a few copper coins to pay for the toothbrushes. “I don’t suppose I can just say it’s nothing?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t think so. Mind if we talk in private? I…may need some advice.” Sparrow said, quietly. Hidden Treasure had been Sparrow’s previous top advisor before he retired and was replaced by Right Word. He was also one of the few ponies who knew everything about Sparrow’s plan to bring Twilight to the island, and what he hoped it would accomplish.
If anypony could give him advice, it would be Hidden Treasure.
“Not at all. Pearl!” Treasure yelled, catching the attention of a white mare with a light pink mane, pink eyes, and an open oyster with a pearl as a cutie mark. “Watch the store for a while, would ya?” The mare saluted before turning back to the shelves she was stocking.
Once he finished ringing up and bagging the toothbrushes, Hidden Treasure came out from behind the counter and led Sparrow towards the back room. “So spill it, boy. What’s the problem?”
“I think that would be obvious, given how almost everyone knows what I did in Equestria.” Sparrow said as the two entered a small sitting room in the back of the store.
“I know, but it helps to say it, rather than to just let someone else blurt it out and get it wrong. Now, come on…”
“Well, for starters, my plan worked,” Sparrow sighed. “I took over Equestria, and successfully managed to bring home the world’s most beautiful, intelligent, and adorkable mare so that her life would no longer be at risk. Even though it was practically against her will.”
“Ah, you’re still on that.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
“Of course I would be. But given what you said your options were, I certainly think this is more preferable compared to just up and kidnapping her in the dead of night. Or her getting killed by Akumu. Besides, from what I heard, you successfully managed to get her to leave her room rather than her just locking herself in there.”
“Actually, I was in there to bring her breakfast before she woke up, and she really doesn’t have the strength to resist me right now.”
“Did you force her to come here with you?”
“Of course not.”
“So she came to town of her own free will, and that’s a plus. What did you tell her to convince her to come out?”
“Well, she had said she wanted to come here to find her friend, Spike, who was in town. I just went from there.”
“Makes sense, but why fly her down rather than just…pop into existence like you normally do?”
“Because before coming here I took her on a flight to see the surrounding area from above the castle. I thought she might enjoy the view of her new home for the time being.”
“And did she complain?”
“Only at the end,” he said with a cringe. “I…may have gotten her mixed up with Star for a minute and…nearly dive-bombed into town before she started to freak out.”
He looked down in shame at the memory, but Treasure gave him a comforting pat on the leg.
“Well then, other than scaring the poor mare with some of yer crazy flying, I think things seem to be going ok so far.”
“I still can’t help but think she hates me though.”
“I know you, boy, and there isn't a pony on this island that could hate you. You’re far too compassionate and forgiving for any pony to truly hate. I think it’s safe to assume she hates the situation, and your role in putting her in this situation is likely just rolling over onto you, especially seeing as she doesn’t know why she’s truly here yet.
“Also, it’s been at most an HOUR, you idiot. I heard from Right Word how she's been asleep these last few days, so if she just woke up this morning, then of COURSE she hasn’t had time to adjust yet. You even said that you JUST showed her what the city looks like from the sky. And it’s not even ten in the morning yet. Give her time to actually ADJUST, THEN panic, then come to me, then send HER to me, then kiss and make up, and—”
“PLEASE don’t go any further than that. I haven’t even set the wedding date yet,” Sparrow groaned, blushing and hiding his face in his hooves as Hidden Treasure groaned in disappointment.
“Hmph, fine. But the point still stands. You don't know how she feels right now, and chances are she might not even tell you if you ask, so the only thing you can do is try to keep calm and be a good host. Once she calms down, then focus on winning her heart.”
“If I even ca—OW!” Sparrow yelped as Treasure bit his ear and gave it a hard tug.
“None of that. You worked too hard to get this far, so I’ll be darned if I see you lose hope now. Especially now that yer little dream mare is safe from harm.”
“And how would you suggest I do that?” Sparrow asked as he rubbed his ear, earning a deadpan stare from the other stallion. “I haven’t had a date in over two thousand years, so I suspect I’m a little bit out of practice. And I’m afraid I might go overboard…again.”
“Again?” Treasure asked with a stern expression and a raised eyebrow. Sparrow sighed.
“I…may have gone overboard during the Equestria takeover. I dragged Twilight’s friends into the mix, something…something I really didn’t need to do looking back on it. I caused her enough stress and fear by just taking over Equestria, something I still need to apologize for. But grabbing her friends too was…unnecessary.”
