Pinkamena Diane Pie: Consultant Detective

by Time Pony Victorious

The Unicorn Range (2)

"Fortune telling," Inky explained. "Is something these gypsies have made particularly famous these days."

I frowned at her skeptically.

"Don't worry, it isn't those cheap types of fortunes you would buy at the store, or something. It's legitimate," she promised, "Though it isn't very wide-spread, there are only a few ponies that have the gift."

"The gift?" I took a sip of the tea the gypsies gave us, bleh, too bitter.

"The gift to be able to see into the schism," she explained, "The schism around reality and the universe. Everything that is or ever will be."

I frowned at her skeptically again.

"At least, that's what the culture believes. The belief was originally based on unicorn magic, the first gypsies were unicorns and usually marveled other ponies with their magic," she continued. It had been five minutes since Pinkie went with Sirin.

Inky had explained that gypsy were superstitious and often didn't like strangers, which is why I was left out of the conversation. Inky stayed behind to keep me company even though she was invited as well. While we waited, Inky taught me a lot about gypsy culture and how she lived when she was with them.

Although, I was curious as to why Inky didn't go with Pinkie. I mean, it was her mother involved as well, shouldn't she be hearing the same thing as well? Was Inky not that concerned or was she genuinely being nice to me?

Don't misunderstand; Inky was a very kind and cordial mare. But I always felt as though she was holding back. As though she was somehow disturbed by my presence, like she couldn't make out what kind of pony I was to her sister.

"Do you believe in it?" I asked.

Inky looked at me. It was midafternoon by now but within the deep forest, the sun was nearly out. We sat by a campfire and in the harsh light, Inky's dark mane look ghostly silver. Her eyes were glassy yet stormy at the same time.

"Maybe," she said, "But that life is behind me now. I've business with the princess. There is no time for whimsical fantasies."

She turned away and for a brief moment, I heard the pain in her voice. It was only a theory but… perhaps Inky didn't want to be the mature and responsible older sister, and that she wanted to go have adventures like Pinkie or Blinky. But she had to do it, otherwise who else would?

"Inky, I-"

"Whew! Thanks Madam Sirin!" Pinkie called as she exited the tent with a bright smile on her face. She trotted toward us and grinned from ear to ear, "Guys, I've got great news. Uh, hey, what's wrong?"

I must have been grimacing because she looked at me when she said that. Forcing a smile, I shook my head, "Nothing. What did she tell you?"

"Mom has been through here. She didn't say where she was going, but she was headed north. Madam Sirin's best guess would be the Unicorn Range." She shrugged, plopping down between Inky and I. "We won't be able to make it there by morning. So, we'll have to catch a train north the first thing tomorrow."

"Excellent," Inky said, "We have a plan then."

"Hardly, we're going to a place we aren't sure your mother is at, hoping that your sister is as clever as you to follow," I reminded them, "It's a shot in the dark."

"But it's the only one we've got," insisted Pinkie.

"Sure, but can't we ask the princess for help?"

"The princess doesn't have any time to go into personal matters," answered Inky in a stern voice, "She's far too busy at the moment."

It bugged me how much Inky knew about Celestia, but I just nodded. "Fine. Then we're staying here for the night?"

"Yep!" Pinkie had pulled out a stick with a dozen marshmallows, holding it out into the camp fire, where she got the marshmallows, I'll never know. "Madam Sirin offered us a tent." She pointed at a small tent to the back; it didn't look like it could fit three ponies.

"So… got any stories?" I asked.

It was an hour before the Pie sisters went to bed. We spent the time sharing ghosts stories and sharing marshmallows, even Inky looked like she was having a good time. Seeing Inky like that was nice, it reminded me of how she looked when we first met. With that wide smile and rapid-fire way of talking, compared to her cold and calculative personality, seeing her smile was much better.

"Uh, you guys go on ahead," I said as they went into the tent, "I gotta go do something."

Pinkie nodded before entering the tent. I turned to Madam Sirin's tent, took a deep breath, and walked in.

I wasn't sure what the etiquette was for entering a gypsy's tent, so I just awkwardly stuck my head in and said, "Knock, knock?"

"Ah, Miss Sparkle." Madam Sirin was sitting in the middle of her tent. Dozens of ornaments were hung throughout the interior, in front of her was a crystal ball. Not those fake ones, a real crystal ball. It must have been enchanted because within it was purple swirls that emanated to the surface, giving it a scary glow. "For what do I owe this visit?"

The way she spoke was kindly and respectful, like she didn't mind that I just rudely intruded on… whatever it was she was doing. She reminded me of my zebra friend, Zecora; oh, by the way, I have a zebra friend, her name's Zecora.

"I was actually wondering, you know, since you can tell fortunes, if you can see anything in my, well, future?" I was stammering awkwardly and stupidly, but Sirin just smiled and nodded, beckoning me to take a seat across from her.

"Why this interest in your fortune?" she asked, "From what I heard, you are a pony of logic and science."

"Well, after hanging out with Pinkie for a while, I learned that it helps to have an open-mind about things," I admitted, recalling the crazy stuff with her Pinkie sense and how illogical it was.

"I see," Sirin smiled and held out her hoof, "Well, let's just see your hoof dear."

I gave her my hoof.

