The Pony Loa

by Leila Drake

Chapter 11: Unexpected Bags

Princess Luna opened her eyes. She drooped her head and heaved a tired sigh.

"You two are overdoing it." Celestia rushed to her side, carefully putting her foreleg around he sister. Cadence sighed and nodded reluctantly.

"I shall rest now," Luna assured her. "It was worth it, I managed to talk to Eclipse once again." She smiled. "They are on their way to Booty Bay, then Stormwind City."

"Stormwind!" both Jonathan and Twilight exclaimed. "The capital city of the Alliance?" Twilight asked.

Jonathan nodded. "That's the one."

"Why?" She tilted her head. "I thought Darren was from Lordaeron, not Stormwind."

"Yes. But pretty much everyone who survived the massacre in Lordaeron went to Stormwind. Which, mind you, weren't that many. Most got slaughtered on the way out."

Cadence made a disgusted face, then she hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think he wants to check if he has family there?" she asked.

"It's the only reason that comes to mind," said Jonathan slowly. "I never was in Stormwind and so wasn't he for that matter. As far as I know anyway."

"The capital, you say?" Luna smiled. "There might be creatures there who can help them with their side of the portal."

Twilight's eyes lit up. "Yes! We have the magical mirror here; if they had something similar it would be much easier to establish a link! All they would need is... oh..." Her ears folded back. "The help of someone who wields the Light... and also a skilled mage..."

"How skilled are we talking?" Jonathan asked. "You managed pretty well the last time you made a portal."

Twilight sighed, scratching the lavender fur on her muzzle with a hoof. "Ugh... I had help on this side... Celestia's help, remember? And my Cutie Mark is literally Magic. I don't mean to brag but I'm one of the most powerful mages on Equestria. I guess in order to create a working portal they would need a mage with a lot of experience. Most likely an archmage."

"Well, shit." Jonathan grimaced. "There aren't that many."

"I could go to Azeroth myself..." Twilight offered hesitantly.

"No," Celestia said instantly, shaking her head. "We should only do that as a last resort. We don't know where you might end up. You could appear in the midst of an ocean or in hostile territory. It's extremely dangerous."

"I know." Twilight huffed, desperately trying to think of alternatives.

"Do you know of any archmages?" Luna asked.

"Well, both the Alliance and the Horde have a few. The Council of Six is made up of archmages," Twilight said. "But they're usually in Dalaran, and that's too far from where our friends are. Uh..." She tapped her head as if that might help her remember more.

"Jaina Proudmoore?" Jonathan offered.

"Right, she's very powerful," Twilight agreed. "And isn't she a member of that council?"

"Not sure. Also, I have no idea where she might be," Jonathan admitted. "Or if she would even want to help. I got a feeling she doesn't like the Undead. I think she dated Arthas Menethil before, you know, he became the Lich King."

"That does not bide well," Luna muttered, exchanging a worried look with Cadence.

"I see," said Celestia. "I'm afraid that's something that Darren needs to find out somehow. We should try our first approach; the portal with two fixed points. And only if that fails am I ready to let you go to Azeroth again," she said, raising her eyebrows.

"Of course." Twilight nodded.

"I will cast the spell as soon as I am able," Luna promised.

"Thank you all for your help," Twilight said. "Really. I'll tell Feather and White the news right away."

"Of course." Luna bowed her head.

Jonathan crossed his arms and grimaced. "Man, I just hope they don't get into much trouble before we can set up the link. Just got a feeling they might be in over their heads."

"I hope you're wrong," muttered Cadence.

---

"Land!" The cry from the crow's nest was followed by multiple cheers. Eclipse and Darren joined in them as well. Vol'Shalai just grinned.

"Can not wait to go land, huh?" He spat into the air, watching the cherry pit fly in a wide arc and disappear between the waves.

"Neither can I," said Nylene. When she spat out her cherry pit it flew a bit further than Vol'Shalai's. "Do not mistake me for a thrill-seeker..." - Darren snorted incredulously - "...but a fortnight in the same place is not my idea of a time well spent."

"Wouldn't say it was a waste," said Tarik. He took a pair of cherries from the box he was holding and passed it over to Darren. Tarik stuffed the fruit into his mouth and grimaced, frowning.

