Chapter One

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WARNING! DANGER! ALERT! PANIC!: This story contains the fathomless evil that is humanised ponies! Heed my warning, all ye who enter, that you be prepared for an Alternate Universe and a world based on Pathfinder RPG rules!

Note: I am using the Pathfinder rules as a guideline, and things not strictly possible in the rules will occur, because I write like I DM; if the story is good enough, I'll bend or break the rules.

Fantastical thanks to beta-readers / editors Nealend86 and Web of Hope, you magnificent bastards you.

Chapter 1

In the dark night of Canterlot, a shadow danced across roof-tops. It bounded between buildings, skipping down the hidden highways easily. The shadow darted across an ancient manor, a shaft of moonlight illuminating the figure for a moment.

Ratty clothing, drab and dark, covered her form. Were there any to see her, they would have missed the way the garments concealed her slender limbs, the cloth loose in some places and tight in others, where she hid nothing. A hood covered her head, a scarf coiled around her face, hiding her features until only a pair of magenta eyes peered out suspiciously. She was in the moonlight for only a moment, revealed to none but plagued by the sensation of exposure, before vanishing again.

She dropped from the edge of the roof, catching it with one hand as she fell past. Hanging in the air, she kicked her legs and swung inwards, landing against the sill of a massive window. Her breath misted the glass, but she didn’t touch it. Balancing on the very edge, she sidled towards the seam of metal running down the middle. Nudging aside the scarf, she bit delicately into her thin and fraying glove, pulling it off with her mouth. In the shadows her pale skin was hidden, only a slender shadow reaching out to stroke the framework. The tip of a finger traced the steel with the touch of an artist, an expert’s senses leading her hand downward until she suddenly stopped.

Something about her relaxed and the feeling of a smirk emanated from her. Her hand followed the nearly imperceptible seam to the centre of the metal, pausing where the seam hit a tiny nub.

“Pfft.”

Scoffing almost silently, she reached into one of the deceptively loose parts of her garb and removed from the hidden pocket several tiny metal objects. With nothing but her feet keeping her there, perched on a ledge barely large enough for her to stand on, she went to work. Minutes passed, the sounds of the High District reaching her.

A click finally signaled the end of the most difficult part of the job. Stowing away the lockpicks she gently eased the window open, a grin hidden by her scarf as handily as the shadows hid the rest of her. Only a single panel was needed for her to slip through, one hand reaching first.

She froze halfway through the window. The hair on the back of her neck rose, static tickling her skin. Her eyes scanned the room behind, but nothing moved.

‘I should leave.’

Her hand twitched but she made no move to retreat. For all the threat of detection in such a place was high, it was a battle to decide. The same urge that haunted her day and night hammered at her, the need to do, to challenge herself. Licking her dry lips, she remained there for another moment before coming to her decision.

‘It’s nothing.’

She finished her entry, moving with a graceful purpose, and lowered herself to the floor. Creeping across it on all fours, balanced on fingertips and toes, she made her way through the lavishly appointed room. It took an effort for her to avoid whistling, despite this being her second sight of it. Even with only the dim moonlight shining through the window, she could imagine everything as she had seen it the night before. Her eyes ran over the silhouette of a vase, no doubt something artistic or rare. An intricately carved wooden...thing sat in a stand to her right, probably just expensive. But neither they or the other larger items were of real interest to her.

Getting to her feet, she padded over to her first target. Always go for the easiest, smallest valuables first. That way, even if she was interrupted, she wasn’t going to leave empty-handed. A smug grin on her face, she reached down for the beautifully carved jewelry box, ghosting her fingers just parallel to its surface.

For the second time she froze. There was practically a storm on the back of her neck now, like lightning was dancing across her skin. Her breath came in sudden rapid pants, eyes darting about the room. A single step back, sweaty palms clenching as she turned her head, struggling to bring her senses into sharper focus. There had to be something.

A creak was all the warning she got, but it was enough. A loop of cloth came loose and she slung it around the box, being sure not to touch it. Box in hand she turned and ran, abandoning stealth. The door burst open, slamming into the wall as the would-be ambusher found their trap discovered. A shout filled the room, but she ignored it. Something whizzed past her ear, too close to ignore and she yelped as she jumped to the side. Her side struck the vase, but she caught it instantly. With a grunt she threw herself towards the window, the vase swinging down at her side in one hand.

Twirling the cloth holding her prize around it, she looped it around her shoulder and squared herself, both hands now on the vase. The vase swung back, its weight dragging her for a moment before she began to swing it forward again. It slipped free of her hands at the height of its swing, soaring at and through the window with a great shattering of glass.

She started moving again, not a second too soon. Something swiped through the air behind her, the ambusher snarling as she darted out of their reach at the last moment. Legs blurring, she charged and jumped. Her hands caught on the steel frame, turning the momentum of her jump into a swing out and up. She let go.

For a moment she soared. Something in her cried out as she flew from beneath the overhang, the night sky hanging above her. Drifting clouds failed to hide the moon, obscuring only few twinkling stars. Eternity stretched before her, an empty void that could only be filled by the swish of wings and the sound of the wind in her ears.

She almost missed her chance, too entranced by the mesmerising sensation of false-flight, but her hands moved without her thinking about it. She grasped the edge of the gutter and swung up, releasing it only when she was sure she would land on the roof. The hard-soles of her feet slammed into them. Folding up, she rolled across the roof until she came to her feet. Never once did she pause, her mind now firmly back in the realm of the there here and now.

Taking off across the roof, she could hear the shouting from within the mansion and she grinned.

“Heh.”

It was an easy hop to the next roof and with that she knew she was home free. A hearty laugh bubbled up, relief spilling out into the night as she laughed.

‘I hope they hear it,’ she thought viciously. ‘I hope they hear me!’

Someone did, in fact, hear. She tapped her chin, frowning thoughtfully as she watched the thief vanish into the night. The night wind stole her quiet hum, and moonlight shone through her as she slowly lowered herself to the building, ignoring the shouts of tough men in brilliant blue tabards over fine leather and mail as they spilled out into the street.

Thunk!

Parting her fingers, she gazed between the leather of her glove at the frothy drink. It swayed back and forth for a few seconds, spilling some of its contents onto the bar. She sniffed slightly, catching the scent of powerful alcohol and licked her lips approvingly.

“Hey there, beautiful lady,” the voice was thick with the accent of the city. Its owner smiled at her charmingly. “I saw you drinking here all alone and thought I should show some Canterlot hospitality.”

“Uh huh.” She didn’t so much as bat an eyelash, glancing from him to the drink again.

Her reaction was clearly not what he expected, but the man didn’t let that kill his smile.

“For you. Think of it as a welcome, parch that thirst you no doubt earned travelling to our fair city.” He nudged the drink towards her, waiting.

Lifting her face from her hand, she reached down to grip the tankard. With her leather coat draped across her lap, her well-defined muscles were visible even in the tavern’s poor light as she lifted the drink up. Sniffing it for a moment, she took a sip. She smacked her lips, brushing up stray drops with her tongue.

“‘s good,” she said, surprise evident in her voice. In place of her thoughtful frown she put a grin, turning it on her new friend. “Thank ya kindly.”

He grinned widely at her, extending a hand.

“Applejack.” She took his hand, giving it a firm shake. “Gotta say, I wasn’t expectin’ this kinda friendliness from anyone in the city. People ‘round these parts are right inhospitable, if ya don’t mind me sayin’ so.”

Sitting down opposite her, he shrugged as if to say ‘what can you do?’ He eyed the heavy bag settled on the chair at her side, a bow that had to be six foot long leaning against it. What really got his attention was the sheathed sword that sat at an angle against the table. Its hilt was clearly in easy reach for her.

“I would have to agree there. It’s come to where there are places in the city that a woman can’t go alone for fear of some ruffian taking advantage of her. Not that you would have to worry about such things, I see.” He indicated her sword with a grin, taking a draught from his own drink as she ran a hand along the hilt of her weapon.

“Ya got that right, fella,” Applejack agreed. “I’d lova ta see the look on some big thug’s face when he finds this wavin’ in his face.”

“If he was so stupid as to try getting at you so directly, he would deserve it,” he said with a laugh, slapping the table.

She laughed as well, throwing back the drink with relish. Her head thrown back, she missed the calculating look in his eyes as he watched her gulp it down. A smirk briefly spread over his face, wiped away the instant she began to lower her tankard.

“Enjoying the drink?” He asked, smirk transitioning smoothly into a good-natured smile.

“Sure am! How ‘bout another?” Fumbling with her belt for a moment, she cursed under her breath. She clumsily pulled off one glove.

“Don’t worry about it, I got this.” He waved took her empty tankard and stood.

Applejack blinked up at him a few times, ungloved hand already rummaging. “Ya sure? I ‘preciate th’ gesture, but I c’n pay fer mahself.”

“I’m sure, you just wait right there, I’ll only be a moment.” Grinning like there was no tomorrow he turned, winking at a group of men situation at the far end of the room. They burst into quickly muffled guffaws, but Applejack didn't notice. She just stretched out, throwing her feet up onto the table. After a few missed attempts she managed it, crossing her boots. A pleasant tingle was spreading through her, making her smile.

Sharing a smirk with the bartender, he picked up the tankard already waiting for him and took it back to her. The vague grin she sent him more than pleased him, and he all but shoved the drink into her hands.

“Thank ya shugar,” she slurred slightly, cutting herself off with the tankard.

“Oh no, thank you.”

“Huh? Wha’ w’s tha’?” Applejack peered at him, blinking rapidly as she tried to focus on him.

“Nothing, nothing. You just enjoy your drink. It looks like you’re feeling it though. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gotten you anoth-”

Bang!

Her tankard slammed into the table, the impact cutting him off. She glared at him.

“Are ya sayin’ Ah can’t take it?” She demanded. Her attempts to keep from slurring only seemed to make her accent thicken.

He held up his hands in mock defense as he replied; “Of course not! Well, maybe a little. You almost look like you’re about to fall over there, my dear.”

“Ah ain’t no man’s dear, even if he went an’ got me a couple drinks. Ah can’ take more’n this!”

He shrugged helplessly, struggling not to laugh in her face as she pulled herself to her feet, stumbling slightly.

“Ain’t no way this st’ff coo’ be so strung.” Her eyes snapped shut. One hand pressed to her forehead, the other landing on her hat on the table, struggling to keep herself steady. “Ah w’s fine, b’fer...b’fer yer…”

When she looked at him, horror in her eyes, he just grinned.

“Ya drugged me.” She didn’t bother making it a question. She could see the look in his eyes, the look she had been too drunk to notice. She had seen it plenty of times, she knew she should have spotted it right off.

It was the look of a predator, staring at a wounded, lonely, delicious little feast on legs. But he certainly had no intention of eating her.

“Don’t worry my dear, you won’t feel a thing.” He sat back in his chair, confident the drug would have her down for the count before she could escape. His eyes closed, waiting for the thump of her falling body hitting the floor. She was doing better than most, he would have admitted, actually standing with two full doses in her. Most of his girls were out by now, although a few did try to run. None ever made it far.

“Ah can’t say the same fer ya.”

“Huh?” He opened his eyes just in time to see her leather-clad fist fill his vision.

Swinging from gutters and jumping between buildings, she descended from the rooftops of the city into what could be politely described as its ‘underbelly’. If asked, most in the city would locate this area somewhere substantially lower and much less clean on the body of the city. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have disagreed.

Her appearance changed between streets. Her shirt went from one shade of dirty grey to another of dirty brown as she crossed one low roof, her slender, almost elfin limbs exposed . Darting through one alley she came out the next hopping, adjusting her now serviceable linen pants. Her scarf found itself around around her head, her hood pulled down. Her hair was exposed only a moment, a brilliant splash of colour quickly smothered. With each change her garb lost thickness and the looped bundle became larger.

By the time she had reached the area where what passed for her abode waited, although she preferred the term ‘lair’, the darkly clad thief was gone. A somewhat dirty girl sprinted through the streets, twisting and jumping through the press of workers, layabouts and travelers that haunted the city even at night. The upper city might sleep, but here there were only moments of respite before the tide of humanity began to move once more. A bundle of clothing bounced at her side, rattling slightly. Few noticed, and those who did found the source already gone, disappearing between gaps that opened only for split-seconds.

A fierce grin lit up her face as she entered the narrow alley way, clambering over the rotten wood and trash that filled it. The stench would have gagged her if it hadn’t been part of her life every day for as long as she could remember. She giggled in a way that verged on girlish, delight at her getaway filling her. A pile of rubble served as a tricky ramp to a hole in the ancient stone wall, hidden by shadows and a small block of stone. She grunted, pushing it out of the way and slipping through the gap before having to push it back into place.

Whatever purpose this squat little structure had served, it had long been abandoned and forgotten. The building was half-collapsed, and she assumed the threat of it finally giving way had driven off anyone else. Their caution - or cowardice, in her mind - simply served to give her a home safe from intrusion. Ducking beneath the massive timber that held the low roof of fallen masonry, she finally stepped into her sanctuary.

The scarf came off first. Safe and hidden, her prismatic hair was finally exposed. Seven hues of colour, tied loosely back into a short ponytail where they mixed into a brilliant swirl, shone in the moonlight. Bangs framed her face, and unbound locks covered her ears. It had taken months of crawling through the claustrophobic tunnels the shattered stonework formed, but she had done it, and now a series of mirrors gave her little home light all day, and even on some nights like this. A full moon might mean less work for those whose jobs required darkness, but for her it meant a home lit by silver.

The thought of that silver light made her think of the mirrors she had gone to great effort to procure, and the often lavish adornments. Even those would get her less than this box!

‘Don’t get ahead of yourself,’ she quickly scolded herself. ‘It might not be all that much. Hopefully, though…’

Unbundling it, she let it fall onto the pile of mouldy rags that served as her bed. It sat there amid stains, some just red but others of a nature she preferred not to guess at. Licking her lips with a hungry expression, she finally gave in to her temptation and reached down.

‘This is going to be so awesome!’

She placed her hands on the box, feeling the intricate carvings that graced its form. Thoughts of the box’s value began to take form, and her grin only grew. A tingle spread along her fingers, up her arm. It felt to her for a moment like lightning was striking her, piercing the goose pumps on the back of her neck. Incredible pressure fell over her, forcing her eyes slowly shut. She fought the creeping sensation, trying to fight it, but as her eyelids slid shut she felt her knees hitting the ground.

The jewelry box was locked in her hands, fingers tightening in a vice-like grip. She could almost feel the burn of magic on it now and the last thing she saw before darkness covered her vision was a symbol, worked into the beautiful carvings, that glowed with magenta light.

The door burst open, spilling light and men onto the street. One scrambled away, clawing at the ground while another regained his feet almost instantly. While the now standing man was smart enough to actually take the time to get up, he seemed to fail to comprehend the wisdom of his fleeing companion. Roaring a drunken battle cry he charged at the swaying figure in the door.

He experienced a brief sensation of pain across one side of his face. The scabbard of the massive sword proved that hard leather backed by stout steel was a violent, if not necessarily deadly, combination. Perhaps he could have realised it earlier, as the pile of beaten and battered men Applejack had left in her wake had, but thinking had never been his strong suit.

She planted the tip of the heavy weapon in the ground, grunting as the backpack hanging half off her left shoulder nearly tipped her over. Her long armoured leather coat was only half on, hanging messily off her right arm as she steadied herself. Shaking her head, she followed the trail of the last of the men, angry eyes tracing where he had scrambled across the cobblestones. Her head buzzed angrily, a murky veil drawn over her every thought. She wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, her drug-addled mind overwhelmed, but she knew she was in a fight. They had done something to her, or were going to do something to her, she couldn’t remember, but she knew they were the enemy.

At last she found him, or what she thought was him, huddled against the legs of another man.

‘An’ther’un!’ She glared at him, blinking a few times as she advanced. The frightened one on the ground was babbling, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. The man he was huddled against sneered, but fixed her with a look. She returned it with a glare that may have wandered slightly off target, but it was a firm glare for all it’s lax aim.

“Miss, I’m asking you to put your weapon down.” He spoke slowly, saying each word clearly and calmly.

She just blinked, It was all so much gibberish, but she saw the glance of his eyes. How, through her haze, she would never know or remember. Nevertheless, she saw and she looked as well.

Another man, clad in the same beaten chainmail as the other, froze. He had been a few steps behind her, just out of reach with the pommel of his sword. His eyes widened, her narrowed in rage.

Letting out an inarticulate roar she brought up her great sword off the ground, spinning and crashing through the air towards him. Slowed by the drug and drink, she was still faster than the surprised guard and he cried out in pain, a loud snap filling the air. His arm crumbled, and something poked the inside of his sleeve out just above where she had struck.

The first guard had a whistle at his lips before his companion was struck, the shrill scream filling the street. Thought she was too far gone to recognise what the sound meant, it drew her attention and Applejack launched herself at him with another bellow. Her backpack and longbow fell to the ground, their weight dragging her down for a few vital seconds before she freed herself of the burdens. With her armoured coat only half on, some part of her brain not lost in the potent chemical mix felt safe so long as she still had her hat on.

Whistle still in his mouth, the guard backed away, sword out. He tried not to let his screaming friend distract him as he blew another shrill breath from the whistle. Like a mad animal she followed him, drawn by the sound.

The shrill whistle was picked up across the district, and in the air above them someone heard. Hesitating for a moment, an unseen form descended from above, heading for the source of the original whistle.

Applejack’s sheathed blade slammed the guard against the wall. His breath escaped him in a great rush and he collapsed, clutching his stomach for a few seconds. His stomach noisily rose up and spread itself across the cobblestones. Staggering away, she had almost forgotten about him by the time she reached her things. Bending down to lift it, she swayed for a few seconds.

Another high, screaming tone pierced her skull. Tearing her eyes from her pack, she pressed her ungloved, empty hand to her forehead. More guards were already in sight, and they had clearly identified her as the culprit. Not that she was in any state to register this. What little thought she had left was struggling to keep her from letting her give in to the dark chemical haze that meant unconsciousness and defeat.

Another pressure joined the mental chaos, and Applejack’s will finally gave way. Gloved hand still holding tight to the hilt of her weapon, she felt her legs folding up under her.

Something shimmered at the edge of her sight, a dark woman in violet appearing from nothing. Something in her connected the overwhelming tide of sleep swallowing her up to the violet woman, but she could do nothing. With a groan she finally hit the ground, her ungloved hand hitting the ground. It was, for a shaky moment, the only thing holding her off the ground as her eyes finally slid shut-

Strength flooded her. Her fingernails scraped across the hard stone. Her body shook for a moment as the wave of might filled her for a moment. The fog of sleep vanished.

The violet-garbed woman’s eyes went wide in shock and she hesitated for a crucial second.

This was a mistake.

Applejack roared, the primal scream overpowering the whistles. She rose to her feet, already charging, hefting her sword in one hand. Lacking the guiding strength from both hands, it shook and wavered. It was nothing like a proper sword stroke, but the weight and force behind it was sure to break bones and pulp organs in a single mighty blow.

Lifting her sword-turned-club above her, Applejack brought its arc towards the lavender-haired spellcaster in a meteoric blow that would have surely spelled her doom as the mage pressed against the wall, one hand held out as if that might ward off the attack. It probably would have killed her, had a rainbow of lights not burst from her hand in a colourful cone. Each colour clashed and felt to Applejack like her eyes were being stabbed by knives made of rainbows. She screamed, not a roar this time but a genuine scream. Her already precarious balance was thrown off and while her sword crashed to the ground she sailed past it, her feet tripping over each other. She hit the wall with a slam, skull bouncing off the hard stone.

At long last, her addled brain was finally able to rest. It was not quite the best way to find slumber, or in this case unconsciousness, but it would have to do.

Panting, the spellcaster stared at the fallen warrior with an expression that mixed shock with fear and curiosity.

She began to stir, and she knew instantly she had been moved. Confusion blurred her thoughts and she struggled to up, blinking blearily. She spent a few seconds taking stock of herself and her situation.

‘Did Red Palm get me again?!’ Panic began to set in, but opening her eyes she knew the answer was no. This was definitely not any place of his. ‘Too clean.’

It was the cleanest place she had ever been without sneaking through a window, picking a lock or climbing over a wall. A linen bedding under her, a wall of cleanish grey stone to her left. Another set of bedding, thrown over something large and uneven, sat opposite her on the right wall. A tiny window set high in the wall told her it was daytime, sunlight streaming through. If it wasn’t for the bars over the little square hole above and forming the fourth wall, it would have been the best place she had ever slept.

‘Who am I kidding, it still is-’

A snore interrupted her musing. She jerked her head towards it, looking at what she had taken to be a pile of lazily deposited rags. The truth was proven once again as another snore filled the small room.

Getting unsteadily to her feet, she crossed over to the slumbering form and nudged it. Most people would have advised caution when dealing with someone you found sleeping in your jail cell, but she prided herself on the fact that she was not ‘most people’. There was only one her, after all, and the world could barely handle that!

The bundle stirred. She darted back, tensing up. The only thing that happened was the cover slipping from the face of the sleeping woman.

She stared down at her strong features, blinking a few times. A freckled-faced, tanned babe was not what she expect to find in prison. The woman shifted in her sleep, snoring again.

“You should let her rest, she had a tough night and the healing would have taken it out of her.”

She jumped away from the voice, back hitting the wall. Her eyes came to rest on another of her own sex, this time dressed in violet and lavender robes. She valued them without thinking about it, noting their practical cut and the open front that revealed a clean blouse of the sort a respectable woman might wear.

A glow distracted the thief from the woman, drawing her gaze to a magenta lumiance that gently tugged the blanket back over the sleeping prisoner’s face. The colour of the magic brought it all flooding back and with a groan the girl slid to the ground, back pressed firmly against the wall. Her hands covered her face.

“I’m screwed.”

“Oh, of course. Hello Screwed, my name is Twilight Spar-” the woman beyond the bars began.

“What? No,” the thief snorted, running a hand through her hair wearily. “My name is Dash, not screwed. Not that you care, I’m sure.”

Twilight arched an eyebrow, giving her a steady look. “Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Just Dash?”

Cracking open her fingers, Dash gave her a weak nod.

“Hmm…” Reaching into the recesses of her robe, Twilight lifted something flat, square and slim out. She muttered something, running a fingertip across it’s hidden surface for a few seconds. She looked up, eyes digging into Dash. “I apologise if you were hurt. You appear undamaged, but falling suddenly asleep can have unfortunate side effects when it is not expected.”

That got a snort of derision out of the thief and she finally dropped her hands. “You ‘apologise’?” Disbelief dripped from every word.

Twilight nodded, either not noticing or ignoring Dash’s inflection. Her finger continued to trace shapes across the surface of her odd object.

“Why?”

“Why?” Twilight looked up, staring at her in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Why would you be sorry?” Dash reiterated with a scowl. She glared at the finely dressed mage. “You’re like a wizard or some shit like that, and I bet you’re a noble. Why the hell would you care?”

“Just because I have magical ability and might be of noble blood doesn’t mean I relish in the pain of others,” the wizard answered. She was frowning now, not angrily, but as if she was struggling with some puzzle and the solution was eluding her.

“Yeah, it kinda does. So why don’t you stop pretending you give two shits about me and piss off?” The words came out harsher than she had intended, but Dash took petty pleasure in the way it made Twilight flinch. She tensed, closing her eyes, knowing what came next.

Nothing happened. Twilight took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped, staring at Dash with an unfathomable expression. She stared at the tensed, thin girl. The thief was waiting for something, but she didn’t know it was never going to come. Pressing her lips into a thin frown, Twilight waited until Dash cautiously opened her eyes, looking for blow she was expecting to receive any second.

“I’m sorry you think of me like that. I just came to tell you that you should have used your magic more often. For your good and everyone else’s, you need to work off the excess magical energy to avoid adverse effects. It made it easy for me to track you after your burglary, but next time it could be much worse.” Twilight looked ready to continue, but a guard tapped her on the shoulder.

“Miss, I need to ask you to leave now, your time is up.”

She sighed, turning away.as Dash stared at her.

“Goodbye, Dash. We’ll run into each other again soon.”

Dash blinked, shaking her head. She ran through the words again, trying to work out if she had misheard. Eventually she realised she hadn’t.

“Hey, wait!” She jumped up, pressing her hands against the bars. “Magic? What magic?”

Twilight looked up just as the heavy iron door swung shut, her surprised expression visible only for a moment before thick metal cut them off from one another.

Dash stared at the door, waiting. Part of her hoped Twilight would come back and explain, but after a few minutes she let out a sigh and returned to her bedding. Curling up under the covers, she wrapped her arms around herself.

‘At least its not Palm’s,’ she thought with a shudder.

She had no idea how much time passed, but eventually her unwilling companion stirred. A loud yawn filled the air, followed by a gasp.

“My hat!”

With her covers over her, Dash was unable to see her expression, but she could guess from the cursing that began to fill the air. A few minutes of that passed by with Dash not moving at all, just silently taking note of any new words she could use later.

“Huh? Someone over there?” Now she wasn’t cussing herself blue, the freckled woman’s voice showed her accent slightly less thickly. “Hullo?”

A nasty idea came to Dash and she did her best not to move. Not even a breath. She picked up the hesitant steps of her cellmate towards her. She waited, and waited, and waited, until she was sure the blonde woman was looming just over.

“BOO!”

She burst into movement, exploding upwards with the cover over her. A cut off gasp of shock answered her, but before Dash could begin to laugh she could a complication. This complication took the form of a hand catching her neck and slamming her against the wall. Dash was the one gasping now, flailing as the vice tightened. She found the cover torn away and a pair of emerald eyes glaring into her own from nearly a head above her.

For some reason, Dash only had one thought; ‘She’s tall!’

“What the hell?” The woman growled. She winced at the sound of her own voice, lifting the hand that wasn’t on Dash’s neck to her forehead and massaging it gently.

“P-prank! Just a prank!” Dash gasped, desperate for air. It came in a great lungful when the hand released her. She hit the ground, wincing at the impact but otherwise distracted by sucking in air as fast as she could.

“Landsakes.” Stumbling back to her bedding, the well muscled woman snuck down. “Crazy cityfolk.”

Dash pressed one hand to her neck, glaring at the bigger woman. “Go to hell, it was just a little prank. I know that might be a little advanced for a country bumpkin, but give it a try.”

A glare just as intense as the last one was leveled on her, but Dash’s pride had been wounded. There was little that could make her back down after that.

“Is the concept giving you a headache?” she sneered, smirking at the annoyed expression she got in return.

“Listen here, Rainbow,” the other woman scowled. “Some scum suckin’ city-slicker tried ta drug an’ rape me, so I ain’t in the best mood. I’m guessin’ that’s why I’m in here.”

Dash snorted. “Cause that makes total sense.”

This time it was the larger woman who smirked. “Considerin’ the last thing I remember is punchin’ the sonuva bitch in the face an’ throwin’ some of his buddies through the bar, I think it makes total sense.”

“...okay, yeah, that does sound kinda cool,” Dsh conceded with a shrug. She stared at her cellmate with a frown. “Hey, freckles, what’s with the things on your wrists?”

“My name is Applejack, thank ya kindly, an’ what things? I can’t feel…” trailing off, she stared at her wrists. Somehow, she hadn’t noticed the thin bands of metal around each wrist. “Huh, didn’t notice. Wait a sec, why are ya askin’ me?”

“Because you’re wearing them, duh, and my name is Dash,” the thief stated flatly. She rolled her eyes at the scowl she got back.

“Well, ‘Rainbow’, you’re wearin’ ‘em too.” Applejack approached, pointing at her wrists, and when she looked, Dash found she was right.

“What the hell? But- how did I not notice these things?”

Applejack shrugged. “Probably magic. Seen enough magic-doodads that I wouldn’t be surprised. Wonder what else they do.”

“Well, they don’t cure hangovers, that’s for SURE!” Dash screamed in Applejack’s ear. She fell on her side laughing as she downed the larger woman with a loud noise.

Fixing the slender thief with a glare, Applejack backed away from her. “Bratty little thing, ain’t ya? How old are ya, ten?”

Dash gritted her teeth. “No! I‘m nineteen...probably.”

“Probably? Ya don’t know?” Applejack cocked her head to the side.

Hugging her knees to her chest, Dash scowled. “I know just fine.”

Unconvinced, but unconcerned, Applejack just shrugged. She made to sit back, but the crash of the metal door that sealed their block of cells opening gracelessly made her flinch. A guard came in, followed by another. And another. And another. And another…

Dash and Applejack watched as fully ten guards stood outside their cell. After a moment, Dash looked at Applejack with a look of blank shock.

“What the hell did you do?!”

The purpose of the silver bracelet soon became obvious, a word from one guard locking their wrists together. Dash found for herself that the bracelets also kept her from lifting her fist higher than her belly button. She scowled and growled the whole way as they were led through the building, down halls empty of anything remotely of interest.

“Where the hell are we going?” was answered with a rough push and an order for silence, although the guards and Applejack soon learned getting Dash to be quiet was a heroic task.

Comparatively, Applejack said nothing. She walked along in stoic silence. Her expression was flat, bland in every aspect, and nothing budged it. It wasn’t long before Dash felt very, very alone surrounded by the cold guards and the silent rural woman.

‘Alone is best,’ she reminded herself, just as she did every day.

Their surroundings became more and more plush and warmer, no longer the cold grey stone of the prison block. This did little to allay Dash’s fear, She gulped as she was marched along, becoming ever more certain with each step that the owner of the mansion she had failed to rob was awaiting her at the end of their path. Some richly garbed noble, standing off to the side so the executioner didn’t get blood on his fancy new shirt.

‘I really don’t want to die.’

Eventually, as they had to, they reached their destination. A thick oak door stood before them, and Dash found herself snorting in derision.

‘There’s not even a lock! What an idiot.’ The thought that this was in the middle of some guard station did occur to her, but she banished it. In her mind, there was no excuse for such lack of paranoia.

What was interesting though was the sound of muffled shouting. She eyed the door curiously, and sent a glance Applejack’s way. The woman said nothing, although Dash was certain sure she had heard as well, Judging from the way the guards shifted nervously, she knew they had.

“Sounds like Prince Bluebl-”

One guard elbowed the one who had began to talk, glaring at him in manner that clearly conveyed the message ‘no talky in the front of the prisoners!’ in a way words alone could not. The talkative guard subsided, looking embarrassed. Dash would have enjoyed that, if she hadn’t been too caught up on the word ‘prince’.

“I’m so screwed,” she muttered despondently.

For once, none of the guards told her to be quiet. If she was capable of suspecting it, she might have picked up some sympathy in the expressions of the guards.

The shouting reached its climax after a few minutes of awkward waiting, pierced by the door opening. A tall man, his features containing every classic element that made up a handsome prince, strode forth. Adorned in white and pale yellow trimmed finery, with fine blond locks, his princely looks were ruined by the ugly expression of rage on his face. Sweeping his eyes across the hall, both guards and prisoners got the feeling that they were invisible to him. This only change when his eyes landed on Dash, and for a moment they burned. With a most un-princely scowl he strode past them, muttering to himself. A maid in blue hurried out after him, her eyes locked on the ground. Thought she walked with grace, each step perfect, she moved with an undercurrent of something that made Dash uneasy. Not because she wasn’t sure what it was. She was extremely familiar with it.

The maid passed them. Her eyes darted up for only a moment before she passed them, but it was enough. Dash knew the look in her eyes as well, and it was enough to make her shudder.

She heard Applejack gasp, a sharp intake of breath as the maid passed them by. Dash looked up, curiously.

“Rar-”

Whatever Applejack meant to say was cut off by a shove from a guard.

“In.”

The prisoners were hurried into the office. Dash felt a pop of static on the back of her neck for a moment before it settled. Shaking her head, she fixed her eyes on the figure sitting before them.

Where Prince Blueblood had regal and imperialistic, his manner imposing in it’s arrogance, this man was his match but in an entirely different way. He was quite handsome, but where Blueblood had the cast of a Prince Charming about him, the man sitting before them felt somehow more real. Dash had seen noble fops who considered themselves good fighters, and she could count on one hand how many actually could. Even in a tailored dress uniform, the blue-haired man before them extruded the air of a warrior. He seemed in many ways the opposite to the dandy they had passed, skin a rich brown to the blond prince’s pale complexion, clearly muscled even under his clothes in a way she doubted the fop could have matched

“Gentlemen, if you would step outside for a time I would appreciate it.” His voice failed to match his appearance. He sounded almost relaxed to Dash, but something more struck her.

‘He sounds like he actually would appreciate it!’ She would have scoffed at the thought if he wasn’t looking right at her.

The guards didn’t hesitate, saluting and filing out until at least it was only Applejack and Dash standing in front of him.

“Ladies, I assume you know why you’re here, at least in part.” His voice was idle, as though he was discussing the weather.

Dash scowled, shrugging off any caution. “I broke into some prince’s little mansion and stole some of his shit, now you’re gonna throw me into some cell to rot or hang me or something.”

“Well, that’s always possible, if you want.” An amused smile curved his mouth from the flat, expressionless line it had been for a moment before he turned his attention to Applejack. “And you?”

“I’m guessin’ I assaulted someone? I don’t remember too clearly, on account of the stuff that piece of horse-shit put in my drink. Sir.”

Dash almost whistled at the rural woman’s choice of words. She might have said sir, but it came out like a curse.

‘Here I was, thinking she wasn’t any fun!’

His expression grew grave and dark. Dash felt her heart suddenly drop, her amused grin dying.

‘Maybe she should have been fun another time.’

“You broke one guardsman’s arm quite badly, and did substantial damage to his partner before you were disabled. We were quite fortunate a capable mage was in the area, or who knows how many more you could have hurt.” He leaned back, steepling his hands and peering at them. “There is no way for us to know if you were drugged or just drunk, or if you partook of narcotics willingly or not. If you were willing in your consumption, your actions are your responsibility. Right now, we have a number of witnesses who put the blame firmly on your shoulders.”

Dash wasn’t sure if she was happy or disappointed when Applejack just nodded stiffly.

“I think it’s clear something has to be done. You have both broken numerous laws. I could list them, if I cared to waste your time and mine, but I won’t because I don’t.” He rapped his knuckles on his desk, staring intently at them. “So I have to ask: are you going to take responsibility and accept this?”

Applejack nodded slowly, her expression grave.

“Yes sir.”

“And you?” He looked at Dash.

She stared back, her eyes wide in surprise.

“What, me too?”

He nodded calmly. “Yes, you too.”

“It’s not like I can lie and say it wasn’t me. I bet your guys found me snoozing with the damn box in my hands. Stupid magic,” she mumbled the last part under her breath, glaring at the carpet.

Watching them both for a moment, he smiled. “Good. That makes this much easier. Frankly, it seems simple enough. The evidence is against you both, and I could have you hurled up in front of the magistrate for all of the three seconds it would take him to sentence you."

They both tensed up, Applejack squaring her jaw while Dash fought the urge to run. There was nowhere to run to.

An aggrieved sigh was their first warning. One moment and the room held two women and a man, and a blink later the gender imbalance had gone up by fifty percent. Twilight glared at him, hands on her hips.

"Shining Armour, what are you doing?" She demanded.

He leaned back with a shrug. "What? Twiley, we talked about this. I had to get a good look at how they would react."

"You could have been a bit more gentle about it! Even I could have done it better." She scowled at him and turned, violet robe whirling about her. "I am very sorry about this, my brother can be quite heavy handed. You're not going to jail, or hard labour."

They stared at her, mouths wide open.

Twilight looked at her brother with a frown. "What's wrong with them?"

He snorted, covering his mouth. It failed to contain his mirth.

"Shining!"

Pushing aside his amusement, he let out a few last chuckles. "Okay, okay, calm down. Twilight, you just suddenly appeared and said they weren’t going to be punished. Which, I have to remind you, they are."

"Shining, don't be stupid. Only an idiot would say no to my offer," she said. Twilight crossed her arms, looking down at her brother with clear annoyance.

"What offer?" Dash finally growled, fixing Twilight with a heated glare. "What are you talking about?"

Twilight wore a blank expression as she stared at Dash. Her brother, apparently deciding he had nothing to lose, burst into laughter.

"I...I told you about my offer, right?"

"Uh, no. Ya just sorta appeared an' started havin' it out with him." Applejack nodded at the still laughing Shining Armour. He might be enjoying himself, but she just found the whole thing awkward.

"Oh." Blood rushing to her cheeks, Twilight flushed in embarrassment. She smiled weakly at the perplexed prisoners. "Woops.''

"Ahahahaha!"

"Stop laughing, or I'll enchant your belt to turn you into a woman again!' She snapped.

He folded his hands, frowning at her as though he had not been nearly doubled over laughing a second before.

"Twilight, don't be petty. I think you should explain it to them." He said seriously.

"Don't rush for our sakes," Dash scoffed. "Get your little joke over already."

"Joke?" Glancing down at her fellow prisoner, Applejack caught the sour look in her eye.

"They're just playing with us, dangling freedom in front of us." She sneered, glaring at the siblings.

Twilight lifted an eyebrow, giving Dash a quizzical look. She sighed when she saw the fiery look in those magenta eyes.

“Do you really think we would go to all that effort?” She asked with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, bet you’re real busy with all that important stuff like stuffing your face.” It made Dash grin, seeing Twilight reached for her stomach in alarm, looking for paunch.

“Rainbow, maybe ya should lay off her. What if she’s bein’ honest?” Applejack pointed out. “Not all nobles are like that.”

“Name one.”

Applejack scratched her chin for a few seconds. “Ol’ Filthy Rich back home wasn’t so bad. His daughter’s a right little brat, but then he wasn’t born no baron.”

“Lord Filthy Rich, first of his family, granted the title of Baron by the Princess Celestia on the one thousand nine-hundred and eighty-third year A.D for his family’s long service and part in establishing the economic region of- .” Twilight’s recital was cut off by a snort from the lowest ranked person in the room.

“What, one, who wasn’t even born a noble!” Dash growled.

“Friend of mine told me about one, Fancy Pants or some such, who ain’t that bad,” the other prisoner pointed out, drawing a glare from the smaller girl.

“Yeah right! His name is ‘Fancy Pants’, what kinda wuss has a name like that?” She sneered.

Shining Armour had apparently had enough of this, judging by the way he brought his hand down hard on the table. All three women jumped in shock.

“Ladies,” he said, his tone pleasant and calm. “Perhaps we you could argue about this later, after Twilight actually makes the offer.” He ‘hinted’ at his sister.

“Oh, yes, of course. Ahem. I am Twilight Sparkle, and by my authority as a magi of Canterlot and Royal Apprentice, I hereby extend to you an offer of Throne Service.” Her voice had become formal, reciting a line as though reading it off a scroll. “Should you accept, you shall be placed under obligation to serve and obey myself, magi Twilight Sparkle, in the name of Princess Celestia and the Throne of Canterlot. Should you serve ably and willingly, displaying strong morals and a reformed character, in two years time you shall be released from service with official pardons and funds needed to begin your life as a productive member of society.”

Before either could respond, Shining Armour took over, with considerable less formality.

“Your other option is that a magistrate sentences you both to hard labour for, oh, I’d say five years for assaulting a guardsman and ten for stealing from royalty.” He shrugged. “Your choice.”

Dash ran a hand over her face, eyes jammed shut. Applejack stood at her side, frowning deeply in thought.

“What kinda service we talkin’ here?” She asked with a bluntness that was proving to be characteristic.

Twilight answered immediately, rattling off her list with ease. “You will aid me in whatever ways I see fit. I act as, among other things and at different times, a wizard of the Celestial College, as an investigator for the City Guard, researcher in subjects magical and mundane, Battlemage, and librarian.”

“...librarian?” Dash scoffed.

“Yes, I find it quite relaxing. You will too.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Who said,” she bit out, “that I was going to take your deal?”

Genuine surprise broke up the look of expectancy on Twilight’s face. She stared at Dash, mouth hanging open. The idea that either would say no had apparently not crossed her mind.

“What? Why would you say no?” She demanded. “How could this be worse than hard labour? The average death rate for those with ten year sentences is extremely high, the odds are totally against you.”

Dash gave her a toothy grin, confidence brimming from her expression. “Don’t tell me the odds, and I won’t tell you how wrong you are. I’d like to see them keep me there for ten years!”

“Will ya give me my hat back?”

The pair of nobles stared at her for a moment. Shining Armour glanced at his sister.

“Hat?”

“She had it on her, it possessed magical qualities so it was confiscated,” she provided. “I haven’t had the chance to identify what magic it possessed.”

“You have a magic hat?” Dash blurted, staring at Applejack.

“‘s a family heirloom, an’ I’d appreciate it back. If I take your deal, do I get it back?” She ignored the smaller woman, not letting her distract her.

Shining Armour considered her for a moment. “So long as the magic isn’t dangerous, and won’t allow you to escape, I’m sure it can be returned to you.”

“In that case, ya’ll got a deal.”

Twilight beamed in triumph and Dash fell silent, staring at Applejack. She lifted her head, staring down at both Twilight and Shining in turn until both had nodded. She glanced towards Dash, who glared at her.

“What’s wrong, afraid?” She taunted, giving the shorter girl a smirk. “Don’t worry, Rainbow, I know it takes a brave soul to jump into the unknown. Have fun with the convicts, hauling rocks all day.”

Anger replaced Dash’s confusion and she nearly snarled. “Afraid?!”

“Well, it must be that. After all, little slip of a girl like you? It ain’t yer fault, not everyone can take a risk. Leave it to the adults, sugar.”

Dash’s hands clenched, tightening into fists. She shook, her face red, and Twilight had an activation word on the tip of her tongue just in case she actually attacked Applejack. Instead, the thief swung around to glare at Twilight with such force that the wizard took a step back.

“Fine! I’ll take your stupid deal! I’m not afraid of anything this rube isn’t!”

A delighted smile broke across Twilight’s face. She sent her brother a smile that was only a little bit gloating. He just shrugged silently in answer, although he wanted to give her a proud smile.

“That’s wonderful, I’m so glad you’ve seen reason.” Twilight gave her new assistants a wide, genuine smile. “You won’t regret it. A world of possibilities has just opened up for you.”

‘More,’ she thought gleefully, ‘than either of you know.’

Chapter Two

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Here's chapter two! Hope you enjoy it.
As ever, this chapter was edited by the wonderful Nealend86 and Web of Hope.
Warning: According to one of my editors, Web of Hope, there are a few things that feel shippy. These are not intentional and I currently have no intentions of shipping in this story. Of course, that might change later if it feels natural, but as of now there are none. So off with the shipping goggles! Off with them!

EDIT! For some reason, Chapter Two has become mysteriously UNPUBLISHED, so I have to republish it. No damn idea why.

“Twilight, prepare them please.” Lord-Captain Shining Armour wasted no time once he had their agreement. He reached down, and Dash picked up the telltale click of a lock opening.

She kept the curiosity off her face, but didn’t manage so well with the anxiety of wondering what the mage was meant to ‘prepare’ them for. Applejack glanced at her, clearly seeing this, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Calm down Rainbow, ain’t like they’re gonna keep us clapped in irons the whole time. They want us to do stuff, gonna need us movin’ about,” she assured the smaller woman.

“I’m not worried.” Scowling, Dash folded her arms and glowered at the wall.

Twilight approached them both, smiling calmly. “Believe me, we won’t do that. Manacles would be much too inconvenient, and far too noticeable. There are far more sophisticated methods of enforcing these sorts of agreement. We are, however, going to need you both to agree. It comes with the deal, I’m afraid.”

“I knew it!”

“Calm down.” Applejack rolled her eyes. Dash’s hostile attitude was starting to grate on her nerves, the fiery thief more likely to get herself - or them both - in trouble. “I’m sure they’ve thought this through.”

“We most certainly have. Fortunately for us all, I was able to obtain these on short notice.” Shining approached them, a rolled up parchment in each hand. He held them out to Twilight.

She took them and unravelled them, eyeing the contents of first one, and then the other. After a short time of study she nodded, apparently pleased.

“These should work. First, of course, we’ll need someone to formally recognise the process. Any use of magic on civilians without a tribunal’s permission is required to have a witness of good standing, to prevent misuse and abuse. In this case, it will be Shining Armour. I am going to use magic which will bind you to certain actions, or not doing certain things, until such a time as certain conditions have been met. In this case, assisting me,” Twilight informed them, to spectacular result.

“Whoa! Magic? No way!” Dash backed away, tensing. “I’m not letting you do anything to me!”

Applejack tensed as well, giving the impression of a great cat preparing to leap into action. While Dash was looking about with almost feral desire to fight or flee, she looked somewhat more calculating.

“Gotta agree, I ain’t sure I wanna let ya’ll into my head. It’s my head.” She kept her tone firm but polite.

Shining Armour shrugged, and he would have looked nonchalant if his eyes hadn’t betrayed his own mental calculations. He was no more armoured than either of them, but he was clearly well-muscled and prepared to fight.

“Then it’s hard labour. This is it, ladies, you agreed and if you really want to avoid that, this is your only option,” he said, tone deceptively light but eyes hard.

Twilight stepped between them, rolling her eyes. “Calm down, all three of you. There’s no need to fight. The spell is designed for exactly this situation, and it will only prevent you from going a set distance from me, knowingly doing harm to myself or others without my permission, or sharing information I forbid you to share. That’s it. The geas will limit your actions, but it will not control you. Celestia herself oversaw the creation of this spell. It will only bind a willing mind, and cannot compel you to do harm to yourself or others, nor can it simply make you a mindless automaton.”

Dash cocked her head to side, and asked “What’s an automaton?”

“An automaton is an automated, mindless construct, but I was just using it as a metaphor. The spell won’t rob you of your free will.” Twilight tried to keep the frustration out of her tone, but it was difficult. She did her best not to look annoyed.

'This is why books are better than people,' she thought irritably. 'A book doesn't need to be convinced.'

She noticed Applejack staring at her, wearing a thoughtful expression. There was something unsettling about it, like the woman was staring right through her. Their eyes met for a moment. Whatever she was looking for, Applejack apparently found. She gave a slow nod.

“Alright. S’pose it makes sense, so you know we ain’t gonna run off on ya.”

“What? You’re just going to let her do her mumbo-jumbo to you?” Dash demanded, the thief casting her hostile gaze from Applejack to Twilight and back again. There was a sense of restless energy to her, prepared to send her running at the first chance she got.

Applejack shrugged, giving her an unconcerned look. “Well, if ya like hard labour so much, that’s your choice. Just try to trust ‘em a little, just ‘cause they’re nobles don’t make ‘em bad folk.”

Indecision wrecked Dash’s face. She tried to say something snappy in response, but hesitated. She wasn’t sure what to say, for one thing. Thinking on her options provided her no comfort. Even with the magic, it was surely better than hard labour.

‘Try to trust, what a joke,’ she thought, turning her eyes on Twilight Sparkle once more. She sought some hint of deception, a sign of trickery, but the mage just looked back at her without so much as blinking at the hard stare.

“Fine,” she hissed at last, looking away. “Fine, do it. But if you mess with my head-”

“I won’t, I promise. Now, just hold still.” Twilight stepped up to Applejack, holding one scroll out before her. She spoke, murmuring words in an alien tongue, harsh and sharp to their ears. Her eyes rose from the scroll as the words vanished, their ink fading away, and she reached out to lay a hand on the tanned woman’s arm. “This geas binds you to my service; you may not harm another unless they seek to do you harm intentionally and with malicious intent unless I give you permission or you are acting in the defense or aid of an innocent; you may not share knowledge, in any form, I command to be kept secret without my permission; you must heed my commands except where they would break the laws of the land or be of unethical nature.”

As Twilight spoke the words repeated themselves in Applejack’s mind, each creating a quiet pressure upon her. The spell pressed on her, and as Twilight fell silent Applejack felt the moment of decision. To fight the magic or deny it, to pit her will against it. It took effort to keep herself from automatically pushing it away. No mind willingly accepted intrusion without fighting, but she had to.

The magic flowed into her, settling across her mind. For a moment it was like a lead weight pulling down her thoughts, blurring her thinking for a moment. It passed, and she took a deep, shuddering breath. She gulped, opening eyes she hadn’t realised she had closed, and met Twilight’s gaze.

“Did it work?” Shining Armour’s tense voice broke the silence. His eyes bored into Applejack, judging and analytical. He relaxed when Twilight turned from her to nod at him. “Good. Her next.”

“I’m about to, calm down,” Twilight told him, a chiding note in her voice. “There’s no need to rush, just give me a moment. You know, if you had spent more time at the Colleges instead of with the guard you could-”

He held up a hand in surrender. “Okay, okay, I get it, no rushing you when you’re doing magic. No need to start all that again. Let’s get this done, I’m starting to get a headache.”

Twilight turned to the thief, not bothering to conceal the smug smile at her small victory against her brother.

“Alright, this won’t hurt, just open your mind…” Again she began to read, drawing the magic from the other scroll. She gripped Dash’s hand, a stark contrast of dark fingers twining with pale. The scroll became blank and she repeated the same conditions.

Everything in Dash screamed at her to fight the magic, to reject it and pull her hand away. Instead she tightened her grip. Unlike Applejack her eyes never closed. Instead she stared right into Twilight’s eyes, her gaze intense. If there was a flicker of triumph or victory, anything to give her reason, now was the time to see it. She didn’t know if she was relieved or annoyed at the earnest look in them.

“It’s done,” Twilight murmured after a few seconds. She went to step back, but found the fingers holding her own keeping her there. “Uh...Dash? You can let go now.”

“Huh? Er, whatever.” Letting go, Dash stumbled back. She pressed her back against the wall, folding her arms up. “What now?”

“We’ll be leaving. Shining, can you have their things sent to me?” Twilight went back to her brother, handing him the expended scrolls.

“I think you mean Miss Applejack’s things, unless there were some rags we confiscated as well” Shining Armour corrected. “And sure, I’d be happy to. Before you go, I just want a moment alone with these two.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What for?”

He answered with a relaxed smile. “Come on Twiley, just humour me. They’ll be out in just a minute.”

She frowned, her suspicious look not lessening the slightest. Twilight glanced at her new charges, watching Applejack approach the thief. Whatever she was trying to say to engage her was clearly not working.

“Alright,” she gave in, rubbing her forehead tiredly. “I’m not in the mood to argue even more.”

“Being up all night and then having a ‘disagreement’ with Blueblood can be kind of tiring, believe me, I know.” He grinned at her, standing and giving her a hug. “Just wait outside, I promise not to do anything too damaging to your new projects.”

She rolled her eyes, hugging him back before stepping away. “I’ll take your word on that. Girls, my brother wishes to speak with you. Once you are done, we will be leaving.”

The mage strode from the room, leaving the three alone.

“Let me cut right to the chase. I’m a direct guy, I want to make things crystal clear between us.” His tone hardened. “If either of you does anything to my sister, or allows anything to happen to her, I will make sure hard labour is the least of your concerns.”

Dash opened her mouth to snap something, but it turned into a yelp when Applejack’s elbow jabbed her.

“Clear as day. I wouldn’t expect any less from my brother if he was in your place,” the tanned woman said. “Your sister does right by us, we’ll do right by her. Well, I will.”

Snorting at Applejack’s self-correction, Dash gave a half-hearted shrug.

“Hey, she doesn’t mess with me, I won’t mess with her.”

Shining Armour fixed his stare on her, sighing a moment later and sitting back down. “I suppose that’s the best I’ll get. You two get after Twiley- after Twilight, I think the smell is giving me a headache.”

Applejack nodded and turned, chuckling. She gripped the smaller girl’s shoulder and pushed her out first, wrinkling her nose.

“Wait, what smell?” Dash sniffed, trying to pick it up.

“Smell?” Twilight asked, stepping from where she had been waiting in the hall. The door clicked shut behind them. After a moment she wrinkled her nose. “Oh, yes, that smell.”

“What smell?” Crossing her arms, the thief scowled ferociously.

“Ya don’t smell it? I s’pose ya wouldn’t,” Applejack laughed, shaking her head. Her grin died down as she looked at Twilight. “So, uh, ma’am, what now?”

Twilight shook her head at the title. “No need for that, just call me Twilight. I get enough of titles when I’m in the palace. Speaking of, the two of you shall stay in the attached rooms. They’re technically meant for servants, but my apprentice only uses one and I don’t want some maid to bumble into my study so I usually just use them as storage rooms.”

Her charges stared at her, eyes wide and mouths dropping open. Twilight stared back uncertainly.

“You...you live in the palace?” Dash asked at last, her voice strangled and unsteady.

“What did you think ‘Royal Apprentice’ means?” Twilight raised an eyebrow at her critically.

“I don’t think either of us thought much about it, sugar. Are you sayin’ ya’ll are...are her apprentice?” An unusually uncertain note entered Applejack’s voice as she asked. She scratched her neck, looking nervous.

The movement brought the runed wrist-bands into view, sending a flash of recollection through Twilight.

“Your wrist-locks, I completely forgot. Come here, hands out,” she ordered, waiting for them to comply. Both did, albeit reluctantly in Dash’s case. The wizard murmured words too quiet for either to hear, and in that same harsh language, as she touched each band of runed metal one by one. The runes faded in her wake, the rings growing larger until they slipped straight off the former prisoners’ arms.

Applejack flexed her arm, giving an impressive display of muscles for a moment, before giving Twilight a thankful nod.

“Right kind of ya sugar,” she said. Her hand went to her head, brushing through her long hair. “Don’t suppose I can get my hat back now?”

“Of course, I said you would get it back.” Twilight looked up once she was done with Dash’s locks. “Let’s go. With any luck, Spike will be done preparing your rooms.”

“Spike?” Questioned the thief. She rubbed the wrists with a glower, following along as Twilight led the way. Her eyes darted about, searching for an escape route, but none provided what she needed.

‘How in the long night am I supposed to escape magic when it’s in my head?’ The thought plagued her, nagging at Dash.

Twilight smirked slightly, a hint of pride in her tone as she spoke; “My apprentice. He can be a little bit lazy when the mood suits him, but he is talented and smart, so long as food isn’t involved.”

Crossing her arms, the captured thief merely grumbled under her breath. The more refined halls were soon replaced by the bleaker halls of the no-nonsense attitude found among the more dangerous members of the city guard. Dash forced herself not to flinch as they passed those very guards, cursing herself, the guards and Twilight flaming Sparkle. Years of experience warned her to run, to slink away before a guard decided to approach, but all they did was nod respectfully at the woman leading them to what could, in a dim light, pass for freedom.

Back in his office, Shining Armour looked up from his paperwork and frowned slightly. He recalled the rural woman’s reaction to his threat. ‘She has a brother...I wonder...’

He shook his head, dismissing for that line of thought for now. Instead he returned to his paperwork, uncorking a new ink pot and dipping his quill into it. A smile lit his face, although certainly not at the paperwork itself. The idea of just leaving it there and leaving now only plagued him for a moment before he dismissed it too. The Lord-Captain continued his work, his mind more on what awaited him when he was done than his actual work.

Or rather, who awaited him.

The trio emerged into daylight, and a wince passed through a third of the group. Shading her eyes, Twilight glanced back at Applejack when a groan escaped the woman.

“Turns out my hangover ain’t completely gone. Sun’s blazing like a right bi-”

Twilight interrupted with a cough, leading the way down the stone steps leading out and waving at a stablehand. “No foul language in my presence, please. The carriage should be here in a moment.”

“Carriage?” Looking across the stable yard, Dash fidgeted. There were guards all over the place, and she didn’t like the look of a single one of them. In all fairness, not a single one of them liked the look of her; she spotted one who she was fairly certain had been among their ‘escorts’ to Shining Armour’s office. He might have even been the one who pushed her in. When he noticed her, standing there as innocent as the day was bright, a frown creased his weathered features.

“Of course. You don’t think we were going to walk halfway across the city, did you?” Twilight wasn’t looking at her, merely frowning as they waited. Her mouth formed a thin, stern line.

“Kinda did. Not like I’ve ridden in a carriage before. Used to ride on the back of the cart when we were movin’ stuff, but that’s it.” Clearly deciding not to waste energy standing, Applejack sank to the ground. She sat on the second lowest step and stretched her legs. “I can ride, if ya want.”

Dash got in before Twilight, snorting derisively. “What are you, some kinda weak-kneed farmer? I could get across this city before any horse or carriage.” She smirked. “Not that I’ve ever needed to. Only so high a guard can climb before all that chainmail starts weighing him down. One little slip and...”

She mimed a figure scaling the wall of her arm, only to go tumbling down with a loud splat. As she did, she shot a glance at a nearby guard, giving him a mocking grin. His eyes narrowed and his cheeks reddened, hands balling into knots of leather.

“Dash, don’t mock the guards. Your past indiscretions are nothing to be proud of.” Twilight frowned at the thief.

“Says you. Hear that, big fella? I shouldn’t be proud of my ‘past indiscretions’.” She shot the guard a teasing wink, baring her teeth in a wide grin. His expression turned apocalyptic.

Applejack rose, eyes rolling. “Ya really know how to pick a fight, don’t ya? No wonder ya’ll ended up here, bet ya’ll could make a magistrate throw his gavel at ya if ya tried.”

“I made one go red in the face and spout nonsense he was so angry, does that count? Not that I hung around.”

Ignoring her, Applejack stepped between the thief and the guard. “Ya’ll are gonna have to excuse my friend, she ain’t that smart. We’re just waitin’ to leave with Lady Sparkle here, don’t want no fightin’.”

She glanced at Twilight out of the corner of her eye, but the mage was making no move to intervene. If anything she appeared to be studying the confrontation, wearing an expression of focus as she watched them.

The guard looked towards her as well. His eyes betrayed his uncertainty, which was all Applejack needed. Ignoring Dash’s muttered protest that they weren’t friends, Applejack pushed her towards Twilight.

“We might not be friends, but I’m willin’ to give it a try if ya’ll are, an’ we’re fightin’ the same dragon. If you start a fight, I’ll get dragged into it one way or another,” she hissed, glaring at Dash. “So hush before I give ya a spankin’, little girl.”

A growl rolled out of Dash’s throat at that. “What, gonna give me a smack with one of those tree trunks you call an arm?”

There might have been a fight between the two headstrong women, if someone hadn’t called for the woman they were bound to.

“Lady Sparkle!” A clerk hurried down the steps, something brown and worn in his hands. “The Captain was able to, uh, fast track the paperwork for taking this from contraband, and sent me to give to you.”

The moment she had looked over, a grin had a appeared on Applejack’s face. She stepped past Dash, leaving the thief to fume.

“My hat!”

Twilight accepted the hat, nodding at the clerk dismissively. She ignored Applejack’s outstretched hand, staring at the hat. Muttering under her breath, the harsh tongue preceded a nearly undetectable flare of magenta light in her eyes, colouring the whites. Her eyes never wavered from the hat, staring at it unblinkingly.

After nearly a minute, Applejack dropped her hand and fought the urge to glare at Twilight.

“Can I have my hat?”

The mage didn’t seem to hear her. “Fascinating,” she murmured, turning the hat over. “Transmutation, primarily...Applejack, what did- oh!”

She blinked, staring at the taller woman. Applejack’s closeness was a surprise; Twilight had been so absorbed in studying the hat that she'd missed the approach. Dash snickered in the background, the strife between the other two amusing her.

“Can I have my hat back now?” Applejack asked dryly, reaching out for it. “Ain’t nothin’ that’ll help me escape, I promise, but it’s kinda important to me an’ ya promised…”

With clear reluctance, Twilight let her take it. “I do want to take another look at it later, though,” she added. A shout drew her attention and she looked back as a two horse carriage drew up. “Ah, good. Alright girls, get in. I don’t use this much, I don’t like to impose, so don’t get used to it.”

“I won’t, an’ I guess this ragamuffin won’t- hey! Where’s she gone?” Applejack spun in a circle, scanning for the suddenly invisible thief. “That little- she snuck off! Burnin’ day!”

Twilight shook her head. “Well, I suppose it was inevitable. Dash!” She called, her voice ringing across the courtyard with an odd cadence reminiscent of when she had spoken the words of magic. “Shout out where you are.”

The thief’s voice immediately yelled back, unseen though she was. “Under the carriage!” A moment passed as Dash realised what just happened. “Damn it!”

Applejack jumped the last few steps and bent down, looking under the carriage. An irate Dash glared back at her, her hair bundled under the rags that had formed half her shirt.

“The heck ya doin’ under there?”

“I was going to hide under here while you idiots looked for me, then slipped out when you passed through the city,” Dash answered grudgingly. She dropped to the ground and crawled out, scowling at Twilight. “Flaming magic.”

Twilight wore a satisfied smile. “At least we’re certain that the spell worked. Alright, enough, get in.” Her words didn’t carry the magical quality from before, but they were clearly orders, enough for Applejack to shrug and climb in with a nod to the man at the front, holding the reins.

Dash, however, lingered as she waited for Twilight to approach. She watched the mage, her body tensed. When Twilight passed her without a word, taking her first step into the carriage, Dash shook her head in confusion.

‘She’s just waiting until I don’t expect it,’ she rationalised as she followed.

The door shut behind her, and at Twilight’s call the driver snapped his reins. With a lurch the carriage set off, trundling through the city. It followed the boulevard, the Road of the Sun, a straight line that extended across the city. Twilight looked out the window, leaning out enough to look along it. This was partly because, as ever, she enjoyed the straight line of sight from the Palace in the east to the Guard’s Fort in the west. Mostly it was because of the smell, and she explained that quite bluntly.

Something approaching a smile tugged at the edge’s of Twilight’s mouth when Dash let out an indignant squawk of frustration.

“What smell?!”

Applejack just laughed.

Sitting back on the plush seat, Applejack kept her amused smile as she observed her two new acquaintances. The city girl was sitting with her knees tucked under her chin, arms around her legs, and the noble still had her face out the window. She chuckled, laying her head back. Her hat shifted, the very feeling bringing a smile to her face.

Not that much was worth a smile right now. Her expression fell slowly, but neither of her companions noticed. The thief was too busy stewing in her own frustration, the mage not even able to see.

‘A thief...Granny’d be shocked at the company I’m keepin’,’ she thought, rubbing her eyes tiredly. ‘Not like either of us have a choice. Landsakes, how did I end up like this?’

The answer was pretty obvious, and the thought of it made her flush angrily. She had been foolish enough to trust a stranger last night, and look where it got her.

‘Should have let the guard give the girl a good smack, weren’t no business o’ mine.’ Despite the thought, she felt guilty for it.

“Hey, Rainbow,” she nudged the girl. “Got any family ya needa tell? They might worry, if ya just up an’ vanished.” The twinge of guilt that brought she found easy to ignore. It was habit by now.

Dash scowled at her. It seemed to be the main expression she was capable of. “Yeah, a whole house full of ‘em.”

“Well, might wanna ask if we can stop by an’-”

“That was sarcasm!” Applejack didn’t correct the glaring city girl. She knew perfectly well it was sarcasm, but let Dash carry on. “Gah, what is wrong with you? I live in a dump, why would I have a house full of family?”

Applejack shrugged. “Ain’t gonna assume anythin’ about you, sugar. Ya move like a cat an’ yer jumpier than a displacer. Ya got under the carriage without anyone noticin’. I know yer a thief, one who tried to steal from a prince. Lotta things I could assume from that. Not many I like. I’m not gonna.”

Dash blinked, the answer taking her by surprise. She opened her mouth, but was unable to think of a real answer and closed it again.

“So, you an’ me, Rainbow? Like I said, we’re fightin’ the same dragon, we gotta look out for each other. Be honest with me, I’ll be honest with you.”

“Honest?” Dash gave her a vicious grin. “Alright, why are you in the city, farmgirl?”

“I ain’t no farmer, I’m a ranger. Needed to see how the soft cityfolk lived,” she answered with a smirk. “Can’t take their drink, I know that. Gotta drug mine so I even stumble, an’ I still beat the lot of them into a little stains on the floor.”

The laugh that got from Dash was genuine, and Applejack had to surprise a smile. It was hardly a great guess, that talking about something like this would get a better response.

“You really got drugged? Wait, you weren’t at the Swill Runner, were you? That means- holy- you beat up Red Palm?!” She shook her head in amazement. “Wow. Did you kill him?”

Applejack gave her a strange look, frowning. “You sound kinda like you want me to say yes.”

“I do! No one else has the guts, and that time I knifed him, the black boned bastard managed to find someone to heal him before he bled out,” she growled the words, a hateful light in her eyes.

Twilight pulled her head back, joining Applejack in giving the thief girl a shocked look. The way she spoke wasn’t just angry, it was a sort of cold, old hatred. She noticed their looks and scowled, going back to her seemingly default expression of anger a the world.

“What? He deserved it.”

“I’m sure he did. Afraid all I did was punch him through the bar.” Applejack shrugged. “Look lively then Rainbow, ya got a whole new chance ahead of ya.”

“Applejack is right, this is a wonderful chance. By the time your sentence is over, I promise you won’t need to go back to those slums.” Looking back to the window, Twilight watched the buildings they were passing. It wouldn’t be long now, she knew. “Look, the Gates of the Rise, we’re passing through them.”

Dash pulled back, Applejack leaning past her to look out. The ranger pulled her hat back as she stuck her head out the door. She whistled, loud enough to attract attention. She ignored the stares, running her eyes up the great gates until she was looking straight up.

“Well, would ya look at that…” She stared up at the massive teeth that ran up each side of the gate. “Heard about ‘em, but hadn’t gone lookin’ yet. How do those things even move?”

Twilight immediately launched into an explanation, one neither cared to listen to. Applejack tried, but found her attention slipping. Dash didn’t even do that.

“-and, oh, here we are,” Twilight finally stopped talking, the carriage jolting to a halt. “Time to get out.” She sniffed. “I think I’ll need a bath to get the smell out. After Dash, of course.”

The thief was tempted to make another break for it, to try getting out of earshot or muffling her hearing. She glanced at her bare stomach, exposed thanks to her uses of her shirt to hide her hair, and decided there wasn’t enough left to risk it.

She got the feeling Applejack was guessing what she was thinking, judging by the way she was watching her. Dash gave her an innocent smile. Giving her a snort back, Applejack turned and followed Twilight out, holding the door open until Dash emerged.

“Come on Rainbow, let’s get you cleaned up,” Applejack said, shutting it behind her and jumping down.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I washed during the last storm.” She looked around, feeling incredibly exposed, and not just because of her shirt. She stuck out like a sore thumb, like a walking stain as servants bustled past them in and out of a wide wooden door.

Twilight looked disgusted. “The last rain storm was a month ago, no wonder you stink. Okay, you are definitely having a bath before you even look at my books.”

Applejack grinned at Dash’s irate growl, but in truth she was as intimidated as the thief girl. Proud as she was of her hat, and confident as she was in her comfortable leathers, she knew neither had been made with a palace in mind. It set her teeth on edge, her surroundings as unfamiliar as the city had been. Her hand itched to curl around the hilt of her sword, or the curve of her longbow. The lack of both plagued her thoughts for a moment. To be without your weapons was death in the Everfree, and it was hard to let go of that mentality once you had it.

They followed where Twilight led, passing into the halls of the palace. For all her unease, Dash did find one thing that made her feel a little better; she might be uneasy, but every maid they passed seemed to have a fit when they saw her. It wasn’t long before she began to experiment. When Twilight wasn’t looking, she sauntered past a pair of servants with a decidely teasing strut. The maid seemed to be so offended she would burst. It was a pity she didn’t, so Dash tried more with the next, slouching and grinding her dirty feet into the carpet.

It wasn’t long before Applejack caught on, and while she didn’t try to stop her Dash got the sense she didn’t approve. With a grin, Dash just kept on doing it. Two highly offended birds with one stone. Tipping her hat over her eyes, Applejack just sighed and shook her head.

The number of servants and guards slowly depleted as they approached what seemed to be a more secluded part of the palace. The fact she was in the palace at all was a shock to Dash. Her mouth watered as she began to add up the value of everything she saw. Passing through a door, larger and more ornate than the others, she ran her hand along its gilded edges.

“Dash, please stop fondling the door,” Twilight called, having found herself and Applejack further down the hall. “You’re not trying to escape, are you?”

"What, me, try to escape?" Dash laughed. "I know the score, Sparkle."

Ignoring whatever the poor girl meant, Twilight gestured for her to join them. "This wing is reserved for those Celestia herself has chosen to be near her. There should be next to no one there, and no servants are permitted to be in any of my chambers. Ever."

"Yeah, no servants, got it," Dash agreed, her eyes lingering on a glazed vase.

"Might wanna tell her not to make off with the silver too," chuckled Applejack.

Twilight shook her head, stopping when they reached a door a tad firmer than the others. She muttered arcane words again, this time in a soft, lyrical language before pushing the door open.

"Spike!" She called. "I'm back!"

The only sound was the click of the door shutting in Dash’s wake. She glanced across the room, taking it all in. The room was almost normal, and compared to what she expected not particularly lavish. Tables strewn with books were lined orderly across the main part of the room before the high ceiling gave way halfway across the room. She kept the awe from her face as she stepped through, turning twisting and turning. There was more paper and vellum here than she had seen anywhere else, but then, she didn’t often try to steal from libraries.

“Spike!” Twilight called again, her tone frustrated. “If he’s napping again, I swear…”

She stomped off, stepping from the first part of the room into the next. The walls curved gently away on each side and the ceiling went up and up and up. Applejack and Dash followed, staring at the bookshelves that lined the walls. A ladder went up to next level, Applejack peering up it as Twilight climbed up to where another ring of bookshelves sat with a balcony looming over the lower floor.

“Sun, is she an egghead or what? All these books can’t be healthy.” Running her hand along one, Dash jerked it back when a shout startled her. After a moment she breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn’t directed at her.

“Spike! Honestly, I asked you to do one thing, just one thing!” Twilight came back down the ladder, a youth trailing her.

"Aw come on Twilight, it wasn't like I meant to! I was just looking for that book you wanted, honest," a high but discernibly male voiced whined. His robes were plain, in a darker shade of purple than Twilight’s and his hair an emerald hue. He ran a hand through the short spiky green locks nervously.

Looking at the back of his head, Applejack knew there was something wrong with him before she even saw his face. His ears weren’t right, to start with; a scaled ridge ran along the top of each ear, adding a jaggedness to the normally gentle curves.

Twilight’s mouth was pressed into a flat, unimpressed frown. "We will deal with this later, young man. I hope you prepared the bed chambers for our guests."

"You mean the criminals? Yeah, I did it," Spike dropped the last few steps and turned. He froze, staring at the newcomers. In response, they stared back. They, arguably, had better reason to. After all, neither of them had scales.

Purple scales gave the impression of shadows around his eyes, giving way to smooth skin. The scales showed again at the corner of his mouth, delicate and smaller but still noticeable.

"Spike, these are the 'criminals'. Introduce yourself," Twilight instructed.

"Uh...hi?" He gave them a weak grin, exposing his pointed teeth, and extended his hand nervously. "I'm Spike."

Their eyes followed his hands, his extremities showing just as obvious signs of difference.

Applejack was the first to recover, reaching out just as he began to withdraw his hand. His expression went from nervous and hurt to nervousness and relieved. His grip was surprisingly strong for what she guessed was his age.

"Pleasure to meet ya Spike, I'm Applejack." She gave his hand a shake and shot him a smile. "One of the criminals."

He blushed, giving her another nervous grin. "Heh, sorry, but, you know, you kinda are."

His hand felt strange to her, his skin harder than it should be but still soft human skin. Blunt, almost claw-like fingernails pressed against her hand.

As tactless as that was, Applejack had to admit it was obviously true. Much as it grated on her, he was right.

“Don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon, sugar, trust me on that,” she assured him. Applejack let go and stepped back, making room for Dash. “C’mon Rainbow, say hi.”

“Don’t give me orders, freckles.” Dash settled for a nod, ignoring the hand he expanded to her. “Call me Dash. So, what are you?”

Applejack winced. “Ya really ain’t ever heard of tact, have ya?”

Dash rounded on her, hands on hip. “Don’t pretend you’re not curious.”

“I ain’t pretendin’ nothin’, but there’s politer ways of askin’.” Shaking her head, Applejack let out a frustrated sigh. Maybe Dash was going to prove more difficult to deal with than she had expected.

The two began to bicker, and the boy took a step back. “I thought they didn’t know each other,” he asked Twilight quietly. His eyes never left them, watching them go at it.

Twilight frowned. “They don’t. They appear to have conflicting personalities. As far as I can tell, Applejack is likely to be more trustworthy. Keep an eye on Dash though, she’s already tried to flee once.”

Spike nodded. Satisfied with that ,she stepped forward, interrupting them with a cough.

“Spike is a sorcerer. He’s not some kind of monster, half-breed or evil experiment. His draconic bloodline is particularly strong, and has just had an unusual effect on his appearance,” Twilight informed them. “The two of you are going to work alongside him, organising my personal collection over the next few days. After Dash has had a bath, of course.”

“Why does everyone think I smell?”

“Because you do?” Spike piped up with a snicker. Her glare silenced him, but the look of amusement remained on his face. “It’s true!”

Applejack chuckled. “Sorry, Rainbow, but it’s true. Ya said ya live in a dump anyway, so I don’t know why you’re surprised.”

“So it’s settled. Spike, show her where the bath is please, and make sure she has everything she’ll need.” To Dash, Twilight added; “It won’t take you much time, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it once you get used to it. I can’t imagine you’ve had many baths.”

“Of course not! Swimming in hot water? What am I, dinner?” Dash stepped back. “You cook things in hot water, how can getting in it be good for you?”

Spike began to laugh again, at least until the thief took a step towards him with a dark look in her eyes.

“What are you laughing at, kid?”

“Y-you think a hot bath is unhealthy?” He snickered. Any fear of the criminal faded, so long as he was at Twilight’s side.

Stepping in before things could escalate, Applejack grabbed Dash by the shoulder. “I could probably use a bath myself, as a matter of fact.” Applejack gave her a smile that was just a touch teasing. “Come on, I’ll make sure the mean ‘ole hot water don’t make ya sick. Wanna show us the way, sugar?”

Spike gave her a nod and Applejack dragged Dash in his wake, leaving Twilight alone. She watched them go, calculating eyes on her charges. Only when they were gone from her sight did she turn away and scale the ladder. The books were old friends to her, friends she knew inside and out. Her eyes barely registered the titles as she passed, habit and memory guiding her as she thought.

Eventually she came to a stop, reaching for a book that wasn’t there. Her hand slipped into the empty space, brushing against the back of the shelf before she realised what was going on. A frown marred her lovely features, a displeasure colouring her eyes. She scanned the books around the gap, but they were as they should be.

‘Spike must have wanted to read up on the subject.’ The thought brought a smile to her face, her pride in her apprentice showing. It was much easier to be proud of him, she had found, when he wasn’t there to have his ego swelled.

Her pleasured soon turned to annoyance. Twilight sorted through the books on his table, her impatience growing. When he came back, his cheeks glowing red, she had moved on to another table.

“Spike, where is Jeggare’s treatise on sorcerous bloodlines?” She asked, not looking up.

Spike dropped the armful of rags, blinking a few times as he tried to get his brain working again. “Uh, think it’s on the bookshelf, why?”

“I wanted to read it, but it’s not there. Are you sure you didn’t- what happened to your face?” She finally looked up.

“Uh, Rainbow Dash...I-I said I’d get her stuff washed and she...I don’t think she’s very shy.”

It took several seconds for what that meant to sink in. With a disgusted sigh Twilight went back to her search. “I suppose her manners aren’t very good, so a lack of modesty isn’t exactly unexpected. And I don’t think Rainbow is part of her name, that just seems to be a nickname Applejack gave her because of her hair.”

“Yeah…” His voice was thoughtful.

She looked up sharply, a particular bit of advice from a book coming to mind. “I hope you covered your eyes. Just because she doesn’t know how to behave in polite company doesn’t mean you could take advantage.”

Spike rolled his eyes at her. “I closed my eyes. It’s not like it wasn’t embarrassing for me. I thought that Applejack lady was going to explode, she went so red. I think she found it even more embarrassing.” He nodded towards the pile of rags. “Uh, what do you want me to do with that? I mean, I know it’s hers but they’re kind of…”

“Go look through my old things, in the third store room. I’m sure something there will fit her,” Twilight said, dismissing the matter. At the moment, the book as more important. If she could ever find it, that is.

Dash had her arms crossed, looking at the water suspiciously. “I still think this is unhealthy. It’s like being boiled alive, but really slowly. How is that good for you?”

Her hat removed for the first time since getting it back, Applejack shrugged. She had been tight-lipped since the thief’s stunt with Spike, sending the embarrassed apprentice off with a face as red as tomato.

“Just is,” she grunted.

“Oh come on, it was funny,” Dash rolled her eyes. “Hey, why did he call me Rainbow Dash?”

Applejack arched an eyebrow at her, giving her a critical look. “It was mean, he’s probably barely a more than a lad an’ he don’t need ya’ll playing nasty tricks on him like that. An’ I guess he just thought it was ya name, after hearin’ me call ya Rainbow. Dunno why you’d mind, sounds fine to me. Better’n just Dash.”

That made the thief shake her head. “No way, my name is fine the way it is,” she insisted stubbornly, quashing the little part of her that quite liked the sound of it.

This time it was Applejack who rolled her eyes. Pushing herself from her spot on sunken ledge, she admired the room from the middle of the pool. It was more than she had ever imagined a bath could be. In her mind, a bath was a tin tub filled bucket by bucket with water that quicky lost it’s warmth. This was more a pond than anything, and Applejack hadn’t failed to notice the way Dash stayed right at the edge, eyeing the deeper end the way a dog all too aware it lacked wings would eye a cliff.

Dash ran a hand across the water in front of her, strangely fascinated by the feel of it against her skin. Everything felt different in this water, completely alien to her. Dash avoided the few bodies of water there were in the city; being unable to swim, it never seemed like a good idea to her, but this was different. Odd. Nice.

There were very few things in her life she would categorise as ‘nice’. In general, they were just good or bad, useful or unuseful. Never ‘nice’. Nice was for people with money. It was for the hoity-toity nobles who strutted about showing off their wealth. Wealth she could steal, if she was smart enough, or fast enough. And she was. She was fast enough, she was sneaky enough.