"Oh my!" the gypsy cried as she held my hoof, "I have never seen such things in anypony before! Your life will be thrown into chaos, as awesome yet dangerous situations will turn up frequently! You will encounter the mare with two smiles and find out her true purpose, the Pony of Time will meet you, and you will even combat the king that bathes in black fire, and, my dear filly, you will find the true meaning of the sunburst! Nopony I've encountered has ever had such negativity in their lives, my dear, what is it that you do?"

I sheepishly smiled, to be honest, all of what she was telling me hadn't really registered in my mind yet. Call me distracted, but I was mostly focused on something else.

"Um, detective stuff, but, uh, I don't really care about any of that," I admitted, "Is there anything about other stuff? Like, and I'm just spit-balling here, love?"

Sirin recoiled, her eyes wide and mouth agape. I could understand why, she just told me that my life would be filled with misery and life-threatening situations but I just blindly asked about romance. She must really think I was some little filly who didn't know any better.

My mood deflated with that happy thought and a sad frown came upon my face. She must have noticed because she immediately brightened and said, "O-oh! Love, yes, I can see it clearly here. Look at the romance line in your hoof," she pointed at a random spot on my hoof, "Yes, it is very strong dear. It seems you hold unrequited feelings toward an oblivious pony. But, if you keep your feelings true and honest, they will eventually see it."

I had a feeling she was only saying that to make me feel better, but her calming and encouraging tone made me smile. I wasn't the most hopeful when it came to romance, I mean, I understood the biological and psychological affects love would have on someone; but other than that I was blind. If anypony could help, it could definitely be her.

"But what if they never see it?" I asked.

"That is one of the greatest mystery with love, my dear," Sirin smiled, as if she understood my plight. "One that everyone must go through, for their love. If it weren't for love, my dear, then life could not be as beautiful."

I nodded dumbly. Hearing Madam Sirin speak was a bit humbling, I always thought of myself as intelligent but all of my books and knowledge could not compare to Sirin's wisdom. I felt like I was being schooled again in terms of experience, but her wistful manner of speaking definitely resembled someone who went through the battle for love… and lost.

"So, how long have you known Pinkie, dear?" she asked.

I reddened. "Oh, oh, you know, for a little bit," I winced, whenever I got embarrassed or tried to lie, my voice would get higher pitched. I wasn't as bad as Applejack, but I have been known to resemble a tea kettle when I spoke.

"Hmm," she smiled knowingly, "And how long have you had these feelings for her?"

"I-, well, no- you see, it isn't like that- but- I-" taking a look at her face, I knew that there was no point in trying to lie to her, "Maybe the day after I met her?"

Sirin chuckled as she waved her hoof over her crystal ball. The smoke inside changed until it resembled a purple unicorn standing alongside a bouncing pink earth pony; Pinkie and I.

"I've known Pinkie since she was a little filly," Sirin started, "And she was always brilliant. Always bouncing about and singing. Her detective skills were sharp even then, she could always tell everything about ponies from a single look. But she was always a little dull when it came to affection. You see, Pinkie sees everypony in the world as her best friend and treats them with love and integrity."

That certainly was true. Pinkie was the type of pony to go through great lengths to befriend somepony even if they never showed interest in friends. One of the reasons she is so well-liked is because of her charisma, she memorizes every little detail about everypony, like their birthday or favorite foods. Pinkie was a social pony and I was far from that.

"But don't worry, even the great detective will be able to pick up on your feelings sooner than later," she promised, "Just keep at it."

Hearing her words certainly reassured me, but I couldn't help feeling a bit down. She knew so much about Pinkie and I knew next to nothing. I didn't even know she had sisters much less was a former gypsy. I thanked Sirim with a polite smile and left her tent. Pinkie was still up by the time I got to our tent.

"Hey, did you sort everything out?" Pinkie asked with that infuriatingly kind smile of hers.

"Yeah, I did." I grinned at her before taking my spot between the Pie sisters and drifted off in a dreamless sleep.

When I awoke, it wasn't a pleasant awakening. Inky was shaking me. "Hurry Twilight, the train will be here soon."

Stepping out of the tent, I expected to be greeted by the morning sun but it was still dark out. Lighting up my horn with a simple light spell, I searched past the dense trees to find the stars still out. It looked around dawn, but still, that was insanely early!

"Girls, why are we up so early?" I asked, half-miserable, half-tired.

"Early bird gets the worm," answered Pinkie with a glee in her voice. She jumped around the tent to fix it up. We were all alone in the campsite, the caravan had left. Judging from the indentations in the dirt, it was probably a few hours ago. There was only one carriage left, they helped us fix everything up and were kind enough to provide breakfast and give us a ride into town to catch the train.

By the time we arrived at the train station, the sun was almost up. I had enjoyed a nice grass and hay sandwich and was rejuvenated as we waited for the train. My main was probably still a horrible mess, but I was a little excited to be getting to the Unicorn Range.

"According to legend, the Unicorn Range was hazardous land. The ground burned forever, nothing grew, and the most dangerous of creatures lived there. It was guarded by the mythical Python for eons. Until the young Princess Celestia and Princess Luna traveled there and with their magic banished all of the monsters and created a beautiful mountain range. The river was like crystal and the hills would sing." I explained excitingly. I've always wanted to see the Unicorn Range, even if the legends weren't true, it was still a beautiful sight.