“Well it’s no use getting all mopey about it,” Treasure said. “Wait for her to adjust, then apologize. For both those things. Maybe buy her an apology cake too, especially if she develops a taste for Whisper’s peaches. Besides, this isn't the first time you’ve gone overboard. Remember the time I brought back Arbor moonshine?”
“All too well,” Sparrow laughed. “You wouldn’t happen to have brought back any more, would you?”
That earned him another bite on the ear.
“You want my advice, start off small. Flowers, breakfast, small talk, all that jazz. Then once she gets to know you more, apologize to her about using her friends and conquering her home. That way she won’t think you’re just saying it to get on her good side. Then move on from there.”
“You make it sound so simple…”
“It IS simple. You just gotta be patient.” Treasure smiled, nodding confidently. “You waited this long, what’s a few more months?”
Sparrow chuckled. “I suppose that’s true. What would I do without you and Right Word?”
“Spend every day running around like a headless timber wolf.” Treasure said in a completely serious voice.
“Thanks, Treasure. So glad you have confidence in me.” Sparrow deadpanned.
Hidden Treasure smirked. “Anytime.”
Halfway across town…
“Green. No. BLUE! Yes. Yesyesyes, goooood. Yes, PERFECT!”
An excited mare dashed about her shop as cloth and gemstones and sewing instruments of all types flew through the air seemingly with no logic or reason. All the while, a dress resting on a ponyquin went from ‘meh’ to ‘FABULOUS’ in no time at al—
“WAIT!” she screeched, causing everything to pause mid-air as if time itself had stopped. “Wait,” she said again, almost hissing the word as she focused on every inch of her body.
Flicky tail…
Ears twitching left-right-left-left-triangle-down…
Right foreleg and left eye twitching in 6/8 time…
“Somepony needs a new dress! In a pre-classical era style from Saddle Arabia about, mmmmmmm one-thousand-nine-hundred-twenty-three years ago, but mixed with modern designs and colors to match a purple coat but, ooohhh…maybe some light blue would do…Hmmm…”
As she spoke, the chaos around her moved, everything reorganizing itself as she continued to mutter to herself. With the dress before her completed, what was not needed quickly shot back into their appropriate drawers as new supplies for the next dress came floating into view, including a new blank ponyquin as the one with the finished dress flew off towards the packaging area.
“Ohhhhhhh, I KNEW I should I have read up on pre-classical dresses last Saturday! Oh well. TO THE LIBRARY THEN!!! Oh, wait. I only have ten-point-seven-two-seconds left. Ok then. NEXT ROUND THEN!”
Everything was quickly put away and a large, luxurious couch was dragged in from somewhere off-screen.
The mare hopped up onto the couch, arranged her pillows perfectly. Then waited.
A small ‘ding’ sounded from nowhere in particular, and the mare immediately passed out, falling perfectly onto the pillows and snoring away peacefully…
Half an hour later, back with Twilight…
“And that’s how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were reunited,” Twilight finished.
The foals in front of her cheered, making her smile. All of Twilight’s reading had helped her become a rather good storyteller (at least as far as she could tell), and she did occasionally read or teach at Ponyville’s school as a guest speaker, but this was the first time she had ever done so with such a large group. However, the children had appeared to love every moment of her story, and they had even convinced Twilight to sing Pinkie’s song.
That was a little embarrassing, but given how ponies normally broke out into song anyway, it wasn’t too bad.
“That was a very good retelling, Princess,” the teacher said with a smile. “What do we say, everypony?”
“Thank you, Princess Twilight,” the foals chimed, giving Twilight their best smiles.
“It’s no problem,” Twilight said, rubbing her head sheepishly. “And please, call me Twilight, Miss…”
“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Book Smart,” said the mare. “And very well, Twilight.”
“Miss Twilight?” a small colt with a red-and-blue mane and orange coat asked. “What happened next?”
“Yeah!” another filly called out. “Did you fight any more monsters?”
“Now, now, children,” Book Smart said gently. “I think we have taken up enough of Miss Twilight’s time today. And it’s about time we head back to class for math.”
“Awwwwwww…”
“I’ll still be around,” Twilight reassured the disappointed foals. “And…maybe I can help out again another day?”
“That would be wonderful,” Book Smart said with a gracious nod. “Simply drop by whenever you so desire. The school house is number twenty-seven on Oak Road.”
“YAAAAY!” the foals cheered before they rushed forward, hugging all four of Twilight’s legs as tightly as they could. Twilight blinked in surprise, trying not to laugh as some of the foals began climbing on the others so they could hug her body instead, having apparently run out of room on her limbs.