She grinned slightly, her fingers twitching. Just the thought of the last few months, slipping into the High District unseen, sneaking through mansions and stealthing past guards, made her want to experience that thrill. Nothing beat it.

“Burnin’ day, ya’ll are dirtier than my little sister after she tried makin’ mud pies.” Applejack’s voice intruded on her thoughts, and Dash pulled away with a yelp. She had practically forgotten the ranger was there. She had certainly failed to notice her approach. Dash sunk beneath the water, flailing madly. The once pleasant water swamped her, and she opened her mouth to scream. Rather than the intended occurance of sound coming out, water came in.

Something clamped around her arm. A sudden sense of rushing movement overcame her. Sweet air filled her nose, a relief she had never valued so much. Something slammed into her back and water poured out of her mouth. She felt like she was vomiting, but she had never vomited anything that didn’t smell bad enough to make her vomit again.

“Rainbow, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise ya. Are ya okay?” Applejack’s worried voice pierced the confusion, and Dash managed a weak nod.

“I-I’m fine...i-it’s okay.” She wrapped her arms around the larger woman, taking a deep, shuddering breaths. “I...I told you.”

“Huh?”

“I told you...not healthy.”

Applejack stared at her for a moment before laughing, throwing her head back and letting the tension run out in a deep throated chuckle.

“Sure it ain’t, sure. Lemme get ya out, ya look clean as a whistle. Must be some magic in the water, heard some nobles got fancy stuff like that.” Applejack hurled her up, setting her on the edge of the tiled floor. “Ya feel okay?”

“Yeah, fine.” As she settled down from the near drowning, or at least what she felt was a near drowning, Dash glanced up at the ceiling. Even that was clean and spotless, all perfect. Perfect except for thief under it, of course.

Applejack washed herself quietly, her guilt from surprising Dash keeping her silent. She didn’t say anything when Dash slipped into the water, hugging the edge once more but submerging most of her body.

“Hey, Applejack?” Dash wasn’t looking at her, eyes locked on the water.

“Yeah?”

“Were you serious? When you said you wanted to be my friend.” There was a quiet intensity to the thief’s voice that gave Applejack pause before she answered.

“Yep,” she answered, giving an unseen nod.

“I...I’m not sure. But you did save me, even if you were the one who made me slip. You could have just let me drown, and told Sparkle it was an accident. Most of the people I know would have done it. But you didn’t.” Dash looked away, staring at the wall. “I’ll think about it.”

Applejack smiled wearily. “Good enough fer me.” She lay back in the warm water, enjoying the rare luxury.

‘Maybe Granny was right. Maybe I can do some good here. Don’t needa kill monsters to save a life.’

Twilight barely noticed when Spike left, or when he returned with an armful of her old clothing. He dropped it on one of the tables and turned to her.

“I got some stuff, want to look through it and tell me what to give her…” he trailed off, spotting a book among many others. He snickered, picking it up. “So, Twilight, still can’t find it?” He asked, leaning on the table, the red leather cover of the tome turning around in his hands.

“No, I can’t. Where could it be?” Frustration filled her voice, and her movements become more harried as she delved into the next pile of books. Twilight noted absently that several clearly unopened ones were books she had assigned Spike to read. She would deal with that later.

Grinning merrily, Spike flipped open the book as he watched her continue to read. “Sure. Hey, Twilight, guess what?” He glanced down, reading the first words.

Sighing, she shook her head at his foolishness. “What?”

She didn’t get an answer. Spike had just enough time to close his eyes and mouth as the book exploded into a spray of hissing acid. He screamed, the blood curdling sound cutting through the chambers and echoing into the rest of the wing. The acid ate away at his clothes and burned his face, driving the boy back as it reached his chest and shoulders. In more pain than he had ever imagined, he tumbled to the ground, still crying out.

Books fell to the ground around her, Twilight nearly tripping mid-step when his scream struck her. It hit her like a physical blow, rousing her faster than anything else could have. “Spike? Spike?! Oh, holy sun, Spike!”

The slap of wet feet on stone gave way to the muffled thumping of sprinting. Twilight didn’t look up from where she hovered over Spike, trying to do anything she could. He rolled around, thrashing and flailing as he screamed. Dash bolted into the room, a silver candlestick held in her hand threateningly and not a stitch of clothing on her. Her empty hand was clapped over the back of her neck, rubbing it as if to ward off a ferocious itch.

“What was that?I felt something, what was i- burning day!” She froze, looking down on the kneeling wizard and her apprentice.

Applejack came up behind her, just as naked but with a towel in one hand. “What the heck is the screaming about?” The second she caught sight of the downed boy she stopped talking. A smell caught her attention, one she was intimately familiar with. “Acid.”

“Help me!” Twilight looked up at last. She paid no mind to them being naked, barely noticing at all. “Applejack, get over here with that towel and help me get him to the bath, it’s enchanted to remove impurities and there might still be acid on him. Dash, on the wall over there, the drawer marked with ‘Potions’, get the red vials out. Hurry!” Although there was no magic in her words, it was clearly an order.

Applejack was at her side in seconds, slipping the towel under him and using it to get a hold of him. It wouldn’t protect her from the acid if any got on her, but it would give her the moment she needed to avoid getting burned. At the same time, Dash ran over to the line of low draws She hesitated, looking across them. There was already some kind of punishment waiting for her for her attempted escape, she was certain of that, and if she screwed this up hard labour would probably look like an improvement.

“Dash, the potions!”

“I’m looking!” She stared down at them, trying to determine which was the one she had to look in. She reached for one, only to pull back. “Which one…”

“Dash! The one with ‘potions’ on it!”

“I heard you the first time!” Her hands reached back and forth, trying to decide. ‘P...which letter is that again….damn it, which is it?’

“That one!” Twilight snarled as one of the drawers suddenly jerked open, a glow of magenta around the handle. Vials of something red glittered at Dash, and she noted in the back of her mind the boy’s screaming had stopped, replacing by agonised whimpers and sobbing as Applejack lifted him. The naked thief grabbed as many as she could and turned back to the others.

“I’ve got ‘em!” Dash ran over, following Applejack as the ranger carried the boy down the hall towards the bath she had only just abandoned.

“Give me that!” Simply snatching one of the vials from Dash, Twilight wasn’t able to keep pace with Applejack, but she did her best. “Get him into the water!”

Applejack didn’t waste time, dropping to her knees and all but shoving him in before slipping down next to Spike. She tore what remained of his robes off, making sure the water reached his burns. A splash announced Twilight’s arrival, the mage dropping in without removing so much as a single article of clothing. She ignored the water soaking into her expensive robes, uncorking one of the vials and shoving it into his mouth.

It was a slow process, getting healing potion into his mouth as he thrashed and whimpered. The water soothed his burns, but the pain remained. The first trickle he choked down had a greater effect, and Twilight plied him with the blood-coloured elixirs until the last of his burns were gone and he had drifted into unconsciousness.

“Okay...I think he’s fine. Oh, holy sun, Spike…” Twilight ran a hand through his hair. “Thank the stars he’s not awake. That must have hurt so much.”

Dash remained out of the bath, squatting down at the edge. “Okay, what just happened? My tingles told me something magical was happening, like, even worse than when I touched that box of yours.”

“Tingles?” Applejack gave her a sceptical look. “That’s why ya went runnin’ outta here like there was a fire under yer bum? Tingles?”

She shrugged. “Hey, don’t question it, how do you think I managed to get into so many places with magic? Bad magic makes this sorta...tingle, on the back of my neck. Feels weird, but it’s saved me before.”

“Someone nearly killed Spike.”

Their heads jerked towards Twilight. Her hair hid her eyes as she looked down at her apprentice.

“Someone was trying to kill me, and instead they nearly killed him.” Her voice shook, some deep emotion within her causing it to tremble.

Dash shared a look with Applejack. They might have just met, but they could both recognise a mess about to unfold. “Uh...okay, who?”

“I don’t know.” Twilight looked up, and the fury in her eyes nearly startled Dash into losing her balance. “I don’t know but I am going to find out.”

They blinked, staring at her still. Both got the feeling she wasn’t done.

Twilight gave them a grim smile. “Someone with enough skill to sneak into the palace and enough magic to enchant a book with a spell I’ve never seen, a spell I never even sensed right under my own nose, did this.”

“Right, and that’s got what to do with us? Aren’t we just doing, like, library stuff?” Dash questioned.

“Oh no, not anymore.” Twilight shook her head, her grim look still in place. “The two of you are going to help me find whoever did this. Whoever they are, wherever they are. No one does this to Spike and gets away with it. No one.”

Chapter Three

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Applejack laid the young man down, gently slipping him under the covers of his bed. She glanced at Twilight, the mage’s aloft mask firmly back in place, her emotions almost completely hidden. Only almost, because Applejack was no fool. She saw the tightening at the edge of Twilight’s mouth, the flicker of concern in her eyes when Spike shifted in his sleep. Her hands were balled into fists, only barely visible within the sleeves of another of her voluminous purple robes.

“He’s doin’ fine, sugar,” Applejack said, reaching for the covers.

“I know that,” Twilight snapped. Stopping her with gesture, she took the ranger’s place pulling the covers up over him. She stayed there for a moment, looking down at his scaly features. The damage from the acid was gone, but she could still hear him screaming.

She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking back to see the convicted ranger giving her a reassuring smile.

“Trust me sugar, he’ll be fine. I’ve seen what acid can do, but the stuff wasn’t nearly as bad as it shoulda been,” said Applejack. She adjusted her towel absently.

“Yes, I know. I am completely aware of what acid can do, thank you,” Twilight said, irritation creeping into her voice. After a moment she sighed. “I apologise, Miss Applejack. That was rude of me.”

“Told ya, nobles,” Dash called from the doorway. She leaned against the door frame, arms crossed. A lavender tunic replaced her rags, a loose cloth belt tied around her waist.

Applejack sighed, giving Twilight’s shoulder a squeeze before turning back to the irate thief.

“I can forgive a little rudeness considerin’ what just happened. She still thinks ya’ll are plannin’ somethin’ on us,” Applejack told Twilight.

“I might trust you, but just because her little apprentice got hurt doesn’t mean I’ll forget what she is. If it had been either of us, I doubt she’d have wasted the potions,” Dash scowled.

Twilight stood up, her mouth forming a thin, disapproving frown. She left Spike, advancing on the thief who stared coldly at her, tensing slightly. Applejack followed, moving quickly to stand between the two.

“Speaking of potions, Dash, you delayed getting those potions for Spike. Why?” Twilight asked, her tone frosty and her expression dark. “He was in pain, and you just stood there, staring at the drawers. It should have been simple.”

“I just wasn’t sure which drawer you mentioned, no need to throw a-”

“I told you, that’s all you needed, a single letter! What if that acid had been stronger? I don’t care if you hold some irrational hatred of me because I was born to a noble family, but do not ever, ever, risk Spike out of spite,” Twilight cut in, glaring into the shorter girl’s eyes.

“I didn’t risk him! I just…” Dash hesitated, “I just…”

Twilight folded her arms over her chest, giving the thief a flat look as she waited expectantly for whatever pathetic excuse Dash was going to give her. Applejack watched too, but her expression was considerably less displeased. If anything it was curious.

“Rainbow, sugar, I’m sure you just got a little jittered, ain’t no shame in that,” Applejack said softly.

“It shouldn’t have taken her that long to get the potions. It was obvious, I have all the drawers clearly labelled. All she had to do was read the very large letter-” Twilight gasped, cutting herself off. Her look of upset faded, and now she was looking at Dash with, unexpectedly, pity.

That made Dash squirm far more than the anger had. She could deal with anger. Anger was simple and easy. Pity, on the other hand, made her angry. She glared at Twilight, daring her to say it.

“You can’t read, can you?” asked Twilight softly.

“Tch, what do I look like, a librarian?” Sneering, Dash turned away and strode back into the main room. Twilight pursued her, Applejack closing the door into Spike’s room quietly behind her as she followed them out.

“How could you possibly not know how to read? This isn’t the Shadow Age, most people can read. I know for a fact the thieves guild teaches the basics to all it’s members, and the Solar Clergy teach the poor every Day of Rest and Sun’s Day.” Twilight didn’t let Dash flee, her anger replaced by outrage. The difference was subtle, but Applejack was relieved it wasn’t actually directed at Dash. If anything, the mage seemed outraged for Dash instead.

Shrugging, the girl with rainbow hair tried to walk faster without giving the impression of fleeing. The corridor ended in the main room, where the book-laden tables had been pushed around. A ring of cloth, suspended between wooden stands, surrounded the table and acid-stained floor where Spike had been hurt.

“How could you know that? Actually, I don’t care how you know what the thieves guild teaches, because I’m not one of them,” Dash sneered. “Those bozos can’t be trusted. So just drop it, okay? I can’t read, oh well, what harm could it do?”

“You could be unable to identify which drawer has healing potions when someone is in desperate need of them,” Twilight suggested. prompting a wince from Dash.

“Okay,” she admitted with a shrug, “it was a bad once, but that’s all it really was. Shouldn’t you be focusing on something in important, like finding out what happened? I mean, where does acid just come from?”

Twilight gave her a look to tell Dash that this was by no means over, but she nodded and turned to the place Spike had been stricken. Slipping through the barrier, she kneeled down where he had fallen and murmured quietly, running one hand across a blackened pockmark.

“Magic. There was a lot of acid, and it vanished too quickly to be anything else. Too much for a spell of Acid Splash, and much too strong,” Twilight murmured to herself. Her words suddenly shifted, turning to the strange language she had displayed in her brother’s office. She blinked and the moment her eyelids rose a soft magenta light had tinted the whites of her eyes. She focused her sight on the floor, faint magical energies taking form before her.

Dash sat back, breathing a sigh of relief with the shifting of attention off her. She had always had a difficult relationship with attention; as a thief she worked best when she had no attention on her, but she couldn’t bear the idea of her work going unnoticed. She had to be noticed, she thrilled in being at the centre of attention.

'Look where that got me,' she thought with a scowl. 'A month of making half the nobles in the High District paranoid and setting the thieves guild hunting me, and I end up magically leashed to some spoiled little wizard.'

She was tempted to make a run for it, but Applejack came out at last, her towel replaced by a shirt and trousers. The ranger gave Dash a smile and a nod.

"So, can't read?"

Dash rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I can't read, why do you both care so much?" she growled quietly.

Applejack made a calming gesture which only really served to aggravate the thief more at the idea she needed to be calmed.

"No need to be defensive Rainbow-"

"I'm not being defensive!" Dash hissed.

"-I'm just curious. Ya’ll're a smart girl, can't have had trouble with it could ya?" Applejack continued like she didn't hear her.

"I just...I left the guild before I could learn, and I was always busy, okay? I had better things to do than sit with burning children in front of a bunch of priests," Dash snarled, forcing herself to keep her voice low.

A muttered curse from Twilight got their attention and delayed Applejack’s response. Twilight straightened with a scowl.

"Long night, I should have come back faster. The aura is gone."

"Somethin' gone wrong sugar?" Applejack asked calmly.

"No, she's clearly so happy," muttered Dash under her breath with a sarcastic lilt to her tone.

"All magic has an aura, and spells leave behind one that lasts a certain amount of time. This one didn't last very long. Okay, I just need to think this through. The effects were clearly not weak; too much and too strong, but the aura didn’t last ten minutes. This puts it in a small range of spell ring to be able to produce the effect of the strength we saw and not leave a long lasting aura. Fifth ring, possibly sixth," Twilight concluded. She tapped her right index finger against her chin as she thought.

"Ya know all that from not findin' anythin'?" Applejack whistled, impressed. "But, uh, what do ya mean 'ring'? Someone used one o' them magic rings?"

"Thank you, and no, 'ring' is an archiac term used to place the strength and complexity of a spell. First ring spells, second ring, etcetera, etcetera. The modern term is level, but I prefer ring." Twilight paced, finger tapping continuing as she contemplated.

Dash and Applejack watched her pace, the whirring of her mind almost audible. Bored, Dash sat on the edge of a table, pushing books back to form a niche around her.

"I need more information, I need to know more about it, narrow down the options..." she muttered to herself.

In the quiet, the avalanche of books as they tipped from the table behind Dash. She coughed, looking away as the other two women looked at her.

"...oops."

Applejack shook her head with a good-natured chuckle, although she stopped when she saw Twilight’s frozen posture.

"Just books sugar, I’m sure it was accident," she reassured the mage quickly.

Twilight ignored her. She stood with wide eyes, staring at the pile of books on the ground.

"That's it. Spike had something to show me. I can't be sure until he wakes up, but I think I have an idea about what it might have been. You two, please put the books back on the table but do not open them. Once you're done, keep an eye on Spike. I need to sweep the rest of the room for any more of these magical traps.” Instructing them as she rose, Twilight began to pace the room, moving to one end and focusing her vision it. As they worked, Applejack and Dash watched Twilight seeming to stare at one area for nearly half a minute before stepping slightly to the side.

Dash twirled a finger next to her ear, mouthing ‘mages’ in the manner of the word ‘crazy’. Biting back a chuckle, Applejack shrugged and kept working. She worked quickly, not letting any one book stay in her hands for too long. If there were anymore traps in these books, she had no interest in finding out. Yet the thought never seemed to occur to Dash, the thief opting instead to focus on being bitter about moving books.

“Twilight, we’re done,” Applejack called.

The mage made an impatient gesture towards Spike’s room without looking up or saying anything. The dismissive nature certainly got a rise out of Dash, who ground her teeth as she followed Applejack towards the room.

“Burning day, that witch is just ordering us about like servants!” she fumed, pacing around Spike’s room. One hand rested on the cloth belt, the other spinning a small ornamental wand of silver, only a few inches long but easily dancing between her nimble fingers.

“She ain’t a witch, an’ technically we kinda are,” Applejack pointed out calmly. She rested a hand on Spike’s forehead for a moment before adjusting her seat on the edge of his bed. “Lil’ fella’s all normal now, might wanna lower your voice.”

Dash snorted. “Normal? Have you even looked at him? He’s got scales. That isn’t normal.”

“Neither is hair like yours.”

That made her stop her pacing. Dash glared at Applejack, though the ranger brushed it off easily which only served to infuriate her more.

“Leave my hair out of this,” the slender girl snapped, “there’s nothing weird about it.”

“Uh-huh. I’ve never seen that many colours in one head of hair, Rainbow. Ya’ll must have stuck out, for a thief.” Applejack kept her tone soft and friendly, her head turned enough to imply she was looking at Spike without letting Dash out of her sight.

“I just covered it up. Not like having this hair ever did me any good. So many idiots think I must have a fortune or something saved up to get dyes and stuff, so all it’s ever given me is trouble.” Dash scowled at the wall, a shelf lined with books doing little to cheer her. “Being too different isn’t safe. Why do you think I didn’t stay in the guild long enough to even to learn to read?”

Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but a quieter voice got in first.

“T-Twilight always tells me being different is just like being the same, only more people are looking at you,” Spike croaked, his voice raspy. He pushed at the covers, forcing himself up. “W-wha-...”

He trailed off in a chorus of harsh coughs that tore at his throat. When his eyes open, it was to find a porcelain mug in front of him, a strong tanned hand holding it up.

“Here ya go kiddo.” Applejack eased it into his hand, hers staying at the base in case his body failed him. She held it as he gulped down precious water, a pang of regret striking her. This reminded her all too strongly of sitting at her little sister’s bedside when the girl was ill. “Ya’ll have us a nasty fright.”

“Yeah, you did.” This surprising admission came from Dash. She wore a sharkish grin as they both looked at her surprise. “You scream like a little girl.”

The dragon-blooded boy glared at her with a defiant pout, massaging his throat with one hand to make sure he could retort without a stutter ruining it.

“At least I can read!”

“Great, I bet that helps heaps when you go and play dress up, little girl!”

Applejack sighed, pressing a hand to her face for a moment as the two children, one presumably an adult and the other surely schooled in manners and etiquette, glared at each other.

“Alright, alright, break it up,” she told them off with a shake of her head.

“I do not sound like a little girl,” Spike insisted stubbornly.

“I know, I know. Ignore her. She’s just jealous ‘cause she never got ta play dress up when she was a lil’ girl. Well, a lil’er girl,” Applejack corrected herself, almost feeling the heated glare being sent at the back of her head by Dash. She smiled when Spike let out a laugh, the youth grinning at her.

“Ha, good one! She so got you!” he taunted the thief, who rolled her eyes.

“Whatever.” Dash brushed it off, but no one was fooled thanks to the way she glared at the wall.

“So, how ya feelin’?” asked Applejack, helping him sit up.

“Alright. I guess. I mean…” he shuddered, “I got a faceful of acid. It...it really hurt.”

His voice went quiet, the boy hugging himself at the memory. Applejack didn’t say anything, just patting him on the shoulder with a sympathetic look.

Spike forced himself to stop thinking about it, looking at her. “I kind of remember some of the other stuff. I think, did you carry me to the bath?”

“Yeah, an’ Rainbow there got the potions to keep ya goin’. Twilight is out there makin’ sure there ain’t no more of whatever it was that got ya, but she’s been right upset ‘bout what happened,” Applejack told him.

“We just stacked up books, because that’s the first step in trying to work out who tried to kill you,” added Dash with a sarcastic lilt and a sneer.

Spike sat there for a moment, frozen with his nearly-clawed hands digging into the quilt. His eyes went wide, the last sight before he was overwhelmed with pain returning to him in a horrible rush.

“Books...it was a book!”

The women looked at him with confused expressions, prompting Spike to rush forward as he pushed back the covers.

“It was a book! The trap was there, when I read it!” He found his progress out of his bed thwarted by Applejack, the ranger easily keeping him there with one hand.

“Now calm down sugar, ya’ll need to stay there. Dash, coulda ya go grab Twilight? She wanted us to get her anyway when he woke up.”

Dash opened her mouth, intending to let Applejack know precisely where she could stick her request, but found herself hesitating. After a moment of indecision she sighed and turned towards the door.

“Yeah, I might as well…” The silver rod spun from her fingers, landing with a clink in a metal cup filled with quills as she vanished through the door.

Twilight was there the moment Dash interrupted her, rushing through to Spike’s room. She swept him into a hug, hard enough for him to let out a half-hearted protest. Standing aside, Applejack concealed a warm smile. Spike was clearly more than just an apprentice to Twilight; she fawned over him like a mother-hen. It took a while for Spike to actually get her to stop fussing so he could tell her what he wanted, by which time Dash had come back and was seated atop the writing desk in one corner of the room.

“Twilight, seriously, stop it. I have to tell you something,” Spike interrupted her as Twilight got started on another list of possible magical injuries.

She pursed her lips, a moment of indecision, before nodding. “Okay then. What did you want to tell me?”

“I think I know what it was that got me. I found the book you were looking for, the one with Jeggare’s essay on sorcerous bloodlines and stuff like that. I opened it up and gave it a read-”

“Explosive runes!” Twilight exclaimed, nodding to herself. “I knew it! Someone sabotaged my book. I’ve never heard of an acidic variant, and how did they know I was going to read it?”

Spike waved his arms, getting her attention before she could get lost in endless ponderings. “Yeah, Twilight, that’s not it. It was the words in there. That wasn’t the book. It was a fake, with ‘guess what spell I prepared today’ written on blank pages.”

That rocked Twilight back for a second. She cupped her chin in one hand, turning over this new information.

“A fake? But why? Perhaps the acidic variant requires a material component within the surface it’s cast on, to transmute the effect from a concussive blast to acid. It would explain why I’ve never heard of this version before, it would be too much effort for most when the normal version would work fine on any surface.” Twilight wrestled with the issue, her gaze turning distant. Spike could only shrug, suddenly uncertain now that she was taking what he said so seriously. Silence fell over the room.

Except for the snickering thief. Twilight glanced at her disapprovingly.Dash didn’t notice.

“Excuse me, but I am trying to do some thinking. If you could quiet yourself, I would appreciate it.” Each word was clipped and precise, all technically said politely but with an undercurrent of annoyance ringing in each syllable.

“Sure,” Dash shrugged, shoulders shaking, “if you wanna keep being wrong, go ahead.”

“Yes, thank you, I-...what did you just say?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Wrong?”

“I’m kinda interested myself. Whatcha mean sugar?”

Hands resting behind her head, Dash leaned back and flashed the three a cocky smirk.

“Someone tried to kill you with that spell, but it wasn’t normal, right? If they were just trying to do that, would this weird version be better for it?” she asked instead of answering.

“I...suppose not. The traditional form of the spell of Explosive Runes creates a concussive blast, more than enough to have broken my neck if not my entire skull if I had activated it. The use of acid was pointless.” Despite her annoyance at being told she was wrong, Twilight felt a niggling of something at the edge of her thoughts. A loose thread, a possibility.

Dash nodded. “Right. Someone had to sneak to do this, I guess, and you don’t sneak in without knowing exactly what you’re gonna do. Basic stuff. I scout out a place, work out what I can take, then come back at the best time, slip in, grab it, and I’m gone. Some places, like that one you had the box in, I can’t risk getting in more than once so I can’t do it quite as well, but I still knew in general what I should take. This is the palace. You don’t sneak in here without knowing exactly what you’re gonna do, because you aren’t going to get another try.”

With a flash of insight Twilight realised what the thief was hinting at. She looked at the illiterate thief with a little more respect now. Dash might be a criminal, but she was not a fool.

“There was more to this than just killing me. The additional effort to make the spell acidic could have been put to simply increasing its force if my death was the aim. So using acid had to do something else for whoever did this. It provided them with something the original version could not achieve. They had more than one goal,” Twilight concluded after a moment of thought.

Dash’s smirk grew, but she didn’t say anything. It was clear what she wanted. Applejack rolled her eyes and obliged.

“Okay, ya look like ya know what it is. Come on Dash, spill.”

“I’ve done it before. Well, okay, not like this, but I know what they did,” answered Dash with a dark chuckle. “I’ve only done it a few times, takes a lot of effort to pull off, and never for myself. It’s always been a fancy sort of job I’ve been hired for. Pretty simple though; you take something, replace it with a fake and make sure the fake is going to get ruined or destroyed or something in a way that makes sure no one can recognise it’s not the real thing.”

“What?”

Dash shrugged nonchalantly. “Did a job once, had to take a fancy painting, replace it with a fake, only before I left I made a little crack in the ceiling just above it. Rain poured in, ruined the fake, the owner never even tried to look for a thief. Didn’t know there was one.”

It felt to Twilight like she had suddenly been deprived of air, her entire being freezing. It all clicked into place.

“You’re saying…” she began slowly, “you’re saying someone wanted to kill me and make everyone think my copy of The Magicks of Mortal Descent had been destroyed. Because they have it now, and no one is meant to know that.”

“Whoa...that sounds...evil. I mean, killing you is pretty burning evil-”

“Language, mister.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Pretty evil, but doing that and trying to steal a book like that? There is someone seriously evil out there.”

Twilight nodded in agreement, one hand resting on his and squeezing it tightly. “There certainly is…” She looked at Dash again, her eyes this time burning with an intense desire.

It took Dash all of six seconds to realise what she wanted, and she responded by pushing back until she was sitting in the middle of the desk, back against the wall.

“No, no. No way. I can’t. This isn’t something I can just do, just give away like a- like a-...okay, I don’t give away so much as the sunlight at noon, but you get the idea. I can’t.”

Twilight stood up, approaching the desk with an urgent look on her face. “Dash, I need you-”

“No, I already said it! I can’t!”

“I need you, Dash,” Twilight repeated firmly, “I need you to tell me who hired you to do those kinds of jobs.”

“And I said I can’t! What don’t you get about that Sparkle? I get by because I pay off the guild and a few power players. Sometimes in gold and valuables, sometimes in favours. But if I rat them out, I’ll be on their list.”

“First of all, you got by like that, you don’t get by that way anymore. For the duration of your time with me, you are in service to me, you are no longer a thief in the slums. Second; you are under my protection, and that means you are under Her protection.” Twilight pointed at the wall behind Dash and she turned just a little bit to look.

A painting of the rising sun silhouetting a robed figure of white with a wild mane of green, pink and blue greeted her. “What…” It took a few seconds for the meaning to get across.

Applejack nearly tripped over herself without moving. She understood too.

“Princess Celestia. I did say I was her apprentice, didn’t I?” Twilight’s tone was just a touch smug.

Dash shook her head, trying to regain the initiative. “Y-you can’t be! You’re lying.”

“Twilight isn’t a liar!” Spike piped up aggressively, glaring at her. “She’s the royal apprentice!”

“Then how does she have her own apprentice, huh? Even I know that it doesn’t work like that,” spat Dash.

“It does in this case” Twilight explained. “The royal apprentice isn’t like an ordinary apprentice. Most royal apprentices spend their whole lives, or at least most of them, as such, while achieving the ranks of archmage or master wizard. I will likely remain Celestia’s apprentice until I retire of old age-”

Spike snorted. “You, retire!”

“Shush you. Until I retire of old age in the very distant future. I am most certainly her apprentice, and if you were harmed because of something you did for me, it would be not be tolerated. Dash, you are safer now than you have ever been.” Twilight approached the wary thief. “Believe me, I don’t have any ulterior motives here. I just want to know who hurt Spike, and why.”

Dash hesitated. She knew Twilight could make her tell, so all this convincing was pointless. So far Twilight had only used the magic holding her prisoner once, when she tried to run off. The dark skinned wizard stood there, looking entirely inoffensive and not the slightest bit hostile.

‘It’s a trick...’ Dash told herself. ‘It has to be.’

“Rainbow, tell her. There’s lives at stake.” Applejack unexpectedly intruded on the conversation. She wore a serious expression as she looked at her fellow criminal. “If someone was willin’ to kill once, they’re gonna try again. I know ya don’t want that to happen.”

“You don’t know anything!” Dash snapped back, temper flaring. It was only a brief flash of anger, a moment of heat that died down and took her will to argue with it. A sigh escaped her. “Fine.”

“You’ll tell me?” asked Twilight hopefully.

Dash shrugged, “yeah, I guess. You could just make me tell you anyway,” she muttered.

“But I won’t,” Twilight answered quietly. “Forced cooperation isn’t going to help you become a better person, and if I just force you to do what I say there’s no value to anything you do. Please, Dash, I would like you to tell me.”

The thief mulled it over for a moment before sighing. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Just this once though, and you better not send guards around there; I’m no rat.”

Twilight gently pulled her off the desk, sitting down and taking a quill from the stand. With a flick of her finger she broke the seal on the inkwell.

“Thank you, thank you very much. If you could write down the-oh.” Twilight blushed, pulling back the quill she had been about to offer to Dash. “My mistake. If you could just tell me the names, addresses and any pertinent facts about these people you can, I would appreciate it.”

Her expression turning dark for a moment, Dash let her head droop.

“Okay, couple of things; one, I don’t know what ‘pertinent’ means, so I have no idea what you want-”

“Pertinent; relevant or significantly important and directly related to-”

Dash cut Twilight off, shoving a hand in her face to shut her up.

“The other thing,” she continued irritatedly, “is that you can’t go. They see some fancy noble coming they’ll be gone before you get within shouting distance. They don’t know you, and most of them are pretty shifty.”

“If they do know her, it’ll be even worse,” Spike volunteered. At the confused looks from Applejack and Dash, his chest puffed up with pride. “Me and Twilight-”

“Twilight and I, young man.”

“Gah, quit it! Okay, okay, ‘Twilight and I’ help out Shining Armour with investigations and stuff. Well, mostly Twilight, but I help too. Anyway, it’s thanks to Twilight that some big stuff has been found and bad guys thrown in jail. It’s so cool! I bet at least some of them will know who Twilight is, and they’d totally run off if she came to their door.” Spike snickered. He was clearly imagining criminals fleeing Twilight in fear, and by the grin on his face Twilight was winning the mental skirmish.

“Riiiight.” Applejack looked at Dash, lifting an eyebrow quizzically. “If Twilight can’t go cause they don’t know her, or ‘cause they might, I’m guessin’ she needs to send someone they do know, an’ the only one ‘round here like that is you.”

“Yeah, I know. The sooner the better. The longer I’m gone, the more suspicious anyone back in the midden will be. I mean, they’ll be pretty damn suspicious after guards carried me out for everyone to burning see,” she hissed the last part bitterly.

That, to her surprise, brought a smile to Twilight’s face.

“Actually, no one should be aware. I carried you out.”

The other three people in the room didn’t say anything, but they all looked at her thin, unmuscled limbs concealed within the voluminous robe. Twilight looked between them as they stared at her, her cheeks going red after a moment when she realised the silent skepticism.

“I used magic to increase my strength. It’s not like you weigh all that much,” she answered their unasked question huffily.

“You used one of your scrolls?” Spike scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Bull’s Strength, right?”

Twilight smiled at him in pleasure. “Exactly right.” She turned back to Dash. “No one should have seen you being taken.”

“But someone will know. We left the anthill, someone would have seen me. Long night! I’m gonna have to do so much damage control if I want to keep from having the guild after me,” Dash complained, rubbing her forehead. She could imagine the headache of dealing with all this.

“Then you two better get to work.”

Dash stuck a finger in her ear to make sure she had heard right. “You ‘two’?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. If there’s a chance of your previous associates not receiving your inquiries in a reasonable way, Applejack can help keep you safe. Applejack, your equipment that was confiscated should be here soon. Once you have it, you two can set off. I’ll show you out, using one of the back entrances.”

It took half an hour for the promised equipment to arrive, and Dash spent the whole time doing her best to explain why Applejack’s presence was unneeded.

“I’m sorry, Dash, but I have to be sure. You are my responsibility now, just as much as Spike is, and I can’t put you at risk. It would be irresponsible of me, both towards you and to my duty to make sure you turn over a new leaf,” Twilight informed the frustrated thief.

“Oh, so you don’t trust me, I knew it!” Dash stabbed a finger at her in an accusatory gesture.

Behind them, Applejack was busy going over her things, showing off her armoured leather coat and the sheathed greatsword to Spike.

Twilight sighed. “Would you trust? Magic might restrict you, but you still have a mind of your own and there’s nothing I can do to change who you are. You are a thief, and you have already made one attempt to escape. Applejack will keep you safe and keep an eye on you.”

Grumbling under her breath, Dash glared at the wall.

“-an’ this was my Ma’s sword- oh, we goin’ now?” Applejack buckled the large sword to her back, giving Spike a grin when he ‘awww’d at the chance to gawk at the weapon some more. “Ya’ll can look at it when we get back. Heck, if things don’t go well ya might get to see what it looks like covered in bloo-”

“Okay, time to go!” Twilight interrupted, grabbing Applejack by the shoulder and tugging her towards the door. The larger woman went along with it, chuckling. Twilight really didn’t know anything about swords, it seemed.

Dash and Applejack trudged through the city.

“So, I never asked, why did ya call this place the midden?” Applejack wondered idly.

Dash, her hair hidden in a drab headcloth, shrugged. “We’re not there yet, but you’ll find out.” She looked up curiously. “You probably came in through the midden gate, you should know.”

“So it is ‘cause of the smell. I came in through the southern gate, that the one ya mean?”

They crossed through the tidy streets, Applejack looking more out of place than her companion. Although not fancy, Dash wore old cast offs of Twilight’s, things she had for whatever reason not thrown away, and they were of quality make. The ranger, however, was adorned in a tough, worn armoured leather coat that reached to her knees and similarly worn leathers underneath, with her large sword doing little to make her less conspicuous.

“Yeah, near the gate in the midden is where all the garbage is thrown, and it’s where all the farmers arrive, so we call it what it is,” Dash answered. She stopped for a moment and glanced back the way they came. The towering edifice that formed the High Wall greeted her, the towers of the High District and the peak of Canterlot Mountain spearing into the sky behind it. The nobles lived very much above the rest of the city, tiered off higher up the mountain.

“So, where we headin’?”

Dash looked over to the rustic warrior with a snort.

“First, we’re heading to one of my stashes. I show up like this, everyone is going to take notice. Way better than I normally wear, better than what anyone down there wears. I’m going to attract enough attention with a sword-toting rube following me about,” complained the thief yet again.

Applejack just chuckled and patted her shoulder, urging her on.

“It’ll work out. If anyone of ‘em do take issue with me,” her grip tightened, “I’ll show ‘em the same thing I showed that bastard son of a whore who tried to drug me. Only this time, I won’t forget to take my sword out first.”

“And that’s why we’re keeping clear of Red Palm’s territory. If he sees you, and recognises you, he’s going to go crazy if you really did all that to him. He’s not a guy to take being humiliated lying down. Trust me, I know.” Despite her words and outward demeanour, something about Applejack made the thief feel safer. Since she didn’t often feel safe, it was quite the change for her.

“That scum-sucker has territory?” Applejack asked incredulously.

Dash rolled her eyes. “Rube. Yeah, he runs one of the gangs. Long night, don’t you know anything?” She sighed in mock-disgust. “The midden is run by a bunch of folks. The thieves guild is the biggest player; there are too many gangs with their own little areas to fight. The ‘guild’ pretty much keeps control of things by making sure all the gangs toe the line most of the time and don’t kick over the Anthill.”

“Anthill?”

“The guard fort; the anthill. No one wants them deciding they need to ‘restore order’ or some burning madness like that,” Dash explained. She glanced down at her feet as they walked. The shoes she had been practically forced to wear had been uncomfortable, so when Applejack wasn’t looking she ditched them. Bare feet felt much nicer.

“I see. So, the thieves are strongest?” As she asked, Applejack envisioned possible enemies and planned against them. ‘Like fightin’ bandits, only city-folk bandit.’

That made Dash laugh, loud enough to get a few looks from others. She eventually stiffled her amusement, snickering under her breath for a bit longer.

“What?” Applejack demanded, confused by the reaction.

“Nah, freckles, not strong. The guild is able to pay off most of the gangs, and any gang that doesn’t take their gold would have to deal with all the other gangs that did.” Dash laughed again. “The guild doesn’t like stand up fights. Too much risk of exposure. Better to knife someone in the back and make the body vanish.”

Applejack grimaced. She didn’t like how casually her companion said that. Murder was not something so...easy. At least, it shouldn’t be. She felt a predatory grin threaten to replace her grimace; if any of Dash’s associates tried the same thing on the slender thief, they were going to find the task far, far less easy.

Maybe she would even get to show Spike a bloody sword.

“So, have you told them?”

Twilight frowned, closing the door behind her as she re-entered her room. Spike looked up from his book for a moment before going back to reading it, just leaving his question and the front two legs of his chair wavering in the air.

“Feet off the table. If I tell any of the guards, Shining will know and if he finds out you know he’ll have a dozen guards around us at every moment. Remember the time with the assassin?” She strode into the room, looking at the book he was reading before nodding in approval.

Spike looked up at her, frowning in annoyance. “I didn’t mean the guards. I mean them; Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“Her name is Dash,” she corrected him absently. “Told them what?”

“Their magic. I mean, come on, that’s the whole reason you did this thing. Which I still don’t understand, by the way. The arcane colleges are meant to deal with untapped sorcerers, right? Why not just let them deal with it?” he asked.

Twilight sighed, sitting down across from him. “I…”

His book snapped shut, the dragonblooded boy watching her curiously. Words were Twilight’s forte, so when she didn’t have any it was hard not to pay attention.

“I don’t know.”

Spike, the front legs of his chair slowly rising as he leaned back, nearly lost his balance.

“You don’t know?!” His nails dug shallow grooves into the desk as he pulled himself forward.

She didn’t even tell him off for that, which made him even more worried. Twilight just sighed again.

“I don’t know. I really don’t. I feel a...connection to them. It’s hard to explain. I was hoping I could find something in The Magicks of Descent, perhaps they have a bloodline related to mine, or even from the same source. Something like that.” Twilight shrugged, dropping her head to the table.

Spike slowly dragged his chair over, which took longer than he liked. He winced, exhaustion overcoming him and he slumped down next to her.

“Maybe you just want to make some friends who aren’t your brother or an orphan you’ve looked after for most of his life?” He suggested.

“Yes, so the best choice is a thief who can’t read and thinks I’m some callous noble plotting to do something horrible to her and a rustic ranger who beat up a bunch of men in a tavern,” Twilight deadpanned, reaching over to muss his hair gently. “Clearly.”

“You should still tell them. The sooner the better. I mean, what if Rainbow Dash-”

“Dash.”

“I like Rainbow Dash better. What if she finds out later on? If you don’t tell her now, she’ll hold it against you for not doing so,” he pointed out.

“...” Twilight stared at the table top for a moment.

“Twilight?”

“I...already did. I mean, I mentioned it to her when she was in the cell. That’s how I know she doesn’t realise it. I don’t think either of them do. She was surprised. It explains how I was able to track her. Her magical abilities are just on the verge of fully awakening, hence all the magical energy she leaves everywhere. Did you use Detect Magic around her?” Twilight asked, naming the same spell she had used to inspect the trap’s aura.

Spike shook his head.

“She has a constant magical aura around her. Applejack isn’t quite the same, but I’m sure what I saw when she overcame my spell was her bloodline in effect. Increased magical power, increased ability to fight off magic.” She massaged her forehead. “I really wish I had another copy of The Magicks of Descent, but it’s so rare. The only other copy I can think of is Time Turner’s.”

“So let’s go get it from him. He’s awesome!” Spike grinned, despite the tiredness he felt. Being nearly killed by magic acid and drinking half a dozen healing potions really took it out of him-

He shuddered, flashes of that traumatic pain flashing back into his mind. For a moment it felt real, like he had been doused in acid all over his chest, eating into his face and neck and-

Twilight drew him over to her, pulling the gangly youth onto her lap and wrapping her arms around his shaking form. She ran a hand through his green hair, not saying anything until his shaking subsided.

“S-sorry...I just…” He sniffed, brushing wetness from his eyes.

“It’s fine. Are you okay now?” She held onto him for a moment, not letting him go right away.

“Yeah, I-I’m fine, keep going. Time Turner has a copy of that book?”

Twilight gave him a sharp look. “Spike. If this happens again, let me know. We used a lot of potions, and you would be scarred if you weren’t naturally resistant to acid. That must have been traumatic.”

He rolled his eyes, pulling away and dropping heavily back into his seat. “Yeah yeah, whatever, I’m fine. So, Time Turner, book, let’s go get it. Maybe he’ll tell us another story?”

“Spike…” Twilight sighed. This discussion was for later. She gave him a soft smile. “Yes, maybe he would, but I think we’ve heard all of them, from him and Shining. How many times do you need to hear about how the three of them defeated the Everfree Stalker, slew the Fire King and outwitted the False-Priest of Trottingham?”

“There’s never too many times! I wish I could meet Mac too, he sounds awesome...wait…” Spike trailed off for a moment, narrowing his eyes at her. “You’re trying to distract me! Why don’t you want to go get his copy?”

Twilight grimaced. ‘I taught him too well.’ “Alright, fine. Spike, what if he asks what happened to my copy? The copy he helped me find? What do I say?”

“That it was...oh.” He winced.

“I can’t lie to him, he’ll see straight through it. If I tell him the truth, he’ll definitely tell Shining Armour, and, well…” Twilight hesitated. “I don’t want to tell him I lost it,” she admitted.

Spike laughed, leaning back and barely bothering to cover his mirth.

“He’ll be so disappointed, and I just can’t face that right now. I’ll inquire about other copies, and if I really need it, we can go to him. Now stop laughing, I need you to help me find something.” She stood up, ruffling his hair again.

He dragged himself to his feet, groaning like an old man, and followed her towards the library area.

“What are we looking for?” To his confusion, she led him to the small, out of the way shelf where books Twilight deemed not useful were kept. Most were copies of non-academic works, in particular the small range of books that circulated among the nobility for children. Despite her lack of interest or reason to keep them, it went against the grain for Twilight to simply get rid of any book. They sat, forlorn and unused, on their own little shelf where they could come to no harm. Until now, at least.

She graced him with a small smile. “Which book did I use to teach you to read?”

Applejack and Dash, the thief now appropriately attired in ragged clothes and complaining that being clean made her stick out, approached the area of the city lovingly named the midden. The piles of garbage that served to supply the farmland to the south with fertilizer rested near the wall, but the smell reached far. It dominated most of the wedge that formed the slum south of the city-dividing Sun’s Road, expanding until it hit the southern wall.

“Don’t meet anyone’s eyes. They’ll take it as a challenge.” Dash was busy informing her companion how life worked in the slums.

Applejack scowled. “What, are they wolves or somethin’? Anyone wants to pick a fight, I’ll just-”

“Yeah, cut ‘em up with your pigsticker and attract everyone’s attention,” Dash interrupted. “We’re trying to, y’know, be subtle about this. Come on, the first guy I want to see lives right on the edge, it’s not far away.”

Shaking her head, Applejack followed along. Despite the bustle of the late afternoon, Applejack was surprised that Dash didn’t try to lose her. She had been expecting half her job here to be to track down the thief at some point. It wasn’t very trusting of her, but Dash’s only motivation not to get away was the magic laid over them both.

“Wait out here,” instructed the local girl, stopping at a corner. She peeked around, checking the street, and pointed to a certain building. “I’m going in there. Shifty should be home, he’s only active at night.”

“How am I gonna know if ya need help if I’m all the way out here?” the ranger asked, eyes scanning the street for threats.

Dash grinned. “If I come running out screaming ‘help!’, I’m sure you can pick up on it, freckles.”

Applejack snorted and nodded, leaning against the wall casually. She didn’t contrive to be unintrusive; she was well experienced in simply fading into the darkness of a forest. A city might be different, but the same principles applied; if you tried to be unseen, you were an oddity, exactly what beasts searching in the shadows for foes were looking for. She just relaxed, calm, at peace, nothing to draw attention. Her eyes tracked Dash, watching her vanish into a narrow alley barely big enough for the lithe thief to slip through.

Dash didn’t bother with the door; it would have been odd for her if she did. Instead she slipped into his home through a window, nimbly climbing up the wall after slipping down the narrow alley between buildings.

“Dash. Been a while.”

She paused halfway through the window, looking up with a grin.

“Hey, Shifty, what’s up?” she asked casually, dropping to the floor.

Clad in the shadows, Shifty didn’t lower his crossbow. “Well, I’m wondering what you’re doing here. I don’t remember coming to you about a job.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m here about, actually.” Dash dropped into a chair, the beaten wood furniture rattling under even her light impact. “Things are kinda tight right now, and last night…”

He barked a laugh. “High District last night was you? Should have waited until later in the night, around dawn. Never trusted sundown myself, too close to the day.”

Relaxing to show him she wasn’t about to do anything, Dash shrugged nonchalantly. There was barely anything in the room, but she had planned on that, going for the room she knew he kept empty. It was his business room, with nothing to distract the wandering eyes or twitching fingers of his hirelings.

“So, you want a job?” He asked. Still, his crossbow didn’t lower. Shifty was nothing if not paranoid.

“Yeah, last time I did something for you all I had to do was knick a painting and put a little hole in the wall. Burning day, that was great. I heard how the guy lost his mind when he found his painting ruined,” she laughed, grinning. “Awesome plan.”

Shifty allowed himself a slightly smug smile as he stepped from the shadows. There was, upon even close inspection, nothing that interesting about him save that he looked far older than her, his hair beginning to gray at the temple. He could have fit into any crowd, and his only slightly frayed clothing told of a life more prosperous than most in the midden. The crossbow, by comparison, was in perfection condition.

“Yes, well, I do like to credit myself with a little bit of wisdom in this area. What’s better than a theft no one will ever detect? So, what sort of job are you looking for? I don’t have anything in mind for your talents right now, but I might know someone who does.”

Dash shrugged again. “Eh, something like that. That’s why I came to you first, I mean, how many others could know a trick like that?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh, there’s a few.”

“Like?” She asked it lazily, making idle conversation.

It took him a moment to answer. “A few. Why so curious?”

The pale girl fixed him with a slightly mocking look. “Because I want a job like that. What, your memory going in your old age?”

To her surprise he flinched. It was less the gesture itself than the fact she saw that gesture. Shifty was an expert at dealing with his fellow criminals, and givng away a sore point was just asking for trouble.

“Maybe it is, and maybe I don’t have time for impudent little girls,” he growled, his tone suddenly hostile and the hand around the crossbow trigger tensing.

Dash held her hands up, fighting back surprise, as she gestured to him to calm down.

“Burning day, it was just a joke! Calm down,” she snarled back.

After a moment, the tension in the room growing palpable, he sagged suddenly. The anger seemed to just drain away.

“Just a joke, sure,” he muttered, lifting one hand to rub at his forehead. “Yeah, there’s a few. Grapple Hook. Trap Sense. Hot Property. Those three know the trick. They might have a job like that for you. Now get out of here, I’ve got things to do.”

He directed her with his crossbow, and despite the rudeness Dash nodded and got up.

“Thanks Shifty, I’ll let ‘em know you sent me their way and if I do a job, you’ll get your share.”

Shifty just grunted and nodded towards the window again. “Whatever. Get going.”

Applejack watched the building, her focus on the narrow alley Dash had slipped into. The girl hadn’t appeared, and despite herself she was growing worried. What if Dash had run off? She hoped this wasn’t the case. The streets had started to empty as dusk approached, a quiet moment in the city’s endless cycle.

She only heard the barest hint of movement, and she was spinning around instantly, drawing her sword. She would have cut her erstwhile companion in two, had Dash not dodged away at the last moment.

Applejack glared. “Girl, what in the long night are ya’ll thinkin’, sneakin’ up on me like that!” she scolded. “Coulda cut ya up open like a pig.”

“Put that thing away and let’s get out of here,” Dash hissed, wrapping her fingers in Applejack’s coat and pulling her away. “I got what I came for, don’t attract attention.”

“I wouldn’t be attractin’ attention if ya didn’t try to sneak up on me,” Applejack retorted. She shoved her weapon back into its sheath and pulled Dash’s hand off her. “Where we goin’?”

“Try? I did sneak up on you,” said Dash, ignoring the question.

“Until I nearly turned ya into two halves instead a’ one whole. Sneakin’ up ain’t no good if ya’ll are gonna get killed anyway. Where are we goin’?” the ranger all but demanded, jerking Dash to a stop with a hand on her shoulder.

“One of the guys Shifty told me knows this trick, Trap Sense. Don’t work with him much, but we have time to make a stop at his place before nightfall.” Glancing back at her, Dash gave Applejack a smug look. “Hey freckles, ten silver says I find a clue or something before we get back to Sparkle.”

“You’re on, Rainbow, just because if ya got a bet to win ya might try harder,” Applejack agreed with a smirk.

The smell grew as they entered the midden proper, the buildings showing some signs of disrepair. Despite that, it was surprisingly clean thanks to the large, centralised waste area. The aqueducts that characterised Canterlot still ran through the slums, but they were few and far between compared to more prosperous districts.

The sun was vanishing over the horizon when they stopped again. The pits that formed the refuse piles were only a few blocks away, and Applejack’s nose wrinkled.

“I’ve smelled worse, but not by much.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Trust me, you don’t want to actually go there. Working in the pits is the shittiest job in the city, and I don’t just mean it sucks.” She twiddled her fingers. “These little things mean I’ve never had to.”

She pointed towards a rundown shack, a small home that seemed barely able to support its own weight.

“Trap Sense should be in there. You wait out here again, I’ll shout or something if I need you. Which I won’t. Again.”

Applejack shook her head and slapped the thief’s shoulder, gesturing for her to go. “As ya keep sayin’. Now get along already.”

Giving the ranger a smug smirk, Dash crossed the street, not going into the shack but passing by another debilitated building. Applejack could only assume she was circling around, taking a deceptive route to draw off suspicion and misdirect any watchers. Including, perhaps, Applejack.

She was at least half right, as Dash climbed up the wall of one building once she was out of sight, nimbly climbing along the ruined roofing and dropping down the other side, onto the edge of Trap Sense’s home. She kept an eye out as she gingerly lowered herself through a window, knowing he wasn’t called Trap Sense for nothing. For once, however, she didn’t have to dodge any darts of sharpened pieces of wood, launching from nowhere thanks to a wayward foot coming down on a very inconveniently placed wire.

Dropping to the floor she cast her eye across the room. Nothing of interest here. Dash couldn’t resist glancing in a few of the boxes stacked here. They were stuffed with wood and metal, but not any kind that was useful to her. Wooden stakes, little metal rings that were doubtless part of some mechanism, that sort of useless debris. Trap Sense would throw it together into one of the traps he was infamous for. There was nothing he loved more than stealing into a home or vault, disabling any traps they had lying about, taking everything of value and then setting up his own traps. His rundown home showed exactly how bad a business model this was.

She stepped into the next room, ears alert for any wayward sounds. There was something wrong. If he was home, he should have either noticed her or she should have noticed him.

The creak of a rusted hinge shot through the air. Dash moved before she thought, dropping to the floor. Her hands hit the ground, each spread wide, and she throw her weight forward into a roll. Despite her display of acrobatic evasion, she was sorely disappointed by the lack of thuds as bolts buried into the wood, darts bouncing off the floor or cleverly concealed axes cutting through the air.

“O~okay…” Dash murmured, creeping towards the door on all fours. It hung half open, and as she approached it a familiar, coppery smell reached her nose. She forced down any thoughts about backing out away. It might smell of blood, but for all she knew Trap Sense had finally had an accident and lost another finger. She eased the door open, the ancient hinge making the task harder than it should have been, and slowly rose to her feet as she stepped into the room.

A quiet curse escaped Dash’s lips as she stared down at the body. Trap Sense lay in a growing pool of his own blood, its source a terrible wound where his heart should be, staring up with an expression of curious surprise, like something very confusing but utterly fascinating was happening to him. In a sense, it was.

“Burning day…” she growled, running a hand under her head-cloth and through her hair. “You just had to be dead, didn’t you? Couldn’t make this easy on me for once?”

Fuming, her ears filled with the sound of her own cursing, Dash ignored the creak of the door behind her as it slowly swung shut. Her eyes fixed on the murdered trapmaker, she couldn’t see the black-clad form clinging to the back of the door, the gnarly, pointed snout smeared with blood peeking through it’s face cover or the pair of distinctly gleamless throwing stars clutched in one gloved hand. Its beady red eyes swam with contempt, and with a deceptively flippant twitch it sent the matte blades spinning towards the unfortunate thief’s back.

Chapter Four

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A twitch ran through the thief, her eyes darting to the side.

The spinning, wickedly bladed throwing stars whisked through the air, their passing marked only a near silent hiss of displaced air. They struck with wet squelches, tearing through cloth and sinking into vulnerable flesh. Drops of red marred the floor, spraying out from the wounds.

Dash’s bare feet slapped onto the wood of Trap Sense’s small work table, knocking aside screws, springs and the general clutter of a trap maker. Her hand dug into it, looking for a weapon, while she drew a dagger from the folds of her rags. The throwing stars had whisked through the place she had been standing moments before, sinking into the corpse.

“Try to sneak up on me will ya,” she snarled, glaring at him. Her eyesight had always given her an edge, seeing in dim light with little trouble. It allowed her to see the black-clad rat, bipedal and taller than her, dropping from the back of the door. It chittered angrily, drawing serrated black blades, one clutched in each claw. Her hand curled around something long and hard, cool iron rough against her bathed skin.

The assassin leapt after her, one bleak shortsword leading in a slash at her ankle. As nimbly as before she jumped, leaving his blade to score the wood and scatter the mess off the table. She extended her hand, the short, heavy iron bar flying at the creature’s head. It ducked, other blade smacking the makeshift weapon away. Landing in a roll, Dash reached for the door. The woosh of something heavy slicing through the air made her jerk back, drawing her hand back from the door handle. One of the black-bladed shortswords slammed into the door, smashing the wood of the frame.

“Idiot,” Dash laughed, grabbing the hilt. “Jammed the door shut, but hey, you just gave me another weap-argh!”

A shock ran through her body, a scream tearing her throat. Through the pain she saw the flare of flame lighting her hand from within and forced her fingers to part, releasing the weapon. The smell of burnt skin joined the heavy scent of blood. The crackle of fire faded but the pain didn’t, and as she clasped her injured right hand in her left, she dimly realized she had dropped her own weapon. A mocking snicker left the wererat’s muzzle, bloodied from its hearty snack, as she pressed her hand to her chest. Though faint with pain, Dash forced herself to focus on the assassin advancing towards her. She ducked below a cut that would have opened her throat, rolling away. The room was smaller than she liked, and her right hand felt like she had stuck it in a furnace.

He pulled his weapon free, jerking it out and giving the splintered wood a tap. It would take longer than she had to get the door open now, if she tried more than a hand would suffer for it. Both weapons in paw, it turned back to her, beady red eyes gleaming with sinister intent.

Dash grew back, trying to put distance between them. Her mind raced, searching for something to defend herself with.

‘Damn it, why’d I have to drop my dagger!’ She cast about, looking for her weapon, but she must have knocked it away or moved too far from where it fell when she treated from the wererat. Speaking of which…

“I thought you freaks were gone,” she snarled, hoping to distract or anger him. “Way I heard it, the last time wererats started appearing again the anthill was kicked over so hard the Solar Guard purged the entire sewers. Burned you monsters into ash.”

To her annoyance the taunts just slid off the wererat. He paced slightly, forcing her to move as well to keep him in front of her. He stopped, she stopped, his back to a small window set high in the wall. Through she just made out the setting sun, the last light of the day fleeing as night overtook the city.

‘Why isn’t he attacking?’ Dash couldn’t help but wonder. She blinked, and the answer was suddenly more than apparent. The shadows had grown as the day finally began to die, darkness creeping to fill the room moment by moment. She could see in the dimmest of light - but soon there wouldn’t be any light.

She was going to be blind, but he wouldn’t. Stories were still told in the midden about the days when the wererats fought for control of the city’s underworld. With sharper senses and a wider range, they could fight in the blackest night as easily as a human could at midday.

“Damn it…” she hissed, left hand curling into a tight fist. He was poised to strike, and she didn’t have any weapons to counter the reach and lethality of his swords.

‘Where in the long night is Applejack?’ she thought despairingly, glaring defiantly at the wererat waiting to kill her. ‘If she’s going to protect me, now would be the time!’

Applejack leaned against the wall, whistling under her breath. She was bored. She glanced at the shack Dash had vanished into.

‘Darn it, I’m gettin’ bored,’ she sighed, pushing herself upright. The din of the slums was a constant murmur, one she still wasn’t used to. ‘I could pick out the sound of a twig breakin’ in a storm back home, but here, damn makes me feel like my head’s stuffed fulla cotton.’

Sighing again, the ranger watched the shack with a dour expression, seeking in vain any signs that she could finally do something.

Dash charged, letting out a yell she hoped someone, anyone, would hear. All she needed was a commotion outside to draw Applejack’s attention to the fact something wasn’t going right. Her right hand’s ache hammered at her, distracting her. Her bare foot splashed into Trap Sense’s blood, sliding a wet line as she slid to one side to avoid a perilous thrust. The wererat let out a snicker, his other sword slicing out towards her stomach. She threw herself back with a grunt, yelping as she finally lost her balance. The serrated edge tore through her ragged shirt, barely a centimetre from her defenseless skin, as she fell.

Hitting the floor, the wind knocked out of her, Dash’s vision wavered for a moment. Coupled with the darkening of the room, she almost didn’t realise he was on top of her until too late. Shortswords held in reverse grips, his tongue snaked out, licking blood from his muzzle as he paused. She knew what he was doing; enjoying the moment before he struck, wanting to see the terror in her eyes as she realised she was going to die. He wanted to hear her beg, cry, throw herself on his mercy.

The throb of her hand faded away, lost in the fire that lit within her. No, not a fire. The storm. She raged at his arrogance, at the arrogance a monster, feeding a primordial rush. She looked into his eyes, but she didn’t see the beady little red eyes of the rat. She just saw what she had seen her entire life, looking down at her no matter where she went or what she did. Arrogant, mocking eyes, filled with greed and spite and lust.

Her lips moved, speaking words she didn’t understand. They hummed with a life of their own, the words she spoke wispy and breathless, like each sound was simply the wind whistling through the sky. Her hands jerked as static ran through them, guiding her into sharp gestures that simply felt right. Her blood sung, pounding in her ears, a symphony born of the roaring winds and the striking lightning, the boom of thunder and the drum of rain, all of it backed by the constant beat of wings. It was the lightning that drew her now. She saw them in her mind, stabbing at the earth with lethal intensity. They flashed with the promise of might and power, transforming the static guiding her hands as she sketched their symbol into a reflection of their strength. Energy washed across her fingers, grounding in her palms, and she held the lightning in her grasp. She struck.

He snarled, eyes narrowing, smug certainty replaced by confusion for an instant too long. He paused, only a single moment of hesitation that cost him the last chance he had for a clean kill. Dash’s hands shot out slamming into his chest. The black leather pressed against his fur, her thin arms lacking the strength to push him away. That wasn’t her intention. The lightning in her hands was unleashed, and no armour could stop it. The vibrant blue of lightning lit the room for a moment, banishing the shadows as electricity flared through the rat-man. He let out a feral shriek of pain, recoiling from her deadly touch. He slashed the air before him, keeping her from pressing the advantage.

“What-” he snarled his first word, snapping his pointed muzzle shut the moment he realised he had spoken. Narrowing his eyes, rage replaced confusion.

Dash pulled herself to her feet, smirking to hide her own confusion. His look of anger was lost on her, but she could feel it in the air, feel the heat of his fury. The assassin had been playing with her before, what she had just, done, whatever it was-

“Your magic,” Twilight whispered from her memory.

- changed the game now. In fact, it had ended the game.

“Don’t come any closer!” Dash cried, thrusting her undamaged hand at him, palm out. “One step and I’ll fry you where you stand, rat-man!”

He hesitated. For an instant, he actually hesitated. Her heart soared, but his eyes narrowed and her hopes plummeted. Desperately she sought the same feeling as before, but it escaped her. Something had changed, but the trigger for her...her magic, if that’s what it was, was too elusive for her to grasp.

Some of her panic must have shown on her face, because he snickered again. Dash decided she was really starting to hate that sound. The wererat leveled his blades, stretching his lips back to expose a mouthful of wicked fangs, yellow where they weren’t slick with blood. She could only pick out the general shape now, his bloody maw lost on her.

Gulping, Dash faced him with a confidence she didn’t feel. She wasn’t going to let him win that easily.

“You aren’t eating my heart today, ugly.”

A snort of contempt was all she got in answer. She tensed, staring hard, as though she might part the darkness through sheer force of will. A flicker of movement betrayed his pounce, a vicious screech announcing it as he attacked. It was a sound of confidence, the cry of a predator who knew his prey was helpless.

It also hid the crash of thick soled boots slamming the front door open, though the heavy pounding steps that followed lost the concealing sound. Dash jumped, her foot catching on something and hurling her to the ground. With the speed of desperation she pushed off, rolling towards the door. He followed, one of his blades coming so close that it nicked her cheek and left a bloody slice under her eye.

Dash hit the wall with a hiss of pain at the same moment as the door exploded open. The splinters from the frame, such an issue for her, snapped easily under the force of dynamic entry. Applejack charged into the room, roaring and leading the way with her greatsword. She moved with a surety Dash lacked, unleashing a blow that forced the startled wererat back. He retorted in a rapid flurry, his attack sacrificing power for speed. Applejack met it head on, using the heavier, wider blade of her greatsword to fend them off. She didn’t hesitate at the sight of her monstrous foe, simply striking at the bipedal rat-beast.

“Dash, get behind me!” she ordered, her tone brooking no argument. She settled into a an unfamiliar stance, holding her weapon before her. The small room left her little space to properly swing, her own weapon’s greater reach putting her at a disadvantage. Instead of swings she thrust, the slow blow easily evaded by her nimble foe.

“But-” Dash began to argue, apparently missing the ‘brooking no argument’ part of Applejack’s voice. She pushed herself up, back to the wall and head still ringing from the impact before. The wound on her cheek stung, somehow far worse than her burned hand, and she shuddered.

“There’s a dagger in the back of my belt,” interrupted Applejack, staring straight into the wererat’s eyes. He retreated, inspecting her the same as she was inspecting him. Her eyes gleamed with a magical sheen, piercing the gloom.

“A-Applejack…” Dash drew the dagger, her left hand trembling around the hilt. Her breath came in rapid gasps, chest heaving in and out. They couldn’t win. With each throb of the small cut, she felt the crushing knowledge that she couldn’t win, he was too good, it was all over-

Applejack moved one hand off her sword and slapped Dash across the face without even looking back at her. The thief’s mumbling cut off and she let out a sharp cry of surprise.

“Burning day, what was that for?” She pressed the back of her right hand against her cheek, nursing the spot Applejack had struck her.

“Fear magic, sugar, I’ve seen it before. Now hush an’ focus. Ya can’t see him, can ya?” Applejack jerked back, blade shifting to defend herself. He twisted, his attack turning into a feint that left her off balance. “Burnin’-”

She thrust, driving the point of her sword at his stomach. He ducked to one side, his right sword cutting parallel above hers through the air. It bit into her armoured coat, drawing a grunt of pain from Applejack. She felt a spike of unnatural fear, but it bounced off her will.

“Cheap tricks ain’t gonna work on me, rat-bastard,” she snarled, answering with a powerful attack. Tumbling back, he landed beneath the window. A flick of his fingers launched something small and round into the floor beneath him. It opened with a sharp crack, a plume of smoke hiding him from sight. Dash ducked out the door, wary of an attack from his cover, and Applejack snarled a curse when her greatsword cut through only smoke.

Dash peeked back in, the smoke dissipating only seconds after its release. “Hey, he’s getting away!” She pointed up, and Applejack yelled another curse. The wererat didn’t bother looking as he vanished through the window, tail slapping against the sill.

“Long night, get back here, ya dirty, cowardly murderer!” Despite her threat, the wererat failed to reappear. They heard him hit the ground outside, and then, nothing. Applejack swore, glancing down at Trap Sense’s corpse with a grimace. Sighing, she turned to Dash.

The thief stared at Trap Sense’s body, but the confusion on her face had little to do with him. What she had done, the magic she had done, was finally sinking in.

‘I can do magic,’ she thought with more than a trace of amazement. Something blurred in front her eyes, interrupting her musing, and she jumped back with a start.

“Ya’ll okay?” Applejack asked. “Ya weren’t respondin’. Come on, let’s get outta here before someone gets curious. Between that light show an’ the fight, I’m surprise no one has already.”

“T-they won’t, someone would have gone to the guild or the local gang. Think that’s the...Ironbiters,” Dash mumbled. She reached up to wipe sweat she was only now noticing from her cheek. She hissed in pain, jerking her bloodied, burned hand away. The pain cut through the haze and she shook her head.

Applejack helped her up, looking at the burned hand. “Lemme see that.”

“We gotta get moving, they’ll be around too and if they find us here- ow! Let go!” Pulling at the arm Applejack had taken, Dash found it caught in an iron grip. “I’m fine- ow!”

Not giving the smaller girl’s complaints any attention, Applejack continued to inspect the wound. “Ya’ll needa get this looked at, Rainbow, I don’t like the look of it.”

“Rea-ow! Really? I totally thought the fact my hand was burnt and it’s throbbing like mad is its way of saying everything is fine and dandy!” the thief snarked. Her arm was finally released, so she drew it back.

“Right. let’s get goin’. Twilight should still have some healing potions, we needa get that hand taken care of, an’ tell her about this. That was a damn wererat or I’m an elf,” Applejack started towards the door, hesitating after a step or two. She glanced back at the body. “Maybe we better take the back door.”

“Yeah, ugh, let’s get outta here. Trap Sense was pretty well liked, for a trap maker, so I don’t want anyone thinking I had anything to do with this.” Dash nodded towards the back of the shack. “Only one problem; no back door.”

Applejack shot her a slight smirk. “Really? Don’t worry, sugar, I got this.”

She peered at the back of Trap Sense’s home, chewing her lip. Her brilliant plan was suddenly feeling a lot less brilliant. Strange burst of light and the huge rat-monster that had come crawling out the window had rather made her hesitate.

“Dash…” she mumbled, pressing into the old brickwork that formed her little hiding spot. ‘They were certain it was her...’

The sound of splintering wood made her jump, slamming her head into the top of the cubbyhole she was concealed in. Stars danced in front of her eyes, and she groaned at the ache.

‘Gonna leave a lump,’ she winced, feeling the sore spot with one hand and brushing the purple hair from her eyes with the other. Movement drew her attention back to the the home she had been watching, and a grin appear on her face. ‘Dash!’

The woman she had been looking for was stepping through a hole that had been smashed in the back of Trap Sense’s shack. Waiting for her, a sword bigger than any the hidden watcher had seen in her young life held easily, was a woman to match the weapon. Whoever she was, she was at least a full head taller, broad of shoulder and wearing an outfit the girl could only find impressive.

‘She looks awesome. I wonder what she’s doing with Dash,’ wondered the girl, her eyes fixed on the two in the dim gloom of the stars. The temptation to crawl out and get closer was so strong she nearly followed it, but she held herself back from it.

‘Dash will just make up some excuse and run off again,’ she thought bitterly. Her expression brightened as the two began to move, hurrying up the alleyway towards her location. ‘Alright Scootaloo, just like Nimble Step told you, and she won’t even notice me.’

They passed her, neither noticing the little girl with purple hair hidden away. Once they passed, she crept out and started to follow them. A grin stretched over her face, the night hiding her dirt and muck stained features.

‘I’m doing it! Now there’s no way she can ignore me anymore! They don’t even know I’m here.’

“We’re bein’ followed.”

Dash glanced at Applejack with a scowl. “Yeah, I know. She’s been following us since we left Trap Sense’s,” she snapped.

“Quite a secret to keep,” Applejack observed. She shrugged off the thief’s hostile response. Dash’s frequent winces and the pained twist to her features hadn’t gone unnoticed. ‘She’s mighty ornery even when she ain’t got a hand burned like that.’

“Because she’s harmless,” replied Dash, her tone low and bitter. “Scoots won’t do anything. Just let her have this, okay?”

Applejack frowned. “Rainbow, she’s followin’ us. I don’t care who she is, but it's dangerous. How do ya even know-”

“I know! Just leave it. We’ll lose her in a bit. Just...just let her do it for a while. Please.” she practically spat the word, but she said it nonetheless.

The ranger hesitated. ‘I’m gonna regret this...’ “Alright, she can follow us for a bit, but we gotta lose her when we get outta the midden.”

They stopped where the alley reached a larger road, the nighttime bustle alive and buzzing with voices. Lanterns lined the road running from the south gate to meet the city square. Just as the Solar Road, the same wide boulevard they had traveled in Twilight’s carriage from the anthill to the palace bisected the city from east to west, a less ornate road ran north to south. They met at the centre, where the great market square constantly bustled with the clink of coins and murmur of haggling.

“Right, so, we just go back to the palace? I don’t think they’ll let us in like this,” Dash pointed out. She stumbled slightly, and didn’t even protest when Applejack helped her steady. Her burned hand shook, the strengthening ache was getting harder to ignore.

“Didn’t ya pay any attention?” Applejack began to look through her pockets and her belt. “Just gotta find it...wait a sec...Twilight gave me this thing…”

Dash watched her for a while, waiting until Applejack started to get frustrated before she pulled out a small, copper coin and began to spin it around her left hand. It took a lot more concentration than she liked, but it was going to be so worth it. She might be in pain, her head might throb, but Dash was nothing if not willing to make sacrifices for the sake of annoying Applejack.

“I got it here somewhere…” digging through her belt pouches, Applejack growled and pulled her coat off.

“Whatcha lookin’ for?” Dash asked with forced casualness. She fumbled the coin at last. It bounced on the ground, rolling past Applejack as she bent down to check her boots.

“Little copper coin, kinda like...that...one…” Applejack straightened, copper coin in hand, and fixed Dash with an unamused stare. “I thought ya couldn’t do illegal stuff cause ‘a the magic.”

Dash shrugged. “Well, yeah, I kinda wasn’t thinking about it and I was gonna give it back. I guess if I don’t actually intend to steal stuff, or something, it let’s me do it. I dunno, ask someone who knows magic. Just do whatever you’re gonna do, okay?”

Scowling, Applejack recalled what Twilight had told her as she guided the pair from the palace. Muttering the ‘key word’ Twilight had told her, Applejack raised the coin to her lips.

“Er...Twilight? Can ya hear me?” she asked the coin. There was no reaction, and Applejack flushed. She felt foolish, and the way Dash was snickering didn’t help. The ranger hissed at her, “shut it.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Applejack yelped, nearly dropping the coin. She looked at it, eyes wide. She had seen magic, but the coin just glowed as Twilight’s voice suddenly arrived in her head without bothering to detour through her ears. Affirming her grip, she lifted it to her mouth again.

“Uh, sorry sugar, just tellin’ Dash to...ya know what, that ain’t important. ‘s me, Applejack, ya’ll can hear me alright, right?” she asked cautiously.

“Perfectly. What’s going on? Have you two had some luck?” Twilight, far distant, spoke into her coin, and Applejack repeated her words for Dash.

“Depends on what you consider lucky,” snarked Dash. She concealed a glance down the alley. Scootaloo was still there, still watching under the belief she had yet to be detected, but too far to hear what was being said.

Applejack shook her head at Dash. “Not as such. Rainbow’s got a burned hand that’s gonna need some healin’, an’ she’s a bit knocked about,” she reported.

“What? What happened? Is she okay?”

“I’m fine!” Dash snapped. She didn’t need Sparkle pretending to care.

“She says she’s fine, but she ain’t. Need to get her hand looked at, quick as we can, I can tell ya the rest later. Right now, makin’ sure she don’t lose that hand is more important,” Applejack grimaced slightly. Technically, she knew the sort of burn Dash had was pretty much, in most cases she had seen, not going to need amputation. Plenty of monsters in the Everfree had some acidic or fiery property about them, so she had some experience.

Dash’s eyes widened, staring at Applejack in shock. “Y-you’re not serious, right?”

Applejack ignored her, because she didn’t enjoy lying and would rather not do it at all. “So, if ya could direct us ta how to get back to ya, I’d appreciate it, an’ I think she would too.”

Silence answered her for a few seconds before Twilight finally answered.

“Is she really that badly hurt? I’m not sure I have that sort of potion on hand, but I can get some to purge any infection or such things if we require them,” she said, even her mental-voice a forced tone of aloofness that Applejack saw through.

“I…” Applejack took a gamble. She thought the words she wanted to say, willing them to Twilight as though she had spoken them. “She ain’t badly burned, but if I say that she’ll play it off an’ try ta put off the healin’ to show how tough she is, an’ she's lookin’ mighty tuckered out.”

She feared, for a silent moment, that she had done nothing more than ramble to herself. The sensation of words without sound, somehow forming Twilight’s voice, relieved her of the worry seconds later.

“I see. Where are you?”

Applejack let out a sigh of relief, wincing when Dash sent her a curious look. She answered with an awkward smile, asking, “What’s the name of this road again, Rainbow? Like, where ‘bouts we are?”

“About halfway up the Dirt Road, I guess,” Dash shrugged, a gesture that took more effort than she had expected and set some trembling in her legs. She leaned back against the wall. She felt...tired. A lot more tired than she should. The throbbing ache in her hand wasn’t helping any, merely adding another burden to her already too full load of problems, reminding her of what Applejack had said.

Sending Twilight the answer she wanted, Applejack watched Dash sway. It took an effort of will not to rush over, knowing that sort of fuss would only wound Dash’s pride more than needing to be saved had and make her less manageable.

“Feels like I’m playin’ nanny,” she thought.

“I’m sure you would make a fine nanny,” Twilight answered, her thought-voice tinged with amusement, probably more than she knew or wanted to show, that made Applejack grimace, realising her mistake. “That aside, my carriage will be in the market square; it’s not unusual for me to make late night trips to the browse some of the stalls, you two can join me there.”

Applejack nodded, sending a reply a moment later when she realised Twilight couldn’t see it. “We’ll be there. Bring some more of them potions, unless ya want Dash faintin’.”

“I will,” promised the wizard. The link broke with a snap that Applejack was sure was just her imagination. Stuffing the coin into her belt, and making sure it was tucked where wandering fingers couldn’t find it, Applejack approached Dash.

“Time to lose our tail, sugar.” She held up a hand to forestall argument. “I put up with it before, but we’re meetin’ Twilight an’ considerin’ someone tried to kill her, we can’t risk it.”

Dash sighed, nodding reluctantly. “Yeah, I guess…” she shot a regretful look back, sighing again. “Let’s go. Follow me, I’ll drop her.”

The thief stepped past Applejack. The ranger let her lead, but the guilt in Dash’s eyes and the wobble in her steps didn’t go unnoticed. Tucking away these for later thought, Applejack conceded that perhaps Dash was a bit more complicated than she had expected.

“Sorry, Scootaloo…” Dash whispered to the little girl who couldn’t hear her.

They stepped into the flow that ran up and down the Dirt Road, as the road into the midden was lovingly known, and Dash seemed to melt into it. Applejack was a tad bit more forceful, lacking the native skill Dash seemed to possess. She shook away any resentment she might feel for the slender thief’s skill. It was as foolish as a city dweller feeling jealous over Applejack’s skill in the wilderness. This was Dash’s home, the environment she had grown up in.

Behind them, increasingly distant, Scootaloo scrambled in pursuit. It wasn’t long, unfortunately, before she realised she had lost them.

“....bye, Dash,” she mumbled to the women she knew didn’t care about her when, at last, she finally gave up. Scootaloo retreated into darkness of the alleyways, and the stink of the midden.

Twilight lowered the coin, frowning. From his position on the other side of the table, Spike lifted an eyebrow.

“What’s happening?” he asked curiously. He put down the book he had been reading, on another dozen piled next to him.

“Dash has been hurt. Spike, we’re going to need a few potions,” Twilight answered, rising from the table.

He paled. “Is she okay?”

“I think she’ll be fine. But please, a few healing potions, Cure Light wounds, and Remove Disease,” she urged him, pushing her chair in and hurrying towards a tall wooden cabinet.

“You know, it really takes away some of the...magic, calling them that.” Complaining had always helped Spike fight stress. “I mean, it’s so..clinical, ‘Cure Light Wounds’. How do you define ‘light’ wounds from ‘moderate’?”