"I'm not sure how true that story is," admitted Inky, "But Unicorn Range does have a lot of history behind it. It was primarily named after the fact that several nomadic unicorns took residency up there and has protected the range from other ponies with a collective magical barrier. It is said that anypony that tries to cross the barrier will be zapped with powerful magic, vaporized on the spot."

That didn't sound very pleasant. My story of Celestia and Luna was much better, but it was just as Inky said, there is no time for whimsical fantasy; we need to face the harsh reality. If Pinkie's mother and sister were headed here, it must be for a serious reason, especially considering they were both earth ponies.

The train ride was about two hours long. Despite being so hyped up when I woke up, I ended up sleeping. When I came to, I was in Pinkie's hold as she hugged me like a purple teddy bear. It was rather comfortable but after I realized that Inky was awake and laughing at me, I jumped out of Pinkie's legs. When we arrived the area was absolutely desolate.

There was no sign of civilization, all around us there were only rolling hills and a huge mountain range. Inky had told the conductor to stop in-between Smokey Mountain, I don't know how she convinced him to do so, but apparently once she mentioned her name he complied instantly.

It would be a short trek to Unicorn Range. By short, I of course mean it was a five mile walk. It was midday when we reached the end of the mountain range and to an open clearing. We stood at the edge of the clearing, searching for the Unicorn Range; I thought something that big would be really easy to find, but for miles there was nothing but empty plains.

Then I saw it. Shimmering in the horizon a massive set of rolling hills suddenly appeared, I could sense a powerful magic radiating from there, something so powerful that I almost dared not to tread any further.

"Ah, there it is," I announced, pointing at the range, "Only a short walk."

Pinkie and Inky squinted at the horizon and frowned at me. "Where?" Inky asked.

"There's nothing over there," added Pinkie.

"What are you talking about? It's over there," I insisted, pointing at the hills, "It's huge how could you not see it?"

"Twilight, there is nothing there," promised Inky.

"Wait. It might be magic. Remember the stories, a magic barrier surrounding it. Twilight can probably see it because she's a unicorn, a powerful one at that," reasoned Pinkie, "So, you'll have to lead us Twi."

I nodded. It made sense, but it didn't reassure me. If the barrier existed, it probably would be able to vaporize us, let's hope that the stories were only half right. I lead the sisters toward the range, and the closer I got the easier I was able to see it. The range seemingly ran forever, the hills were golden and shined like a million bits in the sun. I could see, several miles away, small villages nestled within the hills, and surrounding it was just lush grasslands.

"Amazing." I exhaled, taking in the sights as they opened up to me.

"Shame we can't see them," reminded Inky.

"Are we getting close?" asked Pinkie, her eyes squinting, "I'm starting to get dizzy."

Inky shook her head, "Ugh, me too."

"It must be the barrier, the closer non-unicorns get the weaker they are," I deduced, it was nice to be in that position for once, "How would I even open the barrier? Is there some sort of key or…"

"Please hurry," moaned Pinkie as she fell on her stomach, "I can't…"

My mind raced. If these two passed out, how would I get them through? I can't exactly carry them back to the train station, what if they wouldn't simply pass out and fall completely ill and die? No, no, I needed to focus. How would someone penetrate a barrier? Think, remember Pinkie's lessons, take in every piece of information about your subject and extrapolate your answer from there, no guessing; Pinkie doesn't guess.

Unicorn Range is pretty old, contemporary accounts places the range before Celestia's reign. The ponies that lived there must be savvy to many types of magic, probably some that were barred by the princess since they live in such a secluded area. Only unicorns are able to see the range and even get near the barrier without feeling any adverse effects.

Conclusion: adding into the fact that this place isn't accessible by train with the fact that its location is so secluded and protected by a magical barrier, explorers or wandering ponies wouldn't be very common. Meaning, they don't have to worry about invasion or unwanted visitors.

Meaning, they would be very surprised if their barrier was suddenly breached.

Charging up my horn, I conjured a simple spell; magical projectile! Putting everything I had into the spell, I let out a roar as a powerful magical bolt shot out toward the barrier. As expected it was deflected and dispersed with absurd ease, but the entire outline of the barrier suddenly flared up, lighting up the world in its bright yellow glow. Everypony in the villages would be able to notice that and, with any luck, I could break through as soon as they come to investigate.

Six explosions thundered all around me. I turned to find that we were surrounded as six unicorns in dark robes charged their horns at me. In a fair fight, I could probably take only four of them at once, but with Inky and Pinkie now thoroughly disposed with, I can't take the chances of a fight.

So, instead, I sat on my flank and maintain a cool expression. "I'm not fighting. I surrender."

Good news: they took us into the Unicorn Range, bad news: even though we were inside the barrier, Pinkie and Inky were still unconscious. Oh, more good news: the magical barrier didn't incinerate us.

The hooded ponies led me into the range, two of them in front of me, and the rest behind me. I was vaguely aware of them levitating the Pie sisters behind us, but I was too distracted by how beautiful this place was. The colors felt more vibrant, the sun brighter, it smelled like nature in here and the villages, oh my, were they amazing. Instead of contemporary design, the villages were designed after ancient architecture. There were Roanian and Grazian styled buildings with Phrench fountains decorating the village square, stone statues of ancient Grazian heroes were scattered throughout the place; I could see Lightning Bolt the Swift standing beside Star Swirled the Bearded. It was amazing, but the more we walked the more nervous I felt.