It was beyond adorable, and despite her tiredness, Twilight didn’t mind in the slightest that she was almost completely covered in small, excitable foals. Their hopeful and excited expressions gave her the energy to remain standing and wrap her wings around as many of them as she could. Spike just laughed at the silliness of the scene while Right Word and the nearby ponies smiled.
I really need to visit these foals again soon. Seeing them so happy will make any day better.
“Ok, everypony,” Book Smart said, clapping her hooves to get the foals’ attention, “it’s time to say goodbye to Miss Twilight. Come along, now.” She used her wings to help dislodge the foals from Twilight and usher them away. The foals reluctantly released their new friend and waved goodbye as they walked. Twilight returned the gestured and smiled. Crazy day or not, that was a lot of fun. In fact, it actually seemed to make her feel better physically too. When she had stood up, she had found that her legs were not quite as weak as they were about half an hour before.
“You seem happy,” Spike noted, getting up from his own position on a bench near the tree. Right Word levitated her cushion over to himself before making it vanish with a poof.
“I am happy,” Twilight said with a happy sigh. “I mean, did you see their faces? They loved the story, even if it was more of a history lesson. That just felt so…right.”
“Maybe you would have been a teacher if you weren't a princess,” Right Word commented. “Though I suppose teaching the young is part of the job of a princess, seeing as how Celestia has her own school.”
“That’s true,” Twilight said. Then she blinked, looking closer at the stallion. “Wait, who are you again? Right Word was your name, right? I remember Sparrow saying your name, but…”
“No need to worry,” Right Word said with a smile. “And you got it right, hehehe. My name is Right Word, and as for who I am, I am Sparrow’s trusted guard and advisor. I am not his captain, or general, but I am the one responsible for assisting him in a variety of day-to-day tasks, though what those are is highly variable. I am also a trusted ear for him should he simply need to talk. While I am normally near him and ready to provide aid, he assigned me to look after and assist young Spike with whatever he needs given his injuries.”
Twilight blinked. I, wow, that was a lot of words. All I wanted to know was who he was, and instead he gave me his entire resume. It’s a little funny actually, and maybe a bit endearing that he’s willing to share so much about himself with somepony he just met. Or maybe he has a tendency to ramble a bit when he meets someone new.
“And he’s really good at it,” Spike said, pulling Twilight out of her thoughts. “He’s been helping me all day while I went looking for a gift for you. I thought you’d need cheering up when you woke up.”
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said, carefully hugging the dragon. “Though I guess it has something to do with food?” she added jokingly, looking at the donut label on the side of the box on Right Word’s back.
“What? They have AMAZING donuts here!” Spike defended. “And since you were asleep for so long, I thought you’d be hungry. Plus, they had ones filled with peaches!”
GRUMBLE!
Twilight’s stomach growled at the mention of more peaches.
Oooh, those do sound REALLY good right about now. If they were half as good as the ones she had for breakfast, she was sure they’d be delicious. Actually, I specifically remember an orchard during the flight with Sparrow. Is this their main product, like how Applejack mainly grows apples?
“Are peaches common around here?” Twilight asked as Right Word brought the box around from his back with his pink magic and levitated out two donuts. Twilight immediately took hers with a hoof and bit into it. She was rewarded with a blissful taste.
Ohhhh, these are somehow even better than the ones I had this morning! Why have I never tried peaches before!? They are so GOOD!
“Indeed they are,” the Right Word answered. “They are the primary crop of the island, though the best ones are grown in the orchard right outside of town, at least in my opinion. Given your entrance with Sparrow, you probably saw it on the way down.”
“I did,” Twilight agreed between bites. “I’ll have to visit there once I have my strength back.”
“You mean you’re still not ok?” Spike asked in concern.
Twilight patted his head reassuringly. “I’m just a little weak,” she said as she finished her donut. “Give it a day or two and I should be back to normal. I hope,” she said as she grabbed a second donut and immediately devoured it.
So gooooooood…
“Would you like to go back to the castle and rest then?” Right Word asked. “Or would you prefer to keep exploring the city? Or we could go to the library? It’s usually very calm there at this time of day.” He pointed to the tree next to the group.
“That’s the library?” Spike asked.
Twilight went wide-eyed and squealed. She had gotten so wrapped up in her story and the memory of her friends’ first adventure that she had completely forgotten about the library!
Yay! BOOKS! Probably books no one in Equestria has ever even read! EEEEEEE! DOUBLE YAY!
“Talk about deja vu. I thought Golden Oaks was the only library in a tree,” Spike muttered, looking at the large treebrary. “It even looks to be about the same size too. Also, why are some of the buildings trees? I forgot to ask.”
“The climate,” Right Word said as the three of them began to approach the tree. “These large trees grow exceedingly well in the warm, wet climate we have here, though we are in a bit of a dry spell currently. The trees were what our ancestors used to live in, as they provided better shelter than normal homes in the stormy season. However, with advances in magic, we have found ways to build homes that can survive the tropical storms, so now we have about a 50-50 split between tree homes and normal ones, though this village tends to lean more towards ‘normal’ homes.”
“Wouldn’t the tree be the normal homes?” Twilight asked, her mind off books for the moment as she began mentally writing down everything he was saying. Any history or lore she could gather about this island, the better.
“My family grew up in a non-tree home, so that’s just what I consider to be normal,” Right Word said with a shrug.
That makes sense.
When they reached the front of the tree, Twilight took a minute to read a sign hanging out front.
Delubrum Capital Library
All Species Welcome
Open 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Knock if not during operating hours
She then turned to the front door, which was made of a much brighter red wood, and gave it a gentle push.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!
Inside were so many, MANY books, and many of them were ones she didn’t recognize! There were small tables with cushions scattered around the lower level with bookshelves lining the walls, with a second level with even more shelves!
But all of this was just what Twilight noticed in passing as she immediately walked to the nearest bookshelf as fast as her weak legs could carry her. She pressed her nose to the spines and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of paperbound books mixed with the subtle smell of a living tree that the shelves were crafted from.
Oh, how I missed this smell. It’s not the same as Golden Oaks, but it’s just as good. All those days of re-shelving, all those parties in the main area. So many good memories.
“Enjoying yourself?”
“GAH!” Twilight screamed, jumping as the voice spoke right in her ear. Her exhausted legs gave out from the strain and Twilight felt gravity take over as she crashed into…something soft? Gasping in shock and blinking at the lack of pain from the wooden floor, Twilight looked down to see a cushion wrapped in pink magic had broken her fall.
Looking up, she realized that, thankfully, Right Word apparently had the reflexes of a speeding Rainbow Dash and had used his magic to save her at the last second. He looked relieved to have caught her in time, while Spike looked like he did whenever Twilight took him to a haunted house on Nightmare Night.
Mouthing a quick ‘thank you,’ Twilight turned to look at her tormentor, who was now laughing her head off. The mare in question was an large earth pony almost as big as Big Mac, with a light orange coat, a peach-colored mane, soft blue eyes, and had a cutie mark of a small tree.
“Oh, that never gets old,” the mare said as she wiped a few tears from her eyes.
“I assure you, Strong Sprout, it does,” Right Word said, holding his own chest as he let out a deep sigh. “I swear, between you and Soft Wind—”
“Yes?”
“GAH!” Right Word yelled as he, Spike, and Twilight all jumped for a second time as a second mare LITERALLY appeared out of thin air right next to the unicorn. Twilight had been looking right at him before the second mare just…APPEARED!
How the heck did she do THAT!?
The only one who didn’t jump was Strong Sprout, who merely laughed at their reactions for a second time.
Trying to get her heartbeat back under control, Twilight took a good look at the new mare. She was a pegasus with a purple coat, a yellow, purple, and blue mane, brown eyes, and a cutie mark of a paper airplane blowing on three gust of wind. Both she and Strong Sprout just laughed again, enjoying their little prank.
“How did you DO that!?” Spike asked, holding his own chest with his good arm.
“Invisibility spells,” the two mares chimed. Both of them vanished again, then reappeared next to Twilight a few seconds later and promptly helped the purple pony back to her hooves before performing a hoof bump.
Invisibility spells for pranking? That sounds like something Rainbow would do.
Twilight wasn’t sure if the thought made her want to smile or cry.
“Might I suggest waiting until Twilight isn’t weakened by the island’s magic before doing that again?” Right Word asked.
“Oh BUCK,” Strong Sprout cursed, looking at Twilight sheepishly. “We’re sorry, Princess.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Soft Wind agreed awkwardly. “We didn’t hurt you, did we?”
“No, no, it’s ok. You didn’t know,” Twilight said, giving each of them a small pat with her wing. “I forgive you. And please, call me Twilight.”
The familiarity seemed to perk the two up instantly, and soon everyone in the library was smiling again.
“But how…?” Spike began, finally finding his voice.
“All ponies on our island have been taught the skills to access unique magic,” Right Word explained as he sat down on one of the nearby cushions. “Our ancestors discovered the magic, and Sparrow has helped pass down the knowledge used by ponies in his time in order to access and cast said magic. Magic that is…less restricted to a pony’s race, but is also more unpredictable and variable. Save for displacement, which is our form of teleportation, most spells are unique to the pony casting them and cannot be easily replicated by others. These two just happen to use their skills for pranking rather than anything productive,” he added playfully, and it was clear he was joking.
“Hey, we can be productive,” Strong Sprout defended as the pegasus beside her stuck her tongue out at the unicorn. “Why, a few minutes ago, I finished dusting all the books in the library.”
“After getting distracted for two hours with the newest study of farming practices,” Soft Wind teased, poking the earth pony in the ribs. Strong Sprout blushed and grumbled. The pegasus giggled and nuzzled Strong’s cheek before moving to nuzzle under the earth pony’s chin. Strong grunted, but returned the nuzzle, and soon enough she was smiling again.
“Are…you two together?” Twilight asked, glancing at both of their legs for rings. Given how many mares there were in Equestria compared to stallions, same-sex couples were common in Equestria. However, Twilight wasn’t sure if the gender ratio was as skewed here or if same sex couples were as common.
She DID see a ring on Strong Sprout’s leg, but not on Soft Wind’s.
“Married for ten years,” Soft Wind said, gesturing to a golden ring on the base of her wing. “Best decision of my life, proposing to this pranking goofball.”
“Hey, I popped the question, remember?” Strong protested, showing off her own band proudly. “So technically I’M the one who proposed to YOU!”
“Pffff, you know I asked first.”
“Pretty sure it was a tie,” Right Word said with a grin. “Practically the whole town saw it, remember? And all of them think you asked at the same time.”
“As if,” the two mares replied together. They blinked in surprise, then turned to each other and glared. Then stuck their tongues out. Then made ridiculous faces with both eyes going in opposite directions.
“You’re good. That’s why I asked you. No, I asked YOU!” They both exclaimed, speaking at the same time.
The two glared again, before bursting out into laughter and sharing a quick kiss.
“Love is weird,” Spike said, shaking his head.
“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Soft Wind said with a wink. “Now then, how can we help you, Twilight? I can just tell from the way you went and sniffed our books that you must be an ex-librarian.”
“Yes, I was and…I really don't know,” she said, taking a moment to get a better look at the library now that she had calmed down a bit. Other than the books on the shelves, there was a desk to the far right that was stacked high with books, and a few doors that likely led to other rooms in the tree. There was a light blue rug that covered the steps leading up to the second level, and plenty of windows that looked to provide natural light to the library no matter the time of day. It was beautiful.
However, she was unable to look around for very long before her mind quickly began to drift back towards the books, something that made her want to bounce in place with glee.
“There are so many books here, and so many I’ve never even seen before!” Twilight squealed. “Ohhh, I just can’t wait to get started. Maybe I can start on that unique magic? I can’t cast right now, but even just getting a head start on it would be great!”
She picked up the nearest book and opened the cover, only to blink.
The book wasn’t in Equestrian.
“About that,” Strong Sprout said, walking over to another bookshelf. “About three fourth’s of the books are written in our native language, which is Labyrin. It is a precursor to Equestrian, but it is not nearly as easy to read, and is likely considered to be a dead language by any scholar outside of our island. And unfortunately, I doubt there are any books on our magic that are in Equestrian. There hasn’t really be a pressing need to translate them until now.”
But…but books…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
“But then why are you all speaking Equestrian? And why was the sign outside in Equestrian?” Spike asked, hobbling over to the somewhat heartbroken Twilight and giving her a comforting hug.
“It’s taught to all of us in school and at home, and most ponies here use the two languages interchangeably,” Right Word said. “The problem is that most ponies don’t see the need to write their books in both languages because everypony can read both of them anyway. So they tend to stick with our native language over the imported one.”
“We have been working to translate some of the books for fun,” Soft Wind said. “But it’s a slow process. And not exactly large-scale since, again, there hasn't really been a pressing need to do so. We can use our friend’s printing press to print new books, but we would still need to translate them all first, and each book takes days. As for the sign, it’s enchanted to show whichever language the reader prefers, or whichever language they are more fluent in if a gap in understanding exist. Unfortunately, you can’t do that with books because the enchantment would need to be applied to each page individually and the pages don’t have enough space for the rune.”
“The rune?” Spike asked in confusion, scratching his head with his good claw.
“A magical rune. Think of it like a magical alphabet that is used to spell out what you want a spell to do. To create the translation spell, you need to make a circle, then spell out the spell on the boarder. Then so long as you put magic into the circle, the spell will work. The sign outside feeds off of the natural magic of the island, causing it to be constantly powered, though you can use gemstones with magic stored inside to power the spell.