She sniffed haughtily. “Spike, priests and untrained sorcerers may call their spells by what they like, or simply nothing at all, if it suits them. Regardless of whether they simply let the magic form as some kind of nameless divine occurrence or bellow what comes naturally, their magic can be categorised. It can be explained, and understood. A name is part of that understanding. Now, please, the potions. We’re going down to the night market.”

Ignoring his continued complaints, knowing them for what they were, Twilight murmured words that sung in the air. Each seemed to contain an element of song, as though it waited merely to be sung to be heard truly, soft to the ear and warm on the tongue. Runes shimmered into existence, inches from the surface of the wood, and slowly shifted until they no longer barred the cabinet doors. It clicked open, and she reached it, grasping a long, smooth shaft of wood.

Spike approached, carefully carrying a pouch that clinked gently with each movement. “You’re taking that with you?” he asked in disbelief.

“I’m taking it with us,” she corrected him, drawing out a staff carved from rich mahogany. It was topped with a purple gem, shot through with internal light that burned a magenta hue. Almost as an afterthought, she drew a slim wand of white wood and slipped it into her robe.

“Us? I’m coming?” he grinned, despite the seriousness of the situation. “You never let me come to the night market.”

“Tonight, Spike, I’m not letting you out of my sight,” Twilight informed him. She ran a hand over the knob atop her staff. “I’m going to activate the full wards when we leave. No one is getting in.”

Spike started to point out whoever it was had gotten into the palace just fine, but he shut his mouth. He was sure she had already thought of it. He followed her to the door, pulling on the outer robe she insisted he wear when he went out with her. She closed the door behind them, whispering words once again. Only three people knew the extent of the fully activated wards, and two of them were him and her.

“Let’s go.” Twilight strode past him a minute later, the full activation complete. “Not even Time Turner or Shining Armour could get in there, there’s no way another assassin will get in.”

Spike grinned as he hurried in her wake. He personally hoped they tried again. They would find the experience much more interesting.

By the time they reached the edge of the market, Applejack had finally decided that enough was enough. She grabbed Dash, holding the thief up as she nearly collapsed.

“I-I’m f-fine,” Dash muttered, the lie hollow even in her own ears. She was trembling, pain and fatigue taking their toll on her body. The most telling sign of her weakness, however, was that she made no move to push Applejack away.

“No, ya look like ya’ll are about to fall over dead. Come on Rainbow, ain’t much further,” Applejack urged her on. She took half the smaller woman’s weight, which was shockingly little. She had looked far too thin in the bath.

Dash grunted in reply, her gaze unfocused. Applejack bit her lip, worry gnawing at her, and gave the thief a shake. “Come on, Rainbow, talk to me.”

“A-about wha’?” she mumbled in response.

“About…” Applejack sought for something, all but carrying Dash through the crowd. They get a few looks, but the market was too busy as its night shift began. Stalls were occupied by new stores, vendors hawked goods that the night favoured, and people went about their business. “That light!”

“...light?”

Applejack nodded. “The blue one, I saw flashin’ from the shack. That’s why I got close enough to hear ya fightin’. What was that?”

It took nearly a minute for Dash to answer. She was slumped against Applejack, the ranger’s grip the only thing holding her up. Any pretense of independent movement was lost as she grew more and more exhausted. She couldn’t remember ever being so tired. It was more than just the pain of her hand; it wasn’t merely bone deep.

“M-magic…” she smiled faintly, letting out a huffing laugh. “I did magic…”

It sounded more like she was losing her wits to Applejack, but she wasn’t about to say that. “Did ya now? How about that.”

Dash nodded and nearly tripped, feet dragging along. “I did! I-I felt...so…so...I dunno...right. Like the li-lightning had been waiting there, j-just waiting for me…”

“Uh-uh, I’m sure it was- hey, there’s her carriage!” Applejack saw it at last, the same carriage that had carried them from the guard fort. It sat slightly off the side, next to the cleared path that the Solar Road cut across the market. A head of green hair sat on the top. turning slowly to cast his gaze across market. She raised her hand as Spike looked her way, but he didn’t seem to notice, save for a gesture she was too far to interpret.

“Hey, Applejack!” She nearly let go of Dash, Spike’s voice taking her by surprise. The thief, once more unfocused, mumbled incoherently as she resettled her grip. “Oh, sorry. Using a spell. Whisper and I’ll hear you.”

“Spike! What the heck?” she growled, pushing her way towards the carriage.

“No! Applejack, get back, Twilight is worried someone might be watching her,” Spike frantically whispered from afar.

Her eyes narrowed. “Where am I suppose to go then? Dash needs some lookin’ after, right quick,” she snapped.

She could see him wincing even from this distance.

“Yeah, I know. Okay, there’s a stall like five feet from us. You see it? The one with the curtains? Go in there.”

Applejack found the stall easily; it was practically a tent. She headed for it, determinedly pushing through the crowd. By the time she was there, she really was carrying Dash. Twilight was waiting inside, inspecting a roll of fabric. The insides of the tent-like stall gave Applejack pause for a moment, but she shook it off.

“-tirely? Zebrican fabric of this quality is quite rare,” she was saying to the stall owner, a woman with skin darker than Twilight and marked with tattoos across her entire body. Her hair was in an impressive mohawk, a grey that would have put her at an old age were it not for her smooth features.

“Harvested in my homeland, I assure you, and as all my goods, crafted by my own hand,” the woman answered, her common as accented as her appearance. She began to smile at Applejack, only to frown when she saw Dash. “My friend, later I shall make amends, this one seems to be courting her end. Our little tete e tete can wait, unless you wish her to meet her fate."

She began to reach into the scattered array of objects. Jars, bottles, swathes of fabrics and items crafted from materials ranging from wood to bone to stone lay before her.

"Such wounds would make the stomach churn, luckily I am no stranger to such burns. A simple balm is all you need,” she offered a small, flat jar to Applejack, hurrying over and dabbing some onto her hand.”Now stay calm...this will sting.”

Applejack began to protest, but the exotic woman took charge of the slender girl and pulled her arm out. She looked at Twilight in alarm, who shrugged. Dash let out a whimper, trying to draw her hand back from the stranger applying the stinging cream.

“Um, ma’am? Not sure who ya are, but-” Applejack began to protest. She kept her strong grip on Dash with one hand, the other holding the jar up where it had been shoved into her hand. Twilight watched, her eyes glittering with magic.

“You do not know me, true, but my intentions are merely to heal as is my due,” answered the woman. She smiled at Dash, the thief trying to focus on her. “Hello there, my unwell friend. I am Zecora, here to help you mend.”

“H-hey…” she muttered back.

“Fascinating. Your balm has Transmutation magic in it,” Twilight remarked. “A potion in balm form, remarkable. Thank you, although I had potions of my own for her.”

Zecora raised her eyebrows, glancing at her customer curiously. Understanding flashed in her eyes and she frowned.

“Pleased to heal, as ever I am, I do not appreciate interest you reveal to be a sham.” Her tone sharp, Zecora released Dash’s arm. The white balm had been spread evenly across the burn, coating Dash’s hand.

Twilight nodded, her expression apologetic. “My interest was genuine, I assure you, even if I originally asked you to close off your stall for a moment for ulterior motives. I will reimburse you for as long as we delay your from your business.”

Sighing, Zecora shook her head and returned to looking through her goods. “I see the truth in your words and honesty in your eyes, but please, I would thank you for telling me no more lies. Now, allow me to find something that may restore her health. Unlike a burn, to cure magical fatigue takes more wealth.”

“Magical fatigue?” Applejack and Twilight asked at the same time.

“Me!” Dash, still held up by Applejack, waved her balm-covered hand in the air. Her expression was distant and dazed. “I did magic! Made him go bzzzzt!”

Twilight pressed a hand to her head. This was too much at once.

“Miss Zecora, I assure you, I can pay for anything you have that can help, including that balm. But...magical fatigue can only be fixed by rest, or inordinately powerful magic,” she informed the vendor. She looked at Applejack. “We will discuss what happened in a minute. For now, Zecora is right, making sure Dash is okay should come first.”

“Ah, so you say, but I have a way.” Zecora smiled softly, not at all bothered by Twilight’s outright disbelief. “Let me brew my tea, and then you will see. It will take some time, so if you wish you to leave that would be fine.”

“Thank you. I will return in a few minutes.” Giving the strange woman a thankful nod, Twilight stood at the edge of the tent-like cover, sealing them from sight and hearing. She motioned for Applejack to come over.

“Right, so, we-” Applejack began, only to be cut off by a raised hand.

“Just a moment.” Twilight placed one hand on Applejack’s shoulder and the other on Dash’s. “I’m going to move us into the carriage. I need you both to let my magic move us.”

Applejack nodded, and Dash made a sound both interpreted to be a vague yes. Twilight closed her eyes for a moment. Outside, Spike climbed down and pulled the door facing the tent open. He let it swing wide for a moment, apparently losing his grip as he pulled it open too quickly.

With a faint ‘pop!’ of displaced air, the three women vanished. Zecora raised an eyebrow, shrugging it off. At the same moment, they appeared in the carriage. The door swung shut, Spike stepping in with a grin.

“How cool is that?” he asked, unmindful of Applejack nearly slipping. He sat down next to Twilight. Unlike the newcomers, she had little difficulty from the abrupt shift of location.

“What in tarnation was that?” Applejack growled. She sat Dash down, the thief promptly slumping again her.

“I specialise in a sub-school of the Conjuration school of magic, Teleporta-” Twilight began. She stopped when Spike let out an explosive sigh. Her tone turned dry. “Something wrong?”

“You could just say ‘I teleported us’,” he pointed out.

Massaging her forehead for a moment, Twilight debated whether this was worth arguing about. Eventually concluding it wasn’t, she turned to Applejack.

“What happened? How did she get hurt?”

Applejack told her what she knew, from the visit to Dash’s first contact, to finding the next dead and the strobing blue flash drawing Applejack’s attention to what went on within.

“She said she did magic, an’ that Zecora lady said somethin’ about ‘magical fatigue’? What’s that?” Applejack asked. She rubbed the dazed thief on the shoulder, keeping her at least a bit focused.

Twilight frowned, deep in thought. “Something sorcerers go through, on occasion,” she answered eventually. “Typically when they first awaken their full abilities, in particularly stressful situations. They can unleash a spell close to their bloodline, even ones that require a lot of work to use again. It sounds like when she was defending herself against this…”

“Wererat,” Applejack repeated, spitting the word like a curse. “It was a wererat. I know how to spot one o’ their kind. Moon-worshippin’ monsters.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just a ratfolk? They live in the south, and I’ve never heard of one coming this far, but from what I understand it would be easy to confuse them with a wererat,” suggested Twilight carefully.

The ranger shook her head. “It was a wererat. I don’t mean to be rude, but my family has dealt with their kind down in the Everfree for generations. This hat does more than just let me see in the dark, sugar.” She reached up, touching the brim of her hat. “Granny always said it would help me in more ways than one, but the second I saw that beast I knew what it was.”

Twilight looked at Applejack’s hat wistfully. She itched to examine it further. Her brief look had clearly been insufficient, if it was truly capable of helping Applejack identify a wererat. She had more important things to deal with, however, much as she wanted to find every little secret in that hat.

“If it was a wererat...we’ll deal with that later. For now, to be brief, yes, Dash is showing all the signs of magical fatigue. I was positive before, but now I’m certain; Dash is a sorcerer. It’s how I was able to follow her after her thefts,” Twilight explained. She looked at the woozy girl, remembering Spike’s words from earlier. She was doubtless going to be upset, at least when she was more lucid, about Twilight not telling her this earlier. For all her mention of magic to Dash in the prison cell, Twilight knew she had failed to truly explain it to her. Dash would probably just take this as more evidence to distrust her for being noble-born.

The dark-skinned wizard pressed a hand to her head, sighing. An assassination attempt, a wererat murderer and a thief who thought she was out to get her awakening sorcerous powers, all in one day.

“So much...Spike, hand me your ring. I’m going to check on Zecora’s cure for magical fatigue,” she said.

Spike pulled a ring off his finger, handing it to her wtth a skeptical frown. “You think she might try to poison Rainbow Dash?”

“Her name is just-” Twilight sighed again. “Oh, forget it. Call her what you want. I don’t know if she intends to, but I’m just making sure whatever folk-cure she has isn’t going to have any unfortunate side-effects. Once that fails to work, I can buy the Zebrican fabric, a few other things that caught my eye and reimburse her for using her stall in such a fashion, then we can go.”

Taking the ring, crafted to detect poison and alert the wearer, Twilight left the carriage, hurrying into the tent. Zecora was waiting, a small clay bowl of steaming tea in front of her.

“Ah, my learned friend, I almost feared you had fled. Put to rest your doubt, this tea will do as I said. What her magic drained from her, this cure will make stronger.” She offered the tea to Twilight, who smiled as she slipped on the ring and took it.

“Thank you, I shall give it to her. If you would excuse me just a moment, Miss Zecora,” Twilight said politely. She glanced at the ring. It gave no sign, its magic picking up nothing poisonous or dangerous in the drink. Returning to the carriage, Twilight let Applejack take it and coax Dash into opening her mouth just enough to dribble it in.

It took several minutes to drain the small bowl, stray drops running down Dash’s chin. All three stared at her, waiting for something. Spike finally spoke up, his attention span reaching its limit.

“I guess it was a dud after all,” he grumbled.

Dash’s eyelids fluttered for a moment as he spoke, before snapping open. Unlike before, the look in them was wide awake and alert. She jerked away from Applejack with a growl.

“What in the long night? When did we get here?” she demanded, looking about the carriage in shock. Dash drew her right arm up to wipe the liquid from her chin, only noticing the balm when it crumbled to pieces. She let out a grunt of surprise, looking down at the hardened balm. “What is this stuff?”

She poked it, watching it fall away like weak, dry clay to reveal pink, smooth skin under it. Her fingers moved and her hand shook, removing the balm to reveal a hand perfectly healed. There wasn’t so much as a single sign that she had suffered a burn on it.

Twilight’s mouth had dropped open. She stared at Dash in surprise, processing what had happened.

“It worked,” she said, almost whispering. “Amazing! Absolutely amazing! Spike, get my notebook, I need to find out how Zecora made this.”

Groaning, Spike obediently retrieved a small, thin book from beneath his seat. He handed it over to her, just as Dash let out a frustrated growl.

“What,” she snarled, “is going on? My head feels weird and my arm isn’t burnt anymore, and I...”

Twilight slowly sat down, her eager rush to see Zecora delayed by Dash’s expression. The thief looked like someone had just struck her over the head, knocking her wits about.

“I...did magic. How did I…” Dash looked slowly at Twilight, her eyes narrowing. Her tone turned accusing. “You. You knew. You mentioned magic this morning, in the prison. You knew!”

Applejack glanced at Twilight, frowning slightly. She sat back, deciding not to intervene. She could see the guilty look in Twilight’s eyes, and the sincerity of Dash’s anger.

“Yes, I did,” Twilight agreed with a sigh. “My reasons for giving you both the option of taking this service in place of hard labour were not as virtuous as they appeared. Dash, yes, I knew you had magic. I even knew you were close to your magical gifts fully awakening.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me? I knew you had some angle!” Her tone furious, Dash drew back into her spot, glaring at Twilight.

“I just- I wasn’t sure how to approach it. Please, Dash, I never meant for you to have such a violent awakening. I wanted to study your magic a bit more, find a way to help you wield it without such drastic measures. I didn’t expect you to activate your magic before the day was out,” explained the wizard, her aloof tone turned regretful. She glanced at Spike, who managed to keep from giving her an ‘I told you so’ look.

The thief grunted, looking away. “Yeah, I bet. If I could actually get away, I would be so gone.”

Silence filled the carriage. Dash stared at the ceiling, her expression etched with passive anger as Twilight struggled to find a way to convince her new, troublesome charge. Applejack caught her eyes and gave a small shake of her head. Now wasn’t the time, she tried to say with her eyes.

Sighing in defeat, Twilight quietly stepped out, notebook and coin purse in one hand and a quill and inkpot in the other. Silence continued to reign after she was gone, at least until a quiet voice cut through it.

“She was going to tell you, you know,” Spike said, staring at Dash hopefully.

She gave him a wordless snort of disbelief and derision in reply. “Yeah, I bet she was.”

“We talked about it, earlier, she was going to tell you tonight,” he persisted. “You’ve only known her for a day, give her a chance. Twilight isn’t good with people.”

“Seems to get on fine with you, scale-boy.” She glanced down for a moment and regretted her harsh tone when she saw the flash of pain in his eyes.

He swallowed the hurt and continued, “Twilight has been like a big sister, sometimes even a mother, to me since I was found. She helped me learn how to control my magic. I mean, yeah, she wants to study your bloodline magic, but she wants to help you too. Just give her a chance.”

Dash stared balefully at him. He was begging her to give the fancy skirts noble girl a chance? ‘What, is she that friendless she needs to press-gang criminals?’

Further discussion was forestalled by the door swinging open. Her coins purse much lighter, Twilight wordlessly stepped in and took her seat. The door clicked shut behind her and a quiet journey back to the palace began.

The quiet group strode through the empty halls surrounding Twilight’s chambers. She held up a warning hand when they reached her door.

“I need to deactivate the triggers for my wards,” she told them.

Dash snorted. “Yeah, because they worked so well against whoever snuck in before,” she sneered.

A faint scowl of irritation crept onto Twilight’s face. Her eyes hardened as she glared at the thief.

“My wards were not fully activated then. These are highly sensitive spells, designed for optimal protection when full activated. They are, however, straining to turn on and off, and since I’d left Spike here I couldn’t activate them,” she explained. Her tone was just a shade annoyed at the apparent shot at her defences.

“Remember that time you thought I was out, and turned them on?” Spike reminded her with a snicker.

She grimaced, flushing at the memory. “Spike…” she began warningly.

“I was in there for like, five hours before you got back,” he persisted. “Totally unable to move!”

He struck a ridiculous pose, arms out wide and balancing on one foot.

“Just standing there, stuck in place-”

“I think they get it, Spike!” Twilight hissed, glaring at him at him. Her cheeks were flushed and her expression sharp with annoyance and embarrassment. She did her best to ignore Dash snickering. At least Applejack wasn’t laughing as well, although the ranger’s mouth was quirked in an amused grin.

At last the wards were lowered, and Twilight cautiously opened the door. The need for caution in her own home caused her more upset than Spike’s retelling that embarrassing story. A sense of violation filtered through the mage’s aloof demeanour, turning her annoyed scowl into a frown. The flaring of mage lights she had crafted herself did nothing to shake the sense of unease she was feeling.

“Spike, start looking for any information we have on wererats. Start in the curses section. I seem to recall lycanthropes being mentioned in a few books on transformative curses. We need to know their abilities and habits,” she ordered. Her eyes glowed with magic, peering for any magic she had not left here herself. Twilight glanced at Applejack for a moment. “Applejack, I know you must be tired, but I would appreciate if you helped him.”

The ranger gave her a casual nod, but she kept her sword by her side and her armoured coat on. She didn’t completely trust their safety here, and Twilight eyed Applejack’s hat as the woman followed Spike. Much as she wanted to, inspecting it now would only serve to sate her curiosity and little else. Instead Twilight turned to the suspicious thief.

“What?” Dash cocked an eyebrow at her. “I can’t read, guess I can’t help.”

Twilight ignored the mocking tone, instead putting her staff down and taking a seat at one of the tables. She had cleared it earlier, and now only a small stack of thin books remained.

“Sit down please,” she asked, quiet and polite.

Dash looked at the only other chair at the table, right next to Twilight, but didn’t move. She folded her arms, mouth forming a petulant scowl. Twilight just looked at her silently, until it became apparent that Dash was going to move exactly zero feet towards her.

Twilight restrained the sigh she desperately wanted to let out.

“Dash, please,sit down. I just want to help you,” she told her wary ward, her words failings to budge Dash so much as one step.

“Help? Dash snorted. “Yeah, sure. How, exactly, do you plan to ‘help’ me?”

Twilight kept any annoyance or frustration from her face as she answered, “I’m going to teach you to read.”

That brought the thief up short, and she stared at Twilight blankly. “R-read?” she spluttered.

“Yes. Now please, sit down. I promise, I just want to teach you to read.” Twilight let a note of frustration creep into her voice. “It offends me that no one has ever tried to teach you before; everyone should know how to read. So sit down and pay attention. Please.”

Twilight saw the light of desire in Dash’s eyes. She wanted to read, as Twilight had known she surely must. Not simply because reading was, in her considered opinion, absolutely wonderful, but because she was willing to make some assumptions about Dash. Self reliance was something important to her, being apart from the guilds and gangs as she claimed to be. The ability to read would be one less thing she would have to rely on others for.

It was a battle between Dash’s pride and her need for independence, and Twilight hoped her pride lost the fight. It seemed crazy to her, that Dash’s pride would stop her from taking this chance, but for all her criminal livelihood, the thief seemed to her to be a rather prideful person. Being seen as weak was not in the cards for her.

“Alright, I guess,” Dash kept her tone light and just an inch away from mocking as she sat down. “No skin off my nose.”

“Of course. Now, tell me, what letters do you know?” Twilight, for her part, kept any satisfaction from her voice or expression. On the inside, however, she was delighted.

An hour later, she was less so.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Twilight sat back, sighing. She pressed her hands against her forehead, massing away the headache she was sure would follow. In all fairness, Dash was actually doing quite well. She was a fast learner, absorbing new information quickly. Unfortunately, her refusal to admit when she was uncertain made progress slow, and Dash never asked for help.

“Hey, I’m not doing that bad!” Dash insisted, glaring at her.

Twilight held her hands up defensively. “I never said you were. We can continue this tomorrow, just let what you’ve learned so far sink in. For now, I want to help Spike and Applejack.”

Scratching her neck, Dash leaned back. She looked over to where the other two were reading through book after book. Spike’s pile of completed books was significantly bigger than Applejack’s, being as he had actually finished one. The ranger had noticed this herself, glancing at it in annoyance every now and then. She could read, but Spike was clearly far more practiced than her.

Dash was brought from her musings by a flash of violet and brown in front of her face. She drew back with a yelp, glaring at the hand Twilight had been waving in front her. Before she could spit out an insult, she found a pair of balls shoved into her hands. She stared down at the silver-bound glass orbs in confusion.

“What are these for?”

“Keep those on you for a few days. They’re enchanted, and I can learn more about where your magic comes from,” Twilight answered without looking. She joined Spike, sitting next to him and taking up a book.

“What am I supposed to do?” the thief whined.

Applejack glanced up and grinned. “Take a bath? Ya’ll are still in rags.”

“Good idea,” chimed in Spike. “You kind of smell like, uh, blood and something...zangy? Zingy? Dunno, reminds me of that time you let me fly on my birthday and that thunderstorm rolled in, Twilight.”

‘Fly? Did he say fly?’ Dash’s eyes narrowed, zeroing in on Spike.

The wizard shook her head, frowning at him.”And that is something I am never doing again. I cast that spell for you, once, after you spent an hour begging and what do you do?”

He sighed, saying it at the same time as her; “‘I nearly flew into a storm,’ yeah, I know Twilight, I was there.”

Dash quietly left for the bath. She spent a few minutes just laying in the warm water, staring at nothing. She turned the orbs over in her hands, juggling them absently. ‘Fly into a storm...now there’s something I want to do.’

She was so focused, the door slamming open took her completely by surprise. Applejack stood there, her expression urgent. She threw a bundle of clothes on the floor.

“Get out an’ get dressed, we gotta go. Twilight’s gone off, some messenger turned up, her brother wanted her somewhere urgent so she grabbed a scroll, an’ took off through the window!”

Barely bothering to dry herself, Dash gave her a disbelieving look. “Through the window?”

Applejack nodded. “She seemed kinda in a rush,” she explained, eyes wide. “Told me to say here, keep an eye on Spike. Then she flew out the window!”

“Long night, why do I miss the good stuff?” the thief whined. “What’s so urgent she has to fly out the window?”

Applejack gave her a shrug. “No idea. Somethin’ about some fella called ‘Time Turner’.”

Twilight shot through the sky, her robe rustling about her. The flight spell kept her aloft, her staff clutched tightly as cold winds buffeted her. A messenger from her brother was odd enough, since he usually preferred to take any chance he had to get away from paperwork and visit her, but one telling her to go to Time Turner’s as soon as she possibly could?

She narrowed her eyes. Arcane words flowed from her mouth, fingers carving symbols on the night sky. The air shimmered for a moment around her, invisible armour forming about her. After today, she had every right to be cautious. Assassins and wererats…

The merchant district in which Time Turner made his home was coming up. Flight was a wonderful thing, soaring directly over the city of her birth without the delay of navigating streets. While the feeling of flight was one she was used to, and had come to enjoy since mastering the spell, something inside her was unnerved. There was something wrong, but she had no idea what. The closer she got, the more worried she became.

Descending as she approached, Twilight stared at where her friend’s house was supposed to be. The buildings to either side of it were charred, but largely undamaged. It seemed incongruous, their relative lack of damage as they sat on either side of the gutted, blackened remains. She froze, staring numbly at the ruins of her friend’s house. A shout from below, her brother, called for her. She barely heard him.

‘The book. He had a copy of the book. I should have warned him,’ she thought numbly. The urge to vomit rose, fought down without conscious thought. Twilight stumbled as she landed, pushing through the press of guards surrounding what remained of the house.

Her brother, clad in brilliant mithril plate, stood in what had once been the entrance. Nothing remained save a few hardy timbers. Without using any spell, she could feel the presence of magic. The cold, analytical part of her noted that the sheer lack of debris or remains meant the fire must have been enormously hot, more so than it should have been here. Magic had been used here.

“Shining! What happened?” she asked, standing next to him, staring at the charred outline of the house’s edges. Too sharp and abrupt to be natural, a perfect rectangle of soot and char.

His expression was flat, his emotions buried deep. “I came as soon as word got to me, but…”

“But what?” Fear took a vice grip around her, clenching her heart into a knot of ice in her chest. “But he was away, right? Time Turner, he was on one of his trips, wasn’t he?”

Shining Armour let out a weary sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, grief filled his gaze.

“He got back today, Twilight. His neighbours...they saw him go in. He...he was in there, and no one came out. I’m sorry, Twilight. He’s….” Shining Armour stopped, unable to voice what they both knew he had been able to say. He just reached over, pulling his sister tight against his chest as tears began to fall from her eyes. They stayed there, next to the ruins, and a single, painful thought slammed into Twilight.

‘He’s dead. He’s dead, and it’s all my fault…’

Chapter Five

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“This is lame,” Dash complained. She folded her arms, glaring at Spike. “I thought you said we could go after her!”

The dragonblooded boy shrugged, flipping through another book. “I thought we could! How was I supposed to know Twilight told the royal guards to keep us here tonight? I guess between the princess being away and the trap, she’s feeling a little protective.”

Applejack looked up from her book, trying to ignore her throbbing headache to focus on what he had just said.

“The princess is away? Whatcha mean?” she asked. Not being able to leave when something was happening made her edgy. Applejack was an honest woman, and she wasn’t about to turn her back on her sentence. If Twilight needed help, she was getting it.

Spike winced. “Woops. I, uh, I wasn’t supposed to say that. Keep it yourself, please. Princess Celestia isn’t in the city, and no one is supposed to know. Only a few people know, and it’s really important that it doesn’t get out.”

“Huh. Why?” Applejack asked. Her eyes felt like they were going to bleed if she had to read another book.

“Because…” Spike opened his mouth, but nothing came out as he found no reasons at hand. He closed his mouth, frowning. Applejack cocked an eyebrow at him. Finally Spike shrugged. “No idea. Just have to keep it a secret.”

Dash rolled her eyes. She occupied herself flipping a dark coin, playing with it between her nimble fingers. “Great. Secrets.”

Applejack couldn’t help but agree. She didn’t like secrets. Not even when her own hat held them from her. Especially not then. She glanced at it, sitting there all innocently on the table like it hadn’t randomly made her able to detect a were-beast on sight.

‘Granny said the hat was special, she just musta forgot ta tell me how special,’ she thought.

She was roused from her thoughts by the door open and the clank of heavy metal boots on the floor. Another guard, she guessed sourly.

“Twilight!” Spike cried, jumping up. Applejack twisted to look, half-rising, while Dash just caught the coin again. “Shining!”

The lord-captain smiled down at him, one bare-hand reaching out to ruffle spiky green hair. His other hand was occupied, his arm over Twilight’s shoulder.

“Hey there Spike,” Shining said. His voice was curiously coarse, and now she looked there was a ashen cast to his dark features. Dropping her gaze to Twilight, Applejack found the same on her face, with the notable addition of red-rimmed eyes.

Spike apparently noticed the obvious sign of crying too. He frowned, worry tugging at his expression.

“Twilight? What’s wrong?” he asked. “Is Time Turner okay?”

The silent sorceress pressed a damp sleeve to her face when she heard the name, leaving her brother to answer. Shining Armour’s look was grave as he delivered the news. His free hand caught Spike, pulling him in gently, careful not to smack the boy against his protective plates.

“N-no…” Spike sniffled. “B-but…”

Applejack reached over, snagging Dash by the elbow and tugging on her arm. When the thief glared at her Applejack glared right back, jerking her head in the direction of the room Twilight had given them to share. The message was clear, and grudgingly Dash conceded this particular battle. She was stubborn, but she had no particular desire to stay and watch this display of grief. They left the three to their mourning.

“Well, that was productive. I’ve been magically enslaved, seen a kid have his face half-melted off, sent to snitch on guildmembers in the middens, fought a were-rat and learned I have magic,” Dash grumbled, leaning back against the firmly shut door. “Now they’re getting all burning mopey about some random guy.”

Applejack frowned at her, expression heavy with disapproval. “Ya ain’t got noone ta blame but yerself sugar, so don’t go blaming Twilight. I only just met her, but she don’t seem the sort to play funny with ya. She just lost a friend; a lil’ respect fer that would go a long way.”

Rolling her eyes, Dash jumped onto one of the beds. She felt out a yelp and for a moment lost control, not expecting it to be, well, a bed. The best thing she had ever slept in was a cot once, and at home her usual bedding was a well-used pile of rags. She lay upside down, her back on the bed as she stared at her legs as they ran up the wall.

“Shut it,” she growled before anything was even said. “And so what? Everyone dies. I’ve seen plenty of people die, I don’t get all teary about it, do I? They’re just spoiled, Sparkle especially.”

With her own bed under her, Applejack shook her head. “Things are different, for everyone. How many of those people ya’ll have seen die were important to ya? Maybe it don’t hurt ya’ll as much, but I know what it’s like to lose someone ya care about. Even if everythin’ today ain’t given ya even the slightest feelin’ that ya’ll are judging Twilight too harshly, try not ta be too much of a nuisance tomorrow.”

“Not like I have much choice,” Dash shot back. “Magically enslaved, remember? Which having magic doesn’t even fix, apparently.”

Applejack just sighed and began to undress, removing her boots first of course. This was not a battle that she would win quickly, but it was one she would fight with the willful girl. Despite thinking of herself as a woman, an adult, Applejack couldn’t help but think of Dash as just a girl. It wasn’t her size or uncertain age, although they helped. It was like Dash had stunted herself mentally, firm in convictions born from a painful childhood she refused to leave behind.

“It’s keepin’ you from breakin’ the law,” she said mildly. “Which ya’ll are supposed to keep from doin’ anyway.”

“Sparkle can give me- give us, orders. How is that fair or good, huh?” The upside down thief humped, crossing her arms and giving Applejack a challenging sneer. If it was an attempt at getting a rise from the ranger, it failed.

Slipping under the cover in just her undershirt, Applejack ran a hand through her hair before answering. “Which she’s done once, when ya tried to get away,” she pointed out. “Which ya’ll were kind of askin’ for, carryin’ on like that.”

“It’s only been one day,” Dash went on, scowling. “One day. She kept the fact I had magic to herself-”

“Didn’t she say somethin' about mentionin’ it to ya when ya’ll were in the cell?” Applejack interrupted. She normally would never have been so rude, but the look on Dash’s face was worth it.

“...well, yeah, kinda. That doesn’t count. She just said it and ran, how was I supposed to know she was serious?” grumbled the irked girl, not that she would agree with such a description. At least not without someone telling her what irked meant.

“Right, so, ya didn’t ask? An’ like ya’ll said, it’s been one day. Considerin’ how ya keep actin’ like she’s out to get ya, no wonder!” Taking off her hat, Applejack jerked her head to the side. Dash’s incoming pillow hit the wall behind her.

“Why are you defending her? You barely know her too!”

Applejack shrugged. “But I’m willing to take her how she comes, an’ so far she’s kept us from hard labour-”

“After being the one who got us arrested!”

“After ya’ll got yourself arrested, an’ the only witnesses all blamed me, an’ she kept me from hurtin’ those guards,” Applejack continued without missing a beat. “I’m not happy about bein’ done in for somethin’ I didn’t do, an’ bein’ drugged, but it could be a lot worse an’ there ain’t no point in blamin’ the guards.”

“She sent us to do her dirty work, and a burning wererat nearly killed me!” Dash snarled.

Applejack said, “Not like she knew the wererat was there, an’ she was rightly lookin’ after her own. Whoever is tryin’ to kill her might get us with their next attempt. Besides, ya ain’t scared, are ya? Sure were blubberin’ back there,” she taunted.

The thief scowled. Her hands were running along the soft covers, rough fingers slipping between the impossibly comfortable material. “Whatever, more magic,” she dismissed it.

With a shrug Applejack finished undressing, down to just her undergarments, and slipped into bed. Her greatsword, she realised with a sigh, was still in the main room. Applejack didn’t have the heart to go out for it and interrupt the mourning. It would be an uncomfortable night, sleeping without it at hand.

“Go to sleep, sugar. Day two, an’ we’re gonna have more readin’ to do.”

“Maybe you will, farm-girl,” Dash growled. She was shifting about on the bed, trying to get used to it.

“Good night, Rainbow.” Applejack lay her head down, closing her eyes.

The only response she got was a snort, and the sound of shifting and fidgeting, a constant rustle rustle of cloth being thrown about. A few minutes passed, and Dash seemed unwilling to stop moving.

“...give me back my pillow,” she grumbled. The pillow soared over in response, and Applejack lay her head back down.

Rustle rustle.

Applejack’s content expression as she put the day behind her and tried to sleep vanished. The sounds stopped, and she let peace wash over her again. For about a minute.

Rustle rustle.

...

Applejack sighed in relief.

Rustle rustle.

Her eyes snapped open. “Sugar, what are ya doin’?”

“Trying to sleep.”

“Sounds like ya’ll’re wrestlin’ a pig over there.”

Something whistled through the air. A pillow slapped Applejack in face.

“Shut up! I’m not used to this sort of thing. Long night, this is the first time I’ve slept on a bed, it’s so soft it’s weird!” Dash whined. As an experienced older sister, Applejack knew a whine when she heard it.

She grabbed the pillow off her face, saying, “Well, if it’s too soft, I dunno, pulls the covers off an’ sleep on the floor?”

“That’s....that’s a good idea.” The rustling changed as Dash pulled the finely woven covers onto the floor. In the darkness she built a nest. “Gimme my pillow.”

Applejack threw it in the general direction of Dash’s voice. “There. Now, good night.”

“Yeah, night, don’t let the lice bite.”

At long last, there was blessed silence. Smiling, Applejack closed her eyes.

Shining Armour tucked Spike in, sighing as he looked down at the boy’s expression, troubled even in his sleep. It hurt nearly as much as Twilight’s expression had. Though his own grief burned inside, Shining Armour had lost friends before. It didn’t make it any easier, but he was able to push it to the side and focus on the immediate situation. As far as he was concerned, his little sister and the boy that was like a little brother were his immediate concern.

‘And finding out who killed my friend,’ he thought darkly. Pushing the thought away, Shining Armour gave the kid’s hair a ruffle and let him to sleep. He was glad Spike was tired enough that the clanking of his armour didn’t wake him, at least.

Twilight was waiting for him outside, her face still the same pale mask of grief and guilt that stole the life and colour from her rich, dark hued face. What exactly was the cause of that guilt, Shining Armour couldn’t be sure. From what little she said, he gathered Twilight had been intending to visit Time Turner. He sighed, guessing that she blamed herself for not having gone today.

“How is he?” she asked, her voice flat and empty.

Shining Armour shrugged, and winced at the sound it made. “Sleeping. He’s still just a boy, he’ll need some time to deal with it.”

She nodded, staring away at some point too distant, yet still too close, for him to see.

“Don’t blame yourself,” he told her. Her expression finally changed, shifting for a moment to surprise.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Even as she said it, Twilight knew it fooled neither of them.

“I know that look, little sister. I know you’re thinking about all the ifs, thinking about how you could have done something different, how you could have changed what happened.” He gave her a sad look. “Don’t. Trust me, Twily, don’t. It won’t get you anywhere.”

Twilight looked away, clutching her staff tight enough to show her knuckles against her skin. “But....but what if I could have done something? How can I live with myself?”

“Stop it. Twilight, just stop right there. If you don’t, you’ll drown yourself in regrets. There is a lot to regret, things we never did, never said. I was talking about him only yesterday. Yesterday! Reliving all those stories I’ve told you. Long night, I was going to introd- visit him soon,” he caught himself at the last moment, even in his grief not willing to divulge that secret quite yet. Twilight had too much to think about already, which at least kept her from noticing his slip.

“I know. I know thinking like this won’t help, but I can’t help it. T-this is why I hate this! You should never have taken me to see him,” she suddenly lashed out, slapping a palm against his armoured chest. He pulled her close, feeling sobs wrecking her again. “This is why I didn’t want friends!”

“I know, Twily. But don’t say that. It hurts to lose him, but try to remember all the good things. He might be dead, but he’s not gone. Not while we remember him,” he soothed her, gently leading his sister to her bedroom. She didn’t reply, and he was happy to let her cry it out again. Shining Armour pushed away the hints of yet another headache as he sat with her, waiting as long as she needed him.

“Sleep well, Twily,” he whispered as he tucked his sister into bed. She would probably have stern words with him about letting her fall asleep without reminding her to change into nightwear, but he would weather it.

Massaging his forehead, Shining Armour sealed the exit behind him. A squad of his finest guards and one pair of the Solar Guard waited without, and at his order girded his sister’s home in a wall of steel, magic and discipline.

Tired as he was, he knew he had to start planning his investigation. He had to find out who was behind this, and not just because it was his duty as the Lord-Captain. It was his duty as a friend to bring Time Turner justice. Moreover, it was his duty to make sure Twilight would never be tempted by thoughts of revenge. He wouldn’t let her stain herself like that.

Shining Armour staggered away, and despite the ache in his skull he began planning the spells he was going to use when he found the scum responsible. He just had to work out whether acid or fire would be better.

‘Why not both?’

Dash lay still in her nest, staring at the ceiling. Applejack had probably gone to sleep. It wasn’t the first time Dash had been close enough to someone to listen to them as they slept, although they usually didn’t know she was there. That sort of heist nearly always took up more time than she liked to spend on a single job, plus it was kind of creepy.

Applejack’s gentle breathing was the only sound beside her own heartbeat, and frankly Dash found it weird. Her little hidden home let the sounds of the everliving city in, whether she rested day or night, and she found the lack of it disturbing. As tempting as it was to try and get comfortable, she stilled herself before she made more noise.

‘Don’t want to disturb her,’ she thought, until she realised what she was thinking. ‘Wait, why do I care?’

That was hard to answer, even though she asked it of herself. Surely she should know if she was asking herself. She was the only one involved. Dash stifled a groan of annoyance. Why couldn’t things be simple? Looking after herself and Scootaloo, even if the kid didn’t know it, was so much easier.

‘Steal, hand over the loot, done. I don’t even know these people. Someone in the guild should have the favours I need to get the spell lifted, and I can be gone.’ Except, she couldn’t. Dash flexed her fingers, thoughts turning to the magic she had done. Real magic. Lightning in the palm of her hand. ‘I can practice on my own. I’m not itching to..to climb, to throw myself into the sky as much anymore. Who needs some prissy noble?’

Dash wouldn’t even have to deal with the threat of Sparkle tracking her for very long, either. Assassins weren’t part of her business, but she knew enough to know that a hit as expensive as the Princess’s apprentice wouldn’t be cheap. People with the sort of money to throw at this sort of thing weren’t the sort to give up. Before too long, Sparkle would lower her guard and someone would get her.

The image of Spike screaming as acid burned into him flashed before her eyes, leaving a tight, uncomfortable feeling in her chest. If someone did get to the mage, the kid would throw himself between them. If they didn’t just get rid of him at the same time, that is.

‘Oh no,’ she thought, a realisation running through her like a lightning bolt. ‘I like the kid. He’s not so bad. A little annoying, but what kid isn’t?’

She liked them, not just Spike, and it upset her to realise that. She wasn’t about to trust Sparkle, but Applejack was...weird. She just extruded an aura of trust me, a sense of reliablity. Considering she had saved Dash twice in one day, first from drowning - ‘lamest way to die, drowning in a bath!’ - and then from the wererat, the thief had to admit she might be biased. Getting attached after just one day was stupid and she knew it. She couldn’t afford it, and it wasn’t even worth the risk. Eventually Twilight would grow tired of them. She would be satisfied that she had ‘given back’, shown that she cared about people without as much wealth or power as herself.

‘I’m still paying off the last time I got close to someone,’ she snarled to herself. She lay there, staring at nothing as she thought about how complicated life had become, and how much she wished it hadn’t. Eventually, her first day as a slave came to an end as she drifted into slumber, wondering how many days she had.

She was running. She was fleeing. She was chasing. She didn’t know which. All she knew was that she was moving, trying to go faster, to lengthen her stride. But she couldn’t run fast enough. She couldn’t get there in time. She had to stop it. Sweat ran into her eyes, blurring everything.

Everything was shadows. The world was cast into a maze of writhing shapes and clawing talons, vines and branches twisting hungrily towards her. Roots caught underfoot, slowing her, and the shadows pulled ahead of her.

Every shadow held a threat. Every threat ignored her. She ran, trying to outpace the shadows, the creeping evil that never rested. It was an invasion, and she had to stop it. It was her responsibility, it was her duty, and she knew she was failing.

Light appeared ahead, piercing the shadows. She charged towards it, wishing she had a weapon in hand. The depths she had ventured into receded, and finally she burst free. Elation filled her, spurring her on.

Where there had been only the light and the shadow, suddenly there was red. It splashed across her vision. A crimson stain spread beneath her, swallowing her. She screamed, but found her mouth filled with a copper tang.

Applejack woke up. There was no gradual slip from slumber to wakefulness, no gentle progression from the world of sleeps. Her eyes snapped open and she was awake in an instant. Her hands shot out, groping for her weapon, but found nothing. Her adrenaline up, a nightmare lurking at the back of her thoughts, she rolled out of the unfamiliar bed, coming to her feet ready to defend herself.

That was the plan, at least. What actually happened was that her feet hit something that yelled in pain and shock. Applejack joined her, snarling as she tumbled to the ground. The next few seconds were filled by the sounds of two women flailing and fighting, wrestling.

The door swung open, although neither noticed. Spike stared, an expensive, crystal clear glass of fruit juice in his hand. He blinked dully.

“Huh.”

“Gerrof!”

“You get off!”

Spike took a sip, watching them with the air of someone who just woke up and wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but found it mildly interesting. He took another sip.

“Cool.”

It was at that point that they realised he was there. They froze, Applejack with a hand in Dash’s hair, Dash with a foot pressing into Applejack’s stomach, and looked up at him. Spike waved lazily.

“Morning.”

“Er, mornin’.”

Without preamble, he asked, “Whatcha doing?”

They separated, glowering at each other.

“She stepped on me!”

“Ya’ll were takin’ up the whole damn floor!”

“Don’t make me magic you, Freckles!”

“Like to see your lil’ shock do anythin’ to me, Rainbow.”

Spike rubbed the sleep away, scale-ringed eyes squinting as he took in the mess of blanket and pillows. The best word that could be used, aside from mess, was ‘nest’.

“You were...sleeping on the floor?” Spike looked rather confused by that. He glanced at the bed. “Oh...’kay? Why?”

“Beds are uncomfortable,” Dash, freed from Applejack’s grip, stood up. She watched a blush spread across the kid’s face, rapidly spinning around so he wasn’t facing her anymore. It made her laugh, until Applejack threw something from the pile of spare clothing.

“Uh, I, I just came to let you know there’s some breakfast okay cool bye!” He fled, nearly spilling his juice.

Applejack sighed, shaking off her nightmare. “Get dressed already,” she said tiredly. “We probably got a long day ahead of us.” She threw something from the pile of Dash’s pile of gifted clothing, not bothering to check what it was. She dressed quickly, pulling on her armoured leather coat before stepping out. Behind her she heard Dash getting dressed, grumbling about ‘pushy rubes’.

Spike directed her to a small room, well clear of any books, where Twilight was eating. If she guessed right, the set of chambers assigned to Twilight was larger than Applejack’s family home. There were at least four or five halls and two levels, not counting the towering, book filled open space, filled with storage rooms cluttered by books and things Spike identified as previous experiments and projects Twilight was unwilling to throw away. It was far too much room for just two people, at least in her opinion.

“Mornin’,” Applejack hung her hat on the back of a chair, nodding a greeting to Twilight. The mage gave her a brief glance and went back to eating, the movement mechanical and listless. Wincing, Applejack looked over the range of food. Her mouth began to water. Last night had just been meals brought by a guard, better than usual fare but nothing special. But this…

Dash’s approach was heralded by cursing and yawning. “Okay, so- burning- look at all that food!”

The thief hit the table, not bothering to sit before she began to shovel food onto the table in front of her. She grabbed a pancake in one hand, getting the sweet syrup on inside of her hand as she shoved it into her mouth.

“Wow!”

The dull look on Twilight’s face lifted, her expression twisting into disgust. “Dash, sit down and use a knife and fork like a civilised person.”

Dash cocked her head to the side at Twilight. “Wha’?” she asked, spraying bits of half-chewed pancake onto the table. “Hab woo not met me ow somefin?”

Applejack’s laughter rang out. “She’s got ya there.”

Sighing, Twilight muttered something. Midway through her messy meal, Dash found the pile of food moving about, an unseen force moving it about and putting it on a plate like an invisible servant.

“Huh?” She sprayed out more crumbs, which the same unseen servant began cleaning. “Wha- mmmfgh!”

A cloth began to wipe her face, cleaning the sweet syrup dripping from her chin. She batted at it, but the cloth nimbly avoided the weak wave and finish its job. Dash glared at it, swatting it away.

“Hey!” She swallowed. “What was that for? I’m trying to eat.”

“Eat with a knife and a fork, or don’t eat all,” Twilight said, her tone flat and cold. She got up, shaking her head. “I’m going to bathe. We’re doing more research today, come to the library when you’re done.”

“Hey! What about the whole magic thing? I wanna shoot lightning!” Dash called out, scowling. “What’s the point of magic if I don’t know how to use it?”

Applejack watched Twilight leave. Spike sat miserably at the table, idly chewing the same mouthful he had been for the last minute. He didn’t react to Twilight’s sudden coldness. What energy he had possessed when he had woken them was gone.

Grumbling at Twilight’s attitude, Dash continued to shovel food into her mouth. “Stupid noble. Where's she get off-”

“Hey!” Spike’s fist slammed against the table. He was glaring at Dash, his bright green eyes dark. “Twilight isn’t stupid! At least she can read, and do more with her life than steal!” He spat.

The reaction surprised all three of them. Spike winced, grabbing the hand he had hit the table with. Dash just stared at him, shocked, before quickly shaking it off. For all that he had lost someone, she was not going to let anyone get away with mouthing off to her like that.

“Listen here, you little-”

“Yer hand okay there, sugar?” Applejack cut in, getting up and reaching for Spike’s hand. He jerked it away, his sharp teeth bared at first her and then Dash.

“I don’t need help! Twilight is better than you deserve! She wants to help you and you refuse to listen!” He stood, his chair banging to the ground behind him. “I don’t care how horrible your life has been, she doesn’t deserve you acting like she’s evil all the time! Why don’t you grow up and stop blaming everyone else just because they haven’t had as bad a life as you?”

Before Applejack could try to calm him down, Dash shot to her feet. Unlike Spike, her feet slapped onto the tabletop, lifting herself from her chair in one smooth movement and crouching down to bring herself face to face with him. She shoved a finger at him, pointing it like an arrow.

“Give me one good reason to believe she’s anything but one more selfish noble, someone just making herself feel better about having so much useless shit by pretending she cares. She might be nice now, but give it a week and she’ll grow tired of us! Applejack will be off to hard labour and that royal bastard will have my head!” Dash snarled.

Spike glared at her, the scales on his knuckles tightening. His clenched fists pressed into the table as he leaned forward, glaring right back.

“Twilight isn’t like that! She wants to help you, but she isn’t good with people. She’s a good person, but you aren’t even giving her a chance to show that. Just because she was born a noble doesn’t mean she’s everything you say she is, anymore than you being poor means you have to be a thief, or that you’re not as good as she is. You’re not being fair!” He gripped the hard so tight his nails were digging into the wood.

“To the hells with fair!” She spat. “What’s fair about life? I’ve spent my life alone, and the first time there was someone I cared about it nearly cost me everything! No one has given me a chance at anything without there being a price attached. Why should I believe she’s willing to do otherwise? Why shouldn’t I believe there’s some hook waiting to rip away what little I have left?”

“Because there was never was for me!” Spike shouted, wood splintering in his grasp. He panted, not seeming to notice the fists full of shattered timber in his hands.

Applejack finally decided enough was enough. She reached out, jerking Spike away from the table. His hands came free with a few bits of wood breaking. Applejack interposed herself between the two.

“Right, both of ya, shut it. Spike, show me yer hands. Dash, sit down an’ finish eatin’ or I’ll throw you out myself,” she ordered curtly. This time Spike allowed her to take his hands, the furious energy draining from him. He didn’t react as she pulled his hands open, bits of broken wood falling to the ground. She saw a faint ripple, the last impressions of a scale pattern receding to his ever-purple knuckles. “Would ya look at that…”

Even as she made sure Spike hadn’t hurt himself, Applejack tensed for Dash’s reaction. She was certain the thief wasn’t going to just calm down. She glanced back. She stared. Dash was gone, the plate stuffed with food gone with her.

“Where did she…” Applejack sighed, shaking her head. She turned back to Spike. “Y’all okay, sugar?”

He shrugged lethargically, his expression down cast. Spike mumbled something, too low for her to hear.

“Sorry, ya gonna have ta talk up,” she said gently.

Spike said, his voice just above a whisper, “Please don’t tell Twilight I broke the table.”

She shook her head, sighing. “Don’t worry, she’ll understand. Y’all’re both hurtin’, an’ Dash havin’ a go at her like that set you off. I’m sure she won’t be angry.”

He didn’t meet her eyes, staring at the floor with a look of shame and embarrassment. Patting him on the shoulder, Applejack knelt and began to tidy the fragments of table around them. She frowned, staring at a particularly large bit before glancing at the table. It had to be at least three inches thick, but Spike had crunched and splintered the wood with his bare hands. The wound in the table looked more like the doing of a beast of the Everfree than a boy barely into his teens.

A moment later, he joined her, scooping them up. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“S’okay, sugar,” Applejack told him with a warm smile. “I got this, why don’t ya finish eatin’?”

“I’m….I’m full, thanks. I think I’ll go tell Twilight. Might as well get it over with,” the dour faced boy muttered, piling up his handful of wood for her before leaving.

Dash watched them from her hiding place. She lay within the shadows between one of the bookshelves in the hollow library tower, her plate of breakfast sitting empty next to her. Applejack had, after putting her hat on, spotted her a while ago, Dash was certain. But the ranger seemed content to leave her there, stewing in her own thoughts.

These thoughts were, to her surprise, largely guilty. Guilt was not something often entered into her life, except in the case of guards and their position on the things she did. For once, she was feeling bad, and she wasn’t quite sure why. Spike, she should be sure, was just naive or stupid. There was always a hook, always a catch waiting to rip out your guts. If you couldn’t see it, you just weren’t looking at it from the right angle.

But the thought was unsatisfying for some reason. Dash looked over at Applejack again, the taller woman rubbing her forehead as she read through yet another book. Even magic to find particular phrases was of little help, given Twilight’s vast range of books and the fact that it didn’t take context into consideration, leaving Twilight, Spike and Applejack to sort through every book with even a bare mention of rats or wererats. If she had cared, Dash would have been relieved she didn’t have to help.

Applejack...it was frustrating. Dash liked her, she genuinely liked her. She just felt easy to trust, easy to rely on, and that made it hard for Dash. She didn’t want to trust someone else, but in the whole day they had known each other Applejack had saved her twice. As hard as she tried to look, she was having trouble justifying any angle the rustic warrior could be working. She just didn’t seem the sort to lie.

‘Long night, what’s wrong with me? Everyone lies! A little bit of magic doesn’t change that,’ Dash thought despondently. ‘Magic...I’ve barely had two thoughts about it, but holy sun, magic!’ She shook her head, shifting slightly to get comfortable. The plate, already perilously close to the edge, got a bump that sent it just that little extra inch it needed for gravity to do its work. She saw it falling, and automatically dived for it.

“Hgk!”

Three sets of eyes looked up, homing in on the source of the grunt. Dash grinned weakly back at them. One hand gripped the plate’s edge, holding it an inch from the floor. The other was fastened onto the bookshelf, and her feet were jammed into tight crannies, barely holding her up.

“H-hey,” she managed. Slowly, she put the plate down. They watched the nimble girl shift her weight onto her now free hand, adding the other and popping her feet out. She walked a few steps on her hands before pushing up, landing back on her feet.

“So that’s where you’ve been all morning?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. She sighed, cutting off Dash. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. Put the plate in the dining room and come back. I’ll give you another lesson, and then you can help by...I don’t know, looking for pictures or something, some of these books must have illustrations.”

Tempted as she was to grumble or shoot a sharp retort for being interrupted, Dash found herself keeping quiet, noticing the way Spike glanced guiltily her way before going back to his current book. Complying silently with a nod, the obvious surprise on Applejack and Twilight’s faces made it worth it. She came back, sitting down and enduring another lesson on letters from Twilight.

Dash quickly came to think of the lesson the day before as something to envy. There, Twilight had been enthused. The chance to teach, even a reluctant urchin, had filled her with energy, and she had radiated a certainty that Dash could do it if she tried. Now...now Twilight was terse and abrupt, and where she had been patient as Dash struggled with something, she now had an air of frustration about her.

“It’s not that hard,” Twilight finally snapped.

Dash looked away, her cheeks colouring. “Hey, I’m trying!”

“Try harder,” the mage told her coldly. To the wonder of both Applejack and Spike, Dash kept her tongue. No verbal lashing, and when Applejack opened her mouth to say something Dash shot her a dark look.

“I can take care of myself,” she growled when it was over at last, hissing the words quietly at Applejack.

Once that was done, to the relief of both of them, Dash was given the task of going through books they had yet to read, looking for any pictures of giant rat-men. Or any rat-men at all. It was boring, which wasn’t helped at all by the grim silence from Twilight. She was reading each book with a cold determination that bordered on the obsessive. She looked up only to reach for the next book.

“Found it!” Dash shouted after only a few moments. She held up the book she had been leafing through. On it, plain as day, was a sketch of a clearly bipedal rat. She threw the book to Twilight. “Am I good, or am I good?”

“...That is a ratfolk,” Twilight said by way of answer. She kept reading the book anyway, just to be sure. “Apparently around four feet tall. Keep looking.”

Groaning, Dash went back to work. She managed to remain largely focused for an hour before finally giving up.

“Gah! I can’t do this anymore!” she cried out, jumping to her feet. “This is boring!”

Applejack groaned, dropping her head into her hands. “We know that, Rainbow, ain’t like anyone else is enjoyin’ this. What else woulda ya expect? It’s books.”

“Unless either of you has a better idea, what would you suggest?” Twilight demanded with a scowl. She was mildly annoyed at what Applejack said. “What’s wrong with books?”

In respect to Twilight’s grief, Applejack tried to be gentle. “Books are well an’ good, but ya can learn more yourself, or from others. Surely there’s someone in the city who might know somethin’ about what a wererat would want.”

“Not likely,” Dash answered before Twilight did. “There haven’t been any wererats in the city for ages. The guild would be all over them, ‘cause the last time they were here they brought the whole burning Solar Guard into the sewers.”

Twilight nodded, frowning. “Dash is right, at least in respect to the Solar Guard. Fifty years ago there was an infestation of wererats in the sewers and the slums. They attempted to assassinate various important nobles and bribe others. The Solar Guard were deployed after the Princess realised how deep the corruption ran, and just how many wererats there were. They purged the lowest levels with fire, once they were sure it was empty of civilians.”

“Why not one of them Solar Guard then?” suggested Applejack. “Everyone knows there ain’t nothin’ a Solar Guard can’t kill.”

“Most of the Solar Guard are out of reach. Only a small portion remain in Canterlot with the Princess, and they’re not here right now. The rest spend their time traveling the country,” the wizard explained. “There might be a few like the two who were here last night, but they wouldn’t be the most experienced. I can try, but we’re not likely to have much success.”

“But you might as well try asking, right?” Spike looked up from his book, eager to contribute. “They might even keep records about it.”

That made Twilight rub her forehead. “Right. Records. Of course, why didn’t I think of that? Ugh, stupid. Stupid of me.”

He offered her a weak smile. “Don’t worry, we were….we thought of it now.”

“That’s not good enough, Spike! I should have thought of it myself, it’s so obvious! For all we know we could have found a lead yesterday and he wouldn’t be de-” Silence followed, Twilight snapping her mouth shut before she could finish. Spike stared at the floor, expression miserable, and Twilight simply went still. “...I’m going to go talk to them. I’ll be back in a while.”

The mood failed to improve with Twilight gone. Dash barely looked at anything in them as she lazily flipped through it. She felt eyes on her, and glanced up to meet Spike’s vibrant green gaze. He flinched back and turned away.

“Kid…” she began, but she wasn’t sure how to continue. “What did you mean, there wasn’t a hook with you?”

Spike flinched again. He studied the book in front of him, but it was obvious he wasn’t reading it. Looking between the two, Applejack prepared to intercede. Silence stretched between them.

“...Twilight took me in,” he finally answered. “I can barely remember it. But...but she’s been there for me all my life. She’s not like those selfish nobles you’ve seen. She’s obsessed with magic and books, but Twilight really does care about people. She cares about me, and she’s the first person I can remember doing that. There’s never been a hook, she never had some catch.”

Dash sat back, processing this. “Huh...how do you know there’s a catch you just don’t know about?”

He looked up, his hesitancy replaced with iron-clad certainty. “There isn’t. She chose to look after me. The Princess offered to find me a home, but Twilight...she found me. She saved me, and she felt she was responsible for me. What possible angle could a sixteen year old have for taking in a kid who was barely five?”

She didn’t answer him. Dash just stared at him thoughtfully. He wasn’t lying, she could tell that much. It made things much more difficult. How much easier if he was lying. Or maybe Twilight was lying to him, and…

‘What would be the point of that?’ she asked herself with a suppressed groan. ‘I’m going to go crazy if I keep this up. Maybe...maybe she does care about him, but so what? That doesn’t mean she’s all he thinks she is.’

“If she’s so great and generous, why didn’t she just, I don’t know, get Applejack freed? Come on, we all know Freckles here is telling the truth. Sparkle must have some spell that could help, or she could call in some paladin or something if she’s the apprentice the Princess, to be sure. Why didn’t she do that?” Dash finally asked.

Applejack tried to keep the curiosity from her face, but she watched Spike with interest. It was a good point, and she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to know the answer. There was a chance he didn’t know, in fact a big chance, but he knew Twilight better than they did and if anyone had the answer but the wizard herself, it was him.

“...she’s lonely,” Spike said softly. “T-Time Turner was like her only friend, and that was because he was her brother’s friend. But he’s gone. He’s gone.” He found a warm hand on his shoulder, and in his teary-eyes Applejack was turned into a blonde topped blur as she knelt next to him.

“You okay, sugar?” she asked gently. He was hurting from loss, and his age was especially apparent. By some divine fortune, Dash chose not to make a smart remark.

He brushed the tears away, nodding up at her. “I-I’m fine. Right, hrm, yeah...Twilight...she...she’s really curious about your magic. Both of you. That’s what she said, but...but she’s lonely. The only people she talks to are Time Turner, Shining Armour and I, and the Princess. Four people, four. Three, w-with Time Turner gone…”

Dash blinked. “Wait. Wait. Are you...are you saying she did this, she got us out of hard labour but didn’t call in favours to get Applejack off, because she wants friends? Are you seriously saying that?”

“Well, I only know a few tricks my Granny taught me, nothin’ fancy fer a big city wizard like her ta care,” Applejack shook her head, trying to wrap her head around Spike’s theory. It was, until she had some evidence, just that; a theory.

“Friends? She wants friends like this?” Dash growled, shaking her head. “That is a stupid way to get friends! I don’t even have any and I know that!”

Spike nodded weakly. “Yeah. I never said it was smart, but Twilight doesn’t know how to make friends. I’m not even sure she knows how lonely she is, but that’s what I think. And, I know you’re probably angry, but...please, give her a chance.”

There was a pleading note in his voice that was out of place to Dash. It was the sort of thing no one would risk in the world she lived in. Begging someone for help was a sign of weakness. If you couldn’t buy or intimidate, you didn’t deserve what you wanted. You certainly didn’t deserve help, because you were just going to drag everyone else down with you. That was why you didn’t risk helping others.

“I’m always willin’ ta help,” Applejack ruffled his hair. “She doesn’t seem like such a bad gal, just in need of a lil’...” She sought the right word.

“Sanity?” Dash suggested dryly. “Don’t give me that look! Who makes friends by keeping them from hard labour?” She thought about that statement. “Okay, that’s a pretty good start, but still.”

“I doubt she even realises it. Twilight doesn’t think she needs friends. W-with Time...with h-him...gone, she’s really hurt. I’m really worried. I don’t want her to give up on friends. Please…” He was looking at with wide eyes that seemed so expectant of rejection.

Dash held her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, don’t blubber. What are you, a boy, or a man? Kid...Spike,” she corrected herself. “You might have convinced Applejack, but I’m not quite sure. But….”

He was looking at her hopefully, and for a moment the purple scales that circled his eyes made her think of a little girl with purple hair, looking up at her with the same desperate hope. Dash sighed in defeat.

“I’ll give her a chance. Long night, I don’t know why I’m even considering this, but she gets one chance. One,” she said emphatically. Taking out the dark coin, Dash began to spin it between her fingers to distract herself from his mumbled thanks and the pride smile from Applejack. She stopped after a moment, an idea forming. “Say, Spike, you’re a...what was it?”

“D-dragon-blooded?” he asked, drying his eyes. “A sorcerer?”

“That’s it! That’s what I’ve got, right? Since I can do magic - ‘me, magic!’ - like you, I want you to show me more. Sparkle is gonna take it slow, right? Nuh-uh. Too slow. We get the chance, without her around, you have to show me how to do magic. You do that, I’ll give Sparkle a chance.” She ignored the way Applejack’s smile wilted.

Spike, to his credit, agreed immediately. He showed no hesitance in doing anything to help Twilight, which made Dash feel odd. It was strange, seeing him so willing to agree to her terms.

“Although...I’m not that good. I mean, I can do a few first level spells, and some cantrips, but that’s all. I’ll try, but you have to promise not to tell Twilight. She probably won’t be happy if we do magic without her,” he added the conditions with a furtive glance towards the door, as though Twilight might manifest when she was spoken of.

“Sure, whatever. Come on, we got some time, show me,” Dash urged impatiently.

Sitting down again, Applejack sat back and watched. As he spoke of the ‘fire’ he felt inside when he focused inward, she watched his expression brighten. The dull throb of losing a loved one was still there, but he had something immediate to focus on. Magic might be Twilight’s obsession, but Spike clearly had a passion for his own magic too. He was surprisingly poetic about it, which amused Applejack and frustrated Dash.

“I feel this tingle, kinda, I guess,” Dash hemmed and hawed. She played idly with one of the magic balls Twilight had given her, her expression intense.

“Right, I think that might be it. You did use Shocking Grasp as your first spell, so you’ve probably got an Elemental bloodline. They’re one of the more common bloodlines,” he suggested. “What I do is, I try to fan the flame. Put myself into it, and then pull it out. Try that. Put yourself into the tingle.”

She looked at him, arching an eyebrow at him. “‘Put myself into the tingle’? Urgh, fine. Tingle, tingle, just gotta…” Her face screwed up once again, catching the ball in both hands before her.

Half a minute later she dropped the ball with a groan.

“It’s not working!” she whined.

Spike frowned. “That’s because you’re not trying! Magic isn’t something you just pick up, you have to practice it long and hard. I’ve had my magic all my life, which is way longer than anyone else my age has, and I can still only do first level spells. It takes years to learn magic, not ten minutes!”

Ready to calm things once again, and feeling like an unpaid babysitter, Applejack was saved the effort by the door opening and Twilight storming in. She strode with an angry energy in her steps, violet robe swishing around her.

“I have to wait!” she cried before they could ask. “Me! I have to wait for them to get permission from the Princess before I can go into their records! As if the Princess won’t say yes the moment she gets back!”

They watched her pace and fume. Life had returned to Twilight’s eyes, even if it was only thanks to indignant anger. Spike leaned in towards the other two, who leaned in as well.

“Twilight really doesn’t like when she’s not allowed to read something,” he whispered. They nodded in understanding, although the two shared a glance containing the metaphorical equivalent of a shrug.

“I told them, I told them that it was urgent! Lives are at stake! People could die. Someone already did,” Twilight growled. Her fists were knotted within her voluminous sleeves.

Applejack frowned. She had a feeling Twilight didn’t mean Trap Sense. Was this related to Time Turner somehow?

“Uh...what about any older guards?” Spike asked. He sounded hesitant, nervous to ask while Twilight was so clearly agitated.

“There’s one Solar Guard who was active and he’s on the other side of Equestria!” She shook her head. “I’ll see if I can have a message sent to him, but it will be a long time before we hear back. My only other option are my books here. Why can’t we find the right books? I reorganise them every month! What’s is wrong with my library?”

Dash and Applejack looked up at the array of books, wondering how she managed that every month. When did she have time for anything else?

“Maybe that’s why?” Spike pointed out dryly. “We move the books around all the time, but you kind of focus on magic books. I get halfway through reorganising some of them, and then you want them organised another way. I mean, can you blame me for stuff getting disorganised?”

Twilight sighed, stopping and shaking her head. She gave Spike an apologetic look. “You’re right, Spike, I’m sorry. I’m just...I’m stressed, and…and…”

Spike was looking at her, worried and curious. She sunk into the chair next to him.

“I think this was about the book. Time Turner had the only other copy of it,” she muttered, shame in her eyes and in her voice. “If...if I had gone to him sooner, if I had thought about it, he might be alive.”

“What? But...but we don’t know that!” Spike reached over, grabbing her as though he could physically pull her out of her guilt and grief. “W-we don’t know who did it, or why, it might have nothing to do with this!”

She shook her head. “Spike, magic started that fire. The aura was fading, but the damage was too precise, too focused. His house burned down in exactly the shape of the building, in perfectly straight lines. It’s too much of a coincidence, a deliberate arson against the only other person who has a copy of a book someone went to so much effort to fake the destruction of?”

Spike fell silent, although his expression still announced his reluctance to agree. It was not, it could not possibly be, her fault.

“Not everything is about you, Sparkle,” Dash’s rough voice broke the silence.

“What.” Twilight’s tone was cold as she leveled a glare on the thief. “What?”

“Not everything. Is about. You,” Dash repeated slowly. “There was a fire just like that, what, two months ago?”

Twilight blinked. “...what?”

Dash nodded, little coin spinning between her fingers. “Yeah, in the noble district. Totally annoying. I was gonna rob the place; start off my spree in the High District there. They had all sorts of expensive junk. I even scouted the place out, then some pyro-freak comes along and it goes up!” She spat in disgust.

Twilight opened her mouth, then shut it. She put that through her head for a moment. “How do you know what the fire was about?” she asked suspiciously.

Catching that, Dash rolled her eyes. “I was on my way when it happened, and I couldn’t just leave when I saw it. I wanted to know. So, there, it wasn’t your fault. There’s a freak in the city who gets their jollies off by setting stuff on fire with magic, or something. Your friend was just unlucky.”

“Why…” Twilight took a deep breath, calming her racing heart. “Why did you want to know so badly? If there were guards heading towards it, wouldn’t it be smart to leave?”

Applejack nodded, but added; “I’m gonna guess that’s why she didn’t. Am I right?”

“I went because there were guards going; I thought someone had tried to get there before me, and I wanted to see the loser who got caught. I mean, it wasn’t, the guild doesn’t put up with stuff like that, but I thought one of the fences I had...made ‘inquiries’ with about certain stuff had ratted me out,” Dash explained, pointedly ignoring Applejack.

If Twilight hadn’t been sitting down, she would have needed a bit of a sit down. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t get Time Turner killed. She wasn’t to blame.

‘No. I don’t know that yet,’ she scolded herself. ‘I hope I’m not to blame, but for all I know I could be. This is all just conjecture. Dash might- might be lying, or wrong, or something.’

Despite that, she felt something of her grief and guilt relaxing their hold over her. She wasn’t certain, but she might not be at fault. Her sorrow, so raw and fresh, might not be a product of her own foolishness.

“Dash…”

The thief looked up curiously, wondering at Twilight’s subdued tone.

“...thank you.”

The coin flew from Dash’s hand, bouncing along the floor and rolling until it hit Twilight’s shoe. The rainbow haired thief stared at Twilight, blinking shock. She was dumbstruck by the fact that Twilight Sparkle, wizard, noble, apprentice to the living goddess who ruled the city and more, had just thanked her. She had even sounded sincere, as thought Dash had just saved her life or something.

Applejack subdued her grin, but it was there. She felt a surge of pride. For all her tough talk, Dash was doing what she said she would; giving Twilight a chance. She had comforted her, in her own way, and it had helped. Maybe by the time this was over, Dash would be ready to lead a proper life. ‘Granny really was right. Helpin’ someone without killin’ feels better than watchin’ a forest all day.’

Spike was no less pleased. The pain from Time Turner’s loss was still burning brightly in his chest, hurting him, but Twilight wasn’t suffering as badly as she had been and it had been, in some small way, thanks to him.

Twilight, however, did not see the look on Dash’s face, the pride in Applejack’s eyes or the relief in Spike’s. She leaned down, picking up the coin. It was made from a dark metal, smaller than a gold coin.

“Dash, where did you get this?” Twilight asked faintly.

Shaking the surprise, Dash shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. “Dunno, I think the wererat, or maybe Shifty. I like to take things, I can’t help it sometimes, it’s habit. Guess your magic doesn’t count it when I steal stuff from criminals, right?” she joked, her grin falling as Twilight looked up at her.

Twilight had a strange light in her eyes. “Did you ever look at it?”

Dash shrugged again, confused. Hadn’t she been getting thanked a second ago? “Well, not really. Some foreign coin, right?”

Twilight took a deep breath. Slowly, she turned it, showing the side with a crescent carved into it, the profile of a non-human head with the spike of a horn aiming at the centre.

“Dash, you idiot!”

Chapter Six

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“First she thanks me, then she calls me an idiot,” Dash complained.

“She can hear you,” Twilight retorted icily. She held the coin in one hand, alternating between studying it and the pages of the book before her. “Why didn’t you tell me you had this before?”

The thief shrugged. The look of helplessness on her face would have made Spike snicker if he wasn’t busy going through another book. “I just didn’t think about it, okay? I take things all the time, it’s just a habit.”

“Y’all got some awful habits, sugar,” remarked Applejack. “Can’t find anythin’ like that coin. I mean, except the moon, but, ya know, that’s the moon. Why’s it so important? The damn were-monsters all have a whole thing for it, accordin’ to what Granny always told me.”

“And because the wererat had it, it might be a clue. Applejack is right, a lot of stories about were-creatures involve the moon in a major fashion. I think I saw something like this, in a text about defunct religions, faiths that have died out. It’s linked to the Moon Scar. I just don’t remember how.” Twilight had been energised by the new clue, and shared books on ancient religions between the four of them.

Dash dropped another book onto her pile, prompting a glare from Twilight at the rough treatment. Her pile was separate from theirs, books to be looked through if they didn’t find anything later. Looking at pictures was nearly as boring as words, especially since there weren’t many in most.

“Its just a coin,” Dash muttered. “What could it possibly tell ya? There could be a city somewhere with these things. I hear those elves in Cloudsdale can do some pretty loopy things.”

“It’s been a thousand years since Cloudsdale actively worshipped anything but the Cycle of Days, and they’re not exactly progressive. Even if it was from there, there’s no way to tell without going to their libraries, there’s so little information left from before the Founding. No, it’s not just some ordinary coin. I can tell.” Flipping through the pages impatiently, Twilight tried to urge herself to serenity, thinking back to her lessons with Celestia.

She ached for her mentor’s return, for surely she would know. Myths told of ancient wars between the divine, conflicts that destroyed thousands of years of progress and civilisation. It was an area strangely ignored by scholars, and few texts from that time remained. All that could be solidly agreed upon was that Celestia was one of the few divines to have survived, and she had ushered in a rebuilding age that lasted until this day, founding a bastion of peace and cooperation from the shattered remains of whatever had come before. Close-lipped about that time as her teacher was, Twilight was certain Celestia would have been able to help her. Unless…

Twilight fought down irritation, drawing in a slow breath. Rules she didn’t understand governed the actions of the immortal, and for all she loved the demi-goddess like a mother, it was frustrating in the extreme.

The sound of a knock at the door brought her head up, and Twilight motioned vaguely at Spike to answer. He dutifully obeyed, and the stomp of a man weighed down in plate announced her brother’s arrival.

“Ah, research?” he asked, giving his sister a wan smile. She tried to return the gesture, but even with the possibility Dash’s story offered, her smile crumbled before it began. He waved her off as she made to rise. “Don’t get up. I’m just here for Spike.”

She blinked, lost for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Oh, right. It’s that day. Um…”

“Don’t worry, we don’t need to,” Spike said, shrugging as though it didn’t matter. It didn’t take a mind reading spell to see that he regretted it, but he still said it.

“No, no, this is important. We can manage without you for a few hours,” Twilight managed a smile this time. albeit a bit forced, pushing him gently towards her brother. “We made a deal, and I’m not going to back out on my end. Besides, you’re probably even safer with Shiny than you are here.”

Spike fidgeted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you sure? I mean, we don’t need to do it this week. I don’t want to run off on you.”

“And I don’t want you getting out of practice, or getting chubby again. Go on, I’m sure you two will have a good time.” She pushed him again, letting her brother take the boy.

Shining Armour rested a hand on Spike’s shoulder, leaning forward to hug Twilight over him. “He’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll bring him back in a few hours, a bit worse for wear.”

“Thank you,” Twilight smiled weakly, ruffling Spike’s hair. “Oh, and I had a question; there was a fire two months ago, one that was similar to...it was similar,” she finished awkwardly.

The lord-captain frowned, rubbing the side of his head. “Really? Where?”

“The merchant district. There were guards on the site. Could you look into it? It...it might be connected.” She didn’t look at Dash, but she could feel the thief’s interest.

“I don’t remember any reports about that.” Shining Armour shrugged. “I’ll look into it, it might have gotten past me. It’s been so boring the past couple months I’ve been in a bit of a funk when it comes to paperwork, but I’ll see what I can find. Thanks, Twiley.”

This time her smile and blush at the compliment were entirely natural. “It’s the least I can do. Have fun, you two.”

Applejack and Dash watched on, exchanging looks of bewilderment. Spike gave Twilight a hug and waved to them, following the older man out. “Have fun!”

“‘Have fun’, dirty little...where’s he going anyway?” Dash asked. She leaned back, occasionally glancing at and wriggling her feet. It was weird, she could see her skin and they weren’t even getting dirt all over the table.

“Shining Armour takes Spike twice a week for a few hours training, making sure he’s keeping up.” Twilight blushed slightly, looking at the ground, and the heat in her face melted her disposition a tad. “I let him get a bit...sedentary, and he was quite chubby for a while. My brother whipped him into shape.”

Applejack made a wordless sound of approval, moving to another book. “Right on. If ya got cheeks that flap like tits when ya move, ya needed move more, as my Granny says.”

Dash cackled at the saying, but an unamused flushed struck Twilight. She shook her head, muttering at crude sayings, and got a sheepish look from Applejack as the ranger realised what she’d said in polite company.

“Feet off the table.” Gently pushing the offending limbs down, Twilight sat across from Dash and began to sort through the books. “I wouldn’t say it quite like that, but yes, it was a bit embarrassing. Now, there has to be something here. Keeping looking through these, I’m going to start looking in Symbols & Sigils; Magic In A Mark for anything that might match this. If it’s not religious, it might be magical.”

“Yay,” Dash grumbled. “More reading.”

They reached the crossroad in halls, and Spike began to step away. The hand on his shoulder became a fist, tugging him back. He blinked, looking up at Shining Armour in confusion.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go off on your own this time,” the knight said. “Not with this business about.”

“Aww, come on! I’ll be fine, it’s not like anyone knows where I’ll be,” Spike complained, tugging at the gauntlet garbed fingers. He gave Shining Armour a pleading look. “Please? Don’t you have plans or something? Do you really want to spend that time with me instead?”

The lord-captain’s will wavered, his expression torn. With a sigh he let go, shaking his head as Spike ran off. “Be careful!” he shouted, taking the wave Spike sent back for agreement.

He watched for a moment more, hesitating. Wincing, he rubbed his forehead and turned, putting the decision behind him. He had an important affair to attend to, after all.

Scootaloo sat in the darkness, perfectly still. She saw the faint glimmer of light, a distant source nearly lost to her. Staring at it, she was almost able to hear the song of the city, the music of merchants bartering, carts trundling down the streets, people arguing and laughing and loving life. One finger idly traced through the dirt, her wait seeming to stretch on for hours, though she knew she had only been here a short while.