Something was off. Everypony was dressed strangely. They wore white toga robes or silk dresses, it felt like they were dressing up for some sort of festival, because none of it was modern. This place felt like it was stuck out of time.

And their eyes. Their eyes were so old, much older than their youthful bodies suggested they should be.

Finally, we stopped in front of a very large cave craved out of a hill. It gave me vertigo when I looked at it, because compared to everything else, this cave seemed brand new. I could see modern drilling equipment inside and electrical lights illuminating the cave.

"Wait here," one of the unicorns ordered, his voice was gruff in despite of his slim frame. He trotted in front of me and stood right outside of the cave, his horn lit up a dull green and the entire cave caught fire. Wait, no, the cave just lit up with a brilliant light comparable to staring at the sun. After the light died, he led us in.

"Who are you ponies?" I asked.

No response.

"What's with this village? Why go through great lengths to protect this place? Is the princess aware of this?"

Silence answered me.

"What about Bellamena?" I asked.

The unicorn in front of me looked over his shoulder very subtly. Ah, good, now we were getting somewhere. I smiled as I walked down the cave, I was gaining knowledge so easily that I felt a bit like Pinkie. Confidence filled me, that is, until I saw the digging site.

It was massive, with a large stone platform about thirty meters long and twenty feet tall. There were dozens of unicorns on the platform levitating pickaxes and digging into the earth. None of them wore robes, they were all dirty and ragged from the hard labor, but, with a start, I realized that they were all middle-aged ponies and were terribly malnourished. Their skin was pulled back, making the ribe cage easily noticeable. And what's worse, none of them had cutie marks.

"My Lord," the guide unicorn said to nopony in particular, "The intruders were apprehended."

I squinted, trying to get a look at this Lord. In between the working ponies stepped out a tall unicorn, his fur was midnight black, his mane and tail were bright red; the color of blood. His eyes were so dark they looked like coal, and when he glared at me I had a feeling he was trying to vaporize me with a stare.

"A unicorn, and two earth ponies?" he mused, "How were they even able to get near?"

"They passed out long ago," informed the guide, "They were weak-minded."

"You really better watch your next words," I warned with a hiss.

"Such spirit," remarked the Lord, "In such a tiny body?"

"And who are you supposed to be anyways?" I snapped, "I'm not that great of a detective, but I can guess you aren't anypony nice."

"Lord Stargazer," he introduced with a snake-like smile, "And who are my captives?"

"Sorry, you won't get that information so easily," grinning foalishly at my silly trick.

"No matter," Stargazer muttered. His horn brightened a dull black, causing everypony to wince. I felt his magic overpower my body and literally invade my mind. Eyes widening, I recognized the spell, a mind-reading spell. Quickly, I countered his spell with a mental barrier, my horn glowing causing his magic to disperse instantly. "Impressive, a unicorn with talents, or should I call you Twilight?"

I bit my lips, so he managed to extract the information out anyways.

"So, why are you here Twilight Sparkle with the Pie sisters, Pinkie and Inky?" he asked with a clever smile. I had to resist smiling to let him know that he didn't get the whole story, he didn't know about why we were here, he probably couldn't even connect the fact that Bellamena was their mother.

So, instead, I looked miserable and frowned as if I were annoyed at his mind-reading skills. "Don't worry about that. First, tell me what this is," I gestured to the entire cave, "A mining site? Mining for what?"

I wanted to ask about the workers, I wanted to know why they looked horrible. But I couldn't let him know that I cared about them, what if decided to dispose of them in front of me? Stargazer didn't seem like the type of pony to be below that.

But, as I had predicted, Stargazer refused to answer and just looked at me with an arrogant smile. Huffing, I grimaced. What would Pinkie do? Probably come up with a convoluted plan while at the same time expertly extrapolating Stargazer's entire life story and still have time to bake some cupcakes.

I was no Pinkie, but I knew of her methods.

Shutting my eyes, I had focused on everything I could recall about Unicorn Range.

The magical barrier, the strange villages, the out-of-place citizens, the old archaic buildings and statues of famous ancient ponies all came to mind. The cave/mine was not naturally built, but something this immense had required years upon years of work and dedication. It was certainly not something that was produced within months. The workers… their cutie marks were not there, they looked tired and ragged, as if they worked there for their entire lives.

And finally, Stargazer. His magic was immensely powerful, certainly not something easily achievable. What was the connection? There was something I was missing. Something in the corner of my eye…

Smiling, I opened my eyes and glared triumphantly at Stargazer.

"Unicorn Range," I started, "A strange place, I'll admit. I've only heard stories and myths about this place, some of which involving primarily the princesses-" I noted a sour expression in everypony's face as I mentioned them, but continued, "-But after seeing it, I've concluded, perhaps definitively, that this place is dangerous and something that should no longer exist."

"Oh?" Stargazer growled darkly, "Regal us with your explanation, please."

"Of course," I answered with a smile, although I had to swallow back a bit of anxiety. Even if I was right, it still wouldn't do much in impeding a magical bolt, I needed an escape plan. "Firstly, the magical barrier. Powerful magic at work here, there are several layers of magic over the barrier, they are primarily used in concealing this place with a bit of Misdirection magic sewn into it. Making everypony who isn't a high class unicorn think that the range doesn't exist. If they were to go near it, they would get dizzy and confused and would want to turn away, of course, those who continue will eventually lose consciousness."