“And we can’t just put the rune somewhere on the book, because the enchantment would be too strained as it tried to change the entire book every time someone opened it.” Strong Sprout said with a sigh. “So all we can do is work to slowly change them manually.”
“So there’s no way I can read all these books?” Twilight asked sadly as Spike gave her a reassuring pat on the back. But Soft Wind smiled.
“Of course there’s a way, sweetie. It just requires a bit more effort.” She spread her wings and flew up to one of the shelves on the second level. After a few minutes, she returned with three large books. “These three books are the most basic tools we have for teaching someone who knows Equestrian how to read our language. I know it’s a lot, and we can personally help you once you get into them, but they should hopefully get you started.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said, smiling slightly as she was handed the books. “By the way, Right Word, how exactly is the Equestrian language imported? I though you were all isolated here.”
“We are, for the most part,” Right Word said. “However, there are certain…tasks we tend to perform out in the rest of the world, and with Equestrian being the dominant language and highly recognizable, the guard was taught Equestrian some two thousand years ago.”
“From there, it began to diffuse its way into the population,” Strong Sprout said. “Some foals would be hearing their parents say it, which in turn would let them start speaking it, and soon it became another full language of the island.”
“It took about three hundred years and eight generations,” Soft Wind chimed in. “But that’s how it happened. It also helps that the soldiers of the island come from all ten of the villages.”
“Why do you even need so many soldiers?” Spike asked, a slight bit of suspicion creeping into his voice. “And what do you mean by ‘tasks’ in the rest of the world?”
“It’s mostly just information gathering,” Right Word tried to assure him. “And nothing secretive or restricted. We just like to keep up to date on what’s happening, what new technologies are being created that we might not have, who's in power; all stuff that is common public knowledge that a tourist might be able to discover. Think of it as reading the local paper to learn what’s new in the world.”
“Really? That’s it?” Spike said suspiciously, still not entirely convinced. Right Word nodded.
“For the most part, yes. We do also occasionally send soldiers to investigate large magical disturbances, such as the reappearance of the Crystal Empire, but we rarely intervene unless it’s a true emergency or crisis. We try to respect all nations’ privacies, and in my lifetime, our guards have never had to get involved in another country’s affairs until recently, though that goes without saying.”
Gee, ya think? Twilight deadpanned internally. I think conquering Equestria definitely counts as ‘getting involved.’ And I don’t like the idea of them gathering information from every country on Equis, even IF it is all public knowledge. Why can’t they just open diplomatic relations? Given the size of their army and the power Sparrow wields, why do they need to stay hidden at all?
Didn’t Sparrow say they were attacked before his shield was up?
Yes, he did. But he also said it was many many years ago. Surely they could have found another way to stay safe without completely cutting themselves off from the rest of the world if the attack was so long ago. And why can’t they just keep the shield up and still engage in relations? Sure, the ambassadors might need a few days when the first arrive like I do, but that shouldn’t stop them. And it seems like Sparrow and his guards are able to come and go easily enough.
And if they're isolated, doesn’t that mean the rest of the population can’t travel to Equestria freely? That doesn’t seem fair at all!
Unless that thing that possessed the guards back in Canterlot could sneak in via teleportation. And if everypony on the island can teleport between here and Equestria, it would only take one possessed pony to breach the Island’s safety, wouldn’t it?
Twilight blinked at that thought. If that…thing could possess ponies, then could the island be at risk if anyone besides guards left the island? Sparrow’s armor HAD stopped the attack by the possessed guards, and those guards had recoiled when the attack had been destroyed. But was that just…normal, or was the spell on the armor specifically designed to counter that shadow creature?
And if this thing was such a threat, why hadn’t there been ANY sign of it across the recorded history of Equestria? It certainly hadn’t been in the history books Twilight had read, and there were a LOT of them.
Ugh. So many QUESTIONS.
She was so distracted she almost missed Right Word’s next sentence.
“As for the size of our guard, well…”
“Let’s just say there’s a part of our history we would rather…not get repeated,” Strong Sprout said, looking down with a sad look on her face.
“And it might be best NOT to ask Sparrow about it,” Soft Wind said. “He was there when it happened, and from what we all know, it’s…still a rather painful memory for him.”
“Does it have something to do with an attack?” Twilight asked, voicing her internal thoughts. “Sparrow mentioned that that’s why the island hasn't been found.”
The three exchanged uncertain glances, though Twilight wasn’t sure why they were uncertain.
“You’re…correct,” Right Word said, sounding as though he was choosing his words carefully. “But while the attack on our people and its impact on our culture is well know, its impact on Sparrow is…less known, save for a few of his most trusted ponies. I know, but it isn’t my place to say…He really only lets that impact show on the Day of Mourning, a day at the end of each winter where we remember those who died in the attack.”
“That must be one bad memory,” Spike said.
“That,” Right Word said sadly, “is an understatement. Of that much, I can assure you.”
He’s still haunted by what happened to him, even so many years later? Twilight thought. So does he keep the guard as big as it is because he doesn’t want something new to come along and attack them like what happened in the past…or because what attacked them the first time is still out there…
SOOOOOO sorry this took so long. See, Sparrow's character has changed a lot since I wrote this rough draft more than year ago now, so it took a bit to work out how every scene would play out now that he was far different than when I first made him.
Also, and this is a bit embarrassing, but...remember the hint I provided last chapter. Yeaaaaaaa, I kinda sorta lost track of what chapter that character would appear in, soooooo...That hint will apply to NEXT chapter, and only part of this on given how I added a small part to include her without introducing her. Can you guess which part?
Anyway, let me know what you think, if i made any mistakes (because some always manage to slip through, even in professional medical writing), and if you can guess what happens next
Also, BOOKS!!! 
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Good as always .
byehype bhype ?)
This chapter have a +1 for me because its a calm one and its not like the other story where there is always action and explosion . You can switch between calm and action and it feel good . (Idk if i worded everything correctly anyway try to not overwork your GF and/or learn from her how to edit yourself too , it could help for anything .
Until next spero chapter
9403689
Glad you liked it
It's alive
9404571
Yes it is. Sorry it took so long. Having three big story universes wreks havoc on a normal upload schedule
Another fine chapter man, making me more and more curious with this story. I’m low key getting more excited about Twilight properly confronting Sparrow about what’s on her mind. Hope it’s not too far
(Could’ve done without the lesbian couple though. I’m sorry bad experience personally)
9406133
)
Glad you like it, and a confrontation will come (when? Sorry, spoilers
More please
9411320
All in good time. The next chapter is being edited as I type
9411576
Is twilight really want to maried alicorn king
9411961
No, she doesn’t want to marry him, but is willing to do so to protect equestria
9411997
Uhm more like forced to married right
9412006
Yes
9412094
God damn
Aaaah, can't wait to find out what will happen next
9418195
Something entertaining, I assure you
oh,I just wanna to read the next chapter,such a wonderful story,I love it
9445336
Luckily, the next chapter is written and is currently undergoing revisions, so hopefully it will be out sometime this month
9504291
See, you say she "agreed," I think that's nonsense.
Imagine a jury trial. Bob is being prosecuted of both robbery and asssault because he put a gun to Alice's head and demanded she agree to hand over her wallet. Bob does not dispute the assault charge, but argues that since Alice made an agreement with him willingly, he's not guilty of the robbery charge. He should get to keep the money. The prosecution, judge and jury are all convinced by this and he is convicted of assault but acquited of robbery since Alice chose to hand over the wallet of her own free will.
To me, your story so far has read exactly like that example. I see no difference. It doesn't matter if "Bob" was ultimately justified if he makes no effort to convince anyone of this and they all agree with his flawed logic anyway.
9504314
Ok, I think I get it. And you may be right, but taking that case, what if Bob was forcing her to surrender her purse because he knew someone put a bomb in it? He committed a crime, both robbery and assault, yes, but what if he judged the crime worth it to save a life, and regretted that it came to a crime at all?
9504335
In this analogy, the trial is happening at the same time as the crime, and the metaphorical victim, prosecution and most of the metaphorical jury agree with the defendent. WHILE the crime is happening. That's the part that's killing my suspension of disbelief.
Especially since it's such a wild circumstance - in that example Bob would have just told Alice about the bomb. For your setup to make any sense, you're going to have to explain:
I trust that you've got explanations for all of these. But since none of Sparrow's victims have any of those answers at this point, and it's such an unimaginably impossible situation that would lead to all of them being explainable, the reactions don't make sense. They shouldn't be assuming the purse has a bomb in it (so to speak,) but they are.
Just to reiterate, everything is believable except the part where so many characters seem to view the events as a mutual agreement rather than an abduction at gunpoint.
9504381
Ok I understand now. And yes, all those questions will be answered. I will keep these ideas I’m mind and may rework this a bit when I have time (aka, when I don’t have a psych GRE in a few weeks) . Either way, thank you for the interesting discussion
9504389
Appreciate it, I hope this was taken as the constructive criticism it was intended as.
One other thing - assuming it is possible to give consent at gunpoint, Sparrow obviously required consent. This put him in a significant disadvantage to the question "What happens if I say no?" becuase he is then forced to reveal a minor ultimatum (continued occupation and relatively luxurious imprisonment) or a severe one (pain and misery inflicted on loved ones) or explain his motivations further (he is unable to do this for unknown reasons.) All of these responses would prompt any reasonable character to tell him to frig off. Why does nobody ask this essential question?
And the 72 hour time limit makes absolutely no sense from a negotiation standpoint. If the answer is no after 72 hours, will he still accept a yes later on? If not what's the point of further consequences then, revenge? Oh wait, since he's a "good guy" he WILL accept a yes after the deadline then right? OK, so there actually is no time limit at all then, is there? So why issue one? Makes no sense. Why don't the thousand year old diarchs with expansive experience in dealing with ultimatums and calling bluffs realize how flimsy this all is?
9504417
I do view it as constructive, and with a story this complicated and challenging in terms of story, I appreciate this being pointed out so I can be aware for the future.
Now for the next debate...Hmmm...
Rainbow, Rarity, and Luna all oppose his deal, and think Twilight should say no, mainly due to the fact that he is trying to force her to make the decision, and because of the obvious reasons. Yet Twilight doesn't think doing so is a real option because while she would be imprisoned in a rather luxurious place, everyone else in Equestria would be trapped as well, and Sparrow would still maintain control of the entire country save for the capital. Also, Sparrow does tell the rest of the mane six that if she says no, things will basically remain at a stalemate, save for the five of them being taken back home. So I think he does answer the 'what if I say no' question, just more towards the other rather than Twilight directly (and you need to assume the girls tell Twilight this during the few days before her answer via the communication orb). And while it wouldn't be a hostile occupation, it would still be an occupation that would lead to stress and worry for everyone involved, regardless of how kind Sparrow or his soldiers act.
As for the time limit, it was just a way to force Twilight to act. Being completely serious here, how long do you think Twilight would worry and stress about this decision if there was no time limit? I imagine there would be a deep grove in her bedroom's floor by the time she finally decided what to do, and Sparrow would know this to be the case given how he has apparently been watching her for years. And while he would accept a decision after the deadline, something Twilight would know given what he told her friends, it may be almost like a test timer or a deadline for a project. Even if you know the teacher is willing to give you extra time, the deadline itself, at least for me, still serves to stress her out and to work harder to meet said deadline regardless of how flimsy it is. And you're right, it IS flimsy, but it still serves as a way to apply pressure, especially to someone as schedule oriented as Twilight.
This may, in turn, reduce the ability to call the bluff, given how he could easily just say. "Yea, your right, so I guess nothing will happen or change until she says yes." Which would make Twilight feel even more hopeless and forced into the decision because there would be nothing either princess could do to disprove him or say that THAT is a bluff, given how easily he defeated them only five minutes into their first encounter, and how his solders are showing no signs of leaving. As such, I can easily imagine Celestia not calling it so as not to stress out Twilight even more. Luna may just leave this up to Celestia more, given how she has been the one to handle diplomatic relations over the past 1000 years, and Luna doesn't strike me as someone who would be an expert at negotiations, partly due to all the years she has been gone and how complicated it might be to re-learn diplomatic tactics, and because she seems like the kind of pony that would get into a wrestling match with a minotaur that sit in a room for hours on end pretending to be polite even with a country you are at odds with. Actually, for all we know, that could be how minotaur's negotiate
Will there be a new chapter soon?
9506642
Yes. The next chapter is mostly done, I am just addressing the final edits from my editor. I expect it to be out by either the end of this week or sometime early next week
Thank you.
It should be diffuse. Language isn't a bomb after all...
9516874
That mistake just reminded me of the time I gave twilight a singing tail and turned flash into a window (shuttered instead of shuddered)
One thing i COULD see happening as a consequence is this:
Equestria got conquered ludicrously easily and in one night.
Who wants to just conquer the nation after that? Theyre clearly weak and ripe for the taking
He might delegate more and he probably has less nobles making stupid requests and wasting his time with nonsense
Well that, and a pouting Twilight I'm guessing
Oh most definitely not
That....my friend, is a freaky thing to experience....
Grammar Wars Episode 1: A Phantom Typo
Grammar Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Typos
11377551
Fixed! Thank you
Pretty sure most countries does this to some extent, it would be foolish not to