Every minute spent here was a minute she didn’t spend practicing, but the young thief couldn’t bring herself to give up. Last night’s encounter with Dash had left questions in the girl’s mind, ones she knew she was unlikely to have answered any time soon.

‘I guess she really has forgotten about me,’ she thought, her breath hitching for a moment. Shaking her head, Scootaloo reminded herself of Hard Knock’s words. The elder thief was a harsh taskmaster to the children under his tutelage. If he had known Scootaloo was sulking about her apparent abandonment, much less hanging out in the sewers, instead of plying her trade on the pockets of unprepared travelers and merchants, she knew she would be in for another beating.

‘Attachment gets you killed’, he told them. Scootaloo had believed him, until the day she reached into a mark’s pocket and found someone else with their hand in it first. The memory brought a smile to her face, a fleeting image appearing in her mind of Dash, a grin on her face, tossing her the stolen coinpurse. Of course, the fact their erstwhile victim had just noticed his pocket was quite a bit lighter gave the gesture a less benign cause.

She remembered her anger when she had emerged from her hiding place to find the older thief looming over her, grinning and laughing. Dash had brushed off her outrage, complimenting her one moment and suggesting improvements the next. Not that Scootaloo had appreciated them, or the suggestions she got next time, or the time after that.

Her reminiscences vanished, the sound of someone hurrying towards her sending the girl scrambling to her feat. The little knife that served her for protection came up, but in the faint light she caught sight of something that sent the tension from her shoulders. Green hair, short and spiky, was cast dark in the shadows until it was nearly black.

“Hey!” Spike grinned, his sharp eyes picking her out easily. “I was worried you’d have left already.”

Scootaloo laughed, all hints of her melancholy gone. “Well, I don’t have all day to waste waiting for you,” she teased, throwing the pile of cloth that had served her as a pillow moments ago at him.

The boy’s laughter was muffled, catching it in the face, and small talk passed between them as he changed from his robes into something more suited to their adventures. Scootaloo pushed Hard Knock’s thoughts to one side again. She knew barely anything about Spike, other than he had been adopted by someone with a bit of money and that he was obviously not quite human, but since their run-in months ago, she had found a friend in him. They shared an unspoken agreement, neither asking the other about their life beyond their weekly meet ups. They lived in different circles, and both knew it, but neither cared to bring it up. That wasn’t what this was about. This was about freedom; for Scootaloo, freedom from the guild and for him, freedom from the stuffy life above, a chance to let go and explore, if only for a few hours.

“I found a new tunnel, I think the rain last week must have cleared some of the stuff blocking it,” she said excitedly, leading the way into the maze of tunnels, the ancient sewers a playground. “I couldn’t see it so good, and I was in a rush, but it looks really cool.”

“Awesome.” His voice was as excited as hers, the nagging urge to explore, to discover, that filled him already soothed by the prospects. For the moment, the worries of his life were pushed to one side. In the here and now, all that mattered was the hours of adventure he had ahead of him.

Together, they delved into the shadows beneath Canterlot, ignorant to the greater connection they shared through a girl with rainbow hair.

Yet another failure added to the pile. Twilight was growing even more frustrated now. She normally enjoyed scouring her library, thrilling in finding things she had missed or, Celestia forbid, forgotten. She had resisted Spike’s suggestion she just devise a spell to find information for that very reason, unwilling to risk the loss of such a relaxing past time. Now that reluctance was coming back to, as Dash would have colourfully put it, bite a big one out of her arse.

“You know….” As fate would have it, Dash made herself known, and Twilight prayed it wasn’t another complaint about how few pictures there were.

“No, Dash, I don’t know. Tell me,” Twilight snapped, fighting for patience.

The thief held her hands up defensively. “Whoa, calm down there, Sparkle. I was just gonna suggest we cut out the middle man with the whole fire thing. I’m finding piss all here. Your brother might know a lot, and for the lord-high-thief-taker he doesn’t seem like such a bad guy, but if he thinks things have been quiet recently, his information must be out of date.”

“My brother has more than enough sources,” Twilight informed her curtly.

“Maybe, but we’re still gonna be waiting for him, right? Why not let me go out and ask a few people I know. I’m not exactly a guild member, but I pay my dues and I can find out what you need,” she suggested. Dash leaned back, her feet on the table again.

Brushing them down, Twilight frowned. “Why are you so eager to help?” her eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to preempt me giving you an order like this? I told you, forced compliance is no good, you have to want to be a better person.”

“I’m great,” Dash chuckled, growing serious a moment later. “Okay, seriously? Yeah, I want to do it when I want to do it instead of getting told to, that’s true. The rest of it is that I’m stuck with you, and I’d rather be stuck with you than, say, Prince Purplepiss if whoever has it out for you actually gets to you.”

“She’s got a point there, sugar.” Setting down her book, Applejack rubbed her eyes wearily. “Might be faster this way too. I’d rather be doin’ that then this, if I’m honest. Time don’t wait for no one, especially not when ya got some acid-trappin’ villain on ya tail.”

“More advice from your granny?” Dash snickered.

“Not quite, but she did tell me somethin’ ‘bout tannin’ the hides a’ rude little girls,” Applejack shot back.

“Little girl?! Come over here and say that, I dare ya!”

Twilight held up a hand, forstalling the inevitable argument. “If you two can manage to avoid trying to beat each other senseless for a moment so I can think, I would really appreciate it.”

Applejack chuckled, leaning back with a casual shrug. After a moment, the annoyance dropped from Dash’s expression too. Just like that, what Twilight had thought was an inevitable blow to peace and quiet was no more. It was almost like they had expected her response.

‘But why would they start an argument when they know I’ll just tell them not to?’ she wondered. Banishing the thoughts as useless to her, Twilight focused on their suggestion. ‘It has merit. Dash’s sources, as disreputable as they must be, may know things that Shining Armour’s reports won’t include. Any chance at finding out who was behind this is worth an attempt. Even if it had nothing to do with me, someone still killed Time Turner.’

She nodded. “Alright. The two of you can go and see if you can find anything that might help. Fires like the one that- l-like the fire,” she stuttered, blinking rapidly as grief well up once again. Twilight lowered her head, a hand over her eyes to wide it for a few moments as recovered herself.

Giving her a reassuring smile, Applejack slowly stood up. Her armoured coat and greatsword were in easy reach. It occurred to Twilight, as she watched the ranger buckle on the heavy blade, that she was leaving herself alone. She almost immediately dismissed the idea. Her wards were much more active now, and she was prepared. Her emergency ring was on and her staff leaned against the table. The violet gem, sparkling from within with hues both darker purple and a bright magenta, throbbed with power. Anyone trying to confront her would find that she was very well prepared.

“Hey, Sparkle, if we find out who did this, would that get us a little bit of freedom? You know, shorten the term or whatever?” Dash asked, inspecting a pair of daggers. They were well-made, and though Twilight had been unhappy about it, she had given her the blades with the understanding that they were to be used only if she absolutely had to.

Biting back a sigh, Twilight only just kept her hand from rising to massage her forehead. “I’m supposed to say no...but, Dash, if you do find whoever lit that fire and can prove to me they are the one who did it, I’ll do what I can. I might hold the geas, but Shining Armour is ultimately responsible to seeing the appropriate justice done.”

“Sounds good.” The thief shot her a cocky smirk. The daggers spun in her hand before smoothly returning to their sheaths. “I’m aiming to be my own woman again, and if I have to find some pyro-nutcase, I’ll do it. Come on, Freckles.”

Applejack shook her head at Dash, giving Twilight a more serious nod. The message was clear; she would do what she could as well. Somewhat heartened by this, Twilight slipped past them, letting one of the guards guide them to a discreet exit. She prayed they would find something of use to her. She hoped, however, they found what she needed; a chance for payback.

Departing discreetly, Dash debated internally how much this secret passage was worth. Information on something like this would earn her a lot...shaking those thoughts from her head, Dash quickly changed into her dirtier clothes, reminding herself she still had time. It was hard enough, stopping in an alleyway trying to dirty herself enough not to look unusual, she didn’t need to distract herself.

“Why is it,” she asked Applejack, “that I spend most of my life dirty, but two days having to be clean makes it feel weird?”

The ranger shrugged. She glanced over the ragged clothing Dash had donned, impressed at how the daggers seemed to disappear into the folds. The younger woman was as skilled at sleight of hand as she was at acrobatics, it seemed, and despite her poor showing against the wererat Applejack was confident the agile thief would be tricky in a straight up fight.

“Who ya gonna go to first?” she asked.

Dash shrugged. “Figured Shifty would be a good choice. His info paid off, even if we weren’t fast enough.”

“That’s assumin’ the fella the wererat went for was the right one,” Applejack made her scepticism clear. “An’ that he didn’t tip off the beast.”

“You got any better ideas? Trap Sense wasn’t dead for too long. It’s not like we took all that long to get from Shifty to him, and the wererat wouldn’t still be there if it had known we were coming,” countered Dash. She finished rubbing dirt into her cheeks.

Applejack sighed, conceding the point. She might have argued more, but this wasn’t her sort of place, and she was still unfamiliar with its workings.

“Anyone after him?” she asked instead.

“Got a couple folks. Hot Property might know something; she’s a fence, but she trades what she knows too, so long as I don’t try to find out who pulled anything off, she should be able to tell me a lot.” Dash glanced down the street before setting off at a steady trot, hands hanging casually at her sides. Her hidden daggers were close at hand, requiring only a moment for her nimble hands to draw them.

Taking Dash’s word for it, Applejack strode along next to her. She could tell she made Dash uneasy; the strapping ranger wasn’t precisely discrete, her greatsword and leather coat setting her apart from most of the cityfolk they passed. Guards eyed her warily, no doubt suspicious of anyone but their own with weapons, and their attention played on Dash’s nerves. it was hard for Applejack to feel sympathy, even given her own arrest despite her innocence. She had been raised to respect the law, and those who served it.

Taking the same place she had the day before, Applejack watched for Dash as the thief vanished into Shifty’s home. Her hand twitched, but she fought the urge to reach for her weapon. The comforting weight in her hand might make her feel more secure, but it would only attract unneeded attention. She had to settle for keeping her back to the wall, so no one would get the drop on her.

Inside the modest home, Dash grinned into the point of Shifty’s crossbow. She gave him a wave, entirely nonchalant about the weapon in her face. He scowled, stepping back and lowering. He made no sign to hide exactly how displeased her visit made him.

“I send you Trap Sense’s way, and he winds up dead with you and some bitch with a sword are seen, smashing into his place,” he snarled with surprising vehemence. “You’re damned lucky, girl. The guild hasn’t done anything official yet, but they want to know what in the long night happened. Trap Sense’s heart looks like it was ripped out, and that’s the only reason they don’t think you did it.”

“It wasn’t me, Shifty, they have that right.” Dash hesitated, then continued. “Tell you what, you give me some info in exchange and I’ll tell you what I found.”

He scowled, and for a moment he looked like he was going to pick up his crossbow again. With his beady, furious eyes fixed on her, he mulled over the suggestion.

“It would be in your best interest to just tell me, and I’ll soothe things over with the guild,” he finally said.

Dash shook her head. “I’ve never played by all their rules, and I’m not starting now. You want to know what I say, you have to tell me what you know.”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “About what? There’s more to this than just finding work, I think, and I’ve got no interest in being played by a fool girl. As you reminded me yesterday, I’m old, but don’t mistake that for being stupid.”

“Sheesh, come on, this is me we’re talking about. It’s not much to ask. All I want to show is about fires.” Though she said it casually, he still seemed to catch something.

“Fires? Why are you interested in fires? Not turning into a pyro, are you? You know what happens to them,” Shifty warned her.

“Tch, yeah right,” Dash scoffed. “I lost a haul to some freak who set a place on fire a few months back, and then I lost another last night. Really weird fire too.”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression intrigued. “Weird?” he asked, his attempt to be nonchalant failing. He was interested now, and that gave her the advantage.

“Totally. Get this; the fire burned the house down, but just the house. I’m talking straight lines, exactly in the shape of the place, and everything inside it was ash. Nothing left. Houses right next to it were packed tight, but they weren’t even touched. Once, okay, weird, but this freak has done it to me twice now,” she emphasised the word twice, letting a hint of aggression leak into her voice.

Stroking his thin goatee thoughtfully, the old thief considered what she was saying. At last he shook his head. “Sounds like magic, and the last time a real pyro, one of those fire-loving freaks, turned up he was dead inside a month. Two fires like that...although, I think I might have heard something. I’ll look into it, see what I can find. Come back in a few days, I’ll see what I’ve got. All I can tell you now is that Deft Touch was complaining about losing a haul to a fire too. She wouldn’t shut up about it last time I was at the guild.”

Dash grinned. “Awesome, thanks man. I guess I’ll go find her-”

The crossbow came up.

“Not before you tell me what happened,” Shifty growled, his eyes glinting darkly. Considering the bloodshot look in them, she decided not to test him. He had always been an ass, and only got less patient and more irritable as he got older.

“Wererat,” Dash said simply.

He froze for a moment, staring at her with wide eyes. There was shock in them, and surprise, and...fear?

“It was a wererat,” she continued.

His finger relaxed on the trigger, making Dash flinch as she realised how close she had been to getting a bolt in the gut. He lowered it, and she sighed in relief.

“A wererat…” he whispered, drawing back. “Impossible. That’s impossible. Are you sure it wasn’t a giant rat, or something like that?”

“Well, unless those things have learned to walk on two legs and wear armour, not really,” Dask snapped. “I know what I saw. It was a wererat alright. Just don’t spread it around, not unless you want it paying a visit to you. Big ugly monsters aren’t healthy at your age.”

He grunted, nodding and waving his crossbow towards the window she had come in through. “Get out,” he ordered curtly.

Dash blinked in confusion, the sudden change in manner throwing her off balance. It must have been the age crack, she realised, and shrugged.

“Whatever man, just have that information for me,” she said, darting towards the window. For a moment she felt like she had a target painted on her back, but the idea he would shoot her was stupid, and she was gone in seconds.

The old thief stared out the window, scowling, and retreated into the darkness of his lightless home.

They found Deft Touch after only an hour of searching the middens. Though she stuck out like a sore thumb, Applejack had a way with words. When an urchin proved unwilling to cough up to Dash, she stepped in. That was all she really had to do, and some looming. She didn’t particularly like it, but Dash was certain it would work. Having just over six foot of muscled stranger, with a sword nearly as long as she was tall, served as enough convincing.

Deft Touch’s drink was nearly upended, the thief jumping in surprise when she suddenly realised someone had joined her at her table. She scowled, seeing who it was.

“What do you want, Dash?” she demanded sullenly.

“Not much. Just to buy you a drink. Heard a fire lost you some loot.” Setting her feet on the table, Dash gave her fellow criminal a grin.

The other thief snorted in disbelief, taking a long drought from her drink. “Yeah, right. Probably just here to gloat over another stupidly risky go at the High District. You’ll have the guard cracking down if you keep it up. Hells, I bet it was you who only went and tried to make off with stuff from that royal, whatshisface.”

“Prince Purplepiss. And I don’t have any idea what you mean,” Dash said with an angelic expression of innocence.

“Right. Whatever, so long as you’re buying.” Deft Touch shrugged. “Yeah, I lost a mark. Had this great place, nothing too fancy, at least, last week. Some collector, liked to buy junk and sort through it till he found stuff he could resell. Dressed up like some nice little merchant girl, got all cosy with him. He told me about this great find, it was worth a fortune, he said. Some noble or another was gonna buy it from him, so I was gonna take it before then. Only the idiot goes and gets burned to death, along with the damn thing!”

Dash nodded in sympathy, throwing a coin she borrowed from Deft to the bar. She waited until the drink had arrived and Deft Touch was nursing it before digging deeper.

“Why didn’t you wait until he sold it? Easier to fence the gold than some fancy magic thing,” she pointed out.

“I can’t carry so much gold, plus, the bozo was gonna have it directly sent to some ‘royal account’. Like, I think some prince whatshisface has it stored in royal vaults and keeps it safe, or something. Whatever. All I knew was that I wasn’t gonna get a chance to have it. So I was planning on stealing the thing first. And what does he do?!” She drowned herself in another swill of ale, the smell of alcohol already strong around her.

“Burn to death. Yeah, I had a place burn up just before I went after it a couple months back. Freaking weird fire too, just got the place I was gonna do. Just straight lines, perfect shape of the place,” Dash sighed, clearly annoyed.

Deft Touch nodded, her cheeks slightly rosy. “Yeah, same! I went back to see if anything was left, but it was all gone! Not even a single coin that wasn’t melted, like the Princess’s own stare had done the place in.”

‘There we go.’

Dash stood, patting her on the shoulder. She dropped a few coins from Deft Touch’s pouch on the table in front of her. “Here, have another few rounds on me,” she said, a wicked gleam in the toothy smile she sent the lesser thief.

Blinking down at the coins, Deft Touch looked up with a grin. “Huh, guess you’re not so bad after all! See ya round Dash.”

“Sure. Hey, who’d you say you were gonna fence it with?” Dash asked casually.

“Hm? Uh, Hot Property, I think.” Deft Touch answered blearily.

With a backwards wave, Dash left, a smug grin still in place.

Outside, Applejack raised an eyebrow when she saw the look on Dash’s face.

“I’m guessin’ ya hit gold, from that smug lil’ look on yer face an’ all that swagger in year step,” Applejack observed.

Dash just grinned.”Let’s head back. With what I’ve got, Sparkle is practically gonna knight me!”

The trip back, it seemed to Applejack, took far, far longer than it should. Dash made no secret of how very satisfied with herself she was. She recounted what she had done, ignoring Applejack’s disapproval of certain parts, and basked in her own praise.

“She might have caught me,” she said, “but Sparkle ain’t got nothing on me. A little of the old Dash charm, and we’ve got a lead!”

Applejack conceded the point. “Just watch yerself. We got some leads, but we’ve still got someone out fer Twilight, an’ maybe Spike. Heck, even us!”

“Us? Why us?”

“Well, either someone went after her friend ‘cause he had somethin’ they don’t want anyone knowin’, or they went after him ‘cause he had magic stuff. Ya said this Deft Touch gal was goin’ after somethin’ magic? Ya said the place y’all were goin’ after had magic stuff too, right?” Applejack pointed out.

Dash nodded, something clicking as she started down an alleyway, the sounds of the busier roads cutting off. “Oh! And that Time Turner or whatever his name was, sounded like he had lots of magic stuff. Why would you burn down places with magic like that? It’s worth so much!”

“No idea. Only magic we got back home is stuff ta heal up what the nasties from the Everfree do, an’ gear. No fancy lil’ trinkets.” Applejack shrugged. She had no more answers than Dash, but she was just glad the bragging was over.

They continued on their way, silent now, both lost in their thoughts. Talking of her home reminded Applejack of those she had left behind, and why. She sighed, wishing she could blot out the memories, but there was nothing she could do, and even if she could she knew she would never be able to do that. The only thing worse than such a shame was forgetting it.

Though the bragging had stopped on the outside, Dash was still basking in her triumph. She might be Sparkle’s slave, but she was still Dash, best thief in Canterlot. ‘And the smoothest talker. Heh, Shifty was too easy, and Deft Touch was even easier! I certainly haven’t lost my touch, but Deft has.’

It didn’t matter to her if what she had found was helpful, not really. She wanted more freedom, and the only way to get more freedom was to succeed. She’d give Sparkle her chance, although she was pretty sure this was going to blow right up in her face. When she was free, and Sparkle had shown she was as bad as the rest of her kind, Dash would use what she had learned.

Slipping into the sewers near the palace and through the secret entrance so unwisely shown to them, Dash hesitated as an unwelcome thought infiltrated her internal monologue.

‘What if she’s not actually that bad?’

She brushed it aside hastily. It was unlikely. It was next to impossible, surely.

‘But...if. If. Bright day, what if?’ she wondered. It wasn’t so easily banished, it seemed. Could she sell what she knew if Sparkle was sincere? Would that be...wrong?

Thoughts on what constitutes right and wrong had never much bothered Dash. She only cared for what was right for her and, for a short while, what was wrong for Scootaloo. When she had found herself counting among the latter, it had hurt, but there was little she could do with the guild set against her. Learning magic, and more secrets like this tunnel, would change things.

‘Sparkle got one thing right; when a year is up, I’ll be ready to move up. No more pandering to the guild. I’ll be free.’

The thought made her smile again, all the way back to Twilight’s chambers. She wasted no time bragging about what she had done, about what she had found out from Shifty and Deft Touch.

“Three fires,” Twilight muttered. “All with matching profiles. The same obviously magical burning, all involving people with magical items or artefacts. Time Turner had a lot of items, souvenirs from his time adventuring with Shining Armour. But is this connected to the attempt on my life?”

Dash shrugged lazily, slumping in a chair. She managed to make herself appear perfectly at ease in such a plush setting, although she couldn’t help but wonder how much the chair was worth with its fine food and soft covers. Probably more than it should be worth.

“Could be someone’s burnin’ down those places for the same reason,” Applejack suggested. “Hidin’ the theft by destroyin’ the whole place.”

Twilight nodded. “It’s certainly possible, and I can’t imagine all these are coincidences.” Her tone turned sharp. “Why hasn’t Shining Armour noticed? That’s three fires like this, he should have been investigating from the very first one, with such clearly magical origins. What could he be thinking?”

Looking up from one other coin she had relieved Deft Touch of, Dash shrugged again. “You know the guards, someone probably sent along a nice little pile of gold, gave some clerk a few winks, and ‘poof’, no more report.”

“My brother wouldn’t stand that sort of thing,” Twilight snapped.

Dash decided not to point out he could be in on it, since she got the feeling that would just piss Sparkle off more. The guild kept things in order because they knew who to bribe to let their work go unnoticed. Robberies, gang fights, even murder could all be hidden so long as the right guards knew where to be, or where not to be. It would surprise her if they had someone like him on their pay though; the lord-captain was a well cursed personage in the middens, particularly when his personal unit led a crackdown.

‘And now I’m working for his sister! They’d leave me to rot if they find out,’ the thought made her gulp, attracting a curious look from Twilight. Dash gave her a smug grin, and the scholar went back to her pondering. ‘The guild will find out eventually; will they believe me about the magic?’

She snuck a look at Applejack. She needed to get the ranger on her side. Sparkle already liked Applejack more, probably because she was all honest and junk.

‘Long night, I need to give Sparkle a chance or the kid will get on my case, find enough stuff to convince the guild I’m not a snitch and pay them off, and find a way to get out of this all on top of the situation without making an enemy of the guy in charge of the whole city guard!’

It was a mess, one she hadn’t imagined getting stuck in. Being caught and executed for breaking into the homes of nobles was one thing, that would have been simple. It made her feel alive, and she began to twiddle her fingers, remembering the thrill. Almost soaring across the roofs of the city, carrying small but expensive trinkets. The only real shame was that she hadn’t had long enough for the nobles to start calling the mysterious thief by some fancy name. She had always loved that sort of idiocy.

“Rainbow,” Applejack interrupted her with a tap on the shoulder. “I’m gettin’ us some food, ya want somethin’?”

She blinked, shaking her head for a moment. “We ate, like, five hours ago,”she protested.

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, an’ it’s lunch time. Didn’t get much of a work out, so I won’t eat much. Ain’t gonna get fat like some dandy, but y’all are as skinny as a stick.”

“Sure, I guess,” Dash nodded uncertainly. A brief flare of anger rose up; she stole things worth heaps, but the guild took nearly all of it. Though she kept her ties to them as loose as possible, if she didn’t give them her dues she would quickly find life unlivable.

“I wonder...is this about magic, or something in particular?” Twilight thought out loud, surprising them both. She was tapping the table impatiently, drilling holes in it with her stare. “Profit alone might drive it, if the fires aren’t related to the theft of the book. But I can’t help but feel they all share a methodology. The major difference is the form the destruction took. A fire, here, would simply be unfeasible.”

“Y’all’re assumin’ they’re connected.” Passing the mage, Applejack gave her a dubious look. “Ya don’t know if they are. Only reason ya got is that ya think the reasons for settin’ the fires are the same as the trap in the book.”

Twilight nodded, a small frown marring her features. “That’s not the only factor. Ti-” Her voice caught, and she quickly cleared it to to continue. “Time Turner had a lot of magical defenses, because he knew how valuable all his magical items are. He’s an expert in making them and in magical theory. The only way to get in is to know the passwords - all twelve - or be incredibly good at penetrating arcane wards. That would require skills on level with those needed to get into the palace.”

Scratching her ear, Applejack still looked uncertain. “Ya know,” she said conversationally. “I never expected to be tryin’ ta solve a murder, or thefts or anythin’. Guess fate had other plans.”

“Fate is pointless to consider. We deal with what we have. I have a murder to solve, an assassin to thwart, and now I have the two of you to help me,” Twilight looked up, her expression intense. “I know how to deal with politics and nobles, as insane as they seem at times, and how to weave spells and understand magic of all kinds. Whoever is going for me will surely have made the effort to study me. They do not know what you two can do, and with Dash’s bloodline awakening, they’re in for even more of a surprise.”

Dash perked up at that. “Does that mean you’re finally gonna show me how to do magic? You know, properly?! I wanna zap someone again! That was the best!”

“..sure, why not? I need some time to process what you told me. Okay then, first we need to work out what spells you can do. Applejack, please get us some food, this is likely to be tiring,” Twilight asked, motioning to the chair opposite her. Dash dropped into it with a wide grin.

“Will you finally show me how to do that thing I did before?” she asked eagerly.

“Shocking Grasp, and no, not yet. We need to determine what spells you have access to, and I would prefer that we did that without you destroying furniture. Hold still for a moment, I prepared a spell this morning for this.” Twilight drew in a breath, preparing her spell.

Dash cocked her head to the side. “What, did you destroy stuff your first time with magic?” she asked, amused.

“No.” Twilight didn’t open her eyes.

“You did, didn’t you?”

“Dash; be quiet. Don’t resist this magic, it’s just meant to show me what spells you have.” Twilight just kept annoyance out of her tone, her voice falling into a sharp mumble of arcane syllables.Her magic, Spell Gauge, reached out. The magic passed invisibly from her to the thief. An expression of discomfort took Dash for a moment, but she let it in despite the tenseness of her shoulders.

Twilight’s quill worked quickly, writing down the spells as they entered her mind. She smootly wrote down each, a list in the distinct, well formed writing of the noble class. Dash stared down at the alien shapes, all but bouncing in her chair as she waited to find out what magic she had. Six lines later, the ink drying on the names of the six spells, Twilight lowered her quill.

“So, what is it? I bet I can totally punch people with lightning. Or turn invisible, that would be awesome, I heard mages can do that,” Dash’s mouth ran on ahead of them, asking so quickly Twilight had to hold up a hand to get the chance to answer.

“Calm down. You have, so far, four cantrips and two first level spells. Cantrips can be cast as many times as you want; they’re essentially using less magic than your body can generate to replace it. Those spells, before you ask, are Jolt, Spark, Detect Magic and Breeze.” Twilight went on before Dash could say anything, falling into her full on lecture mode. “Jolt allows you to create a small electrical charge in your hands, which amounts to a lesser form of Shocking Touch. Spark creates a small spark, suitable for setting fire to flammable materials, such as oil. Detect Magic is, well, it lets you detect magic. Breeze creates a light wind.”

“So...I can punch people with lightning, set stuff on fire, and control the wind? Awesome!” Dash thrust a hand at some books. “Spark! Spark! Go on! Spark!”

Twilight grabbed her hand, pulling it down. “First of all, magic is not cast by simply saying the name of a spell. Second; do NOT try to cast fire spells on my books! You are very lucky to know two of those cantrips naturally. Breeze and Jolt are next to impossible to find in a form I can copy. As far as I know, only the ancient wizard, Paizo, knew them except for a few sorcerers.”

“I have rare stuff? Cool? Think I could sell ‘em somehow?” the thief asked.

“No.” Twilight just managed to keep from rolling her eyes. She let go of Dash, briefly wondering at how thin it had felt. “You also have two first level spells, to use common parlance; Obscuring Mists, which creates a cloud of fog, and Expeditious Retreat, which lets you run faster.”

“What?! What about that Shocking Grasp one? Why can’t I use that? Who cares if I can make a few clouds and run real fast, I wanna slap someone and leave ‘em scorched,” Dash whined.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You have magic, a rare gift that gives you so many paths to take with your life now. I’m sure, with training and time, you will have Shocking Grasp. Your bloodline is clearly strongly associated with spells of elemental air. If you train for long enough, you might even be able to cast something like Lightning Bolt.”

Dash went still, staring at her with wide eyes. “...are you serious?”

“It is a very strong possibility. I would be shocked if you didn’t continue to display a proficiency for such spells. You might even have an Air Elemental bloodline. Which is what we’re going to test. Thank you, Applejack.” Twilight picked up a fruit, delicately biting into it.

“‘s not a prob,” Applejack tipped her hat to Twilight, leaving the basket of fruit with them. “Mind if I do a lil’ work out? I know checkin’ through all these books is important to ya, but I need keep fit.”

“Go ahead.” Twilight nodded, her attention on Dash. “Now, do you have those orbs I gave you?”

“Er, I didn’t take them with me…” Dash turned out the pockets of her borrowed pants. She had changed after getting back, along with having to wash the dirt from her face.

Twilight sighed. “Go get them, please.”

Applejack stripped down to her undershirt, watching Dash run off out of the corner of her eye. She stretched, steadily going through every limb. She became aware of Twilight observing her, the scholar’s curiosity not dulled by grief. Having a possible lead had given her some fire and energy back, Applejack was pleased to note, even if it meant having attention while she worked out. She guessed that Twilight rarely had anything to do with such physical activities, and found it novel.

As she exercised, Applejack paid attention to the pair. Dash returned with the orbs, and sat crosslegged at Twilight’s instruction, shiny balls held tightly in her hands. Spike’s earlier advice was repeated, albeit worded differently, by Twilight. Unlike Spike, Twilight didn’t shrug off Dash’s frequent complaints and impatience.

“It takes time and effort,” Twilight explained calmly, although there was a note of vexation in her voice. “Close your eyes again, focus on that spark. Remember what you thought when you first used magic. Try and recapture it.”

“I am trying, it’s just not working. Maybe you’re just a bad teacher?” Dash asked snidely, her failure pissing her off.

Twilight frowned, trying to ignore Dash and only partially suceeding. She ran a dark hand through her hair, trying to think of something that would help.

“Think…” she hesitated. “Feel. Try to feel it. When I first used sorcery, I did it because I was desperate to prove I could to do magic. I love magic, theory, the principles, studying it in all it’s form. Although I focus on wizardry, when I use my sorcerous spells, I do it with that in mind; the love of magic, the love of knowing, how fascinating and fulfilling it is. Whatever you felt, try to let that drive it.”

Mumbling about how useless that was, Dash nonetheles closed her eyes and tried to remember what she felt. The sound of hurricane winds whipping rain, lightning and thunder, were what she experienced, but it slipped away from her. Her brows creased, frustration evident.

‘I need to do this. I have to. Magic could change everything. I won’t just be another thief. No one will be able to order me about. I’ll be free...’

Free…

She suddenly remembered how it felt, when that monster loomed over her, trapping her. The need to escape, to be free, to soar in the sky and feel the wind running invisible fingers through her unique hair. Dash remembered how it felt when she fled Blueblood’s mansion, her acrobatics giving her a seemingly easy flight. Those moments when she leapt between buildings, as though nothing held her to the ground. She felt that freedom, that daring urge to soar, and she held it tight. A tingle ran through her, grounding in her throat and whispering from her lips, fingers twitching as the orbs slipped from them.

“Dash…” Twilight’s voice intruded, soft and gentle. “Open your eyes.”

She obeyed, slowly, the tingle now a comradely warmth in her hands. Dash lifted them, watching in awe as tiny sparks of blue, the flash of lightning a thousand times weaker than any she had seen in a storm but oh so real, danced between her fingers.

There was a smile on Twilight’s face. The awed expression on Dash’s face reminded her of the first time Spike had cast a spell on purpose, and the delighted grin on his face was just as special. There was something wondrous about it, when someone became a mage in a very real sense. The sheer speed with which Dash had awakened her gift was amazing, adding to the wonder of it all. She couldn’t deny that part of her was worried about teaching a criminal to use magic, but Twilight remembered well her teacher’s discussions on the concept of redemption. Magic like this would give Dash a chance to move up, but more importantly it gave her the will to do so.

Applejack paused in her push-ups. She could see the little sparks before they died out as all three just kept watching. Going back to her push-ups with a smile, Applejack was sure they had made a step in the right direction.

“Let the magic fade. Very good, Dash, very good. You just cast Jolt. Your first cantrip. You should feel proud.” Unusual warmth filled Twilight’s voice, and she smiled softly down at fledging sorceress.

“Y-yeah…” Licking her suddenly dry lips, Dash stared down at her hands. The tingle was gone, the rush of euphoria leaving her, but she aware of a buzz in the back of her mind. It lurked at the edges of her senses, and she was overcome with a sudden feeling that it had been there all her life, and she had been too blind to know it.

“I want to try one more thing. All bloodlines gift not just spells, but unique powers. Spike can grow claws, I can use a telekinetic ray. If you do have an Air Elemental bloodline, you should be able to use a shock beam of energy. Now, we don’t want to you doing any damage, but I want you to see if you can...express the feeling, the energy, that powered the spell without putting it through the spell,” Twilight explained calmly, her smile still there, her grief and guilt forgotten for a few moments in the joy of discovery. “Sorcerers do instinctively what wizards do, with no need to understand how or why. Try to harness the power.”

Nodding, quiet and, for once, willing to do as she was told, Dash tried what Twilight said. The buzz, the tingle, quivered as she….she ‘reached’ for it, although she had no idea how to really explain it. Could you reach with just your mind, with your feelings and instincts? Was she calling it to her, or was it flowing into her? She didn’t know, but it was there, waiting for her.

Her focus was disrupted by the slowly building huffing and puffing from Applejack. Taking a breath, Dash tried to focus again. She let the energy behind the buzz begin to flow in, and she felt it, close, strong.

“Ngh.”

The grunt broke her concentration, and the energy was gone. Annoyed now, the magic was harder to reach for, and Twilight’s soothing words and calm suggestions weren’t helping. Minutes ticked past, and slowly the huffing and puffing and grunting became background sounds, more easy to ignore as Dash got used to them. She found that warm, shocking energy, hovering there, and she pulled it to her, not letting it conform to the shapes she felt hovering at the edge of her mind. Just a little more and-

“Grah.” A heavy grunt, louder and more abrupt, filled the room in what was, to Dash, a burning loud roar.

“SHUT UP!” Her eyes snapped open, glaring at Applejack, the scream leaving her mouth. The energy released, snapping away from her and flowing out. Power cackled in the room,

“Wha- whoa!” Applejack let out a yelp, rolling to the side as a tiny lightning bolt zapped the floor next to her. “What the heck?”

A little storm cloud hovered above her, tiny bolts of lightning zipping down to the spot Applejack had occupied. A few seconds passed before the cloud dissipated, leaving no sign of it’s presence aside from the a few scorch marks on the floor.

Twilight and Applejack looked at Dash, whose mouth hung open, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Well…” Applejack slowly stood up, settling her hands on her hips. A very small smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Next time, Rainbow, just ask.”

“I...I...okay?”

Twilight was about to comment, unsure if praise was deserved for accessing her bloodline powers so quickly, a scolding for nearly hurting Applejack and damaging the floor, or confusion because that was not at all what she had expected.

‘I’ve never heard about a bloodline ability like this. She clearly has some connection to winds and lightning, but she doesn’t seem to have an Elemental bloodline, or even a Djinni bloodline. What could it be?’ she wondered, barely noticing the sound of the door opening.

“Landsakes!” Applejack held a hand against her nose, backing away from Spike. The smell of sweat on her nearly drowned out the smell that came from the robed boy as Spike came in, Shining Armour behind him. “Smells like ya fell in the latrine!”

The sharp smell broke the daze that had come over Dash, and she snickered at the miserable looking Spike. The smell reminded her of the sewers. In fact, she realised as she smelled it again, Spike smelled pretty much like Scootaloo had after going ‘exploring’. Despite a few offers, Dash had refused to go with her. Being under so much stone and earth just felt wrong, like cutting off a limb.

“Yeah, heh, I kinda slipped from all that training. I was pretty tired,” Spike said sheepishly. He certainly looked tired, but something about his expression gave away an unease.

Shining Armour laughed. “Well, he got a good work out. I see he’s not the only one. Although he hasn’t left scorch marks in a while.”

Applejack coloured slightly, pulling her coat on quickly. “U-uh, sorry, I was just-...uh, well, yeah, workin’ out. Sorry, uh, sir.”

He waved her apology off, shrugging good naturedly. “Nice to see someone here exercising.”

Twilight flushed, glaring at him. “I exercise just fine, thank you very much. You just interrupted something very important. Spike, go have a bath,” she added, shooting a sharp look at Spike as he tried to discreetly take a fruit from the platter. He withdrew his hand, pouting. Shining Armour ruffled his hair and gave him a light push.

“I looked into that fire, by the way,” he said when the boy was gone. “I know it looks suspicious, but as far as we can tell they’re unconnected, and the one months ago was purely unmagical. Trust me, one of my best men was on it. I’ll look into it, but there doesn’t seem to have been anymore of the sort.”

Her eyes narrowed sharply. “Shiny, I hope you’re not keeping things from me in the inane belief that it will protect me. I know there was another fire. Three fires now, including h-his. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“What, three? No, Twilight, there weren’t anymore,” Shining Armour shook his head. “I don’t know where you heard this-”

His eyes darted over Dash for a moment before focusing on Twilight again.

“-but they’re wrong. I would know if there were anymore fires like that, but there hasn’t been, I promise you that.” His voice was firm and certain.

Twilight hesitated. She could tell he was positive about this. It was, to her brother, a simple fact that there hadn’t been anymore. But one look at Dash and she could see the smouldering look of insult in Dash’s eyes. The thief hadn’t missed his look, or the implications of what he said.

‘She must be wrong,’ she decided, although she felt a tad uncertain even as she thought it. ‘Shining Armour wouldn’t lie to me, and a fire like that would have been noticed and reported. It’s too suspicious to go unnoticed. Dash must be wrong, although whether intentionally or not...’

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. She would have to work it out later, but it took the joy from helping unlock Dash’s magic. To think the thief was lying to her, after how she was trying to help her…

‘No, she seemed so certain. She’s probably just mistaken.’

“If you’re sure. Thanks...but can you still look into what was lost in those fires? If the owners had any magical items of note before the fire that weren’t recovered?” she asked. Twilight thanked the sun that Applejack had taken a place next to Dash, putting a hand on her shoulder. The ranger had surely noticed Dash’s anger, and was making sure not to let a scene occur.

He nodded, smiling at her as though he had no idea the trouble his news had caused. “Sure thing. Just remember, focus on finding who is out for you. It might just be some petty noble with a lot of gold, but it could be something more. Be suspicious of anyone, even someone closest to you.”

She stared at him in shock, not prepared for that warning. “What? Anyone?”

Shining Armour shrugged, looking a bit sheepish. “Yeah...sorry, don’t mind me. I just get a bit protective, you know that. Anyway, I better get back to work. Say goodbye to Spike for me, and let him know, we’re on again later this week ,and next week, just like usual.”

“I will.” Putting his strange warning behind her, Twilight gave her brother a hug, tightening her arms around his armoured form. She stayed there for a moment longer, her expression falling.

He put an arm around her, letting it go on. As hard as she was trying to not think about it, the spectre of Time Turner’s death still hung over her, and she could feel the same grief from her brother.

“I’ll find whoever did it,” she promised quietly, her eyes wet with unshed tears. “I promise.”

“I know you will. Just don’t kill yourself over this. I love you, little sister.” He squeezed for a moment, releasing her and stepping back. “Good luck.”

When he was gone, she turned to Dash and held up her hand just in time to catch Dash beginning her furious snarl.

“I’m not lying and no way am I wrong! If anyone is wrong, it’s him and his ants! Those damn guards couldn’t find their arse if you gave them a map! I saw that fire, and I saw how weird it was, just like what happened to your buddy!” She growled, fists balled at her side. It wasn’t a matter about if her leads were false or not, it was about her pride in her ability to read her fellow criminals.

“Now, calm down, Rainbow,” Applejack tried to calm her, stepping between them.

Twilight reached up and gently motion for Applejack to move aside. She faced Dash calmly.

“I love my brother,” she began simply. “And I trust him. If he says the reports he has say otherwise, that’s what they say.”

“But-”

Twilight’s hand shot up, cutting her off as it hovered in front of Dash’s face.

“But,” Twilight continued as though the thief hadn’t said anything. “I’m not willing to take the risk that one of the clerks or a lower ranked guard was bribed to report it wrong. You might be mistaken, but you might not. We’re going to keep digging until we find something. Someone might just as easily be lying to you, and I would prefer to believe that there’s such corruption in the guard.”

Dash fell silent. She seemed confused, off-balance and uncertain at Twilight’s reaction. Eventually, she just nodded.

“Well, I’m not lying,” she muttered sourly. “I’m not wrong. Shifty deals straight, and Deft Touch is too stupid to lie to me.”

“I’m sure she is,” Applejack said diplomatically. “But neither of ya has really eaten since I brought the fruit. Magic’s hungry work, so let’s get eatin’.”

Thief and mage nodded, grateful for the change in subject. There was time to argue later. Right now, Dash felt a hollow in her stomach and she, for once, could fill it right away.

‘Magic,’ she agreed thoughtfully, ‘might be hungry work, but it’s so worth it. Today, Jolt...’

She sent a spark through an apple, grinning at Twilight’s annoyed look.

‘...tomorrow, Lightning Bolt!’

Chapter Seven

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Two days. Twilight looked up from her work, her quill coming to a stop. She glanced around the room. It had been two days since their proper work had began. Finding nothing in her personal library, she had sent Spike to look in the Royal Archives. The first day he had been sent with Applejack, the next Dash, to the thief’s complaints. Thinking about that made her press the quill tip a bit too hard into the paper. Scowling, she took another quill out to replace the broken one.

“Libraries do not suck,” she muttered to herself.

“Mmwha?” A flash of rainbow came above one of the chairs. Dash blinked blearily. “Wha’s goin’ on?”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Were you sleeping?”

“Uh...no?”

Sighing, she sat back and rubbed her eyes. “This isn’t working,” Twilight mumbled.

“Hey, just because I was napping doesn’t mean I’m bad at this! It’s just hard! Why do I have to keep redoing this stupid ‘alphabet’ anyway?” Dash whined.

“Not that,” Twilight gave her a dismissive wave. “I meant this research. I’ve compiled lists of magical relics and artefacts that come in sets, but until I know what exactly was stolen, it’s no help.”

Standing with a final glare at the parchment and the wide, childlike scrawl, Dash dropped herself onto one of the chairs. “Maybe I could go see Shifty and Deft Touch? He might have found some stuff, and she might remember what she was gonna steal if she’s not sloshed already.”

Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “Wait for Applejack to get back. I don’t like relying on such...unsavoury elements, but this is useless.”

‘This’ was a pile of reports from the City Watch portion of the guard. Often written in the blocky print of people with little practice in writing, or interest, they all amounted to a vast lot of nothing.

“Guards,” Dash snorted. She shrugged at Twilight’s glare. “Come on! You know something is up!”

“My brother wouldn’t tolerate corruption like that,” snapped the wizard. She went back to writing, although there was a tenseness to her shoulders now. Left with just the scritch-scratch of Twilight’s writing, Dash sighed and slumped. She dropped her head into her hands.

She was, privately, certain there was bribery going on. Only the guild had enough gold for that, which made the thief hesitate to do more than just suggest something was going on. Stepping on the guild’s toes was one thing, if she had enough information to buy forgiveness, but exposing the guards they had bought would take more than she knew yet.

And...she hesitated to even think about it. There was another way out; magic. A mage wouldn’t even need to give a rat’s arse about the guild. She wouldn’t be trapped once her time with Sparkle was up. She would be free of them. Hell, she could even bring Scootaloo along!

Or she could do both. Yet the idea was strangely deplorable. She had no loyalty to the thieves guild; they kept faith with their members, but she wasn’t exactly a member. She had never chosen to work with them in any way, they forced such cooperation. Sparkle was doing the same, obviously. Dash had only chosen this to avoid even worse punishment.

Selling out Sparkle still felt wrong. The noble woman was frank, and hardly the most personable of people, but she seemed to honestly believe she was going to help Dash. The thief’s automatic suspicion that this was all a game or passing interest to the mage was fading. Sparkle would have to be a better liar than Dash to keep selling this as a trick. Maybe, she suspected, Sparkle was just painfully naive.

The doors opened, admitting Spike and Applejack. Their arms were full, although Applejack had substantially more than Spike.

“Got the books,” Spike announced happily. He carried his armful over, gently putting them down on one of the cleared tables. He jumped nearly a foot when Applejack put hers down with considerably more force, the table shaking under the force.

“Be careful!” Twilight jumped up. “Those might be copies, but they’re still books!”

Applejack shrugged. “They’re fine. That lady there just magic’d ‘em up, all fancy like. Said we got ‘em for half a day, then they’d, what was it, ‘dematerialise’?”

Nodding, Twilight began to flick through them. “Yes. A combination of a spell that copies the content of books and a spell to create non-living material. I worked on it myself, because not even I was allowed to take many books out.”

“Was pretty impressive, I gotta admit that,” Applejack said, stretching. “More books on magic stuff?”

“Relics, items, that sort of thing, yes.” Sorting through the books, Twilight glanced up for a moment. “Applejack, go with Dash to get some more information. Remember, be careful; I don’t trust those kinds of people.”

“I’m that kind of person,” Dash pointed out as she jumped to her feet.

“You won’t be by the time your sentence is over, Dash, I promise you that,” Twilight answered, not looking up. The thief paused, uncertain as to what she meant. Applejack poked her.

“Leave it,” Applejack dropped her voice. “Let’s get out there. She didn’t mean nothin’ bad.”

After a moment, Dash nodded. Expression clouded, she followed Applejack out.

The crossbow bolt slammed into the wall, quivering for a moment next to Dash’s face. The thief froze, hanging upside down from the window. She grinned at the old man, ignoring the blood rushing to her face as she hung there.

“Hey, man,” she said cheerfully. “I’m back, and you need to work on your aim.”

Shifty lowered his crossbow, grunting as he reloaded it. “Get down, annoying girl. That wasn’t a miss, that was a warning shot. My aim hasn’t suffered, but I’m in no mood to waste another good bolt.”

“Yeah, yeah, calm down. You said you’d have something new in a couple days. Well, it’s been a couple days, and I wanna to know more. Come on, I’m all eager and stuff to listen to you for once,” Dash said. She dropped to the ground, bare feet slapping the wood. She checked for traps habitually, but she didn’t really try.

“Eager? More like desperate,” Shifty snorted.

She wanted to deny that, but she had to admit he was right. The last two days had been agonisingly boring. Magic practice, as fun as it was, had stalled. She could cast those spells, the ‘cantrips’, endlessly, but her first level spells she could do only four times total. Then the energy was gone. Just casting them again and again wouldn’t do much good, according to Twilight, so she was reduced to flicking through books, looking for pictures.

‘Two days,’ she thought with an internal groan. ‘Two boooooring days!’

“Whatever. Just tell me what you know,” she grumbled.

The older thief shook his head. Unlike before, he lowered his crossbow, letting Dash relax slightly. He pulled out a small hip flask, took a swig of something and wiped his mouth before nodding. Her nose twitched, catching the smell of something pleasant, reminding her of these sweet pastries she had eaten once, long ago. She still remembered them, and she had to shake the memories from her mind.

“What do you know?” she asked.

“There was another fire. Six months ago. Same thing as you told me, all straight and magic-like. Magic stuff was there too, some traveling collector. Except the guy who was going for the place got in and out a few minutes before the place went up,” Shifty explained, pocketing the flask.

Dash leaned forward, grinning. “Nice. What did he take?”

Shifty shrugged. “Some sort of cup. Silver, maybe some mithril. The first fence he showed it to didn’t get a good look at it, he didn’t offer enough for Quick Fingers to stick around, and by the time Fingers was seen again, he had a dozen holes in his chest.”

“Burning day,” she cursed, running a hand through her hair. “So, silver and mithril cup? Got, I dunno, anything on it? Words or something?”

“Think the fence said so, little crescents. Like the moon, or something,” Shifty said nonchalantly. He watched her expression intently, catching the flash of interest in her eyes.

“Like the moon, huh?” she nodded. “Thanks, Shifty.”

He shrugged. “It’s what I do. Now get lost.”

She began to leave, tensing slightly. Any second he would remind her she owed him for the information, or he’d fire another ‘warning shot’. Yet as she scaled the wall, he said nothing. There was no ‘twang’ of a crossbow firing. She slipped through the window, confused. She snorted as she slipped out into the street, heading for where she had left Applejack.

‘He’s just gonna ask for more next time,’ she thought. Out loud, she called to Applejack; “hey, farm-girl, come on. Got what I needed.”

The warrior woman cocked an eyebrow. “Got somethin’ good, Rainbow?” she asked.

“Yeah. Bet Sparkle’ll love this. Some fancy cup thing, with little moons on it, guy got it out of a place before it burned down, then someone killed him and took it. Sounds like what she wants.” Dash grinned at the taller woman. “Come on, let’s go find Deft Touch. If she’s sober, we can find out what she was going to steal.”

Applejack nodded. She kept glancing around, surveying their surroundings as they went deeper into the middens. A few people eyed her, but adventurers were common enough in Canterlot. She still felt more eyes on herself than she saw. At the corner of her eye, she spied someone watching from the shadows of an alleyway. Not bothering to address it, she kept walking along as though she had no idea.

There was a slight tenseness to Dash’s shoulders as they passed the alleyway, and the ranger guessed she had seen the watcher too. Aside from that one sign, there was nothing to give away that either of them knew they were being watched.

“So, if some bastard wants to give me a hard time, thump ‘em, got it?” Dash’s voice was light and casual.

Applejack blinked. “Huh?”

The thief scowled. “Come on, even a rube like you can remember this. I don’t want to risk being caught by the guards again, so you better do what we agreed.” She looked back, giving Applejack an annoyed look. In her eyes, though, Applejack caught something more urgent and realised what she was doing.

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” Applejack nodded dumbly, thickening her accent. “Gotta bit distracted. Ah was jus’...”

“Just be quiet and do your job.” Still scowling, Dash looked away, but Applejack was sure she saw a tiny nod. “Long night, of course the one person willing to be my muscle is some idiot rube. I swear, can you even talk Common? Don’t answer, that burning accent of yours sounds like the middens smells.”

Even knowing this was a ruse to trick their watchers, Applejack felt a twinge of annoyance. Dash was taking advantage of this far too happily. Maybe she’d get the thief to exercise with her, have a spar, and smack her upside the head a few times. She had to settle for a nod, glowering at the back of Dash’s head.

Smothering a smug grin, Dash continued to lead the way. She got a few directions from urchins, kids and beggars she knew. Eventually, winding their way back and forth through the slum streets, until they finally found the object of their quest.

“Ugh!”

They looked down the alley where the pained grunt had come from. True to the words of a legless beggar, Deft Touch had gone down one old alley, which led down another to a dead end. What the beggar hadn’t mentioned was that she had been followed by a pair thugs, one of whom had just rammed in his fist into Deft’s stomach. The other was holding her, laughing as another blow was unloaded. A wide, rusted sewer gate lay just a few feet away. It wasn’t hard to guess Deft Touch had been seconds from slipping away.

Sharing a look, Dash and Applejack nodded. Reaching into her rags, Dash found the hilt of her daggers. They came out easily, appearing from nowhere to the eyes of others, as they slipped into her hands. Applejack was only a moment slower, the sound of her great blade sliding from its sheath drawing the attention of the thugs.

“Looks like we have a pair of heroes here, eh? Come on girls, run along. You might hurt yourself!” Thug One called, casually drawing a punching dagger. “Keep hold of the girl.”

Thug Two nodded, tightening his meaty fists around Deft Touch’s arms. The beaten thief groaned, trying to move and getting a shake for her troubles. She looked in their direction, blinking through blackened, swollen eyes.

“Now, I could tell you all about how I’m here on guild business to scare you off, but I can’t resist. Maybe I’ll get extra for killing three stupid girls?” Thug One laughed.

Applejack stepped past Dash, slowly lifting her blade. The ease of the gesture failed to penetrate the thug’s aura of idiocy. They advanced on each other, both confident.

“I suggest y’all let the girl go, an’ run,” Applejack said. Her tone was casual, but there was nothing relaxed about the way she studied the way he moved.

He laughed again. “Little girl, just because you can hold a big sword doesn’t mean you can use it. Think you can win just because its big? Ha!”

Dash almost put her daggers away. She watched, her eyes glittering with amusement. This was going to be funny.

He lunged. She batted the blow aside, the flat of her blade slamming into his arm. Grunting in pain, he drew back for a moment before stepping in and trying to simply ram it into her stomach. Her eyes narrowed, shifting to let the attack pass her. She removed one hand from her greatsword and simply punched him in the face. The thug stumbled back, his free hand going up to his clearly shattered nose.

“Try that again, and I won’t be so polite. Now get goin’,” Applejack ordered. Behind her, Dash glanced out the mouth of the alley, wondering if the thug would heed the ranger. No skin off her nose if he didn’t.

Instead of replying, he snarled and threw himself at her. Stepping back, Applejack struck before his dagger could even get in range. Her greatsword sliced through the air, the thick steel cleaving into his skull. There was a loud crunch as the force broke his neck. Applejack wrenched the blade free, ignoring the splatter of blood and other related consequences of shoving a sword into someone’s head.

Dash’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t actually expected Applejack to kill him; she had seen death, but she knew it was better to leave a mark alive so you could fleece them again. The thugs were guild-thugs too.

“Damn, hope they don’t miss ‘em,” she muttered.

The other thug had let go of Deft Touch by then, pulling out a knife and charging at Applejack with a roar. She jerked back, the thug’s dagger leaving a knick along her cheek. She reacted with a powerful blow, her heavy weapon biting into his chest. Blood stained his ragged clothes as she pulled the greatsword free, and he keeled over.

“Check on the girl,” Applejack said, jerking her head towards Deft as she cleaned her sword on the dead thug’s clothes.

Dash was already moving to her, and nodded. “You didn’t have to kill them,” she complained as she skipped over the bodies. “Now we’re gonna need to hide the bodies.”

“Don’t pull a blade at me unless ya intend ta use it,” Applejack said calmly. She sheathed her sword, then bent down to drag the bodies towards the sewer entrance, kicking aside some of the rusted bars.

Deft Touch lay against the wall, curled up. She stirred when Dash crouched down to poke her. She looked up, wincing through her swollen eyes.

“Whatcha want?” she groaned, batting Dash’s hand away.

“Well, what I really want is lots of money, somewhere safe to sleep, lots of these really nice cake things I had as a kid once.” She poked Deft again. “What I want from you is anything you can tell me about the thing you were gonna steal, before the place got burned down.”

The well-beaten thief looked at her weirdly. “What? Why?”

“Why doesn’t matter. Since my pet rube-”

“Oi!”

“-just saved you from being beaten to death by a pair of idiots, how about you return the favour? Tell me about this thing you were gonna take.” Dash poked her a third time, and this time hit gold. Rather, she hit a bruise.

Deft Touch squirmed away from her. “Fine, whatever. He never let me see it, but he went on and on and on about the damn thing. That’s how I was able to get an estimate from Hot Property, I described it.”

“So, describe it for me,” Dash urged her impatiently.

“I’m about to, long night! It was a little statue of two women in armour, back to back, kind of...melded. So one was the back of the other, you get me? One side was gold and the other some kinda silvery stuff. Gold side had suns with little rays, shrinking as they got lower. The silver side was the same, but with moons, like, when there’s less of it.” Gingerly rubbing her eyes, Deft Touch tested her leg. “How’s that? Can I go?”

Dash looked to Applejack, nodding and standing. “Sure. Might want to try keeping to the sewers for a bit. Try under the west merchants, tunnels go deep, you’ll be good.”

“Thanks. And...thanks for the save. I’ll try to return the favour, but hey, don’t hold your breath/” Letting out a dry, bitter chuckle, Deft Touch limped away.

“Should we help her?” Applejack asked, standing next to Dash. They watched the beaten thief slink into the sewers.

Shaking her head, Dash gave her a shrug in reply. “She’ll be fine. Besides, we gotta tell Sparkle about this. Little moon coin, cup with pictures of the moon, half the little statue-”

“Statuette,” Applejack corrected her. At Dash’s look she grimaced. “Friend back home. Liked fancy stuff.”

“Huh. Well, yeah, half of that ‘statuette’ has got moons all over it. And all silver. Come on, that has got to be related. Am I good, or am I good?” the slender girl gave her taller compatriot a grin.

“Ya alright. Come on, let’s get back.” With a tug of Dash’s ponytail and an annoyed swat from the thief, they set off back, leaving a bloodied alley behind them.

Twilight sat back, staring intently at Dash. She just stared at her. Not saying anything. Just staring. Her eyes drilling into the thief. Dash found her previous confident flagging. She began to fidget. After a few minutes, she ran out of patience.

“What? That’s everything!” she exclaimed. To her surprise, the noble jerked as though startled.

“What?” Twilight blinked a few times. “I’m sorry, I was thinking. Yes, thank you Dash. Good work. Applejack, there’s just a bit of blood on your collar. I’d appreciate if you could clean it before Spike sees.”

Applejack nodded. “He’s squeamish?”

“No, I just don’t want him getting too used to blood. Moons. Why moons? There must be something…” Twilight sat back, not noticing Dash’s confusion. The mage tapped the table in front of her, lost in speculation. “There was nothing about moon-based sets of relics. Wait, no, there were a few. But none that fit this description.”

Dash looked at Applejack for some clarification on Twilight’s reaction, but the ranger just shrugged at her. Sighing, Dash retreated to one of the many chairs, crouching on it and starting to juggle the glass orbs. How Sparkle could just zone out like that was beyond her; and it was weird.

Once her armour coat was clean, Applejack hung it from a hook and leaned against the wall. Arms crossed, she watched Dash juggle. Minutes ran past quietly, the only disturbance when Spike came past with a couple of apples.

“Yer good at that,” Applejack remarked.

Dash snorted, giving her a dirty grin. “Yeah, I told you I’m great, didn’t I? Think this is good, I can do better.”

Applejack grinned right back, reaching out to Spike as he passed. “Let’s see how good.”

He made a wordless whine of protest when Applejack grabbed one and, with a cheeky grin, threw it towards Dash. Spike watched it arc towards the slender girl, expecting the worst. Instead, she caught it smoothly and somehow the apple entered the circuit. It spun up and around, following the course of the orbs.

“I’m great,” Dash bragged. Her eyes widened as two more apples came flying towards her. Hands blurring, the nimble thief let out a yelp as she tried to add them in. For a moment is seemed it would all end horrible, but the moment passed and she had control of it.

“Guess yer pretty good,” Applejack conceded, laughing. Dash grinned back, her smile growing when she saw the entranced look on Spike’s face. He didn’t hide his fascination or amazement as Dash juggled five things at once.

Twilight looked up, her brow creased in irritation. The annoyance faded as she too watched. Setting down her quill, she cocked her head to the side, studying the performance. She hadn’t realised quite how agile Dash was until now. Watching her jump and run through the rooftops of the High District from a distance had been one thing, but to see it up close was impressive. Agility was not something Twilight had ever possessed. It was hard to refine that sort of ability from turning pages or writing.

More than happy to be the centre of attention, Dash began to vary the pattern. She had to admit, she loved being looked at like this. Like she was doing something impressive. Like she was impressive.

Like she mattered.

The spell was broken by the sound of a key sliding into the door, and a moment later parting to reveal Shining Armour with his armour as polished as ever. He paused as he stepped into the room, looking around in surprise. Twilight turned her head when she heard him, and to his surprise she was smiling. Given how recent Time Turner’s death had been, any sort of smile was a gift from the Princess herself. He smiled back.

“Having fun, I see,” he said with a chuckle. “You know, I did suggest you try taking Spike to the circus. They have professional jugglers there. Could show you real juggling.”

“Tch, like they have anything on me! I’m just naturally this awesome,” retorted Dash, grinning at the man.

He raised an eyebrow. “Right.” His tone was more than a little sceptical.

“So, Shiny, did you find something? You’ve been visiting an awful lot more than usual.” Twilight smoothly did her best to avoid giving them an excuse to get started. Thief and guard, not a good mix.

Shining Armour grimaced. “Normally aren’t any attempts to assassinate my sister and little brother,” he replied.

“Fair enough.” Twilight sighed. “Well, I have more information. I know of at least two things that were stolen - don’t say there were no fires.”

He closed his mouth, protest cut off before it could begin, and shrugged. A barely contained snicker made him glance at the others, but to all appearances Spike and Applejack were just staring at Dash, who was smirking at him.

Twilight continued calmly. “The common element appears to be moon based iconography, meaning the wererat is even more likely to be connected. A mithril cup with crescent moon engravings and a statuette with one side matching it.”

Nodding, Shining Armour approaching, idly watching Dash continue her performance as he thought it over. “Sounds like the stuff Blueblood collects,” he remarked casually.

That got the attention of everyone in the room. He glanced down at Twilight in surprise.

“What, Prince Purplepiss? Maybe it’s him behind all this. Wouldn’t that be fun,” Dash laughed.

Shining Armour nearly laughed himself, smothering it. “Purp- Blueblood wouldn’t get involved in that sort of business. He’s an arrogant ass, but he respects the law to a fault. You should know how he is, Twiley.”

She grimaced but nodded. “I agree. He does collect a lot of old artefacts, though. Wait, Dash, did Deft Touch say her, uh, ‘mark’ was going to sell the statuette to?”

“Nope. Wait, no. Something about some prince putting it into some royal account, or something.” The thief frowned, her hands still moving smoothly as she juggled. “What’s that?”

“Prince Blueblood has, among other duties, the charge of managing the royal bank and the treasury. He’s a smug bastard, but he’s good at his job and you’re as likely to find him working a crooked angle as you are to find him with fangs,” explained Shining Armour. “If he was buying it, the odds are pretty good he had something that matched it.”

Twilight drummed her fingers on the top of her table. “He is an avid collector and his family’s vaults are extremely substantial. Perhaps he does have something that matches it.”

Looking away from Dash, Applejack felt a moment of inspiration. “If he does, we can trap ‘em!” she exclaimed. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to trap a beastie. Some thievin’ devil is enough of a beast for me.”

“That’ll mean getting Purplepi-” Spike changed what he was saying at a Look from Twilight. “Uh, Blueblood to let us borrow whatever it is. And that’ll mean someone needs to talk to him.”

A faint look of distaste washed over Twilight’s expression. She looked hopefully at her brother. He shook his head at her unspoken question.

“Sorry, Twiley,” he apologised. “But we both know without something substantial I can’t do anything official, and if I go informally he’ll say no. And if I try to force the issue, he’ll cause no end of trouble.”

“Ugh.” Leaning back, Twilight pressed her hands to her face. ”I’m going to have to talk to him myself, aren’t I?”

Shining Armour nodded. “Yeah, sorry,” he patted her on the head, mussing her hair. “Listen, send him a message - but be careful, use your familiar, and then get back to me when you have a plan, okay?”

The answer he got was a gasp and Twilight shooting to her feet. “Owlicious!” she cried.

“You forgot about him again, didn’t you?” the lord-captain asked with a shake of his head.

Before she could run off, Spike called out, “Twilight, don’t worry, I did the chores.” He grinned at her. “I didn’t forget. Looking after an owl is hungry work, so…”

“Hey! Catch!”

Spike looked up just in time to see an apple speeding towards him. It bounced off his chest as he yelped. Applejack grabbed him with one hand, holding him up, and caught the apple with the other. Dash grinned at the glare Spike sent her.

“You said you were hungry.”

“Interesting pet project you’ve got here,” Shining Armour murmured to Twilight. She sighed, but there was a small smile on her face as she watched the antics.

“Yes..interesting...anyway, yes. I’ll have Owlicious deliver a message to Blueblood, arrange a meeting. Thanks for the help, I try to avoid thinking about that...about him.” Standing, Twilight gave her brother a hug. “We’re one step closer to finding the person who did this.”

He hugged her back. “Just leave some of them for me.”

“I will,” Twilight promised.

“Hey, guard-boy!” Dash called suddenly as the pair seperated. “Catch!”

His hand came up in an instant. The apple she had thrown at his chest was caught in a vice drip. Nonchalantly, as though she had casually passed it to him, he lifted it up and took a bite.

“Like I said, Twiley, go see the professionals, see some real juggling,” Shining Armour said with a chuckle, taking another bite and throwing the apple back to Dash. She caught it, laughing despite her surprise attack being ruined.

“Your brother isn’t so bad. For a guard,” Dash admitted, ignoring the scowl Twilight was sending her way.

The reply came promptly, and the next day Twilight prepared to leave just after lunch. Dash munched on the remains of her third serve, hunched up at the table with a quill. Another lesson in reading and writing, another sheet of parchment covered in childlike, barely legible letters. She made a whining sound, massaging her hand.

“Cramp?” Spike asked. He was on the other side of table, alternating between a book and his own parchment. Unlike her writing, his was neat and perfectly aligned as though invisible lines guided his hand. “Yeah, gets like that.”

“Burning annoying,” she grumbled. “Okay, how’s that?”

Her face flushed as the kid, years younger than her, looked over her parchment critically. “Pretty good, for a beginner. Here, let me just-”

“Aw, come on! This is real important!” called Applejack’s voice. They looked up, interested in the raised voices they could hear.

“Then tell me why,” Twilight answered as she stepped into the room. Her clothing was very different from usual; her well-made but simple robe replaced by a silk dress in similar shades. It was the most expensive dress Dash had ever seen. She scowled, flushing as Dash managed to wolf-whistle sarcastically.

“Is all your stuff that colour?” the thief asked.

“I like purple.” Turning back to Applejack, she raised an eyebrow. “So, tell me, why do you want to come with me to see Blueblood?”

“You wanna go see that bastard? What for?” Dash gave her a look that indicated the ranger was surely mad.

“If ya be quiet, I’ll tell ya!” Applejack grumbled. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, thing is, when me an’ Dash-”

Twilight corrected her without looking away from a small mirror. “Dash and I.”

“Whatever. When this prince fella came stormin’ out, he had a maid with him-” Applejack stopped, another wolf-whistle interrupting her. She glared at Dash.

“Didn’t know you swung that way! Or was it the outfit?” cackled the thief.

“He had a maid with him, yes, he has her with him fairly often. Rarity, I believe her name is.” Twilight urged her to continue with a look, ignoring the crude comment and the way Spike had just gone red in the face. She didn’t want to think about why.

Doing her best to ignore Dash, Applejack looked back to Twilight. She nodded firmly. “That’s her name alright. Known her since I was a kid. She left home a year ago, said she was gonna ‘hit it big’ in the city with those dresses of hers.”

Twilight paused her primping, frowning. “Dresses? This dress was gift from Blueblood, actually, about seven months ago. Hopefully wearing it will make him a bit more willing to help. So, Rarity, she’s a friend of yours?”

“Yeah, although we kinda grew apart as we got older. Rarity’s always been a kinda fancy, prissy girl. Always seemed upset she was a ‘dirt born peasant’,” Applejack quoted with a sigh. “But I gotta admit, she was damn good at making stuff. She liked to make it fancy, an’ Filthy Rich only wore stuff she made. The point of all this is, she didn’t come here to be some prat’s maid!”

“She might be making a connections, or something,” Twilight dismissed with a flick of her hands. “Ugh, I hate this madness, but if I don’t dress up Blueblood will think I’m not taking this seriously.”

Applejack groaned. “Please, I gotta talk to her, just for a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry, Applejack, but no. This is too important to risk your presence reminding Blueblood about Dash, since he saw you being brought to Shining Armour’s office together. Especially if you have no way of knowing if there’s something wrong with your friend.” Finishing the last few touches, Twilight began a final check to make sure it was all in order. Her mood was visibly dropping at having to do all this just for one visit.

To the surprise of all involved, Dash was the one who spoke next. She said, “Wait. Freckles is right. There was something wrong.”

“See! I told ya! Wait, how do ya know?” Applejack demanded.

Dash shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “Just the way she looked at me. I’ve seen that look before.” She shuddered. “She’s trapped. I don’t know how, but I know what that looks like.”

“Ya see? Please, Twilight,” Applejack pleaded. “She’s my friend.”

Twilight paused, seconds from walking from the room. She made the mistake of looking Applejack in the eyes, and felt herself will to resist crumbling. She sighed.

“Alright, fine, you can come. But we’re going to do this intelligently, and you are not to make any reference to having seen him in the guard fort, or about Dash, am I clear? Blueblood has a long memory for slights, and not getting to exact what he considers ‘justice’ did not sit well with him.” Twilight frowned. “We need a plan.”

Twilight climbed from the carriage, looking suitably ladylike, while Applejack kept at her side looking suitably bodyguard-like. A pair of household guards stood at attention on either side of the gate into Blueblood’s walled complex. Applejack only had to look up to see the overhang of the roof Dash had described to her. Since the theft, there seemed to have been a few changes. There were spikes now.

“Looks like he ain’t taken what happened for granted,” Applejack remarked, pointing up.

“Put your hand down, and don’t say anything,” Twilight murmured. A servant, a butler by his dressed, was approaching them.

He bowed. “Lady Sparkle, his highness welcomes you to his home. If you would follow me, my lady, I might escort you to him.” He glanced discretely at Applejack. “Weapons are not permitted within the manor.”

Twilight swept past him with a suddenly haughty air. “She is my bodyguard. She can hardly do her job if she goes unarmed, can she?” Without waiting for an answer, Twilight went right into the house. Her manner had transformed in a few steps, her usual focused attitude replaced by a lady’s pose and authority.

“Please, Lady Sparkle, please wait! His highness guarantees your safety in his home, I assure you,” pleaded the butler, scurrying after her. Applejack followed along. The guards stepped up, their gazes fixed on her.

Applejack replied with a confident smile. “Ya wanna take it off me?”

They hesitated for a moment. Fortunately, Twilight interrupted before anything could go further.

“She’s not about to use it on anyone. I give Blueblood my personal guarantee that nothing untoward will happen. If Princess Celestia is willing to take that guarantee, I should think he will as well,” Twilight snapped. She narrowed her eyes at the butler. “Unless you would prefer that I just go home now…”

His composure nearly shattered at the idea of taking the news to his master, and the butler wasted no time going back to fetch Applejack. She marched along behind him, tipping her hat at the guards as she passed them.

They were led into the manor, and despite having been in the palace for days, Applejack was amazed at the decadence. Everything was plush, the wood varnished and polished, the carpets soft and perfectly clean despite the easily dirtied white colour. Busts, portraits, paintings of landscapes and cities, ornate weapons, all covered the halls. What people they saw were finely dressed servants in high-quality uniforms, each turned out perfectly with immaculate appearances, beautiful faces and flawless manners. Twilight was greeted by bows and curtsies.

“Bet that’d get annoyin’ after a while,” Applejack commented. “Havin’ ta stop your work every time someone swans past.”

The butler sniffed, his expression suggesting she had belched loudly after saying the interior decoration could be enhanced with wild beasts fornicating in every room, then topped it off by farting. She rolled her eyes, catching an amused smile on Twilight’s face. The mage quickly smothered it. Their journey came to an end before a set of double-doors, which the butler opened for Twilight, stepping in with a bow.

“Lady Twilight Sparkle, your highness,” he said, voice just above speaking level.

Twilight walked past him, Applejack at her side. The room was lavish; a fireplace against one wall dominating it. The aristocrat was seated in a plush armchair. He looked the same as he had when Applejack saw him outside Shining Armour’s office, except for the marked lack of red-faced fury. He stood, smiling politely.

“Lady Sparkle.” His voice was smooth, years of training speaking, as it were, volumes. “A pleasure as always to see you. It has been far too long.”

She answered his bow with a curtsy. A veiled look at Applejack had the ranger bowing as well.

“Your highness,” Twilight answered, her voice as controlled and precisely polite as his. “The pleasure is mine. It has been quite some time, yes.” She decided not to enlighten him on her presence, invisible, in her brother’s office.

Prince Blueblood gestured at the seat opposite him. “Please, sit. I have tea on the way” His eyes glanced over Applejack, taking in her appearance. They lingered for a moment on the obvious hilt of her greatsword.

Twilight sat opposite him, smoothing her skirt. “My bodyguard. I am afraid I had to..insist on her presence. I intend no offense to you, of course, or your guards, your highness, but given certain recent events, not even my own chambers have proven completely safe.”

“None taken, Lady Sparkle, I assure you. I must wonder if your desire to meet once more is related to these events you alluded to. Surely there are few places safer than the palace,” Blueblood said with a barely perceptible frown. He smiled slightly as Twilight adjusted her dress. “Might I be so bold as to suggest your attire is entirely complimentary, though you hardly need such aid.”

She had known such compliments would come, but Twilight still felt a blush rising to her cheeks. Applejack, positioned by the door after the butler had silently departed, raised an eyebrow. This blond-haired, graceful man, as calm as anything with a slick tongue, was miles away from the infuriated ponse she had seen the first time.

“Thank you, your highness,” Twilight answered, fighting down her blush. “You should know, you did give me this dress. If anything, compliments should go to your tailor. He is quite skilled.”

He nodded as though this was exactly what he had expected. “She has a talent. Ah, speaking of which…”

A smaller down, set against a far wall, opened. Hands delicately clasping a tray, the woman stepped in the room backwards. She turned as the door opened. Applejack stiffened, eyes widening. For her part, the maid did the same. She recovered so quickly it would have been a challenge to notice, mincing over to prince and his guest. Her long, curled purple tresses shifted as she leaned down, wordlessly placing the tray on a small table and pouring the tea for them.

“Rarity here is quite the dab hand at her previous craft,” Blueblood said, barely acknowledging her. “Lady Sparkle has complimented your skills.”

Rarity handed Twilight her cup and dipped a brief curtsy. “Thank you, my lady,” she murmured, her voice soft and warm. It held the perfect reverence and note of obedience expected of a well-trained servant. There was, to most, nothing at all wrong with it. Not so to Applejack. She tried not to eye Rarity, already feeling how off something was with her childhood friend. Now, more than ever, she was sure something was wrong.

‘Previous craft? What in the long night does that mean?’ Applejack wondered, trying not to stare.

With no further orders, Twilight’s reply an awkward nod, Rarity retreated, standing with perfect poise behind and just to the side of Blueblood’s chair. Her blue uniform with the white apron were a touch higher quality than the others.

Blueblood raised his cup to his lips. “My offer is still on the table,” he said suddenly, taking a sip. He lowered his cup, eyes fixed on Twilgiht. She took a delicate of her own tea that lasted for a few seconds logner than it should.

“My answer is the same, your highness,” Twilight replied when she couldn’t delay any longer.

“I had hoped to change your mind. You are an intelligent woman, Lady Sparkle. Surely you see how we would both benefit. If you have fears for your safety, even more so. I have no desire to see such a promising student of Her Highness come to harm,” the prince urged. His sharp gaze rose, prevented from going on by a sudden riot of harsh coughing from Applejack.

“S’rry,” she croaked, rubbing her throat. She became aware that only Rarity wasn’t looking at her now, the maid doing her best to pretend Applejack wasn’t there, “G’t lil’ s’m’thin’.”

His expression twitched for a moment, stunned by the sheer audacity of a criminal, a lower peasant criminal of all things, talking to him so casually. He recovered quickly, turning his eyes away from her without acknowledging her. Another fit of coughing followed.

“We can’t have her coughing while we talk. Perhaps she could go get some water?” Twilight suggested. She kept her expression neutral, knowing the prince was studying her. She had brought a bodyguard, and now she was suggesting sending her away. It would, she hoped, confuse him.

“Very well,” Blueblood grimaced. “Rarity, show Lady Sparkle’s guard to the kitchens and...keep her company.”

It was quite clear to all of them that ‘keep her company’ actually meant ‘keep an eye on her, and count the silverware’. It was fortunate he was no longer looking at Applejack, given the brief flush of anger that overtook her face. Twilight sent a prayer to the sun that Applejack kept her mouth shut.

Rarity simply curtsied, her porcelain-like expression of obedience failing to alter in the slightest. “At once, your highness.” She hurried away, passing Applejack without meeting her eyes.

Twilight hid her sigh of relief with another sip when Applejack followed Rarity without complaint. One potential disaster avoided. She hoped that this would be worth the trickery. “Thank you.”

“Discussing such matters with servants present is not proper,” Blueblood said, misinterpreting her meaning. “Although I take it this is truly is not about my offer.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I am going to cut right to the point; I need to borrow something from you for a short time. Something from your collection.”

Blueblood frowned at her. “Your manner suggests something more. Forgive my assumptions, but you would not make such efforts to appease me if you wish something I will part with easily.”

“I have been tracking a series of thefts,” Twilight hesitated. “A mithril cup engraved with sigils of crescent moons, and a statuette, two-sided, in gold and silver, that I know of.”

He raised his cup, smothering a look of surprise. The sharp look in her eyes told him she had caught it anyway.

“I recognise the statuette; I intended to purchase such an item not long ago, but the owner and, I believed, the statuette were claimed in a fire,” Blueblood scowled, his control lapsing for a moment. “Your brother apparently believes there was nothing unusual. Clearly, you disagree. A ‘theft’ you say?”

“Correct. I have reason to believe the fire was a ruse meant to hide the theft. The same method was used with the cup. That’s why I came to you, to warn you, and to find out if you had something that matches the statuette in your vast collection.” Her hopes lifted. The prince seemed interested, and if he stilled desired the statuette she was sure she could sway him.

Expression calculating, Blueblood considered her for a moment. “You want to use it as bait.”