I glanced over at the Pie sisters. They were absolutely still but I could see their chests moving steadily, well, that's one problem down.

"Anypony crazy enough to go through the barrier would notice a few peculiarities. Your little, ah, villages, for example. None of them hold any sort of contemporary style, sure, the assumption of them being strictly traditional is entirely possible but not likely in this case. The ancient buildings, the strange ponies, the fact that you are so appear much older than you really are points to one thing really. I mean, it's obvious. The way you hold yourself, your manner of speech, even your name was a dead giveaway…"

Taking a few pointers from the Great Detective herself, I paused for dramatic effect and grinned proudly. "This entirely range is lost in time. Probably cursed so very long ago, forced to become a ghost valley. But why, then, is everypony still alive and well? That brings me to my second point!"

I flourished as I turned on my hooves to broadly gesture to the mine. "What you're mining is highly concentrated and highly complex magical crystals which holds an enormous amount of power in them. Ever since I came to this place, I've noticed my magic has been a little stronger. Artificial augmentation. Those crystals will raise your overall magical ability, but the drawbacks are too extreme. How long have you been using them?"

Stargazer remained silently, his jaw locked and his gaze furious. I dreaded to know exactly how long he had been messing with these crystals, they were too dangerous, that's why they were banned in the Preclassical Era.

"Fine, don't tell me. Just know that these crystals will destroy you eventually. But, I'm not exactly done. So, what does all of this have to do with Bellamena Pie? Simple. She was the wife of a well-trained rock farmer, a perfect candidate in mining for highly volatile crystals underground. Her genius accelerated your progress immensely, which is, of course, typical of the Pie ponies. The only real question is why? Why are you doing all of this?"

"The legends were true," a voice called out from the mine; a sweet voice from which I could practically hear the burden of a great mind weighing down on her. Stepping out from behind Stargazer was a tinier earth pony, her coat was ash white, her mane, formerly beautiful and well coifed, now fell like a curtain over her face. Her eyes weren't obscured however, as they focused on me with laser-like intensity. I could practically see her mind racing at a million miles per hour. She, like the others, wore tattered rags that covered her cutie mark but had done a poor job obscuring her rather graceful figure for an aged pony. Bellamena Pie, Pinkie's mother, glared at me from above.

"Princess Celestia found these wandering unicorns and wept at their weary travels. So, she had promised them refuge, and cleared out the land which was previously of molten rock and jagged mountains. The unicorns were grateful but arrogant. They named the range after them and sought power, for they felt dwarfed before the princess and they feared her. They wished to conquer her, and found a way through the magic crystals."

Despite the severity of the situation, I was still at awe at Bellamena. I stared at her and recognized the similarities between her and Pinkie. They looked almost nothing alike, but the way she spoke, the flourish in her words, the high intelligence in her eyes, all of them easily recognizable. Bellamena had carried herself with such dignity regardless of her outfit, she looked like a princess addressing her subjects, as if standing above others was simply her natural affinity.

"But, the crystals held a curse. If those with clouded hearts were to abuse the power the crystals held, they would be forever poisoned by their greed. This happened to those wanderers as dozens of them fell ill and were close to death. The princess rushed to their aide, but they refused and instead locked themselves away from the word, erecting this magical barrier to keep everypony out. Of course, the princess couldn't do much against these unicorns, as any action would be tantamount to war," Bellamena scowled at Stargazer as he chuckled darkly.

"Yes, your demi-goddess ran away from our barrier, like the filly she was," he added.

"I dare you to call her that again," I hissed, my horn charging with power.

"Oh, please," he scoffed, "I am hundreds of years old, what could you do against me dear?"

Somewhere in my rage-filled mind, my logical side of me screamed at me to act rationally. He was right. He outclassed me in terms of experience and raw power, I wouldn't be able to do much against him much less if his lackeys decide to help. And what of the Pie girls? I couldn't save them all while defending myself from these unicorns.

Stargazer walked us right into our graves.

"So, tell me dear. How should I kill you and your-"

"The workers!" I blurted out. He raised an eyebrow and me and frowned. Giggling nervously, I looked at the tired old workers and back at Stargazer. "Why are they cutie markless?"

"What?" he asked.

"They're adult ponies, some much older, obviously, but none of them have their cutie marks. Why?"

"They aren't real ponies," he answered turning to one of them, "Flash clones. Fabricated through my magic. Look."

He zapped one of the workers with a bright purple light. The poor clone shuddered and danced from his magic before exploding in a puff of purple smoke.

"See? They aren't even proper ponies."

"Then, I suppose you don't mind if I do this!"

My horn lit up brilliantly and a flare shot from it, lighting up the world like a miniature sun as it came close to Stargazer. It temporarily blinded him and it gave me the opportunity I needed. Quickly, I had teleported beside Bellamena, wrapped my leg around her, and teleported back to the ground. By the time I had made the trip back, the light had died down and Stargazer roared, "STOP THEM!"

I bit back a curse. I knew that my trick wouldn't last for very long, but I had hoped it would've gave me enough time to make an escape. Turning, I faced the unicorns who growled darkly at us. But, I didn't need to do anything. Pinkie and Inky sprung to action, leaping to their hooves and took the unicorns by surprise.