Levinia mumbled thoughtfully. Sitting on the railing, the pegasus let her head rest on her forelegs as she watched their competition. "Does it even taste like anything?" she asked Tarik sceptically.

"No." Tarik's cherry pit landed in the water and sank immediately. "But I'm still going to win."

Darren smirked and passed the box on to Eclipse. "What's the score?"

"Nylene's furthest," Levinia stated. "At this rate she's going to score highest."

"Can't have that," Tarik muttered, wiggling his fingers to get the box from Eclipse.

As soon as Tarik had the box Eclipse flapped his wings to make a jump and hook his forelegs over the railing.

"Careful there," said Darren, quickly catching Eclipse's barrel before he could slip and drop into the water. Steadying himself, Eclipse found a way to hold onto the railing properly.

"I can't see anything," he said, disappointed. He was sure he looked in the right direction but there was just more water. Darren helped him down to the floor.

"Patience, kid," he said. "Give it a few hours until we land."

"Do they taste sweet?" Levinia asked, this time Eclipse.

"Uh-huh. Can I have another, please?"

"Only two left," said Tarik, tilting the box so the last two cherries fell out and into the colt's outstretched hooves.

"Thanks!"

"Can you describe them a bit more for me, please?" Levinia asked, an unexpected longing in her voice.

"Uh... they're sweet? Tasty?" Eclipse said hesitantly. "I dunno."

"They're juicy," Nylene said. "When you bite them they split open and the flesh of the fruit turns flat between your tongue and your palate. And the sweetness is like sitting under a harvest moon, between rows and rows of cherry trees after a long day's work."

"Thanks," Levinia whispered, her eyes teary.

Nylene nodded, smiling knowingly.

"Come on, let's go pack our things," Darren suggested.

---

"Levinia! A word?"

Levinia perked up. She trotted over to Darren, ignoring the slightly scared looks from a group of humans who were also packing.

"Yes, what is it?"

Darren pulled a face. "Look -"

Levinia frowned. "You want me to turn into a wisp. Again."

"Well..." Darren nodded, shrugging apologetically. "It's safer that way. Booty Bay is a neutral town. A lot of people there make money by - doing questionable things."

"Such as?" Levinia asked sharply. The air around her turned cold. The humans close to them grabbed their things and hurried outside.

"Buying and selling volatile information. Or goods. Or people."

Levinia groaned and ran a hoof over her translucent muzzle.

"You know what? No," she said. "I won't turn into a wisp again. I don't want to."

"Levinia - " Darren began.

"No!" Levinia repeated, this time with more emphasis. Her ghostly voice echoed through the hold, chasing away the last remaining passengers, two orcs and Miindra. "I really think you're underestimating us, Darren. By far. Pardon my Prench but you still totally think like a weak human. Let's see who we are, all right? We've got you, a death knight who can take on several people at once without even breaking a sweat; Tarik - same thing, probably times two, since he's undead. Me - a spirit who literally can't die..."

"You still can get vanquished," Darren protested half-heartedly.

"A moot point if I shout loud enough." Levinia grinned. Then she turned serious again. "Next, we've got Nylene who's a demon hunter that can move as fast as a shadow; Vol'Shalai, a powerful shaman; and even Eclipse, who's only a colt..."

"Alright, I get it," Darren interrupted her. "You're adamant about it, aren't you."

Levinia nodded. "Yes. I am. Darren, I really like you guys and don't want you to get hurt but I'm not going to hide who I am. I wanna spread my wings, I wanna walk and talk and hug. Is that really, honestly, too much to ask?"

Darren sighed and nodded. "No. No, it's not. But then we shouldn't stay in Booty Bay any longer than absolutely necessary. We buy what we need for the rest of the way and then we leave."

Levinia sighed, relieved. "Thank you. But where in Stranglethorn Valley are we going to sleep?"

"You don't sleep," Darren remarked, shouldering his bag.

Levinia just rolled her eyes at that. "You're one to talk."

"But if we're lucky, we won't have to stay there at all. You'll see."

---

When they walked across the plank that conneced the Maiden's Fancy to the pier, Eclipse noticed with surprise that it was much easier for him to keep his balance than two weeks ago. Carrying his small saddlebag on his back and clad in his new blue robe, he jumped the last step and looked back. Vol'Shalai put a hand on his back, encouraging him to keep walking and make way for the following passengers. Eclipse stepped aside and let them pass. It was strange; even though he was relieved to get off that ship he had the faint feeling of leaving something familiar behind. He felt funny standing on the unmoving wooden planks of the pier. Eclipse could not shake the impression that it was the ground that was bobbing up and down instead of the waves.