“Yes, I-”

“No.” He didn’t seem to notice her dismayed expression, simply taking a sip of tea. Looking down into the calm surface of the brown liquid, he stared into his reflection for a moment. “Unless, of course, you are willing to make some concessions.”

Twilight felt a rush of irritation. ‘Of course!’ “I’m not ma-”

“Please, do not insult me, Lady Sparkle.” He sniffed haughtily. “I have no need for such crude methods. No, my lady, I would be willing to consider your request if you consider mine. I want what was stolen.”

“You will, of course, have the statuette,” Twilight began. She fell silent at a gesture from Blueblood, narrowing her eyes at yet another interruption.

“Again, you misunderstand me. I want any other such relics you recover. I believe I can trust your honour not to hold them back, should you find more.” He sounded sincere, which was little comfort to her.

“We don’t know what else the thief might have taken,” she said, mind whirling. This was not what she had expected, but now she thought about it, she should have. Blueblood was an avid collector of relics and old artefacts; his whole family line was known for it, and their vaults of such items.

“Then you don’t know whether you are giving up much at all. For all we know, the chalice might be the only other object stolen,” Blueblood pointed out. He spread his hands. “This is my offer, take it or leave it. I can safely assure you I have something that appears to match the statuette.”

Twilight fell into a thoughtful silence. She was stuck, and Blueblood was betting on just that. “There’s a book,” she said at last. “You can have anything that looks as though it fits with the other thefts. But any books, I keep.”

Blueblood smiled, nodding. “I can live with that. I shall have the matching artefact retrieved and delivered to your quarters.” He refilled his cup. “More tea?”

Rarity was silent as she led Applejack through the plush halls, and now that they were alone….Applejack didn’t know what to say. The maid was tense, and she had refused to look Applejack in the eyes. Eventually, passing by a particularly striking painting of the Canterhorn Mountain, Applejack just forced herself to speak.

“Rarity-”

As though saying her name had been some silent signal, Rarity spun so fast Applejack had to jump back to avoid running into her. She glared, her face a mask of fury. Her hand clenched her apron, crumbling it in her tight grip.

“Applejack! What are you doing here?” she hissed, her shoulders shaking with repressed anger and humiliation.

“What am I doin’ here? What are you doing?! A maid? Ya said y’all were gonna make a name for yerself!” Applejack retorted, answering Rarity’s glare with one of her own. “Yer family ain’t heard from ya in a year. Sweetie Belle asks pretty much every traveler from Canterlot if they’ve seen ya.”

Rarity recoiled, her anger faltering. “Sweetie Belle…” she glanced around the hall, searching for something as her anger slowly died. Guilt replaced it at the thought of her sister.

“Rarity, tell me what’s goin’ on. This ain’t what I was expectin’,” Applejack pressed.

Sighing, Rarity gave a weary nod. “In the kitchen. Please. Applejack, I..just, I’ll tell you in the kitchen. Please,” she pleaded. The look in her eyes made Applejack nod as much as anything else. Rarity had always had an air of dignity about her, yet here she was practically begging for patience.

The walk to the kitchens was silent, both lost in thoughts. Rarity straightened as they entered the kitchens, the defensiveness and vulnerability removed from her manner. She nodded at an older man who possessed the air of a king on his throne. Leaving Applejack by the door, Rarity fetch her a mug with some water. She knew now that Applejack’s coughing had been faked, but appearances had to be kept.

“Miss Rarity,” the head chef said with a nod. “If you would be so kind as to inform his highness that his favourite dessert will be ready. The order finally arrived.”

“Ah, thank you. I am sure he will be delighted. Did she tell you why she was delayed?” Rarity asked, stopping to talk for a moment. Anything to put off talking to Applejack for a little longer.

The chef snorted. “Wasn’t her. I asked the boy they had replacing her, she hasn’t been seen in days. Damn shame; she might have been clumsy, but when she delivered the special not a single cherry was bruised. You know how hard that is, getting the cherries all the way here totally undamaged?”

“Quite the task, I gather. I would love to chat more, darling, but his highness’s guest’s guard is in need of this.” Rarity knew, even after all this time, the look Applejack was shooting her. The ranger wasn’t fooled in the slightest. With a nod from the chef she hurried over.

“So,” Applejack began, taking the mug. She raised an eyebrow at her. “Wanna tell me how ya ended up here? Thought ya had it all planned out, a ‘glitterin’ future’ ya said. I heard Sweetie Belle readin’ those letters of yers to ‘Bloom, until ya stopped sending them. Sounded like everythin’ was goin’ perfect, then the letters just stopped. No word, nothin’.”

Rarity sighed. It was weary, hopeless sound, as though it was an effort just to express the feeling bottled inside. She flinched at the look in Applejack’s eyes.

“Family,” Applejack said, “deserves better.”

“I..I know. Please, Applejack, believe me. I’m sorry, but, I just, I…” Rarity’s hand wrung the fabric of her apron, looking away with embarrassment and humiliation in her eyes. “I was ashamed.”

“Ashamed? Of what? So, things didn’t go so well, that ain’t no reason to fall outta contact. Landsakes, yer parents think yer dead!” Applejack hissed furiously.

“I know!” Taking a deep breath, Rarity flash a glare at a servant who had ventured a little too close at her outburst. “I know, but...oh, darling, I said I would do so much, I made such grand claims. I nearly did! In only a few months, I had managed to get some small acclaim among the lesser nobility and the merchants who wanted to be nobility. I was doing well, very well. But then…”

Applejack frowned at her, waiting. “An’ then what?” she asked at last.

“It was an amazing opportunity. One of the highest nobility came to me. She wanted to commission something unique from me, to test my skills, she said. I had just purchased my own place of business, using everything I had earned and a loan, and this seemed like a gift from the sun itself. She gave me a list, of what had to be included. Magic, gems, the finest of fabrics from across the land. It would cost thousands of gold just to import what I would need in time, so I had to take out another loan,” Rarity explained. She didn’t meet Applejack’s eyes again, looking away.

“Tch, a loan! I think I can guess what happened. Somethin’ tricky in the contract? Lil’ bit of that fancy talk to make ya think one thin’ while they do another an’ steal everythin’ out from under ya?” Applejack took a swig of the water, the clean, pure taste surprising her. “I coulda told ya not to trust some slick city-merchant.”

Rarity gave her a bitter smile, finally looking at her. “Oh, you can say many things about Prince Blueblood, but all of his legal and financial dealings are above board. He at least was honest in his dealings. Not generous, but never a cheat, I will give him that. No, he wasn’t responsible for what happened.”

“Blueblood?” Applejack stared. “Ya borrowed from him? What happened?”

“Vandals. A thief. A fire. It took everything in the building, and even the store next to mine. I got out in time. My supplies, the dress, all of my money, I’m afraid I can’t say the same. Nor can dear old Quilted Down next door. Old, you see, she couldn’t get out. I pray the smoke took her in her sleep before she... S-so I lost my livelihood, and my failure to deliver the dress to Lady De Lis upset her so much, she had me blacklisted among the nobility.” Rarity offered Applejack a humourless smile at the shocked look on her face. “So, I was left in massive debt, unable to repay my loan without access to nobles willing to spend such amounts on clothing, and with no supplies to make anything else. I suppose I should count myself lucky his highness was willing to work something out. My contract only lasts another decade.”

Applejack pushed her hat back, rubbing her forehead as she took it all in. “That’s...that’s terrible! Why didn’t ya say anythin’? Let us know ya needed help?”

“And help me how, darling? Your family, as brave and skillful as they are, are not bankers or merchants. Anything of value that you could sell to help me you already use to defend the town and the plains from the creatures of the Everfree. If you were really willing to help me so, you would be forsaking your duty.” Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “Speaking of which, my dear old friend, what are you doing here? With Lady Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to the Princess, after I saw you in shackles no less?”

“This ain’t about me,” said Applejack, hesitating a moment too long.

Rarity missed nothing. She raised an eyebrow. “Really? You used to say there was no reason to ever leave home, not with your duty. Yet here you are, apparently able to convince Lady Sparkle to let you fake a cough to talk to me, a mere maid.”

“Looked like more than just a maid ta me. Even stuck here, ya got a way to rise to the top,” Appejack retorted. They glared at each other, neither willing to give an inch. Eventually, Applejack felt a small smile break her scowl. “It’s...it’s good to see ya again, sugar.”

Something like a smile formed on Rarity’s face for just a moment. “Yes, it is. I have missed you. Sweetie Belle, is she well?”

“She’s a right lil’ troublemaker, but she an’ Apple Bloom at least get in trouble together. She’s growin’ up, but she misses her sister.” Applejack reached out, patting her on the shoulder. “I meant it, sugar. I’d have helped. If there’s anythin’ I can do, let me know.”

Rarity gently wiped away tears before they could disturb her makeup. “I...I miss her too. I want her to be proud of me, Applejack. I wanted to be able to come back and show her that just because we were born in a backwater doesn’t mean she can’t achieve great things.”

“I...I gotta be honest too, sugar, I ain’t in Canterlot for any good reasons. Somethin’ happened back home. I…” Applejack was the one to avoid Rarity’s eyes this time. “I screwed up. Bad.”

“Oh, darling, I’m sure it’s not that bad-”

“People died.”

They both fell silent. Rarity eventually reached out, giving her childhood friend a quick hug before any of the busy kitchen staff could notice.

“So, long story short, some bastard tried to drug me in a pub, an’ I beat him up,” Applejack went on abruptly. “‘cept I wasn’t really all with it, so I beat up the guards who came to see what happened. Wasn’t hard for the scummy bastards who drugged me to just say I got drunk an’ outta hand.”

“You, drunk? I’m not sure there’s enough alcohol in the city for that,” Rarity quipped with a genuine smile.

Applejack chuckled, taking another drink of the pure, clean water. “Too right there, sugar. Fortunately for me, that ‘Lady Sparkle’ had a lil’ interest in me an’ this other girl, a thief. We cut a deal; we’re basically gonna do what she says, doin’ stuff like helpin’ her with stuff from her own lil’ library to trackin’ down someone knicking magic stuff.”

Rarity gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Thief...not the one who broke in? His highness was in such a fury after he wasn’t allowed to take her into custody. The little girl with rainbow hair who was with you?”

“That’s her, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack smirked at her use of the nickname, wondering if she would get to see some pay out from it later. Hopefully. “Wild lil’ thing, I’ll give her that. She ain’t real good at the whole trust thing, she’s had a hard time, but I’m makin’ progress. I even think I can get her to admit we’re friends.”

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, darling, and there’s no one better to help her. If there is one thing about you that will never change, its that you can be trusted with anything.” Smiling, Rarity took the empty mug. “As much as I love being able to talk to you again, darling, I fear we can’t keep his highness and her ladyship waiting much longer.”

Sighing, Applejack nodded in agreement. As they traversed the halls, something finally occurred to her to ask. “Hey, sugar, speakin’ of those two, what’s the whole deal with him sendin’ her a dress an’ all that stuff he was goin’ on about?”

Rarity glanced back at her, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly as she held back a smile. “Oh, that? Nothing much, he just wants to marry her.” She had to restrained any laughter as Applejack nearly tripped over her own feet.

“What?!”

“Oh, darling, don’t be so naive!” Rarity laughed. “I am his personal maid, I have been there a few times when he has attempted to convince her. Lady Sparkle is infamously short with would-be suitors trying to win her favour, and has no interest in being bothered by them constantly. His highness finds it mildly vexing dealing with such things himself, and seems to believe that a marriage between them would work out. She can do her magical research, with full access to his family’s extensive vaults and collections without a husband constantly begging for her attentions. He can focus on his work with the Royal Bank and managing the treasury without a wife constantly getting his way. All she has to do is provide him an heir and endure a few social events. Romantic, isn’t it?”

Applejack shuddered, nodding. “Yeah, real romantic,” she grunted with matching sarcasm. “Ya seen much of Twilight? Whatcha think of her?”

“Lady Sparkle,” Rarity corrected her. “And yes, I have seen her a few times. A remarkable woman; intelligent, but not particularly social. Her impatience for the usual traditions and affairs of the nobility make her quite the unique specimen. I was even with his highness when he paid a visit to her about a particular event, another attempt to sway her. I seem to remember her apprentice kept going red in the face. I can’t imagine why.”

“Heh, I think the only swayin’ that went on is with Spike.” Chuckling, Applejack shook her head. “She’s pretty nice, once ya get her to relax. A bit lonely, I think.”

Rarity nodded, but further discussion was forestalled at the door came into sight. “Pretend nothing has happened, if you please,” Rarity murmured. “Nothing has changed.”

“Fine, fine. But it has, sugar, an’ remember that I’ll be ready to help if ya ever need,” Applejack promised.

Smiling, Rarity fussed with her uniform for a moment. “That means the world to me. Thank you.”

She opened the door, curtsying. Applejack didn’t bother with any such display, stepping in and patting her throat in a silent gesture that she was better. Twilight nodded at her. while Blueblood simply glanced over at Rarity for a moment before returning his attention to Twilight.

The rest of the meeting passed quickly, Twilight and Blueblood with little left to discuss beyond a few details. When at last Twilight rose, departing with a bow from the prince and curtsy in return, she smiled at Applejack.

“It’s done,” Twilight murmured, her tone brimming with confidence and optimism. “We have our bait. It’s time to trap our thief. It’s time to end this.”

‘It’s time,’ she thought, determination burning inside her breast, ‘to catch my friend’s killer.

Chapter Eight

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“A trap,” Shining Armour nodded. “Sounds good.”

They sat in his well appointed office, the Lord-Captain across from his sister. She had set a satchel against the desk, brimming with what she had called ‘exotic reagent purchases’ she had collected on the way.

“So glad you approve,” remarked Twilight cooly. She absently tidied his desk, unable to just ignore it. “I was hoping for some suggestions.”

Shining sat back, fingers drumming. He frowned. “I can get some guards together. Captain Green-”

“I said suggestions, not reinforcements. I’m going to take care of this myself.” She held up a hand before he could voice the protest no doubt waiting to just burst out. “There are at most two, but more likely one, criminal. We’ll have the advantage in numbers and surprise. All a bunch of your guards will do is give us away.”

“There will be two criminals, if you take the girl with you,” Shining Armour warned her. “You should have left the spells-”

Twilight looked up sharply from adjusting his paperwork despite it being upside down to her. “If I left them on, what would that prove? That they have the ability to be magically compelled? I can still track them if they try to run, and I seriously doubt Applejack would consider the idea. Dash, perhaps, but she won’t.”

He gave her a critical look and said, “Twilight, are you really so certain? She could be related to this, you know.”

“I know, but she isn’t. She’s too fascinated by her magic, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.” Twilight’s expression fell. “Shiny, she can’t even read or write. Sun and stars, she had to learn how to count so she knew how much she was pickpocketing!”

“Which is unfortunate, but there are plenty of- no, no. Let’s not do this now.” Taking a calming breath, Shining Armour rubbed his forehead. He stood up, and from a small closet set against the wall pulled a kettle. He ignored Twilight’s surprised look. “What? I like tea without having to call for a servant while I work. Want some? Ca-” He cleared his throat. “I got some calming blend, pretty good stuff.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine, thank you.”

The room was quiet for the next few minutes as Shining Armour brewed tea, a simple cantrip heating the water. When he sat down, sipping from a plain, serviceable clay mug, the tension from their argument had faded somewhat, along with his headache.

“So, you mentioned in your message that you need somewhere to put the ambush, right?” he asked quietly. The parchment, delivered a the day before, sat neatly rolled in the middle of his desk. The chaos that had been his workplace had become transformed by his sister’s busy hands.

Twilight nodded. “Prince Blueblood had the relic delivered earlier. It would have been sooner, but my usual magical goods courier appears to have vanished. If I want to do this tomorrow night, I’ll need to be quick about this.”

“Tomorrow? Why tomorrow?” he asked. The tea was bitter, but soothing, and he relished in it.

“Tomorrow Spike will be with you, which is why he won’t be able to tag along with us,” Twilight replied, unable to stop a grimace. “If he knows we’re setting up the trap, he’ll either insist enough that I’ll relent, or he’ll just sneak along after us. I’m not willing to risk him, which is why I’d like you to look after him for the night as well.”

Shining Armour gave her a knowing smile. “I see. Don’t worry, he’ll be far away. About the place; I think I know the perfect location. There’s an old library, in the merchant district west of the parks. Used to house some old artefacts, but the place was cleaned out years ago. No one lives there, it was made with as much stone as wood so it won’t burn easy if it comes that and, best of all,” he grinned fiercely. “One door. One way in, one way out.”

“Really?” Her eyes were bright with interest now. “What about windows?”

“They’re practically arrow slits. No one is going in or out of those. Sound like what you need?” He already knew the answer.

Twilight knew it as well, and rolled her eyes at his confident tone. “Yes, it does. That sounds perfect, almost too perfect. What’s the inside like?”

“From what I’ve been told, its got half a dozen decrepit basements, the rest is almost like a maze and there’s barely anything left in it. You’ll be able to set up without any worry of being disturbed, and can do whatever you want in there. So long as the only way out is covered, it’s the perfect trap for you,” he told her confidently.

He claimed one of his now meticulously organised quills and scribbled something down with a dab of ink. Passing it to Twilight, she slipped it into the bag hanging on her hip, the strap running from left hip to right shoulder.

“Thank you, Shiny,” she said, reaching over to give him an awkward hug. “This really is a great help.”

“You’re my little sister, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” Shining Armour hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want any of my guards?”

She shook her head. “I’m certain, you’ve done more than enough already, finding me this and keeping Spike out of harms way. Enjoy your tea, big brother...oh, and Shining?”

“Yeah?”

“Try to keep your office clean. A disorganised study is a disorganised mind after all, and I don’t have time to come down here and clean it every day,” she teased.

Shining Armour laughed, waving her away. “I’m sure you don’t. Get out of here, and catch that thief.” His smile gave way to a serious expression. “I know you can catch the person behind this. There’s no one I’d trust more than you to do it.”

Touched by the compliment, Twilight hid her blush by hurrying from the room. “Thanks,” she said, the door shutting behind her.

He stared at the door for a moment, worry creasing his features. Almost without thinking he lifted his mug of tea. The bitter swill ran down his throat, and he let out a sigh that carried his tension with it. Everything would be fine, he told himself, with his sister on the case.

“So, that’s the plan,” Twilight finished explaining and sat back. “How does that sound?”

Applejack, clad in a sleeveless linen shirt and breeches stained with sweat, nodded in approval. “Sounds like a good ‘un to me. Only shakey part is how quick the thief is gonna get word of it once Dash tells the fence. I mean, that one fella got stabbed pretty quick.”

“Yeah, I kinda wanna avoid being stabbed. You know, health concerns and all.” Dash, her tone dry, looked up from the parchment of chicken scratch.

“Thought yer only ‘health concerns’ were that all the hot baths would shrivel ya up?” Applejack teased, ducking her head beneath the speck of ink Dash flicked at her.

Twilight put aside her pleasure at the obvious friendliness between the two to focus on the issue at hand. This sort of casual banter was, according to her research, a sign of progress in their friendship. Friendship meant trust, something the thief didn’t give easily.

“I think we can safely put that towards unfortunate circumstances; the thief was likely closer at the time, since the person who got to the relic first was going to fences. The thief we’re after must have known that, so they were able to ambush him. In the other cases, from what we’ve gathered, the thief strikes within a day of the fence, Hot Property, hearing about certain relics,” Twilight explained. She wrote as she spoke, swiftly crafting an elegantly scripted check-list.

“I’d like to suggest ya let me go with her, just in case. Can’t be too safe,” Applejack offered, directing a telling look at her greatsword.

“Of course,” Twilight agreed. She ignored Dash’s melodramatic sigh, like she had been the one saddled with bodyguard duty. “We’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll show you where it is, then the two of you need to go to Hot Property, give her the bait and get back. When the thief arrives that night, they’ll be in for a big surprise.”

Applejack asked, “What about Spike? He’s got magic, right?”

“No. I mean, yes, he does have magic, but he’s not coming.” Twilight frowned severely. “I’m not bringing Spike along. I won’t put him at risk.”

“But its fine for me to risk getting stabbed, I’m just a thief,” snarked Dash.

The mage gave her a sharp look. “Spike is a child. He can do magic, yes, but I’m not just going to let him come gallivanting into a fight.”

“Please, I got knifed when I was his age, and I was fine. I mean, it turned a little green, but I managed to nap a potion that fixed it. I even have the scars. He’d be fine.” She lifted her shirt, exposing a scar near her waist.

“Spike is not coming. That’s final, and I’m not discussing it.” She stood up, not looking at either of them. “As far as Spike knows, we’re not planning the trap for at least a week, and he’s going to spend tomorrow night with my brother. I’m going to decide what spells I need to prepare tomorrow.”

With that she turned away, striding off to engross herself in study. Applejack grimaced, rubbing the back of her head.

“Guess he’s a bit of a sore spot for her, after the whole acid thing,” she said ruefully. Clapping Dash on the back, she stood up as well. “Not much we can do if she’s so darn determined, an’ I gotta admit, I can understand. Wouldn’t want my little sister in the middle of a mess like that, not at all.”

“You have a sister?” Dash asked. She glanced down at parchment she had been practicing on. Her crude letters looked like just a mess of lines compared to what Twilight produced. She felt a stab of jealousy, irrational as it was, that the posh little mage was capable of that but all she could do was this rubbish.

Applejack grunted an affirmative as she began to stretch. Physical activity seemed to be her favourite pass time. Idly, Dash wondered how long it would take the ranger to go crazy if she was tied to a chair, unable to move. The thought made her smirk, and occupied her until Applejack spoke again.

“So...does…” Applejack puffed a minute later, settling into her rhythm of exercises. “...Rarity. She...misses...her…”

The thief shrugged, not sure what to say. Somehow, she didn’t think ‘so?’ would cut it.

“Gonna...get her...out…” continued Applejack.

“Who? Your friend? Get her out of the hands of that bastard Blueblood? Good luck!” Dash rolled her eyes. “I’d offer to help, but I only take stuff that doesn’t talk and I can hide. Unless she’s a gnome, that ain’t gonna work.”

The image of Rarity as a gnome nearly blew Applejack off balance. She laughed “R-Rarity..a-as a gnome!” she laughed, her rhythm broken. She grinned at Dash, who returned it. “I’ll work out a way, don’t you doubt that.”

Dash leaned back, dropping the quill and focusing on Applejack. “You’re really determined to do it?”

“Eeyup. Rarity ain’t happy there, an’ she needs help. Whether she wants it or not, she’s gettin’ it,” Applejack declared.

Watching the ranger get back into her exercises, Dash felt a touch of admiration. Applejack really meant it. Her friend needed her, and she was willing to go against a prince to find a way to help. Dash wished she had that sort of loyalty, that sort of friendship. It was stupid and exploitable, she knew, but she wanted it nonetheless.

Burying her jealousy and her idiotic, pointless wants as she began another repetition of the alphabet, Dash let her mind wander. Tomorrow this stuff with a thief would be over, one way or another. Then she’d see how long Sparkle kept them around. Then she’s know the truth.

The next day came about, all at once too soon and yet not quite fast enough. Twilight checked the sun, biting her lip before turning to Spike. With breakfast done, he was re-organising a shelf for her. With a sigh, she called him over and told him of the...slight change of plans.

“What? Tonight as well?” Spike peered at her, brow creased by his look of suspicion. “Why?”

Twilight fought to keep any hint of deception from her expression. “I’m taking Dash and Applejack to the crystal cave, and after the first time we tried exploring it…”

A blush reddened Spike’s cheeks. “It was just one little cave-in!”

“One cave-in, regardless of size, is one too many,” she replied firmly. “I’d prefer you stay with Shining Armour than be here on your own.”

Spike scowled. “I’ll be fine on my own, I don’t need a babysitter. You let me stay home on my own all the time! Besides, we have a plan, we have bait, we have somewhere for the trap-”

“I know I've left you here, but look how it turned out last time?” She laid a hand against his cheek. “Spike, last time you could have died. If someone tries it again, you really might. They got in once already, without the full wards activated there’s no guarantee they won’t again. We need to prepare more before we set the trap”

He looked away, unable to hold her fearful gaze. Twilight’s hand was cool against his skin, and she only lowered it when he reached up, entwining their fingers.

“Please, Spike, just for tonight. For me,” she pleaded.

Blowing out a heavy sigh, Spike nodded. “Alright. But just for tonight.”

The beaming smile he got in reply as she wrapped him in a hug made the concession worth it. After a moment, he gave in and returned the hug, letting the woman who was as much his mother as she was his sister and teacher hold him in her embrace. It wasn’t so bad, really.

“Thank you,” was all she said.

He blushed, pulling away with a meek nod at the sound of muffled snickering. Dash, from the sound of it. When he looked up she was apparently engrossed in playing with an apple, spinning it atop her finger. The thief bounced it between hands, not looking anywhere near their direction. Pushing his embarrassment away, Spike changed the subject,

“So, why are you taking them to the cave? Didn’t Shining Armour say it was still off-limits?”

Twilight hid her guilt at lying to him with her relief that he would be safe, and followed the change of subject happily. “I’m going to summon an earth elemental to see if it can clear some of the rubble or scout the cave. The whole reason he put it off-limits after the cave-in was to make sure it was properly defended in case the cave was a tunnel. Applejack and Dash are coming along just to make sure I’m safe.“

“What, he thinks anyone would be stupid enough to attack Canterlot?” Spike snickered. “What sort of idiot would do that?”

“I’m not sure either, but if he wants to be safe, he shouldn’t have put it off for three months,” she gave a long suffering sigh. “Brothers, right?”

He grinned, feeling his spirits turning up. “Think you could get me one of those crystals for my collection? Please? Since I don’t get to come along and all.”

Twilight hoped he didn’t see the guilt she felt in her eyes. “I’ll try, but no promises. We can’t be sure how deep we go, and if I let you collect every low quality rock or gem your collection would be overflowing.”

“Great! Hey, we can still go to the Sun’s Fire Festival tomorrow? We haven’t seen Cadance in forever.” Spike looked worried for a moment, his fear apparent in the face of the risk they might not see it.

A pained look rose into Twilight’s eyes, but she forced it away. “S-sure. She’ll be very busy, though, lighting the fire. She might not have time to talk to us.” ‘Or want to,’ she added in the privacy of her own head.

“Oh, yeah. I know we haven’t seen her in a while, but come on, she’s great, she’ll find the time.” He grinned confidently.

A knock and a shout signalled Shining Armour’s early arrival, and not a moment too soon for Twilight. She already felt bad enough about lying, adding more lies to it was not helping. If Spike wasn’t so willing to take her word, if he was just a bit more suspicious, he might have ruined it right then. As it was, he missed the subtle tension between her and Shining Armour as the Lord-Captain strode into the room.

Dash, biting into her apple, paused. She had this horrible feeling whenever he came in, like Shining Armour was there to arrest her. He was the Lord-Captain! The king of the anthill, a man the thieves’ guild hated to tangle with. She shuddered.

“Sorry I’m early, but I thought we could get started a bit sooner. Faster we start, the faster we’re done,” said Shining. He patted Spike on the shoulder, giving the boy a warm smile.

Twilight smiled as well, hoping her unease wasn’t noticed. “Its fine, really. Thank you again for this.” She ran a hand through Spike’s hair. “Have a good time you two, and don’t hurt yourselves.”

Spike called out a good bye to Applejack and Rainbow Dash, grinning and ignoring her half-hearted protest that it wasn’t her name. He followed Shining Armour out. The moment the door closed beind them, Twilight her tension flow out in an explosive sigh.

“Let’s give them a few minutes,” she told Applejack and Dash. Twilight strode to a desk littered with scrolls, beginning to sort them. “Then we can go to the library and get ready. The thief won’t strike until evening if we drop the bait in front of them at the right time. We should have all the time we need to prepare.”

“You know, assuming I don’t get stabbed on the way back,” chimed Dash dryly.

Applejack gave her a relatively gently smack on the arm.

Dash continued, straight faced, “If the rube doesn’t beat me to death first.”

“We’ll be fine. We got this, no fears, sugar,” Applejack promised with a mock glare at Dash. The rainbow haired girl laughed, despite her best efforts not to. They were about to do something deadly, on purpose this time. Whoever was behind this was in for one hell of a surprise tonight with the three of them there. They were outnumbered, for one thing.

Dash swaggered into the store. The smell at the edges of the middens wasn’t so bad at the edge here, but she was still glad to be out of it. She would have told herself off for getting prissy about it after a week of prissy living, but the truth was you only got used to the smell. You endured it, and eventually you stopped noticing most of the time.

“Hey, Hot Property,” she called, banging a hand against a rickety wooden counter. “You in?”

A woman, old enough to have passed her prime but young enough to not realise it, came stomping from the back room. She glared at Dash through locks of dull red hair, brushing it out of the way irritably.

“You? What do you want? It’s too early to deal with you,” Hot Property grunted.

Dash smirked. “Really? Here I was, going to offer you the goods from my run tonight before anyone else.” She shrugged. “Well, if you’re not interested, I’m sure a lot of fences will want to deal with me. Fancy gold statues are useful like that.”

Even as she turned to leave, Dash knew she had Hot Property then and there. The woman had gone stiff, staring at her with wide eyes, and as Dash approached the door she called out; “Wait a second! Damn it, get back here.”

Grinning, Dash turned back. “What, changed your mind?”

“A gold statue?” Hot Property asked, ignoring the annoying grin on the thief’s face.

“Well, mostly. Half, at least.” Dash described the statuette, keeping it vague but accurate.

“Really? How...interesting. Where did you find out about it?” Hot Property asked. She was good at hiding her emotions, but Dash knew exactly what to look for. The fence wanted this.

“I heard some idiot talking about it to his friends in a tavern, he found it in the basement of an old library west of the parks.” Dash laughed. “Thinks he can sell it for a couple gold or something, but by the time he goes back for it tomorrow….”

They both laughed at that. Hot Property was all smiles now, any tiredness vanishing at the news Dash brought her.

“Well, I’ll need to see it for myself, but I can promise you, you won’t find a better fence for it,” she told the thief, giving her a warm smile that was all fake.

“Eh? You sure?” Dash turned, shooting her a smug smirk. “If I decide to bring it to ya, we’ll see. But hey, maybe I won’t. Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

The door shut behind her, closing on Hot Property’s annoyed scowl. Dash kept her smirk plastered onto her face and fought the urge to break into a run. When you’re half-sure someone is going to knife you any second and you have no idea where they are, it's hard to look calm. So she settled for a slightly rushed a stride away from the little shop that appeared, to any official observer, to be a simple run down store. Turning off into an alleyway, Dash breathed a sigh of relief. Applejack was still there, and a glance back the way she came confirmed no one was about to stick a knife in her.

“Long night, I’m glad that’s over,” she muttered. “Thought I was gonna get stabbed the whole way back.”

Applejack shook her head as they set off down the alley.”I had my eyes on ya the whole way, Rainbow. No one was gonna get ya.” She sniffed, pulling her hat down over her nose. “Ugh, we gotta go back through there?”

“Only way, you heard Sparkle,” Dash replied with a grin. She tugged at the grill before them, another access to the sewers. Grunting, the grill finally came free when Applejack reached over with hand one and pulled it free

“Listen to you, doin’ what Sparkle tells ya,” Applejack teased. Hat pressed to her face, she let Dash climb down first before following and pulling the grate back into place behind her. “Ugh, that smell. Why the heck are the sewer tunnels so damn big anyway?”

Dash shrugged. “No idea. I mean, they’re not like this in the newer parts of the city, but there’s a heaps of ones big enough for us to walk through that run through the middens, all the way from the south wall to the north. Just don’t use them on your own.”

“Huh? Why not? Gangs or somethin’?” Adjusting her greatsword to keep it from scraping along the ceiling, Applejack winced as the smell once again invaded her nose.

“Nah, water. The sewer tunnels get bigger the deeper you go, but they get way more dangerous. Heard someone talking about it once, some kinda ‘tide’ thing, whatever that is. All I know is that water comes smashing through these things, and if you don’t know the timing, coming down here is a death sentence,” Dash explained it all with a casual nonchalance. Applejack was glad the rainbow-haired girl couldn’t see her expression. The ranger eyed the walls around them, even less at ease now.

“People drown in these things?” she asked.

Dash shrugged. “Sure, all the time. I mean, the older parts get blocked up and easier to use, but sometimes whatever’s damming it up comes undone and….”

Applejack shuddered, the picture drawn by Dash’s silence off painted all too vividly by her imagination. “What kinda fool would use these things?”

“Uh,” Dash looked back, cocking an eyebrow. “Us?”

“....good point,” agreed the red-faced ranger. The rest of the journey was silent, both contemplating the mission ahead of them and, in Applejack’s case, listening for the thunder of approaching water.

Twilight was just where they had left her when they returned to the old library. It had taken all of Twilight’s considerable willpower and Applejack pointing out they wanted to minimise signs they were here to keep the mage from going through the left over bookshelves. Every time she looked at them, which was every few seconds, Twilight had seemed to twitch for a moment of overwhelming anger at whoever had left them in such horrible condition. After this was over, she swore to track down to previous owner and Have Words with them.

The building itself was surrounded by homes two storey homes, squat and ugly. The walls were thick, and the insides almost a maze. True to Shining Armour’s words, there was only a single way in or out. Twilight and the bait, a gold and silver statuette that was clearly a matched set with the stolen statuette, were currently in a room near the centre. Thick stone walls, the core of the building, formed the old study of whoever had once worked here with a squat, thick oak door bound in iron bands covering the only way in or out. Once the trap was sprung, there was no easy way out. Dash took a single step in and sighed.

“Burning day, Sparkle, what is wrong with you?” she growled.

Twilight looked up from straightening a fallen bookcase. “What?” She was rather shocked at the abrupt sour turn Dash had taken towards her.

“Look at this!” Dash waved a hand at the organised, symmetrical room. “Does this look like a trap to you?”

“...yes?” Twilight ventured uncertainly. She was rather off-balance now.

Her answer proved to be the wrong one, as Dash all but exploded. “Exactly!” She jabbed a finger at Twilight. “A trap isn’t supposed to look like a trap! This place is meant to be disorganised, like some idiot came blundering in and found the damn thing.”

Applejack agreed, although she took a less violent tone. “Dash is right, sugar. We gotta get this place lookin’ messy again. An’ ya need to tell us what sorta magic ya gonna be throwin’ about, so we don’t get caught in it. Rainbow, shove over that chair, would ya?”

Taking charge with ease, Applejack found Twilight was willing to listen. The mage was also clearly embarrassed, and the difference in rank seemed to vanish as she did what Applejack said, returning the room to a state of disuse and refuse. Dash just focused on getting it done, more annoyed at having to do it than anything else. Her expert touch from living in the slums was put to good use, and all the while Twilight explained what she had prepared.

“The room will be dark, of course, so we’ll need light to use once the trap is sprung. If our foe is the wererat, we can’t risk fighting it in the darkness,” said Twilight. She moved around the room, stopping in places and turning this way and that before orienting herself towards the door.

“What are you doing?” Dash asked with a confused look at the odd mage.

“Sighting on the door.” Opening the door as far as it was would go, Twilight nodded in satisfaction. The rusted hinges groaned, stopping the door from going all the way around. “Good. Dash, you’ll be here, behind the door.

“What? Why?”

Twilight inspected the lock, giving it a critical examination. “I have prepared a spell to seal the door, but it needs to be closed for that. When the thief comes in, you slam the door shut and I lock it. At the same time Applejack can light this sunrod.”

Applejack took the foot long iron rod Twilight offered. She waved off Twilight’s explanation. “I know how to use a sunrod, sugar,” she said, rubbing a finger across the golden tip. “Use ‘em all the time.”

“Oh, well, good- hey, be careful with that!” Twilight cried, watching the rod soar through the air. Applejack had thrown it to Dash, the nimble girl catching it with ease.

“Good plan sugar, but let’s change it a little. I need two hands for my sword, for one thing. Rainbow can light the sunrod an’ I’ll shut the door. It’ll put me closer to the bastard too, so he won’t be able to make a run for Dash to put out the light,” Applejack pointed out.

“I can handle myself just fine,” Dash growled.

Twilight gave the pair a spectulative look. “Alright, Applejack. You close the door, Rainbow Dash-”

“Just Dash, damn it.”

“-activates the sunrod. Once the door is locked I’ll cast another spell. It will keep them from moving, but a strong enough mind can resist it,” she warned.

Drawing her greatsword, Applejack gave it a few test swings. “Ya got more spells though, right?” She moved as though fighting an invisible enemy.

“Several. I have prepared thoroughly for this, including preparing a few scrolls ahead of time. If Hold Person doesn’t work, I can surround them with webbing, heat their weapon’s grip until its too hot to hold, I can use Dispel Magic against any defensive spells; yes, I have all the magic we could need.”

“Great. Well, let’s work out where to hide you an’ Rainbow,” the ranger suggested, lowering her weapon. She would spend the rest of the wait, until evening fell, familarising herself with the room. No reason not to prepare just in case.

Spinning the rod like a baton, Dash couldn’t help another scowl. It was an over-dramatic expression, and she didn’t complain when Twilight drew out a set of scrolls. She just filed away the name of this spell. Nondetection sounded pretty handy to her.

Spike stared into the gurling whirlpool below. Scootaloo was gone, promising to return when night fell. She was as excited as he at the prospect of an extended delve into the abandoned sewers Spike had uncovered in the library, the empty tunnels below the park district a promising adventure. Whatever life she led the rest of the week was not so easily put to one side, however, and she had been forced to leave him for a while. So here he was, legs dangling over the edge of an odd well in the intricate ruins of a city that had been built over a thousand years, largely on top of itself.

The dimlight that filtered down caught upon the odd object he held before him. On its own, the dagger wasn’t that unusual save for its obvious quality. The blade glemmed with enchantments, and Spike could feel the magic bound within it. The fact he had a dagger, and where it came from, was what truly made it unusual. Spike shifted his grip, glimpsing a familiar hilt normally seen on Shining Armour’s belt.

It had been strange, the way Shining Armour had given it to him. ‘Just in case,’ Shining had said and would say no more. In case of what, Spike had no idea. Shining Armour didn’t know what he did when he ran off on his own, or so the boy hoped.

Flicking a pebble into the whirlpool, Spike poured over the mystery of the dagger. Scrutinising it had revealed little of its mysteries, beyond the powerful magic it held. A lavender gem was set in the middle of the guard, a six pointed star that reminded Spike of the staff Twilight owned. Perhaps this too had been a gift from the Princess, but to Shining Armour. He wasn’t sure; Twilight was so protective of that staff, she had yet to employ a single spell from it. Even when they found that cave and the crystal lined walls had begun to collapse, she had used none of its magic.

Of course, Shining Armour was a bit less...obsessively dedicated to the Princess. He revered her as much as anyone else, but Spike knew he had disagreed with her at least once on a matter of his guards. The thought brought a smile to his face. He wished he could be as resolute and firm in his beliefs as his big brother.

Sighing, Spike ran a finger along the blade. His hard, pointed nail slid along a groove on the flat, showing all oto clearly he would have to clip them again when he got home.

“Why did he give me this?” Spike wondered aloud.

“Why’d who give you what?” asked a voice right in his ear.

He yelped, the dagger flying up while he nearly fell himself. The young sorcerer flailed, the hilt bouncing off his hand in the mad scramble to get ahold of it without falling off. Arms encircled his waist, keeping him back. Scootaloo pulled him from the edge just as his fingers closed around the hilt. They fell back, Spike sprawling atop the small girl and the gifted dagger clattered onto the ground.

Spike stared at the ceiling of old stone above for a moment, collecting his wits, until a prod from below prompted him to roll off. Coming to his knees, Spike glared at Scootaloo. The thief just giggled in response.

“Sorry, Spike,” she said through her mirth. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Yeah, yeah, real funny.” Grumbling sourly, Spike picked up the dagger. Or tried.

Scootaloo inspected the fancy dagger, her mouth open in a ring of astonishment. “Wow. Someone gave you this? Look at it! It must have cost a lot! Like, a hundred lots! Lots of lots of lots! Heaps!”

“My brother did. Give it back, its really important.” He reached for it, but the girl danced away, grinning.

“You want it? Come and get it!” With that she took off, running through the tunnel. Spike was in hot pursuit.

She laughed and he shouted, but soon he was laughing too as he got into it and the dagger became less important than chasing her. As they played their game in their own private world of darkness and fetid water, the smells and dangers were lost to them in their youthful vigour. It wasn’t long before Spike was glad he had changed his usual purple robes for an old tunic and trousers. Twice he nearly caught her, but Scootaloo was determined to make this a real challenge.

For how long they played and how far they went, Spike wasn’t sure. They weren’t beneath the old ruins under the southern tip of the parks, but he wasn’t really thinking about it. At last he threw himself forward, pouncing on Scootaloo. They rolled to the ground, their laughter overpowered by the thunder of water down a steep stone pipe. It splashed and roared, pouring past them into a deep reservoir.

Laid out next to each other on the ground, the pair grinned and panted. Scootaloo offered the dagger to him, and he took it with a grateful nod, too tired from their game to talk. Together they lay there, listening to the water falling past them. Scootaloo poked him in the shoulder and leaned closer, raising her voice to be heard.

“The water is gonna stop!” she explained, pointing above. “This time every month, something changes and all the water starts pouring somewhere else. Listen, it’s happening!”

Spike sat back, listening as hard as he could. He could hear it happening, the flow quieting and changing, and suddenly the things he had read made sense. The real water system, which funnelled rain and waste water into deep reservoirs, was still in perfect condition since the city’s founding. No one had seen the actual artificial lakes of water created in centuries long past, but Celestia herself had confirmed that ancient magic had been used to imbue the man-made lakes with purifying magic. No matter where the water came from, what had been through it, it would be purified and pumped back up to slake the thirst of the capital city.

It was a humbling experience, to know he was close to such ancient, powerful magics. He would never wield such power, but Spike knew one day he would see Twilight do even more. She was the greatest mage the world had ever seen, or she would be, and Spike didn’t doubt that for a second. Maybe, just maybe, he’d be good enough to get dragged along in her wake.

So preoccupied with these thoughts, Spike almost didn’t notice that the thunder of the water had stopped fading. He only noticed when he saw Scootaloo’s frown. It was like a bubble around him had been pierced, because he could suddenly notice it as well. He stared up, brow furrowed.

“What...wait!” Sitting up, Spike looked around. It wasn’t a trick of his ears; the sound wasn’t coming from above! Sudden terror gripped his heart. What if a dam had broken and they were about to be hit by a wave of stinking sewer water? They would surely die, but far worse, it seemed to him, was how it would hurt Twilight. She would never know what had happened to him. No, she would find out, she would bend her magical might to finding him, and when she did, how would she be able to forgive Shining Armour for letting him go?

Scootaloo jerked the stunned boy, pulling him off his arse and onto the floor. Rubble from some collapse blocked his vision. Spike blinked, staring at her with a look of poleaxed bewilderment.

“Look,” she hissed, pointing down one of the tunnels. Following her lead, Spike lifted his head just enough to see over the rubble. His eyes cut through the dim light, revealing what had been indistinct figures as black clothed men and women marching through the tunnel. The children stared, neither quite sure what they were seeing. Scootaloo certainly didn’t know, her human eyes unable to see as well as Spike’s. What were just odd shapes to her were sheathed blades and clubs hanging from straps and belts.

Ice flooded Spike’s body, or so it felt to him, as a figure different from the others strode into view. The size of man, garbed in black leather, a rat that walked upright was the last of the small group. Unlike the darkly wrapped men and women, it held its weapon out, a pair of swords made from some jet-black metal with violent, jagged edges.

The wererat.

Spike ducked, pulling Scootaloo down with him. His hand clamped over her mouth. He held her there, the two of them silent as minutes passed. Each second was like an hour to Spike, his thoughts turning over what he had seen. The wererat looked just like the one Dash and Applejack had described, right down to the evil looking swords. What was it doing here, and with a bunch of people all armed to the teeth?

At last, Spike pulled his hand away and looked over the rubble. They were along, the stomp of feet fading into the distance. He stared after them, feeling something at the edge of his consciousness trying to get his attention.

“What was that about?” Scootaloo demanded, glaring at him.

“I thought one of them saw us, and he had a weapon,” he answered without looking at her. Spike rubbed his chin, flicking a thumb across the lavender gem on the dagger’s hilt in his other hand. “What direction does that tunnel lead?”

Scootaloo shrugged, but she was clearly uneasy. “North-west merchant district, duh. Something wrong?” She couldn’t help but notice he had gone still, his eyes wide.

“She lied…” Spike whispered. It suddenly made sense, and it hurt to realise Twilight had lied to him. That didn’t change what he had to do.

“Huh? Who lied?” Giving him a poke, Scootaloo cocked her head to the side.

That seemed to bring Spike back to reality. He shook his head, thrusting the dagger back into his belt. “No one. Its nothing. Sorry, Scoots, but I have to go.”

“What? Aww, come on! We were gonna go on a super-awesome adventure!” she protested. There was no hiding the disappointment in her tone, and she gave Spike sad look.

“I’m sorry, but I really have to go.” Spike wished there was another way, but he knew there wasn’t. He certainly wasn’t bringing Scootaloo with him, especially if he turned out to be right. In fact, if he turned out to be right, this was going to very dangerous. Suddenly, Shining Armour’s gift was going to be a lot more useful than he thought.

“Oh...okay…” Scootaloo stepped back, trying to hide the bleak look of hurt on her face. His hand caught her shoulder, and before she could go Spike gave her a warm smile.

“Scootaloo, I don’t want to go, but I have to. Hanging out with you, exploring and having fun, has been some of the most fun in my life. Thanks for being my friend. See you soon, I hope.”

With that, Spike turned and ran, vanishing into the darkness. Scootaloo stared after him, and hoped that this time, she hadn’t lost a friend. She couldn’t handle the thought of it happening all over again.

The building was silent and still. Not a soul moved or made a sound. It was, on the whole, quite eery. Dash would have given a silver coin- okay, maybe half….okay, a copper coin. She would have given half a copper coin to be somewhere else. For all the fact it was their trap, she preferred to be the one doing the breaking and entering. For a third of a copper coin, she’d have swapped roles anyday.

Further contemplation on how little she was willing to spend was forgotten as the sound of a creaking door moving brought Dash’s attention back to the job at hand. It was definitely the one of the halls in the hall outside; she had inspected all of them and, where they weren’t rusty, she had done what she could so all would make loud sounds when they moved. She grinned fiercely, crouching in her hiding place. All she had to was smack the sunrod on the floor and it would light up while Sparkle and Applejack took care of the rest. Easy.

The back of her neck tingled like it always did when she felt magic in the air, but Sparkle was probably just getting her spell ready. Tensing, Dash curled her main hand tightly around the hilt of her dagger. If Sparkle was getting ready to cast, that meant that any second now-

Her ears twitched, and she picked up a faint murmur, nearly hidden by soft footfalls of the thief. Except it wasn’t just one step of feet she could hear. Her guts twisted into a cold knot of fear. She began to shout a warning, but it was too late.

Green fog filled the room, and Dash inhaled a lungful. She coughed, the sunrod falling from her hand as she reached up to grasp her throat. She could feel the magic in the foul mist seeping into her, a nauseating feeling that struck her right in the pit of her stomach. The thief collapsed, unable to hold back a groan of agony.

Twilight stumbled, barely holding onto the fallen table she had been hiding behind. Tears filled her stinging eyes as the magic washed over her, taking her completely by surprise. Even as the poisonous fumes filled the room and threatened to sicken her, the part of her that was always watching and studying took note of the spell.

‘Stinking Cloud, third level conjuration spell, creation subschool, poison magic.’

Applejack, her expression a rictus of agony, had thrown her weight against the door the moment she saw the fog rising. Her stomach threatened to rise up in protest, she forced it down and slammed the door shut . She felt the door hit something on the way, and a cry of anger as whoever she had struck was knocked into another person. Despite the poisonous magic filling the chamber, she grinned.

“T-Twilight!” she called, gasping as more of the sickening cloud invaded her mouth. “The door! The-” She stumbled, the door jerking at the blows of someone outside, before recovering and leaning her weight against it, muscles burning. “The door! Seal it!”

Coughing and hacking, her stomach wracked by pain and nausea, Twilight tried to reach for her magic, but it was impossible. She was too overwhelmed by the vapours, just as the caster had clearly intended. She clenched her staff in a death grip, struggling to stay on her feet. It was the feeling of her ring pushed against her finger by staff that finally reminded her of it. She hissed a word, the heavenly tongue ringing out. A ring of spell storing, like the one on her right hand, required more concentration to activate. A ring of counterspell, quite literally on the other…

A wave of barely discernable light exploded from Twilight, obliterating the fog. Dash lay collapsed, gasping and groaning with magical nausea as bad as Twilight’s. Only Applejack had managed to fight off the spell’s effect, and only her quick reactions had saved them. As she valiantly resisted the urge to vomit, Twilight knew they would be dead or worse if Applejack hadn’t gotten the door shut. A door she needed to seal. Applejack was still shouting, trying to get her to focus.

The nausea wasn’t so quick to fade, and Twilight knew it would last for at least twelve more seconds. Ten. She had to get ready, prepare to cast the spell as soon as she could. Seven. Thank Celestia for the ring, her own variant design of a counterspell ring. It was ruined, the magic expended, but a genuine ring of counterspell was - four - indiscriminate in its activation.

Just like that, the nausea was fading. Twilight pushed herself to her feat. Applejack was struggling to keep the door closed, the strain on her face visible from across the room. Staggering across the room, Twilight fell to her knees as the words of her spell rose from her lips, a scrunched up piece of parchment filled with gold dust spilling over the door’s lock. Magic flared, energy draining from her. Lines carved of light criss-crossed the door, sealing it shut.

“W-what…” Dash groaned, hurling herself up on one of the broken tables. “What happened? How did...urgh, my stomach, burning hurts!”

Applejack panted, slumping against the wall. She wiped sweat from her forehead before pushing her hat into place. “Trap. Damn it. Someone told ‘em. They turned our trap on us!”

“Calm…” Twilight took a deep breath, steadying herself with her staff. She pocketed the expended ring, looking carefully at the door. “Calm down. We need to be calm, and plan what to do.”

“Do? What the hell are we supposed to do?” spat Dash, glaring at her. “Its a burning trap, and not for the thief! For us! Long night, they have us outnumbered, I can hear them!”

“She’s right,” Applejack mumbled, pushing herself up straight.

Dash nodded. “Thank you-”

Twilight shrugged helplessly. “Maybe, I can’t tell if a wizard or a sorcerer cast that. Can they get us with it? Not unless they all get away from the door and cast it right on it; it requires line of sight, and some of it would get past the door but they can’t cast it into the room. Oh Celestia, how did this happen? My plan, I had a plan, and now we’re trapped in here-”

Smack!

Applejack massaged her hand while Twilight stared numbly at her. The mage reached up, feeling where the ranger had just slapped her.

“You slapped me,” she stated.

Applejack nodded. “Eeyup, I most certainly did. Now stop panickin’ an’ get to thinkin’. We gotta get outta here, an’ y’all are the one with the magic to do it. Now, can ya teleport us out?”

Sucking in a lungful of clean if musty air, Twilight tried to focus. Applejack was right, they had to get out of this and she was the only one with enough magic. They had no idea exactly how many people were out there, but assuming that whoever had sent them had known about the trap - as they evidently had - they would have sent as many as they could if they were smart - which they evidently were - to make sure the job was taken care of.

“I can’t teleport us out,” she admitted. It was easier to think now with the nausea but a memory. “I didn’t plan my spells for dealing with a lot of people; Hold Person might be useful against their spell caster, but magic users tend to have strong wills for resisting magic. Web might slow them down, but See Invisibility and Glitterdust are useless. Perhaps…”

Twilight closed her eyes, focusing inward, gathering her magic, and then spread her arcane senses beyond her body, beyond the physical world. Night had fallen, and that meant...yes!

“I can summon something. It will take me a minute, but the Divine Barrier is weakened at night. Hopefully the door can hold them off long enough. If it doesn’t….” she cut herself off. “That doesn’t matter. I need to start.”

Dash, sunrod lit, stood next to Applejack now as they faced the door. Her dagger was held in a white-knuckled grip as she glared death at the door. Behind them Twilight chanted, fingers carving sigils on the air that glowed for a moment with magenta light before fading away.

“I hate this,” Dash snarled. At Applejack’s glance, she shrugged. “Straight up fights. The only sort of fight I want is one where the guy doesn't see you coming until you’ve got your knife in his belly.”

Applejack snorted. “Maybe that’s why y’all are so skinny, them little arms ain’t never used a real weapon before.” The door banged with thuds and groaned under the assault from outside, but it at least was sturdily built and the magic Twilight had sealed it with was holding out.

They fell silent, unable to keep up the banter with the impending battle on their hands. The minute of Twilight’s casting seemed to stretch on forever, until at last someone outside snarled loud enough to heard inside. Seconds later they jerked back as the door shuddered, metal screaming and wood bursting into flame. A ray of scorching energy burned through the door. Twilight’s spell was clearly not designed to withstand such an attack. They had seconds before the door gave way.

Spike scrambled up through the basement, dagger held in a shaky grip. The wererat’s gang had done nothing to hide the signs of their passage, so he’d had little trouble following them, at a discrete distance of course. Now he crept into the building, passing through old, refuse filled basements. It was surely the old library Shining Armour had recommended them to, but how could that be? Whoever had looked through the place for Shining Armour must have missed the basement tunnel that connected to the sewers.

As quiet as he could, Spike followed the sounds of voices. The front door, or what he guessed was the front door, was covered by four of the darkly garbed warriors. Two held scythes, a third was lazily swinging a sword while the last wore a robe, just as sinisterly as the others were armoured. Gulping, Spike quietly reversed directions. There were more sounds coming from another direction, further into the building, and he hurried as quietly as he could towards them.

Peeking around a corner, Spike tried not to drop his dagger in fear. A...a something, its skin as dark as pitch, not at all like the rich, natural brown of Twilight and her brother, not to mention strangely shiny, was chanting. The wererat was right behind it, glaring impatiently past it at the large door apparently blocking their way with half a dozen more of of the strange warriors.

Spike flinched back at the bright glare of fire magic, his eyes widening as it burned into the door. That must mean Twilight was in there! Fear for his mother-sister-teacher-person overwhelmed Spike, and his hand tightened around the dagger.

Whatever the dark man had thought would happen when his magic burned through the door, it wasn’t a barely teenaged boy coming charging towards him from the shadows of a corridor. He drew back, throwing an arm up to block boy’s dagger. The blade bit into his carapace like skin, cutting through it with ease and he screamed in back.

Spike barely realised what he was doing, and suddenly he was in front of the door, bloodied danger clutched before him.

“B-back off!” He tried to sound threatening, but even he didn’t buy it. The blood was leaking down the dagger, closer to his hand, closer to him.

The wererat dispassionately elbowed his strange companion out of the way. He didn’t say anything, simply fixing his beady red eyes on Spike. The fear on the boy’s face made the monster smile, displaying a sickening range of teeth.

“I- I mean it! Get back!” Spike felt the words catching in his throat, but he didn’t move. No one was getting to Twilight except through him, which unfortunately the rat-monster seemed quite happy with.

Shaking off his enjoyment of the boy’s fear, the wererat lunged forward. His blades lashed out, but before they could connect the wererat found himself propelled backwards by something that leaped from the stone floor and slammed into his chest.

Spike and the warriors stared in shock at the wererat and the pony made from stone that stood over him, which is why when the other two stone ponies burst from the floor and began to savage them, they weren’t expecting it. The shadowy warriors found themselves outflanked, their previous certainty of victory gone as they were firmly bucked from their high-horse.

Unable to pull his eyes away, Spike let someone approaching him from beyond. High on adrenaline, he span around, dagger wildly slashing.

“Spike?! Spike! Calm down!” Twilight narrowly avoided getting an ear cut off, wrapping her arms around Spike’s shoulders. “What are you doing here? What were you thinking, jumping out like that? You could have been killed!”

“I-”

“No, save it for later, we have to go before the earth elementals aren’t distracting them any longer.” Releasing him, Twilight paused. “That was very brave of you, Spike. Now let’s go!”

Dash had already passed them, and had gone in for the kill on a man with his back to them, too busy smacking his club at the small earthen pony assaulting one of his allies. He stiffened, but only for a moment. Its hard to do much more, with a steel blade rammed into your heart. Dash jerked the dagger out and stepped back, letting Applejack sweep her massive sword through another.

“Time to book it! Hey, Spike, come on,” Dash nodded at him, grinning at their turn of fortunate. Her grin died with a yelp as a blast of heat burned past her, missing the thief and melted a burn mark across the wall.

Blood dripping down his arm, the hard-skinned man glared hatefully at them. Behind him, the wererat had regained his feet and was putting one of the elementals down with violent slashes of his dark blades.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the mage roared. He began to speak, his harsh words ringing with magic. One of the warriors threw herself in front of him, barely parrying a heavy blow from Applejack.

“Twilight, there’s more of them by the front door! We have to get out!” Spike tore himself from her hands and pointed the way he came. “Come on!”

Taking his word for it, Twilight called to the others. The moment Spike took a single step into the corridor a wave magic blew past him, consolidating into a wall of dark green fire. Throwing his arms up, Spike felt a wave of fire ripple out but he managed to throw himself back in time to avoid worse than losing his sleeves. The skin on his forearms smoked but nothing worse, his draconic resistance proving its value once more.

“What did I just say?!” screamed the dark spellcaster. The fact they had tried to escape seemed to enrage him, as though daring to defy him was some unimaginable crime.

Time and numbers were against them, with Applejack and Dash forming a line between the enemy and Twilight and Spike. Pulling Spike away from the wall of fire, Twilight felt another wave of trepidation run through her. This was the actual spell, Wall of Fire. It was also a fourth level spell. She understood them in theory, but had never cast or prepared one of her own. This man, this sorcerer, had more powerful magic than her.

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t stop him. Spike, you know what I told you to never, ever do? Do it.” Drawing her hands back, Twilight drew on the power gathered inside her mind. Sigils and images burned into her memory this morning came to life, spilling out through her words and gestures.

A ball of white webbing shot from her outstretched palm, exploding outwards when it reached the sorcerer, filling that part of the hall with web. He slashed and hacked at it with his bare hands while his nimble ally, the wererat, simply wove through the sticky strands without pause. His bleak blade licked out, cutting a bloody line across Dash’s arm. Though she fought off the magic, Dash was forced to step back; her single dagger not much use against her foe.

Fortunately for her, Applejack was there. Her powerful muscles uncoiled in a strike that rocked the rat-man back on his heels, snarling some monstrous curse at her. Ignoring his allies trapped behind him the wererat went on the attack, blades whirling. Black against steel that shone like silver, Applejack didn’t move so much as an inch back. It was all she could manage, defending herself from his savage flurry of slashes.

“I’d appreciate a hand here Rainbow!” she called.

“I’m kinda busy myself!” Dash growled back, dodging the slash from a freed foeman’s short sword. Her dagger was useful, but she couldn’t land any debilitating wounds on him like this. She lashed out, driving him back for a moment. If she needed a bit more, well, she could deliver. She wasn’t just a thief now, was she?

It wasn’t the spell she called up. It was the little trick she had been practicing, what Sparkle called her ‘bloodline power’. Dash let the boom of thunder, the flash of lightning, the howl of the wind rise from within her. With a gesture she let it out, and the thrill of the act of release was a joy all of its own. A cloud appeared above the assassin, sparks raining down. He yelped, swatting with his sword at the cloud. Given that it was metal, this wasn’t his best idea yet, and Dash let out a laugh as he shrieked in pain. She went on the attack again, sparing a moment to glance at Applejack. She hoped the ranger was doing well, but it was hard to see in the flurry of combat.

She was still alive, at the very least. Applejcak caught a blow with her blade, bouncing it away and replying in kind. It was her first attack in a while, and she quickly had to go on the defensive again.

“Friend can’t help you? What a shame,” mocked the wererat. Now he finally spoke, Applejack wished he didn’t; his voice was cold with old hate, befouling it like a latrine.

“Shut it.” She kept up her defence, but it was like trying to swat flies with a hammer. He was faster than she was, and nearly as strong. How long before the sorcerer freed himself and started to throw his magic into the fight?

“Not much of a surprise with her, really. She’s already so good at abandoning those who care about her. Ask Scootaloo,” the rat went on, his voice a low hiss.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Shut up!” Applejack growled.

“Applejack, stand back!” Spike screamed.

She obeyed without thinking, which was just as well. What she could only describe as a beam, thick as finger but intense with energy, sliced past her. Webs sizzled and burned, along with a blistering wound seared into the wererat’s side. She could see it in the way he turned, in the way his gaze shifted to Spike. The were-beast wasn’t going to let the panting boy, his mouth glowing as the last of his magical attack faded, get away with that. And she wasn’t sure she could hit him if he was determined to get past her.

Applejack saw the last of the earth elementals Twilight had summoned rising up only to crumble beneath the blow of a wildly swinging assassin, and something inside her gave way. Pressure she had never noticed before was suddenly spilling out in words she didn’t understand. They were old and strong, heavy with power that rang down into her arms, flowing invisibly over her arms. With it came a flush of strength, the burn in her muscles receding. She felt like she could arm wrestle an ogre right now.

The wererat charged, acrobatically tumbling past her. She knew how hard it should be to hit such a fast moving target, but Applejack saw it in her mind and let the power guide her. Her sword flashed through the air, steel seeming silver in the light of the sunrod. She struck true.

A howl of pain filled the air. Something wet slapped against the ground a foot away from the wererat, who came down heavily as pain ruined his nimble maneuver. His swords clattered to the ground. curling his remaining hand around the bleeding stump that had once been his elbow.

Twilight didn’t even notice, her attention fallen into her magic. She had to dispel the wall, before the rest of the assassins joined them or the web spell expired. Even as she began to form the spell, a sudden jarring force slammed against her. She thought someone had thrown a hammer at her skull, but amidst the ringing she realised it was not so. A mental force, sharp and painful, was throwing itself against her mind. She shuddered, forcing it away. It was the sorcerer, and that was like no spell she knew. His insane howling increased at the failure of his mental attack. He clawed at the webbing, too incensed to use magic again.

Dismissing him and his intrusive magic, Twilight finally cast her spell. Faint magenta light rippled from her hands, a wave of near-invisible energy that passed through the flaming barrier before her. The fire was gone, vanished into thin air.

“Everyone!” she called, hearing the pounding of feet from other halls. “We have to go, come on!”

Dash ignored the shout for the moment. Her mind buzzed with magic, her grin wide and wild. Power cackled down her arm, grounding in her hand. With a shout she jumped forward and caught the wounded warrior with her hand against his chest, right over his heart. She saw his eyes, wide in alarm in the few seconds before her Jolt poured electricity into his body. He thrashed and jerked for only a moment. Then he was limp, dead, and Dash realised she had killed a man with but a touch.

‘I’m awesome,’ she thought in the euphoria of power. ‘I’m magic! Ha!’

She was pulled back to reality by a strong hand on her shoulder. Dash looked blankly at Applejack until the ranger gave her a hard tug, pulling the thief along behind her.

“Come on, ya idiot! We’re gettin’ outta here!”

It was a crazed, rushed flight from the library, the screams and curses of the sorcerer filling the halls. Spike led them down, out through the basements and into the sewers. Twilight didn’t question how he knew where they were going, or why he was so sure of their path in the sewers.

It must have been half an hour later when they stopped, but for all Twilight knew it had been an hour. She all but collapsed onto a squat stone, leaning against the wall. She didn’t care about how grimy it might be, right now her legs felt like jelly.

“Spike…” she panted, gently putting down her staff. “When we get home...we are having...a very thorough discussion...about what you get up to…”

He nodded, not really in much better a state. “S-sure…”

Applejack pulled Dash, who had just dropped to the floor in a squat, onto a rock that might have once been part of a pillar. “Ya okay there, Rainbow?”

“F-fine,” the thief muttered. She had torned off part of her shirt at some point in the run, using it as a crude bandage. She didn’t bother complaining when Applejack began to fix it for her. “That was pretty cool, you know. Cutting his arm off like that.”

Applejack gave her a tired smile. “Yeah, I...I guess it was. Wasn’t all me though. Somethin’ happened, an’ I just...I couldn’t miss.” She shrugged helplessly.

“Still cool,” Dash insisted. She looked up, gaze lingering on Spike.

“Well I saw the way ya fried that fella with a hand fulla lightnin’, an’ that’s pretty darn cool if ya ask me,” Applejack pointed out with a grin.

Dash smirked, nodding with satisfaction before growing serious. “Got a lotta questions about what just happened. Someone ratted us out. And as far as I know, only, what, two other people knew about it?”

Her voice carried in the dark tunnel they had chosen as their resting place. Twilight looked up, eyes seething with anger.

“I’m not any more happy with what happened than you,” Twilight tried, she really did, to keep any of the frustration and aggravation out of her voice, but she didn’t quite manage it. “It must have been Blueblood. He...he must have been working with the thieves already. He’d know as soon as the statuette he gave us was found it was our trap.”

Twilight dropped her head into her hands, wringing her hair. She didn’t say anything for a minute, just staring at the ground as Spike laid an arm over her shoulders.

“Damn it. Damn it. Sun and stars, how could I have been so stupid?” Her vision blurred with hot tears. “He fooled me so easily, like I was some kind of idiot. I never even seriously suspected him, and look where we are now! Hurt, bleeding, bruised, in the sewers with a band of killers hunting us. At least Celestia isn’t here to see this.”

Spike looked up at the other two pleadingly. He needed help, and he knew it.

“Nothin’ ya could have planned for, sugar. Sometimes it don’t work out how we want it to, but we just gotta start again an’ keep on goin’. We’re alive, ain’t we? If ya really were as stupid as ya think ya are, we’d be dead an’ Blueblood would be gettin’ away with. But we got our lives, so we got our chance to stop him.” Applejack gave her an encouraging smile even if Twilight couldn’t see it. “So now’s the time to lick our wounds an’ prepare for the next fight, an’ this time, we’ll go to yer brother an’ get us some reinforcements.”

Her words helped, or they seemed to. There wasn’t really enough time to appreciate the effect they might have had before a voice spoke up from the darkness.

“I would really reconsider, if I was you. I mean, I’m not, but if I was, I’d give it another think.”

Twilight froze. She felt Spike’s arm go rigid, the voice shocking both into silence and stillness. She tried to say something, but her mouth didn’t seem to be working. It, too, was stunned into immobility.

Applejack and Dash were not so stunned, on their feet in seconds with weapons out.

“Who’s there?” Dash barked, shining the sunrod in front of her as she searched for the source of the voice.

“An’ what do ya know about Twi’s brother? If ya got somethin’ ta say, come out where we can see ya,” demanded Applejack. She glared into the darkness, but even with her hat she couldn’t seem to find him.

“Well, if you insist,” came the smart Trottingham voice from behind them. They whirled about, and the glow the sunrod illuminated the figure of a man, his spiky brown hair thrown into stark relief by the light. “Hello Twilight, Spike.”

“Who are ya? Sneakin’ around like some nasty little assassin, what would you know ‘bout Shinin’ Armour?” Applejack leveled an icy glare at the man. He just smiled sadly, looking over at the staring, stunned pair of mages with a look of regret in his eyes before turning back to Applejack and Dash.

“I’m Time Turner,” he said. “And Shining Armour tried to kill me.”

Chapter Nine

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Dash charged. Her dagger lashed out at the stranger. She moved in a blur, blade aimed right at his throat in a sudden surprise attack. “Got ya!”

Time Turner rolled his eyes as he swayed back. The dagger flashed past him with inches to spare. To her credit Dash compensated with admirable speed, striking again. She ignored Twilight’s surprised shout to stop, trying her best to add another hole to the intruder’s head. Whoever he was, he was fast enough to duck away from her second attack. One hand dipped into his long coat, she assumed going for a weapon.

“Dash, stop!” Twilight shouted again.

“Sit.” There came a tiny flicker of light from his hand.

A tremendous pressure suddenly struck Dash. It seemed to come from every direction and pressed every in at every angle, reaching her entire body. Movement was beyond her. Dash froze. Her expression was locked into a ferocious snarl as she stood there mid-attack.

“Dash!” Applejack roared. She took a step forward, greatsword angled towards the man only to find Twilight suddenly imposed between them. “Outta the way! He just did somethin’ to Dash!”

“It was a harmless spell, she’s just paralyzed. Didn’t you hear his name? This is him; this is Time Turner!” exclaimed Twilight.

Applejack looked past her, fixing him with a steady glare. He had stepped back and was holding his hands up, empty save for a slender length of wood in one hand. A wand. Whoever he was, he didn’t seem put out at the attack or her glare. In fact, he was smiling with a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

“I thought he was dead,” the ranger growled. “An’ didn’t ya hear what he said about yer brother? Must be a spy or somethin’.”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not. It has to be him. Please, Applejack, just trust me. If he was our enemy he would have already attacked.”

“Oi,” Time Turner protested, his smile turning into a frown of mild annoyance.

“Besides, he’s the only person I know who would craft a wand of Hold Person with the word ‘sit’ as the spell trigger,” she continued without missing a beat.

He tapped the wand against his chin for a moment, then shrugged. “Eh, fair enough.”

Applejack wavered. If Twilight really wanted her to not attack, it would be simple enough to use the geas on them to make her drop her weapon. Scowling, Applejack lowered her sword and eased her stance.

“Let Dash go,” she ordered him.

Time Turner gave her an apologetic half-smile. “The spell should last another...three...two…” He counted down on his fingers. “One.”

Forewarned, Dash kept her balance. She bared her teeth, expression dark and dagger held at the ready. Before she could resume her attack Spike hit her from behind. His arms curled around her waist, tugging her back.

“Hey! Let go!” she snarled. The thief struggled to push him off with one hand, the other trying to keep her dagger pointed at Time Turner.

“Please, stop! It's him!” Spike cried, pulling hard as he could.

Twilight ignored the pair as she walked up to Time Turner. His smile fell, giving her a somber look. She stared at him for a moment. Without further adieu she threw her arms around him. His expression softened and he returned the hug.

"I thought you were dead," she murmured.

"Reports of my-" he began, tone joking.

She cut him off with a glare, pulling back slightly. It was a wet glare, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Don’t joke. Not about this. Don't," Twilight told him sternly. "I thought you were dead!"

Time Turner held his hands up defensively. "Alright, I'm sorry." He looked nervous for a moment. "You're not going to slap me, are you?"

"Uh...no?" She gave him a confused look.

"I will," Dash offered. She was ignored.

"Ah, good." Time Turner rubbed his cheek. "Some women get rather...upset when they think you’re dead only to find you having tea in her kitchen. Can't imagine why. I mean, there was a bit of blood..."

Applejack stepped up to the pair. She was tense and wary, ready to leap into action at the slightest sign of anything untoward.

"That's all well an' good, but I wanna know the hell ya found us," she growled. "Ya turn up after we get ambushed, tellin' lies about Twilight’s brother."

She saw a flicker of doubt in Twilight’s eyes at the reminder of what Time Turner had said. The mage took a step back from him.

Time Turner sighed. He glanced around the dank tunnel, revising his opinion of the impulsive girl with the dagger. She was shielding Spike, dagger held defensively between her and the mysterious man.

"I don't have anything to do with any ambush. You know I don't approve of wanton violence, " he reminded Twilight.

Her eyebrows rose. "I also knew you were dead."

"No, you thought I was dead. Now you know I'm alive and you really need to trust me." He dropped his hands into his pockets and gave her a serious look.

"I thought you were Shining Armour’s friend," Twilight shot back. "How could you accuse him of something like this? My brother, part of this? That's crazy."

"Twilight, someone tried to kill me," Turner said darkly.

"What does that have to do with my br-"

"They were waiting for me. Inside my house," he interrupted. Turner ran a hand through his hair. "They used his passwords to bypass every ward I had."

Twilight shook her head. "They must have just gotten past-"

"My wards tell me whenever a password is used and which one. It was his." His tone weary, he sat down on a chunk of fallen stonework. "Shining Armour knows not to give it to anyone under any circumstances. I gave him another password if he needs to send someone else to me."

She blinked, shaking her head again. Applejack was looking between the two with increasing worry while Dash wore an expression of intense thought. Behind the thief, Spike looked at Twilight for answers. Returning her gaze to Time Turner she denied it yet again.

"Shiny wouldn’t do that. He helped me plan our trap," she insisted.

Turner arched an eyebrow at her. "He did, did he? The trap that ended in a headlong flight through the sewers?"

Twilight stared at him, almost refusing to hear it. She knew her brother could not possibly be responsible. "That..."

"That's right," Dash took over. She jabbed a finger at Twilight. "He picked that place for the ambush, right? Right?"

Flinching away, Twilight stammered out, “W-well, yes, but that doesn’t mean he was involved in the ambush.”

“Right, so those guys just knew we were there by magic?” Dash asked. Her expression was dark and her knuckles white from the pressure of her grip on the. “I know a trap when it’s sprung by a bunch of guys with swords and magic.”

“Blueblood knew I was going to use the statuette as bait. If he told the thieves about that, he could have arranged this,” the noble insisted stubbornly. She glared at Dash. “My brother had nothing to do with this! Blueblood must be behind it! You just can’t trust Shining because he’s a guard!”

Dash glared right back. “No, I don’t trust him because that Bluebastard might have known you were going to use stupid statue as bait, but he didn’t know where, or when, or anything else! Face it Sparkle, this was a set up.”

Time Turner approached Twilight, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Twilight, I’m sorry. The thieves knew the layout of my house, my defenses, how I fought, they were even prepared for my usual assortment of magical items. There are only two people in the world who know so much about how I fight.”

“Then it must be the other one!” Twilight nearly shouted. Her hands shook as she tore her shoulder from Turner’s touch. “Shining Armour isn’t a part of this! Why are you doing this? He’s your friend!”

“Then that should show you how serious I am! Twilight, I’ve risked my life and soul for that man, and he’s done the same for me! I’ve spent every minute since I was nearly killed in my own home thinking about this and trying to find out the truth.” Turner took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He had known this wouldn’t be easy. “There’s no one else.”

Applejack stared at the pair as they argued. She saw Spike let go of Dash. He was staring at the two with a look of horror on his face. For a moment, Applejack wondered how she would feel if her brother was accused of trying to kill her. Or how it would feel to watch a friend and someone she loved arguing about it. The dragonblooded boy had her sympathy.

A painful thought occurred to her. Wishing it hadn’t, but unable to pretend, she got Dash’s attention.

“Shinin’ said he didn’t know nothin’ about the fires, right? The ones ya found out about?” she asked quietly. Dash’s confused look faded as she followed where that went. She nodded. Applejack sighed. “Damn it.”

Stepping between the bickering pair, Applejack separated them with a hand on each’s shoulder. She turned to Twilight. The scholar looked at her in silent surprise.

“Sugar, I hate to say it...but yer brother kept sayin’ none of the fires we found out about happened, or if they did it was just a normal fire. Unless he’s the stupid sort, an’ he don’t strike me as that, he’d recognise when somethin’ ain’t normal. Those fires weren’t. Ya said it yerself.” She tried to soften the blow with a gentle tone. It didn’t do much good, she saw as anger flared into Twilight’s eyes once again.

“What would you know?! Shining Armour did not try to kill me!” she screamed. Shoving Applejack away she reached out, pulling Spike to her. “Stop it! You’re wrong!”

Spike clung to her. “T-Twilight…” he hesitated. “He was...really weird before. He wouldn’t- they’re w-wrong, right?”

Time Turner shook his head sadly. “Spike, I’m sorry, but-”

“Shut up! Just shut up! Shining Armour is my brother! M-my big b-brother best friend...f-forever…” Twilight felt hot tears running down her cheeks. “H-he wouldn’t...he wouldn’t t-try to...to…”

It made sense. She had to kept telling herself that, but she was lying. Everything suddenly slotted into place perfectly; how they had gotten into her chambers, how the trap had been set. The only way for them to have gotten away with all the fires and thefts without someone looking into it before now. Something inside her broke.

Spike held Twilight as she cried. Soon, they both cried. Twilight was curled around her little brother, sobbing incoherent denials not even she believed.

Watching the aloof, egghead of a mage break down sent a cold, painful feeling through Dash’s gut. She realised it was a guilt, and...sadness. For Sparkle. She didn’t understand why she was feeling that. Dash wasn’t the one who caused this. Oh, sure, she had taken to the idea that it was Shining Armour, it made sense, and she had been harsh, but, well… After a moment she couldn’t think of a but. There was not but about this. Sparkle-...Twilight was on her knees crying her heart out and all Dash could do was feel bad.

‘Wh-what the hell? She’s a noble! A burning know it all and...and her brother she loves and idolises probably set her up to get killed.’ Dash pressed a hand against her forehead, trying to get a grip on this. She shouldn’t care that Twilight was heartbroken by the betrayal of someone she looked up to. Which was all well and good, except for the fact that she did care.

Applejack strode over and without prompting kneeled down next to Twilight. There wasn’t really much she could say. She just put one arm around Twilight, the other around Spike, and bowed her head silently.

Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, Time Turner glanced at Dash and shrugged. He indicated a few feet away and, relieved to have something to distract her, Dash followed him over.

“Let’s give them some time,” he murmured. He stuck his hand out to her. “I doubt I’d be welcome, being very much the bearer of bad news. I can’t say it’s a pleasure to have met you here, but were we somewhere else I’m sure it would be.”

Dash took it cautiously. “Dash. I guess I gotta agree. Sorry about the whole thing before, kinda on edge.”

Time Turner smiled mirthlessly. “No need to apologise. I appreciate that Twilight has a friend who can act so swiftly to protect her.” He studied her expression. “Or, at least I assume you’re friends.”

Realising she hadn’t masked her reaction to being described as Twilight’s friend, Dash shrugged uneasily. She had the uneasy feeling that he was seeing far more about her than she wanted him to know.