I had always thought of Pinkie as a non-violent pony, I never even saw her get angry at anypony. But I learned that she was certainly a force to be reckoned with. Like a tornado, Pinkie spun elegantly around the unicorns; knocking them on their flanks as she flipped them over and kicked them. Inky wasn't too bad either, managing to keep up with her younger sister. And before I knew it, all of the unicorns were disposed of.

Stargazer growled evilly from above and I heard him charging a spell. Turning, I prepared my own defensive spell to ward off any attack, but before Stargazer could even fire, another unicorn, hidden underneath her robes, had ran past Stargazer and kicked him in the face before jumping down to us.

It had stunned him long enough for us to run. Our little savior sprinted past us. "Run!" she cried.

I didn't ask any questions and just ran.

We all ran for the exit, but it would take ages for us to reach the end and by that time, Stargazer would have caught up with us. I wasn't too eager to go against his magic either.

"Twilight!" Bellamena called out, "Blow up that stalactite!"

She pointed above at a single stalactite, completely out of place in this pony-made cave. I didn't argue the strange occurrence of that structure existing here and blasted it with a magical bolt. The cave rumbled as the stalactite blew up; massive cracks tore through the ground and ceiling as everything began to collapse.

Inky cursed as rocks began to fall on us. We had to dodge and weave the falling rocks. The entire cave was collapsing.

The exit was only a few meters in front of us. But the rock slide was too fast. Making quick calculations in my head, I figured that by the time we actually reached the exit we would be crushed by the rocks.

"Everyone, stay together! I've only got one shot at this!" I cried. Everypony followed my orders and closed the gaps. I concentrated on the most basic of spells; teleportation. It was difficult to do so with the rocks thundering behind us and the prospect of being killed by them so utterly close, but I made do. With a quick crackle of light, my magic enveloped all of us and we were all teleported to safety.

Excellent timing too, because as we reappeared outside, the cave completely collapsed.

I fell to the ground, panting and breathing from overexertion.

"Good job Twi," complimented Pinkie as she got to her hooves and turned to face me and Bellamena. I blushed and smiled, but Pinkie's gaze focused on her mother for a brief moment. Naïvely, I expected Pinkie to smile and hug her mother, glad to finally see her safe and sound, but Pinkie just turned around and faced the village.

"Come on, our work isn't done yet," she said.

"Seriously? Stargazer is trapped there, he isn't getting out!" I complained.

"Don't be silly Twi," she chided, "He is a powerful unicorn, all we did was slow him down a bit and annoy him. We need to bring that barrier of his down, it's keeping this entire range out of time but once it is down, time can catch up to it and everything will be set right."

"First things first, however," interrupted Inky. She stood up and turned to the unicorn who helped us with an angry expression. I wanted to chide Inky for looking so upset with our savior, but she flipped back the unicorn's hood to reveal a tiny earth pony. Her coat was light blue and her gray mane was as wild and curly as Pinkie's. Her brown eyes shone with a mixture of apprehension and intelligence. "Blinkamena Selene Pie, how could you be so stupid and reckless running after mother like that?"

"What do you mean? You two did the exact same thing!" Blinky argued, her voice taking me by surprised. It was completely different from the other Pie girls. She had a heavy Canterlot accent, one tinged with an aristocratic cadence. "At least I didn't get knocked out."

"We were only pretending to be unconscious," countered Inky, "And besides that, you're just a filly, you should be home now!"

"Now, Inky, there is no need to raise your voice," chided Bellamena.

"Mother, if you could, stay out of this. You're no better."

"Excuse me?"

"You are most certainly not. You're our mother, you should exercise more caution than that. What sort of example are you setting for little Inky?"

"I am not little," interrupted Inky, "And I am not a filly. I can handle myself just fine, sister dear."

"Enough!" I yelled, stopping this incessant argument. Even if we weren't in a dangerous situation, these three are family, they shouldn't be yelling at each other, they should be happy that they are all safe and sound; isn't that why they were all so desperate to find each other? "If you hadn't noticed, we happen to be in a precarious situation that doesn't call for arguing! You can all settle your issues when we're back home! Right now, we need to get out of here and follow Pinkie who, by the way, just ran off a few moments ago, so come on!"

They all looked at me strangely and again I felt anxious being under the scrutiny of these intelligence ponies. But right now I was too tired and too agitated to even care, so, I returned their stares with a powerful glare of my own. It seemed to impress Bellamena who smiled at me.

"Twilight has a point," she said.

"Thank you."

"But you don't need to yell," she huffed.

"Yeah, I mean, we can hear you Twilight," added Blinky.

"Honestly, you need to be more dignified in your manner Twilight. You are a Canterlot pony, after all," finished Inky. I stood there with my jaw dropped, unable to believe what these frustrating mares were telling me. I needed to be more dignified?!

"Oh, do close your mouth dear. You'll catch flies," advised Bellamena as she walked past me.

I face-hoofed as they left me, I needed to remind myself that I was dealing with the Pie family, so of course they will be difficult to handle. I followed the Pies into the village (perhaps the weirdest sentence I have written). We found Pinkie in the middle of the village at a tower.

"Here is where the barrier is being controlled from," she informed us as we approached. "But, look."

She took a pebble and threw it against the tower, before it could even reach the structure it was vaporized mid-flight; its ashes falling to the earth.

"No physical way to penetrate the structure," remarked Inky.

"The barrier's power is strongest here, meaning it is also the biggest weak point," added Blinky.

"So, once this is taken down, everything will fall, meaning the village will fade," continued Bellamena.

"We'll be affected as well, because we're under the barrier. The plan is simple then, bring this tower down and somehow protect ourselves from the fallout," concluded Pinkie.

It was amazing to watch how the Pies were basically on the same frequency, even though there was still tension amongst the family they were all still thinking the same thing and trusted each other's judgment, for the most part. It wasn't four separate ponies speaking, it was just one mind in four different receptacles.

"My magic is augmented from the crystals as well," I explained. Ever since we got here, I felt extremely strong and had to hold back on my spells in case I accidentally blew something up, it was a strange feeling but at the same time invigorating. "I could take down the tower and right before it blows up, we can make our escape."

"Good, then get started Twi and we'll-"

"INSOLENCE!"

The world exploded. Heat washed over me and blistered my skin as I rolled for all I was worth and tackled Pinkie. My ears rang and nausea knotted my stomach. Looking around, I searched for the other Pies. Inky had covered Blinky and Bella, but looked in terrible condition. Her back looked burnt, her fur was charred and black and her eyes were closed.

Up above, in a literal tornado, was Stargazer. His eyes were like burning coals and he looked like he was trying to shoot lasers from them.

"Did you really think you could get away from me so easily?!" he roared, his voice like thunder shaking the earth.

"Actually, yeah, we kinda did," muttered Pinkie.

"SILENCE GROUND-POUNDER! You beasts of burdens are not suitable to tread the path I walk on!"

"I warned you," I got to my hooves and glared just as evilly as he did, I imagined even my eyes were glowing from my anger. Nopony talks to Pinkie like that. "Now I have to teach you a lesson in manners."

He growled. His horn glowed electric blue, thankfully, I recognized the spell and was able to counter it. A purple bubble appeared around me and deflected his lighting blast away, unfortunately, I wasn't able to calculate where it would go and it collided against the tower, damaging it slightly. Pinkie needed to move from the debris.

Ooh, idea.

"Ponican Cameos!" I yelled to Pinkie, who instantly understood. It was a code-word between us that had many meanings depending on the situation. The primary one being danger! The other being distraction or bluff.

Pinkie ran behind the tower and, as expected, Stargazer turned his glare on her. He shot out another lightning bolt to her. Pinkie was much faster than I expected, because she jumped out at the last moment and the bolt struck the tower. I could see the barrier's integrity drop a little. Good, Stargazer's magic was so powerful it would easily be able to obliterate the barrier and tower.

The thing now is that we needed to keep him away from Inky and the others. If he turned on them, I'm not sure I would be able to help them.

"Heyyy!" Pinkie goaded, "Over here!"

Stargazer roared and zapped at Pinkie who disappeared, letting the bolt strike the tower again. She reappeared on the other side of the tower, "Nope! Over here!"

He fired again but Pinkie was too fast, dodging his magic bolts. It was a good strategy, but Pinkie wouldn't last forever, and with the magically enhancing crystals and the fact that Stargazer is hundreds of years old with all of that experience backing him, I can't see us winning easily. Soon, Stargazer became so agitated with Pinkie's antics and shot a lightning bolt to the sky.

It hit the barrier at its apex and I saw lightning branch out from there, in all directions and headed right for us. It would kill us within seconds.

Thinking fast, I teleported to Inky's side and increased my range bringing them all back toward the tower as we teleported again, right next to Pinkie.

"Get down!" I ordered. Erecting another defensive bubble, I made sure to touch the tower with my hoof. The lightning came down to the earth and electrocuted the entirety of Unicorn Range. But with my defensive bubble, it protected us, however, since I was touching the tower, some of the lightning had hit the tower, completely destroying it.

The bad news, my readers, is that ponies aren't exactly conductive. I felt the electricity go right through my body. It felt like every cell in my body was burning.

I passed out as the tower exploded.

When I came to, Pinkie was looking down at me with concern in her eyes. Pinkie Pie was truly an intellectual amongst normalcy, her vision was straight and true and when she was absorbed in a case or a puzzle, her warm eyes would become cold and distant. She was always kind to me, but I could see that distance in her eyes, when her mind was distracted by a million of other things, it made her feel detached. It was worth the wounds, therefore, when I saw that cold, intellectual mask dim briefly as her very foundation shook, her lips trembling as her concern over my safety became apparent.

She hugged me tightly when I regained consciousness. It was a kind gesture but every muscle on my body ached when she embraced me. I asked about Stargazer and the village and Pinkie showed me. Everything was turned to stone.

The buildings shone with milky white against the light as it looked like it was made completely out of marble. And even some of the pony denizens were stone, all of them trapped in awkward poses, forever under their rocky prison. Even Stargazer hadn't escaped that fate; he was floating in mid-air, his miniature tornado appearing like a giant stone cone as he floated on top of it, in mid-roar, with the integrity of marble.

"Time caught up," Pinkie deduced, "And must've done that to them."

"Are they alive?" Blinky asked.

I shook my head. "No. When time had caught up, they lost their lives microseconds before turning into stone. Painless deaths."

Nopony said anything for a moment there. I mean, it was terrible that these ponies needed to, you know, die because of us. But living like this wasn't natural, it was monstrous. Extending your lives through artificial and dangerous means, that wasn't living; these ponies lost their souls long ago.

We had set off after checking ourselves for injuries.

Inky wasn't very hurt. The burns she got weren't very serious and I had gotten off very lucky. All of the damage I took was superficial, thanks to my magically enhanced horn, it had absorbed all of the electricity and dispelled it against the tower. It still felt like a thousand burning needles poking into my hooves when I walked, but I'll live.

The next eight hours were a blur. We caught a train to Los Pegasus where Inky had called Canterlot for a chariot escort. From there, Blinky and Bella explained their stories to us. Bellamena had found this place years ago when she was a gypsy and the unicorns took them in. She had helped out their mining exhibition with her rock expertise but they wanted to keep her there indefinitely. Escaping from there, Bella went back home without hearing any word from the unicorns for a good twenty years.

She had received several warnings from the gypsy group in Los Pegasus, claiming that the unicorns were growing restless and finding ways to escape their time prison. Bella needed to investigate to put a stop to it, which is why she traveled back to Unicorn Range. Blinky then explained how she found her way to Los Pegasus by finding Bella's trail to the gypsies and managed to sneak her way inside Unicorn Range.

"The barrier was powerful," she had explained, "But it wasn't strong enough to vaporize anything that came close to it."

Apparently, since the magical barrier was spread so thinly that it grew weaker at its boarders but stronger at its origin: the tower. Blinky nearly passed out as she sprinted past the barriers, the unicorns never suspected her when she took their clothes and stuck around to find Bella. Pinkie and Bella both looked very impressed at Blinky's ingenuity but Inky, being the most responsible mare here, chided the filly for being so reckless. But, before Blinky could argue back, the elder sister had hugged her, stating that she was very happy that they were okay.

It was a sweet scene, but my exhaustion wouldn't allow me to enjoy it. I passed out during the flight back to Canterlot and when we actually got there, it was night out.

Pinkie hugged Bella and Blinky as they said their goodbyes. I asked what Inky was going to explain to the princess about this whole mess, but she just waved her hoof and said, "Minor trifle. I will be able to explain everything to the princess, no need to worry."

"Do you really have to go?" asked Blinky with those innocent-looking eyes of hers.

"We have to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible," admitted Pinkie with a half-hearted grin.

"Nonsense!" cried Bella, "There is plenty of room at the manor. Stay here for the night!"

"Nah. I don't think Inky would appreciate that," explained Pinkie before all three of them turned to her with puppy-dog expressions. Inky's composure crumbled quickly.

"Of course you can stay…" she muttered under her breath.

Pinkie and Inky tackled their sister with their combined hug.

"So, you're Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia's personal student?" Bella asked with an impressed expression. I got the feeling she wasn't asking me about my grade-point average and wanted to ask about my friendship toward Pinkie.

"Y-yes," I answered.

"Impressive. The princess doesn't pick just anypony to teach. But, I'm wondering, if you're her great student then what are you doing in Ponyville playing detective?" Again, I got the feeling she was asking why I was with Pinkie instead of pursuing my studies here in Canterlot.

"I sorta fell into the business with Pinkie," I admitted, "And stuck with her since then… Nothing more."

"Really?" she raised an eyebrow, her tone was somewhat disappointed, "Hm. Well, I hope to be hearing more about your, ah, escapades with Pinkie. And don't mind her, she's a little dull when it comes to most things, but she'll get the idea after a little while."

I blushed, and promised that she could catch up with our adventures if she read my stories when they were published. And after thoroughly embarrassing myself, I followed Inky into the manor.

After a bath fit for royalty and getting fixed up, I was ready to collapse. I walked into the guest room where I saw Pinkie fresh from her bath as well. I tried not to focus on her wet fur or how her mane was straight and draped over her back as I took my seat beside her.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Usually, Pinkie would be ecstatic after solving a case, especially since it involved her own family. But she looked distracted and almost… perplexed by something.

"Gypsies they don't travel out of a certain bubble, they usually gravitate to certain places and don't leave that orbit. So, my question, is how would gypsies living near Los Pegasus be able to get a message to Canterlot?" Pinkie asked, her brow furrowed and expression inquisitive.

"Maybe they got somepony to send it for them?" I suggested, "I mean, it seemed urgent."

"I dunno…" she mumbled, "It doesn't make sense. I'm missing something, something staring at me right in the face that I'm not getting."

"Well, look, it's all right. Your mom and sister are all fine, there isn't any need to worry over small details." I placed my hoof on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "Right now, we should get some rest."

Pinkie looked like she wanted to think about it some more but decided against it. Instead, she grinned widely, picked up a pillow, and smacked it against my head laughing.

"Pillow fight?" she asked.

"Oh. It. Is. On!"

In the back of my mind, however, even I was concerned about Pinkie's thoughts. But, no matter what the challenge, I knew that my friend, Pinkamena Diane Pie, could handle it.

Comments

[Crimson Dawn]

Very fun story and I enjoyed it. I think somebody liked a specific episode of Avatar...

[Time Pony Victorious]

1842166

Somepony recognized the reference! I must silence you!

*fires confetti at you*

Darn it Pinkie, I told you to reload the party cannon every time you use it!