Vol'Shalai laughed. "Ya got sea legs," he said.

"Sea legs?"

Nylene, who had been walking behind Vol'Shalai, grinned. "You've grown used to the up and down of the waves. Once that is gone you need to adapt back. Come on, little pony. Let's see where our human friend is taking us."

"Is Tarik coming along?" Eclipse asked. He looked around. Booty Bay really was a bay, framed by tall yellow rocks and lush green jungle. It was the strangest town Eclipse had ever seen. There were normal houses but some seemed to have been built from derelict ships. He could even spot a crow's nest. And the buildings hung on the rocks like spiders in web. Walkways, ramps, stairs and bridges made of wood connected the different levels. There was no beach, the cliffs just ended where the water began. It was loud; over the crashing of the waves Eclipse's ears were assaulted by the shouts of sailors, fiddle music, the sound of jungle drums and the shrill cries of exotic birds in the palm trees. His ears swiveled this way and that and so did his head, trying to take in everything at once.

"Thank the gods they're gone," a sailor hissed to his colleague as they tied another rope around a wooden pole to secure the ship. "When was the last time we had a mess like this?"

"Dunno," the other goblin replied. "Was kinda fun to watch, though."

"Before you go down the slope towards the boat, turn left. They're at the second building along, just after the armorcrafter," a female goblin just told Darren.

"... to Stormwind anyway," Nylene said. "Eclipse?" She nudged him with a finger.

"Huh!" Eclipse jumped. He blushed, feeling as if he had been caught distracted during class. "Sorry. Can you repeat that, please?"

Nylene smiled. "There is a lot to see here, isn't there?"

Eclipse nodded. Then he remembered Nylene could not see that and added, "Yeah."

"What I said is that Tarik's travelling to Stormwind anyway. We can journey there together."

"Oh, cool! What does he want to do there?" Eclipse asked.

"I do not know, he didn't say."

"Oh, okay." Eclipse found that he was more interested in his immediate surroundings. As they walked along the lowest footbridge, many gazes followed them. But it was not just his friends, Eclipse realized. The other passengers of the Maiden's Fancy were also being scrutinized, mainly by the goblins that seemed to be guarding the port but also by other people who sat or stood close by. The hairs on his neck rose as a shiver ran down his back. The travellers quickly spread in all directions, disappearing to other levels, into houses or through a tunnel entrance that led straight into the cliffs at Eclipse's left. Eclipse would have liked to disappear, too. He felt so terribly obvious, standing out like a sore horn, being the only pony around.

No, to be fair, there was Levinia, too. She cantered over to him and put a foreleg around his shoulder, making him smile.

---

Darren made a beeline for the bank. Unfortunately, the building was on the other side of the bay. They needed to walk all around town, following the semicircle of wooden piers that made up the port around Blackwater Cove.

"Plate'n'Chain? Again?" he heard Eclipse's voice from behind.

He cast a quick look back to make sure they had not lost anybody. No, the group was complete. Nylene and Levinia were close to Eclipse who had just read a sign, Vol'Shalai walked beside Tarik. The troll wore a strange expression as he looked at the palm trees up on the cliffs. And there, right ahead, was the bank, a sturdy two-storey stone house.

Darren walked to the counter which was a simple window just like in Ratchet.

"Welcome to Stranglethorn Trust," a grumpy goblin told him, trying in vain to glaze over her boredom with a chipper voice. She flicked her bright blue, obviously dyed, hair back. "Name?"

"Darren Houndslayer. Say, where can I buy supplies for travelling?"

The goblin touched a small magical orb that sat on the counter next to her and stroked its surface as if she wanted to find a gem in a small box. A shallow bowl lay next to the orb, perhaps for change.

"Ah, there ye are. Hound-slay-er, Darren." She looked up at Darren, passing him the orb. He hesitantly touched the artefact, waiting for the list of his belongings to appear before his mind's eye. "Ya might wanna see Graves," the banker added.

"Pardon?" Darren returned the orb to her and watched as some gold coins appeared in the shallow bowl. He quickly added them to the shrinking amount in his wallet.

"Graves. That goblin over there, on the crate. He's an auctioneer. Can make ye a real good deal if ya're the only one buyin'. And it's one hell of a slow day, considerin' the Maiden just arrived. Ye be the first one passin' by." She had a weird way of talking, a mix between the speech of dwarves and sailors with the hint of a trollish accent. It was extremely difficult to place and confusing as hell.

"Thank you," said Darren politely, raising a hand for something of a wave.

"Sure." The goblin leaned back and put her legs on the counter, folding her hands behind her head. "Great doin' business with ye." She closed her eyes, well aware that nobody except her could activate the crystal orb.

Shaking his head in bewilderment, Darren stepped away from the counter. He made some quick calculations in his head. Satisfied with the result, he turned to Eclipse who had watched them curiously.

"So I heard that somebody promised you a shield," he said, earning a big grin from the pony.

---

Levinia sat down on a smaller crate next to the goblin who was called Graves and set her head down on her crossed forelegs. A mosquito tried to land on her but flew away as soon as it touched her cold barrel. Vol'Shalai seemed to be in a strange mood. He kept frowning and pursing his lips as if chewing on words. She could sense that he was in some kind of inner conflict. Maybe she would ask him about it later on. After Darren was done buying Eclipse his gift.

Now the human was thoroughly inspecting a shield offered by the auctioneer, tapping the wood, turning it in his pale hands, running two fingers over the inner surface, looking for flaws. The goblin tried to convince him to buy something else as well, a pair of matching linen bags he had found difficult to sell. Apparently, somebody had found them in a place called The Barrens. They looked strangely familiar. The bags were bulky and contained a number of parchment scrolls, a long, dried inkwell, a broken quill, and some glass vials with colored liquids in them.

"We never identified the potions," Mr Graves said. "Be careful, they're at least two years old. And the notes are in a language nobody seems to know. You look well-read to me, maybe you're up for a puzzle?" He grinned widely, a sight that would have discouraged Levinia from buying anything from him, least of all a pair of worn old saddlebags -

That was when the bit dropped. Levinia jumped off the crate and pulled the surprised Darren aside.

"Buy it," she whispered urgently. "Ditzy will pay you for it later. Just don't let him keep it."

"What?" Darren muttered back. "Why?"

"I'll explain later," she promised.

"Alright. But you don't have to pay, I got it covered," said Darren.

"People here seem unfazed by the sight of a pony ghost," Nylene remarked dryly, mumbling into Tarik's ear.

The death knight nodded sagely. "Pirates," he said. "They are used to seeing loa and spirits - all kinds of things. It's the rum, I suppose."

Nylene snickered into her fist.

Darren bought the bags and shield, along with a piece of paper. They would get food for it in the Salty Seaman, he explained, and passed the bags over to Levinia.

She accepted the gift with eagerness and quickly opened the bags while automatically following Darren around a corner. Withdrawing a parchment roll with her mouth, Levinia could feel excitement building up inside her. With a shivering hoof, she unrolled the scroll. Lines over narrow lines covered the paper, the small, intricate letters of someone who wrote many words in one go.

"I knew it!" she stage-whispered. "See?" She passed the scroll to Darren.

"Oh dear Light," it escaped Darren. He stopped dead in his tracks. "That's Twilight's."

"What?!" Eclipse and Vol'Shalai blurted out, each in his native tongue.

"Listen to this," Darren said, "Day six: I still can't get the portal to compensate for the spacial differential. Maybe Celestia has an idea. It can't be the - the axis shear; when I went to Canterlot High that was not a problem at all. R-A-B-twelve minus one half R-G' and so forth... that's a formula... The page goes on like that. It's a scientific journal. About the portal she created, most likely." He looked up and quickly returned the scroll to Levinia. "That's invaluable," he whispered, beaming with excitement. "How did you know?"

"These are saddlebags for an Equestrian pony. And the scrolls are the ones Twilight always uses. Everypony knows she buys them in bulk." Levinia grinned. "She's not just famous for being a princess." She laughed happily. "You know, all those coincidences... sometimes I can't help but think somepony's watching over us."

"A beautiful notion," said Nylene.

"Or a creepy one," Eclipse muttered.

---

Darren had not joked; he really was in a hurry. After exchanging the coupon from the bank for food and supplies at the local tavern, he surprised Eclipse by pointing at a flight of stairs inside the same building. They followed him up through the dimly-lit room. After the stairs came a room with tables, then more stairs and finally a ladder. Vol'Shalai quickly put Eclipse on his shoulders so the colt would not have to climb the steep steps.

They passed through a doorway and found themselves on a strange balcony that looked like the bow of an actual ship. Darren stopped, confused.

"I do hope there's magic involved because that doesn't look structurally sound," Levinia said from behind.

Eclipse jumped off Vol'Shalai and looked back.

"Holy shit," he muttered.

"Don't curse," Darren immediately scolded him.

"Sorry. But seriously, look!" He pointed at the house they had just left. It hung so high up the cliff that Eclipse felt almost dizzy looking down. He was not used to heights.

I was okay with being high up in my dream, he thought. Maybe I need to train myself to get used to it.

"I think we're on the wrong roof," Tarik commented.

"I think you're right." Darren frowned.

"No, no, dis be just right," Vol'Shalai said in Orcish. "Only for me, though, I tink." He grinned and made a step to the left side of the balcony to another flight of stairs Eclipse had not noticed before.

"Oh my goodness, more stairs?" Levinia said incredulously while Vol'Shalai disappeared around the corner. "I think I'm gonna fly for a bit." She flapped her wings and took off, turning into a wisp. Floating high above them, she circled the bay.

Eclipse followed Vol'Shalai around the corner, onto a wooden platform, and gasped. Vol'Shalai was sitting on a manticore!

"Want to come, too?" the troll asked with a grin.

"N-no, thanks," Eclipse stammered. "I'm good."

"Eh, you go with Darren," Vol'Shalai agreed. "I see ya later. I'll take this wyvern, he seem ta like me well enough," he added, turning to the goblin that stood next to him, holding the reins of another manticore. Now that Eclipse had a closer look, he noticed that the manticore was different to the ones in his school books. Its lion body was more lean, the head smaller and the bat wings larger. Only the scorpion tail seemed the same proportion-wise. And then there was the saddle on its back. This creature was born to fly. So that's why Vol'Shalai sat on it: He was renting a flying mount.

"See you later," said Eclipse and returned to the other balcony. "Vol'Shalai is renting a manticore," he told the others.

"We call them wyverns, or wind riders," Darren said. "They're sentient, by the way."

"Really? And you use them as mounts? And they let you?"

"I believe Twilight Sparkle lets Spike ride on her back, too," Darren countered. "But you're right, they don't let just anyone ride on them. Neither do gryphons. Which might be a problem."

"We shall see," Nylene said calmly.

Levinia returned from her flight and resumed her pegasus form, landing gracefully on the balcony.

"I found the other flightmaster," she said. "Up there." She pointed at a platform to their right.

"How do we get there? I don't see a ladder," said Tarik. "Don't tell me we have to go back down and then use the footbridges."

Darren shrugged apologetically.

---

Miindra of the Aldor slid the letter into a mailbox and sighed sadly. She felt guilty. But she knew she had to report this. It was too much of an abnormality to let it slide.

She had gotten suspicious when Darren had immediately stormed into that room of the hurting death knight. Even Miindra had sensed the painful tremor running through the fabric of existence and she was merely a paladin and not an undead of the Scourge. That strange ghost pony creature that tagged along with the troll like a loa... she behaved as if she was perfectly fine with being dead. An impossibility by itself. And, to top it all off, there was Darren himself, a death knight in all aspects save the fact that he was very much alive...

At first she had considered writing to the Aldor themselves. But this was not just a matter of the Light and the spirit world. There was magic beyond her ken involved. It did not help that the strangers always stayed together; there had been no chance for her to talk to the ghost or the death knight alone. With a shiver, she recalled the features of that demon hunter. She reminded her too much of the Betrayer who had occupied her beloved Holy Temple of Karabor.

No, there was no other way. She had done the right thing. The person she had addressed the letter to would know what to do. Miindra was sure of it.

A faint flash of light shone through the slit of the mailbox, indicating that the letter was on its way. Miindra hoped that the arcane priority stamp had been the correct one. She sent a silent prayer to the Light and left for the Salty Seaman.