“Regardless, you have my thanks. One of the people who tried to kill me was a shapeshifter, so we’re going to need to be careful.” Tucking his hands into his ragged coat, Time Turner kept the huddle in his sight. Regret and guilt played across his expression before vanishing under a mask of control. “Perhaps I should have been more careful about this...”

She gave him a vague shrug again. Dash simply didn’t know how to react to this friendly stranger who was meant to be dead. Especially after she had tried to kill him. That usually made things pretty awkward.

Sighing, he shook his head. “There’s not really any good way to break this sort of news...damn it, Shining, what the hell happened to you…” he growled. There was anger, the heated fury of someone stung by betrayal. “I haven’t spoken with him in months. Nearly a year, since he started seeing that woman.”

“Woman?” Dash only spoke.

Time Turner rolled his eyes. “Yes. A woman. I knew there was something odd about her, but oh no, ‘you’re just being paranoid’, like it’s perfectly normal to find women in big slabs of crystal at the bottom of a dungeon full of traps and monsters!” He scowled darkly, saying ‘that woman’ in a way that suggested he wanted to say ‘bitch’. “It’s like the time with the girdle, no one bothers to listen when you tell them not to touch the shiny object.”

“So, some woman is the reason the Lord-Captain is trying to kill his sister?” Dash asked skeptically. “That’s just lame, doesn’t he have a will of his own?”

“Oh yes, very much so. He’s got a mind like a fortress.” Time Turner smiled grimly. “A sorcerer once tried to dominate his mind. Shining gave him a bloody nose in reply.” His smile faded, days long past zooming past his eyes, overlapping the image of Twilight’s look of utter pain. “Oh, Shining, you fool.”

After long, unpleasant minutes Twilight rose unsteadily. She looked at Time Turner through red rimmed eyes. He fidgeted under her silent gaze.

"Who...what did the assassins look like?" She asked. One hand held onto Spike, keeping him close. Her breathing was ragged and unsteady, but her eyes were burning with some nameless emotion.

Time Turner considered her for a moment. "One was a man, although I doubt he was human what with the black carapace. A sorcerer, if I'm any judge." It went unsaid that he was.

"Sounds like that fella who was screamin' an' cussin' at us," Applejack observed. "Don’t suppose the other one was a wererat bastard, was it?"

“Not that I could see. The other was a woman; she was obviously the leader.” Time Turner shuddered. “She was the real problem.”

Twilight closed her eyes, trying to think. “Okay...we need to work out why. Did you have something like this?” She showed him the statue, and when he shook his head she frowned. “What about something that fits it, thematically?”

“Nothing with those runes either. They were more assassins than thieves,” he said with an unhelpful shrug. He frowned as well. “Mind you, one of them was pawing my souvenirs, but you’re right. Why would he send them after me? I just thought he was so enraptured with that woman he had other things to do.”

Ignoring the way Twilight twitched dangerously when her brother was mentioned, Time Turner began to pace, muttering with each step.

“There must be something. I was between projects, and nothing I’ve done lately seems linked…” he shook his head. “There has to be a reason. He sent assassins after you because you were digging too deeply. I wasn’t doing anything related to him.”

“I…” Twilight rubbed her forehead. She murmured, “I think we need to be sure. If you can’t think of a reason why, it might not be him. It might be someone else we don’t know at all.” She held up a hand to forestall their replies. “I know all the evidence and reasoning we have points to him. I know that. But...but I just because I know that doesn’t make it true. We need to know, for certain, he’s the one behind this and not compelled in someway.”

Time Turner was shaking his head before she had finished. “Twilight, no. Your brother’s mental defenses are solid, more than solid! It’s a fortress!”

“Someone could have somethin’ he’s gotta protect,” Applejack suggested.

“The Shining Armour I knew had one thing he wanted to protect regardless of the cost,” Time Turner retorted. “And he just tried to have her killed.”

Applejack’s expression darkened. That remark had hurt Twilight, the mage stepping back, but before Applejack could give Time Turner a smack Dash did it for her. The thief swatted him across the back of the head.

“Ow! Stop it!” he complained. The man from Trottingham covered the back of his head with his arms. “What was that for?”

“Shut up,” Dash scowled in answer. “She’s right though, if this makes no sense then we need to be sure.”

Time Turner sighed. “I really thought we had this resolved. I don’t want it to be him, but everything points to him. We want to know why they tried to kill me, when the only way they could have gotten into my home that way is if Shining helped them.” His expression turned dark. “Shining Armour is also the only one who knows about my gir- back-up home.”

He was given three sets of raised eyebrows and skeptical looks. Time Turner rolled his eyes.

“Okay, he knows I have a girlfriend and where she lives, and shortly after I got her to leave with me her home burned down.” Time Turner rubbed his eyes as he sat back down.

Spike spoke for the first time in minutes to fill the silence. “Why...why are you so set on this being Shining?” he asked.

Time Turner looked at him for a moment, his face set. “Because even if someone could use magic to overwhelm his mind once, for them to be able to control or influence him for the months in which the thefts took place is simply insane. If he fought them off even once the entire thing would be undone. Multiple casts a day for outright domination, at least once a day for less powerful, more subtle influence.”

Dash and Applejack looked at Twilight. She nodded reluctantly. “T-that’s true...oh, l-long night…”

Spike wrapped an arm around Twilight. “W-we can’t be sure. Can’t you do that spell that detects this kind of thing? Detect Compulsion?”

“Detect Charm, and I don’t have it prepared today. I won’t even be able to prepare it if I don’t get my spell book back.” Twilight tried to think of something. “I suppose Detect Magic would work for that too, but…”

Dash interrupted, “Yeah, we can’t head back to your place. They’ll be staking it out, you can bet on that, and you’re not what I’d call stealthy - not when you aren’t cheating, at least.”

Twilight scowled. “Magic is not-”

The sound of fingers snapping interrupted them. Time Turner tried to stand so fast and in such alarm that he tripped and smacked into the ground face first. Applejack froze, fingers still held out from snapping them. All four stared down at Time Turner.

“I...I think he’s afraid of finger-snaps,” Dash said, and tried not to burst into laughter.

Pushing himself up, Time Turner gave Applejack a very serious look. “Do not ever, ever, do that again.” There was a faint trace of menace in his voice.

“Er...okay…” Applejack looked awkwardly around, clearing her throat. “Well, I just thought of somethin’; Twilight sure ain’t sneaky enough, but Dash is.”

Dash’s look became a glare. “What. You want me to sneak into the palace, into a place probably crawling with those guys? And, you know, guards! You might as well ask me to sneak into the anthill!”

Slowly, Twilight turned to look at her. Something gleamed in her eyes.

“No.” Dash shook her head. “No way. How stupid do you think I am?”

Time Turner thoughtfully tapped his chin with his wand of Hold Person. “You know,” he remarked idly. “I could sneak in, but they still don’t know I’m alive. Whereas they do know you escaped…”

He began to pull things from his pockets, searching for something. Scrolls, wands, a staff, a sap, brass knuckles, a chicken , he kept taking things, apparently at random, from pockets too small to hold one of them let alone a dozen.

“I don’t think anyone could control Shining Armour for this long,” he went on nonchalantly. “But if you can sneak into the fortress, you can check while you do something else; search his office. There has to be something we can use to not just prove he’s behind this, but what exactly it is he’s up to. Now, where did I put that scroll…”

Spike raised a hand. “Uh, Turner, isn’t your robe...magic? You know, like a bag of holding? A robe of holding?”

Time Turner nodded distractedly. “That’s rather the point, Spike.”

“Right...what I’m saying is, can’t you just shove your hand in and say the name of the item you want, and you get it?” Spike asked.

Time Turner went still. He didn’t look up at Spike, nor did he look at the others or he would have seen the amused smiles they now had. He slowly straightened from his bent over posture and pulled his hand out of the lower pocket. Instead it went into a higher, deeper pocket.

“Scroll of Detect Charm,” he said in an entirely neutral tone. When his hand came out, he held a scroll.

Twilight cleared her throat pointedly.

“Thank you Spike,” Turner said. He gave the boy a rueful smile. “That was a bit embarrassing. Moving swiftly on! This, miss Dash, is a scroll of Detect Charm.”

Dash stepped back. “And that has what to do with me? Since I’m not going to try sneaking into the damn anthill! That’s suicide!”

Twilight passed her staff to her other hand and began to pull her ring off. “What if you could become invisible?” She held out her ring of spell storing. “Please, Dash. Time Turner is right; if you can get in, you can look for any hints to what this whole plot is about, why these artefacts re so important. You can find out if my brother really is responsible for this...please.”

Looking past Twilight, Dash looked at Applejack. She wasn’t sure why, or what she was looking for. The ranger gave her a look that conveyed ‘do you have a better idea’? and followed with an encouraging smile.

“I don’t know how to use a fancy magic scroll,” Dash pointed out. She shrugged as if it all very unfortunate, how sad, let’s move on. “Too bad.”

Instead of being discouraged, Twilight smile at last. “Actually, Dash, you won’t need to do much to use it. You’re a sorcerer now, remember? You just need the activation word to use the scroll’s magic. I know you still can’t read-”

Dash protested, “Hey, I wrote my name last night! And Applejack’s!”

“Your ‘j’ was backwards and you forgot the ‘c’,” Spike muttered, not quite under his breath enough. He grinned at the glare she shot him. “But you’re doing really well!”

“If we just take some time so I can help you understand the scroll, you should be able to use it.” Twilight’s expression became pleading. “Please, Dash. I can use the invisibility spell in the ring, but it will only last a few minutes and I just can’t sneak like you can.”

“Why not just order me to?” Dash snapped. She folded her arms, scowling. “That’s the only reason you’d trust me not to run off with the ring-”

“I dispelled the geas.” Twilight’s voice was soft, her words said almost absently. She didn’t look at Dash or Applejack. “Days ago.”

Dash blinked, staring at her. “...huh?”

Time Turner watched in interested, noticing the way Applejack leaned forward with her mouth dropping open. This was, despite their current, rather fetid hiding place, quite fascinating. A geas? No wonder a thief like Dash was working with Twilight. Despite Shining’s complaints - now tainted memories - Time Turner had nearly quite abandoned contact with a few old associates. He could see why Dash was well-known among the more daring thieves of the slums.

Twilight repeated her revelation, “I removed the geas. What did the geas prove, aside from the fact magic could dictate your actions? I want you to trust me, Dash, and this is how I want to prove it. I just...I wasn’t sure how to bring it up, and when all this started happening I got so focused on it, I never thought to tell you. I’m sorry.”

Dash blinked again. She was stunned. “You...you removed the only thing forcing me to help you, tell me right when you needed my help most, and you’re apologising? What is wrong with you?”

“Hey now Rainbow, that ain’t-” Applejack started, but Dash just ignored her.

“Are you stupid or something? When you need someone’s help, don’t tell them you don’t have control over them anymore!” The thief snarled. She glared at Twilight, hands on her hips as she faced the noble woman. “I thought you were meant to be smart, Twilight. You should have told me after I had done what you wanted.”

Twilight stared, mouth hanging open. She wasn’t sure whether Dash was angry at her, or, well, angry at her but for a different reason. Time Turner’s barely restrained giggling wasn’t helping. She didn’t realise Dash had taken the ring until it was being spun between the thief’s slender fingers.

“Alright, show me the stupid scroll,” she instructed as she dropped her arse onto a flat bit of rubble. She glared at Twilight when the mage just stood there. “Well? What, got all day? Come on, let’s get on with this.”

“T-thank you, Dash, thank you so much.” Shaking her head in amazement, Twilight took the scroll from Time Turner, rolling her eyes at his mirth.

It wasn’t until she had unrolled the scroll and Spike had take a seat on Dash’s other side that she realised something

“You called me Twilight.”

Dash fidgeted, shrugging as if it was nothing. She looked away, only to find Applejack there. The woman smirked, the expression slowly melting into a warm smile. Giving a melodramatic sigh, Dash just shrugged again.

“Yeah, so what? I can call you whatever I want. No-one is Dash’s boss,” she said in return.

Twilight smiled, a warm, genuine smile. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Her tone was light and teasing, and for once the thief didn’t take the chance to fire some snark her way. It felt, as they started on scroll theory 101, like they were friends.

A shadow slipped through the pre-dawn gloom. The only sign of her passing were the occasional crumbs, but she wasn’t the sort to let much of anything slip away once it was near her mouth. The anthill loomed, an ominous presence at the heart of the west merchant district that nonetheless brought a sense of safety and security to the people who lived here. Built of dark stone and almost sinisterly designed edifices with razor curves.

Dash took another bite of her muffin. She had to admit, whoever Time Turner’s girlfriend was, she made awesome muffins. She felt rejuvenated after her night-long lesson on how to use a single scroll. If she could read, it would have been easier according to Twilight. Since she couldn’t they’d had to make sure she understood everything on the scroll. It had certainly made her head swim, she hadn’t even noticed when Time Turner went off. His muffin-bearing return had been a welcome break.

“Just focus on the magic and the words,” Twilight had said. “You know what the spell is meant to do, and I’ve taught you the actual words of the spell, just in case. That should give you what you need to activate it.”

“It better,” Dash muttered to herself. She glanced along the road. Any minute now, if Time Turner was to be believed. She took another large bite, devouring the rest of the muffin as the sound of wheels filled the cold, empty streets. It was only now occurring to her to wonder why Twilight’s ‘respectable’ scholarly friend knew the anthill’s schedule for moving prisoners.

The wagon came into sight. Where the slums and the area around it were always alive to some extent, out here the presence of the anthill kept things quiet. The wagon trundling up the road had the results of the night’s busy hours from one of the small satellite watch houses.

“Time to go.” Dropping out of sight, Dash drew the hood over her head. She felt a shiver along the back of her neck. The hooded tunic she had ‘borrowed’ from a rooftop clothes line a few streets over covered her bright hair, and she used the drawstrings to keep it on tight.

The thief slipped down, hugging the wall of the alley in shadows. The rattle of the wagon got louder as it approached. To Dash it was a thunderous sound, growing along with her nerves. The moments before she got to work on her sneaky business were the worst, the most nerve-racking. She tensed. The horses trotted through her line of sight, clopping along the cobblestone.

‘Nearly...’

The guard atop the wagon came into sight, snapping the reins. The boxy, barred wagon lurched, the front wheels coming into sight. She darted forward, throwing herself under the wagon. Her hands wrapped around whatever holding places she could find to haul herself up. She wrapped her arms around the central bar, clinging to it like a limpet.

The journey was bumpy and rough. Dash was especially glad for the tunic’s long sleeves. She wouldn’t have looked forward to sneaking through the anthill with her arms full of splinters. She waited impatiently for the wagon to reach the fortress, and then, once it was empty of men, to rattle and creak into the stables. Dash endured the lengthy process with a growing weariness in her arms. Only when the wagon-driver closed the door behind him, leaving the now horseless wagon in the dark, did she finally drop to the floor. She knew better than to let a sigh of relief out.

Pausing only to rub her arms, Dash checked the ring was still on her finger and the scroll still inside her shirt. Satisfied, she glanced along the floor. Her keen vision pierced the low light left to her. There were no feet or legs to see from under the wagon and no sounds. She rolled out and stood up. Dash grinned.

“Time to show these guards why they needed Twilight to get me,” she muttered. Now she as in the anthill, with only the job ahead of her, any anxiety was gone. Her blood was pumping. Listening at the door, she peeked through once she was sure there was no one there. A hall leading deeper into the fort, lit by dull mage-lights, waited for her.

Dash’s steps were soft and soundless. She listened intently as she made her way into the heart of the guard fort. This was the quietest time, according to Time Turner, and his information had been good so far. She decided she really needed to find out where he got it. Neither he nor Twilight had been able to provide perfect directions to get to Shining Armour’s office, but she had a general idea where it should be. Ducking out of sight whenever she heard approaching footsteps, the thief’s progress was slow. The thrill it gave her, on the other hand, was immense. She grinned wildly as a pair of chatting, yawning guards passed the broom closet she had hidden in the moment she heard them coming.

“Hey, you hear if Captain Green is back?” asked one.

“Eh, hells if I know. I’m not going upstairs, not in the mood the boss is in.”

Frowning, Dash pressed against the door. Her hopes to hear more were in vain, the pair marching beyond even her acute hearing. ‘Shining Ass is in a bad mood? ‘Cause Twilight got away?’

Whatever the answer to that was, she would find out herself. The fact Shining Armour was here, when he wasn’t supposed to be, was going to make things a tad trickier.

‘Nothing I can’t handle,’ she assured herself. Resuming her journey, the thief found frustration blossoming. ‘This place is a burning maze!’

Tempted as she was to use the ring and simply sneak along the main halls, Dash forced herself to keep away from them. Even at this quiet hour there would be more people than she was prepared to risk there, and she might actually need the ring later.

A small servant’s stairwell provided her a way upstairs discreetly. She kept glancing up, making sure no one was coming down. Counting at each level, she finally stopped at the fourth floor.

‘This is...probably it. She said fourth,’ Dash thought, peeking around the door. The hall resembled the ones she and Applejack had been marched down. ‘Score!’

She was only a minute into the her search for Shining Armour’s office when a door opened behind her. Someone muttering curses followed, sending even more alarm bells ringing in Dash’s heard. There was something familiar about the voice, something that made her want to duck and cover.

“Ohhu,” she hissed the unfamiliar word Twilight had taught her. It meant ‘stealth’ in some language or another, and it would give her seconds of invisibility. Dash didn’t wait to see if it worked. She darted back behind the door, barely missing the guard emerging from the door. He paused, frowning.

“What-” He looked both ways down the hall before scowling. “Bloody windy pisshole.” The guard sneered at the empty hall and set off, running a hand through his long green hair. “Not long now…”

Dash stood there, totally still, not moving an inch as he strode past her. Her eyes were fixed on the guard’s hair. That shade of green was oddly familiar, and the voice struck as her again as alarming. Before she knew what she was doing she was following him. Before too long the magic faded. Her footfalls remained as quiet as ever, but she let him get further ahead of her. This was incredibly stupid, she knew that, but Dash could feel the knowledge that this was the right course.

It was hard to just follow someone without knowing where they were going, with no cover and no way of knowing when they would turn a corner of stop or anything. She just had to hope she was far enough back that she could duck out of his peripheral vision in time and that she didn’t lose him with each corner. The whole affair was made easier by the fact there wasn’t another soul on this floor. This at least made Dash more confident this was the floor Shining Armour was on; if he was the boss no one wanted to be on the same floor as.

‘If he’s on this floor, then hopefully this guy will lead me to him,’ she thought victoriously. Whatever about this guy that was familiar was turning out to be very lucky. More for her, not so much for him.

They reached a hall that Dash was pretty sure she had been pushed down. She saw the guard stop, looking at something with a faint sneer. Sneaking up behind him as he reached for a door, Dash glanced curiously over a pair of bottles that reeked of wine, lying shattered under stains on the wall.

'Long night, gonna need to use the ring again. I hope this is his office,' she thought irritably. Dash covered her mouth with hand and hood, murmuring under her breath at the same moment the door handle clicked open. "-"

"Huh?" The green haired guard looked back at the empty hall. He grimaced at the wave of smell from the room beyond and turned back to it. "Lord-Captain, I...ugh."

Dash agreed with him wholeheartedly. 'Ugh' indeed. The room stunk of alcohol. She slipped past the staring guard and found the room matched the smell. Bottles of win, a few spilled across the floor, provided the heady aroma. Lying face first on his desk, his fine clothes clearly shared the same theme as the room.

'Okay, weird,' Dash conceded. 'Panicking 'cause we got away, trying to drown out knowing he's screwed?''

"Pathetic," growled the guard. His voice was different; Dash had trouble deciding from just one word but it sounded more sinister and raspy. Watching from the corner of the room, Dash craned her head to watch the guard stride over and prod Shining. Impatient, he all but slapped the noble's head when the prod did nothing.

The Lord-Captain jerked awake. Bottles were upset and toppled. He rocked back in his chair unsteadily, looking up at the guard with reddened, tormented eyes. Dash stared at him, invisible mouth agape. He had been crying. His eyes were rimmed in red and tracks ran down his cheeks.

"W-wha'?" He mumbled, blinking blearily.

"Lord-Captain, it's Captain Green. How are you?" It was a stupid question for him ask, as far as Dash was concerned. Surely he had to be able to see his boss was doing badly.

'Where have I heard his voice?' Dash tried to recall it, frowning unseen in the corner.

Shining Armour laughed, if a sound that bitter and harsh could be called laughter. It certainly had no business near humour. After a few seconds he broke off, coughing. Except not, she realised. It was closer to choked sobs.

"H-how'm doing?" Shining asked with mocking, false cheer. "She's dead. T-Tw-..." he pawed at his eyes for a moment, holding back his anguish for all of a moment. "My little sister is dead and it's my fault! How in all the hells do you think I feel?"

His face buried in his hands, Shining didn’t see the contemptuous sneer on Green's face. Dash did though, and the way the guard carefully hid the expression. She watched with horrified fascination as Green leaned forward to offer false-comfort.

"Oh, come now sir," said Green jovially. "You could hardly have known the thieves could lay a trap for her. I mean, yes, you did picked the place for her, but you couldn't know the thieves would be able to turn it against her."

'Oh come on! Even I could do better than that!'' She thought with a disbelieving look at the guard. Green was far too relaxed about this, and was it just her imagine or did his mouth twitch towards a smile for a moment when Shining Armour let out a strangled sob. 'Now that's just cruel.'

Green didn’t let up. "You know who you should blame? The thieves, and whoever tipped them off."

Shining Armour roused from his stupor of guilt and self, peering at Green uncertainly. "Who?"

"I wish I could tell you. If you knew, you could find them. Hurt them. Arrest them,” rasped the guard, grinning at Shining. “Don’t you want to do that, Lord-Captain? Find the person responsible for letting your sister get killed and beating them blue?”

Dash watched Shining Armour nod weakly, the noble reaching slowly for another bottle of wine. It had been weird, the way Green emphasised blue like that, and she wondered why. The guard intercepted his hand.

“Perhaps have some tea?” Green suggested.

“Le'go,” Shining Armour grunted, glaring up suddenly.

Dash experienced joy when, for a moment, Green’s expression went slack. It sadly passed, the guard marshalling his self-control. He gave Shining a frosty smile.

“Lord-Captain, I really think you should have some tea.”

Shining glared blearily. “I shed-”

“What would Lady Cadance say?” Green cut in. It was phrased as a question, but the tone was not.

“...” Shining Armour said nothing. His expression had gone slack, his eyes vacant.

“She would say,” continued Green with a wicked look. “You should have some tea.”

“Tea,” repeated Shining Armour. He blinked slowly. “Y-yeah...tea. I’ll just…”

‘Long night, how long does it take to make tea? How long does this thing last?’ Dash had to clamp down on a rising sense of panic. She crossed her fingers and, on a whim, sent a prayer to Celestia. ‘I know you’re probably busy, but, y’know, this is for your apprentice and all. Give a girl a hand?’

There was no miraculous event suddenly saving the day. She couldn’t really think of anything that could help her out that was obviously miraculous without being, well, obvious anyway. Dash scowled silently as Green prepared the tea. She had to work out where she had heard his voice before. She stared at his back, watching him activate the magical teapot. She smirked when he underestimated the speed by which it brought the water to boil, a ten magical seconds, and his hand lingered against the metal for a few seconds too long. Her smirk fell away as he hissed an explosive curse, face contorting into a mask of fury.

She saw the attack the night before in her mind, but more importantly she heard the explosive, violent snarls of the dark sorcerer. Green looked normal, his skin distinctly not carapace-like. She focused on his hair. Long and green. Just like the sorcerer. His voice was different, but he had been screaming insanely when she heard him.

‘Burning day!’ Dash nearly gulped. ‘Come on, come on, how much longer have I got? This is not going to end well for me!’

“Here you are, sir.” Green put the tea down before Shining Armour. He gestured. “Drink. It’s what Lady Cadance would want.”

Picking up the cup mechanically, Shining Armour picked up the cup. He didn’t let it sit and soak for long, simply throwing back the dark, toxic green tea.

“Good.” Leaning down, looking Shining Armour right in the face, Green gave him a sinister glare. “It’s your fault. You’re the reason your sister is dead. You caused it. You did. Her apprentice too. He hasn’t returned, he must have gone to find her. So he’s dead because of you. The guilt is yours. What did I just say?”

Dash had seen cruel things in her life. She had seen murder over a few copper coins and violence for less. Betrayal, manipulation, fast-dealing had all been part of her life before now. Yet watching Green rant and make Shining Armour repeat it in a dull, empty voice was one of the cruelest. She could almost hear the sound of something breaking in the noble, his shoulders slumping. She was willing to bet if she could see his eyes they would be just the same. Broken.

After a minute of this, Green turned and left. He didn’t bother saying anything as he left, closing the door behind him with a sneer. He was half out when Dash’s invisibility faded. It took every drop of self-control not to let out a sigh and slump against the wall in relief. Shining Armour was curled up, his head on the desk. She watched in silence until his breathing changed from that of a man being tortured to sleep and slowly, quietly, pulled the scroll from her shirt. The sound of the parchment unrolling was unbearably loud to her ears, seeming to take minutes, but at least she had the arcane parchment ready.

Covering her mouth with one hand, Dash mumbled the words. A certain volume was needed, apparently, but she didn’t exactly want to wake Shining Armour. The words were engraved in her memory by a few hours of repeating them again and again and again and again and again. The ink vanished from the scroll as she spoke until not a drop remained on the parchment. Magic rushed from it out and up through her.

Dash had to muffle her gasp of surprise. It was like the Detect Magic spell. There was a sense of her senses expanding. She blinked. Rather than the auras of coloured light Twilight had taught her were magical auras, she saw a misty, transparent energy laid over Shining Armour. There were half a dozen colours, all mixed and swirled around him.

‘As if there was any doubt...wait...’ She got up, taking silent steps until she was next to Shining Armour. The cup of tea lay next to the slumped guard, the dregs shrouded by a green mist. ‘Huh.’

Leaving him, she padded over the small table with the tea. Sorting through it, she paused. Tea bags, green ones, matched the tea and one of the shades of magic swirling about Shining Armour. She kept herself from whistling.

‘Score.’ She took one of the bags, slipping it into her pocket. ‘Yoink. Twilight’ll love this thing.’

Satisfied with what she had found, Dash did her best to put it back like it had started. Yet as she passed the desk and its passed out owner, she hesitated. Shining Armour was a sorry sight; his mind was being messed with and he thought he had gotten his little sister and little brother killed.

Dash glanced along the table, eyeing his quills and ink pots. She lifted the hand still holding the expended scroll. The glimmer of an idea shown in her eye and the thief grinned.

“Spike.”

The boy looked up at Twilight. She was giving him a Look. That did not bode well. He gulped.

“Uh, yeah?”

She frowned, patting the makeshift stone bench next to her. Dragging his feet, the dragonblooded boy came over and sat. He knew this wasn’t going to go well for him, if she was finally going to ask what he knew she was.

“Things have been rather rushed and busy, so I didn’t really have the chance to sit down and ask you why you were there. You were supposed to be with- y-you’re not meant to be here.” Twilight glanced at the dagger on his belt. “And where did you get that?”

Spike rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “I, uh...a couple of months ago, S-Shining and I made a deal,” he finally admitted reluctantly. “Once a week, when I’m meant to be with him, he lets me go off on my own. And I go exploring.”

He tensed, waiting for the explosion sure to follow. After a few seconds of silence he cautiously looked at her. Twilight looked...disappointed. It sent a knife of guilt right into Spike’s heart and he looked away again, face burning with shame. Before it could take too much of a hold over him, however, he felt her arm around him, pulling him close.

“I’m not angry, Spike,” she murmured.

“But you’re disappointed,” came his muffled reply.

She held him close, one hand stroking the back of his head gently. “Yes,” Twilight admitted. “I am. But I don’t care; just promise me, don’t lie to me again this sort of thing. Don’t….don’t trick me, like this. Please. I don’t think I could take it.”

Spike flinched as he realised how she would feel, tricked and betrayed by the brother she had looked up to. The thought of lying and hurting her like that made Spike sick to his stomach. He wrapped his arms around her.

“I won’t. I promise. I won’t do that to you,” he promised softly. They stayed like that for a while longer, taking comfort from the physical closeness as much as anything. There was a protective sense to how she held him.

Applejack watched the pair from the mouth of the tunnel. She had taken it upon herself to take watch, to guard from any more enemies. The sight of the two was heartwarming, but made hers ache. She covered her eyes for a moment. She missed her little sister. She missed her big brother. She missed her family.

‘Nothin’ to stay for,’ she reminded herself. ‘Every reason in the world to leave.’

The sound of movement down the tunnel brought Applejack’s attention back to her job. She started to draw her sword. Before she could, Time Turner appeared. He put a finger on his lips, patting the bulging satchel hanging by a strap across his chest. He grinned, tossing a muffin at Applejack as he strode past.

“The dagger.” She heard Twilight asking Spike. “Where did you get it?”

“Why, from Shining Armour!” Time Turner answered for him. He squatted down in front of them. “Where else?”

Spike looked amazed. “How did you know?”

“I cheated. I gave it to him.” Opening his satchel, Time Turner pulled out a book. He offered it to Twilight a flourish. “A gift. Well, it’s actually yours, but since I-”

Twilight had already taken it. “My spellbook! How did you get this? I thought- no, no.” She stopped herself. “Dagger first. You gave Shining Armour that dagger, and he gave it to Spike? Why?”

Time Turner shrugged. “Well, I can’t say why he gave it to Spike, but I gave it to him as a birthday present last year.”

“Alright. Spike-” Twilight began to turn back to the boy.

“Oh, and so I could track him,” the roguish scholar added cheerfully. He grinned at their surprised expressions. “After we got separated a few times during our adventures, I decided to make sure that if I needed to find him, I could. That’s how I found you.”

Closing her eyes for a moment, Twilight took a deep breath. “Ignoring what that says about your sense of personal space and privacy...I’m not sure. Spike, why did he give you the dagger? Do you think he knew?”

Spike shrugged. “I don’t know, it really wierd. He said ‘just in case’, but he didn’t say in case of what! He couldn’t know I was going to find you.”

They shared his confusion. “Does he know where you go?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t think so…” Spike looked at her uncertainly. “This is all really confusing.”

“It certainly is. We need to set that to the side for a time. We can think about it later, when we have more information. Right, I’m more concerned about how you, Turner, got my spellbook. I thought we had agreed it would be too dangerous to go back for them,” Twilight said, giving her friend an annoyed look.

“No,” he corrected her. “We agreed it was too dangerous for Dash to sneak back in to get them. Not only is she not as good as me, but she doesn’t have a girlfriend who delivers reagents to you.”

Twilight’s brow knitted in confusion, clearing a moment later. “Ditzy? She’s- did you have her spy on me?”

He waved his hands, dismissing the notion. “No, of course not. Well...okay, no, but she likes to talk about what she does and sees and who she talks to and all that sort of thing. I just have to listen.” Time Turner frowned at her. “I don’t see why you’re complaining, now you can prepare some spells again.”

Spike had to muffle a snicker at the look of annoyance on Twilight’s face. She rolled her eyes and sighed, taking her book and opening it. “I suppose so. We’re just waiting for-”

“And it’s me!” Dash appeared in the tunnel before Applejack. Greatsword in hand already, Applejack lowered it with a scowl. The thief swaggered past her, grinning triumphantly. “And have I got news for you!”

Twilight rose to her feet, her face cast into an intense look. “What is it? What did you find? Something about the artifacts? Something about him?”

Dash’s good cheer faded. She looked...Applejack focused on the sudden shift in Dash’s stance. She had good news, but something was wrong with it. There was bad as well.

“I can tell you good news, and bad news. The good is pretty damn good, the bad is…” Dash hesitated. “You won’t like it.”

Now that was interesting. Not just that there was news, but the fact Dash was actually stopping to warn Twilight before she said. Applejack felt her interest piqued further. Finally, the rainbow-haired girl had decided Twilight wasn’t the enemy.

“Tell me,” Twilight said immediately. She corrected herself, the arm still around Spike’s shoulders tightening, “Tell us.”

Dash told them. She told them all she had seen and discovered. About the sorcerer posing as a guard, and what he had done. She winced as she explained the tea and its aura of charm. Lacking any knowledge of spellcraft, all she could do was talk about it’s presence, but that was enough to set Twilight alight with elation, that her brother wasn’t trying to kill her, and fury that someone would use magic like this on her brother.

“Cadance? You’re sure he used her name? Why would he do that? He must have been…” Twilight hesitated, shaking her head. “That can’t be right.”

“Why not? We found her in a lump of crystal at the bottom of an insane wizard’s lair! I knew that ‘no memories’ thing was bull.” Time Turner narrowed his eyes. “And now ‘High Priestess’, oh yes, very impressive, no one suspects a thing, no one except-”

“Yes, Turner, we know you don’t trust her, you’ve spent the last ten years telling anyone who will listen!” Twilight snapped. “I know Cadance!”

Dash spoke up, saying, “Wait, you actually mean her? The High Priestess? Doesn’t she go around giving food to orphans and the poor and stuff? Everyone loves her.”

“The perfect cover! Shining Armour and her get cosy, next thing you know someone is poisoning him with…” Time Turner sniffed the stolen sample of tea. “Mind weakening tea!”

Twilight snatched the tea from him. “Cosy?” She scowled and cast Detect Magic, focusing on the tea. “It is mind weakening. I don’t think I’ve seen it before, but it’s definitely magical.”

“Chemical too. It’s a double effect, must have been prepared in special conditions. Unique stuff, don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it. Unique.” Tapping his chin thoughtfully, Time Turner frowned. “What does Cadance want? Aside from a controlling interest in Shining Armour’s mind. Long night, it must have taken months for it to work!”

“Cosy?” Twilight repeated stubbornly. “What do you mean, they got cosy?”

He gave her an incredulous look. “What? He hasn’t told you? He and Cadance have been ‘courting’. All very hush-hush, private and everything. Until now, less than ten people knew. Captain Green Husk seems to be the go-between for them, in fact.”

“How do you know that?” Spike asked. “If its such a secret?”

“Ditzy does a lot of courier work, to all sorts of people. She just seems to fade into the background for other people,” Turner answered with a fond smile. “Not for me though.”

“How sweet, blah blah blah!” interrupted Dash, rolling her eyes. She ran a hand through her hair, brushing it back. “Let’s focus; priestess who everyone loves, does her magic healing thing, she’s evil?”

Applejack’s eyes caught something. She stared at Dash’s ears, noting their odd shape. They weren’t just not quite normal, they were definitely sharper and more pointed than a human’s ear. Had they been like that before? She frowned thoughtfully, thinking back. Had she just not noticed? Shaking her head, Applejack realised she had lost track of the conversation.

“-so, we need to work out how Cadance is involved. If she is. Green might have just been using it as a phrase, something he uses since it involves someone important to Shining,” Twilight was saying. She hesitated. “But...Shining did mention the tea being given to him recently by a friend. It almost sounded like he was going to say Cadance...

At last, Applejack spoke up. “I think I know why.” Her tone was thoughtful as she leaned against the wall. “He said that last time ya talked?”

“At his office, just the other night,” Twilight explained. Her gave was questioning but she kept her curiosity silent, waiting to see where Applejack was going

Applejack nodded. “And he gave the dagger to Spike just a couple hours ago, right?” Her brow furrowed. “Ya said the tea would need months to work, so he’s been drinkin’ it for a while without ever mentionin’ it. But he mentioned it now…”

“This going somewhere? ‘cause I don’t get it,” Dash complained.

Time Turner cocked his head to the side. “I think I might get it. Two abnormalities, right before something far more overt. He might not have been consciously aware of the trap, but on some level he realised something was going to happen.”

“‘s right, an’ mentionin’ the tea to ya Twilight, maybe part of him knows it’s doing somethni’ nasty. He don’t know he knows, or he can’t fight it enough to stop, but he can bring it to yer attention.” Grinning fiercely, Applejack saw the understanding reach Spike and Dash almost at the same time.

“He’s fighting it off!” Spike cheered.

Twilight looked as intense as she ever had, processing the new information. “If he can defy whatever compulsions or programming they’ve gotten into him, it has to be subtle. That’s why they used this sort of slow, long-term method; his mental defenses could shrug off direct attacks. Which means overt contradictions, or orders he won’t naturally go along with-”

“Like increasing his guilt!” Time Turner exclaimed. “That’s why Green did that! Not just because he’s an evil bastard, but because not only does Shining Armour have an awful case of hero syndrome and a tendency to take blame he has no claim to, it would be make him easier to manipulate. Break him down.”

“There’s another motive for yer murder then, since yer his friend. Kill ya, he feels bad ‘cause he can’t catch who did it,” pointed out Applejack.

Time Turner paled. “Which means...if I had shown up to him later, it might have broken the effect.” He sighed. “I should have trusted him. Burning day, I was a fool.”

“It’s alright, you were just being your usual paranoid self,” Spike assured him. He was unaffected by the withering glare Turner sent his way.

“We need to be sure he’s going to break out completely. If the source of the magic in the tea casts a direct charm spell on him, perhaps even Dominate, it will be much, much easier unless we can totally break any influence over him,” continued Twilight.

Spike piped up, “Green! That guy! He must be using magic to disguise himself, right? His voice too.”

“That...yes, that could work!” Elation filling her, Twilight hugged Spike tightly. “If we can dispel his magic, reveal his true form and show that we’re alive, that might be enough to snap Shiny out of it!”

Dash wooted and Applejack grinned. “Sounds like a mighty fine plan. But where are we gonna do it? Hit the bastard with a spell somewhere Shinin’ Armour can see, I mean?”

They began to discuss it, trying to work out when and where they could do it. Somewhere Green couldn’t just flee from, where other guards at least could see and where Shining Armour would definitely see. Only Time Turner didn’t speak, just watching them. He did nothing, simply absoring the conversation. Twilight shivered, muttering about the cold, and his eyes lit up.

“The Sun’s Fire Festival,” he said suddenly. They all looked at him in surprise. “The lighting of the flame. At dusk tonight, to signal the light surviving when even the sun is gone. Shining Armour is going to be there, when Cadance lights it. With, if I guess right, Green Husk.”

Twilight nodded. She could feel it, now they had a plan. Confidence. As crude and unrefined as it was, she knew it was their chance. They weren’t being tricked and deceived any more, controlled by an invisible puppeteer.

“At dusk,” she said, quietly but solemnly. “We find out the truth. We save my brother.”

Chapter Ten

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Dash yawned, rubbing sleep from her eyes. “Not the worst nap,” she muttered. The thief stood, picking up her makeshift bed her. The hooded cloak was unrolled and held before the unimpressed girl. She snorted, pale face wearing a doubtful expression. “This is gonna be real subtle.”

She nearly tripped when Applejack gave her a firm slap on the shoulder. The ranger grinned at her, wearing a similar cloak from which the hilt of her greatsword poked. Her blonde hair was tucked under the cloak, for once not wearing her hat. It made an odd shape where it hung on her belt, pushing the cloak out.

“Can’t have that guard fella recognisin’ us. Cheer up, we’re all wearin’ ‘em.” Applejack let go and walked past her. “I was ‘bout to wake ya. Come on, the others are ready.”

Dash yawned again. “Why’d you let me sleep if everyone else was getting ready?” she demanded. “Not that I mind.”

“Ya had to sneak into that place, ya deserved to get a bit more sleep,” explained the ranger as they trudged through the tunnel. “Remember yer job?”

Nodding, Dash yawned again, rubbing her eyes. She only kept one eye on their path through the gloomy tunnel, the dim light providing no obstacle to her. Her bare feet navigated the ancient stone with ease, each step habitually soft and quiet.

“Y’all okay, sugar?”

Glancing over, Dash rolled her eyes at Applejack's concerned expression. “M’fine. Just tired.”

“If yer sure.” Doubt laced Applejack’s tone.

The trip didn’t take long. The others were waiting by the entrance to one of the small drain tunnels, just barely big enough for someone to squeeze through. Time Turner returned Spike’s dagger once he saw them approaching, nodding in greeting.

“Ready to go? The ceremony starts in under two hours, and with the crowds we can’t be sure how long it will take us to get to the temple itself.” Snapping shut her spell book, Twilight slipped it into the satchel hanging at her hip and adjusted the shoulder strap. “Timing is important.

“Sorry, pretty tired,” Dash said with a shrug. The fact she had actually nonchalantly apologised seemed to pass her by for a moment. The realisation fired a shot of lightning up her spine. “Hey, I needed the sleep.”

Twilight sighed. “I’m sure you did. Let’s go then. Who was going first?”

“That’d be me, Sparkle,” Dash retorted. She slipped past her into the tunnel, barely having to duck her head.. “This tunnel area should be fine for a day or two more, but let me know if you hear any sorta rumbles or groans or anything.”

Time Turner let Twilight and Spike go next, taking the fourth place in line with Applejack bringing up the rear. He cheerfully said, “It would be nice to get there without drowning or being smashed into little red stains.”

“Let’s hope Dash’s ears don’t fall asleep,” added Spike.

“Spike…” Twilight warned him.

“It’s hardly her fault, Spike,” Time Turner informed him. He patted the boy’s head and ignored the muttered protest. “Puberty is like that for half-elves. All that developing magic is tiring, so she doesn’t get much say in it.”

“Ye- wait, what?” Dash stopped sharply, nearly getting bowled over by Twilight. She shoved the mage to one side and stared at Time Turner. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Turner stopped cocked his head to the side. “...exactly what I said?” he ventured. “Oh, oh! I’m sorry! You see, puberty is when-”

“I know what puberty is!” Dash snarled.

“I think she means the ‘half-elf’ part, sugar.” Frowning, Applejack looked past to Dash. “Guess that explains the ears thing.”

“Ears thing? What’s wrong with my ears?”

“Nothing is wrong with them, but they’re clearly elven. Haven’t you ever noticed?” Time Turner raised an eyebrow.

Twilight held up a hand for silence. “Okay, back up. Dash is a half-elf?” She rubbed her closed eyes. “I think I would have noticed.”

“And so would I!” Dash growled.

“Would you?” Ignoring her sour scowl in reply, Time Turner gave them a placating grin. “It might be hard to tell, if you’re not me. It’s not uncommon for half-elves to seem mostly human until they hit puberty.”

Dash tried to force her way past Twilight, shaking a fist at Turner. “Except I already did! Years ago!”

A cough that sounded suspiciously like a quickly stifled laugh came from behind Time Turner. He looked back at Applejack, who was covering her mouth. She flapped a hand at him to ignore her.

“Right, well, no. Except yes. Listen, it’s complicated and is now really the time?” Turner shrugged. “I promise to explain it all later. Time, girls-”

“Hey!” Spike protested.

“-and Spike, we don’t have forever. Dash, I’m sorry to accidentally drop that on you, but please, leave it for later.” He met her eyes, holding her gaze until she looked away. “I promise, I’ll explain everything to you once the day has been saved.”

Relenting, Dash stepped back. “Fine. But once this is over, we’re gonna have a long talk about this ‘half-elf’ bullshit, got it?”

He nodded, giving Twilight an apologetic grin when Dash turned and set off again. The mage just sighed.

“Sorry I mentioned it,” he muttered.

“Not your fault. Is she really-” Twilight began to ask, voice quiet.

“She can hear you!” Dash called back. “Hurry it up, I thought were were ‘on a timetable’.”

Time Turner gave a rueful shrug, just nodding at Twilight in answer.

“I feel so ignored,” Spike muttered as the two looked at each other over his head. “Rainbow Dash is right, let’s move it! We’ve got a day to save!”

Applejack added her say by giving Turner a gentle shove. The party set off again, only speaking in low tones and only when necessary. All listened intently for any of the warning sounds, though in places the crowds gathered on the streets above drowned out any chance of detecting them. Those were the most tense minutes of the trip. They passed through the tunnels, Twilight with a hand clamped over her nose, as the festival above grew louder. When Dash jerked her head towards an opening that lead upwards, relief was had by all.

“You wanted us out near the garden temple? We’re as close as we can get,” Dash murmured as they crept through the absurdly spacious sewers. “Once we head up, we can get back onto the streets just inside the Park District’s border.”

“And you’re certain there are no tunnels directly under the temple?” Twilight asked. She shuddered, looking down at something she had stepped in. “Not that I’m complaining about getting out of here as fast as possible.”

Snickering, Dash shook her head. “Sorry, Twilight, but we’d have to find the tunnels and hope they’re the right ones. It’s not like I’ve knocked off this temple, and most thieves steer clear of it.”

Twilight sighed. She gave Dash a weak smile as she followed her to up the old tunnel, helping the thief remove an old iron grill between them and a narrow alleyway . “We’ll make do. Ugh, I hope the smell doesn’t raise any eyebrows.”

Dash laughed, waiting for the others to clamber out. The alleyway, like all those connected to the old sewer system, was at a lower level than the streets with a stone building forming the other wall. She peeked around the corner at the stairs leading to street level. The sounds of the festival boomed down at them.

“Sounds like everyone will be too busy to notice a little smell,” Spike pointed out. He dropped one hand onto his belt, to the hilt of the dagger, as he joined Dash. “You’d think more people would know about these things. They can’t be that hard to find.”

Looking down, Dash grinned darkly. “Oh, people find them all the time. The lucky ones get lost for a few days.” She leaned down. “The unlucky ones wander through active tunnels. They hear a distant rumble, getting closer and closer, until they realise something is coming their way. They start looking for a way out, trying to remember where they came in. They run. Sometimes the active tunnels are wet and they slip, scrambling and slipping as they try to crawl away. Sometimes they even find a grill, but it’s too heavy, or it’s not loose enough. They struggle and push and pull as the water gets closer and closer, roaring down towards them until it-ow!”

Spike jumped with a yelp that matched Dash’s. One hand clutched his chest, his face pale from the horror story Dash had pulled him into as the thief put a hand atop her head. Applejack walked past nonchalantly, flexing the tanned hand she had rapped Dash’s head with. She gave the smaller woman a slight smirk.

“If yer done,” she drawled, jerking her head towards the stairs. Time Turner had passed them. He stood at the top, pulling his hood up to hide his face.

Shooting Applejack a childish sneer Dash stomped past her. “You’ll know when I’m done, Freckles.”

The festival they found at the top was familiar to most of them. It happened every year, and Dash couldn’t help reminiscing. She could practically feel the coins filling her pockets, after liberating them from festival goers a bit too cheerful and not quite careful enough.

‘Scootaloo is probably raking it in,’ she thought with a bittersweet smile. ‘She’ll do well, I don’t need to worry about her tonight.’

A whistle brought her attention back to the present. It wasn’t directed at her, she found, but was simply Applejack giving an impressed whistle. The ranger was staring at the loud, colourful crowd with a gobsmacked expression. A smirk spread Dash’s mouth at the sight.

“What, surprised?” Her tone only just avoided being mocking.

“I-I thought this place was crowded before! How the hells do so many people fit here? How do they stand it?” Applejack shook her head.

“You should see the Summer Sun Celebration! Hey, you will, it’s not that far away! People come from all over to see Celestia! It’s amazing!” Spike explained excitedly. His voice turned smug. “We always get to see it from the palace, which is even more amazinger!”

Twilight sighed and said, “That’s not a word, Spike.”

“Applejack’s head might just melt if she sees how crowded the place is then. This is nothing compared to that,” added Dash.

Ignoring the mocking look Dash was giving her, Applejack reached up to adjust her hat, only to find it not there and sigh before squaring her shoulders. “Only if we do our job today. Let’s get goin’.”

She forced them to go, walking out ahead. Time Turner followed without missing a beat, whistling cheerfully and grinning when Dash jumped out to keep up. She grumbled a complaint that Applejack had no idea where they were supposed to go. Pulling Spike’s hood up, Twilight grabbed his hand and ignored the complaints that followed.

The Park District was rightly considered one of the most beautiful parts of the city, rivaling the noble-maintained High District. The architecture as a whole was an inward spiral from the edge of the district, the stonework carved in natural curves and shapes following the crescent streets that formed the arching shape. Strips of well-tended gardens were frequent, kept lush and well-cared for. The bustling, cheerful crowd that now filled it added even more life and colour. As dusk approached they saw workers preparing torches and lanterns.

“They don’t have anythin’ to light the lanterns,” Applejack pointed out to Twilight. The biggest of the group, she stuck out the most. On any other day she would have attracted attention, she knew, but today the festival seemed to have a tight hold on everyone’s common sense and the tall, cloaked woman was ignored.

Time Turner provided the answer. “When the First Fire is lit in the Park Temple, it will light them all. Quite a marvelous bit of spell work, actually, very specifically designed so it won’t set off anything harmful. Only those torches and lanterns ignite, all across the Park District.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Apparently Princess Celestia designed the spell herself, but Twilight would know more about that than little old me.”

“Emphasis on old,” Spike snarked under his breath.

If he heard the remark over the crowd, Time Turner didn’t let it show. In the lead, Dash’s shoulders quivered for a moment as though suppressing a snicker.

Twilight pushed her hood back. She looked towards the falling sun worriedly, her expression of anxiety almost lost to the near-dusk shadows and her dark skin. Each moment they were delayed by the press of bodies, fighting the crowd to stay together and get to the temple, was a moment longer in which Cadance had her hooks in Shining Armour. A knot of anger, set to slowly boil since Dash’s revelation, seemed to burn in her chest.

‘Anger clouds reason. Reason is the key to magic,’ she recited. The mantra helped her calm and control it. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She opened them a second later, and the anger and the pain of betrayal began to fade, yet guilt lingered. ‘I should have realised on my own. He’s my brother, and she is—was my friend.’

Concern filled her, and it took her a moment to realise it wasn’t her own emotions. It was concern for her.

The outside emotion surprised Twilight. She stopped walking, glancing up without thinking about why. Almost like her brain was receiving a sharp kick to put it at attention, she realised who it was.

‘Owlicious!’ Relief rippled down her bond to him. She couldn’t see him, but she could sense him. Once again Twilight was assailed by guilt for forgetting her familiar. The owl was patient with her and her frequent memory lapse, and even now he had come to her when she needed him. Twilight wondered idly if all owls made as stoic familiars as Owlicious did. All wizards shared an empathic bond with their familiars’, but often Owlicious seemed to fade into the background. ‘I forgot all about you.’

Her thoughts translated as emotions were answered by his amusement, and at the edge of her hearing, despite the noise of the crowd, she caught a faint ‘hoo’.

A small smile tugged at her lips. ‘I’m not Spike, I’m not falling for that,’ Twilight reprimanded the owl, her amusement colouring the thought enough for him to get the sense of it. There was no need for words, their empathic bond sharing their feelings.

The odd sense of her owl familiar’s emotions shifted. The combination of fondness, worry and bemusement that Owlicious felt about Spike touched Twilight’s awareness. Her hand clenched automatically, proving the smaller hand was gone. She had let go at some point, and now she realised she had lost them in the crowd.

Looking across the crowd proved next to useless. Twilight realised the answer to her sudden separation was already with her though. In fact, he had just arrived. Barely had she begun to form the thought that he complied, the owl flying above and looking down. His empathic directions — approval, annoyance, frustration, satisfaction — sent her forward while his sharp eyes found the panicking boy. Spike had brushed his hood back, scanning in every direction desperately.

“We thought we’d lost ya!” Applejack said the moment Twilight rejoined them. The tanned warrior took the rear position now, looking about suspiciously.

“I just got a bit distracted. I’m sorry,” she apologised with a faint blush. Her hand curled around Spike’s again. He didn’t complain this time. “It was silly of me.”

“Silly’s only silly when it’s funny,” Time Turner began.

“Otherwise it’s stupid,” Spike and Twilight finished together, perfectly copying his accent as though they had heard him say it a hundred times before. The Trottingham scholar pouted and turned back to walking, hunching his shoulders sulkily. Eye-rolls greeted his childish reaction.

Dash was less discreet about her annoyance. “It’s not my brother we’re trying to save here, you know,” she pointed out.

Twilight got a moment’s warning in Owlicious’ feeling of smugness. It wasn’t enough to warn Dash, but the pale-skinned thief didn’t need it. She abruptly side-stepped, a gross missile hitting the cobblestones where she had been standing.

“Long night!” Dash glared into the ever-darker sky. “Some bird nearly crapped on me!”

Keeping her expression carefully bland, Twilight shrugged and smiled. “Good dodge,” she complimented.

“Hey, that’s just the sort of thing that makes me awesome…” Dash trailed off. Their path through the crowd was getting slower and harder as they got closer to the Park Temple. “You guys keep going, I’ll catch up.”

She flashed them a grin and vanished into the crowd without waiting for a reply. The group of four shared an array of bewildered expressions until Applejack sighed and shrugged.

“I got a bad feelin’ about this. Let’s get movin’. I’m sure she’ll turn up.” She smiled. “Trust me. Even better, trust her.”

Applejack’s trust proved well-deserved. The crowd was thicker than ever as the group reached the central park of the district, a circular garden centred on the Park Temple. Again, the only one who had never seen it was Applejack, but even Twilight stopped to admire the beautiful temple. Comprised of two circular towers from which high stone walls formed V shapes facing north and south to create a thin diamond, the southern tip of the stone walls hosted the First Fire. It waited, a great beacon sitting unlit. From there sparks would be carried by magic to set the Park District ablaze with light from dusk until dawn. A thousand-year tradition, lit each time by the High Priestess of the Sun, Twilight had never before imagined she would need to assault such a place. She could make out the colours of people standing near the dark First Fire, the soft pink of Cadance’s usual robes easy to spot above the guards keeping the crowd back.

Owlicious’ concern brushed her thoughts, his silent wish to take away the ache of betrayal and soothe the rekindled embers of anger. As futile as it was she appreciated the gesture. Twilight squeezed Spike’s hand. He squeezed back, blunt, claw-like nails pressing against her skin gently.

“So, you ready to crash this party?” Dash asked from behind them. The thief raised her head so they could see her grin. She made no secret of enjoying how Twilight and Spike had jumped in surprise. Dash kept her arms hidden in her drawn cloak, shielding her body and hands from view.

“Y-yes,” Twilight forced the word out past the knot in her throat. ‘Control. I need to be in control. No matter how much it hurts that Cadance could do this, I have to stay calm. Shining Armour needs me to be calm, not angry.’ “Make a distraction when Spike messages you and draw the guards away There aren’t usually this many. I’m not sure how-”

Dash’s hand rose up, halting her. Something landed on the ground under her cloak as the thief grinned. “I know the plan. Trust me, Sparkle, I got this.” Chuckling, Dash paused only to pick up whatever she had dropped and began to slip into the crowd. Her parting comment was cryptic; “Be sure to cover your eyes.”

This was Twilight’s last chance to change the plan before Dash was gone. She stared after the shorter woman, no ideas for changing it coming to mind. She didn’t even know what Dash meant. Why cover their eyes? Twilight wished she had asked that.

Spike squeezed her hand. “Are you sure I can’t come up with you?” he asked, a hint of a whine to the question. The boy had made no secret that he disliked his part in the plan.

She wrapped his hand in both of hers, smiling down. The hoods made it harder for her to see his expression, but he peered up at hers easily. “You need to be out here in case Dash needs help.”

“Twilight can only cast Invisibility so many times. She’s burning all of her second level spells just to get the three of us in.” Peering up at the temple, Turner looked back at the pair. “Don’t worry Spike, if things go belly up you can charge in and save the day. Shining Armour used to do that all the time!”

That brought a brief smile to Spike’s face. “Like the time he went to bathroom, and you guys got drugged and kidnapped, so he had to save you before those harpies made you their consorts!” He remembered excitedly, imagination painting the vivid scene of a younger Shining Armour valiantly rescuing his companions.

Twilight was considerably less excited. “Turner, I thought we had an understanding about which stories were inappropriate for Spike.” She gave Time Turner a pointed look.

“Ah, yes, well, about that...Shining told him! Not me, of course. So we had best sally forth and save him so you can give that rascally big brother of yours a talking to, yes?” The artificer grinned nervously.

Applejack chuckled, checking to make sure her sword in easy reach and the cloak was loose enough to pull off. She let the others bicker, knowing they were letting off the tension that grew before action. Time Turner was doing it by reflex, effortlessly drawing Spike and Twilight into talking about things much less worrisome than the threat of their plan falling apart. Casting an eye across the crowd, Applejack was pleased to find no sign of Dash, the sneaky girl hiding with ease. She was confident her new friend would reveal herself when she needed to. More, she was pleased by the trust Dash was showing. Few would give the suspicious thief credit where it was due; that she had stayed with them, despite the geas being removed, and was playing such a dangerous part in the plan. Yet Dash was still with them, still helping, though nothing stopped her from leaving.

The plan. It was a good plan. It was the plan, and she knew her role in it. The ranger flexed her right hand absently. Her simple, straight forward, and above all satisfying role. Her memories of the fight in the old library flashed across her mind for a moment, feeling the rush of blood in her veins and surge of adrenaline. And, of course, the...the magic.

She couldn’t lie to herself. It had been magic. Utterly different from the tricks she had been taught by her grandmother. Applejack hadn’t been drawing on the pulse of natural energies as she had been shown. The words had spilled from her lips without her understanding a single one. Magic, arcane magic, had guided her sword in the deadly blow that separated wererat from claw. Applejack had cast a spell and she’d told not a soul.

‘We got this to deal with,’ she reminded herself. The very edge of the crowd was getting closer now, the small group trying to keep close without looking like it. ‘I’ll tell Twilight after. Won’t she be surprised. What are the chances she’d pick up two criminals with magic?’

Applejack frowned. She brushed a few hairs from her face. The others had fallen silent. Any second now, Dash would strike. Even Time Turner had shut up, but he was whistling cheerfully which wasn’t much better. Spike, at Twilight’s behest, was casting and speaking into the air.

‘What are the chances? Unless it wasn’t chance...’

A flicker of movement drew Applejack’s up. She saw a sack soaring above the crowd, towards the line of guards keeping the crowd from the temple. A slender, pale arm just managed to poke out above the crowd. Dash’s warning came back to her.

“Cover yer eyes!” Applejack warned before the thought had even finished forming. She followed her own advice, closing and covering her eyes.

The sack of ‘borrowed’ fireworks flew over the crowd. Just before it reached the guards Dash finished her spell. The spell itself was tiny, nearly inconsequential. On it’s own, it was harmless. It could, with a bit of luck and good aim, perhaps kill a fly. It was a spell that couldn’t kill or maim or even do the smallest of damage.

Combined with a sack of fireworks left unattended — unattended by Dash’s standards, which is to say the owner was looking in the wrong direction — Spark might not be deadly, but it was far from useless.

The noise of the crowd vanished beneath a wall of noise. Sound and light exploded from the sack in such force that the nearest fire-revelers fell to the ground, stunned, and those who remained standing cried out without being heard, covering their ears and eyes. Fireworks whizzed and banged and boomed overhead, flying in every direction. People fell over themselves to get away. Chaos was spreading before the abrupt explosions even began to die down.

Applejack felt Twilight’s hand on her wrist. Magic followed from the mage, sheathing her in a screen that twisted light and the laws of physics to simply remove Applejack from sight. She opened her eyes, ears ringing from the blast of fireworks, and charged from the crowd. Twilight’s hand remained on her, but when Applejack spared a moment to look back there was no sign of her save the physical contact. If Turner kept his hold on Twilight, the three of them would be fine.

As the crowd began to recover, so too did the guards. Far faster, in fact, reacting with admirable speed. The nearest broke away, searching for the assailant. This task was made much easier thanks to her jumping onto an empty cart, its occupants ducked to avoid the fireworks.

“Hey, ants! Come get me!” Dash shouted, waving another sack in the air. “I’ve got more, just for you losers!”

She held the sack by the rope holding it closed and about to whirl it. The action disturbed her cloak but she kept it on, well aware she was still in sight of the platform and people who could identify her. Dash grinned as they took the bait. She shouted out another taunt and jumped down. The crowd cleared as she ran, whirling the fireworks threateningly.

‘This plan is fun!’

Shining Armour stood on the edge of the platform with a displeased frown. “They should know better than to just go charging off. Look at that gap in their line!” He sighed, massaging his forehead with one mithral plated hand. “Captain, stay on guard. It just looks like someone making trouble with fireworks, but it could be a distraction.”

Captain Green Husk nodded. “Yes sir.”

“I wish we had some of our mages up here. You deserve more protection than this,” Shining went on, turning to the third person there.

Cadance smiled back as she shook her head. Her long hair, its pink, purple and blonde colours reflected in her robes, seemed to shimmer in the light of the staff she held, engraved with burning, golden runes. Her golden circlet reflected it, almost giving her a halo, and the gold-light played with the edges of her burnished copper symbol of the sun that hung from her neck.

“Shining, dear, we’re perfectly safe. I have my lord-captain here, don’t I? What more protection could I possibly need?” she asked, laughing lightly.

He smiled weakly back. “I’d just feel better. The divination experts in the guard, at least-”

“We talked about this, remember? I told you what to thi-” Cadance coughed delicately. She looked, for a split-second, annoyed with herself before it disappeared behind a warm smile. “I told you what I think. No divination mages. You know how I feel.”

“I...yes, of course, I know how you feel,” he repeated, blinking a few times. The Lord-Captain nodded. ‘Right, we talked about it. She didn’t want any because...’ He remembered talking with her about this. He knew they had discussed it. Yet he was having trouble recalling the details.

“I’m sure the High Priestess knows what’s best, sir,” Green added. He stood off to the side, at Cadance’s right hand. His posture was hardly at attention, relaxed and nonchalant. More nonchalant than he had any business being, in Shining’s estimation.

“Yes, of course she does.” He fought down a flare of annoyance. Green was exemplary in his duties, he deserved some slack. ‘It’s not his fault Twilight is-’ Shining closed his eyes, fighting the pain. ‘Burning day, I want a drink.’

He drew in a ragged breath and stepped back from the edge. It loomed closer than he had expected. When had he gotten that close? Shining Armour adjusted his belt slightly to distract himself. He had been distracting himself all day. Guilt and pain gnawed at his insides as he strode back to Cadance. The feelings didn’t quite vanish when she curled her arm through his, but they lessened.

“Green,” he commanded, not bothering to explain what he wanted. When he lowered his mouth to Cadance’s he knew the captain would be shielding them from view. Dark lips pressed against pale. Everything was alright. So long as the woman he loved supported him, he could survive this. Survive this until he found the people to blame for the deaths of his sister, little brother and best friend.

The people to blame, of course, other than himself. Because the knowledge that he was responsible for it never left his mind. It was his fault.

They ran, invisible and aware of each other only by touch and the sound of their footfalls. A cloak had appeared from nowhere in a hall near the entrance, abandoned by Applejack the second she had the chance. Her hat, though it was invisible, was sitting securely on her head.

“Up the stairs to the left,” came Twilight’s voice.

Applejack nodded before remembering, well, she was invisible. “I hear ya,” she said instead. There was little need to be completely silent, given how few people seemed to be wandering the halls, but she kept silent otherwise. No sense in taking chances.

She lead the way, storming up the stairs. Only when they approached the door did Applejack slow, realising the heavy running would doubtless give away their presence.

“We’re nearly there. The walkway should be through that door.” Twilight pulled them up short. This was it. Owlicious was outside, his emotions calm and typically aloof. “We have just over two minutes left before we’ll be visible again. Applejack-”

“Keep that Green fella busy, I remember.” Applejack put her hand around the door knob. “Just make sure ya hit the bastard so yer brother sees what he really looks like. Hope no one’s lookin’ this way…”

With that she pushed the door open, peeking out. No-one looked their way. The only people on the walkway were Shining Armour, Cadance and Captain Green, and all were too busy looking in the wrong direction. She let go of Twilight’s hand and began to advance. She might be invisible but she was still making sounds. The door clicked shut quietly, presumably behind Time Turner.

Twilight went straight down the middle of the walkway. Owlicious rose from his perch on the tower behind them, soaring parallel above her. She took the scroll Time Turner had provided, gripping it tightly. They had a single shot. Breaking Green’s shapeshifting would hopefully be enough to break the control Cadance had over Shining Armour.

She came to a stop just at the edge of the walkway, on the cusp of the platform. Shining was standing there with his arm around Cadance. His expression was tight with suppressed emotion. It made Twilight’s fist tighten even harder on the scroll. It crinkled softly.

Green took a step towards Twilight’s position, frowning. He was still too close to Shining Armour and Cadance. Ideally there had to be a way to separate him from them, but at the very least either Cadance or Green had to leave him. Twilight took a step back, and the sound of her robe’s loose folds drew him after her, a suspicious look on his face.

“My la- Lord-Captain, I think-” he began.

Applejack struck. She appeared behind him as her great blade swung through the air. The massive weapon slammed into his armour with all the force the ranger could put into it. Green screamed, lurching forwards as blood sprayed from his back. There was no sound of metal bending or shattering as the armour on his back had, and too much blood following from the terrible wound carved in the meat of his lower back.

He spun, trying to draw his blade and hiss a spell at her, but the surprise attack had caught him unawares and unprepared. She didn’t give him the time, forcing the false-guard to stagger back to avoid her vicious assault.

Shining Armour turned at the sound of Green’s scream. He stared at Applejack, recognition in his eyes. His brow furrowed in confusion. “What...how…”

Cadance, whatever her other faults were, didn’t miss a beat. She pointed at Applejack. “Isn’t that one of the criminals you told me about, Shining? If she’s here, she must have been part of it! Listen to me; She killed Twilight and Spike!”

Twilight paused. She was circling the fight, lifting the scroll to cast. She watched her brother’s expression of confusion transform into raw hate. The sight of such naked fury on his face froze her, so unexpected was it. The mage wanted to kick herself for not realising how easily Applejack’s presence could be explained.

She hesitated as Shining ripped his sword from his belt, his shield from his back, and started to march towards Applejack with a murderous expression. There was no way Applejack would be able to beat Shining Armour. It wasn’t just sisterly pride that made her realise that. Applejack was skilled, but Shining Armour had spent years as an adventurer, and the last decade rising to lead the Canterlot Guard with a proactive attitude that saw him leading raids on the deadliest of criminals. Even taking his formidable fusion of martial prowess and magical combat out of the equation, he was armed and armoured in heavily enchanted equipment.

“Twilight,” Time Turner hissed. “Disable Cadance.”

Before she could reply to the unseen artificer, Time Turner faded back to into visibility between Shining and his target. He gave Shining a grin.

“What, no mention of me? Not that she killed them or me.” He waved. “Well, hello there Shining. You’re looking confused. Quite understandable really, given you thought I was dead.”

‘Looking confused’ was an understatement. He was standing there gaping. The fight behind Time Turner was paid no mind as Shining stared at the man who resembled...who was his dead friend. He spluttered, lost for words.

Twilight looked past him, to Cadance. She almost missed it as she prepared to hit the deceptive priestess with a powerful spell, but despite the gloom around them and the bright glow around Cadance, Twilight caught a far, far stranger reaction. There was shock on Cadance’s face, mixed with fear, but for a moment her eyes changed. She stared at Time Turner with slitted toxic green eyes.

The fight the night before came back to her. The memories struck her, of insane, slitted eyes with bright, unnaturally vivid green, glaring insanely as Green ripped at her webbing with his real, twisted form.

Cadance blinked and her eyes were normal again. It had happened so fast it would have been easy to miss it, or dismiss the change as her imagination. The sounds of Applejack’s fight with Green were just background noise now as Twilight stared. She just barely heard Time Turner launch into a wild, distracting explanation and Shining Armour’s disbelieving stuttering. Finally it was Owlicious loud hoot as he flew down that broke Twilight from her daze. With it came a sense of certainty in her sight.

“I know what I saw,” she whispered, unrolling the scroll. “I know what you are.”

“It’s a fake! Shining, darling, the people who killed your sweet little sister are just trying to mess with you.” Cadance was pleading, gesturing with the blazing staff. With the final encroachment of the night the flaming gold runes became brighter and fiercer, creating a fiery halo around her. “Just an illusion to confuse you. Listen to me; kill hi-”

Cadance’s order became a scream. Twilight’s Invisibility was stripped away with the blast of ethereal energies. They had launched from her, unseen but not unfelt. The words vanished from her scroll of Force Shapechange, the archaic, rare spell spent.

The scream drew Shining’s attention faster than Green’s had. Ignoring Time Turner he looked back. He almost stopped when he saw Twilight, but Shining couldn’t avoid catching sight of Cadance’s twisting form.

“Cadance!” He looked from her to Twilight and the scroll she was dropping. Pieces began to fit together, wrong as they were. It couldn’t be Twilight. It was his fault she was dead. He knew that. So long as that was true, she had to be dead. Meaning this had to be a fake, taking his sister’s form to curse the woman he loved.

The staff fell from Cadance’s hand. She staggered back, screaming in pain. Her features melted, becoming monstrous and inhuman. Her skin went from pale to a milky, chalky white with touches of other colours before hardening to glossy blackness. The beautiful robe was torn by growth, distending and stretching it until it broke at the shoulders and sleeves. Her hair remained as long as it had been, but it became ragged and green, more like seaweed than hair. The creature that had been Cadance fell to her knees, retching violently. The crowd below had fallen into chaos, and the remaining guards were little better. Many were streaming into the temple, charging to get up there.

“My lady!” Green screamed, lashing out at Applejack. “Out of the way! Get out of my way!”

She caught the blow on her blade and bounced it off with a savage smirk. “Not today, sugar. Not ever. Hold still an’ I’ll give ya a match for that were-rat buddy of yers.”

He snarled with eyes flaring green and the onslaught began anew.

“T-that’s...what have you done?” Shining Armour, charging at the false-Twilight. She jerked and tried to retreat, shocked by the attack and the fury directed at her.

“Shiny! It’s me, Twilight!” she cried in a desperate attempt to stop him. “I’m not dead!”

Time Turner drew his wand, leveling it on his friend and hoping he was fast enough. The same mental faculty that normally made Shining Armour the worst target for such a spell had been jeopardised by the drugged tea. “Sit!”

Shining Armour froze a foot from Twilight, his shield held out to slam into her. She still fell over, collapsing on her rear with a yelp. The fury and pain and guilt in Shining’s glaring eyes made her tremble.

“O-Ow-Owl-l-licious,” she stuttered, holding out her hand. The owl descended, carefully placing his talons to keep from hurting her. She held her familiar up. “It’s...uh, it’s Owlicious. Please, Shiny, it’s me. I swear, it’s me and I’m fine. Spike is fine. It’s been lies, all of it. You’re being drugged, so she could control you.”

“C-Cadance...wouldn’t…” Shining groaned through the binding magic.

Twilight nodded. She could feel tears running down her cheeks, her brother’s state tearing her apart inside. “I know, Shiny, she wouldn’t. But that’s not Cadance!”

They stared into each others’ eyes. She willed her tearful, desperate gaze to convey the truth of her statement. It seemed to take forever, but the look of fury in his eyes died. The pain fell away at the same moment as the Hold Person spell. Shining Armour collapsed to his knees. Before either knew it Twilight’s arms were around him, and his around her.

“You’re alive,” he sobbed. Or he thought he did. His mind was in chaos as the layers of control his subconscious had been resisting broke. They left a mess in their wake. He held his sister against his armoured chest, holding her so tight she felt her breath forced out of her.

“G-Green Husk,” the imposter hissed from where she lay. Her robes torn and ragged, she slowly rose. Each movement seemed pained and slow. “Attend me. Attend me!”

Her scream tore through the night, shrill and hateful. It bore no similarity to Cadance’s delicate, beautiful tones. It was shrieky and as grating on the ears as her appearance was on the eyes. It got her minion’s attention, but he wasn’t the only one.

“Green Husk, huh?” Applejack braced. She was a barrier between him and whatever was shouting. She hadn’t wasted time or risked herself looking back to find out. “Least yer less ugly than last time.”

He hissed at her. It wasn’t even an attempt at words. It was just a hiss. Green flames flashed along his body. The guard armour and normal skin vanished, replaced by chitin-like skin in matte black. Green Husk retreated as he let his falsehood fall. He hissed again, words this time. Emerald fire flared for just an instant. When it was gone, so was he.

“...huh? Damn! Twi’, he’s– he’s over there!” The warning was hardly necessary. They could see as well as Applejack that Green Husk had appeared at the shapechanger’s side, pulling vials of healing potions from his belt.

Shining Armour rose stiffly. He let go of Twilight. Everything else was unimportant as he looked at it. At the monster that had replaced Cadance. Things were falling into place, the way they should have done months ago. Something had been wrong, he remembered, and he had been trying to work out what it was when she gave him that tea. Despite everything, he hadn’t been suspicious. This monster had taken her place and he hadn’t noticed. He had ignored the fires, he had promoted Green far faster than he should have, he had done so very many stupid things and it was all her fault.

With agility his heavy plate belied, so long as the properties of mithril weren’t considered, Shining Armour used his foot to kick the fallen Staff of the First Fire into his hand. He marched towards Green Husk, holding the staff loosely in one hand and his shield in the other.

“Shining–” Twilight reached for him only to be gently rebuffed by a shake of his head.

“You’ve done enough. All of you. You’ve done so much that I should have done.” Shining Armour leveled a look at Time Turner. His hands trembled. “I’ll deal with them.”

Time Turner looked from Shining Armour to Green Husk, who was rising as the other creature guzzled the potions. He shrugged. “If you insist. I’ll, uh, try to keep the guards from killing us or the crowd from rioting.”

Shining Armour nodded his thanks. “...I’m glad you’re alive,” he murmured, the anger abating to expose relief. The anger returned with a rush of hot fury through his veins when he looked at Green Husk with coldly furious eyes.

“Step back, ‘Lord-Captain’,” Green Husk sneered. He stood between Shining Armour, the imposter Cadance behind him.

She was looking off to the edge of the platform, looking for an escape that wouldn’t expose her even more to the crowd as she used the First Fire’s bulk to conceal herself. It sounded like a riot was going on down there.

“I’ve spent months waiting for the chance to finally do this,” Green Husk grinned, showing off pointed teeth. “Months making sure you drank that damned tea, watching you guzzle it down like an idiot. Months serving Lady Chrysalis, knowing that one day I would get to do this. Do you know what I learned, watching you wander along with your mind so fogged it was a wonder you could think?”

If he didn’t, Shining didn’t say. He just marched closer, mithril gauntlet tight on the haft of the Staff of the First Fire. Night had truly come, the sun’s light gone, and yet the Park District was dark. The Staff burned with all that contained fire.

“That you…” Husk snapped his hands out, glowing with magic. “...are pathetic. Weak.”

Chrysalis rose behind him, ripping the robe further to free herself. “Cease taunting the fool and kill him,” she ordered. Her imperious, alien, green eyes were filled with contempt when she glanced dismissively over Shining Armour. “This charade has come to an end. My plans, great as they are, must continue. Be a dear and clear my way.”

Green Husk nodded “Yes, my lady!” Scorching Rays shot from his fingers straight at the oncoming warrior. Shining Armour made no move to avoid it, his coldly furious expression unchanging. He caught the rays on his shield. With a gesture he thrust them aside. The surprised look on Green Husk’s face was rather rewarding.

“I,” Shining Armour replied. “Am a magus.”

His shield slammed into Green Husk with more than mere human force. It struck with magical empowerment. The Forceful Strike channelled through his shield, blasting Green Husk back. Blood streamed from Green Husk’s face as he was fired through the air. The pain of hitting Chrysalis was barely noticeable, given the agony of his ruined, shattered face, and he was too far gone to notice the piled materials that formed the unlit First Fire collapsing atop him.

Shining lifted the Staff of the First Fire, pointing it straight at the pair like a lance. A cone of light shone from it, revealing the creatures to the guards now rushing onto the roof.

“Do you know what I learned?” he asked, almost conversationally. His expression, somehow, darkened further. “Or rather, what Cadance taught me exactly one year ago?”

The imposter,Chrysalis, tried to pull herself out from under Green Husk. She shrieked furiously, hissing hateful words in an alien tongue before reverting to Common. “Don’t you dare! I am Chrysalis! I control you, you weak, wretched little human! I own you!”

Shining Armour ignored her and answered his own question. “How to light the fire.”

Fire lanced from the Staff, a golden beam that bored into the bonfire. Husk screamed for an instant before he was, essentially, vaporised by the concentrated fire magic, and Chrysalis made not a sound. She just glared. There was a flicker of green around her, a failed spell trying to hold off the inevitable and succeeding not at all.

Her cloak gone, left in her Obscuring Mist with a band of confused guards a few streets away, Dash came to a stop. Her cocky smirk faded as the late-ritual finally took place. The lights went up, blazing merrily. She wasn’t sure how, but she decided it felt like the others had succeeded. Her tiredness was gone with the lights burning merrily away, for the first time in a long while, Dash was happy.

“Heh, am I good or what?” she asked herself, sauntering towards the temple.

Shining Armour stared at the blazing First Fire. The smell of burning flesh had vanished quickly, the scented flames taking the stink away. The crowd below had calmed with the lighting of the First Fire, and the return of stillness to the platform. The stomp of armoured boots on the platform informed him one of his guards had approached him.

“Tell the people an imposter had taken the place of the High Priestess,” he informed the guard without looking back. His voice was flat and monotone, working on automatic. “Tell them…tell them the First Fire struck her down because of it. The Sun judged her, and...and all of that.”

“Yes sir!” The guard was probably saluting. Shining didn’t turn to check.

His sister’s voice, on the other hand, was more than enough. “Shining!” She hit him from behind, wrapping her arms around him. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, only to stop and blink. Suddenly everything that had happened hit him. Shining wasn’t sure when he turned and hugged his sister, but before he knew it he was.

“You’re alive.” There was no hiding the naked relief in his voice, or even any attempt.to. “Holy Sun, you’re alive.”

She smiled up at him, spending a moment just letting him hold her and feel the reality of her presence. The anger and guilt she had been feeling for her brother’s situation ebbed away, replaced by relief of her own. Relief that her brother was himself again, and that the greatest betrayal might not be the deception she had taken it for.

“Spike is too,” Twilight murmured. “And, well, you saw Time Turner.”

Shining nodded. “Y-yeah, I did...Twilight, gods, I don’t know...I thought I got you killed, that it was my fault. That bastard made me focus on it, but it already felt like that.” His eyes narrowed, a vicious light burning them. “He didn’t suffer nearly enough. Him or that monster.”

They parted slightly, Shining looking down on her. There was a question in his eyes. Twilight was taken aback by the intensity.

“Twilight, Cadance is still alive. I’m sure of it. We have to find her.”

“Of course we do!” Time Turner intruded. He was staring at the golden blaze a few feet away, admiring it. He looked over and gave Shining a mock bow. “Lord-Captain.”

“Turner!” Shining Armour let go of Twilight and clapped his friend on the back so hard he was nearly launched into the fire. “I’m so glad to see you! I thought…”

Time Turner shook his head with a small smile. “You thought wrong, but isn’t that just you all over? Nothing you could have done. That shapeshifter, Chrysalis the other one called her, was powerful. Worse, she was smart.” His smile became a smirk. “We~ell, smart-ish. Not quite smart enough to catch yours truly.”

“It was smart enough to burn your house down,” Shining pointed out. He shook his head. “Long night, this is insane. There’s so much we need to- no. We need to find Cadance. I don’t know where she is, but I know she’s still alive.”

“So, that shapeshifter was definitely not her?” The artificer scowled. “I was sure there was more to Cadance than we knew. We found her in a great lump of crystal without so much as a memory!”

“Turner, now is not the time. If that creature has more minions, and they learn what happened here, they could hurt Cadance!” Shining Armour grabbed his friend by the shirt and shook him. “Get that mind you’re so proud of focused on helping find her.”

Time Turner held up his hands defensively, one curled around something copper and shiny. “Alright, calm down. I’m sure we can find your mysteriously-amnesiac-but-totally-not-evil girlfriend if we put our minds to it. Well, put my mind to it, and maybe Twilight’s. We’ll put some minds to it, you just stand there looking heroic until we need someone to move heavy things.”

Despite the situation, despite his frustration and fear and desperation to find Cadance, his old friend’s familiar manner made Shining Armour laugh. It felt like an age since he had last laughed. He patted his friend’s shoulder as he let go. Glancing across the walkway, he noted one of Twilight’s charges, Applejack, having an argument with one of the guards. Before he could intervene, he looked to Time Turner again and noticed the copper holy symbol the fake Cadance had started wearing recently. The fog of mind control gone, he felt a flicker of recognition.

“Isn’t that the…” he trailed off uncertainly.

“The souvenir of ours from Trottingham? One that was sitting on a desk in my house a week ago?” Turner asked. He turned it over in his hand, inspecting it. “It certainly is. That explains why they were in my house. Chrysalis wasn’t trying to kill me, or at least that wasn’t her only goal. She wanted this. I suppose she realised if she was going to keep up the bluff, she needed to be able to heal like Cadance can.”

Twilight joined the pair, looking at the same symbol. “No one can heal like Cadance can though, how would that help?”

Turner grinned and said, “Twilight, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten all those wonderful stories we’ve told you? The classic tale of the False-Priest of Trottingham and his secret, this fancy little artefact that let him turn arcane magic into divine healing spells for the low, low price of feeding it with unwilling blood.”

She grimaced with disgust and shuddered. “I remember now. You said Macintosh broke his neck.”

“He did. He hit the bastard right in the throat hard enough to break it. But this isn’t important,” Shining insisted. He rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off the ache. “We need to find Cadance.”

“Well, she won’t be in the temple. Too close to the palace, Celestia might have…” Twilight frowned. “Come to think of it, how could Celestia have missed-”

“Not. Important!” Shining cut in. “Damn it, focus, we need to find where the hell she is now.”

“Shining, it is important. If Celestia, a demi-god, never realised the High Priestess wasn’t the High Priestess, any divinations aren’t likely to find much either. There has to be another answer. Did Chrysalis ever tell you anything? Warn away from rooms or buildings?” Turner bounced the symbol from hand to hand as he spoke, but his eyes were trained on the fire.

Sighing in frustration, Shining Armour clenched his hand into a tight fist. “It’s hard to remember. I can remember the last few months, but it’s all just a bit disorienting. She...she convinced me to raid a few places, or to not raid some.”

Twilight put a hand on his arm. “Think. I know you can do it. Just try to remember anything we can use.” She gave him a reassuring smile before a shout drew her attention away. “Applejack?”

“I think I saw Spike an’ Dash down there. Wanna tell these guards to let me go down so I can get ‘em?” The ranger asked. To Shining she added, “Sorry about lettin’ that bastard Green get away.”

“It’s fine. I owe you for helping Twilight.” Shining Amour reached out, and after a moment Applejack extended her hand for a shake. “If you weren’t with her, she might not be here today. That monster might have been planning this for months, but she couldn’t have seen you two coming along. Go on and get them.” He called to one of the guards. “You, Stern Watch! Go with Miss Applejack to get her friend and my brother, and make sure no bothers them, got it?”

“Yes sir!” The guard happened to be the one Applejack had been arguing with, and he tried not to grimace.

Applejack grinned at him. “Much obliged. Twi’ turned off those spells, by the way. So make sure ya thank Dash as well. She might be a thief, but she’s a good girl where it counts. She don’t need thanks for savin’ a friend, but she’ll appreciate it.”

He let out a rueful chuckle as Applejack turned, striding off with a guardsman at her heels. “Well, that was interesting. ‘Friend’, huh?” Shining smiled at his sister’s embarrassed but proud expression. “I guess there are a lot of ways to rehabilitate.”

“Our way didn’t work,” Turner pointed out. He shuddered. “All sealing Iron Will in that cave did was make him even more berserk.”

Shining, looking over the guards slowly leaving the walkway to scour the temple for any more troublemakers, shrugged. “Maybe. He wasn’t really at fault there, it was thanks to that….”

Twilight waved a hand in front of her brother. He didn’t react, staring off into the distance after he trailed away mid-sentence. “Shining?” she asked worriedly. Twilight looked at Turner. “What’s wrong with him?”

The artificer shrugged. “His head has been pretty well messed with, we don’t know—”

“The cave!” They both jumped, startled by the sudden exclamation from Shining Armour. He grinned widely at them. “The cave I told you not to explore, Twilight, with all the crystals. She- it told me to do that. It seemed pretty determined about you not going in there. And Green was put in charge of choosing the guards!”

He didn’t wait for them to agree or disagree. Energy infused him once more, the lethargy that had claimed Shining since killing the imposter vanishing at the prospect of finding the real Cadance was before him. Looking lively once more he began to issue orders, sending guards out and organising them. It felt good to be in control, to issue commands and know they were his. It helped him ground himself back in reality and not get lost in the memories of the past few months.

“Come on,” he told Twilight and Time Turner. “We’re going to the caves. And if the guards Green put there are just his own men…”

Shining Armour reclaimed his longsword, sliding it into his belt-sheath. He didn’t bother to add anything as he turned and strode towards the exit.

They reached the caves at speed, all six of them. Spike and Dash had, with Applejack, been on their way back through the temple and were collected. The yell of joy Spike let out when he saw Shining, and the man’s own relief at seeing Spike safe, were heartwarming, enough that Twilight was content to let Spike stick to Shining’s side rather than her own, until they reached the horses Shining had sent guards to fetch.

They were on horseback when they reached the cave entrance in the foothills of the Canterhorn Mountain against which Canterlot itself was built. The Sun Temple itself was carved into the cliff face, but this tunnel was outside, beyond the walls.

“We’re here,” Shining announced. “Guardsmen, remain outside and make sure we’re not disturbed.”

Applejack sighed in pleasure. “Nice to ride again.” She looked back at her passenger. “You get to let go now.”

Dash remained where she was. The only one without any experience in horse riding, her arms were wrapped around Applejack’s waist, she wore an expression torn between joy and disappointment.

“Can’t we take them in?” she whined.

Pulling Dash’s arms off, Applejack climbed down and tugged her off with her. “Nope. If ya really like ridin’ that much, we’ll be doin’ it on the way back.”

“Tell you what,” Shining Armour called as he set off towards the crevasse at the base of the ridge ahead where the cave was concealed. “I’ll get you horse riding lessons. Consider it thanks or a reward or whatever for sticking around for Twilight’s sake.”

Twilight, half-down from her own mount and grumbling about not having a spell to replace it prepared today, looked up at the girlish shriek of delight. So did the others, including the otherwise stoic guards who accompanied them. Dash went red, covering her mouth.

“...shut up!” She stomped off after Shining Armour. The others rushed to join them, Applejack exchanging an amused smile with Twilight.

“Ya really think that High Priestess is in here?” Applejack asked Twilight. She kept her voice low, but there was little need to. Spike was at Shining Armour’s side, and Dash was pestering the noble with questions. “I’ve heard the stories about her. She can heal pretty much anything.”

Twilight nodded. “She can. It’s remarkable. Even the most faithful of the Sun Temple are limited in their ability to use healing magic, but Cadance is capable of something else. I wish I could study it.”

Ahead of them, Shining Armour led the way into the caves. His sword and shield out, he let Time Turner shine a sunrod past him, lighting their way. With the heavily armoured magus in lead, backed up by Time Turner and Dash, they advanced into the caves. It seemed like a perfectly normal cave so far.

“Whatcha mean it’s somethin’ else? Like, arcane magic?” Applejack asked. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she drew her greatsword, just to be safe.

“No, it’s not. Healing magic is usually limited to divine magic, and the Divine Barrier limits that. Whatever Cadance does isn’t related to either.” Frowning, Twilight called to Time Turner. “Turner, you still have my staff right? Can I have it back?”

He looked back. “Hm? Oh, right, yes. Give me a moment…” Rummaging in one of his pockets, he slowly drew out the staff from a pocket it had no right fitting in.

She took it back gratefully. “We shouldn’t go too much furth-” Twilight began to say.

“Everyone down!” Shining Armour roared. Time Turner dropped, dragging Spike down with him. Something bounced off Shining Armour’s shield, another splintering against the rock. Twilight found herself pulled back, Applejack stepping in front of her.

Dash had already began to move. She ducked behind Shining Armour, glancing past him, taking a moment to aim. A figure at the edge of the light, part hidden by the gloom, moved. Her hand blurred. A dagger, one drawn from Shining Armour’s belt, flew through the air spinning until it hit with a meaty thud and a yell of pain.

“Got her!” Dash crowed. Her cover abruptly moved.

Shining Armour muttered a word and his armour glowed for a moment. When he moved, he became a blur as the enchantments activated. Crossing the distance between them in seconds he slammed his shield into the attacker. Before the archer could fight back Shining’s longsword gutted her.

“Finished her,” Shining said matter of factly. He shot Dash a smirk. “But you helped.”

“‘Helped’, pfft, I nailed her right in the face.”

Kicking the body and motioning for the others to approach, Shining Armour toed the crossbow. “Repeating crossbow. Not very good aim. Come on, there might be more.”

Twilight murmured, casting Mage Armour as they continued on. Spike, she noted with a smile of approval, was doing the same. She still took him by the hand and pulled him to the back of the group.

The stone became, quite abruptly, crystal. Twilight had to resist the urge to run her hands across it, fascinated by the beautiful formations. ‘I wonder if it’s natural. It can’t be, it practically starts in a straight line.’

There was little need for Time Turner’s sunrod here. The crystals had a faint inner light reflected over and over, leaving the chambers with an ambient, seemingly fluid light. The walls curved up, stalactites and stalagmites all around them.

“She’s nearby,” Shining announced. There was iron-clad certainty in his voice. “I know it.”

“‘Nearby’ isn’t quite as helpful as an actual direction,” Time Turner remarked. He ran a hand across the wall, slowly pacing along it. “Hmm...strange, these crystal seemed to have been attuned. But I just can’t tell to what. Not arcane magic.”

They spread out, searching the winding chamber.

“There’s nowhere to go,” Dash complained. She used her dagger to break a piece of crystal off, inspecting it before shoving it into her pocket. “Where could she be?”

“She’s here. I know it.” Repeating that might have displayed his confidence, but it did little to actually help. Shining Armour’s frustration grew. They were all looking, but there didn’t seem to be anywhere to go. “Maybe there’s another entrance into the cave system. It has to be be bigger than this…”

Spike wandered around. He was fascinated by this place, one he had wanted to explore for so long. Though he wasn’t sure how, he knew there was more to the cave. This was just the start. Resting his hand against one of the walls, he stared at his reflection. The faint pink of this particular crystal tinted the reflection of his scales and hair amusingly.

“Heh,” he chuckled despite the seriousness. Then he blinked. He blinked again. Frowning, he leaned closer. His tongue darted out on a whim. “This one’s fake.”

Twilight, scanning another wall, looked over. “What was that?”

He raised his voice. “This wall, it’s fake. The crystals are wrong. They’re not like the rest.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight hurried over, the others following. “It’s fake? How do you know?”

“Spike, stand out of the way.” Shining Armour advanced on the wall, weapons out. He glared at the wall as Spike darted out of the way. The magus began to cast, energy building in his mind. Time Turner’s eyes widened as he recognised the spell.

“Cover your ears!” He put his actions to words, ducking behind a stalagmite, hands over his ears. Twilight pulled Spike behind one, covering his ears for him.

“Huh?” Dash blinked, looking over in confusion. “Wh-”

Shining Armour’s voice rang out, becoming a deafening, magically enhanced Shout. The whole cave trembled for a moment, sonic energy striking and resonating against the vulnerable crystals. The wall exploded into fragments at the blast of sonic force, even the ground in front of it marred by the cone of overwhelming vocal power.

Ears ringing, but fortunately not deafened by the spell, Dash blinked again. She ran a hand through her hair, brushing out the dust blown over her. “O-oh, I guess that’s why.”

Shining Armour didn’t wait for the dust to clear before storming through into the chamber within. He burst from the cloud, his enchanted armour lending him enough Haste to take the darkly garbed guard waiting on the other side by surprise. Pulling himself up, the man had no time to even attempt blocking Shining’s shield slam. He crumbled to the ground, unconscious.

He didn’t even look at his foe again. His eyes fastened on the woman in dirty, pale pink robes who stared at him with wide, watering eyes. Her thin, malnourished hands clenched the bars, manacles carved with runes clinging to thin wrists. Their eyes met.

“Cadance!” He ran to her, grasping her hands in his mithril gauntlets.

“Sh-Shining…” she whispered, tears beginning to leak down her cheeks. “It’s you...it’s you…”

He nodded, kneeling in front of her and pressing against the cars. “Yes, it is. Oh gods, Cadance, I’m so sorry. I should have realised. I should have found you sooner. I-I’ll get you out. Stand back, I’ll break you out of there.”

Cadance, High Priestess of the Sun, tried to laugh. It came out as a cough. “S-Shiny, stop. The guard, he has a key. I...I missed you.”

He smiled back, his emotions overcoming him for a moment. “I know. I...I love you so much, Cadance. I’m so sorry.” Shining ripped the key from the guard’s belt, running back over to unlock the cage. Pulling the door open, she quite literally collapsed into his arms.

“I know, Shiny. I missed you..” she murmured, months of captivity and barely enough food to survive reducing her to stumbling weakly. Cadance still found the strength to pull herself up Shining’s armour and press her lips to his.

Time Turner stood at the shattered wall, watching the pair. He looked back to Twilight, and to her surprise he looked annoyed.

“What’s wrong? Cadance is alive!” Twilight stayed put. She wasn’t going to disturb her brother and Cadance, not yet. They deserved a few minutes to themselves.

He heaved a great sigh as he turned back, pouting as they looked at him. “I was wrong,” he groused. “Cadance isn’t evil.”

Spells & Magical Items of Chapter Ten
Spark: Ignites flammable objects.
Invisibility: Subject is invisible for 1 min./level or until it attacks.
Force Shapechange: Forces shapechangers to revert to true form and deals damage.
Scorching Ray: Ranged touch attack deals 4d6 fire damage, + 1 ray/four levels (max 3).
Forceful Strike: Deal 1d4/level force with weapon and possibly bull rush enemy.
Dimension Door: Teleports you a short distance. (Unnamed use by Green Husk)
Mage Armour: Gives subject +4 armour class.
Shout: Deafens all creatures within cone and deals 5d6 sonic damage. Deals 1d6 sonic damage per caster level to crystalline objects and creatures.
Haste: One creature/level moves faster, +1 on attack rolls, AC, and Reflex saves.

Shining's Mithril Armour: Mithril Plate of Speed

Chapter Eleven

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Like so many events that reached from the heights of power to the lowest of slums, this one began in the Palace of Canterlot. It began, in fact, at a party. Men and women bedecked in the garb of the wealthy and blue-blooded flocked through the chamber, the noise of their conversations nearly drowning out the musicians. Words laced with venom were fired between combatants in the politest of duels, sparring without drawing a blade as nobles with ancestry reaching back hundreds of years exchanged poisonous barbs with nobles who remembered what it was like to live among the people.

Twilight had little difficulty wading through her fellow nobles. Her expression was all they expected of Celestia’s legendarily reclusive student. Her very presence was a surprise, though many were appreciative of her and the gown in violet shades that presented the mage as only a master tailor’s work could. Scanning the groups, Twilight arrested her search when she finally found who she was looking for.

“Your Excellency,” she murmured, giving the woman before her courteous nod. The nobles gathered to hear her words were dismissed as the lady turned to the newcomer.

“Twilight!” Cadance said with a warm smile. She reached out, taking Twilight’s hand. “It’s been a week, and I’ve hardly seen hide nor hair of my saviour.”

Smiling back, Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?” she asked, her voice dropping. “I thought you’d have seen quite a lot of Shining this past week.”

The High Priestess barely suppressed the giggle that drew from her. In a week she had recovered more than should be possible, but given her ability to heal that was hardly surprising. The robe she wore was much more ornate than the rags she had been found in, though she took as much pleasure in the finery as Twilight did.

They shared a moment of silent amusement at their dressed up state, relief on Twilight’s face before it fell away. She hesitated until a concerned look from the other woman drew her confidence to the surface. Now was hardly the time to show nervousness, with the scheming nobles around them.

“Cadance, I...I wish I had noticed sooner.” Twilight didn’t need to explain what. She looked at Cadance with guilt filled eyes. “When we, well, not you, because she was….I didn’t notice. I was so focused on my studies, I just never thought about it until one day Spike pointed out you hadn’t come over, or invited us, in months.”

“Twilight,” Cadance interrupted, her soft voice growing stern. “Stop.”

Twilight stopped. She took a calming breath, but the guilt remained.

Taking her friend by the elbow, Cadance led her to a relatively private corner of the room. “There’s no need for you to apologise,” the priestess began. She shushed Twilight when the mage tried to speak. “Really. Your brother has been doing more than enough apologising for the entirety of Canterlot to be forgiven of any number of sins. Never mind that his mind was being influenced, the guilt is still gnawing at him. I won’t have you acting the same. You were both deceived and hurt. You nearly died, Twilight, and Shining Armour…”

Watching Cadance trail off, a look of worry on hre face, Twilight reached out. The physical contact was awkward, but it snapped Cadance out of her vague state. “Cadance?”

“Nightmares. We’ve barely left each other, and every night he has nightmares. The backlash from all that mental manipulation is hitting him hard. Trauma like that...I can’t heal his mind, Twilight. I almost feel like I can, but I can’t.” Shaking her head sadly, Cadance sighed. She pressed delicate fingers to her eyes as she closed them, massaging them for a moment. “To say nothing of the difficulty of cleaning house after that thing had so long to dig its claws into the church.”

The thought of the damage the strange woman, the self-identified Chrysalis, was in position to do made Twilight wince. Cadance wielded a lot of power, and her influence was often said to be second only to Princess Celestia. Twilight’s mouth drew into a frown as she contemplated that.

“Cadance...why didn’t Princess Celestia notice?” Twilight asked. “They must have met. Celestia is impossible to fool with illusions or concealment spells. She should have detected it immediately, and the Laws surely can’t prevent her from striking down a creature impersonating and keeping the Sun’s High Priestess prisoner.”

By the sigh she made, Cadance had been expecting this. She gave Twilight a weary smile. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t know much more about the Laws than you do. She’s the Sun’s Herald, I’m the High Priestess, I would have thought she could help me there. At the very least she should have been able to do so indirectly, without taking six months. The Laws only allow her to act to defend against any who directly attack her or another divine being, so perhaps Chrysalis found that loophole. I suppose we’ll find out soon.”

The answer satisfied neither of them. Twilight had seen an assassin bound and captured, shackled by magic in an instant, years ago after her first appointment as Celestia’s apprentice. She knew the demi-goddess was capable of defending those around her, for the assassin had gone for Twilight first. Whether he would have moved on into a pointless attempt to strike down the Princess, Twilight would never know.

The silence of their displeasure was broken by the arrival of an intruder to their privacy. He strode through the noble gathering, stopping to exchange a few quiet words, or a simple gesture to a particular person, yet each minor act was simply the habit of a lifetime. Walking in the halls of power for so long bred certain manners, and Prince Blueblood was nothing if not a testament to his bloodline.

“Your Excellency, Lady Cadance,” he said with a bow. His bow to Twilight was not quite as deep, yet still more than many of the watching nobles thought she deserved. “Lady Sparkle. It is a pleasure to see you both.”

“Your Highness,” Cadance replied, as both women made the appropriate returns of his courtesy. “It is good to see you in such fine spirits. I had hoped to see you here.”

The prince chuckled. “We are summoned, as every year, and nothing in the world could make me miss it. I am pleased to see you in such good health after your ordeal.”

“Thanks in part to you, so I have been told.” Cadance’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She had nothing against Blueblood, yet she found his rigid attitude abrasive. It had brushed her too often for her to lightly dismiss it.

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Without his artifact, we wouldn’t have been able to plan our trap.” She grimaced. “Ill-fated as it was, it still led us in the right direction.”

“Which, of course, reminds me.” Turning to Twilight, Prince Blueblood offered her a courtly bow. “The artifacts recovered from the creature have been safely stored away. I am sure your servant informed you I took them into my possession, but given their apparent value, the reassurance they will not be stolen again is not one I consider out of place.”

She gave him a tight smile. Applejack had indeed told her of his assurances to her, and it had been clear the ranger resented his use of her as a messenger. Given Applejack’s general attitude, she had a feeling this had more to do with Blueblood’s manner than anything else. She rather doubted he had politely requested Applejack take the message to her.

“I appreciate it, but I still don’t know what they were intended for,” she replied, tone turning thoughtful. She gently swirled her wine glass, not even pretending to touch the drink for more than keeping the servers at bay.

Blueblood raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his wine. “Intended for? Surely it was just their value. Such historical artefacts, not to mention the material and fine craftsmanship, could command great prices. I would have paid richly for such items.”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I am sure they are worth a great deal, but I get the sense it was something much less mundane. There are other, less easily identifiable things that could have been targeted if it was just the monetary value.”

Laying a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, Cadance smiled warmly with a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Even if you don’t, she’s gone now. You saw Shining Armour kill her, remember? Whatever plots that creature intended don’t matter anymore.”

“Indeed. Speaking of your...’friend’,” Blueblood said, his tone just dancing on the edge of implication. “And your brother, Lady Sparkle, but I fail to see the Lord-Captain. Should not the leader of Her Highness’s city guard be here, upon her return from her yearly seclusion?”

The women exchanged small smiles. Twilight answered; “Shining Armour had something important to attend to.”

“More important than a formal event?” asked Blueblood with raised brow.

Cadance nodded. “I’m sure Her Highness would agree, some things are much more important.”

“Grah!”

“You’re holding them wrong again.”

“Grah!”

Spike scratched his chin thoughtfully. “How long until she tries to throw one at him, you think?” he asked.

“Not fer another minute or two,” Applejack answered. The pair sat on the sidelines, the small sparring court empty save for them and the two sparring in the middle.

Shining Armour smirked, whipping the pair of short swords he held up to parry. His training blades, their edges dulled, caught the strike sent his way and bounced his attacker’s weapons to the side. Unfamiliar as he was with fighting so armed, he still dominated the fight.

“They’re not daggers, you can’t move as quickly with them. If you go for an attack like that, any swordsman worth the iron in their weapon will be able to easily defend against you,” he chided his opponent.

Gritting her teeth, Dash glared at him. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve said.” Her fingers tightened their grip on the hilts, her short swords matching his. “Like five times.”

“And I’ll say it another five,” Shining said calmly, “if that’s what it takes to get you to hold them right. Remember, your fingers need to be-”

“I remember where my burning fingers need to be!” Dash snarled, adjusting her grip and going for another attack. Her frustrated grew when he blocked her attack just as easily as before.

“Very good, much better,” he said, his tone placid and approving. “Of course, you’re still doing something wrong.”

She glared at him. “Well, tell me what is it then, since you seem to know everything!”

Their weapons filled the small training court with the music of blades clanging, metal ringing with each parry and blow. Shining Armour’s steady advance and retreat, relenting when he drove her past some invisible line, forcing her to alternate between attack and defence.

“You asked for his help,” Spike pointed out. He rested his chin on his hand, smirking and waiting for her to look his way. Goading Dash was turning out to be incredibly fun.

“I said I wanted to learn to fight better, and with something bigger than a dagger!” she snapped back. Untrained though she was with the short swords, and even outmatched, Dash wasn’t stupid enough to turn to glare at him, even though she really, really wanted to. Never take your eyes off your enemy.

Shining said, “Who better to help you than me? I think I kind of owe it to you. I can think on my own now.” He stepped back, his playful smile dropping for a moment. “Believe me...that’s not something you want to lose.”

Hesitating, Dash wasn’t sure how to reply to the suddenly serious turn their conversation had taken. She shook her head, and seeing Shining Armour focusing on her again, pressed the attack.

“Yeah, well, what am I doing wrong now?” she demanded, pushing past the awkward pause as she struck at him.

“I could tell ya,” Applejack called. She chuckled at the curse Dash spat her way. “Language, Rainbow.”

Spike leaned back, kicking his legs out as Dash went at it again. “So, what is it?” he asked in a whisper.

Leaning back as well, Applejack smiled before answering. She took her time, choosing a fruit from a platter of such. It was, of course, an apple. After a moment to favour the taste and texture, she finally got around to explaining it to the impatient boy.

“She’s angry. Y’all can see it, every time Shinin’ Armour seems to know what she’s doin’ before she does. Angrier she gets, stupider she fights. Gettin’ angry in a fight is a quick way to die, an’ I woulda thought she knew that.” Applejack bit into her apple again, chewing thoughtfully. “Got a lot on her mind, I guess. I know I do.”

He looked at her curiously. “You do? Like what?” As quick-witted as he could be, Spike still spent most of his time around Twilight, and in showed in a few areas.

“Private stuff.” That seemed enough to change the subject.

Spike’s eye twinkled mischievously. “Is it Rarity?”

“Huh?” Applejack stared at him bewildered. “How did-.of course, Twilight told ya.”

He nodded, grinning proudly. “Of course she did,” Spike agreed. He shrugged nonchalantly. “I can spit doom-beams, I get to know important stuff like that you’re old friends with someone like her.”

Applejack snorted. “Sure ya do. Ya never did mention the whole magic breath thing before.”

“Twilight doesn’t like me doing it. And, uh, Princess Celestia told me I should only use it when it was a really, really important, and I couldn’t avoid it.” Spike winced. “I hope she won’t be angry.”

Reaching over, Applejack gave him a pat on the shoulder. ‘Hard to imagine the lil’ fella knows Celestia so well.’ “Y’all were savin’ a friend. Can’t be nothin’ more important than that, an’ I’m sure she knows that.”

“And Rarity is your friend, right?” His cheeks warmed slightly, imagining the maid. “I met her when she delivered that dress…she was so...”

Applejack waited a few seconds for him to finish. Instead, Spike kept staring off with an expression better suited to someone remembering an encounter with divinity.

‘’Cept he brushes shoulders with the goddess all the time,’ she thought with a quiet chuckle. She nudged him, smirking when he nearly slipped from the bench in surprise.

“Thinkin’ about someone?” she teased.

“I-it’s not my fault she’s beautiful. She’d make a better noble lady than most of the ones who already are. Graceful, and beautiful, and elegant, and beautiful. Blueblood usually sends her when he tries to, you know, buy Twilight with gifts.” Now he scowled. “Stupid Blueblood, sending her on errands.”

‘He talks ‘bout Rarity with more reverence than he does the Princess.’ As amusing as that was, and Spike’s obvious crush on someone he didn’t really know, Applejack felt a cold knot return to her gut.

“So...Twilight say anythin’ about it?” Applejack tried to keep any hope from her voice as she asked. “I only really got to tell her I knew Rarity, an’ how she ended up there. I want to help, but I got no idea how.”

Spike gave her an apologetic smile. “Not really. She just told me you knew her, that she’s working for Blueblood to pay back a debt, and you were worried about her.”

“Yeah, I am. I wanna help her, but I doubt she’ll accept it, an’ how am I supposed to help her?” Applejack sighed. She closed her eyes, rubbing them wearily. “Anythin’ Twilight can do to help would be amazin’, but I guess she’s got more important things to do.”

“Hey, she’ll try to help. She’s probably just been reading books on debt and the law and stuff, and gotten so absorbed she hasn’t remembered to tell you about it yet. She’s done that heaps of times.” The dragonblooded boy snickered. “I ask a random question she can’t answer, then three weeks later she suddenly starts lecturing me on it and gets surprised I have no idea what she’s talking about because I just forgot about it.”

That brought a smile to Applejack’s face. “I’d believe that. Maybe it’s just that. Maybe...I sure hope so.”

“Twilight won’t let you down,” Spike said, his voice filled with confidence and certainty. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Twilight could and would do it. He was so certain that Applejack decided that, perhaps, he might be right. After struggling together, she knew she could trust Twilight.

Twilight waited for a lull in the conversation, trying not to fidget with giddy anticipation. It had been nearly a month, after all, since she had last seen her teacher, and she had so much to tell her.

“There was something I wanted to discuss with you, your highness,” she slipped in when her chance came. The prince looked at her, curiosity in his eyes. With a wine glass in one hand, he gestured for her to continue as he sipped it. “It’s about your maid, actually.”

“Hm? I can only assume you mean Rarity.” He smiled grandly. “Her work is rather impressive, is it not? Would you like another dress, perhaps?”

Twilight took a bit too much enjoyment in deflating the prince’s obvious hopes that he was making headway in his quest for a political marriage. “I’m afraid not. I was curious, however, as to how her contract can be nullified or purchased? I understand she signed a indenture contract to pay back a debt.”

He pursed his lips in thought, eyes narrowing. Cadance remained silent, knowing her only part in this conversation was as a bystander, but rather enjoying it. She sipped her wine, smiling as she settled in to see where this went.

“You seem curiously well informed. Ah, of course, your bodyguard. She must be from the same backwater as Rarity?” Blueblood chuckled richly. “Not that you could tell it by listening to her talk. I must admit, I was rather surprised myself. Why would you, Lady Sparkle, be interested in this matter?”

There was a time for cunning word games and political fencing.

“I want to pay her debt,” Twilight answered, promptly displaying that it was certainly not that time now. Not to say she didn’t understand it, answering his question without really answering the actual question.

He hid his surprise by raising his glass to lips again, little of the wine passing his lips as he took a particularly long sip. It wouldn’t do to get drunk in such company, after all.

“Indeed? How remarkable. I am afraid, my dear Lady Sparkle, that it is no longer a simple matter of money. The contract was signed in exchange for forgiveness of the debt. It was a stroke of good fortune that brought her into my service. I would be an utter to fool to allow her to leave now, would I not?”

Twilight frowned, crossing her arms. “I could simply give her the money to pay you back.”

His smile thinned slightly. “Did I not inform you it is no longer a simple debt? She has reimbursed me, by signing that contract.”

“A contract that will last her at least a decade,” Twilight remarked, fighting not to scowl. She tried to calm herself, but the idea of such a contract seemed utterly unfair to her. “I was rather surprised at how blatantly you took advantage of her misfortune.”

Blueblood stiffened, a flicker of insult in his eyes before he mastered himself. “Everything I have done,” he said, his tone dark, “was perfectly legal. I had the right to offer her another means of repayment, and I chose this one. Need I explain to you, Lady Sparkle, I could have offered her a lifetime contract, and seen her thrown in debtor’s prison if she refused? I may not have been kind, but I am by no means on the level of some extorting thug.”

Before Twilight could reply, a pair of delicate hands laid on their shoulders, Cadance’s touch gentle as she drew their gazes to her. She smiled calmly, the tension in the air immediately defusing.

“I’m sure Twilight didn’t mean anything of the sort. Surely there must be something she can offer you? After all, I understand Twilight would not be standing before us were it not for Miss Applejack, and she must be concerned for her friend. Am I correct?” Cadance withdrew her hands, but her smile remained. She reclaimed her wine glass from the table, though it remained as full as it been since she took it as a simple prop.

Twilight nodded. “Yes. Applejack has asked for nothing except my advice, and I want to do what I can. However much you value her services, isn’t there anything you want from me?” Her eyes hardened for a moment. “Besides the obvious.”

Princes did not grunt, and thus the sound Blueblood made could not possibly be a grunt. “Hrrm. I see.” He looked between the two, a thoughtful expression on his face. His eyes turned to the side as a door at the far end of the hall, previously unopened, began to part. “The time for conversation has, it seemed, passed us by. Come by my home, Lady Sparkle, and we can discuss the possibilities in more detail, if you wish.”

With only time to nod before setting off towards the door, the rapidness of Twilight’s departure might have been considered rude at any other time. Blueblood’s own hurried pace kept him just behind as he followed. They reached the set of grand, pale wood doors, carved with blazing suns, just as She strode into the room.

The sunlight streaming through the great glass window that dominated the far wall didn’t quite brighten, but it was though some filter that no one had ever noticed was lifted from their sight, letting them see clearly. The light that fell on her skin, a soft tan as though she spent her days dancing in the rays of the sun, was somehow purer around her. She strode into the suddenly silent room, multi-hued hair gently waving in a wind that didn’t touch her white robes.

Princess Celestia, demi-goddess, unquestioned ruler of the nation of Equestria, Herald of the Sun, Foundation of the Divine Barrier, walked with unearthly grace that made each step seem to send her gilding across the floor. Her robes were trimmed in gold, but otherwise remarkably simple compared to frivolously fancy designs of her nobles. That was not to say it was not a work of art in its own right, folds and creases in the robe turning the simple yet remarkable white cloth into something worthy of praise.

Celestia smiled, radiating a simple yet vast warmth to the hearts of all who saw looked upon the expression. She spoke, voice ringing with a note not quite within mortal hearing, “It brings me such joy to look upon you all once more, my dear subjects. I return from my seclusion within the heart of my palace, as I do every year, and once again you are here to greet me.” The voluminous sleeves of her robe fell back as her hands rose to shoulder height, open and welcoming. “Thank you. Enjoy the Fire Festival. When the Summer Sun Celebration comes, I hope you will join me again.”

With that she stepped into the room, signaling that her brief speech was over. Conversation was slow to return to the gathered nobles as Celestia turned her attention to her faithful student.

“Twilight,” she said warmly. She embraced the young mage despite the height difference, bending her nearly seven foot body to hug Twilight. “I would ask what you have to show me this year, but I already know you were even more active in my absence than usual.”

The knot of turmoil that that had been festering within Twilight only grew as she gave her teacher a weak smile. “Yes, it’s been...very busy.”

“And you have many questions, I’m sure.” Sorrow marked the divine ruler’s face, turning her eyes on Cadance. “And I am afraid I do not have all the answers. Especially for you, Cadance. Only apologies.”

Cadance offered a weak smile. “I had hoped my captivity had been part of a plan. I...had a long time to think of why a plan might involve you allowing me to remain that creature’s prisoner.”

“Blueblood, would you give the three of us some privacy?” Though she asked, Blueblood hardly took it as such. He bowed, not so much as a hint of dissent in his expression. “We can discuss the treasury afterwards, I’m sure.”

“As you command, Your Majesty,” he said as he stepped away. “I shall await your pleasure.”

“Thank you.” Turning back to them, Celestia gestured to a small room, one of the many that allowed those attending parties to slip off for quieter, calmer gatherings. “I regret I had to delay this meeting until now, but I have had...issues to deal with.”

Her serene mask didn’t falter, but Twilight could read a hint of tension in her teacher’s expression. Had she not endured the events which rocked the Solar Church, and her own comfortable life, Twilight would have been concerned. Now, she simply nodded, confident that their ruler understood the events that had occurred in her absence.

When the door closed behind them, Celestia promptly pulled them both into a fierce, tight hug. It was far more emotional, far more raw, as she held them.

“I am so, so sorry,” Celestia murmured. She slowly loosened her grip, but held them still. “I never imagined such things might unfold while I was gone. That you two, so close to being daughters to me, should have suffered so…”

Cadance smiled, though Twilight could tell the priestess was as shocked by the sudden explosion of emotional outburst as she was. “Please, auntie, we understand. The divine rules-”

“Meant nothing,” interrupted Celestia. She straightened, releasing them. Her hands remained clasped on their shoulders, and a deep sadness was etched into her eyes as she looked them both over. Her tone dropped, low and guilty. “I simply did not see what was going on. My Sight was fooled by that imposter.”

Twilight stared at her, blinking with disbelief. “I...what?”

Evidently more capable of speech, Cadance still looked just as shocked. “What do you mean? Is that why…I knew you wouldn’t have simply let her take my place, but how could she- nothing should be able to do that.”

Celestia began to pace, her worry not touching on her unearthly grace. “I do not know. She walked into my presence, and I had no idea she was not you. I must admit, the fault here is mine. I never turned my full Sight truly upon her. Why would I? I have raised you since you were brought here, and there was no reason to look upon you with my Sight.”

“This is…” Twilight shook her head, reaching up to rub her forehead wearily. “I had hoped that you let this happen, that there was some reason, or...I don’t know.”

“You thought I would have allowed Cadance to remain a prisoner, and your brother to lose his free will?” What could have been a bitter demand was, in Celestia’s voice, a gentle, probing question.

Twilight winced, but Cadance was the one who answered, “We both wondered, auntie. You have one foot in the divine; how else could we explain someone fooling you than to believe they didn’t?”

“I see. I afraid your faith in my power was unfounded, here. Despite what some preachers may claim in the streets, I am not all-seeing. Yet, I should still have been able to detect an imposter, no matter how much magic she garbed herself in.” Celestia fell silent, staring into the distance, seeing without the walls around them impeding her. “Even now, I cannot See what remains of her, where her soul has been sent. Whatever hid her may not have been capable of fooling my Sight had I focused on her with any real intent, but distance severs that purpose now, and that such a power exists is...alarming, to say the least.”

Twilight sat, heavily, into a chair. It felt like treachery to think it, to muse that her teacher could be blinded to the works of evil, but it had been a lurking, subversive thought buried in the back of her mind since rescuing Cadance. She twiddled her fingers, chewing her lip nervously.

“So...oh, long night.” Leaning back into the chair, Twilight sighed. “I was hoping you’d...I don’t know, make things make sense. Now I’m even more confused. I’m sorry, Princess, I-”

Celestia gestured, a smooth wave of her hand as if to brush Twilight’s worries away. “Please, Twilight, there is nothing to apologise for. You have performed wonderfully. I am so proud of you, for everything you’ve done while I was away. It does my heart more good than you can imagine, to know when I leave that you can take care of yourself.” Her lips curved up in a smile. “And that you have friends to help you.”

Twilight shrugged, looking embarrassed at the sudden turn their conversation was taking. “Well, I kind of...they probably felt they had to. It was me or prison, and neither wanted to go there. Applejack and Dash, I doubt they’re really want to be-”

“No.”

Twilight and Cadance stared Celestia in surprise, taken aback by the sudden energy that suffused her voice. The divine princess looked at Twilight with eyes glazed with power, and her voice took on a strange, resonating quality.

“They are just the first. They open the path to your destiny, Twilight Sparkle. Through them you will find what you have always sought, yet never realised you needed, and through you, they will reach heights never dreamed of.”

So few words, yet each was powerful, and as she spoke the last a shudder ran through her. Before them the energy seemed to drain from Celestia. She stood perfectly, inhumanly still, such that next to her the stone walls were given the cast of sand, crumbling against the tide of time that washed past her without touching her.

“...Princess?” Twilight rose, taking a cautious step towards her teacher. Confusion was written on her face in wide eyes and an uncertain light within them. “What was that? Are you okay?”

The stillness fell away from Celestia like a robe being thrown off, and she shook her head. “No. No, I am fine. A moment of insight. The cost of standing, as Cadance said, with one foot in the divine. For a moment, I Saw something...yet now it is gone.”

Silence fell, all three considering the words that had surprised even Celestia. Twilight mulled them over, trying to decipher them. It was clear that they meant a lot, but…

“Twilight,” Cadance said, interrupting her thoughts before they could continue to twist and run. “Whatever that was, I think I know what they mean.”

Twilight turned to her, expression rapt. “You do?” she asked, relieved.

Cadance nodded. “Of course. It’s obvious. You have friends, and whatever the future holds, your friends will be with you. You aren’t going to argue with a royal prophecy, are you?” Her tone became teasing, diffusing the tense mood set to swamp Twilight’s mood.

“I guess I can’t, if you put it like that,” Twilight admitted reluctantly, nodding.

Chuckling as she took Twilight’s hand with a motherly pat, Celestia drew Twilight back down into a chair and took the one next to it. “It seems my desire to catch up has been supplanted by something far more mysterious than anticipated. For now, though, these things are secondary. Right now, my faithful student, I want to hear about these friends of yours. Though I can learn many things, it is never the same as hearing it from you personally.”

“Well…” Settling in, Twilight turned her thoughts away from the mysterious prophecy, though she wanted to work on it feverishly. There were tomes on interpretation she could consult, cross-reference and analyse. Even so, she could not help but obey, beginning to tell the Princess how it all began. “I decided to deal with the thief running rampant through the High District, and that thief turned out to be Dash. She was going after Blueblood and I prepared a spell for it….”

Dash glared at Shining Armour. She was bent nearly double, panting.

“You might want to think about working on your stamina,” he offered helpfully. The magus offered her a skin of water. “Thirsty? A bit of upper body strength wouldn’t go amiss either. You’re fast, and agile, but a little bit more muscle would help.”

“Shut...up…” she panted. The thief reached up, snatching the water skin from him and pouring it over her head. Rivulets poured down her face, her brilliant hair hanging wetly. “Burning day…”

“No swearing in front of Spike,” Shining Armour warned her absently. He somewhat doubted it would do any good.Though he didn’t admit it, he was impressed. Dash was taking to fighting with a pair of short swords faster than he had imagined, and for all her show of annoyance at his instruction, she was paying attention. “You’re faster than me, you know.”

Dash scowled. It looked more like a sour pout to him, one that reminded Shining of Twilight whenever she had been told to go to bed without being allowed to finish some reading as a child. He fought back a smirk at the thought; Dash would probably take that as taunting her.

“You are,” he assured her. “Speed doesn’t make up for experience, though. I spent some time in Cloudsdale, and even the Wonderbolts know that just being fast isn’t going to win. Experience and finesse are the key.”

“Wonderbolts?” Dash gave him a look that was more curious than indignant. “Heard that somewhere before…”

He raised an eyebrow, dropping back into an aggressive stance. “Remember, hold them the way I told you,” Shining instructed. “The Wonderbolts are the elite of Cloudsdale’s warriors. Each one has magic items made just for-”

He attacked without warning, leading blade slicing out mid-sentence. Dash reacted with admirable speed, managing to keep the guardsman from landing a clean blow. She hissed where his other sword grazed her arm.

“Made just for them. You’d be amazed at how frustrating it is trying to fight off half a dozen elves that flit about where you can’t hit them,” Shining Armour continued nonchalantly. “Fortunately, one of my friends was really good at throwing things, and the other was Time Turner, so we managed to deal with them. Without killing any, too.”

“They don’t sound...so tough…” Dash panted, working her weapons with furious speed to keep him from landing another blow.

Shining Armour grinned. He had picked up a few facts about the thief from his sister. “They can fly,” he said.

She only hesitated for a moment. "So? Why would I care?"

"Well, Twilight mentioned you found the thought of flight spells pretty interesting. You never know, maybe they accept half-elves." He jerked suddenly, weapon slicing through the air. Dash’s was torn from her grip, bouncing across the court. Shining answered her scowl with a smile. “Want another try?”

“You bet I do,” Dash growled. Retrieving her weapon. she squared off for another go. “This time, you won’t get so lucky.”

Watching the pair spar, Applejack’s thoughts drifted over the conversation she’d had with Spike. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, watching him stare into the distance with an unexpectedly bleak, and guilty, expression.

“Spike?” she asked, reaching over to poke his shoulder. The mournful look on his face reminded her of the time Apple Bloom’s kitten had died. “Got somethin’ on yer mind?”

“Yeah…” Spike kicked his legs idly, his expression slowly falling into dourness.

She gave him a curious look, one that soon developed into concern. The background noise of the Lord-Captain of the Guard teaching a mouthy street thief how to use short swords became far less less important as she focused on Spike. He sighed, rubbing the corners of his eyes where his skin showed hints of purple scales.

Always a direct soul, Applejack didn’t dance around the bush. “Somethin’ wrong, sugar?” she asked, her voice quiet and gentle. “I’m sure ya won’t get in any trouble.”

“It’s not that.” Spike grimaced, sighing again.

Her worried frown grew when he failed to elaborate. She’d never had a little brother, but Applejack recognised when a problem was just nagging away at his insides, as sure as she would have recognised it in her little sister. Leave it to fester, and they’d end up with another exploding tree. That had been a little girl without magic. Applejack shuddered to think of what a boy being taught magic by a wizard of Twilight’s obvious skill could do when upset.

“So what is it?” She gave him a poke, replacing her frown with a smile. “Ya can tell me, ya know.”

Spike seemed to consider it for a moment before looking away, hesitating and looking away with a small shake of his head. She leaned closer.

“Promise I won’t tell Twilight,” she added, guessing.

“I…” Spike ran a hand through his short, spiky hair before shrugging. “I kind of had to run off from a friend when I saw that wererat in the sewers.”

Her eyebrows rose. “I thought y’all were on yer own down there,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, I also kind of lied about that. I didn’t go exploring on my own, you know, I’m not an idiot.” Spike stared off distantly, shoulders slumped. “Well, I did at first, but when I ran into her, and we were both exploring, it was more fun to do it together. Safer too.”

“Ya left her in the sewers then, an’ ya feel bad? Wait, down near where that damn rat was?” Applejack’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Spike held his hands up defensively. “I didn’t just leave her there, they’d already left, and I had to come warn you guys. I couldn’t drag her with me, she could have gotten hurt, and Scootaloo is my friend. We promised that everything outside of exploring wasn’t going to get in the way, and that includes evil wererats trying to murder Twilight.”

“Right…so ya feel bad about runnin’ off on her?” Rubbing her chin, Applejack tried to get to the core of the issue. There had to be something more, she was sure.

Nodding, Spike reached down, one hand running across the hilt of the dagger. Shining Armour had insisted he keep it, and Twilight had eventually conceded. It had been hard for even her to argue against it after recent events.

“I’m not going to get to explore again,” Spike explained. His voice matched his expression; flooded with misery. “Twilight knows all about it now, and she’s not letting me go anywhere with her, or you guys, and she’s not going to let me go exploring ever again. Scoots is just going to think I ran off on her, and then when I don’t show up like usual next time, or the time after….”

Applejack patted him on the shoulder, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t feel bad, I’m sure ya can work out a way to let your friend know it ain't nothin' personal."

"I just hope she's alright. She's my friend..." Spike blew out weary sigh. "What if something happened after I ran off?"

"Then I'm sure she can deal with it. Kept up with you on yer explorin', right?"

"Yeah." He nodded, a small smile on his face. "She's tough. She'll be fine." 'I hope.'

Scootaloo shrieked as the seemingly steady stone gave way beneath her. The hard packed fragments, jammed into a crude dam over the cracked wall, fell away. She went completely still, balanced precariously on one foot, her hands gripping familiar alcoves tightly. Her foot dangled in the empty, rancid air of the ancient well.

A few seconds later, the fallen debris hit the distant ground with wet, gurgly splashes. They joined the a few pebbles in the muddy, murky mix at the bottom of the well. She gulped, pulling her foot back and gingerly finding another foothold.

‘This place is really starting to fall apart,’ she thought with a gulp. Resuming her climb, Scootaloo paid a little more attention than she had before. Just because she had climbed this ancient well a hundred times was not, as the close call reminded her, any reason to be so casual about it.

The dim ringing of the streets and the dull glow of light above grew closer and brighter as the girl climbed, slowly retracing a vertical path she had traveled often enough to get overconfident. The decaying scent of the sewers below faded, a soft breeze bringing the spicy, meaty smells of the market. Scootaloo emerged after long, familiar minutes of climbing to mouth watering scents.

She clambered into the mouth of the oversized pipe. All it took was a few steps and she was at the rusted bars, looking down upon the market. Slipping her legs through the bars, Scootaloo leaned against them to stare across the colourful riot of markets and customers.

Finding this had been a complete accident, but happy one. The young thief smiled, eyes lidding and shoulders slumping. No one looked up, no one bother to notice the scrawny legs hanging out. Why would they? The ancient, crumbling wall that formed the southern boundary of the market was the only sign of the market’s closeness to the built up stonework of the middens, and the stone pipes were so old and familiar, leading nowhere and too dangerous for the guard to investigate, that they had become part of the background.

Scootaloo took a breath of the warm air. She was above the hubbub of the crowd, above the suspicious, watchful eyes of merchants and guards, above the jealous glares of other pickpockets. Here, no one could hate her, no one could judge her, no one could... abandon.. her. Here, she was safe, and no one could see her-

“Hey, what’s that up there?”

Scootaloo all but threw herself back, covering her mouth with her hands to muffle the yelp of pain from her rough landing. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling of the pipe with eyes wide in terror.

‘Did they see me? Night night night! I hope it wasn’t one of the others, this is my spot, I don’t want them here!

“I can’t see anything,” another voice answered the first. “Maybe you’re seeing things? Your Granny said the city made people go funny.”

The first voice replied, curt and pouty, “Ah coulda sworn Ah...oh, never mind! We gotta focus on findin’ our sisters.”

“But we’ve been searching all day, and I’m hungry,” whined the second voice. “Can’t we get something to eat?”

Slowly, carefully, Scootaloo rolled onto her front and crawled towards the opening. The rusted grate left more than enough space between bars for her to poke her head out, just enough to see. She knew even as she did it that it was a bad idea.

‘They sound my age, but that whiny one sounds all fancy.’ A grin spread across Scootaloo’s face as she peered down. ‘Maybe fancy enough to have some gold on her…’

The only people looser with money than nobles were noble kids, rare as they were without bodyguards this close to the middens. Yet she found, to her annoyance, the well-spoken girl below didn’t look like a noble. True, her dress was better quality than anything you’d find in the middens, but it was hardly what some noble brat would have.

The other girl, one with bright red hair, hands on her hips, scowled at her better dressed companion. “Sweetie Belle, ya know we gotta be careful. We only got so much till we’re all out.”

“I know.” Sweetie Belle, apparently, pouted. “We should have waited longer, Apple Bloom. It’s nearly my birthday, I bet I could have gotten some more silver from my parents.”

‘She sounds like a noble brat, but she doesn’t look like one. Weird.’ Scootaloo’s nose scrunched in an expression of frustration.

Apple Bloom crossed her arms, fidgeting on the flat stone ridge the pair occupied. Almost directly below Scootaloo’s perch, it wasn’t hard for the young pickpocket to work out they must have clambered up here for a better view. As she watched them bicker, she noted everything she had been trained to. Their money pouches, she saw, was in the most obvious of places, where anyone with half a mind could pluck it before they were any the wiser. The redhead, Apple Bloom, didn’t warrant much attention in her well-worn, beaten overalls. Farm clothes, obviously. Farmers were only worth pickpocketing after they’d brought their harvest in for sale, and she someone doubted this farm girl had much on her.

“I can’t believe no one has seen them! I mean, Rarity always looks so pretty when she wants to show off, how could they not remember her?” Sweetie Belle’s tone hadn’t dropped from its whining pitch.

Giving her friend a shrug, Apple Bloom sighed. “Ah know. Ah was really hopin’ someone woulda seen Applejack. We came all this way, the least they could do is be easy to find.”

Sweetie shuddered. “I really hope we find them before Granny Smith catches up with us.”

“Granny won’t be followin’. Her hip ain’t what is used to be. An’ why would she come anyway? Not like she cares about Applejack.” Apple Bloom’s heated tone became sour as she spoke.

‘So, they’re new here, and she said something about finding their sisters… Scootaloo started to smile. ‘Oh man, this is too good! Dash said rubes are the best marks!’

Before her newfound confidence could flee at the thought of Dash, Scootaloo leaned forward.

“I can help, you know,”

They both jumped, letting out brief shrieks of surprise. For the sake of all involved, the overwhelming chorus of the market below drowned out the sounds. Apple Bloom whipped around, eyes zeroing on the tunnel mouth above them.

“Ah knew Ah saw somethin’ up there! It’s not polite, sneakin’ up on others like that.” Apple Bloom pointed a reprimanding finger at Scootaloo, who grinned merrily down at her. “How long’ve Y’all been there?”

“Long enough to know you’re real new to the city, and don’t have any idea how to do anything here,” answered Scootaloo. She answered the tongue Apple Bloom stuck at her with a smirk.

Sweetie Belle tugged on her friend’s sleeve, displaying none of Apple Bloom’s agitation. “Apple Bloom, stop it. She’s from here, maybe she’s seen them.” The unmistakable note of hope hung in her voice as she looked up at Scootaloo. “We’re looking for our sisters. My sister, Rarity, she had purple hair that’s all in this big curl, and she likes to dress all fancy.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Nope, haven’t seen her,” she said cheerfully.

“Aww.” Sweetie let out a sigh of disappointment. “Oh well.”

“Real useful. Come on, Sweetie, let’s go find somewhere we won’t have someone sneakin’ up on us!” Grabbing her friend’s hand, Apple Bloom turned to lead off. A tug from Sweetie Belle brought her up short, and she turned back to look at her. “What?”

“Ask her if she’s seen Applejack,” urged Sweetie. She gave first Apple Bloom an encouraging smile, then another for Scootaloo. “Her sister is supposed to be here somewhere too.”

“‘s not like she’s gonna know.” Crossing her arms, Apple Bloom gave their intruder a glare. “An’ Ah don’t appreciate people sneakin’ up on me and listening to me.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “I was here first. This has been my spot since forever.”

“See, she lives here! It can’t hurt to ask, can it?” Sweetie pulled Apple Bloom back, giving her a pleading look. “Please?”

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Apple Bloom’s shoulders slumped. “Fine, fine. My sister, Applejack, she’s real tall, an’ got long blonde hair. She’s got a hat too, oh, and a real big sword, and-”

“Freckles?” The question left Scootaloo’s mouth before she knew what she was asking. Blinking, she realised where the question had come from; the woman she had seen Dash with. It had been only a small glimpse as she followed the pair, but the tall woman with the big sword had had freckles.

Apple Bloom stared at her for a moment, eyes wide in shock. “Y-yeah! Applejack’s got freckles! How’d ya-”

“Long leather coat?” Scootaloo interrupted.

In answer, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle squealed excitedly. “Your sister always had that big coat! Rarity was always complaining about it!”

“That’s her! Ya’ll’ve seen her!” Apple Bloom’s expression shed any hint of her annoyance with Scootaloo as she almost jumped in joy. “Where is she? Ah gotta find her!”

Pulling herself closer to the rim of the stone pipe, Scootaloo sat up on the edge. ‘That’s the woman I saw with Dash! If these two are looking for her, maybe…’

“I don’t know where she is now,” Scootaloo began, talking faster when she saw the look on Apple Bloom’s face. “But I’ll help you find her.”

“Ya will?” Apple Bloom frowned; her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why would ya do that? Granny always says there’s some slick cityfolk that’ll call ya friend while they steal yer pants.”

Sweetie Belle beamed, clapping her hands together with a squeal. “Don’t worry, Apple Bloom, I’m not wearing pants.”

“...” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both stared at the smiling girl for a few seconds.

“...right...uh, okay...well, I never said I’d help you for free. You’ve got money, right?” Scootaloo leaned down, practically tipping over the lip of the pipe. “You share that with me, and I’ll help you look.”

Scrutinizing Scootaloo, Apple Bloom gestured at Sweetie Belle to step away from Scootaloo. They brought their heads close together, whispering to each other and occasionally shooting Scootaloo looks.

Watching the pair huddle up, Scootaloo tried not to smile. Hard Knocks wouldn’t care how she got money, but so long as she got enough and reported it each day, she could spend her time as she wanted. All she had to do was pretend to help these two, and they’d be paying for her to stay out of trouble for a few days.

‘And you might get to see Dash,’ whispered the little part of her that dared hold on to hope. Shaking the thought from her head, Scootaloo was pulled from her introspection by the girls below.

“We still need enough for food, an’ someplace to stay,” Apple Bloom announced. She stood with hands on her hips, giving the thief above a hard stare. “But if y’all can really help us, we’ll share what we got.”

Scootaloo grinned. “Awesome!” She dropped down, landing nimbly in front of them. “I’m Scootaloo!”

“Ah’m Apple Bloom, but Ah s’pose ya’ll already heard that, didn’t ya?” Sticking out her hand expectantly, Apple Bloom caught Scootaloo’s in a firm handshake. “This is Sweetie Belle. We’re from Ponyville.”

“Why would you name a place after ponies?” Scootaloo asked with a confused frown. She flexed her hand when it was released, wincing.

“What’s wrong with ponies? Ponies are the best!” demanded Sweetie Belle, finally looking something other than happy. “Rarity promised she’d get me a pony when she made it big.”

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a helpless shrug, apparently used to such a vehement defense of little horses. “They used to raise ponies or somethin’ in the fields before they built the town, an’ the name stuck, Ah think.”

“Weird. So, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, we’re gonna find your sisters.” Scootaloo gave them a confident grin. “This is my city, after all, and I know it like the back of my hand!”

“Where are we going first?” asked Sweetie Belle with a hopeful smile. She bounced excitedly. “You must know the best place.”

Even as Scootaloo opened her mouth to answer, another reply was forthcoming. More accurately, three replies, none of them involving a single word. Their stomachs grumbled, loud enough for each to hear, and they stared silently at each other for a few seconds. A blush lit up Sweetie’s face, while Apple Bloom rubbed her stomach with a groan.

“...to get something to eat?” Scootaloo suggested weakly.

“I pray your time with Her Highness,” Prince Blueblood began, swirling his glass of wine gently,” Was as fruitful as my own.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow as he stopped next to her. “Isn’t that the same glass you’ve had for an hour?” she asked.

The prince smiled elegantly. “Lady Sparkle, one learns not to partake at events such as this. They are as much a duty as a pleasure, and as I’m sure your brother would tell you, drinking on duty is in rather poor taste.”

“Worried someone might try and take advantage?” she snarked before her filter could catch it. Twilight grimaced, glancing out the window, tracking the sun’s place.

He followed her look, chuckling quietly. “I am sure Her Highness would never complain if you left early.”

“And leave the nobles to gossip and whisper about how I ran off the moment my private audience with her ended?” Taking a delicate bite from a little confection of sugar and fruit, Twilight took the small chance to think before she continued. “Would you be willing to return to our previous discussion, your highness?”

Stepping further into the alcove Twilight had hidden herself away in, Prince Blueblood nodded. He reached out as a server passed, deftly swapping one glass of wine for another, liquid gold for a deep red. “But of course. Whatever your reasons to seek her services, or emancipation, Miss Rarity is indentured to me and I am under no obligation to sell that contract, regardless of what you offer.”

‘At least he’s willing to be direct about it,’ Twilight thought, suppressing a frown. “I am aware. But I’m guessing you have an alternate payment in mind?” Her eyes flashed with emotion for a moment. “I hope it has nothing to do with marriage.”

“I rather doubt a sense of debt you hold towards a criminal bodyguard is enough to change your mind,” he replied calmly. Blueblood brushed a few strands his blond hair out of his eyes as the glass rose to his lips. It left, not so much as a milliliter actually gone from it. “But perhaps you would be willing to undertake a minor service for me. An...acquisition, of sorts.”

Twilight gave the prince an appraising look. “For your collection? Didn’t you just get a few new additions?”

He smiled back, unruffled by the reminder. If anything, his smile grew at the thought of the stolen relics now sitting in his vaults, not even the money paid to the relatives of their deceased owners’ disturbing his pleasure. “But of course. I am always seeking to add to my collection, Lady Sparkle, and I rarely have issue with money.”

“Which means whatever you want you can’t buy.” Understanding flared in Twilight’s suspicious stare. “I want something I can’t buy, and so do you.”

“Precisely. As sharp as ever, Lady Sparkle. What I want is not something any random wandering adventurer or mercenary could get me. In fact, you would be rather uniquely placed to acquire it. Who else but the Princess’s own student could possibly venture where it lies?” Blueblood couldn’t hold back the self-satisfied smirk as he added, “And who but one of a royal line could have deciphered it’s location?”

There was, Twilight knew, some catch in this. With one thought she considered the last report she had read, gathered by the gate guards, of the number of travelling heroes, adventurers and miscellaneous armed busybodies that flowed through Canterlot. With another thought she weighed what she knew of Blueblood’s wealth, generated by a dangerous combination of family money, personal prestige and business acumen that had earned him the responsibility of the royal treasury. What, she wandered, could be out of his reach?

Her eyes widened in realisation. Blueblood’s smirk only grew. He leaned in, his voice dropping to whisper that was nearly drowned out by the noise of the party.

“I want you go below, Lady Sparkle, to venture under our fair city. All you have to do to find my prize, to earn Miss Rarity’s contract, is go there. Go... into Old Canterlot.”

Chapter Twelve

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“Burning bloody days, where is she?!”

Spike jumped, impressively clearing a foot as a surprise lent his feet wings. His arms pinwheeled, and he let out a frantic shout of denial as he fell forward.

“No no no noooooo!” he wailed as he crashed through the tower of cards. The boy landed with a grunt. Cards fluttered down atop him, and Spike slumped with a wordless groaned.

“Dash!” scowled Applejack. She picked Spike up, setting the dazed apprentice on his feet, and glared at her friend as the boy clung to her arm. She patted him comfortingly on the head. “Ya half scared the life outta him.”

Scoffing, Dash pointedly didn’t respond. She spun on one hand, teetering on the brink above. A book, balanced atop another atop another atop a fourth in an untidy stack on her free hand, wobbled dangerously.

“Hey, get down! If you damage those books Twilight will-” Spike began to say.

“What, throw a hissy fit?” Despite her interruption, Dash dropped the books back onto the shelf she had borrowed them from. She began to put them back in place, the feeling of blood rushing to her head familiar enough not to distract her. “There, happy?”

Spike scowled at her in answer. Kneeling, he began to gather his cards. “I was almost done with my tower,” he complained instead. “Do you know long that takes?”

“A couple months? ‘Cause it feels like that long since she ran off to do whatever today’s mysterious mystery thing is.” Dash took hold of the ladder, crawling down it head first. For once she wished she was wearing a skirt; the look on Spike and Applejack’s faces would have been hilarious.

Applejack sighed, reading Dash’s thoughts all too clearly in the mischievous look on her face. Dropping on one knee to help Spike, she gave him an encouraging smile. “Don’t ya worry none, sugar. I’ll help ya rebuild it, won’t take us long together.”

“Thanks,” he said. He looked forlornly across the mess of cards. With a shake of his head he continued gathering them.

It wasn’t all that much later that the door finally opened, and Twilight walked in. “I’m back.”

Whatever reception she expected, a despairing cry of ‘My tower!’ was not it. Her stride faltered. Twilight paused, then, slowly, then blinked a few times to be sure of what she was seeing. Given the news she brought, the scholar was somewhat taken aback by the focus they were all giving to a pile of cards.

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault! You saw her, Applejack totally bumped it with her hand!” said Dash. She pointed at Applejack. “If she hadn’t done that, it would never have fallen over!”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “My fault? You were the one who was puttin’ too many dang cards on! It ain’t a race to the top ya know.”

“You’re just saying that because you lost!”

“Why you little-”

Twilight coughed. When that didn’t work, she coughed again, louder. The bickering continued. Now, Twilight liked to consider herself a patient woman. Learning from Princess Celestia called for it in every lesson. Given an endless life as a divine being, the regal Princess took her time with each lesson she imparted, carefully helping Twilight progress only when she was sure she was ready.

She probably hadn’t intended for Twilight to ever use those lessons to magically simulate an ear-piercing whistle. The result was enough to make her giggle. Spike’s stammered greeting and guilty glance at the mess did, admittedly, make her feel a little bad for startling him if not the other two.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking not even slightly apologetic to the girls. For Spike she had a reassuring smile and a quick hug. “I can’t whistle very well myself. I hope I didn’t surprise you.”

Dash laughed. “Ha, as if! Nothing surprise me!”

Applejack cleared her throat, wearing a shit-eating grin, and jostled the girl in her arms. “‘S’cuse me, sugar, but I kinda need these. I’m sure ya won’t wanna stay up here, since ya weren’t surprised at all.”

Suddenly made aware that she had leaped into Applejack’s arms, Dash’s cheeks flared up. She scoffed, nonchalantly, and dropped out of Applejack’s hold. Giving Applejack a look of barely suppressed embarrassment, she patted the ranger on the arm.

“Good work, you passed,” Dash said. “Because...that was a test! Yeah, I was testing you. To, uh, make sure you could react fast enough. I saw Twilight right away, obviously, so I wasn’t actually surprised.”

“Uh huh, I believe you,” Applejack grunted. She ignored the thief, and turned to Twilight. “Sorry we didn’t notice ya, bit busy. How was it?”

“I noticed her,” mumbled Dash.

Twilight sighed. “It was...interesting. Blueblood and I had to talk,” she said.

“Interesting?” asked Spike. The dragonblooded boy idly scratched the hard skin where the scales around his eyes became skin. “Did he ask you not to marry him?”

Despite her small smile of amusement, Twilight’s eyes were less open. She pursed her lips as she scanned the titles of a bookshelf, searching for something or just buying herself time. The room was dead silent, the wait for her answer clearly dragging on Dash’s nerves. She folded her arms, and a moment later one finger began to tap against her arm. She glanced at Spike, who was waiting eagerly, but not impatiently, and Applejack, who just raised an eyebrow at her as if daring Dash to be the first to speak up.

“Spike,” Twilight began to say. She paused, staring with one eyebrow raised at Dash and the relieved, explosive sigh the slender girl let out before continuing. “Could you go check the Palace Library for a copy of the Greenhilt Chronicles. volume three? I need to check a reference.”

The eagerness dropped from Spike’s expression. He stared at Twilight for just a moment, and nodded. “Okay, I guess.” ‘Why should I get to know anything important, I can just go get books she doesn’t need,’ he thought.

Twilight watched him go, arms folded over her chest. Following him to the door, she traced a symbol beneath the handle. Light flared along the doorframe, rushing along it to ignite runes that glittered with arcane energy.

“I needed to make sure he wouldn’t eavesdrop,” Twilight explained. Again she fell silent, expression grim as she strode through the room to her chair.

“On what? Gonna spill some big secrets?” Leaning forward, Dash grinned. “I’m all ears.”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna say anythin, but they are looking a mite big,” Applejack mumbled. She grinned at the glare she earned.

“We have a...mission? A quest? Something like that. We have something we need to do,” Twilight interrupted. It took a surprising amount of effort not to smile at the banter. “It’s going to be dangerous.”

“And you don’t want Spike involved? What, one little run in with a mind-controlling monster got your hackles up?” Dash grinned as she spoke. She too took her seat. Twilight’s seat, in fact. Some of it, at least. Slender legs curled atop the armrest as she planted her chin on her palm. “Cool.”

Applejack frowned. “I wouldn’t quite say ‘cool’. Lyin’ t’ain’t cool. I take it this is somethin’ important?”

Twilight looked away from Dash, watching Applejack carefully. The ranger had folded her arms and was leaning against a bookshelf. She was watched in turn by Applejack, Twilight’s lips pressed thin for a moment into a frown. Fear for the fragile bond of new friendship nearly made her stop right there.

‘No, I need to make sure he’s safe. Applejack will understand.’.

“It may be lying, but I needed Spike out of here. So yes, Dash, I do need him away. Spike has already been exposed to violence far too much, and I won’t let it happen again. Especially not where we need to go,” she explained.

Dash’s grin grew wider,corners of her lips curving up. “Danger? Like, some old temple? Ruins? A dungeon?” Her voice rose. “I’ve heard all about proper dungeons, how they’re filled with loot for anyone to take. We’re going to one of them, right?”

“They’re also filled with monsters an’ traps,” Applejack told her. She waggled a finger at the thief. “They don’t just give up that loot without a fight.”

Twilight frowned. Magic flowed through her hand, lighting it up with a violet aura. The aura appeared on a book on the other side of the room, dragging it to her.

“We’re not going into a dungeon. We’re not even leaving the city...technically, anyway. We’re going down.” She held up the book as she spoke. The title, Legends Lost Below, stood out in silver against the cover. “Into the ruins of the ancient undercity.”

She got no further; laughter, loud and uncontrolled, immediately exploded from the women perched next to her. Dash clutched her sides, struggling to rein herself in. She forced it down, until only a titter escaped as she spoke.

“The undercity? You think that exists?” She shook with contained snickering, shaking. “I thought you were smart. Everyone knows the undercity is just an old story!”

Twilight’s frown grew. Laying the book on her lap, she began to gently leaf through its pages. “Why do you say that?” was all she asked.

Shrugging, Dash leaned over to peer at the book. “Because I’ve been down there. The tunnels go everywhere. This one kid I knew, she…” Suddenly the mirth was gone. A sour note, bitter, slipped into her voice. “She knew her way around there better than even the old guild guides. If there was some lost city down there, someone would have found it and picked it clean of anything shiny.”

“They coulda missed it,” Applejack said. She came to stand on Twilight’s other side, and unlike Dash, when she looked down she could read more than two words. “Seemed a big place down there.”

“Not that big. Hell, the wererats would have gone down there when the Solar Guard came knocking,” the thief replied with a snort. Falling silent, Dash’s lips moved without speaking for a moment. She sounded out a word, brow furrowed. “C-cat...Cata…”

“Cataclysm,” said Twilight. She turned the page. “There is an undercity. I know that for a fact.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure you do. What, did you read it in a book?”

“No. Someone told me,” the wizard answered. She smiled, faintly, in amusement.

“Oh yeah? Who was the wise guy who fed you that?” scoffed the half-elf with a roll of her eyes. “Cause they were talking out their arse.”

Twilight’s smile widened. “Princess Celestia.”

Dash nearly went tumbling off the chair’s arm. She threw an arm around Twilight, effectively killing the fall and Twilight’s smug smile at the same time as it nearly took both of them down. Covering her smile, Applejack watched the pair squabble for a moment to untangle themselves. It was easier to focus on that than on yet another reminder of the lofty circles Twilight lived in. Princess Celestia, the Sun made mortal, was one woman away. Unbelievable was the first word to rise to attention in her mind. Unbelievable, yet true, and it made her think. Later, that is, she could think about it, Applejack decided when she noticed the pair were settled back into their spots.

“I guess ya just didn’t look hard enough, sugar. If the Princess says there’s one, there must be,” Applejack said. She patted the mop of rainbow-hair in consolation. “Better luck next time.”

Swatting Applejack’s hand away, Dash scowled and said, “Yeah, well, I never heard about anyone finding it. It must be really well hidden.”

Opening the book again, Twilight returned to the page she had been on. She traced the writing on aged paper, finger hovering a fraction of a centimetre above the page. The words came rushing back, filling in the blanks since the last time she read it.

“It is. Technically the city itself is gone, but the bowels of the city remain. Massive magically enchanted reservoirs that purify water and send it up to the city. It’s the source of all of Canterlot’s wells, and the reason they stay pure. They’re wonders of another age…” Twilight trailed off. Her thoughts went to the hints and clues she had gathered of what that age had been like. The mystery, as ever, frustrated her. She sighed and continued, “Princess Celestia sealed them away so no one could gain access to the artifacts within or damage the reservoirs.”

Dash scratched the back of her neck as she tried to make sense of the words in the book. “So, how are we supposed to go down there? And, y’know, why?”

“The Princess mentioned leaving a way in, one only she knows about. I’m sure she can tell me, and as for why...it’s for Prince Blueblood. We’re going to find something he wants,” Twilight explained. “Hmm. The Hall of Studies...that might be it…”

Applejack scowled. “Why’re we gettin’ anything for that damn fool? Ya owe him money?” she asked.

“Yeah, because the one thing she doesn’t have is money,” Dash said with a laugh. She threw her arms out, taking in the wide room and its collection of magical tools and priceless tomes with her gesture.

Twilight raised a hand, cutting the two off before an argument could start. She lowered it a few moments later when the only result was Dash smirking and Applejack sighing.

“It’s to pay back a debt, yes, but not mine. I went to see him today to, well…” Twilight blushed slightly, embarrassed to admit her intentions. “I was going to pay back your friend Rarity’s debt. You didn’t want anything for helping me, so I figured…”

She trailed off, fidgeting and looking away from Applejack. Fear mounted. A few seconds stretched further than she could stand. Twilight feared, for a moment, that she had made some social faux pass. In the noble circles she was forced to deal with on occasion, everything was clear and obvious. Everyone knew the rules. There were books about those rules. Applejack was anything but upper crust, though Twilight privately found few nobles as noble as the rough and tumble ranger, and she couldn’t help but worry she had done something wrong.

“Ya figured ya’d just go an’ help a friend of mine ya barely knew?” asked Applejack. She slapped Twilight on the shoulder, smiling down at her. “Well colour me surprised! That’s big of ya, Twilight.”

Twilight rubbed her shoulder, trying not to let her wince of pain be too obvious. She was pretty sure Applejack was happy with her, despite hitting her. “...thanks? I mean, I do owe you. The whole city owes you.”

“You’re a regular hero,” Dash added with a snicker. “Which means we get to go diving into the ‘bowels’ of an old city. Hoo-burning-ray.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “There could be stuff down there, ya know, other stuff that’d be valuable,” she said.

“And if there is? I’d bet every coin I’ve ever palmed off a merchant that Sparkle won’t let me take any of it. Its probably ‘historical’.” The thief looked down at Twilight. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“....somewhat,” Twilight admitted. She harrumphed, looking away from Dash’s victorious smirk. “Well, they are very historical! It would be a crime to take one.”

Dash opened her mouth, an obvious reply jumping to mind.

“Which you’re not supposed to be doing anymore,” the scholar added. She crossed her arms over her chest. “So no pillaging ancient sites of historical significance. Between the three of us we’ll have more than our fair share of things to deal with without two of us keeping an eye on you.”

For a moment, Dash affected an offended expression. It broke with a few seconds. “Okay, yeah, I was totally gonna do that if you didn’t say not to. What can I say, habit?”

Applejack stared at Twilight, a question in her eyes. “Just the three of us?” she asked.

“Yes, just us,” Twilight told her. She paused, catching the look in Applejack’s eyes. “Spike is not coming. I refuse to put him in danger like that-”

“But not us,” Dash threw in.

Twilight ignored her. “-because he’s too young to go gallivanting around old tunnels filled with monsters. So we’re just going to tell him we’re going on a visit to Time Turner, whenever we do it. I won’t put him in danger.”

“So yer gonna lie to him?” Applejack shot back. “What happens when we get back? It’ll be pretty dang obvious we didn’t just go for a stroll. Ya think that won’t hurt him?”

Huffing, Twilight looked away, arms crossed. “It’s better that he be hurt by a small lie than be hurt by a trap, or a monster, or something. He’s staying here, where it’s safe, and that’s final.”

Applejack folded her arms over her chest, and she wore an expression of undiluted stubbornness. “Twilight, I respect what you’re trying to do, but Spike deserves the truth. He might be put out a little if ya be honest and just tell him he ain’t comin’, but he’ll get over it. If ya lie to his face, y’all could hurt him.”

“Spike will get over it, if he finds out. We’ll leave, get ready somewhere else, get back and clean up somewhere else, and all the while Spike will be here safe and sound instead of trying to sneak after us like I know he will,” Twilight said with a shake of her head.

Dash watched the pair argue back and forth for a minute. She glanced around the room, a quizzical expression on her face.

“Hey, Twilight, this room?” she asked.

Twilight paused mid-retort, the unexpected interruption taking her by surprise. “What?”

“You mean he’ll be safe in this room, yeah?” asked the thief with a little smirk at the corner of her lips.

“Yes, Dash, this room. No where else is as safe as here, and he won’t be hurt again,” Twilight said with a firm nod of utter certainty.

“Like the first time he got hurt. Here. You know, with the book? That spat acid on his face?” Dash’s tone was just shy of mocking, although not much, and she grinned at the expression of shock Twilight was suddenly wearing.

“I, uh, well, yes, but that won’t…” Uncertainty came upon her for a moment, and Twilight took a step back as if it would shield her from the criticism.

“Rainbow’s right, sugar. Spike got hurt here too. The fact is, it ain’t safe anywhere.” Applejack put a hand on the noble’s shoulder, giving the woman a sympathetic look. “I know what yer feelin’. I got a little sister, I know what it’s like to worry, but lyin’ to him won’t do nothin’ but hurt him even worse.”

Twilight stood stiffly, eyes closing, and left the room to fall silent. Applejack looked back, but her other friend could only shrug.

“...alright.” Sighing softly, Twilight nodded. “I’ll be honest. You’re right, it would hurt him if he ever found out. I can’t imagine doing that to him, no matter how safe I want to be. Spike is...he’s as much my little brother as he is my apprentice.”

Applejack smiled, dimples forming in her warm expression. “Like I said, I know exactly how ya feel. My little sister can get herself into trouble at the drop of a hat, I can tell ya.”

She paused for a moment.

“Usually my hat, after she’s knocked it off.”

Snickering, Dash leaped up. Her hand lashed out, coming away with Applejack’s hat and plonking it on her own head. “Kid sounds like fun.”

“Give that back, ya thief!” Quick off the mark, Applejack charged after Dash as the impetuous thief made her escape. “Get back here! Landsakes, you’re actin’ like a kid!”

“Yeah, but you’re good with kids, so it should be no trouble!” Dash darted out of Applejack’s reach, a laugh on her lips. “What, want your hat back? Come and get it!”

Twilight sighed. She rubbed her forehead tiredly. “Girls, we’re supposed to be preparing for a deadly quest into ancient...oh, never mind…” She folded her arms, scowling at the pair as their chase continued. “Real children would be less difficult than you two.”

The pitter-patter of three running pairs of feet filled the alley. It was an almost peaceful sound, until the noise of their panting and the bark of dogs joined it. They found round the corner, three girls not quite at the cusp of puberty, and given the expressions on their faces, not likely to make it there.

“Down there!” Scootaloo called, pointing to a grate with bars a smidge too wide for their own good. She put actions to words, throwing herself deep throught the bars headfirst. Arms thrown over her head, she landed without crying out in pain, despite the abrasions and bruises all over her forearms.

“Look out below!”

She rolled away just in time, Apple Bloom’s feet hitting where her head had been. The farm girl moved aside instantly, but the moment when Sweetie Belle should have come through went by with a rather significant lack of any young ladies appearing.

“Uh…” Apple Bloom leaned up, looking through the gate. “Sweetie, come on, get in here!”

“Er…” Scratching her chin, Sweetie Belle turned her head this way and that, searching for any sign of another, less dirt sewer grate. “That looks kind of...dirty…”

Scootaloo’s head appeared next to Apple Bloom’s. “Well, yeah, it’s a drain. People dump stuff down here all the time.”

“Ew! I can’t go down there, what if we find Rarity and she gets upset with me for going into a sewer?” asked Sweetie with a shudder of disgust, or perhaps simply quite stark fear.

Apple Bloom tried to be understanding, she really did, but the ever-increasing sound of barking dogs was trying her patience. At such a tender age, however, she had very little to give. She groaned, but found her attempt to reason with her best friend preempted by their guide.

“Is coming down here going to be more or less dirty than being bitten by one of those dogs?” Scootaloo demanded. She let that sink in for a moment before adding, “It looked an awful lot like one of them had been eating its own cr-”

“Make way!”

They dived to the side, the catching a glimpse of the other girl jumping down with both hands gripping the hem of her skirt. Apple Bloom pulled Sweetie across, out of sight, the instant she was in and not a moment too soon. All three froze, the barks of hungry,dogs and the pant of someone who clearly needed more exercise sending chills down their spins.

“Where’ve they gone? Bleeding little...well, come on, ya mutt, they must be here somewhere!” cracked a harsh, angry voice. Scootaloo clamped her mouth shut, eyes wide, and somehow found a way to go even more still.

‘Oh no no no,’ she thought, panic running rampant through her mind. They’d only seen the dogs, and she’d hoped desperately they hadn’t been his. That voice, though, was unmistakable. ‘He’s gonna kill me.’

While Scootaloo was busy panicking, she didn’t notice Apple Bloom digging through the little knapsack that held everything she’d brought with her. She did notice when the country girl leaned around just enough to throw something out. Scootaloo gave her a glare, which was returned with a reassuring thumbs up.

“...the hell is wrong with you? Sniff, ya burning mutts!” snarled the man in the alley. A whip cracked, but all he got were canine whines. “Get moving! Useless mongrels.”

Snuffling and whining filled the alley until the hunter grew tired, and with a bark resembling that of his pets, left them. Scootaloo still didn’t move or say anything. When the rubes began to move, she made a single harsh gesture. It got her point across and they stopped.

Minutes passed, and patience was worn thin on all sides by the relentless weight of seconds dripping by. The damn burst as it had to, with Sweetie groaning.

“They left! We can talk now, geez, I’m getting bored,” she whined. Stepping away from the wall, Sweetie Belle stubbornly ignored Scootaloo’s frantic gestures for her to shush as she wiped her dress clean. The girl rolled her eyes. “They’re gone, look.”

Risking a glance out, Scootaloo’s suspicions didn’t fade, and she just kept looking, trying to find some hint. Her nose twitched, an odd smell tweaking her sinuses. ‘No way his dogs could have missed us...’

“Would ya stop worryin’? We didn’t get found an’ they’re gone,” Apple Bloom told the pickpocket with a grin.

“That was Rot Whiler! His dogs can sniff out anyone.” Still not quite believing it, Scootaloo leaned out to look. She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, what’s that smell? What does he feed those things?”

Apple Bloom puffed up her chest, swelling with pride. “That was me!”

“...ew,” Sweetie groaned, backing away from her.

“Not like that!” The farm girl scowled. “Ah meant Ah made that smell.”

“Snrrk.” Clamping a hand over her mouth, Scootaloo tried in vain to bury her snickering. The reddening of Apple Bloom’s cheeks just made it harder to resist.

“Ah meant,” Apple Bloom repeated, now just glaring at the two,”that Ah threw out the thing that made it smell. Makes a dog’s nose go all funny, so they can’t follow ya.”

Scootaloo’s mouth dropped open for a moment, and her brow furrowed. “What? Why didn’t you use that at the start?” she demanded.

“Ah didn’t have much chance! We were just walkin’ along, then ya got all panicky an’ we were runnin’ before we knew why!” replied Apple Bloom, shaking her head. “Ah had to find it in mah bag.”

Crossing her arms, Scootaloo refused to admit defeat or look Apple Bloom in the eye. Never give in, Dash had always said, and there was no way she was going to let Dash down. Instead she leaned out further.

“At least Rot Whiler is gone.” She chewed on her lip for a moment. ‘Why was he chasing me? He was definitely after us, and it's not like these two are important enough...or..at least one of them isn’t....’

She shot a look at them. They were too busy making sure they hadn’t lost anything in the chase to notice her surreptitious glance. Scootaloo immediately discounted Apple Bloom. She was the definition of a hick, no matter how cool the stink bomb trick had been. No one was going to care enough about her to hire Rot Whiler to track her.

Sweetie Belle, on the other hand….

Scootaloo knew good clothes. Not because she wore it, burning day no, but she had been trained in spotting good marks. Nobles and wealthy merchants alike dressed finely, and their children never left the house as anything but advertisements of their parents’ money and power. The white dress was surprisingly clean, now she looked at it.

‘What if it's magic?’

The thought took her breath away. They’d been warned, constantly, that if they saw someone with clothing that stains simply fell away from, to get one of the others to follow them and go alert whoever was in charge of the market’s gang. Hard Knocks had made it clear; magic was worth a lot, but they weren’t losing any idiots to some lord’s guards being alerted by security magic.

‘Her sister really must be rich, or something. Or maybe her whole family is, and she’s just slumming it. Maybe there’s a reward...’

“Scootaloo?”

The question, so innocently asked, broke her from her musing and with a flush Scootaloo realised she’d zoned out. Wincing, she smiled and reassured Sweetie Belle she was fine.

“Just thinking. Why do you have those stink bombs? Do you get chased by dogs a lot?” she asked.

“No,” said Apple Bloom.

“Yep!” replied Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo looked between. “Uh...which is it?”

Pouting, Apple Bloom harrumphed. “Ain’t no dogs chasin’ me.”

“But...what about that time we tried to help the butcher?” Sweetie Belle asked, raising a finger to her lip as she thought it over. “And the time when we tried helping Winona find a boy-dog?”

“They weren’t chasin’ us, they were chasin’ the sausages an’ Winona, respectfully,” Apple Bloom asserted with all the confidence of a twelve year old.

“Respectively,” correct Sweetie Belle, memories of her sister and Applejack arguing flashing through her mind. The time she called the ranger a ‘hick’ for saying some spice wrong. ‘Cilantro’ or something.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nah, respectfully, ‘cause them boy-dogs were real nice an’ got all in a line for their turn to woo her.”

“I still have no idea how you did that. I never knew dogs could make songs with barks either,” Sweetie Belle said, a thoughtful look in her eye.

Scootaloo really had no idea what to say at that point. She just stared at the pair. ‘Wow, the countryside is weird. At least the city makes sense.’

“Wait a sec, why was that Rot fella even chasin’ us?” Apple Bloom asked, rounding on Scootaloo. “We didn’t do nothin’!”

The pickpocket shrugged. “Search me. He’s usually chasing down people who owe the guild money, or thieves who don’t toe the line.”

Sweetie cocked her head to the side. “Guild? Which one?”

“Er…” Scootaloo smiled nervously. ‘Why not just shout ‘I’m a thief, don’t trust me!’ Stupid!’’ “The...Guild of...dog breeders?”

They stared at her for a few seconds, and her smile grew more nervous and brittle.

“That makes sense,” Apple Bloom agreed.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Do you think they thought we were someone else?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Scootaloo’s smile lost its edge and became rather more natural. ‘Hehe, nailed it.’ “Maybe we bumped into someone he was after and the smell stuck?” she suggested.

Apple Bloom rubbed her chin thoughtfully, taking her hand away to crawl out of the grate. “Ah dunno, not sure it works like that…”

“Pfft, nah, don’t worry about it. They’re gone and you made their noses not work, we’ll be fine now. Besides, don’t you want to get back to looking for your sisters?” In the days since she’d found the pair, nothing worked as well as that line. She had them attentive instantly, although, unfortunately, not both quite so positively.

“Yeah, we do, an’ a fat lotta help yer help has been,” demanded Apple Bloom. She scowled. “We been sharin’ our money with ya, an’ we ain’t seen hide or hair of Applejack or Rarity!”

“Whoa, don’t blame me that on me, this city is big. I said I’d help, but I can’t do magic. There’s a lot of people in the city, so it’s taking a lot of time to find them,” Scootaloo shot back hotly, glaring at the country bumpkin. “I have limits; I’m not Dash.”

“Who?” asked Sweetie. “Do you have a sister too?”

Scootaloo flinched. “N-no, she’s...she’s no one. Forget that. I have a plan that’ll work... probably.”

A hint of suspicion flashed in Apple Bloom’s eyes, a suspicion not shared by the ecstatic Sweetie Belle. She eyed their new ‘friend’ as Sweetie Belle squeaked in delight and all but begged to hear her plan.

“Okay, so, we’re looking for your sisters, but there are a lot of people in the city, right? So, we need to find a place a lot of those people are…” Scootaloo trailed off, eagerly waiting for them to catch on.

“....the town hall?” Apple Bloom suggested. “‘Cause back home, that’s where everyone goes when somethin’ big is happenin’. Before we came here, it was the biggest crowd Ah’d ever seen!”

Scootaloo groaned. “No! We don’t have a town hall-”

Sweetie gasped in horror. “But where do you have big meetings and share pies and have festival prayers?”

“We don’t. This is the city, we do things different here. So we’re going to look at the market! But!” snapped Scootaloo, seeing their mouths opening to spout some new insanity. “But! Not just any market! We’re going to go to the night market!”

Among the nobles who flocked to lofty towers of Canterlot Castle, few met the Princess daily. The more tactful would never even dare bothering their divine ruler to see them without some dire situation forcing their hand. None had the spine to imagine their troubles were worth her time. Those who did have the spine, or the hot gas to lift their egos enough, sometimes demanded such personal meetings. Demands were, in nearly all cases, met with polite stonewalling.

They would have been enormously surprised if they knew all they had to do was ask.

The secret of asking was one Twilight shared with Blueblood, but she could count the amount of times she had made use of it on one hand. The last time had involved a fire that wouldn’t go out and a one of a kind book from the library.

Some might consider it cowardly to go to the Princess before Spike got back, they might say she was avoiding telling him her plan. Dash had said that, in fact, and looked particularly pleased with herself at the scowl this earned. She had looked significantly less pleased when Twilight had conjured a ball of water over her head in a fit of pique.

‘What if the Princess knows I used my magic for that and tells me off?’ The thought slowed her walk until she came to a stop. Twilight gulped, eyeing the oak door separating her from the princess as if it would open up and swallow her. ‘Now Twilight, calm down, you know better. She kept trying to encourage me to practice magic with pranks, so I don’t think she’ll mind...’

With renewed confidence, Twilight strode up to the door and knocked just in time to destroy her own certainty with a single thought.

‘...but what if she does mind?!’

There was no more time for her to worry; the door swung open without half an instant passing. A voice no mortal could forget, warm and motherly, melodic in each note that sung through the air, called out.

“Please come in, Twilight.” Princess Celestia, divine ruler of the principality of Equestria, Herald of the Sun, smiled at her student. The finery she had worn at the party had only been a tad more fancy than her usual court attire, but in the comfort of her personal study, she wore little more than a plain white robe. Light caught on the gold that trimmed it, her sole concession to her station, as she rose from her desk.

“Princess,” Twilight said, curtseying. It was an old ritual now, her genuflecting and Celestia’s immediate dismissive wave.

“You know you never need to do that, Twilight,” the Princess laughed, gesturing for her student to rise. “Especially not with how little time we seem to have for each other lately.”

They took seats at a small table without discussion; Twilight sat across from her teacher, murmuring words of minor power. Flames sparked beneath the teapot already waiting, and she began sort through a tea tray.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy, Princess. Teaching Spike and conducting my own research was time consuming enough, but helping Dash as well now has taken up extra time. Not that I mind, of course…” Twilight explained absently, a hint of apology in her words.

Celestia shook her head. “Fear not, Twilight. I would never blame you for that. I understand her reading and writing are improving remarkably fast?”

“Oh yes! It’s wonderful, and I don’t think she realises how fast she’s learning. Although…” Grimacing at a memory, Twilight explained, “I gave her a book to practice with, and when Spike accidently let slip it was a book tutors use to teach very young noble children, she was...a little bit annoyed.”

Princess Celestia snorted. It was a simple sound, a simple, unladylike sound that would make a noble’s heart explode with shock and indignity at the sheer scandal of a snort.

“I imagine so. Was it from the fact it was for children, or nobles?” she asked.

“Both, I think. At least she forgot about it as soon as I suggested we practice her magic. She’s still trying to use the Focus Orbs, and they are helping her refine a little, but she’s still working on the basics.” Selecting the tea bags, Twilight began to prepare the tea.

“Which I gather involves soaking the carpet?” Celestia giggled, and Twilight joined her. “What about Applejack? Has she shown any obvious potential yet?”

Twilight sighed and replied, “None that I’ve seen. The effects might be passive, but something tells me she can do more than that. She definitely has some kind of magical bloodline, but stressful events haven’t caused it to blossom yet.”

She looked up in time to see a mysterious smile on her teacher’s face. Or rather, what Twilight thought of Mysterious Smile #5 ‘I know something you missed, and it’ll be wonderful when you finally catch on’. After a moment it became Mysterious Smile #8 ‘I know you saw my Mysterious Smile but I’m not going to explain it’.

‘So I missed something? Perhaps Applejack used a spell? Something subtle? She doesn’t strike me as a subtle person, and magic is so often related to personality...hmm...’ Twilight poured the tea in silent thought. ‘What could it have been?’

She mused on the question for a few minutes of simple, companionable silence.

“So, Twilight,” Celestia finally said, lowering her cup. “What can I do for you today? I take it you had more pressing concerns than tea.”

That brought a guilty look to the mage’s face. “Well, yes. I’m sorry, Princess, I was going to visit anyway, this wasn’t just so I could-” Twilight fell silent, lips sealing shut the moment her teacher gestured.

“I know. You need never apologise to me, Twilight, especially not when you’re just trying to help a friend.” Celestia’s smile wasn’t at all mysterious this time, just pleased at the surprise on her apprentice’s face. “I’m not omnipotent, but I am very good at keeping my ear to ground. Metaphorically speaking, that is.” Her tone descended into the sort of low level frustration management positions brought. “I imagine if I actually did it, I would shortly find a shrine being built there and preachers claiming it as the most holy of places.”

Twilight kept her mouth shut, unwilling to comment on the truth of the observation or her mentor’s frustration with that kind of thing.

“Speaking of holy places,” Twilight attempted to segway safely to another topic. “The thing I needed was….access to Old Canterlot.”

She waited, tension building. Staring into her cup, she help her breath for the denial and reprimand for demanding such a thing.

“That won’t be a problem.” Celestia took a sip of her tea, patting her lips with a napkin.

The words exploded from Twilight on autopilot, before Celestia’s words had been processed. “I really need to go down there, you see, I-....wait, what? That’s alright?”

What might, in someone less regal, have been a giggle escaped the Princess’s lips. “Twilight, Old Canterlot is warded to keep innocents from stumbling upon them or treasure hunters looting the relics of a bygone era for their own benefit. I was expecting you to be eager to investigate Old Canterlot sooner or later.”

“You were? I mean, ahem, of course you were,” Twilight agreed. She took a breath, settling her beating heart. “It is very fascinating. There’s so much alluded to, but nothing concrete in most sources.”

“Spike will find it educational, I think,” Celestia added. She waited a moment, letting the silence stretch for a few seconds before looking up from her tea to glimpse Twilight’s uneasy expression. “Is something wrong?”

“Spike isn’t coming,” muttered Twilight, quickly raising her teacup.

Celestia nodded. “The choice is yours,” she admitted, “but if I may make a recommendation; take him. Let him see the wonders of an age long gone and experience something few living have ever had the chance to.”

Looking away, Twilight took a few moments to answer. “I...suppose, but it’s too dangerous. He could get hurt.”

“Such is the risk of growth. The only way to avoid pain, physical, mental, or emotional is to hide from the world. All that earns you is a slow pain, one that creeps up until you realise how much you’ve missed.” Taking her apprentice’s chin in hand, Celestia brought the noble’s gaze back to her. Her expression emanated warmth, the sort of motherly love usually found in matronly women of a certain age and experience. “It is your choice, but Spike is a strong young man who deserves your trust. If you never let him out of sight, if you never let him experience the strange and wonderful, and yes, the dangerous, world beyond the castle, you will never give him the chance to grow.”

“He’ll get hurt! I can’t...what if he…” Twilight took a shuddering breath this time, clutching her teacup between straining fingers. “What if he doesn’t make it back? He’s already been hurt, I don’t want to be responsible for him d-dying.”

Celestia rose, for a moment, before taking the seat next to Twilight and wrapping an arm around her. “I won’t pretend that’s not a risk. Instead, let me ask you this; do you think you can stop him?”

Twilight blinked, but the Princess went on before she could answer.

“Perhaps this time, yes. You probably could keep him somewhere safe,” she admitted. “Maybe even the next time you have to do something dangerous. You could manage it for a year or two, possibly longer. You could keep Spike locked away, safe from all the dangers for a few years, but one day, he’ll get out. He’ll refuse to stay safe and when he leaves it won’t be with your blessing or help. He’ll run and run because he’ll fear you putting him away again. So he’ll be alone, unprepared for what will face him.”

“I…” She grasped for words, yet Twilight found none. It made sense. It made sense and she desperately wanted it not to. Had the Princess not held her, she would have hung her head, gone limp in despair. “I can’t let anything happen to him.”

Sighing, Celestia hugged her student tightly. “Believe me, Twilight, I know the feeling. Better than you might expect…” she trailed off, her gaze turning, for but a moment, to the window and something, someone, far, far away.

They sat together, neither saying a word. It was enough for each to have the other, teacher and student, friends, as each dwelt on their own inner turmoil.

Where two women sat in quiet companionship, another two stood, glaring.

“I could so take you in a fight,” Dash growled.

Applejack sighed, rubbing her forward. “Are we really doing this? Really?” she asked.

The thief nodded. “Yep. We are. How else will we know?”

“Why do we need to know? I don’t care, sugar. So just drop it,” ordered Applejack, hands on her hips. “I. Don’t. Care.”

Dash stepped closer, leaning right in and standing on the tips of her toes. “I do. Now pick up your sword and let’s see who wins!”

Applejack sighed, and for a moment, Dash was certain she had won the argument. So certain, she didn’t react in time to the hand that landed just below her breasts and pushed. She went back, yelping as she landed in the armchair and nearly knocking it over.

“I win. Good fight.” Applejack turned away, and had to bite back a sigh when she heard the girl scrambling back up. “Please, Dash, I ain’t gonna fight you, at least not with my actual sword. When I hit you-”

“If you hit me,” Dash cut in. She smirked. “With that thing, I’d have time to take a nap before bothering to get out of the way.”

Spike watched the pair bicker, fighting a yawn. When they had first arrived, it had been fun to watch Dash antagonist Applejack, but now it had lost the same shiny appeal of of newness. He mouthed along with Applejack’s next line, no longer even looking.

“‘I could hit you with my eyes closed, the way your mouth is always yappin’,” he copied, the words ringing out in Applejack’s distinctive accent. He kept going as Dash retorted, his lips moving in near perfect harmony with hers as he silently mouthed each word, “‘Let’s see you try. I’ll be nice and go easy on you’.”

“-on you- hey!” Dash whipped her head around, glaring at the copycat. “How did you know I was gonna say that?”

“Huh?” he blinked, looking back to them. Spike recoiled from the heated glare and gave her a shaky smile. “Did I say that out loud?”

“Yeah, you did,” she grumbled. In a few swift steps she loomed over him, although it might have been more effective if she had more than a half a foot on him in height. “I’m not predictable.”

Spike scratched his chin, not meeting her eyes. “Well, you have kinda had pretty much this same argument before. Like, four times before.”

“We have not! Applejack, tell him we haven’t!” demanded Dash. She spun to lay her glare on Applejack when agreement wasn’t immediately forthcoming. “Come on!”

Holding her hands up to ward the girl off, Applejack shrugged. “Eh, well, you do get kind of competitive, sugar.”

“Hmph.” Crossing her arms, Dash scowled. “Whatever. When does Twilight get back? I wanna get going already, get some action.”

She didn’t notice until the words had left her mouth that Applejack was shaking her head. She gave the ranger a confused look.

“What?” she asked.

Behind her, Spike stared at the back of her head. “You’re going somewhere?”

‘Oh,’ Dash realised. She winced in perfect timing with Applejack’s facepalm. “Whoops,” she muttered. Over her shoulder she gave Spike a lopsided grin. “Nope.”

The young sorcerer look at her. A moment later, he looked at Applejack, then back again. He said nothing, simply looking between the pair with a flat, unimpressed expression.

“You guys are really bad at lying,” Spike told them.

Dash snorted indignantly. “Hey, I am an awesome liar! Watch this!” She jabbed a finger at Applejack. “Hey AJ, you’re ugly as a horse’s backside.”

Applejack stared at her. Her brow furrowed as she tried to decipher this. “...what?”

“See, kid? I can lie like its nothing,” bragged the thief. She strutted past his chair, smirking, until he spoke up.

“I think Dash just called you pretty,” he suggested to Applejack.

Dash froze mid-strut. “Uh…”

A chortle from behind made her hesitate.

“Well now, that’s quite nice of ya, Rainbow, ‘though I’m not sure I’d agree,” the ranger demurred. She tipped her hat towards Dash. “You ain’t so hard on the eyes yourself.”

In the time it took to blink, Dash had spun on her heels, one judgement finger pointing at Applejack like. “Hey, wait, no, I didn’t say that!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. She dropped one hand to her hip as her gaze drilled into her friend. “Oh? So yer sayin’ that wasn’t a lie and I’m ugly, is that it?”

“Whoa, no no, it was totally a lie, that was the point!”

“So you do think I’m pretty?”

“No!”

“So I’m ugly?”

Lost for words, Dash shook her head in silent rejection. There was a way out, an answer to this on the tip of her tongue but she couldn’t seem to remember what it was with Spike and Applejack staring at her, Applejack walking closer and closer with a grim expression…

Applejack let out a bellow of laughter. Her louder, raucous bark of mirth drowned out Spike’s snickering, and bounced about in Dash’s unresponsive ears. The ranger patted Dash on the shoulder as she passed.

“Lighten up, Rainbow,” she teased with a triumphant little grin. “I always appreciate compliments, no matter how mixed up they are.”

Spike covered his mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle himself. It wasn’t exactly doing much to ease Dash’s return to sanity as she realised how Applejack had played her, but it was the thought that counted, surely.

“I...I am so going to get you for that!” she shrieked.

Applejack chuckled, her answer delayed a few seconds as another voice cut in first.

“Get who for what?” asked Twilight. She stood at the door, leaning in. She eyed the three suspiciously. “DId someone pull a prank?”

“Not exactly,” Applejack replied, her voice betraying her amusement. “Welcome back, sugar. Did ya get what we need?”

Spike frown, the scales at the edges of his lips wrinkling slightly. “What did you need? You’re going somewhere and Twilight had to get stuff from the Princess? What for?”

It was barely an instant before Dash had, quite innocently, decided she had somewhere to be other than in Twilight’s line of sight. Applejack sighed, and though she said nothing, the look she gave Twilight when the scholar looked around sharply made her thoughts clear.

“How did you know I went to see Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked. She carried the scroll case under one arm until she reached the table. Magic flared and books began to move until she had a clear space.

Spike grinned proudly. “Its easy. The Princess smells.” He must have seen something in Twilight’s expression, because he hurriedly added, “I mean, she has a distinctive smell, and you pick up a little of it just being around her.”

“Wow, you can smell pretty good,” Dash observed from behind one of the chairs, poking her head out to give Spike a grin.

“Ain’t you hidin’?” Applejack reminded her with a prod. “Pokin’ yer head out seems a fine way to lose it to me.”

“Hey, which one of us is the hiding expert here?”

“Which one of us is trying to argue and hide at the same time?”

“...shut up.”

Twilight rubbed her forehead. ‘Just ignore them, and maybe they’ll grow up.’ “Spike, there’s something we need to talk about.”

He gulped. “I guessed that… you’re going on an adventure, and leaving me behind, aren’t you?” Spike looked away, hunching his shoulders in his seat, but Twilight still caught the look in his eyes.

‘...I can’t hurt him like this,’ Twilight realised. She didn’t let the thought slip from her lips, leaving an uncomfortable silence as she grappled with herself.

“I-I guess I understand,” Spike finally said. He ran a hand through his hair, a sigh escaping him. “I know you don’t want me to get hurt, so I’ll just...stay here…”

He didn’t hear her steps, each muffled by the thick carpet, and when her arms wrapped around him he nearly jumped out of his skin. She leaned down, holding Spike until he looked at her.

“You’re right,” she admitted, “I don’t want to see you get hurt. Every time I imagine what happened with the acid trap, I feel sick. When I think about what could have happened if you had been caught by that monster…” She squeezed him. “Spike, you’re my family. I don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

Spike nodded weakly, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t quite contain his disappointment. It was a bitter look in his eyes she hated to see. Twilight took a breath, and continued.

“But...I can’t do that.”

He jerked, surprised, but she held on.

“I can’t keep you here forever. I can’t be with you every moment you’re outside. I’m not quite ready to let go of you, Spike, but I want you to be prepared. If that means taking you with me when I need to go somewhere dangerous…” She smiled sadly. “Well, I can’t say I can prepare you for everything, but I can do my best.”

Spike didn’t say a word. He slipped his arms around her, returning the gesture. This was trust, a kind of trust she had never expressed. Trust in herself, and in him.

“Don’t forget us, kid.” Rainbow hair hung down in front of them. Dash grinned from the handstand she was doing on the top of the chair, flashing a smirk at the dragonblooded boy. “We’ll show you the ropes. I can even show you how to pick a lock if you wa-ah!”

Her smirk vanished, yelping loudly as she was yanked away. Applejack settled the thief over her shoulder, and ignored her complaints.

“Sorry, Rainbow, weren’t enough space with you there.” She didn’t put Dash down as she smiled at Spike and Twilight. “But she’s right. You ain’t goin’ down there alone, Twilight. Me and Dash, well, we’ll see you both through this. If Spike here picks up a few tricks, learns a bit about how to survive, what more can ya want?”

‘To see my friend again,’ Spike thought, but still he smiled. He’d find Scootaloo again, he was sure, but right now? Right now he had friends, and that’s what mattered. Friends, and his family, and the lure of adventure before him.

Chapter Thirteen

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The night market, in Apple Bloom's opinion, was proving to be something of a let down. She'd been expecting something more... illicit.

"This is a market," she observed.

Scootaloo glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow. "It's the night market, not just any market."

"...it's a market. At night. That's all!" Apple Bloom threw her hands in the air. "Why did ya sound so dramatic 'bout it before?"

"It's a really big market," Sweetie Belle pointed out. She smiled cheerfully. "We don't have any markets like this at home."

“We don’t have tunnels full of poop at home either, don’t mean Ah’m gonna be impressed by it!” grumbled Apple Bloom. She crossed her arms. “What are we even here for? Ah don’t think anyone here seems friendly enough to tell us if they’ve seen our sisters.”

Since she’d said this as she’d had to dodge aside a man loaded with burlap bags as he thundered through the market without care for those around him, she felt rather justified in her opinion.

“You just gotta know how to ask. Here, let me show you how it’s done. Lemme borrow a coin.” Scootaloo grinned at them, confidence shining through as she started towards a stall.

Sweetie Belle reached into her bag, frowning as her hand sought out something. “Sure. Hmm, which pocket did I put my purse in…”

“Don’t worry, I saved you the effort.” A silver coin flashed in Scootaloo’s fingers, and she tossed the coin purse to the girl.

“Oh, thanks!” Sweetie Belle beamed, a nigh-weapons grade smile she turned on her friend. “See, Apple Bloom, I told you she’s just trying to help!”

Apple Bloom looked between the pickpocket and Sweetie, expression flat. “...Ah have no idea how ya took that idea outta her nicking yer purse.”

Sweetie Belle blinked, cocking her head to the side with a faint, confused “Huh?”

The thief was already gone, sauntering up to the vendor with a smile. She laid the coin flat amongst the varijous knickknacks, one finger holding it down.

“I’m looking to buy some...information,” she said. Slowly, she pushed the coin across the table. “And I’m willing to pay.”

Stroking his beard, the wrinkled ancient on the other side eyed her skeptically. “Mmm, information? And why would you think I have any information, young lady?”

Scootaloo smirked. “Let’s just say a friend of mine told me. A friend I’m looking for.”

“Well, I’m afraid all I can do is wish you the best of luck.” His fingers slid across, pressed flat against the table until they had the coin between the V of pointer and fore-finger. “I don’t hear much, after all, and I like to keep what I can to myself.”

The confidence began to drain, and she glanced back at the girls. Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. Sweetie Belle gave her a thumbs up. Shooting them a shaky grin, Scootaloo returned her gaze to the old man when she felt a tug on the coin.

“H-hey, that’s only for useful-”

“There’s a vendor for honeyed apples, a few rows back,” he cut in. His old eyes bored into her. “I hear it’s quiet. I like to go there, when I take a break. Have a snack, maybe a quiet chat away from the hubbub...you know, gets me what I need to keep going.”

“Uh...cool?” She gulped, glancing around.

A sigh made his beard shake. “I mean,” he stressed, tugging on the coin again. “Going there in, oh, fifteen minutes helps me find what I’m looking for. You got me?”

Scootaloo stared at him. The tugging grew more insistent. “I...maybe?” Something clicked, and she let out a gasp. “Oh. Oh! I get you! Yeah! Awesome, great!”

The moment her finger moved from the coin, it disappeared in his sleeves. The old man flicked his hand at her dismissively. “Then get going, kid.”

“Right!” Chest inflated with pride, she strode back to the waiting girls and hiked her thumbs up with a grin. “Score! I knew this guy would be able to help!”

“How? What did he tell ya?” asked Apple Bloom. She slipped a hand into her pocket, making sure her coin purse was still there. “He seen our sisters?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Maybe! Come on, I’ll show you where he’s gonna meet us. He’s got something to help us!”

A squeal from Sweetie Belle preceded the hug that nearly knocked Scootaloo the ground. “Oh, thank you thank you thank you! We can finally find them!”

Apple Bloom hooked a thumb under Scootaloo’s shirt, giving her a tug that kept her from falling and taking her Sweetie-shaped, sized and named cargo down with her. “Sweetie…”

“Hey, it’s not biggie. I know this scene pretty well, after all,” Scootaloo bragged. Prying Sweetie off, she started down the market lane. “Just…” She hesitated. “Just don’t get your hopes up too early, ‘kay? He might be able to point us in the right direction, but we don’t know if he can tell us exactly where they are.”

Sweetie’s expression fell. “Oh…I guess you’re right…” A touch on her shoulder made her look, and she found Apple Bloom’s smiling face.

“Don’t let that get ya down,” she said. “A step in the right direction is still a step in the right direction, an’ my sister always used to say-”

“‘Don’t grab scaly vines’?” Sweetie suggested.

Apple Bloom blinked. “Uh, no.”

“I’m pretty sure she did. I remember because that vine tried to bite me.”

“Well, Ah mean, she did say it, an’ that was a snake, not a vine, but Ah meant she always used to say-” Apple Bloom began, trying again.

Sweetie Belle raised a hand, one finger up, and extended a second finger. “‘Never eat flowers from the forest’?”

“No- Well, yeah, but Ah was talking ‘bout-”

“You guys eat flowers?” asked Scootaloo.

“Nope! Just me when I was little!” answered Sweetie with a giggle.

“Ah meant,” growled Apple Bloom loudly, forging on bravely. Her eyebrow twitched dangerously. “She always said the only way to get where ya goin’ is one step at a time, just gotta keep goin’. We’ll find ‘em, her and Rarity, Ah know it!”

Sweetie’s head bobbed in agreement, hair bouncing. She sniffed at the height of a bounce and looked hungrily at the tent from which the scent of honeyed apples wafted.

“Can we get some? It smells delicious, and all we’ve been eating has been that cheap stuff,” she whined, coins clinking as her finger dug through her purse. “I won’t get much.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nope. No way. We gotta save our money. How stupid would we have to be to waste money on honeyed….apples…”

“Hmm, delicious!” Sweetie let out a faint moan of delight, licking sweetness from the corners of her lips. “This stuff is great! Do you want another piece, Apple Bloom?”

Cheeks puffing out, Apple Bloom gulped. Sweet apple slipped down her throat as she shook her head. “Nope. M’ good. Scoots?”

“Sure!” Lounging against the back of the sweet apple vendor’s tent, Scootaloo leaned over to snatch up another piece. “This stuff is great!”

“Pfft.” Apple Bloom ran her tongue along her teeth, savouring the sugary taste before following her dismissive sniff with actual words. “Granny makes ‘em better.”

“Oh, yeah, those are the best. Or the apple fritters! Granny Smith makes the best apple fritters!” chimed Sweetie Belle. She clasped her hands before her, her gaze locked on some distant memory. “Not to mention her apple pies!”

The noise of the night market, and most of its light, hummed quietly through the little alley as Scootaloo listened to them ramble on about Apple Bloom’s grandmother and all her ‘mighty fine’ apple recipes. Despite the sweet treat filling her stomach, the thief found herself salivating as she heard of perfectly baked crust over molten apple insides. It all sounded so good, and she couldn’t help but suspect they were exaggerating.

“Never had apple pie,” she remarked.

Their gasps made her pause mid-chew. They were staring at her, and it was really, really weird. She leaned away, hoping their eyes would stop following her. They didn’t.

“Uh….” Scootaloo gulped. “...so...taking that guy a while…”

Shaking herself from nightmares of pielessness, and with a promise to herself that if Scootaloo found her sister she’d bake her one heck of a pie, Apple Bloom glanced along the alley. “Yeah. Wonder where he is.”

“You’re sure he’ll know about our sisters, right? I’m really worried about Rarity,” said Sweetie, sugar-marked lips forming a pout.

Scootaloo nodded. “Sure! Come on, how hard could it be forget someone like Apple Bloom’s sister? I told him….”

Apple Bloom cocked her head to the side, waiting for a few seconds. “Scootaloo?”

Rubbing her chin, Scootaloo felt the faintest of stirrings in her hindbrain. “I...didn’t tell him anything. He just told me to meet him here, and he’d tell me what he knew.”

The girls exchanged looks.

“I’m sure he just wanted to meet somewhere more private to hear everything you wanted,” suggested Sweetie Belle. She smiled at her friends. “There’s nothing to worry about, he looked trustworthy to me. He kinda reminded me of your Uncle Arbor with that beard!”

The light spilling into the alleyway, flickering lanterns casting faint illumination, cast long shadows across the men and women who stepped into view. Ragged clothes shifted as hidden blades slithered into palms.

“Hey there, kids. Looking for someone?”

Scootaloo pulled her eyes from the gang at one end, and found the cold lump of fear suddening weighing down her stomach grow colder and heavier. Stumbling from the crater she’d claimed, the pickpocket came to her feet with a nervous smile on her face.

“H-hey, Feather Buster! What’re you doing here?” Scootaloo fought against another gulp, glancing back at the gang. There was four of them, and only one of Feather Buster. ‘I’d rather take all four!’

Feather Buster smiled the least friendly smile any of them had ever seen. She took a few steps with deceptive delicacy, the thud of her blackjack as it bounced from the palm of her hand with each step a counterpoint to her soft footfalls. Clothes a few degrees less shabby than her gang’s rustled slightly, hiding muscles Scootaloo had seen power that blackjack through a man’s nose more than once.

“Oh, we’re just out for a walk. What a coincidence to find you waiting here for us…” There was something ugly about her smile, and it only grew as she approached them. “I hear you and your new friends are quite the popular girls. It seems the whole guild wants you...and yet all I do is my job, and you come to me…”

Try as she might, Scootaloo couldn’t think of a way to tell the other two to run the moment they got the chance. Being subtle was really, really hard when your death was watching you the way a hungry cat eyes a particularly stupid mouse.

“Us? Me? Pfft, why would they be after us?” Scootaloo asked, a nervous laugh bubbling up as she retreated a step. “I’m not important, am I?”

Feather Buster shrugged. “Not to me, but I think I know someone who might think different…” Her eyes traced towards Sweetie Belle, running across her dress. “Or maybe your little friend here. That’s a very...expensive looking dress you have on.”

Ignoring Scootaloo’s frantic gaze, Sweetie smiled. It was harder than normal in the face of the fierce woman’s stare, but she managed it. “Expensive? I don’t think so. My sister made it for me, it’s one of my favourites.” She frowned slightly. “Well, all the dresses Rarity made me are my favourites, and she did make all my dresses...so I guess they’re all my favourite!”

Faint movement drew Scootaloo’s eye to Apple Bloom. The farm girl’s satchel bulged where one hand slipped through, questing for something. A warning nearly burst from the pickpocket’s lips, but it froze on her tongue. Feather Buster was too close. Way too close.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been the only one to notice.

“Hey, Buster!” One of the thugs pointed his knife. “That one’s going for a weapon.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, but the next moment occured too fast for Scootaloo to hear whatever she said. Something had driven the breath from her, and she felt a constricting force around her. She might have missed the faint pain on her neck as her chest throbbed, had it not been accompanied by the feeling of iron pressing tightly against her.

“Put down the bag, kid,” Feather Buster’s voice hissed in her ear, loud enough to make her wince and earn another prick. The constriction, Feather’s arm, loosened. “Stop moving. They probably want you more alive than dead.”

Blinking as the world came into focus, just in time for her to see Apple Bloom’s bag drop gently to the ground. The country girls were both looking at her with expression of horror, and with the sensation of a blackjack resting against her and a knife pressed to her throat, Scootaloo couldn’t really disagree with the sentiment.

“Let Scootaloo go!”

Feather Buster shot Sweetie a look, laced with contempt, and snorted. “You don’t really get how this goes, do you?”

Apple Bloom’s jaw worked silently, whatever demand she felt restrained but not needed, not with the fire in her eyes.

“Here’s what we’re gonna do, kids,” Buster went on. She pressed the knife in a bit closer, a squeak from Scootaloo quite solidly making her point. “You’re going to let my friends here take you someplace. Me and Scoots are gonna wait here, and when they come back and tell me you didn’t make a fuss, didn’t draw any attention or try running for a guard, I’ll bring her along.”

“L-let her go,” Sweetie repeated. Her hands gripped her skirt in a white knuckled grip. “You’re hurting her!”

Another trickle of red joined the others that flowed down Scootaloo’s neck, and she closed her eyes as the point dug into her skin.

“That’s the point, and I’m going to hurt her a lot more if you don’t do as I say,” growled Feather. She pressed in, a toothy smile spreading as the trickle grew. “I might do it anyway, but you’re just going to have to hope I don’t.”

Apple Bloom released clenching teeth, glaring daggers at her. “You’re gonna kill her like that! We’ll come, jus’ stop hurtin’ her.”

Scootaloo tried to shake her head, but a squeeze stilled the movement. It grew tighter, and she winced. “Ow!”

“Boys, grab the brats already! They’re starting to piss me off,” she hissed. Her glare redirected at her captive. “I don’t know where you found marks like these, but you picked the most annoying ones ever.”

‘She’s gonna kill me,’ thought Scootaloo. She tried not to shudder, knowing it would just push the dagger into her neck again. ‘Dash always said she couldn’t control herself...go. Get away.’

It was hardly the first time she’d hoped, prayed or begged for something more. More nights than she cared to remember had ended as she drifted off, staring at the sky and imagining there was something more to herself than nimble fingers and dextrous dodges. Maybe, part of her hoped, the fact she wanted it for someone else would change things.

If fate was listening, it had a particularly twisted sense of humour in its answer.

Sweetie felt a dirty hand clamp around her arm, but even as it grew tight, her eyes didn't leave Scootaloo. "You're hurting her."

"Do I need to poke another hole in her to get you to shut up? Long night, I hate brats." Feather Buster scowled.

Tears gathered at the corners of Sweetie's eyes. "You're. Hurting. Her."

Apple Bloom swung her head towards her friend, eyes widening as she read signs only she could see. Ignoring the thug approaching her, she tensed, shoulders squaring. He reached out, and found her ducking away, one hand looping her satchel's strap around her wrist.

"Hey, brat, I said-" Buster began.

Sweetie's mouth opened, and every ear in hearing found itself trying to close, physical impossibility be damned. Her scream rippled through the air to prick at ears with invisible daggers. The cries of the thugs were lost within the supernatural force of Sweetie's voice as they clutched at their ears. Apple Bloom pulled away from the thug, lifting her bag with one hand while her knee found its way to a sharp stop between his legs.

Scootaloo heard it all, from Sweetie’s scream to Feather Buster’s snarl of pain. The arm around her loosened, and the blade jerked away from her neck. Just a moment, as pain and surprise sent the enforcer reeling, and Scootaloo had the taste of freedom.

“Scootaloo, come on!”

Apple Bloom’s voice jarred her into action. She darted forward, and a swish of air behind her warned her it hadn’t gone unnoticed. There was no time to look back, and little inclination to. Instead she went forward, catching up with Apple Bloom. The redhaired girl was already grabbing Sweetie Belle, and the trio put their legs to work.

The scream ended, and Sweetie stumbled as she huffed for breath.

“J-just a sec,” she squeaked, voice quiet.

“No time!” Scootaloo didn’t even question what had just happened. She caught Sweetie by the other arm, and together, she and Apple Bloom pulled her along with them in their flight. The night market’s crowd was stirring. “Coming through!”

“”Cuse us!” added Apple Bloom. Meager politeness didn’t stop her from pushing into the crowd.

Scootaloo’s ears prickled, and faintly, through the hubbub of the stirred up crowd, she swore she heard an angry voice screaming. It sounded, if she contemplated it, very much like, “Get them! Get them!”

Scootaloo started going just a little bit faster.

Water dripped in the dark, the quiet tap of droplets striking worn stone. Gloomy tunnels that knew only rats, the occasional cat and sometimes even a pair of children found themselves lit by bright glows that shone until twisting corners hid it. Those few usual, unheard sounds were supplanted by a new sound.

The sound...of organisation!

“Rope?”

“Check.”

“Grappling hooks?”

“Check.”

“Climbing spikes?”

“Check.”

“Compass?”

“Check.”

“Map?”

“Check.”

“Copies of the map?”

“Check.”

“Sunrods?”

“Check.”

“Lanterns?”

“Check.”

“My will to live,” groaned Dash. “Oh, look at that, not check!”

Applejack patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t say that, sugar. She might start over if we gotta find that too.”

“Don’t say that, you’ll jinx it!” the thief whined, covering her face with her hands.

Lowering her parchment, Twilight glowered at the pair. Her lips pursed, and she put her hands on her hips. “What, exactly, is the problem?” she demanded.

“You’re boring me to death.”

“We’re gonna starve before the checklist is even done.”

“This list is too long.”

Twilight looked between all three, her glower taking in Spike as he chimed in. He shrugged, a nervous grin on his face.

“Well,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “For one thing, we most certainly would not starve. Spike, checklist item number fourteen, ‘food, perishable’?”

He nudged a bag, nodding. “Check,” he admitted.

“See? My checklist is perfect,” said the wizard, a proud smile on her face. It dropped away as Dash began to mime, clawing at her throat as if unable to draw in another breath. “Oh, stop complaining. You could try doing something to pass the time.”

Dropping her act, Dash sat back on her stone seat, sliding into a groove seemingly worn away to be exactly right of her derriere. “How? I’ve already taken your purse like four times and you never notice, so that’s no fun anymore.”

“Well, why not try practice reading…” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, what was that?”

Dash grinned. “Nothing. Here, you dropped something.”

Twilight caught the jingling pouch, and spared only a moment to give Spike a Look for his snickering before she returned to her checklist. There was enough peace for her to even finish and get to halfway through her double-check before Dash’s patience reached an end again.

“So, what are we supposed to find down there anyway? Prince Blueballs wants some trinket or something from some ruins?” asked the bored girl,stretching her hands towards the ceiling.

“Or something.” Twilight looked up, and sighed. “Please don’t start climbing everything. We’ll have plenty of that later.”

“I don’t get it, though. The guild picked the sewers clean. Hell, they even use some of it, especially under the midden. How did they miss the undercity? I mean, it’s a city! Under another city!” said Dash, throwing up her hands. “Someone would have seen it.”

“Someone did. That’s why you know stories about it,” Twilight pointed out. “Where do you think those stories came from? The undercity exists behind a ward that is nearly always impervious.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Nearly always?”

The mage sighed, rubbing her forehead. “There are conditions under which entrance can be gained. I’m sorry, but I promise to explain it once we’re under way. Right now, I just want to make sure we’re ready.”

“We’re ready!” The rustle of papers brought Twilight’s gaze to her apprentice, and Spike wore a grin as he held out her checklist. “I finished the double check for you. We can go.”

“...” Twilight sighed, taking the papers. “I suppose I should explain then. I know how to get through the ward. Blueblood wants a relic from Old Canterlot in exchange for Rarity.”

She waited, and they watched her.

“...and?” prompted Dash.

Twilight blinked. “...and what?”

“And what else, I think she means,” Applejack suggested. She offered a shrug. “I was kind of hoping for more too. This place is dangerous, right? What kinda danger?”

Wiping sweaty palms across her trousers, Twilight nodded. “I know, but I promised the Princess that I wouldn’t just throw around everything she’s taught me about Old Canterlot, and that’s not much. There’s not exactly monsters, but….there’s a reason Old Canterlot was sealed away. There’s magic down there that is under no one’s control, wild magic. Creatures summoned a century ago by unintended spells decaying and mutating in the wild magic remain there. There’s traps and mazes and...it’s just not a safe place to be unprepared, or on your own.”

Applejack’s skeptical eye tracked from her friend-cum-employer to the pile of gear. “Well, we didn’t come unprepared, I’ll give you that.”

“That’s more stuff than I’ve ever owned,” Dash complained. She pressed her palms against the hilts that stuck up from her sides.

The gesture didn’t go unnoticed, and a small smile was shared by Twilight and Spike.

“They look good on ya,” said Applejack. She patted the smaller girl on the shoulder and winked. “Maybe you’ll even hit someone with ‘em.”

Before she could voice a word in protest, she was beaten to it.

“Shining’s just really good. He was an adventurer and everything! After him, I bet any monsters we see will be easy,” Spike told her. His hands rose, miming a pair of swords. “She’ll chop and slash and cut until they run away!”

A grin stretched over Dash’s face, and she rose with a shrug that threw Applejack’s hand off. “Come on, kid, you’d bet on that? Bets are only fun when there’s a chance of losing. AJ might as well take the day off, with me here.”

“Heh, that a challenge?” asked Applejack, She reached up, adjusting her hat until the grim hung just across the line of her eyebrows, and a grin spread across her face. “Cause it sounds like someone is putting her mouth where her money ain’t.”

Sauntering up, Dash stretched, letting her get a good look at her wiry arms, until they dropped to the pommels of her blades. “Who said I wasn’t gonna put my money there?”

“The fact you don’t have any?” Spike pointed out, and got a glare for his trouble. He threw his hands up. “Okay, geez, calm down.”

“If ya don’t got any money, Rainbow, we don’t have to bet something so borin’.” Applejack’s smile curved wider than ever. “How about we make ourselves a real bet? No money, just a forfeit.”

Dash snorted, jerking a blade out to expose a few inches from the sheath. Dull metal caught light in a dim reflection. “Like what? Not like it’s gonna matter for me. I’ll win whatever bet you wanna make, rube.”

“Well…” Leaning over her, Applejack reached down and gently, yet firmly, pushed the shortsword back into its sheath. “I bet you, sugar, that whatever beasties we face down there? I can beat the biggest, meanest one they got. An’ if I don’t, I’ll…”

Her eyes brightened.

“I’ll wear somethin’ of Rarity’s. Girliest thing she has. Trust me,” she said with certainty. “If I know Rares, and I do, she’s gonna have something like that just sitting around. I’ll wear it if you win.”

A laugh bubbled up from Dash’s chest, and her rainbow locks bounced with each bob of her shaking head. “Ha! Sounds funny! Sure.”

“Hold on, sugar,” Applejack all but purred with the deviousness of a fiend about to snap shut a loophole. “If I win, you gotta be Twi’s maid next time she has some fancy meetin’. All cute and froufrou like them maids scurrying around the palace. In fact, ya gotta do that ‘til our sentence is all done, officially.”

“Geez, didn’t know you wanted to see me dressed up so bad,” Dash shot at her with a grin. “Whatever, I can live with that, not like I’m gonna lose.”

“How helpful of you both.” Twilight’s voice cut in, and she rose from her triple check. “Alright, it’s time to move out. Is everyone ready?”

She ran a critical eye over her...well, her team, she supposed. ‘Gang’ really wasn’t the right word, though she felt that team wasn’t great either. Group? Twilight frowned. ‘I’ll think of the right word later.’

Her own clothes were well made, and a concession to the nature of delving into the ruins of an ancient city.She smoothed over the short robe, reaching only just past her waist, and adjusted her belt slightly before hefting the bag she had slowly slipped item after item into its all devouring mouth.

“Ready as ever, Sparkle,” said Dash, leaping to her feet. She shot a smirk at Applejack as she strode past, luxuriating in the feeling of wearing something new. Leather armour untouched by age or wear clung to her slender frame, covering her torso. Flaps of leather hung down in a kilt over her upper legs, yet made no sound with each naturally sly step she took.

Applejack matched her stride for stride, longer legs eating up the distance that soon had Dash scurrying to keep pace.“Then let’s get movin’,” she said, and her usual armoured coat looked more than up to the task.

Pausing to give Spike a squeeze on the shoulder, Twilight discreetly checked him. It was much the same as her own clothes, though she’d made sure it was a firm, strong weave.

“Don’t forget to cast Mage Armour as soon as we enter the undercity,” she told him. Her stare bored into his until he groaned and nodded. “Good. Safety comes first.”

Spike grumbled as he trudged along, but his complaints of overbearing, overprotective mages were lost in the gloom of their march.

“...maybe you should use it now, just in case,” Twilight thought aloud, tapping her chin and glancing down a junction, into the darkness of a half collapsed tunnel.

Dash and Spike rolled their eyes in perfect timing.

“There’s no one else down here, calm down,” the thief said. She leaned to one side, an exaggerated look down another tunnel. “Anyone down there? What’s that? These are abandoned tunnels no one gives a shit about? Who could have guessed!”

Twilight glared at her, staff tapping against the floor loudly until she abruptly pulled her arm up and tucked it under her shoulder. “I’m just being precautious. It’s a long way to get to the way into Old Canterlot, and who knows what we might encounter down here?”

“No one,” muttered Spike. He hunched his shoulders as he glanced longingly through the tunnels. This was nothing like exploring them with Scootaloo. There were no plans or checklists or anything, just freedom. “Who else is gonna come down here?”

Scootaloo caught the post with one hand, pulled hard on Sweetie Belle with her other, and did her best to ignore the shrieking woman in the apron. A stick of something remarkably hard for the scent of bread and spices that clung to it bounced off her shoulder before the trio shot from the stall in a flurry of flailing children.

“That way!” She pointed, and they took off. Noise erupted behind them, Feather Buster’s distinct shrieks of promised violence following them. Round a corner they went, and then she jumped between tented stalls. “Down there!”

She took lead, slipping down the narrow space with agility born of a pickpocket who was skilled, but not always quite skilled enough. Her feet bounced over obstacles and Sweetie skipped with frantics squeaks, both noiseless compared to the thundering of Apple Bloom kicking aside anything between her and escape.

“Over…” Scootaloo hesitated, glancing one way, and then another.

“I’ll gut you, you little tramp! Stop running so I can gut you!” screamed Feather Buster. “Gut you!”

“There!” finished Apple Bloom. She took the lead with one hand filled with soft fabrics and the other with ragged, torn linen. Twin yelps followed her as the three went tumbling into another stall, crowded in a dark tent through which only a sliver of light escaped. Apple Bloom let go and spun, closing the tent behind her with a hiss of, “Shhh.”

They lay still in the gloom, faint lights of murky green barely illuminating their faces as they stared at the thin barrier between them and discovery. The sound of pounding feet made all three twitch.

“Which way did they go?” Feather Buster’s voice cracked like a whip and they nearly jumped Scootaloo gulped, closing her eyes and praying to Dash. “Find them! Come on, you idiots, how fast can three little girls run?!”

Not so much as a hair moved, frozen in place as they listened to Feather Buster berate and deride her thugs until her voice faded. Still they waited, unmoving, listening for any sign she might return.

How long it was until the first of them spoke, none were sure. Only that it had, hopefully, been long enough.

“Good idea,” whispered Scootaloo. “She totally missed us! Ha! How stupid is she, we’re right here and she didn’t even notice us!”

Irony, as always, had an impeccable sense of timing.

“Into my nest, three little ones creep,” whispered a voice from every direction, bouncing from every corner of the dark tent. “With such cries of thugs, I must wonder what secrets they keep.”

Only now did they see where they were. Only now did the girls look upon their sanctuary and come very close to wetting themselves. Monsters leered from above, eerie snarls frozen in hungry stares. Pots of odd plants that writhed subtly from moment to moment with unnatural activity. Strange, spiky things leered at them, shadows against the witch lights.

“Gah!’

“Eeeeh!”

“Aaaah!”

Yellow shapes, exotic eyes that glowed in the dark, trembled for a moment. With it came a sound that seemed to echo, ignoring the basic fact that no tent should ever have an echo. It didn’t occur to any of them that it was, in fact, laughter.

“My tent, it seems, is quite the haven for those who must hide. What force, I wonder, is it that is your guide?” Her rhythmic voice grewer closer, and before them loomed a figure gathered in darkness. All they could see were here eyes, catching the strange light and turned into the stare of a ghoul.

“G-get back!” Apple Bloom leapt for a basket, fingers grasping stick of hard wood she ripped out and held between her and the figure. “Ah’ve fought monsters from the Everfree! Ya can’t scare me!”

The hood turned, cocking to the side as the figure considered her. “The beasts of the Everfree you say? Perhaps fortune favours us both this day.”

Something stirred beneath its ominous robe, shapes unseen rising. Slender hands jangled and witchlight shone on metal.

“Look out!” Scootaloo moved the moment its hands rose. Her dagger came out and her arm cocked back. It flew before another moment had passed, spinning through the air straight into the chest of the shadowed figure.

A meaty slap took sound from the tent. The figure swayed in the silence, their bated breaths paused in expectation.

Scootaloo blinked as something tinged and bounced across the floor. Eyes widened, looking down on her dagger, and slowly she looked back, eyes rising until they met the eerie yellow of the figure’s.

“Such hasty actions, made from fear, can lead to regret,” advised the lyrical tones that grew more frightening by the moment. “To stop and consider in the future, I would suggest, because only this time will I forgive and forget.”

She gulped. “Y-yes Ma’am!” the thief squeaked. She paused. ‘Wait, ma’am? Monsters don’t sound like rhyming ladies, do they?’

The question was easily answered a moment later. Completing the motion she had begun, the figure pushed back her hood. Dark skin marked in ash-grey designs coloured a face from which eyes, no longer so frightening yet somehow more mysterious still, looked down upon them.

“I bid you welcome to my tent, young intruders faint with fear. Calm your breath and still your hearts, you are in no danger here.” As if lifting a veil from her voice as she had lowered her hood, it was suddenly apparent this rhyming stranger was not speaking with the voice of a demon. “My name is Zecora.”

They kept on staring, eyes latched on her, until Sweetie Belle raised a hand.

“Uh, excuse me,” her voice trembled, but she pushed on. “That last part didn’t rhyme.”

She jerked back, not from the stranger, but her friends. They glared at her, Scootaloo frantically trying to gesture with her eyes for the girl to shut up shut up shut up. It wasn’t doing much good.

“What, it didn’t and she’s really going for a theme since everything else was rhyming,” reasoned Sweetie with a pout.

Zecora laughed, shaking her head in amusement as she watched the trio. Her mowhak bounced with her laughter.

“Ah, my dears, you bring me such laughter when all I thought to have this eve was a quiet cup of tea.” She gestured towards the back. “While you cower from those who hunt you, come share it with me.”

Glances were exchanged, and they shrugged to each other, none quite sure what to do.

“Ah, what the heck, why not! Ah’d love to have tea with ya, Miss Zecora,” said Apple Bloom. She walked past the woman, following her gesture, and turned back to smile at her friends. “Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Against all odds, the worst failed to happen. All that did was, a minute or so later, Zecora pouring tea into wooden cups set before the girls. She smiled as her robe dropped away and her legs folded beneath her, faint light catching on the bands of gold that ringed her neck. Sipping first, she wait until they had taken up their own cups.

“I have told you my name, so it seems only right that you do the same,” she suggested.

“Ah’m Apple Bloom! It’s nice to meet ya, Miss Zecora. Thanks heaps for all the help,” said the girl, bow bobbing as she leaned in for another sip. “This tea is real nice.”

Sweetie let out a happy sigh, raising her lips from her cup. “I’m Sweetie Belle. She’s right, this is really nice. I think it might be better than the tea Rarity always made me when I was sick.”

"I am a peddler of exotic wares, trader in secrets from across the land and over the sea. I should hope I can make a decent tea,” Zecora said, a faint hint of laughter in her voice. Her gaze swung to the last of the three. “And who, if I might ask, are you?”

Eyeing her cup with enough suspicion to fuel a dozen guardsman, Scootaloo brought it slowly to her lips. “Does that count as rhyming when it’s so short?”

“Scootaloo, be nice, or no allowance,” Sweetie scolded her.

“Allow- you’re paying me, not giving me an ‘allowance’,” snapped the pickpocket, glaring at Sweetie. “They’re totally different!”

Zecora raised an eyebrow, her question obvious if unasked.

“I’m helping them find their sisters, ‘cause I saw them, but now we’re being chased!” Scootaloo groaned, rubbing her forehead. “I don’t even know why!”

Zecora frowned. “Surely there must be a reason, unless for children they have an open season.”

“Kid huntin’? Do they do that in cities?!” Apple Bloom asked with a gulp.

“Of course not! Why would anyone just hunt kids without a reason? Besides, it doesn’t matter why,” said Scootaloo. She pointed down. “We could hide in the sewers, if we can reach them, but even Feather Buster isn’t stupid enough to not put guards on every way into the market.”

Zecora said nothing, eyes trailing in the direction the young pickpocket was pointing, and she hummed thoughtfully. A few steps took her to a basket of herbs, and she pushed it aside.

“You seek to escape by going below,” she called, glancing back and tapping her bare foot. “Then please, allow me to help you do so.”

Her foot tapped again, and pausing for a moment to cock her head to the side, she listened to something only she could hear. At the first squeak of a syllable from Sweetie she raised a hand, one finger up to shush her. They watched, quiet but fascinated, as she pressed her hand to the stone tiles.

“Fortunate holds much favour for you today. That is to say…” The glow in her eyes this time was entirely from within; a flash of green that spoke of lush forests and endless jungles, a single shade that somehow found within it all the varieties of nature. Words left her mouth, but there was no rhyme to them, though none but her understood her.

“Whoa…”

Scootaloo’s jaw dropped open, mirrored by the others, as Zecora’s hand pressed deeper and deeper into the stone tile. Her hand moved, and stone flowed like water, bending and twisting as if it were soft as putty. She pushed, and it moved. Her work went without speaking, molding stone as easily as clay beneath her hands. A hole first, then more, before her thorough work had created a hole in the market square nearly five feet wide.

Apple Bloom cautiously tapped her foot against the stone next to her. She drew her foot back quickly, though nothing had changed. She let out a sigh of relief, and put fears of sinking into the floor to rest, just in time to have them return at the sight of Sweetie stepping cautiously closer.

“Sweetie,” she hissed, reaching for her.

Sweetie jerked her arm away. “She doesn’t mind,” she said, leaning past the strange merchant to peer into the growing hole. “Right?”

Zecora looked up for a moment just to smile, nodding, but her work went on undisturbed. If anything, her smile grew at the sound of small feet scurrying to get closer, until she had all three watching her.

Eyes narrow, Scootaloo frowned, until her nose twitched and she gasped. “The sewers!” she said, a grin starting to form. “We can get into them here and they won’t know it!”

Lifting her head from her work, Zecora smiled and nodded. “That was the plan. Though of this smell, I am not a fan.” She leaned down, peering into the tunnel she’d uncovered. “I fear these tunnels may be too small. Give me but a moment, and I shall make sure you are not too tall.”

“Yeah…” Scootaloo scowled. Why did the market’s weird drainage sewers have to be smaller than a person? It was just bizarre!

Apple Bloom and Sweetie crowded in when Zecora left the hole, peering in expectantly. Sweetie’s lips drew back, and she waved a hand in front of her nose.

“It kinda smells,” she whined.

“Why is it always smells with you? Of course it smells, it’s got stuff draining into it from all over the market, but it’s better than being caught by Feather Buster,” retorted Scootaloo with a shudder. “It’ll be a tight squeeze…”

Rubbing her chin, Apple Bloom frowned. “Darn, Ah wish Ah could do something. Do we got any butter?”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at her. “Butter? Why would I have butter?”

“Well, Ah dunno,” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Ah was thinkin’ we could use it to make it easier to squeeze through.”

The barefoot tread of the mysterious peddler cut off their discussion. A jar in her hand, she pulled the wide cork off. Even in the dim light, the balm within was easy for all to see. Dark fingers slipped into the creamy substance, scooping it up.

“There is always a way, and if I may be so bold, you will escape so long as you do as you are told.” With a flick of her finger she slashed a line of balm across Scootaloo’s forehead. The girl yelped, trying to pull back, but Zecora’s hand followed her, wiping and swiping until the balm decorated Scootaloo’s face with strange yet simple design.

“Hey!”

“Calm yourself, my wary little one. I need apply my balm to your friends and we are done,” soothed Zecora, smiling down at her. Despite herself, Scootaloo did find herself relaxing. “Soon all will be clear. Good for you, this potion is not too dear.”

“Not too- potion?!” Apple Bloom almost sent Scootaloo into the hole, rushing to see the jar. “Ooh, can Ah look? Since the town’s old alchemist died, Ah ain’t had anythin’ interestin’ to do. Ah didn’t know ya could make a potion into a balm!”

Zecora pulled the jar away before she could grab it, hand raising at the same time to dab and smear the grabby girl. “I appreciate your interest in my balm, but mind your touch lest it lead to harm. A work of magic and brewing in my hands might heal, yet for one unlearned, lives it can steal.”

Apple Bloom gulped, dropping her hands. “Er, sorry, Ah didn’t think...so, what is this stuff? Why are ya puttin’ it all over me? Is it like a magic potion?”

“The mages here speak of potions and scrolls but they are not so different for me. Brewed like a potion but used like a scroll, as you will soon see.” The tattooed woman moved on, drawing each of the girls to the hole and marking them in turn. “For five brief minutes my magic will make you small. I trust you can make it, if you have the wherewithal.”

“So, we get shrunk an’ we can use the drainage tunnels?” Apple Bloom grinned. “That’s amazin’! Them nasty thugs won’t ever be able to find us!”

She all but jumped into the hole, and held out a hand to help Sweetie get down. Scootaloo lingered, pausing at the hole. She glanced at Zecora, then at the excited girls, and couldn’t quite piece it all together. None of this made sense.

“I just don’t get it. Why are you helping us? We burst into your tent to hide, I threw a knife at you, and now you’re using all this magic to help us!” She glared, almost angry.

“My goal in life is to help those who cannot help themselves. From the most distant of hermits to wealthy kings, from humble halflings to arrogant elves.” Reaching out, Zecora took Scootaloo’s hand in her own, and press both against the girl’s chest. “Even more, though I sense the flow of destiny, the tides of fate. I help you because of one simple fact. ”

Looking down at the hands on her heart, Scootaloo’s brows knit in confusion, and she peered at Zecora uncertainly. “What is it?”

Zecora smiled. “I have a heart, and it tells me I must act. You are children in danger. I must help, though I am a stranger.”

Scootaloo stared at her, eyes lit with confusion. Her mouth opened, then closed again. She didn't know what to say. People, she knew, didn't care. They shouldn't, at least, and only one person ever had.

And sometimes, Scootaloo doubted if Dash still did.

"...thanks."

Zecora smiled, and gently pushed her towards the hole. "All my life, I have sought to help, a need to give in my heart burns. Go on, and remember, once you have shrunk you will have but five minutes before your size returns."

She pressed a hand to their cheeks, one at a time, and whispered in that strange, primal tongue. They fidgeted, tingles dancing over their skin and through their bodies. Even as they dropped into the hole.

"Thanks, we'll bring back our sisters to meet you when we find them, to say thanks," Sweetie Belle promised. She waved, shrinking form easily fitting into the drainage tunnel. "Ooooh, I'm tiny!"

Zecora's hands glowed, and it only took a touch for the stone to fall in, stone sloughing down like a waterfall.

“We’re here.”

This announcement, grand as it was, echoed in the gloom of the deepest sewer tunnels. No one replied, until Twilight looked back at them. The drip of water, the tap of feet slowly dying away as they stopped in front of...

“Yay. A table.” Dash rolled her eyes. “How exciting.”

Twilight sighed. “This isn’t a table.” She gestured at the circular slab of stone rising a foot from the floor before them. “This is an access point to Old Canterlot. We just need to move it, and we can descend into the undercity.”

“Right then!” Applejack heaved her backpack off, supplies weighing it down as she left it at her feet, and advanced. “Lemme see how heavy this thing is.”

“Not like that,” Twilight said, shaking her head. She flicked her fingers, curved them as if to hold something. A moment passed, and indeed she was; a scroll. It unrolled easily. “There are other ways into Old Canterlot, but this is the safest I could find. No climbing dangerous tunnels to find the trigger, no swimming through murky waters to open a drain, just a few magic words and we’re in.”

Dash rolled her eyes again. “Well, go on then, Sparkle, impress us.”

Biting back another sigh, Twilight glanced at Spike as she waved Applejack back from the plug. He looked away, tracing a finger across the wall, and for a moment she considered asking if something was wrong. He’d been hanging near the wall the whole time, and a pang of worry ran through her.

‘No, not right now,’ she decided. ‘He probably just misses his friend. We’ll talk after this is over.’

Scroll raised before her, she put her worries aside and focused. The beautiful cursive seemed to shimmer as her eyes ran across each artful word, and almost without needing to try, she felt her mouth begin to form the first.

Angelic syllables played across her lips, a tingle left in their wake. Whatever made them so, it rushed through her like a flood of energy, energy that grounded itself into the plug. Golden light danced across it into twisting shapes that resolved into symbols. The plug’s rim glittered before them with strings of celestial characters.

A whistle from behind reminded Twilight of her companions, and she spared a moment to glance back at them. It brought a smile to her face to see Applejack’s awed expression, and the grudging interest Dash wasn’t quite able to hide, craning her neck to get a better look without actually giving herself away by getting closer. When she looked back to the plug, the stone was translucent.

“Impressed?” she asked, unable to quite keep the smugness from her voice. A spluttered scoff drew her gaze back to the thief.

Dash whipped her head away, scowling. “Yeah, yeah, real fancy,” she grumbled. “So you can make glowy words turn stone into black goo, great.”

“They’re not just glowy words, they’re...wait,” Twilight stopped mid-word, brow knitting in confusion. “Black goo?”

“Er, Twi’, what is this stuff?” Applejack asked, her question bringing the mage’s head back around in time to see the farmer take a step towards the rising swell of matte black where once there had been stone. She leaned down, staring as a protrusion grew, wiggling in front of her.

“Get back!” The words screamed from Twilight’s throat, ripping clear for the hiss of arcane that rose to her lips. “Magic Missile!”

Applejack was already moving before the mage began to cast, knowing a warning when she heard one. The air sizzled, black goo whipping out a moment too late as the protrusion exploded into a sweeping limp. The tentacle writhed before her before bolts of force rent it apart.

All in an instant, the goo surged up from the unsealed tunnel to a chorus of steel slithering from sheaths, it’s thick ‘flesh’ parting into a dozen or more tentacles. They pressed against stone, trails of smoke rising from the contact, as its core rose up on its many limbs.

“Spike, Mage Armour, now,” Twilight snapped, failing back with staff raised to the creature. She didn’t wait or look back to make sure he was complying, her focus narrowing to the goo thing before her.

Dash went hurtling past, blades in hand and hungry grin on her face. “Aw yeah, come get some, goo monster!”

She ducked a tentacle that swung up at her approach, letting it soar overhead. Hilts spun in her hands, landing a back-handed grip that brought them together above her head, blades ringing against each other.The shrill shriek of metal on metal filled her ears as she sent them up, parting through the tentacle, going up and away from each other in a blur. Still moving, she was gone before the severed tentacle fell.

“Stop it with the fancy stuff, Rainbow.” Applejack grunted, muscles bunching with tense energy. Her coat flapped as she sidestepped a lash of writhing goo, and she swung. The power in her arms unloaded itself in a dreadful blow. It seared through, and the maimed tentacle drew back as the cut portion lost cohesion. A cloud of smoke wafted from the steaming goo, eating into the stone.

“Don’t let it touch you!” Twilight called. She kept moving back, eyes narrowed in concentration. “Mage Armour-”

The spell went off in the nick of time. No sooner had she felt the suit of invisible protection fade into existence around her then she heard Applejack cry out a warning. The clean wound before her had swollen and erupted like a bolt from a crossbow, shooting across the distance to same head on into the mage. What felt like a light punch to the gut knocked Twilight back a step, and she had a moment to stare at the hissing black goo flattened as if against glass, an inch or so of empty space from her.

“Back up a bit, sugar, before this thing busts down that magic armour of yours,” ordered Applejack, dropping a heavy blow through the tentacle before her, and hurriedly repositioning her sword to turn aside a rapid swipe at her legs with the flat of her blade a few moments later. “These things are growing back! How do we kill it?”

Dash added her voice to the request, yelping as she leapt above a lashing tentacle. “Seriously! Why doesn’t it have, you know, a big spleen or something I can stab?”

“A spleen?!” A note of hysterics entered Spike’s voice as he pointed a finger at it. “Magic Missile! Why would you aim for the spleen?”

His bolts of force pounded across the bulbous blob at its centre, and for a moment its goo-flesh was thinned. A demand for them to stop the banter frozen on the tip of her tongue, Twilight caught sight of the pulsing core, lit with arcane energies, within the blob. Suspicion flickered across her face, and she raised her hand with a calculating expression.

Her Ray of Frost was barely a spell, a mere cantrip, but it shot across the intervening space to trace its chilling energies along the gap in the goo. She was rewarded by a shudder that shook its gelatinous body.

“Girls,” she called, and ignored Spike’s offended expression. Twilight pointed. “That’s its core in the centre! Aim for that!”

“Gotcha.” Applejack held back, glancing across the tentacles between her and the core. “Dash, ya wanna give it somethin’ else to think about?”

Cocky smirk in full force, Dash spun her weapons with agile fingers. “I’ll give it two things to think about.”

One shortsword stabbed; the other sliced, and the thief danced between flailing tentacles. She led them to one side, and Applejack didn’t need a better chance. She charged, heavy blade raised as she churned up the distance with heavy stamps.

Dash’s grin dropped away. “AJ, look out!”

The ranger’s eyes flicked towards her friend for a moment, and her vision was filled by an oncoming tentacle. Her boots scuffed across stone as she fought to slow herself, and even before it hit Applejack realised she’d made a mistake. She gasped and nearly fell when it slapped into her side. The faint sizzle of its acidic touch reached her ears, and her nose twitched at the scent of her leather coat taking the blow, but the force carried through. If she didn’t have any broken ribs, it wasn’t for lack of trying on the monster’s part.

“Get back!” Acid spat from a distance, a little spray of toxic green flung from Spike’s hand onto the tentacle.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Applejack wheezed. She stepped back before it could land another strike, potentially more fatal, with one hand pressed to her side. “Don’t think we can get close, not with all those damn things in the way.”

Twilight sent another spray of Magic Missiles streaking through the the air, each landing with perfect accuracy on the core. Goo-flesh blew away as each struck, and the whole thing shuddered.

“We need to get at it. I don’t have many more offensive spells prepared,” she warned.

Applejack wasn’t green enough to to take her eyes off the enemy, but she took her hand off her side to wave back at the wizard. “Don’t worry, sugar, I got another idea. Dash, you doing okay?”

“Pfft, what, you think this ugly thing could hit me?” The thief was doing well, it had to be admitted, and she threw Applejack a grin that was mostly genuine. “Dream on, hick.”

Retreating, Applejack grinned back. “Eyes on the monster, Rainbow,” she said. Her greatsword slid back into it sheath,and in its place she began to pull her longbow out. “I just need a second to get ready…”

“No rush,” said Dash, and nearly got her face melted off for her trouble. Instead she jerked her head to the side, and her shoulder took the glancing blow without breaking anything. It hurt, sure, but compared to the alternatives she decided it wasn’t so bad.

The thief kept up her slow advance, slowly getting closer as magic streaked past at the monster’s core. She couldn’t risk looking back now; it would be too much of a distraction, and considering it would either melt her head or pound it to a mush, Dash wasn’t really in a position to ignore it.

After far too long for her own taste, Applejack raised her bow. Arrow notched, she pulled back and felt the familiar tension build. Lining up her shot, the ranger cut out the distraction of Dash flinging herself about with reckless abandon. and the colours of freezing rays and globes of acid. Eyes down the arrow, her target held firm in her sights…

It was the faintest of sensations, but it was there; a buzz in her ears, a rush in her blood that set nerves aflame. It came naturally to her, and so she let it happen. Energy rushed through her and words she didn’t know were spun by her tongue and shaped by her lips. The world vanished, just her and the bow in her hands. Static shock seemed to bounce between the arrow and her hand as if building.

The world came back to her in a sudden rush, and, unsure how long had passed, Applejack fired with almost absent ease. The magic surged through the arrow, but there was no flash of insight to guide its path as her blade had been guided. This spell, this sorcerous magic, was different.

Tremors erupted in every tentacle as the arrow head plunged deep into the core. A weight greater than an arrow had any right to pushed it deep into the vulnerable flesh. If ever a creature of goo could said to feel rage, that must have been what gripped it.

Applejack didn’t waste time questioning it. She’d already notched the next arrow, and as it began its lurch towards her, she fired again. Years of practice paid off, and not just in accuracy; she saw just before the arrow hit the glimmer of magic and the change to its descent, as if its weight had somehow increased. Whatever the magic did, her arrows struck and sunk into the vulnerable core with satisfying shudders to its wriggling mass.

Her third arrow was barely notched when the shivering core began to retreat. The tentacles fell away as the core descend into the hole, apparently ignoring Dash’s indignant demands it come back.

“Hey! Get back here you stupid jelly!” she called, huffing as it disregarded her. Her shortswords cut furrows in fleeing tentacles, and still they ignored her as the creature squeezed down. It took only seconds for it to compress itself down the hole, and suddenly the ancient tunnel was quiet, the only sounds left their panting.

“Well….that was interestin’,” Applejack finally remarked. She lowered her bow, but didn’t quite put it away or take her eyes off the hole. “That the sort of thing we’re expectin’ down there?”

Twilight took a moment to catch her breath, and tried to crane her head up a few inches in case that would suddenly let her see down the hole. “That sort of thing is certainly possible, with how much strange magic has been left to age down there...though with you two, I don’t think we’ll need to be worried.”

“Eh? But it got away!” Dash scowled at the hole, pointing at it with a wave of a sword. “And I couldn’t even get close before it ran off!”

“That wasn’t the point,” the scholar corrected her. She reached over to Spike, deciding that contrary to all evidence, he could have been hurt and would only be fine if she checked him over.

Spike grimaced. “I’m fine,” he huffed, tugging her hands off with a scowl. “It didn’t even get near me.”

She frowned, but let go. “We all worked together, and we got it to retreat before any of us were hurt,” Twilight went on. “That was what counted.”

“We ain’t here for monster huntin’,” added Applejack. She trod cautiously up to the hole, and ready to leap back at any moment, peered into it. The tense energy fading from her shoulders was visible as she relaxed. “It’s gone.”

“Tch,” scoffed Dash. Her shortswords slid back into their sheaths, and she glared at the hole as if it had personally affronted her. “Next monster we see, I’m totally taking it down.”

Twilight approached the hole, casting her gaze into its depths. Without the magical vision of Applejack’s hat, all she saw was deep, grim shadows that run onto into world’s past. With a thought her staff lit up, casting its light from the violet orb that topped it.

“The next monster we see, it will be in Old Canterlot,” she said grimly. Her hands tightened upon the staff, and her eyes narrowed. “This it. We’re going down.”

Bloodlines

by Autocharth

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen