> The Quest for Celestia's Raiment
>  by GaPJaxie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Castle Blueblood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom, and their subjects.

Or, so the story goes, anyway.

Not that it's necessarily untrue. Your elders still recall the time when the sun did not rise for two whole days, and the landscape was shrouded in a lasting darkness and chill. You yourself can see the sun and the moon on many ancient buildings, but that lately, the sun alone has become the more fashionable choice.

It's just that, well, stories about alicorns and cosmic battles of good and evil don't have much relevance to your day to day life. Celestia may rule in Canterlot, but that doesn't mean you've ever been there.

Besides, legends like that always get overstated. Better to focus on the here and the now. Like say, letters. Summons, from the sort of nobility who is a little less legendary and a little more close at hoof.

Even these days, it's rare that a unicorn of any station will request the presence of one of the other pony races. Rarer still that they would accept. But, the letter you received was much to the point, displaying a great knowledge of your history, and making an offer you found uncommonly tempting.

Normally—that is, if one is being traditional—guests are called to a noble keep a few days ahead of schedule, and allowed to rest there until everyone is gathered. Sir Blueblood's missive emphasized a degree of urgency however, and bid you arrive as soon as possible.

For Azure Charger, as fast as possible is fast indeed. She can see Blueblood's castle from a considerable distance in the air. It's a modest keep, but then again, he is a knight with aspirations rather than a real lord. Built in the traditional style, it has high walls of stone and a boat to keep out earth ponies, and a thick, armored roof in case of pegasi attack. Not that the roof would actually stop her, of course. But maybe it's best not to be rude.

Maybe.

Azure glides down to the path with a running landing. Taking a quick moment to crack her neck and give a cool-down flap of her wings, she resumes a crisp trot toward the castle. Moving over the bridge on hoof is a courtesy to the ground-bound ponies on the far side, after all. They could show a little respect of their own in turn.

"Halt!" one of them shouts, levitating his spear up by his side. So, could-but-won't it seems. "What's your business here?"

Azure snorts. “Stand aside. I've a summons from your lord, urgent at that, and I'm of no mind to be slowed down by 'pleasantries'.”

The guard snorts. "I'm sure you do. I'll run and check with him. You just hang on." He turns back to the castle gate, stepping inside.

“Goodie.” She parks herself on the edge of the bridge, taking the time to adjust her armor.

And so, Azure charger waits. And waits.

And waits…

Meanwhile, several hundred yards down the road, a rather strange encounter is occurring.

Normally, of course, a pegasus travels overland, but when navigating to a location they have never visited before, following the roads can be easier. It's not entirely uncommon to run into traveling earth ponies or unicorns during such trips. Nor is it entirely uncommon to have a bit of fun with them, and then zip off over rough terrain where they dare not follow. The profitable sort of fun, if you're industrious. Which Silver Shine usually is.

But, usually, the ponies he encounters don't have a mountain lion as a pet.

That's new.

Silver Shine observes the curious pair of mountain lion and pony of garish pink mane, saying nothing.

The small mare, Moonlight Meadows, is hip-hopping back and forth, humming tunelessly to herself, while the mountain lion, Balti, looks on in aloof amusement. Or whatever it is that cats look at the world with.

Although they're somewhat hard to spot against the skyline, Moonlight takes notice that she're being followed—or perhaps escorted—by the charcoal grey pegasus, a battle-saddle and bags thrown over his barrel. He's not exactly trying to hide himself, though.

Moonlight Meadows stops, turns to look up at him, and waves, a big goofy grin on her face. "Hi!"

Silver Shine flies down to land beside Moonlight, keeping his distance from the mountain lion. "Hello. This is your cat, I presume?”

"Yep! She's a good kitty, yes she is!" Moonlight reaches up with a hoof and gives Balti ear scritches. Balti does not appreciate being called a good kitty one bit. But, she does love her ear scritches, nuzzling in against Moonlight's hoof and leaning up to lick her muzzle.

With the castle visible in the distance, there can be little doubt that the ponies are both headed to the same place—though that does little to make this roadside encounter less strange.

Moonlight Meadows looks up at Silver Shine as they walk. "So, that's the Blueblood guy's castle, right?"

“I know a thing or two about the place,” says Silver. “In short, yes, this is the keep of Sir Blueblood.”

Moonlight nods. "Oh good, those guys didn't lie then. I thought they hadn't but you never know with some ponies, right?"

As they reach the castle’s bridge, Silver Shine motions to her. "After you."

"Oh, you're going here too?" she says, and walks towards the bridge. A quick rat-a-tat of her left hind leg brings Balti to heel. Balti twitches her whispers at this newcomer, but follows.

As the two approach the bridge to Castle Blueblood, it doesn't take long before they spot somepony waiting on it: a pegasus mare in shining armor, a lance and shield hanging from her saddle. She looks rather impatient, like she's been there for awhile.

Moonlight stares, wide-eyed. "Oooh, you're shiny."

Azure Charger had heard noise of a conversation, but paid no mind. As "kitty" enters her field of vision, she leaps to her hooves and tears her lance out from its restraints, held at the ready. “Back, filly! There's a monster behind you!”

Moonlight Meadows turns around, curiously. "Monster? Where?"

Balti looks at Azure Charger with an expression that might be characterized as bored. Or perhaps indifferent. Or perhaps slightly hungry. After a moment, she starts to groom her ear—licking a paw and running it over her head.

Azure blinks, incredulous. "The... mountain lion? The one right next to you?"

Moonlight blinks in return, then giggles. "Balti's not a monster! She's a friend!"

"Mmmrrrr," Balti growls noncommittally.

"...friend." Azure looks between Moonlight and Balti and back again, then shrugs. "Suit yourself." She holsters her lance and sits back down, staring off toward the moat.

"What's your business here?" the guard demands, now that introductions are over.

"Oooh, you're kind of shiny too! Not as much th—” Moonlight stops her train of thought. “Right. Um, I have this letter thing," she says, shaking her mane and causing the letter to fall out from its voluminous depths.

After a moment's confused pause, the guard levitates the letter over, rolling it open and scanning through the contents. "Yes, this all seems to be in order. Go ahead in. I'll let Sir Blueblood know you're here."

Azure Charger turns slowly, drilling the guard with her focused stare. "...are you joking?"

"Not at all. The letter has Sir Blueblood's seal," the guard replies plainly.

"If all you wanted was the bloody letter..." Azure begins fishing through her bags.

"Did we all get letters?" asks Moonlight.

"Eh?" Azure looks briefly at Moonlight. "Mmm. Guess so." She pulls out her letter, curtly flashing it in the guards direction. "Here. Good?"

"You could have just shown that in the first place, you know," the guard says to Azure, followed closely by a cough that a mistrusting sort of soul could mistake for “featherbrain”. He continues, "Go ahead inside. You can wait in the courtyard until he's ready to see you both."

"Why thank you," Azure says, her tone ice. She gets up and trots toward the entrance.

As Moonlight and Azure trot through the open gates, over the Star of Unicornia, and into the courtyard, the guard looks at Silver Shine. "What about you then?"

Silver smirks. "I'm with them, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

Silver Shine pulls carefully folded envelope out of pack and presents it to guard. After a moment’s inspection, the guard waves Silver Shine on through.

Castle Blueblood is rather new. Not that any castle in Equestria is really old like Unicornia's castles could be. But even in this new land, Castle Blueblood stands out with a youthful sort of power. The walls are new, the stones in the courtyard still smooth, lacking indentations from generations of hooves. The courtyard is even open to the sky, something that past generations would have considered a grievous strategic vulnerability. In many respects, this place is more an odd sort of home than a fortress, a small garden in one corner and a number of fountains flanking the main doors inside.

There are less pleasant places to wait, and for the most part, the ponies are alone other than the guards by the door, and a few more resting in the stables nearby. Conversation can be heard drifting out of the windows. Mostly servants and castle staff talking, or the guards making smalltalk during their long shifts.

"This is so stupid. I can't believe I left a real bed for this job." one of the guards in the stable grouses. A mare, her armor folded up by the stable entrance.

"Ah dunno. It's not so bad. Easy to clean. And they refill this thing of oats every day," the stallion next to her replies, his words cut off by crunching.

"You're disgusting."

Azure Charger snickers, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.

Moonlight Meadows idly taps her hoof against the stone in a repetitive rhythm; Silver Shine eyes Azure suspiciously and Moonlight bemusedly; Azure Charger looks over Silver and Moonlight and their equipment. 

"We... are here for the same summons, yes?" asks Azure, breaking the silence.

"It would appear so," Silver says.

"I dunno!” chimes Moonlight. “My letter just said something about a big job that needed my talents. Which is funny, because I didn't know the Bluebloods knew about me."

"Mmm hmm." Azure sizes up Silver's battle harness a moment. She can respect a well-made battle saddle, but Silver's is clearly of unicorn manufacture. She turns back to Moonlight. "Your talents being..."

"Uhhhh..." Moonlight pauses, frowning, looking around the castle. "I don't think I should show off in here. Unicorns don't usually like the mess."

She cocks an eyebrow. "Really."

Silver Shine frowns as well. "In words, dear."

"Yeah, well, when I tell ponies they never believe me."

Azure Charger muses a bit. "Well, if it's capable of a 'mess' that irks the unicorns, it already doesn't sound half-bad. Though it still seems odd to call for two warriors"—jerking her head to Silver—"and a filly."

Moonlight frowns. "Who's the filly?"

Azure Charger opens her mouth and closes it. Moonlight stands about a head shorter than Azure, but her massive, puffy pink mane makes up the rest of the difference. Perhaps she misjudged the shorter mare’s age. "Right. Nevermind then."

As Azure considering the full implications of that silly filly and her enormous mane, the main door by the side of the courtyard opens. Out of it emerges a sky-blue mare—the silver star of Unicornia and a fleur de lis on her flank. Her silver mane is perfectly prepared, and a collection of jewelry that was probably more expensive than the group’s equipment combined adorns her ears and ankles. It's all the very traditional sort, and she walks with her head high.

"Excuse me," she calls out to all of you, sounding less than pleased to see you.

Azure Charger closes her eyes, exhaling slowly. “Yes?”

"I am the Lady Up Turn, and it's my family's castle you're now scuffing with your hooves,” says the unicorn. "Could you kindly explain to me precisely why you're doing that?"

"'Cause Sir Blueblood sent us a letter asking to come here," says Moonlight Meadows.

"Mmm. And what is the nature of your business with my brother, precisely?"

"Wanna see?" She retrieves her letter once again, and holds it up for inspection. Up Turn reviews the letter with a critical eye, letting out a tsk and shaking her head. Azure Charger mutters under her breath about letters.

"Well, your... talents," Up Turn says the word with a degree of skepticism, "non-withstanding, I'm afraid my brother is quite busy at the moment. You'll have to come back another day. If we have need of your services, I'm sure—"

From the door behind her, a young filly's voice can be heard, shouting with excitement: "Checkmate!" Something inaudible is given in response, and then the filly asks, "Can we play again, Uncle?"

Up Turn huffs. "As I was saying, he's very—"

"Polo! No, wait, that's a different game," Moonlight mutters.

"Turn! Who is that I hear out there?" A stallion's voice calls, through the open door.

"Nopony!" shouts Up Turn. "Go back to the game."

"I'm a pony!" protests Moonlight.

"Game," Azure says flatly, eyes half-lidded.

"He's teaching my daughter to play chess," Up Turn replies, ignoring the sound of Azure’s hoof tapping the cobblestones. "Anyway, you can be on your way."

"Alright! Just don't hold up the gate guards. I'm expecting important guests today," the stallion's voice calls behind her.

"Ooo, guests. Is he having a party?" asks Moonlight.

"No, we're expecting delegates from Canterlot," Up Turn insists.

Azure Charger lets out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her face with a forehoof.

"There's a perfectly serviceable inn just a few miles down the road. You can stay there until you're needed."

"I'd be happy to," Silver Shine says, a wry smile on his face, "provided I receive recompense for my stay."

"I most certainly will not!" Up Turn fumes, incensed at the very idea.

Moonlight Meadows blinks, then sidles up to Azure. "She's kind of a grumpy pony, isn't she?" she murmurs.

"Par for the course," Azure mutters back.

"Is there a problem out there?" calls out the stallion from the back, while meanwhile, Up Turn sneers down at Moonlight.

"Do not take that tone with me, commoner! I have half a mind to—"

It’s at this moment that Azure Charger inhales deeply, then snaps to a crisp salute. "Azure of House Charger, reporting!" she shouts at the top of her lungs.

"Oh, good!" the stallion's voice calls in reply. "Show her in, Turn, would you?"

Moonlight sidles up to Silver. "Were we supposed to do that too?"

Up Turn looks like she just swallowed some bad hay, her face turned down into a frown, tail lashing this way and that. "Go ahead then."

Azure Charger grins at Up Turn as she passes, pleased as punch. Entering into the castle proper, she finds herself in a large audience chamber, meant for formally receiving guests. A stallion is there, presumably Sir Blueblood—a regal, refined looking sort of creature, adorned only with a well kept goatee and a tasteful hat. A tan coat and dark mane give him a rather common look, though the castle around him does much to fix that. At the moment, a chess board is balanced on a table beside him, with a very eager young filly sitting on the opposite site of it. The filly’s coat also a rich tan, but her mane shock white.

"Ah, hello! You must be Azure," he greets Azure Charger first, in a friendly tone, stepping up to her to kiss the top of her hoof. "Your reputation precedes you, ma fleur d'acier belle. Although, I don't think shouting is quite necessary."

Azure Charger stares at her hoof, unable to express her emotions. Bemusement perhaps. Or possibly just “what”.

Sir Blueblood looks to the others and smiles welcomingly. "And, Moonlight and Silver as well, if I'm not mistaken. You three have had a chance to meet?"

"Yes!” chirps Moonlight. “But we forgot about sharing names. I don't know why."

On the back of the dias, another unicorn mare is quietly reading while the other ponies play chest, though her rich, dark mane half-obscures her face from this angle. She turns her head up as they approach. It would be somewhat of an exaggeration to say that she's one of the prettier mares laid eyes upon, but not by a great deal, with delicate, fine-boned features and a thin profile. She wears a star-studded robe fashionable among young unicorn mares in the capital, and her hooves are tipped in silver-plated caps.


"These things slip one's mind,” offers Sir Blueblood. “In any case, I'm glad you're all here. Permit me to give introductions then, if it's slipped your collective minds. Azure Charger, Silver Shine, and Moonlight Meadows." The three of them share some murmured pleasantries. "I'm sure you've already compared notes, but I called you here because I have a curious sort of task that must be seen too. One that requires ponies of unique abilities. You were recommend to me."

"Oo! Oo! Who by?” asks Moonlight. “Was it Aunt Maple?"

"Mmm. Not at such~" he replies, with a somewhat amused, sing-song sort of voice. "You make an impression, young mare.” 

"My, that she does," says the dark-maned unicorn. She watches the group’s introduction, setting down her book.

“But, I suppose you've been on the road for a while,” continues Sir Blueblood. “Perhaps you'd care to get straight to business?"

Azure's head lifts back up as she rejoins the conversation. "Right. Let's."

"Permit me to introduce my niece, Dot Dash, and my court wizard, Virtue," he gestures to the filly and mare behind him, respectively. 

Virtue bends a knee, slightly—a bare minimum appropriate to the station of her guests. She then places a hoof on Dot Dash's back in a very familiar fashion. "Show some welcome to our guests, dear." Dot Dash hurriedly offers a curtsey to her guests. Moonlight Meadows waves back, grinning. Behind her, Balti yawns and lies down.

"The task I need you for should be fairly simple for ponies of your talents. Or at least, I hope it will be." Sir Blueblood returns to his chair before continuing. "You see, something quite curious has happened recently. A very strange creature came into the market town a few miles from here, attempting to sell a number of artifacts in exchange for gemstones. Relics that date back to the Castle of the Royal Sisters, and the old capitol. Pieces that had been thought lost.

"Presumably they were looted after the castle was destroyed. If so, whoever has them might know where a number of other relics that vanished during that confrontation has gone. Many items of great value were lost during that conflict. It would be quite the coup if they could be retrieved.

"Unfortunately, the guards I sent to acquire the items... well. There was a misunderstanding. Which quickly progressed to an altercation."

Azure cracks a wry smirk. "Mmm. I see."

"Now, the creature seems to have gotten the idea that I mean to steal the pieces,” continues Sir Blueblood, “and my attempts to purchase them have only resulted in my messengers being attacked and driven away from its home."

"So, uh…” Moonlight tilts her head to one side. “When you say creature... do you mean, like, a manticore or something?"

Sir Blueblood shrugs. "I've never seen it. But my guards described it as a giant, dog-like creature that walks on two legs. Apparently, they show up in town from time to time, always to trade metals and rare items for gems. Nopony knows much about them though. My guards managed to track the creature down to a cave a few days from the castle, but as I said, my attempts to make contact since then have gone badly.” Nudging his head to the unicorn at his side, he continues, "I would like you to join Virtue and Dot Dash, and retrieve the relics from the old castle. If you can convince the creatures to simply take payment for them, so much the better, but it imperative they be retrieved."

"Oh, so that's the filly," Moonlight murmurs to herself.

Azure Charger looks knowingly at Silver, and his battle saddle. "So, in other words, we're negotiators."

"Hopefully, yes," says Sir Blueblood flatly, with a nod. “Under other circumstances, I'd give the creature a few months to calm down and then try again, but are a few specific relics from the old castle that must be found. I don't want to take the chance that they'll be moved or resold. Ideally, they'll see that you're not one of my guards, and you can simply reason with them. If it comes to it though, you can simply take the relics and leave the gems in return." Moonlight Meadows frowns at that.

Virtue takes a step forward. "We're sure it will listen to reason when presented with suitable incentive."

"I suppose I get the court oversight," says Azure, motioning to Virtue, "but the filly too? This doesn't sound like a field trip."

"I'm a big pony! I can go on a real adventure too!" Dot Dash insists. And indeed, she has a namesake dot-and-dash cutie mark on her flanks, though clearly she’s a number of years from adulthood.

Sir Blueblood chuckles, and ruffles her mane with a hoof. "As Virtue says. Beyond that, my niece's special gift is communication magic. She will be able to relay what happens without your having to make the long trek back."

"The young lass is both eager and prepared,” says Virtue. “She will be no burden upon us. I am more than able to protect her from most dangers."

“Eyes and ears,” Azure mutters under her breath. “Fair enough.”

"And Balti can handle the rest! Can't you, dear?" Moonlight says, giving the kitty earscritches again.

"Mrrr," confirms Balti.

"Your cat is really cool," Dot Dash says in awe. She takes a few cautious steps closer.

"Thank you!" Moonlight says to Dot.

"Don't try to pet it, dear,” warns Virtue. “It's doubtless quite dangerous."

"It's not dangerous. It's cute," Dot Dash counters.

"She's both actually. But not to ponies." Moonlight Meadows blinks, looking upward at the ceiling. "I mean, she's cute to ponies, but not dangerous to ponies. And stuff."

"Mrrrrr."

"See?" Dot Dash grins and looks to her uncle. "Can I pet her?"

"No, Dot."

Dot Dash grumbles, and scuffs her hoof on the floor. Moonlight, meanwhile, twitches her tail and suppresses a smile.

"Do you have any questions, then?" Sir Blueblood asks the group.

"Yes. Where are we going?" asks Moonlight.

"There's little to tell, beyond that. As I said, my only interest in the relics are a few specific items. Beyond that, what's there is yours—or the gems that were meant to pay for them, if my theory about the relics is incorrect. Or," Sir Blueblood adds with a smile, "whatever you think the gem's value is."

Azure Charger frowns. "Incorrect? How... confirmed is this intel?"

"The item the creature attempted to sell would have been kept in a treasure vault in the Castle of the Royal Sisters. As I am told it only ever trades for gems, and the item is made of gold, it seems unlikely it would have come into it by barter." Sir Blueblood taps at his chin with a hoof. "My theory at the moment is that the creature took advantage of the castle’s destruction to pilfer its valuables. Ignoble, if not unanticipated.

"The items I'm looking for would have been kept in the same vault. Or, near it," he adds, after a moments thought, frowning. Still, it is possible that the creature came by the relic by chance. If so, we must learn where it acquired it."

"Mmm." Azure’s frown twitches slightly, as her gaze wanders to the wall. "Enough to merit investigation, then. Very well."

"Have you other questions,” asks Sir Blueblood, “or might I allow you to become introduced?"

Moonlight Meadows opens her mouth, thinks better of it, and closes it.

"I've all I need." Azure turns. "Silver Shine?"

"Indeed," he nods.

Sir Blueblood rises from his seat. "Well, I'll let you three, Virtue, and my darling niece get acquainted then. You may have the room for as long as you need it. I'm done with courtly business for the day in any case. If you need to recover from the road, you may consider yourselves guests here—and of course, Virtue can answer any of your other questions. A pleasure to meet you all," he says, making his way for the door, tugging Up Turn along with him. "Come along, Turn."

Azure Charger salutes on instinct. Sir Blueblood nods in return—and then the door shuts behind him. She slouches immediately. “Feh.”

Virtue steps forward, her shod hooves ringing like bells against the stone—likely deliberately, since she need not walk in quite that fashion—sweeping a hoof. "Virtue, as noted. I am personal attache to the lady Up Turn, and court wizard to Sir Blueblood."

"Um. And Dot Dash. As noted. I'm a wizard too! Just in training."

Virtue gives her mane a few loving strokes. "My sometime apprentice, before we can find her a more formal arrangement."

"Hi!" Moonlight says, to the filly. "I'm Moonlight Meadows, from Whitetail Woods. I'm a... um. It's hard to explain."

"...earth pony?" Dot Dash hazards, after a moments hesitation.

"Well. Yes. But that's not the hard to explain part."

Azure casts a curious eye on Moonlight again, before introducing herself. "Azure Charger, House Charger." After a moment, she offers, "Lancer First Class."

"That's really cool,” coos Dot Dash, awestruck at once. “I've never met a pegasus before. Mom says I shouldn't hang out with ponies who start fights."

"Surprisingly sage advice," Azure chuckles.

"Ah, House Charger,” says Virtue with a nod. “Your great-grandmother led the spearhead against King Platinum in the battle of Marehead Peak, did she not?"

Azure raises both eyebrows, taking fresh stock of Virtue. "Zephyr Charger, yes. You know your history."

"I make it a point to study such things. One might know the future of things by seeing whence it came." She shakes her head. "Truly tragic, the battle, but we are past such squabbles."

"And I am Silver Shine," he says, stepping out of the shadows of the other ponies with a slight smile. "Entrepreneur, accountant, and part time investigator. At your service of course."

"Your service is noted, Master Shine, and such a curious collection of services.” Virtue gives Silver a polite nod. "You investigate and account all on your own initiative. What, I wonder, do you account for in your investigations?"

"It's quite boring really," he says in a bemused tone. "Financial audits mostly."

"Indeed," Azure says, smirking at the battle saddle.

Virtue smiles, herself. "A freelance auditor. The treasure rooms of all Unicornia tremble at your coming."

"Rightly so."

Moonlight Meadows surreptitiously motions for Dot Dash to come on over while the others are talking about boring things. Dot Dash looks up at Moonlight, then trots over.

Virtue nods to Silver, paying no mind to the other conversation. "Perhaps it is that we will find ample use for your investigative talents going forward. And with a fine scion of the House of Charger at our vanguard I doubt many will lightly trouble us."

"That's the plan, it would seem." Azure glances out the window. "Speaking of, we've a few days travels ahead of us." She looks back at the party. "Hopefully just a few. We should set out before another day is lost to us."

"Ah, but you are a strong charger," Silver Shine says. "Not all of us are so used to travel across country. Let us rest a night in this fine castle, to properly prepare ourselves for the journey ahead."

She looks to Silver, frowning in thought, then sighing. "It seems it's as you say, then. No sense pushing them beyond their measure."

"They did not say that you were such a lovely mare, either.” Virtue smirks. “Why, you would fit seamlessly into Princess Celestia's own."

Azure looks at Virtue, her mouth flapping open and shut a few times. "Yes, mmm... Thank you."

Meanwhile, Dot Dash approaches Moonlight. "Hi."

"You wanna see if Balti will let you pet her?" Moonlight says, keeping her voice low, underneath Virtue’s conversation.

"Can I?" Dot Dash asks, trying not to show her excitement. She is not successful in her efforts.

"Mrrrr," Balti murmurs, turning around to lick her tail.

"We'll see. Balti?" Moonlight whispers, putting a hoof gently on the lion's head. "Would you let her pet you?"

Balti looks over at Dot Dash, eyeing the filly with the scruffy white mane and eager eyes. She reaches over with a great paw, pulling her in close.

"Eep!" Dot Dash squeaks in surprise, the guards in the corner of the room leaping to attention. Balti starts to groom Dot Dash's mane, licking down her wild strands of unkempt hair. "Oh, um. Okay. Help," she says, held in the lions powerful grip. "Help."

Moonlight Meadows sighs. "No, Balti, the other way around."

"Dot!" Virtue calls out, her manner shifting at once, the gracious host melting into a frightened, but determined mare. Her horn blazes with azure fire. "Release her at once, creature!"

"Mrrr!" Balti growls, letting go of Dot and retreating to a corner of the room to curl up.

Dot Dash stumbles to one side, her mane now lifted on one side in a massive cow-lick. Cat-lick. "Stop fussing! I'm fine. I had it totally under control!"

Virtue rushes over to Dot Dash and runs a hoof over her, looking for damage and fussing over her. She smooths the filly's mane with a rush of magic light, holding her close.

Moonlight Meadows sighs. "Miss Virtue. May I say something?" Virtue looks to Moonlight; Moonlight takes that as a yes. "That was exactly the wrong reaction. If Balti wasn't my friend and thus 'specially trained, that could have ended very badly."

"Precisely, Miss Meadows,” snaps Virtue, “which is why I will take it as a kindness if you reigned your companion in and did not tempt my apprentice into dangerous acts."

Azure Charger eyes Balti warily.

"I was fine!" Dot Dash protests. "She just gave me a hug and licked me a bit."

"Miss Virtue, there was no danger. Not until you provoked her.” Moonlight Meadows’s expression grows firm. “There is a good chance that we will run across wild creatures on this journey. In fact, I can guarantee it. It is critical that we understand that these creatures are not deadly, if handled right."

"And you're up to the task, I take it?" Azure asks, still looking to Balti.

Virtue puts Dot Dash aside, rising over Moonlight Meadows with an icy upturn of her chin. "I have made myself clear."

"Yes," Moonlight says, looking up at Virtue with a slightly sad expression on her face. "You have." She turns to Azure, and jerks her head in Balti's direction. "Yes. I am."

Dot Dash walks up to Moonlight’s side and offers a smile. "Don't be sad. There's no arguing with mom or Virtue when they get like this. They're super-overprotective."

Virtue cools, adjusting her mane and dusting her robe, as if to say she's moved on. "Well. I can show you where the guest quarters are, if you want?"

"Yes, please," she says, then heads for the door, giving the rat-a-tat of her hoof for Balti for heel, Azure and Silver close behind.
> Those Who Can't Sleep
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Azure does not have trouble sleeping. Unicorns and earth ponies just have trouble constructing a bed that isn't made of pebbles and sharp rocks stuck into a burlap sack.

When ponies talk about the many glorious achievements of the pegasus race, they rarely mention their superior bed and couch cushion technology. It's the sort of thing that's easy to forget. You know, up until the bed you were so kindly offered by your host keeps jabbing you in the back every three seconds.

To Azure's far left, Silver Shine snores like a saw—his natural talent for silence evidently not extending through his rest. Somehow, the noise wakes neither the other guests around her, nor Balti, who sleeps curled at the foot of her masters bed.

To her right, Dot Dash occupies the somewhat-more-prestigious master's space. She talks in her sleep it seems, muttering a constant stream of: "Beep... beep... beep..." It nicely harmonizes with Silver's snoring.

Azure Charger gets up off the bed, craning her head straight back, trying desperately to pop her back into alignment... and failing. Yeah, maybe getting out of bed was a good idea. She's not particularly a light sleeper, but everypony has their limits.

She's not sure exactly what time it is, save that it's probably morning by a technicality. The guest quarters have only arrow slits instead of windows, and the castle as a whole tampers with the flow of heat too much for her to tell by the temperature. The guest quarters are pretty dark in any case, the only light coming from the slitted windows and the sputtering remains of a candle by the courtyard door.

Azure heads for the doorway, leaving her armor behind for now. She exits into the courtyard, heading in the direction of the main gates while giving a few tentative stretches of her wings and legs in the process.

The courtyard is freezing. A unicorn would, of course, blame the pegasi for not wrapping up winter properly. Azure would probably put the blame on the unicorns for insisting on clear skies all night, like their stargazing was more important than trapping heat. Whomever is to blame, she can see her breath when she emerges into the courtyard and out under the starry sky. There's few ponies awake at this hour—just a few guards asleep in the stable, and two more by the gate, gathered around a torch and what looks like a pot of something hot.

As Azure stretches her legs, she hears a door open, torchlight briefly spilling out into the yard. Virtue emerges from the door to the castle kitchens on Azure's left, a small bag held in her teeth as she makes her way out. Even from a good five paces away, Azure can smell the bag.

It smells delicious.

Virtue is, in fact, looking rather pleased with herself. Like Azure, she's not yet wearing her silver caps or her robe, her sparkling gem cutie mark visible.

Azure smirks. "I didn't realize breakfast was served this early."

Virtue pauses in mid-trot, craning her neck around. "Ah," she mumbles around the bag, before lifting it onto her back. "Good evening, Miss Charger, I was merely..." She pauses a moment, considering a good excuse. "I'll cut you in if you never speak a word of this."

"To the cooks?” Azure teases. “Or to your fellow court members?"

"Depends how much you like cupcakes."

Azure Charger pauses and frowns, quickly eyeing the surrounding courtyard, years of guard training paying off for a quick surveillance. She coughs and beckons with a wing. "Cupcakes? What cupcakes?"

"Precisely," she motions her on, starting towards one of the gardens. Azure follows after Virtue, still stretching with each step.

At this time of night, a cloud house would be freezing. Nothing that can't be solved with a good blanket of course. Or, if you're really a traditionalist, toughing it out. But still... cold. Unicorns cheat, of course, which might explain why the air seems to grow warmer the closer they move towards the courtyard garden.

By the time they reach it, the flagstones are hot to the touch under Azure's hooves, and the air around them is pleasantly warm, even if traces of the chill air sometimes blow in from above. Beside them, a fountain trickles, breaking the silence of the night, and above, the stars glitter and shine, undimmed by firelight or cloud cover.

Virtue finds a nice bench to lay across, her horn glowing blue. Six little cakes topped with frosting come marching out of the bag. True to her word, she piles three up for herself, leaving the others on the bench directly across from hers. 

Azure grabs one of the "abandoned" cupcakes from the bench and dives in, in a manner... somewhat unladylike. In a few moments, all that remains is a smear of frosting on her cheek.

Virtue delicately nibbles one, hovering it in front of her as she watches Azure demolish her own

"You know," Azure says, licking idly at the frosting, "sweets this early—before morning drills—would really ruin my strict diet. Good thing we're not eating any."

"They would simply ruin my figure if I ate too many," she giggles, glancing around. She opens her mouth wide and takes a great bite. "Good thing there's none to be found."

"Indeed." She starts on her second.

"What brings you up at this hour, I'm curious?" asks Virtue.

"Partially habit. It's good to be loosened up before a mission such as this. And partially"—Azure cranes her wings back over her head and grunts—"well, let's just say loosening up will take some time."

Virtue hums. "I heard the snoring. I would not have imagined such a voice."

"Yes, well..." Azure snickers at first, but her face falls stoic as she looks at the cupcake wrapper in her hoof. "It's going to be a long few days... for everypony. For their sake, I hope they're well rested." She looks up to Virtue. "And you in turn."

Above the pair, perched upon the edge of the rooftop, an owl peers down at them, wide, golden eyes glinting in the torchlight. It takes a step sideways, then spreads its wings, and glides down, near silently, to land upon the bench besides Virtue.

"I will be,” Virtue says to Azure. "I habitually get up during the night, helps me sleep the rest of the..." She pauses, looking at the owl. "...morning."

"Who?"

"Me."

The owl blinks, then swivels its head to look at Azure. "Who?"

Azure scowls in response. "It's improper to barge into a conversation and ask others their name, you know."

The owl spreads wide its wings, as if to shrug, then freezes, pupils narrowing into an intense stare.

Virtue eats the rest of her first cupcake, levitating another. "I'm not giving a bird a cupcake. It would probably be unhealthy.”

The owl’s stare swivels to Virtue, and, despite the lack of expressive mouth or eyebrows, she manages to frown.

"Oh. Yeah." Azure glances at her remaining cupcake on the bench and picks it up. "Sure, that's probably right. Better safe than sorry."

"WHO WHO!"

"You, dear.” Virtue nibbles into her second. “We're not giving you any cupcakes. Dot Dash would never forgive me for killing a bird, I'm sure."

The owl flaps its wings for a moment, then narrows its eyes. For a moment, its chest expands, and then it lets out the loudest call it can possibly manage. "WHO WHO! WHO WHO! WHO WHO!"

"Dot Dash, she's my apprentice."

Wide-eyed, Azure shoves her cupcake into her mouth, to keep it safe... realizing a moment too late that it's still in its wrapper. She holds it in her mouth a moment, as she contemplates her course of action. She nudges Virtue in the side and hissed. "Vv-ruu, gaas hee va buu.”

"I beg your pardon?" Virtue shoves the rest of the second cupcake into her mouth. "Vu shoulvn' veet vith your mouth vull."

From across the courtyard, the rattle of a door in its frame can be heard, and after a few failed attempts, Balti manages to work the knob on the door to the guest quarters, letting herself out into the courtyard. She noses it shut behind her, making her way across the flagstones towards the garden at a measured pace. Making her way slowly up to the space between the benches, she parks himself between them. She seems less than pleased to be awake. "Mrrrr."

Azure Charger turns her attention to Balti's approach and, slowly, hesitantly, swallows the cupcake, wrapper and all. Now, pegasi are battle-hardened and warriors at heart. But eating paper is a bit much, even for an herbivore. Looking a bit green, Azure casts a furtive glance at the fountain behind her.

The owl blinks slowly, one eye following behind the other, as the cupcakes vanish. Then she hops off the bench and onto Balti's head, its back to the two ponies, rather pointedly.

Balti makes a show of licking her teeth, and raises a paw up towards the cupcake.

"Well, I'm certainly not giving one to you, either,” huffs Virtue. “I can't imagine what it'd do."

"Mrrr!"

"Who whoooo."

Virtue lifts her third one overhead in her glowing aura, out of reach. Refusing to be outdone, Balit crawls up onto the bench to try to reach higher, with the owl still balanced on her back. "Fluffy vandals!" Virtue shouts, taking a step back. She considers the threats arrayed against her, and then, shutting her eyes, she stuffs the whole cupcake into her mouth, smearing frosting on her face, letting the wrapper drift back down.

Balti looks between the two ponies, her expression, disdainful at the best of times, perfectly conveying: “And I got out of bed for this?” The owl, meanwhile, snaps her head around, eyes zeroing in on Virtue's frosting-covered face.

"Virtue? That, uh..." Azure struggles to swallow. "That bird's sure giving you the evil eye." She reaches up to wipe the frosting from her face, only succeeding in staining it further into her coat.

"Evidently she has enlisted Miss Meadow's feline in attempting to rob me of my prize."

The owl takes a couple steps around, body turning while the head remains still, then spreads her wings. With a single wingbeat, she goes from Balti's head to Virtue's horn, talons latching on as if it were a branch.

"AH!" Virtue waves her hooves. Flails, really.

Balti, her task done, slinks off into the garden to curl up next to the fountain. The owl stands there for a moment, then swings down to scrape frosting off of Virtue's face with its beak. Azure Charger, for her part, scrubs more vigorously at her face, keeping a safe distance.

Normally, Virtue would just pull the bird off, but unicorns cannot grasp objects directly adjacent to their horns. Along with football, long division, and ear rubs, it's one of the Four Secret Weaknesses of the unicorn race. She normally uses earth ponies for all four of those things.

The bird, for its part, refuses to be dislodged, hanging on with a solid grip. Soon, it has neatly picked the tasty, tasty frosting off of Virtue's face, leaving her with only one or two little nips on the cheek worse for wear.

Virtue lights up her horn, fuming at the bird. "Dot Dash will just have to find it in her heart to absolve me." The owl has just a moment to bite at Virtue's ear, before Virtue blasts at her with a Color Spray.

Usually, casting that spell on a small animal results in it stumbling around blind and dazed for the next several minutes, at least. This particular bird however, neatly scrambles down Virtue’s back and away—and in the process, gives her a lesson on the dangers of casting an area of effect spell right next to her own head.

Azure has never seen a unicorn get blinded by the light from their own horn before. That must happen in mornings a lot… Looks painful.

"Agh!" She stumbles, rubbing vigorously at her eyes.

Azure Charger tries really hard not to laugh. It would be cruel and spiteful. Really, she tries. The owl joins in with its own mirthful hoots, before taking wing and disappears into the castle shadows. Spots dance in front of Virtue’s eyes for a good seven or eight seconds before they manage to clear, and when they do, there's no sign of the cursed owl. One could imagine it was never there, were it not for the scratches on her cheek and Azure laughing so hard it seems she might cough up the wrapper she ate.

Virtue says nothing. She crumples the bag and remaining discarded paper into a ball. "Never happened." She turns, and walks away, miffed.

It is at this point that Moonlight chooses to walk into sight, her big, fluffy, pink mane standing out even in the torchlight. She stops, looking quizzically from unicorn to pegasus.

Azure Charger wipes a few tears from her eyes, in time to notice Virtue departing. Flinching, she trots to catch up. "Yeah... sorry about that. Owls can be particularly vicious if they don't get what they want."

Virtue brushes right past Moonlight. "Evidently."

"Owls?" asks Moonlight.

She looks aside to Moonlight. "Long and completely secret story." She chases after Virtue. "Those scrapes look a bit rough. I've got a first aid kit, if..."

Virtue pauses, as she persists after her, looking down slightly. "All right. Thank you."

Moonlight Meadows tilts her head. "What's that on your cheek, Azure?"

"Some damned bird gave me scratches," she says, slicing a hoof across the ground hotly, looking like she very much doesn't want to talk about it.

Azure winces at Virtue, then turns back to Moonlight. "I was eating some cupcakes, when that bird came after us. When I didn't share, and Virtue tried to shoo it away, well..." Her ears fall limp as she looks at Virtue, mumbling something that vaguely sounds apologetic.

Virtue sighs, making a sort of courtly gesture. "It's all right, Miss Charger. I did not ask for help. I should have."

Azure Charger tries to straighten up to a crisp posture, but she looks as if she's having trouble carrying her own weight. "You shouldn't have needed to."

"No, no, I can admit to my own pride. You would have had no idea I would have so much trouble with it."

A hesitant smile returns. "I suppose so." Azure nods toward Moonlight. "You missed the fireworks earlier. Virtue was letting loose a wide array of magics to spook the foul thing."

"Persistent beast, next time I should just cook it," Virtue grumbles.

Moonlight blinks rapidly, then tilts her head. "Do you have picky dogs or something?"

Azure Charger blinks back. "Dogs?"

"I only ever heard of one dog that insisted his meat be cooked. But nobody really knew how, so he just had to live with it, or become a vegetarian."

Virtue looks at her, skeptically. "So I see."

In the stables, a very quiet munching can be heard. It seems the guards found popcorn somewhere. Though, when Azure glances their way, they are all suddenly preoccupied or asleep. Azure glares daggers in that direction, just to be extra super sure her intentions are clear.

"What was that about cupcakes?"

Azure Charger coughs, feeling a sudden scratchiness on the back of her throat.

"I…” Virtue shuffles a hoof. "Fetched some cupcakes from the kitchen. And shared them with Azure."

Moonlight Meadows’s eyes light up. "Oooooo... Where are the kitchens?"

"That way." She points a hoof. It's not far to the kitchen doors, and from the light spilling out, somepony is still working inside. "I need to get my face patched up, though."

Azure nods, remembering herself. "Right." She takes a step toward the barracks and stops short. "Unless, well..." She rubs the back of her neck and looks skyward. "Herbs and bandages are great for healing and all, but so's a positive mindset." She looks back and forth between Virtue and Moonlight. "Perhaps... just one more cupcake apiece..."

Virtue pauses, rubbing her hoof against the flagstones. "...very well.” She smiles.

Moonlight flicks her tail, the motion almost catlike, then trots around to get a better look at Virtue's face. After a moment's consideration, she reaches up with her right left-forehoof, the one with a wooden horseshoe, to boop Virtue on the nose. 

The healing powers of nose boops are well documented.

Virtue blinks, touching her face. "...one day you must explain to me the fullness of your powers, Miss Meadows."

Moonlight Meadows wiggles her left ear—which has a small notch in it—and grins. "Ancient Earth Pony Secrets. Now. About those cupcakes."

Virtue leads the way, her dark tail lifted a little more proudly. "Indeed, ladies. Let us see about ruining our appetites."



	

Even so late at night, the kitchen is hot—sweltering, even, a coal-fueled often and stove still running. A half-dozen figures work here, preparing dough and frosting, setting more involved and complex dishes to rest for the night. It would be odd under the best of circumstances to find a kitchen where the staff keeps such odd hours, but this place is odder still, for all the ponies working each station appear rather much the same: a sky-blue stallion, with a cutie mark depicting a herd of galloping pony outlines.

"Hello, Virtue!" one of them calls when he spots her coming in through the door, the other two behind her. "Back for more already?"

"I've come back to treat my companions," she announces, as if it were some magnanimity instead of her also wanting to stuff her face again.

“You know," Azure murmurs, "I'd sort of expected this mission to require a bit more… discretion."

"Oh, there's no hiding things from Herd Think," says Virtue. "He will be discrete, however, except among himself of course."

"Discretion is not mentioning how often Virtue comes down here to borrow a thing or two,” Herd Think says, with a bit of a smile—all the stallions in the room smirking faintly. "Although, her figure can evidently withstand it."

Virtue stamps a hoof, making an indignant huff. Though she doesn't seem too angry. "I am in fantastic shape for a mare of my age and inclination, thank you."

"Just a moment, I'll make something for you."

"Sure," Azure says, pointing to the nearest stallion, "maybe he'll agree to stay quiet, but..." She motions to the other stallions in the room, but trails off slightly at the end.

"What's discretion?" Moonlight asks, having trotted over to one of the stallions to peer quizzically at his cutie mark.

"Your companions seem slow on the uptake," says Herd Think. "Mmm. Uptake. Cupcake. There's a pun there somewhere." He ponders the matter, as he passes some unfinished cupcakes over for frosting.

By the look on Azure's face, clearly the gears are turning. Trying to, at least.

The stallion who Moonlight is sniffing looks back at her. "...can I help you?"

Moonlight Meadows trots over to another one of them, eyes narrowed, and takes a sniff of his mane. He smells like cheap shampoo. And garlic! Maybe he's worried about vampony attacks. 

"Okay, um… Is this an earth pony thing?" Herd Think asks, leaning over to sniff Moonlight's mane too. You know. To be polite.

Moonlight Meadows trots to the side and sniffs this one's mane too.

"I think she may be earthier than most," muses Virtue.

"Is that why she smells like peat and bird feathers?"

"I'm going to say yes and pretend I didn't hear that." Virtue shudders.

Moonlight looks at the group of stallions. "You're all the same pony, aren't you?"

"Mmhmm!" he says, a few of the ponies in the room nodding as well. "I'm no wizard like Virtue or Up Turn, but Duplication spells have always been my special talent."

"Oh." Azure Charger blinks and jolts slightly. "Magic. Yes, of course." Barely audible, she mumbles under her breath. "Not quintuplets. Right."

"I was very lucky Sir Blueblood found me, really,” continues Herd Think. “Back home, ponies didn't care for it. They'd feel slighted if I was doing more than one thing at once, like I wasn't paying them full attention. Which is understandable I suppose." He sets about frosting a tray of cupcakes for them. "He said I had a rare talent and offered me a job here. He seems to have a bit of an eye for rare talent though. A lot of ponies with that description here. Including Virtue, of course. You as well, I'd hazard."

Moonlight Meadows nods, one ear flicking in Azure's direction. "Back home, everybody had to learn to do three things at once, and then talk as well."

"I should hope my talents are self-evident," Virtue says, running a hoof through the hair draped over the left side of her face.

Azure Charger stares at Virtue as she brushes her hair, eyebrow furrowing slightly. "Uh..."

Herd Think seems to consider interrupting, but decides against it, grinning as he starts to box up the finished cupcakes. "Care to render a guess?"

Moonlight trots over, looking at Virtue for a bit, head tilting side to side. "Your talent is looking pretty?" she says, puzzled.

"Your talent is looki—" Azure stops short.

Virtue tilts Moonlight's chin up with her hoof. "Dazzling, dear."

"Hmmmm... I don't know,” says Moonlight. “I've seen dazzled ponies, but usually only after a big lightning bolt or a firebug flare-up."

"Altogether a different sort entirely." Virtue tilts the smaller mare's head this way and that. "Have you ever considered doing anything with your hair? We won't really have the opportunity to do anything special with it while we're on the move, but I could always give it a try... a wash, certainly…”

Moonlight tries to nod her head, but given it's in Virtue's grasp, she doesn't really succeed. "Pearl Necklace kept getting hold of it when I was her sort-of-neighbor. She gave up after she broke three combs to get it just right, and then saw me after I did my usual daily things."

"My combs don't break very readily. Then again, I also cheat outrageously." Virtue smiles. "A few days on the road and I think we'll all need a refresh. Unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony alike."

"Kay." Moonlight Meadows turns away and starts nosing at the cupcakes.

"Get away from there! Shoo!" Herd Think pushes her away, just about finished making a box for the cupcakes out of carefully folded paper.

Azure Charger clears her throat, polite. "Even with the full entourage, we shouldn't be gone long. At most a week. I'm sure that proper pampering could be put on hold until then."

"Fair enough," sighs Virtue. "A week of roughing it shall not kill me, though I'm sure it'll try."

Moonlight Meadows backs up a couple steps, blinking. "And with pegasususes along, we can always take rain showers."

"There's that," Azure says, chuckling at Moonlight.

Virtue blinks. Then giggles.

"That always seemed suspect to me,” Herd Think says, frowning. “Maybe I don't see the appeal in bathing in something another pony just put their hooves in. Though I suppose she could just wash her hooves first."

He levitates the cupcakes into the box one at a time, until a full dozen are inside, folding up the top quietly. "Here you go, Virtue. A dozen. That should last you and your friends the night, and a few for the road."

Virtue pecks him on the cheek. "You are a prince, Herd Think, a prince among pegasi." It's a little odd to see a half-dozen stallions all blush at once and look in Virtue's direction. Well, maybe she's used to it, when she walks into a room. She “happens” to brush one of them with her tail when she collects the box, her hindquarters swaying on the way out.

Azure Charger arches an eyebrow.

"Uh... good night!" he manages, after she's long out of the room, just as Moonlight and Azure are making their way out.

Outside, the night has grown no warmer, but it's probably a relief, after so long in the kitchen. Besides, after three rich cupcakes each, Azure and Virtue probably have some energy to spare.

"I thought he was among unicorns?" asks Moonlight.

Virtue shifts her head side-to-side. "Unicorn princes often leave something to be desired, truth be told. Of course, strictly speaking, pegasi don't have princes, so it's something of a double compliment.” 

Azure opens her mouth a moment, before thinking better and closing it. "I... see."
“Incidentally, that which you just witnessed is a small part of my special talent," she says, amusement on her face. "And one that I hope is appreciated!"

"Well, it should seem that your talents will be of most use to the group," Azure adds, pointing with her muzzle at the box.



	

The cupcakes are, it must be observed, quite good.

The audience chamber is abandoned this late at night, and while it may not technically be sound for Virtue to sneak into her liege lord's court late at night to sit in his chair and eat cupcakes… well. He probably wouldn't mind.

Inside, it is warm, and the odds of owl attack are considerably reduced, the three able to enjoy the cupcakes in peace. However, all is not as well as they might have first thought. Some of them are coconut and there's no clear way to distinguish which is which other than to bite into one abruptly. As Virtue just did.

 "So, since none of us appear able to sleep," she says, nibbling around the edge, "t'would seem a proper hostess would inquire after her guests. How are you enjoying the stay at the castle?"

Azure very carefully and deliberately peels the paper off her cupcake, sets it neatly aside on the chair next to her, then inhales the cupcake. The sound of a pony inhaling a cupcake is a strange one, but may be reasonably approximated as "snarf."

"Well", Azure chuckles, "the vittles—which if anypony asks, never existed, what we have tomorrow morning is all that existed—are actually quite tasty."

Moonlight Meadows nods, the paper from her first cupcake neatly covering her snout; she does not use her hooves to eat them at all.

“The accommodations, well..." Azure says with a glance to Moonlight, "we might be more 'in our element' on the road, so to speak."

"I confess pegasi beds are hard to come by,” says Virtue. “It's difficult to get the clouds to stick together just right. I'm sure the Knight wouldn't have minded you building your own temporary one."

"Yes, well, no need to pester anypony for only one night's stay." Azure frowns slightly and sets her cupcake aside. "If I may speak earnestly? I'm a touch surprised with your demeanor, Virtue. You seem very..." She trails off, fumbling for the right word. "...open-minded. Many ponies of your station, in my experiences, are more cloistered in their beliefs."

Virtue considers her answer, along with the coconut. Where does one even find it this time of year, she wondered… "Some ponies would like to believe, even after a hundred years, that Celestia's New Order changes nothing."

Moonlight Meadows snorts, causing a few cupcake papers to go floating away.

"In theory, they are correct,” Virtue continues. “Unicorns are still unicorns, pegasi are still pegasi, and earth ponies are still earth ponies. No amount of harmonious relations will permit me to cloudwalk and no amount of hope will give a pegasus a horn." 

Virtue pushes the cupcake away, slicing it in half and offering the uneaten part to Azure. "When I was a little filly I had a friend who was a pegasus, and my father, Authority, informed me in the strictest terms that I was not to associate with him any more. Instead of obeying him, I took him with me to a dance in town."

Azure Charger listens on, vaguely aware of grasping the offered half. She frowns. "Why?"

"Because I was a little filly and I thought he was very, very cute. Which he was, of course.” She titters. "Oh I pretended like I was doing him a favor. But you know how little girls can be."

Moonlight Meadows giggles. "Also, she was rebelling against Authority."

Azure Charger smirks in spite of herself.

"Succinct." Virtue smiles. "When we arrived, the other ponies jeered, and said some very unkind things to poor Straight Shot." Moonlight Meadows nods, knowingly. "I, however, made sure he didn't run away. I danced with him, shared my punch with him, let him walk me home. He left that day feeling like a knight."

Virtue finishes her half. "I had a sore bottom for three weeks and no pastries for twice as long."

Azure thinks, her cupcakes sitting untouched. "Had you gone with a unicorn, your father would not be cross, and your friend would have been saved his harrowing embarrassment. Was it worth it?" She tilts her head. "For you? For him? And your father?"

"Mm!" Moonlight mumbles, then swallows. "It was only embarrassing to start with, but he left feeling good. I remember that part."

"Mmm..." Azure looks out the window.

"Was it worth it? He couldn't show his face for a time and I was punished. Father was humiliated in front of all his peers. All we got out of it was one night of fun." Virtue considers the remaining cupcakes, now that the others have had their fill, and places the lid over the box. She folds her hooves, one over the other. "But it was worth it, to me, and to him."

Azure Charger turns back to look at Virtue. She pauses a moment, then shakes her head. “I see. As I said, Miss Virtue, you are quite open-minded on these matters."

"I never did say what I did was particularly smart or wise, even for a young filly," Virtue says, smiling.

Azure smiles back. "That's fair to say, I suppose. Matters of the heart being what they are." She chuckles.

"Is the Prince married?" Moonlight asks, her face covered in the detritus of her cupcakes.

"Sir Blueblood," Virtue says, with a very minimal emphasis on the title, "is as yet unbetrothed."

"I should imagine not. His greeting this afternoon was rather..." Azure frowns, looking at her hoof. "Familiar."

Moonlight Meadows flicks her tail, a smirk on her face.

"Truly,” chimes Virtue. “But tell me, Miss Charger. A proud scion of a fine House, come calling to a unicorn's castle to embark on a quest at his behest. You seem rather open-minded yourself."

Azure Charger's ears twitch slightly at Virtue's question, and she pauses a moment before answering. "Indeed. Typically our orders—Blueblood and Charger—would not interact so directly. However, the nature of the mission was brought to our attention." Azure Charger looks to Moonlight. "Of the relics in question."

Moonlight Meadows blinks slowly. "Uuuuh-huh."

Azure gives a formal nod. "Simply put, House Charger is honored to be called up for such a task. Assuming," she adds with a frowns, "that it is as Prince Blueblood stated in his missive."

"And you the dashing representative thereof,” says Virtue. “It's almost like the story books: Shake the spears and flash the banners, the noble pegasus champion rides forth, her hooves and armor flashing in the rising sun..."

"And then the dragon burns off all her hair!" Moonlight says with a smile.

Virtue smirks, arching an eyebrow. "I believe that's a drinking song. I could be mistaken."

"Eeeeyup."

From Azure, Virtue gets a nod, and Moonlight a chuckle. "It is my honor to have been chosen, to represent my house and my Princess."

Virtue pauses. "It's a very uncommon pegasus who adds the latter," she observes.

Azure smiles disarmingly. "Ah, but are we not all Princess Celestia's little ponies? It is only proper that House Charger would answer the call."

"I have always thought so."

"Quite so.” Azure nods. “It is my sincere hope that the Princess sees fit to trust my House wholeheartedly. Should my actions bring this to pass, t'would truly be an honor."

"Well-spoken as well, you have a plethora of talents." Virtue looks to Moonlight Meadows, curiously; Moonlight blinks and returns the look.

"Yes, err, a plethora. I do... most certainly have..." She notices the staring contest that has emerged.

Virtue holds the look, propping her forelegs up on the table and resting her chin on her hooves. Moonlight Meadows mirrors the motion. Moonlight stays stock-still, the only motion that of her tail—which, every so often, flicks in a manner rather reminiscent of an entirely different animal. Virtue narrows her eyes.

Azure, confused by the exchange, reaches aside for another cupcake. As her hoof connects with nothing, she looks down and realises they've been put away.

“I knew it," says Virtue. "You are completely depraved."

"What's depraved?" Moonlight asks.

"Darn. She is very good." Virtue smiles at Azure. "I couldn't tell for a moment if she was actually in a staring contest or if she was just gazing in my general direction for a moment."

Azure Charger nods back. "Indeed. Her subtle nature is quite depraved."

"Oh, that was just me trying to get a rise out of her." Virtue turns to face her. "So, Miss Meadows. That brings us to the delightful question of where it is that you come from?"

Azure also shifts in her seat to face Moonlight fully. "I too have been wondering about our curious little one."

Moonlight Meadows shuffles herself about, gathering her hooves underneath her and taking a moment to lick her face clean of frosting. Including the area above her eyes. "There's three answers to that question."

"The first answer is about three day's walk thataway," she says, pointing with her tail in the general direction of the road. "But that's not the one you want. The other answer is that I was born in Tall Tale. And my parents still live there. As did Pearl Necklace. But the third answer and the real one is Whitetail Woods."

"Your opinion on the theory of answer discretion is fascinating. All three are equally interesting, however…” Virtue rests her head on a hoof. “Why do you name the final one as the Whitetail Woods?"

Moonlight turns her eyes up towards the ceiling, her gaze roving over the unicorn construction to rest upon a point completely unremarkable from everything else—save for that the moon is on the other side. "I was born in Tall Tale. But I grew up in the woods." She pauses for a moment, still staring. "I went to a ball there, once."

"In the Woods or in Tall Tale?"

"The Woods. I boogied with bears, birds, beavers, and badgers, danced with deer, dogs, and diamondbacks, and sang with the swallows and skunks."

Azure scratches her head. "...undoubtedly unique," she offers.

"I remember my dress was made of flowers and my tiara was made of bark," Moonlight continues. "It didn't work so well when I brought the bears to the harvest festival. But that same night I also climbed to the top of the tallest tree and remembered a poem a pony poet said over a night of pumpkin pie. So I said it to the moon."

"Ah! Perhaps, err..." Azure looks to Virtue "you'd like to tell it to us?"

Moonlight Meadows nods. "I can do that. But you've gotta say it to the moon. She likes it."

"Moonlight indeed," Virtue murmurs. "Also the meadows."

Azure nods, then freezes. "Wait, 'you'? As in..."

Moonlight Meadows shoves herself off her seat, landing on the stone floor with a four-footed "clop," and makes her way to the courtyard. Azure looks back at Virtue and shrugs helplessly, before following after Moonlight. Virtue rises as well, the box balanced on her back

In the time since the three awoke, the moon has made its way towards its zenith, visible now over the castle walls. It's a full moon tonight—the distinctive pattern of craters that form the shape of an alicorn's head standing out clear in the cloudless sky. They say the sun is similarly adorned, though looking to check may be ill advised.

"Mrrr." Balti lazily unfolds from her resting place, as Moonlight rat-a-tat's her hoof on the courtyard stones, calling Balti over. She nuzzles the cat, then turns around thrice and sits, eyes locked on the moon.

And with a breath, she begins.

"'Tis Moonlight, summer Moonlight, all soft and still and fair;
The solemn hour of midnight Breathes sweet thoughts everywhere,
But most where trees are sending Their breezy boughs on high,
Or stooping low are lending A shelter from the sky.
And there in those wild bowers A lovely form is laid;
Green grass and dew-steeped flowers wave gently round her head."

Azure scratches the back of her neck. "That was... pretty nice I guess. Poetry's not usually my thing, but that had some nice..." She draws a blank. "Words."

Virtue narrows her eyes, looking at Moonlight, then up at the moon. "Do you speak to the moon...often, Moonlight?"

"She likes songs and poems," the pony says by way of answer. "Songs especially, but I'm not that good at singing."

"Does she."

"Well, I think she does,” Moonlight says. “She can't actually speak back."

Azure Charger rubs her chin. "So your special talent is... talking to the moon?"

Moonlight giggles. "That would be silly. Anypony can talk to the moon!" She shakes her head, and then nuzzles Balti again. "My special talent is more to do with her. And the bears and the plants and the earth and the water."

Azure blinks. "Right... Well, I mean, err... Your friend there, Balti I think? She at least looks like she can, um... keep you safe? Given it's a long three days of travel, and such."

Moonlight Meadows looks at Azure for a moment, then reaches a hoof into her mane, and comes out with very roughly crafted wooden pony, which she shows to the two of them. "I'ma show you something."

"Oh dear. That is very unhygienic," Virtue says, squirming her hooves and patting her own hair.

Azure blinks at the statue, more perturbed by the fact that she's getting more used to Moonlight’s mane storage than the doll itself.

Moonlight holds the doll in the cup of her hoof, then, sitting upon her rear so as to free up her other hoof, starts fiddling with the head. It's not quite possible to see what she's really doing, but a moment later, the pony is glowing, bright enough to rival the torches on the courtyard walls. There's a faint shimmer on the doll's surface, reminiscent of... something. She puts the doll down upon the courtyard floor, and nods. "See? Firebugs."

Virtue gazes at her closely. "Would that I had a gift for Divination at all," she murmurs.

Azure lowers her head to floor level, squinting as best she can at the bright figure. "...Firebugs?" It's a question in technicality only.

"Yes."

"...huh. Well, then." Azure stands back up, her hoof finding its way to the back of her neck once again. "That's certainly... impressive. For an earth pony, no less. Wouldn't you say, Virtue?"

"Verily." Virtue puts a hoof forward. "Perhaps you could explain."

Moonlight shakes her head to the side. "I could maybe explain sort of in a way but it would be kinda hard."

"I am accounted reasonably clever,” Virtue says with a calming smile. “Perhaps you could try?"

"Okay. I asked the wood to pretend it was a swarm of firebugs, and it agreed."

Virtue looks almost... offended. More like she's scrunching her face up. "Who in the wood are you asking?"

Moonlight Meadows blinks. "Not, like, a wood made of lots of trees, but just the wood the doll is made of."

Azure Charger’s own face scrunches up.

Virtue patiently rephrases. "No, dear, who in the wood did you ask to pretend? The wood in your hoof."

Balti shrugs. Moonlight Meadows turns to Balti and says, "I told them it would be hard."

"I mean," Azure offers, "you're not lying." She points to the doll. "You're clearly talking with... somepony. Guess it's an earth pony thing."

Moonlight shakes her head. "Except not really because this time I didn't have to say anything, and that's just the simplest way to put it, but I didn't ask anypony or anyone in the wood. Just the wood."

Virtue rocks back on her heels, so to speak. "Well. This has been a fascinating night, ladies."

"That's safe to say," Azure agrees.

"Perhaps we should all get to bed, we do have somewhere to be in the morning." Virtue looks thoughtful. “I may want to send out... well, never mind."

"Kay."

"Aye, that we do.” Azure nods. “No sense burdening ourselves further with exhaustion. Perhaps our companions have stopped with their snores and beeps."

Azure's optimism proves unjustified. However, at the least, they do sleep a bit easier—and come morning, each of them has been left something for the road. Moonlight, a cookie with a crescent moon on top in frosting, Azure, some light and fluffy pastry, and Virtue, a cupcake with the most exquisite frosting, perfectly depicting an owl and its upraised wings.
	

> No Viseetors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"—was always good at using my horn to make really bright lights flash really fast and make buzzy sounds, and I'd use it all the time because living in a castle is super boring so there was nothing to do but bug the other foals and my mom and uncle. So one day my uncle was trying to teach me math and I kept flashing all the answers over because it was easy and it really annoyed mom and I was hoping she'd leave so we could play chess, when I realized my cutie mark had appeared! And uncle said it was my special talent, and I was all, 'Annoying mom is my special talent? That's great!' and mom looked really unhappy. But it turns out my special talent is messages! You can say a lot with just a few signals. Like, hello is beep beep beep beep! And look over there is beep beep beep beep beep beep beep. But you hear how the other beeps are shorter—"

Thus has been the last two days. Constantly. The filly does not appear to need to breathe.

And so, it is likely with a measure of relief that the herd comes across the final landmark that indicates they have arrived at their destination: a large boulder, the words "NO VISEETORS" written on it with truly atrocious hoofwriting and spelling. The helmet of one of Blueblood's guards is by the base, dented and chipped, along with a messengers bag. There seems to be a large clearing just beyond the rock.

"Good thing we're messengers and not visitors!" chirps Moonlight.

"I'm not sure messengers are that welcome, either..." muses Azure. She runs her hoof along the helmet’s surface, claw marks scratched deep into the metal. "Best be on the lookout, then."

Virtue turns the helmet over, tsking slightly. For all that she seems city-bred and unused to the country, Virtue has made no complaint over the journey, though she has been somewhat aloof and kept to herself. Gracious and charming, she nevertheless seems quite focused on the goal.

As the herd advance through the forest, the clearing widens in front of them. The trees are thick here, and the illumination dim, but they can still make out the entrance to a large cave in the distance, and an area in front of it that has been cleared.

The forest animals are oddly silent, as the ponies spy the cave mouth—and Dot Dash sneaks up around Azure Charger's side. "Cool. I wonder if it's like, a cave troll. Only a dog."

"Maybe!" says Moonlight. "But things like this are kind of suspicious of ponies because ponies tend to want to steal their gems and stuff. So try not to make an aggressive motions."

"Can't imagine why they feel that way..." Azure deadpans, eyeing Virtue's outfit.

Dot Dash looks around the group. "So. Um... what do we do now then?"

"Suppose we should scout it out. Wait here." With that, Azure takes to the skies.

"Miss Meadows." Virtue turns to her. "Have you a means of investigating what may lie about us?"

Moonlight Meadows is doing... something. It appears to be an odd dance—very specific hoof movements, along with a strange, hummed tune.

There's a reason Moonlight hates casting this spell. Birds. "Hey! Hey! Hey, over here! Hey! Hey!" Just... constantly.

"We should be cautious for a trap." Silver Shine says in a low voice.

Meanwhile, ahead, Azure is able to get a better look around the cave mouth. The area has obviously been artificially cleared of brush and wood, although she's not sure why, since there's nothing here. The cave mouth is wide, and it obviously runs deep. She thinks she sees some motion on the hill above—

When something atop the hill throws an unreasonably large rock at her, the projectile striking off her shield and knocking her off her flight plan.

Virtue casts Mage Armor at once, her horn flaring.

Azure really needs to get proper wing guards! That smarts.She falls to the ground, and in the process, loses sight of whatever threw the rock. "Yeah," she says, answering Silver, "about that."

Moonlight finishes her chatter with the birds and rejoins the group. "Hokay then. Something likes throwing rocks." She then turns, looking around to see what other animals might be in the area. She spots quite a few birds, a flying squirrel, and a beehive. She wisely ignores the beehive—insects are very hard to talk to, even with special talents. She instead picks the squirrel, taking a few cautious steps towards it and calling out with a series of chitters.

"Indeed," muses Virtue.

"Go away!" a scratchy voice shouts, something overtop the cave throwing another rock. This rock is considerably less accurate though, landing a few yards to Azure's left.

"Keep back, Miss Charger. Let us stay out of reach for now." Azure doesn't need to be told twice.

Squirrels are very friendly creatures, if a little hyperactive, and Moonlight has barely said hello to this one before it's jumped down out of its tree to say hello to her—running around her, leaping onto her back, and hiding under her mane, chitting all the while. From somewhere, it produces an acorn and offers it to her. Moonlight chitters back, and takes the acorn, her tail taking on a very squirrel-like shape.

"Hail the camp," Virtue calls ahead, letting Moonlight and Silver attend to their means of information gathering.

Moonlight and the squirrel continue to chitter at each other—Moonlight making little nose and tail wiggling motions.

"I should learn to speak squirrel," Dot says, awestruck. "It seems really useful."

Silver Shine mutters, "Let's try something a little more direct," in the general direction of Moonlight and the squirrel. He also takes wing, this time heading up through the treetops.

Nothing like a little altitude to shed some light on the situation. From high above the treetops, cruising as silently as a night owl, Silver Shine can see the whole of the area surrounding the cave. He can also see the strange, ugly creature squatting above the cave—a pile of rocks for throwing next to it. It's something between a dog and a goblins, dressed in a filthy vest stuffed full of shiny things. It obviously has not seen Silver.

"We know you are there," Virtue calls. "We did not miss the rock you threw."

"Go away!" the voice shouts again. "No ponies here!"

"They said 'hello' with a boulder. I'm not expecting much civility here." Azure massages the base of her wing.

"Indeed," Virtue says to her, "but we must at least try, for the sake of peace. Let us await Silver Shine's report."

The squirrel nods at Moonlight, and then scampers back into its tree.

"What did he say?" Dot Dash asks.

"They like to pop out of holes and throw rocks at ponies. Also there are rock flats on top of the hill that could stop them from doing the whole pop out of holes, thing." Moonlight  turns to Balti, and her body language changes—suddenly much more aloof and confident.

"Mrrrr." Balti says, slinking off into the bushes.

Azure Charger frowns. "Whatever 'they' are, we can't get closer without risking more boulders. Not sure I'm liking the sound of these 'holes' either, though... But it might be worth it, if we can draw 'it' off the ledge"

Moonlight rubs her chin. "I could get up and behind him or them or whatever. Probably. I don't think they'd care about a bird."

Azure blinks. "A bird? More pets, then?"

"Uuuuuhhhh... no."

"Do you know how many there are?" asks Virtue. 

Moonlight shakes her head. "No. The squirrel said 'dogs,' but there could only be one right now."

The other ponies are willing to sit around and strategize, but Silver Shine is a pony of action. He will move into range for a ranged attack with his crossbows.

As the party is considering what to do next, they hear the distinctive thunk-thunk of two crossbows discharging. Though they cannot see where the bolts land, Silver Shine does, the creature up on the hill stumbling away as one gives it a rather close shave and a nick on the ear.

"We're under attack!" the dog screams at the top of its lungs, before burrowing down into the hill and vanishing to sight. From inside the cave, the sound of a wailing alarm can be heard, and the barking of dogs.

Silver Shine mutters to himself "Looks like it's time to return to the group!"

"Well." Virtue clicks her teeth. "I believe he is reporting. Dot Dash, stay close!"

"Blasted accountant!" Azure turns, glaring toward the hill. "I suppose we fixed the problem about getting atop the hill..."

In the wake of the dog creature's shout, a loud alarm can be heard coming out of the cave mouth—horn of some kind, or a whistle. It's not long later that the sound of a pack of dogs becomes clearly audible... and the ground around you starts to rumble.

Azure readies her weapons and flies ahead, gaining a better vantage point of the field. 

Nearly as soon as she takes off, around Virtue, Dot Dash, and Moonlight Meadows, the rumbling grows louder. "Uh... Virtue?" Dot Dash pokes her in the side. "Maybe we should—EEEE!" All around them, dog-like creatures burst out of the ground. They turn to face the ponies, bearing down upon them.

Suddenly facing her first ever fight, Dot Dash lets out her loudest shriek of terror. No, really, her loudest shriek. Everypony is left with ringing ears as birds take flight in all directions. The two dogs immediately on either side of her get it much worse though, staggering backwards and clutching their heads..

Silver Shine swoops out of the sky like a hawk—though he would argue that in fact, it is hawks who on occasion swoop out of the sky like him. Bolts take the place of his claws in this case, one of them striking the back of the dogs helmet, hitting it so hard the helmet rings like a bell. The dog has had better days.

The dog creature, upon seeing an angry mountain lion barreling down at him, decides that discretion is the better part of valor and leaps back into the ground as fast as he can. Balti's teeth snap shut around empty air at the last moment—though she does give the dog a good scratch on the tail as it flees.

Moonlight has, once again, begun her strange little dance—this one is rather more involved, and ends with her balanced on her left hind leg, her right forehoof extended to the sky. Her humming was a bit more tuneful this time, and ends with a resounding, "HA!"

It's not entirely clear just where that lightning bolt came from. Out of the trees, maybe? But it courses its way through the bodies of the hapless dog creatures all the same. Meanwhile, out in the clearing, more of the creatures surface, trying to pelt the poor pegasi with rocks.

"Uh, gals?" Azure calls back to the party. "We've got company!" Rocks pelt away at Silver and her, though the rest of the group is luckily out of range from the assault.

Virtue ducks out of the way of an oncoming dog, its claws filthy, its fur dirty and shaggy. She stands tall, radiant and unconcerned. "Enough of this foolishness," she says, stern, and stamps a hoof. She sets herself, her eyes wide, and power seems to roll off her, even though her horn does not light. "Begone! Flee this place!" she barks.

And one of the dogs in front of her, catching her eyes, seems to stop. "Aww~ Pretty pony~ I will brush your mane and you will be my best friend.”

As the dogs from the clearing bear down on them, with a flourish Azure holds aloft her banner, emblazoned with the insignia of Pegasopolis. Her screeching battle cry gives pause to the cowardly dogs; they soon realize that they face a particularly powerful pegasus pony. Rattled, they take a hesitant step back, unwilling to press toward Virtue and Dot Dash by the treeline.

The dog that Virtue hypnotized accepts her order and flees the battle, while the two that Dot Dash screamed at are still stunned by her high-pitched verbal prowess. But the one who's left? He's totally got this. Those other four guys were sissies! He leaps at Virtue who, for all her magical might, is a rather diminutive pony physically. The much larger dog has no trouble sweeping her up, as she yelps in surprise.

Dot Dash decides that discretion is the better part of valor. Specifically, by running full-speed toward the entrance of the wood, shrieking all the way.

Silver lets loose a crossbow bolt, trying to provide Virtue with some cover fire, but the bolt sails wide left. "Darn!"

"Balti, tackle!" Moonlight points at the dog that has Virtue in a grab. 

"Mrrrr!" Balti leaps and tackles the dog creature to the ground. She, Virtue, and the dog all go down into a brawl, struggling in a chaotic pile.

Meanwhile, Moonlight’s mane looks pretty darn staticky, standing out in all directions... but she's doing yet another dance, this one very shuffly. As Moonlight Meadows does her strange dance, the grass around the dog creatures comes to life, growing up and up like an impossibly quick vine. Most of the dogs hack at the unnatural plant growth and manage to avoid being trapped—for now—but one is soon stuck fast.

"Retreat!" one of them shouts, letting out a loud whistle. Those who can still move tunnel down into the earth. The only dogs left behind are those entangled by Moonlight’s vines—

—or the one currently pining Virtue to the ground. Despite her struggles, she cannot push her way free from its grip.

From above, Azure flares her wings up, and descends out of the sky as a bolt of blue and silver, racing towards one of the remaining dogs. The dramatic crash of thunder that follows that is probably just from Moonlight's spell. Probably. There's a crack, a whine, and Team Rocket is blasting off again, as the creature is knocked so hard off its feet it goes flying back into the woods out of sight.

The remaining dogs decide that—holy quartz did you see what that pony just did to Pyrope!? "Run for it!" The dogs tear their way out of the undergrowth and flee back to the safety of their cavern. The one who is currently tangled up with Virtue and Balti tries to follow suit, but Balti soon has the dog by the scruff. After that, he stops struggling.

With the battle won, the herd sets about regrouping itself. Silver flies down from the treetops, a tight frown on his face. Moonlight Meadows steps a little ways, and spends a bit of time allowing the bolts of lightning to discharge harmlessly around her. Azure lands beside Silver and holds a hoof to her wing, massaging the soreness from it. Dot Dash seems a little rattled, but no worse for wear, patting herself down to make sure she still has all her bits.

"Well," says Silver, deadpan, "we've had our first dust up then."

Virtue snarls as she rises. An invisible comb fixes her mane and hair and dirt sloughs off her. She shakes it free and settles it. "Silver Shine!" she calls, her voice shaking the leaves in the nearby trees. She fits her hoof back into a loose cap so she can stomp it properly. "Just what do you think you were doing?" she demanded, imperiously. "We were all endangered due to your rashness."

"He could've run off and alerted the rest of his pack with a moment's notice. I wasn't going to give him the time." Silver Shine frowns slightly. "Nearly had him too..."

"We were coming up with a plan!” Virtue says, her eyes narrowing. "In the future I will expect more caution."

"Duly noted," replies Silver, his expression flat.

Virtue turns aside to her protege. "Dot Dash, dear, please tend to the wounds."

"Oh!" Dot Dash starts, looking up. "Oh, um. Right. Let me see your wing, Azure." Unicorns are cheating cheaters who cheat all the time. However, Azure and Silver Shine might reasonably be grateful for that in this instance. Dot Dash shuts her eyes and focuses, and a little beam of white light shoots from her horn to each of them.

"Ah, that feels much better," sighs Silver.

"Heh, thanks kid." Azure holds out her wing to Dot. "So, now that you've had your first fight... How's mother's advice sounding?"

"I’m... I think I'd rather stay in the castle. Once we're done here, I mean," Dot Dash says, with a nervous little laugh.

Moonlight Meadows trots back over, shaking her mane, which has now calmed down and is not standing on end going every frickin' which way, and trots up to Silver. "Pssst. Silver," she whispers. "Wanna talk over there a bit?"

Silver Shine eyes Moonlight a tad warily. Her cat is pretty much eating one of the dogs, after all.

"Please?" she gives him a smile and some really wide eyes.

Silver Shine sighs and nods to Moonlight. The two of them step aside for a moment, ducking out of earshot of the others.

Moonlight looks to him. "So, like, up on the hill, what happened?"

"Ah, I found that fellow who knocked Azure out of the sky. I didn't like the look of him, so I did what had to be done." Silver Shine looks Moonlight Meadows in the eye. "Would I do it again? Maybe, maybe not."

Moonlight Meadows nods. "That makes sense to me. But, while Virtue's being kind of annoying about it, I think we should start talking about these things beforehand. Kind of everyone's fault for not saying anything before anything happens."

Silver huffs at this, but eventually he gives a quiet nod.

Turning her attention back to the imprisoned dog, Virtue reaches down, her manner shifting again. "Oh you poor dear,” she says, gently touching his ears.

The dog seems to have accepted that he's not going anywhere—held tight in Balti's teeth. His expression, while hard to read under that sloping goblin-like brow of his, might be best described as 'unhappy.'

Virtue continues to stroke the dog’s fuzzy ears. "There there, little one. Let's not fight."

Slowly, the dog feels his willpower draining as he finds himself getting lost in Virtue’s eyes. But despite being a tad weak willed in general, he shakes off Virtue's unicorn trickery. "I'm telling you nothing, pony!"

"I will forgive you for your uncouth behavior if you relax," she says, more harshly, pinning his head with her hoof.

"Ngggh! Your tricks of mind will not fool me!" The dog struggles and squirms, but he can only accomplish so much while in Balti’s grip.

"Oh, you are durant." Virtue stares deeper and deeper into the beast’s eyes, boring her gaze into his. "You will not turn aside from me this time, dog."

"Nnngh! But... that... no!” The dog creature looks into Virtue’s eyes as she holds it in place. “Get outta my head pony!" And then, after a moment, goes... relaxed. Calm.

"Good boy," coos Virtue. "You'll cooperate now, won't you? Dear thing."

"Uh-huh. You're the prettiest pony ever,” he says, in a slightly disconnected, flat tone.

"Let him up, Balti." Virtue says, saccharine. Balti reminds Virtue that she is a cat. Specifically, by ignoring her.

Azure tilts her head, staring at the entranced dog for a moment, before she holsters her lance. "Not the approach I would've used... but not bad."

"I have my ways, Azure Charger," she says with a smile, flaring her cape to reveal her cutie mark for a moment—a shining gem. "Now, then, what is your name, dearie?"

"Feldspar,” he answers with a distant voice. “What's your name, pretty pony?"

"I am Virtue." She bows.

"Oh. That's a nice name."

"I know, dear. We came here for a very specific purpose, Feldspar. We are searching for something of great value to us ponies."

"I know. Ponies are thieves.” Feldspar sits up a bit. “I mean, not you, Virtue. I'm sure you're nice. But ponies always come to steal our gems."

"In this case, we have come to recover something of ours. It is formed of gold, bright and shining, not at all like the many-faceted gems you would like."

"Oh. Yeah.” Feldspar swats the question away, acting nonchalant. “That stuff's been in the meeting hall forever. Alexandrite tried to take some of it into town a few weeks ago to trade for gems. But ponies tried to rob her and she had to run home."

"Well, we have come to trade, Feldspar. Though you have seen we possess the strength to take it."

"Oh, I'm sure whatever you need it for is more important, Virtue~ You're so smart that way."

Virtue giggles gently into the back of a hoof. "Oh, you do know how to flatter a lady. You must be very popular with the girls back home, Feldspar. Clever and handsome. You'll lead us right there, won't you?"

He chuckles, and blushes, looking down at his paws. "Of course, Virtue. I'll lead you right there."

Azure whips her tailbraid idly. "Okay, now we're getting somewhere." 

Feldspar doesn't respond to Azure Charger. Then again, Azure isn't totally sure the dog knows she's there, his eyes blindly following Virtue.

Virtue, at least, seems pleased with the results. "Excellent. Dot, dear, come here, I'll fix your mane and coat."

Dot Dash trots up to her teacher’s side, brushing down her mane with a hoof. "I was... I mean, I was fine," she murmurs, though she sticks closer to Virtue's side than she did before.

As Moonlight and Silver rejoin the group, Virtue gives a nod to Feldspar. The dog eagerly leads the herd forward, leading into the mouth of the nearby cavern.
> Searching the Cavern Depths
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entering the Diamond Dog mines with Feldspar as their guide, the ponies find themselves in a twisty maze of narrow and disorienting passages. Tunnels run off in all directions through the stone, moving up, down and in every horizontal direction at once. Without a guide, a pony could easily become lost down here for the rest of their days and never find the exit. The sound of hooves on stone carries throughout the dark space, echoing off the walls.

"Awright. Now this is the tricky part," says Feldspar, leading the ponies toward one of the tunnel entrances. "Stick right with me, because if you get lost, you're never coming out again."

Moonlight Meadows nods. "Okay!"

As they advance into the cave, the herd hears only the sound of their hooves crunching on the stone. The mine is eerily silent, lacking even the animal sounds of the forest above.

Feldspar motions to one of the smaller passageways. "It's just through this tunnel up here, then a left, then another left."

Azure balks, peering into the claustrophobic hole in the stone. "What, that little thing?"

Feldspar shrugs. "Unless you wanna take the long way.”

"Not particularly," Azure grumbles.

"What's down the long way?" asks Virtue.

"Not much. Empty passages. This is just a cleared out mine, but Alexandrite said we should leave it here to scare off thieves."

Moonlight Meadows twitches her ears, and gives a glance to the other tunnels. "There's others about, I think," she murmurs.

"Others?" Azure arches an eyebrow.

"I'm hearing claws down left-ways-ish."

Azure looks from Moonlight to Feldspar and sighs. "Claws, right. Looks like the short way, it is."

Virtue nods. "I believe the short way shall suffice, Feldspar. "Unless there is some reason to suspect danger?"

“No, not at all.” Felspar shakes his head. “That thing at the cave mouth was just a misunderstanding. We thought you were thieves. Um... begging your pardon, Virtue. We didn't know how nice and pretty you were. And... soft. And brushable.” He pauses. “Can I touch your mane?"

She gives a placating smile. "Perhaps later."

"Oh. Okay. Just follow me then," Feldspar says, moving to enter the narrow tunnel and vanishing from sight.

Azure Charger looks to the narrow passage and scrunches up her muzzle.

"Kay!" Moonlight Meadows is right behind him. Balti follows close at the heels of her master, and Virtue is not far behind them.

Just as Azure, Silver, and Dot Dash are about to move through the tunnel after their friends, there's a rumble from inside it, and the ceiling abruptly cracks. Stones drop down into the tunnel, filling it with debris and blocking their path. From elsewhere in the caverns, she can hear a sudden, surprised shout—followed by a loud crash.

"Oh no, Virtue!" Dot Dash exclaims, trying to pull the rocks out with her hooves. "What do we do, what do we do!?"

Azure quickly backpedals from the tunnel. "Right. Well. Probably the tunnel wasn't the best idea anyway.” She turns away from the tunnel, and murmurs, "Right then. Nice Doggy was saying something about the other way being long… and how we’d never find it on our own..."

From somewhere far off in the caves comes a deep, echoing roar.

"And Moonlight Meadows mentioned friends," she finishes, deadpan.

"They're in danger!" wails Dot Dash. "We gotta help them!"

Silver Shine matches Azure’s expression. "Well, that's encouraging. Can we clear the tunnel?" He looks out into the cave in case something tries to sneak up on them.

Azure gives it a few preliminary pokes with her lance. "Welp, I'm... not thrilled at the idea. But I'm not seeing many other options.” Azure gets to work, leveraging some of the bigger rocks with her lance.





Meanwhile, the rest of the group barely out of the tunnel when it collapses behind them, a torrent of rocks sealing the exit they just passed through. Directly in front of them wait four diamond dogs, most armed with rocks for throwing, one wearing a vest stuffed full of particularly shiny crystals and gemstones. She's a bit shorter than the others, but while they shift nervously, ready for combat, she appears unthreatening.

"Oh, hi Alexandrite!" Feldspar waves. "Look at the pretty pony I met!"

"That's nice, Feldspar. Why don't you come over here for a moment?" the dog with the vest ask, gesturing him over.

"Hi Alexandrite!" Moonlight says, also waving.

Feldspar looks to Virtue for permission. Virtue lifts her chin, icily defiant. "Go on, Feldspar."

"Isn't she beautiful? See, there was this misunderstanding at the gate!" Feldspar says, padding over to the others. "We thought they were thieves, but they're actually really nice."

Moonlight Meadows follows directly on Feldspar's heels, with a happy smile on her face.

"That's nice, Feldspar.” Snarling, she turns to her guards. “Get them!"

As Moonlight Meadows makes her way forward on Feldspar's heels, one of the brutish monsters around her simply picks up a convenient chunk of earth and smashes it over her head. It shatters atop her poofy mane, leaving her seeing stars as her vision momentarily blurs. That hurt! She'll have a bruise and everything!

The dog, for its part, looks shocked she's still on her hooves.

With a flash of light, Virtue vanishes on the spot. The sound of invisible hoofsteps echoes around the cavern.

"Oh no you don't!" Alexandrite shouts when she sees Virtue vanish—grabbing one of the crystals out of her vest and hurling it at the ground. It shatters into a brilliant display of glittering shards, filling the tunnel with dazzling, beautiful lights.

Virtue manages to avert her eyes in time, her reflex to snub the imperfect gemstone saving her eyes. Though, the crystaline powder still manages to cover her coat, rendering her not-quite-as-invisible-anymore.

Moonlight isn't so lucky however, looking right into the display. She sees spots in her vision, and not much else. Moonlight blinks a lot, then stamps her hooves, one, two, one, two, one, two... and calls out an odd sound, like two rocks crashing together.

Virtue was aware that earth ponies had magic that could influence the dirt and rock, but she didn't know they could do it quite so... directly as that, as three piles of rocks get up, and in a very rumbling voice shout: "Hey! Don't touch the nice pony!" Virtue narrows her lovely illuminated eyes at the elementals.

BREAKING NEWS: Cat chases dog. Balti pounces on top of a nearby guard, raking it with claws and fang.

To Moonlight's left, the remaining diamond dogs, confused by the rocks coming to life, try to beat the rocks to death with... other rocks. It's working! They think. It's kind of hard to tell.

Virtue invisibly (if not for the glitterdust) flares her horn, and swooping bands of blue light form ropes that tie up the nearest diamond dog. The creature is swiftly bound by Virtue’s spell... and it's probably not good to think about the fact that Feldspar looks jealous.

"No, guys, stop fighting!" Feldspar cries out.

Don't worry, Quartz, I got you!" the other dog shouts, rushing around to aid his bound friend. But the magical ropes hold his friend firm, struggle though they might. As the elementals swipe at him, he grabs hold of his bound friend, and the both of them retreat from the field, tunneling back into the earth. Oh, right, they can do that.

"Oh, pumice!" Alexandrite swears, seeing two her allies vanish back into the ground. "We should have waited for Zircon! Leg it!" She shouts, throwing another crystal out of her vest, this one exploding into a spray of sharp shards, before she tunnels away with the others.

The elemental gets all scratched up, fleeing back into the earth with a cry of: "Ow! Stop it!" 

Moonlight and Balti earn a few scrapes themselves, but nothing that a gentle nose boop can’t fix. Moonlight seems to be completely still, her eyes shut. A flick of her tail, and of her ears, and her curiously wooden horseshoe takes on a slight glow. Moments later, her scratches have vanished.

The last two dogs throw more rocks, pelting poor Balti further. But the elementals, seeing that, rush to tackle the diamond dogs. "Don't hurt the nice pony!" Driven out of a yearning, powerful need to stop Balti from being pounded by rocks, which would make the nice pony sad, both elementals rush forward and tackle the two remaining dogs to the ground, pummeling them instead. In the scuffle that results, the dogs forget about their rocks entirely, clawing their way free from the grapple, and eventually, turning tail and running.

"No, guys, wait! ...we were going to get along." Feldspar looks sad and confused that his friends don't like his friends.

Virtue trots forward, sniffing disdainfully. "There there, Feldspar. Your friends will understand their mistake soon enough."

From the tunnel behind them, they can faintly hear the sound of rocks being cleared, and Dot Dash's muffled shouting after Virtue.

Virtue puts a hoof to Moonlight's back, checking her over. The smaller earth pony is rubbing her hooves at her eyes.

"I don't like sparkly rock dust."

"There, there, let me wash it out of your eyes." She levitates her water skin to pour a little into Moonlight's eyes, helping her clear her sight. Moonlight blinks as sight returns, nods her thanks to Virtue, and immediately turns to attend to Balti's similar predicament.

After some considerable work—most of which Feldspar does, being rather more suited to digging than ponies—the tunnel is cleared, and the rest of the group comes through.

"VIRTUE!" Dot Dash leaps forward, hugging Virtue in a tight embrace. "You're okay!"

Virtue tucks her head against Dot Dash. "But of course, darling. No mere ruffians would be able to deter me." She smiles a little smile over her, stroking a hoof on her side, then looks to the others.

Azure Charger shuffles out of the tunnel, quickly returning to her hooves and brushing out her wings. "Good to see everypony's alright. Falling rocks didn't give you any troubles?"

"Only the ones the dogs dropped on us." Moonlight Meadows rubs her own head. "Good thing my head is hard."

"I half suspect your hair deflects it," Virtue says, beaming.

“Maybe!”

"They just didn't understand," says Feldspar, hanging his head. "They must still think you're thieves for some reason."

Moonlight Meadows rests a hoof on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Feldy, we just need to get them to listen to us!"

"I guess," Feldspar agrees, sounding upset by the whole notion. "Alexandrite is usually nice."

"Let us convince them, then, one way or the other. I am growing tired of these games," says Virtue.

"Agreed." Azure casts a glance back into the tunnel. "We might have our own company, too. Best keep moving, if we're able."

"I have not quite given up on diplomacy yet," says Virtue. "Call it persistence."

"Speaking of diplomacy," Azure murmurs under her breath to Virtue, "exactly how long is Nice Doggy staying nice?"

"Feldspar and I have,” she says with a smile, “an understanding."

Moonlight Meadows tilts her head, thinking back to something Alexandrite mentioned. "Who's Zircon?"

Feldspar’s face lights up. "Oh! Zircon is our alpha. Our leader, I guess. Alexandrite is his sister, and she's really smart, so she makes most of the decisions, you know? But Zircon knows how to lead. And he's really scary. He's half crystal wolf, from way up north?”

Azure’s face goes blank. “He is half what.”

“His mother could punch her way through a stone wall," says Feldspar with a nod. "She was a real classy dog."

Virtue quickly covers up Dot Dash’s ears. "What?" whines Dot Dash.  "What did he say?"

"Not contemplating that matter further."

"I wanna hear what he said!"

"Yeah, his mother was even scarier than him,” Feldspar reminisces. “Came down from up north awhile ago because of, I don't know, something. He's really mean in a fight." He looks to the group and adds, "But there's no reason for him to fight you, I mean. He'll see that you mean well."

Azure Charger's face contorts, and she holds a hoof to her temple. "Of course he will."

"It would be best to have a guarantee of that," Silver Shine mutters. Azure nods in agreement.

"Darling, I think it is time we had a word with Alexandrite and Zircon." Virtue gestures Feldspar on. "We shall see what this leader of Diamond Dogs has to say."

Moonlight Meadows blinks, tilting her head questioningly at Virtue. "I can't think of a better plan, so yeah."





Advancing up the left wall, just the way Feldspar said, you find yourself in a maze of twisty passages. Luckily, he knows the way. He's just about to lead them into the tunnel, when a rumble of earth can be heard behind you, another group of diamond dogs and Alexandrite appearing.

"Feldspar, come over here, now!" barks Alexandrite.

“No, stop it!” Feldspar positions himself between the opposing forces. “These ponies are nice! They aren't thieves!"

Moonlight Meadows nods vigorously. "We really are nice and also not thieves! We would like to talk please!"

Alexandrite fixes Feldspar with an even look. "Feldspar, you remember that time when Ruby convinced you to go look for that vein of Bolonium ore? I'm not saying you're a bit weak-willed, I'm saying you're a moron. Now get over here!"

"No! They're my friends and I like them!” Feldspar pauses. “Or, I like Virtue. The others seem okay. But you know, I could get to like them… for her~" He fixes Virtue with a particularly goofy grin.

"...wow. Okay." Alexandrite flounders for a moment. "Uh. Yeah, you know what? Let’s just get them."

Moonlight lays on the wide-eyed look. "Can we pleeeeeeeease, please please please talk instead? Please? With cherries on top?"

"No! Hit them with rocks!"

"You've made such charming friends already," snarks Azure, drawing her lance and rushing toward the incoming attackers.

"Very well,” sighs Virtue. “Beat them until they're willing to talk again."

"Hey, that pony is apart from the others!" shouts one of the dogs.

“She'll be easy! Get her!” yells another. He demonstrates his point with an airborne boulder. 

It connects, the projectile clanging on Azure's armor and giving her a most unfashionable bruise! Nopony ever said that being the heaviest armored fighter was a job with good health benefits. "Ow!" she snaps, scowling at the attacker.

"Hey you!" Alexandrite throws something through the air towards Balti… Bouncing... squeaking… Is that a cat toy?

Balti looks at the cat toy. Sniffs it. Then she swats it away disdainfully. It would appear that dogs do not understand what cats like.

As another of the dogs moves to flank, Silver Shine whips out the trusty crossbow, shooting the beast point blank. Apparently, he discovers the "fully automatic" toggle on his battle saddle, for the Diamond Dog's helmet suddenly growing a collection of crossbow bolts.

"Hey!" The dog reaches up with a paw. "...oh hey, I got my ears pierced."

Dot Dash lets out a startled squeak, hiding behind Virtue. Virtue feels an overriding need to defend this adorable creature—a need which gives her strength. Her horn glows and once more shoots out binding cords of light to one of the attackers, binding him tight.

"Oh no you don't!" shouts another, rolling his neck, dropping to all fours, and sprinting for Virtue's position. He sprints past Balti, Moonlight, and Feldspar, running up the wall and around then, dropping back down in front of Virtue, poised to melee.

Moonlight Meadows points with her tail at the dog that just ran past them. "Pin him, girl!" Balti leaps on, but gets thrown off the dog’s back almost immediately.

"It's the pink one!” shouts one of the the diamond dogs, pointing with a yellowed claw. “That's the one who made the rocks come to life and beat up Quartz!"

Her eyes snap forward, meeting her accuser. Something very odd is happening to Moonlight—her mane and tail wave about, the pink hair spreading over her suddenly elongating form. Her hooves split, and form into toes, growing claws—her snout sprouts whiskers, and her teeth grow pointy—before long, there's almost the spitting image of Balti where she was... Except it's pink.

The diamond dog who pointed her out decides that he'd rather not charge the pink mountain lion. But that pony with the crossbows! That seems safe. He charges headlong at the pegasus, slamming into him.

Azure, meanwhile, has her own hooves full with the dog chucking rocks at her. She gives it a murderous glare—as much a pony is capable—going at it with a flurry of thrusts.

He covers his mouth with a paw. "MY TEETH! I needed those for food!" He winds up with his fist and lands a heavy blow on Azure’s noggin. "Stupid pony!" Luckily, her head is thick as a brick wall! Or, at least, so her instructors always said.

"Oh, pumice basalt coal!" Alexandrite is swearing. You think. "I thought this would be a lot easier! Hey, you!" Alexandrite moves and throws another exploding crystal at Virtue and Dot Dash. “Catch!”

Dot Dash lets out an adorable squeak of fear as she's pummeled with sharp rock bits. Virtue herself takes a hit, but she’s okay! She deflected the projectiles with her face. She just needs to take a little nap for a bit.

Silver Shine is surely in a serious situation, having seen better days! As the diamond dog next to him lands another blow,  he decides that he’s officially in trouble, and makes a run towards the south. He takes a potshot at the dog as he flees, but the bolt goes wide.

"Oh no! Virtue, you're hurt!" Dot Dash says, white light sliding up her horn and washing over Virtue, ignoring her own scrapes for now.

But Virtue has none of it, shaking with fury. She sidesteps the flailing diamond dog beside her and roars, "Don't. You. TOUCH HER!" Her magic leaps out, reaching for Alexandrite.

"Oh, ba--mmmph!" Alexandrite falls on her side, tightly bound up in magical cords. Virtue wraps her up in a particularly embarrassing posture, snorting with rage.

The dog in combat with Moonlight tries his rock-swinging again, but the attack just bounces off her. Moonlight's hair must be deflecting those blows. That or she is made of iron. "Irony! My one weakness!"

Balti responds by leaping up on him, biting at the nape of his neck and scratching with outstretched claws. "And my other weakness, violence!" That diamond dog has seen better days. It's okay though. Cat scratches build character.

Azure Charger single-focusedly continues her barrage against her attackers. One blow of the lance sends a dog off to dreamland, while the next thrust sends another scrambling to shield himself. "NOT IN THE TEETH!"

At Azure’s hooves, Alexandrite struggles and strains at her magical restraints, but they hold firm. Azure Charger shoots her a dirty look. Just to be sure.

The guard who was attacking Silver Shine tries to go for Balti instead, but his swing goes high. Silver rather angrily aims for the fellow he missed a moment ago. "You won't escape this time, dog!" he mutters. True to his word, the crossbow bolt connects, and the dog is left teetering on his feet, barely still up!

Dot Dash leaps up from beside Virtue. "Freeze, you big meanie! Energy blast!" Someone should probably tell Dot that she doesn't actually need to shout 'energy blast' when doing that. It's just... kind of a unicorn thing. All the same, the blast of white light from her horn picks him up off his feet and takes him out of the fight.

Virtue exhales, banishing her rage. She steps up, ready to kick the diamond dog on the ground in the face for good measure, but it quickly buries underground, fleeing to safety. Only one more dog remains upright, but seeing that he's now outnumbered five to one, he also decides to leg it, fleeing into the earth.

"Aaagh!" Alexandrite wails and squirms within her constraints, thoroughly abandoned by her kin. "Using magic is cheating!"

"Secure the remaining ones." Virtue straightens herself up, shaking the dust from her cape.

Moonlight Meadows stalks around beside Balti, and puts one pink paw the other kitty's head, a paw that flashes briefly, while a glow flows swiftly over Balti's fur. The pair of mountain lions stalk up and flank Alexandrite. Moonlight is, of course, smiling.

"Ah... hah. Hah. I didn't know ponies could do that." Alexandrite swallows the lump in her throat. "...nice... ponycat? Heh heh." She tries to pull away from them unsuccessfully.

Azure Charger had been fairly busy with her own two attackers. As she turns back to the group, moving to secure the captives, she now observes that Moonlight has gained a bit of muscle. "Sweet Zephyr's Halberd!" she yelps, backpedaling with a start.

"Our little Moonlight is full of strange tricks," muses Virtue.

"I... should say so." Azure gives the pink mountain lion a hesitant look.

"Mrrr," Moonlight contributes.

"See! What were you thinking?" Feldspar demands, once he's shaken off the paralysis of combat.

Alexandrite snarls. "I was thinking that they were e—" She pauses mid-thought, and looks at the pink cat standing over her. "...nice. Very nice. And um. Forgiving?"

"You threw a bomb at my little Dot Dash," Virtue says, in a fairly frosty tone.

"Yeah! That were you thinking?" Feldspar chimes in. "It's not even your job to guard the mine. Where's Zircon?"

"He was on the other side of town!" Alexandrite protests.

"Then you should have waited!"

"I was doing fine up until they started using magic powers and turning into cats!" As if to have her point proven, Moonlight steps up beside Alexandrite and starts licking her face.

Azure Charger mutters inaudibly at that, trotting alongside Silver.

Virtue stands above Alexandrite, giving her most judgmental look. "We're going to be having a nice chat about how you are going to return the property you took from the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, Alexandrite. I hope it will be an agreeable one."

Alexandrite stops struggling. She looks up at Virtue, and considers her a moment. "That's perfectly fair."

A faint rumble becomes audible around the herd. Loose rocks and pebbles shake across the cavern floor. Azure and Silver both take wing. Meanwhile, with an uttered swear, Virtue casts a spell, and a shimmering line appearing on the ground around her, emanating from her as if she were somehow suffused with a measure of sunlight.

With a wild grin, Alexandrite shouts out. "Or we could talk about my awesome brother showing up and kicking all of you so hard you hit the ceiling!" 

At that, the ground in front of them shatters open, and from the crack emerges the biggest diamond dog they’ve ever seen. The ceiling is a good ten feet high, and he still has to hunch slightly, his body covered in a shaggy fur. He's obviously of a different breed from the rest, lighter in color and with a different set in his build, his jaw more elongated and lupine. Big ears tufted with white fur sit atop his head, and in the midst of all that fluff, a sparkly pair of blue eyes can be seen. He's armed with a club. Or in his case, a small tree.

"You will kindly let my sister up." Zircon says, his voice deep and scratchy. "Now."

"Oh, look at that," Azure says, deadpan. "He's asking us kindly."

Virtue looks down at Alexandrite coldly, then up at Moonlight, who is sitting on top of her. "Put her out, Moonlight." She then turns aside to Feldspar.

"No, he's mostly just... you know." Feldspar cranes his neck upward. "Big."

Moonlight blinks back, slowly. Her pink fur shimmers, going brown and taking on a… well, a barky texture. But otherwise, she does not heed the call.

"Some of us are still hurt,” Silver hisses to the group. “We might want to heal... while we have the time." Nodding shakily, Dot Dash’s horn glows white, and a healing light washes over the group. 

Virtue leans down to her, whispering, "Dot Dash, if I cast invisibility on you, you are to run and not look back." She stands upright and calls out. "This ends here, Zircon! Return us the raiments of Princess Celestia and receive your gems, or we will take them by force."

At this first mention of a princess and raiments, Silver’s ears swivel about, his frowning face shortly after. Moonlight too looks over at Virtue, raising an eyebrow. Azure simply furrows her brow, glaring down the towering crystal wolf.

Zircon narrows his eyes. "This is not the first I've heard of your master’s particular style of diplomacy, and my answer remains no. What was your people's a hundred years past is no matter. You lost it generations ago, and your claim to it is no better than theft.” He shoos them away with a claw. “Wave your bag of gems if you like. I will not one of your master’s subjects and I do not take his commands."

Virtue straightens her back. "Then we come as thieves, for I refuse to bow away from this, my sworn duty. Her claim never ended, dog."

"Wait... so. You are thieves?" Feldspar seems to snap out of something, his eyes suddenly focusing.

"Indeed they are," Zircon rumbles. "Let us show them the way out."

"Like Tartarus they're yours, cur,” snaps Azure. She lowers her stance, brandishing her lance at the ready position. “Princess Celestia's raiment will be returned to her."

Moonlight Meadows heaves a sigh.

The sound that emerges when Zircon cracks his knuckles is less than encouraging, the half-wolf creature lumbering forward like an avalanche. He raises his fist into the air, club in hand, and lets out a mighty roar that seems to shake the foundations of the cavern. With one mighty hand he reaches out, plucking his sister from the ground and pulling her aside.

"Thanks, Zircon!" says Alexandrite, settling on top of the larger dog’s shoulder.

Zircon snaps at her. "We shall speak of this another time!" He then brings his club down hard against Moonlight. The club very nearly splinters with the force when it connects with Moonlight's head. A lesser pony would have been sent flying, and even her... unnatural constitution seems taxed just to keep her on her hooves! Well. Paws now.

The diamond dog guard who Virtue bound in magic cord snaps free of his ropes. "Cone of shame's on your neck now, ponies!" He scrambles back to his feet and moves to flank.

"MROWR!" Moonlight and Balti each tackle an opposing dog, scratching at their heels. In Moonlight’s case, she simply chose the closest target—poor Feldspar.

"Aaah!" Feldspar calls out as his back is scratched by kitty claws. "You tricked me! I wanted you brush your mane and you used me!"

"I would not have you harmed further, Feldspar. Go now," Virtue says to him. "This has nothing to do with you." But the glare of betrayal that he returns makes it clear that he intends to hold his ground.

The leader of the three reinforcements in the back turns to the others, pointing into the brawl. "Okay, I know they look tough! They've got powers, and they've taken down like a dozen dogs. But those guys? They were all puppies! We totally got this one! LETS DO THIS!" he shouts, charging into the melee with a roar. Azure does her best to deflect the incoming shoulder tackles with her lance.

Flying just below the ceiling, Silver flies a short distance to a safe position before preparing his bow. "Goodnight Feldspar," he muses, letting loose a bolt. But it appears that he spoke too soon, as the bolt pings off Feldspar’s metallic helmet. Azure too swings behind her with the backside of her lance, but the dog ducks beneath it.

"Brother! Salt!" Alexandrite tosses Zircon a crystal, which he promptly eats. Strange blue energy seems to blow out of the remains, giving him a second wind, the veins in his muscles twitching.

The remaining two dogs in the eastern group move to flank. Scowling at her miss, Azure falls back from Feldspar and flies out to intercept the guards.

Virtue closes her eyes for a moment, and then opens them, blank with golden light. Instead of her usual blue, it's daylight that pours out of her horn, solidifying near Azure—

Somewhere, in a nice little village, there is a warrior in training. Leaning on his spear. Trying to get some sleep. When he suddenly feels a slight tugging… A pull even…

Pop.

"Uh..." says a very confused-looking earth pony with a spear, who has just appeared in the middle of the battle. Tanen Baum has a surprisingly high pitched voice when he shrieks in terror, as the three diamond dogs near him all look his way.

"Celestia calls for aid!” Virtue postures herself before him, elegant and commanding. “How do you answer?"

 "I don't answer!” shouts Tanen Baum, ducking his head. “I hang up! I go back home!"

"They're summoning reinforcements!” roars Zircon “Get him! I will deal with the lions."

"Mowr." Moonlight is not amused.

Zircon cracks his neck, one side then the other, and brings his club around in a massive, crushing blow. Balti dodges out of the way in the nick of time, but as she's showered by debris from the boulder that blow just smashed, she looks about ready to faint! Dot Dash rushes up to Balti’s side, helping her to her paws with her magic. "Mmm,” says Zircon. “Vexing."

One of the diamond dog guards tackles the freshly summoned pony to the ground, though he takes a lashing from Azure in revenge. The dog and earth pony go down in a pile of kicking claws and hooves.

Balti rushes at Zircon, clawing and biting, but the large beast easily blocks the barrage with his oversized tree of a club. Behind them, Moonlight dances. It is... strange, when done as a cat. Her final pose perhaps more so—balancing on left hind leg and front right leg, tail pointing at Zircon's club... and stupendous roar unleashed. The great club warps and deforms, rendering it nearly useless as a weapon.

The dog to Zircon's left fixes his eye on Silver Shine, running forward, but he trips at the last second, falling flat on his face at Silver's hooves. It’s almost unfair, how easy it is for Silver to retaliate with his crossbow. But eh, he’ll be fine. Dogs have two ears.

"Graaagh!" Bellowing with rage, Feldspar charges at Azure, paws outstretched, ready to tackle her to the ground—

Azure spins about in midair, swinging her lance down atop his head. Feldspar goes out like a light, and Azure avoids being grappled for an entire two seconds. At which point, the two dogs who she took her eyes off, educate her as to why it’s called a dog pile.

"Woo-hoo! We're winning!" Alexandrite shouts, "Hey, brother! I found some money!" she says, tossing a coin to him.

He gives her a look. "This seems like an odd moment to bring that up."

“It’s lucky,” she says, explaining everything.

"Oh no! They're winning!" Dot Dash says, a beam of white light shooting from her horn. "Azure! Believe in me who believes in you!"

"Not yet they're not," hisses Virtue. "Azure, hold for just a moment, darling."

"I—oof—don't exactly have a choice here!" Azure barks from beneath the two dogs.

Her horn hums, and gentle music seeps into the tiny brain of one of the dogs holding her. He lets out a loud snore, and drifts off. "Good now."

Azure Charger bucks and twists, and with a bit of skill, she throws off the canine oppressor! Literally! She sets herself up in position.

Zircon growls, swinging at Balti again. The heavy hit lands, nearly squashing the poor kitty. To the left, the conjured pony does his best to fight off his own canine oppressor, with considerably less success. "Oh Celestia help me!"

Moonlight Meadows goes after Alexandrite. "AAAH!" she yelps. "TEETH! TEETH" she cries as the blows land, one after the other, getting used as a most undignified scratching post. "I REGRET EVERYTHING"

"Alexandrite, must you be so like dad?" Zircon asks, giving her a scornful look as she's taken down by a few petty cougar bites.

The diamond dog fighting Silver Shine climbs back to his feet. He swings, and Silver is seeing stars. No really... there are little stars circling his head… this seems like a good time for a nap. Thud.

"Look out, Silver!" Dot Dash says. Her horn lights up, and everyone around her—Virtue, Silver, and even the diamond dog—all feel energy returning to them.

It's looking grim. Enemies are all around them, the casters are in trouble, the ranged support is engaged, and the enemy leader is tearing through the other fighters like Pinkie Pie goes through penny candy. There’s only one pony with the power and the position to end this fight! "Right then,” grumbles Azure. “If Ugly wants to play rough, I'm happy to oblige!" With her namesake attack style, she charges headlong at Ugly.

Zircon’s ears twitch, and he looks about the chamber in confusion. "Wait, where is that theme music coming from—AAGH!" The charge connects, and Zircon gets hit so hard he flies up and hits the ceiling, his head hitting it hard enough to leave cracks. He crashes to the ground, and for a moment, he sways unsteadily on his feet, before finally passing out in a heap.

The other diamond dogs look at this and decide that, perhaps, discretion is the better part of valor.

"I give up!"

“Me too!”

"Giving you the stuff seems best for everyone!"

“Everypony!” hisses one of the dogs.

"Right! Best for everypony!"

Tanen Baum scrambles back up as the diamond dog lets him go. "Oh my goodness! I'm alive! I'M ALI-" With a pop, he unsummons.

"Azure Charger!" Virtue declares, looking starry-eyed at the pegasus. "My champion!"

Moonlight Meadows blinks at this declaration, then rolls her eyes.

"Grrarwr," Balti comments.

"Mrrr," Moonlight agrees.

The faintest blush crosses Azure’s cheeks. "Just doing what I was trained to do." She coughs and looks aside. "Thanks... for the help with that spell, by the way."

"T'were my pleasure," she says with the tilt of a knee. "And all of you, a fantastic job."

Virtue nudges Feldspar over. Feldspar makes a quiet "ggrrgh" noise, featuring a smart bruise on his forehead.

Virtue pokes him a couple times. "Tsk. I would have been happy to reward you. Oh well." Moonlight trots over to him, nosing at his face, and then licks the bruise.

“Uh... so," stammers one of the recently-promoted diamond dogs. "You'll be wanting the stuff then?"

Virtue trots forward, with a spring in her hooves. "Indeed. Then we shall trouble you and yours no further. We only desire that which is our Princess's property."

"Right right, yes, absolutely." He bows then pads off toward one of the tunnels. "This way."

"Everypony okay?” asks Azure, helping her fellow pegasus to his hooves. “Silver Shine, that was quite the scare."

Silver nods wordlessly, seeming no worse for wear, all considered.

"I admired your bravery in taking that Diamond Dog on head on, despite your ranged proclivities," Virtue says, fluttering her lashes at Silver Shine. "You protected Dot Dash and I marvelously."

He chuckles wryly. "Virtue, I'm afraid it was more a matter of being a target than being a true warrior, but I appreciate the thought nonetheless."

"Nonsense, Silver Shine.” Azure shakes her head. “Part of valor is in holding your ground against powerful odds. You did well." She smiles in approval at the young filly. "You as well, Dot Dash. An impressive change of face, from your bout this morning." Dot Dash simply stares up at Azure, silent and wide-eyed, her mouth slightly agape.

"Mowr."

Azure Charger 's body locks rigid, as a big pink kitty cat casually walks up beside her. "Err, Moonlight Meadows... that is you... correct?"

"T'is. I saw the entire transformation myself," says Virtue. "Your Earth pony magic continues to impress me with its... sheer variety."

Moonlight Meadows looks over at Azure, and blinks slowly. "Mrrrrr."

"That's, uh"—Azure blinks back—"quite the special talent."

"Oh I dare say it's unprecedented in my knowledge…" Virtue would glance up at the moon, but they're in a cave.

Moonlight smiles. "Mowr!" She turns to face Virtue, extending her head forward until they're nose to nose. And then she licks.

"Oh enough," she sighs, rubbing the ears of the shapeshifted pony. "I cannot resist forever." Moonlight leans into the rub a touch, her tail flicking lazily.

Virtue turns her smile to Azure. "And of course, we cannot forget the lady of the hour. I should recommend you for immediate knighthood for sheer stupendousness. I would not be surprised if that impact was heard in the castle."

Azure bows deeply, on the verge of theatrics. "You are too kind, Virtue. I am but a simple servant of Her Majesty The Princess."

Virtue smiles and nods back. "And servants who perform admirably deserve to be rewarded for such service." She turns to look at Moonlight and Silver. "I must apologize for concealing the full nature of our journey, of course. I was bid not to reveal it before it became most relevant."

Azure looks a bit confused at that, but she nods all the same. "As were I. But it seems not everypony was made aware of the circumstances."

"Yeah, like me," says Moonlight. It seems transforming back into a pony is rather a more low-key thing. Virtue realizes, to her chagrin, that she has been absentmindedly petting an actual pony's ears for some time.

"I'm rather curious, actually." Azure asks with eyebrow arched. "What were you told instead, Moonlight Meadows? And you, Silver Shine."

Moonlight shrugs. "Generic golden things from the castle. What exactly is a raiment?"

"Her equipage," explains Virtue gently. “A crown, necklace, and set of hoofboots, all of gold.”

"I was simply informed that a pony of my skills was needed,” says Silver Shine. “To appraise gems and valuables, I assume."

"Ah. To ensure these dogs don't try to pawn off forgeries on us, no doubt." Azure nods to herself. "Still, admirable for the both of you to accept the call, not knowing the true details of our task. Your assistance proved invaluable, and in a few short days, we'll be returned to the castle with the raiments in tow."

Moonlight Meadows shrugs, flicking her tail. "He pays well. Maybe."





It takes the better part of half an hour, but eventually, the herd reaches a grand hall of some kind. It looks like the diamond dogs use it as a meeting hall of some sort, filled with rows of benches. At the far end of it though, there is... well, what can only be described as a hoard: a giant pile of gold and silver finery, all of it polished to a mirror shine. Candlesticks, wall fittings, gilded mirrors, tiny silver statues of Princess Luna and Princess Platinum together, cups and rings and a truly great number of coins… It's all in mint condition, obviously lovingly maintained. A rather aged diamond dog stands next to it all in red robes of some kind or another.

"Oooooh." Dot Dash looks about the pile like a filly in a candy store. "So, like. Uncle only wants Celestia's stuff, right? We can keep the rest?"

Moonlight Meadows frowns at her. "Wouldn't that be 'they'?"

Dot Dash waves her off, half-listening. "Yeah, sure, they can keep some too."

"I suppose he did," Azure says, also half-listening, eyes scanning over the contents of the room, a light frown on her lips, "but we should see to the raiment first."

"Hi red doggy!” Moonlight steps up to the front of the group, offering a hoofshake. “What's your name?"

The dogs in the back of the room seem eager for the group to take what they want and go. You sense they're a bit upset about how this all went. But the one in the front, dressed in red, just shakes her head. "I am Fire Opal. And you may search the treasure if you like, but you will not find what you seek. It is not here."

Azure Charger's eyes flash dangerously. "Explain."

"No way! It's a trick!" Dot Dash says, immediately rushing over to the pile of gold and digging through it.

Silver Shine follows Dot Dash. "Now now, that isn't very polite."

"Dot Dash." Virtue chimes in as well. "We do not take things that do not belong to us—not unless they belong to someone else and we are returning them."

Fire Opal takes notice that one of the pegasi is still intently glaring at her. "You're looking for the special things, yes? The one's that belonged to the pony twice your size, with wings and a horn."

"We are," Azure growls. "We were told your kind was seen with in town with them."

"No,” Fire Opal says, matter-of-fact. “At least, not in my life. They haven't been here for eighty years."

Virtue tilts her head. "And where, pray tell, did they go?"

"One of your kind bought them," Fire Opal says. "Paid an alpha's ransom of gems for them, on the condition that we never reveal we had them, and never speak of them to outsiders. But seeing as how you will force me to speak if I do not, I suppose we can no longer keep our end of the bargain."

Azure rolls her eyes. "A pony bought them. You take us for foals?"

"Then don't believe me," Fire Opal replies, offended.

Moonlight steps up beside Azure Charger. "What's so odd about that?"

Azure arches an eyebrow. "Taking personal ownership over Her Highness’s property? Property she is actively seeking?" She shakes her head. "Would take a nasty breed of pony to act that way. I'm not buying it."

"I know some nasty ponies.” Moonlight’s face falls. “I believe it."

"But what you want is not here," continues Fire Opal. "Not are you the first pony to come seeking it. You are simply the first not to end up a prisoner for your impudence."

Virtue steps forward. "Fire Opal, I pray you, tell us of this pony."

"I was still a pup when he came; I remember very little. He knew they were here when he came though, and wished for nothing else. As you, he did not take no for an answer. We were happy to be rid of them. Magic like that only brings trouble."

Azure grits her teeth, grinding a hoof into the stone floor.

"I see. Well." Virtue taps her hoof on the ground, thinking a moment. "Can you possibly recall even the slightest detail? Anything at all would be vastly appreciated."

Fire Opal fixes her with a solemn look. "He burned himself on one hoof. Very badly, in fact. The things you are seeking—four boots, a crown, and a necklace—they burn like the hottest fire when you touch them. Even my grandmother could only steal them with a long pair of tongs. We warned him, but he tried on one of the boots anyway, and very nearly lost his leg for it."

"Unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony?" asks Moonlight.

Fire Opal taps her chin thoughtfully. "Earth pony. He had neither wings nor a horn."

“Curious,” muses Silver Shine. "An earth pony with strong magic associated about them."

Virtue bounces the bag of gems in her magic, thoughtfully. "T'would seem we have violated your sanctum for nothing, then. I must apologize, on behalf of myself, my companions, and my employer Sir Blueblood. It had been my intend to speak rather than battle our way in, but I confess there were... misunderstandings. However, I see no reason why we cannot part, at least, on amicable terms." She examines the gems they do have: a fine collection, enough for a young dragon, perhaps. She takes out two tiny gems, offering them to Fire Opal. "For the damages."

Azure smiles and nods. "Indeed, there have been misunderstandings.” She stomps forward, her hooves ringing out loudly. “But he did finally say something that makes sense. That we, too, won't take no for an answer." And with that, she lunges at Fire Opal, hooking her hooves underneath her red cloak. “Now you listen here.”

“Azure!” shouts Silver Shine.

"Honey and vinegar," Virtue mutters.

The old diamond dog shrinking back from Azure’s glare, but the pegasus holds her firm. "We kicked in the flank of that sorry half-wolf leader of yours. We're not about to get turned away by some namby-pamby story about a century-old pony thief with a burnt hoof. The raiments were seen here, and you will tell us where they are. NOW!" she ends in a roar.

Moonlight Meadows facehoofs.

Fire Opal whines like a kicked puppy, pulling away from Azure. "I'm telling you, it's true! My grandmother stole them, brought them here, and then he came and took them! He was an earth pony! Black with blue hair. A moon and chain on his flank! He paid us not to tell anyone they were here! That's all I know!

There there," Virtue says, patting Fire Opal's shoulder, speaking in soothing tones. "Black and blue earth pony with a moon and chain cutie mark. That’s quite helpful."

Azure whirls on Virtue. "You can't possibly be buying this?! The raiments are here!"

Moonlight Meadows stomps up to Azure, and puts her face in that of the knight’s. "You're not making sense."

Fire Opal leans against Virtue, trembling slightly. "I just don't know what else to tell her!"

"Be still, Azure Charger." Virtue shoots her a look, before offering her waterskin to Fire Opal. "It's quite all right, dear. Just take a moment."

"But…” She looks around wide-eyed, feeling the room turn against her. “They're here... They've got to be..." Growling, she gallops out of the room.

Moonlight Meadows heaves a sigh. She turns to Fire Opal, bows low, and then heads out after the lancer. Fire Opal takes a drink, watching Azure go.

"She's just upset, don't mind her," Virtue says, the pretty little liar. "Now, Mistress Fire Opal… I hope these small tokens will in some way repair the harm we have delivered against your people. Perhaps, though, this day need not end on such a sour note. Why, you have many fabulous treasures here and I have a bag of gems consigned to your use. Perhaps we could make some manner of trade, and heal our divide with mutual profit?"

"Well..." Fire Opal says, drawing a breath. "Zircon should really be the one to make those decisions. I just polish the treasure and keep the records."

Virtue smiles, speaking gently. "Regrettably he is resting at the moment. I'm certain you know the value of such things better than anyone here," she says, deliberately choosing the species-neutral term.

"I... suppose, if Zircon is... indisposed." Fire Opal agrees, looking uncertain. "And it would avoid any further trouble. I can sell you the treasure."

"Marvelous," Virtue looks to Silver Shine, meaningfully tilting her head toward the hoard.

"Ah, yes,” he says, standing a bit upright. “I'll take a look at the treasure. Just to make sure it's what it looks like, of course." After just a few moments of counting—guestimating, really—his eyes shine with the glimmer of gold.

"Sweet!" calls out Dot Dash, diving back into the hoard. "Dibs on those awesome anklets."

Fire Opal glares at Dot Dash. "Those have been carefully preserved here by my family for over a hundred years!"

"They're also magic!" Dot Dash says, slipping them on and vanishing with a pop. She reappears on the other side of the room a moment later. "Wheee!"

Virtue chuckles. "Ah, I love children."

"I don't," Fire Opal grumbles, taking the bag of gems. "All yours then."

Virtue turns to leave as well. “Dot Dash,” she calls to her protege. Dot Dash trots up to her, with a bit of an embarrassed smile. "You have my permission to pet Balti, if Moonlight Meadows—and she—says it is all right."

"Thanks, Virtue," says Dot Dash, grinning as Virtue pats her head affectionately. "I did okay?"

Virtue leans down to nuzzle her cheek. "You did marvelously. I am very proud."

"Thanks, Virtue." Dot Dash says, blushing a bit, before her exuberance returns. "I, um. I'm going to go play with these now. I won't go far!" 

"Very well."

And with that, Dot Dash disappears in a pop. Teleporting is fun! Virtue rises, and returns to her other task: Azure Charger.





"Hi."

Azure Charger's ears spin at the sound of Moonlight’s voice, but she otherwise doesn't reply. She is sitting outside the treasure room a short ways, her back turned to Moonlight, head hanging low.

"What's up?" Moonlight asks, approaching.

"Foal's errand." Azure mumbles.

"What was?"

Virtue emerges from the treasure room, approaching the both of them. "Miss Charger... Azure..."

Moonlight Meadows turns around, and holds up a hoof to her mouth. Shhhh. Virtue pauses, hoof raised in mid-gesture.

Taking a breath, Azure turns toward Moonlight, her frown drooping low. "We were sent here for the raiments. Not these... these..." she waggled her hoof toward the room before muttering, "trinkets. And we came away empty-hoofed." She sighs. “Nothing but an old pony tail from some wrinkly old dog."

"No, dear," Virtue says, reaching out to touch her shoulder with a capped hoof. "But we've come a step closer. And I want to apologize for maligning you in there—you did very well in collecting that information from her."

Moonlight Meadows blinks for a moment, wiggling her ear.

"I had to play the, how do you say..." Virtue raises a hoof, looking at the cap a moment. "Good guard. But I do believe her. You were quite frightening, and I suspect she didn't value hiding the raiment over her skin. Not that I would have permitted any harm to come to her, of course."

Moonlight twitches an ear again.

"And above all, you did very well,” she says, touching her shoulder again. “You have nothing to be ashamed of in coming here."

"Way I see it, mission isn't over,” says Moonlight. “Just is longer than we thought it would be."

"Perhaps. We must report to the knight, and he will decide if he desires to continue retaining our services…” She pauses, studying Azure’s face a moment. “Should you wish to accept."

Azure shakes her head. "We've got a story about a pony who touched a hot stove before any of us were born."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. They will not escape us in either case." Virtue lowers down to her knees, close to Azure. "My enthusiastic declarations of championhood aside, Azure, I would be delighted if you would not be deterred."

Azure Charger looks between Virtue and Moonlight, then slowly nods. "...You're right. We shouldn't give up, as long as we've got a lead, no matter how small." Her ears droop. "I... Sorry about losing my head in there, everypony. I just... was disappointed."

Moonlight Meadows shrugs. "It happens. And I've seen worse."

"Quite all right, I don't judge you for it." Virtue’s smile returns in earnest. "Now, we have earned some rewards rightly. Let us enjoy them."

"Right..." Azure gets back to her hooves with a slow nod. "Let's get back with the others, then." She follows Virtue and Moonlight, not quite making eye contact.

And so, Dot Dash sends a message back to Sir Blueblood to alert him to what has transpired.

The group takes the treasure.

And they start back.
> And Thus The Journey Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a long walk back to Castle Blueblood, but an uneventful one. Dot Dash fills most of the way with stories of the group’s daring do, heedless of the fact that you were all there. She tells it very well, and makes the whole thing sound terribly exciting, though you don’t quite remember Azure back-flipping over two diamond dog guards to kick their leader in the face.

Upon your arrival, you’re given a chance to rest and recover, but the break is not long. Soon enough, Sir Blueblood calls you back to the audience chamber, to discuss the outcome of your little adventure. The good knight is there, along with Up Turn, and of course, Dot Dash sitting by his side. Virtue's place is left open for her as before, but there is a new figure there now. A unicorn that Virtue does not recognize, not a regular feature at Castle Blueblood.

Clad in heavy barding, shined to an almost mirror finish, this silver pony looks out with a look of some curiosity, a shield and short spear by her side. A small insignia hangs from her neck, marking her as a student of Harmony. She's got golden eyes and a golden mane, and a bright gold sunburst can be seen on her flank.

Virtue finds her to be very metallic.

"—and then, Azure lept up with her wings and was all, 'grrr!' and kicked the big dog so hard he hit the ceiling!" Dot Dash is enthusiastically saying as the group enters the room, never once pausing for breath. "And the really funny part was after, when Virtue got all blushy and sw—" Her train of thought is interrupted when Virtue swats her in the back of the head.

Azure Charger coughs loudly, looking out the window.

"Uh..." Dot Dash furrows her brow, studying the floor. "Blushy and... what other words start with swuh?"

"Perhaps we should give you some time to think of one,” Sir Blueblood says, his tone amused, before he turns back to the group. "It is good to see you all again. I've been hearing quite a bit about your heroics. A pity that the prize was not there, but, I understand that Virtue has already informed you about the real objective of your quest?"

"Getting back something Celestia used to wear!" chimes Moonlight.

“An object of great value,” Silver Shine agrees.

"Indeed, she has, Sir Blueblood," Azure says with a respectful bow. "With your leave, I intend to follow up on the rumors given to us by the dogs."
"A knight of your skill and gallantry does not need my leave, ma fleur d'acier," Blueblood answers Azure, with a smile that is at once, respectful and amused. "Though I may be of some help to you on your quest. There is more to what you have become a part of than Virtue has told you, and it is only fair that you now know.

"She has told you the object of your quest, but not why it is valuable, or how it came to be lost. Celestia's raiment is no vanity set, but artifacts of great power, that predate even old Unicornia. I do not know how she came to posses them, but I do know that even for one such as she, they are quite irreplaceable. The boots bestow ultimate mastery over all forms of earth pony magic, as the necklace does for the pegasi's arts, and the crown for unicorn magic. Together, as she, they embody the unity of all pony races.”

"Many have attempted to steal them, through the ages, but all have been thwarted. Her raiment is a thing of harmony and pure intentions, and only the most heroic of ponies can touch it. Any other creature that tries is seared at once, as though by the sun's own fire. Only an earth pony can lift the boots, only a unicorn can lift the crown, and only a pegasus can lift the necklace.”

Sir Blueblood nods to the ponies before him. "Which brings us to you, and why I assembled you here. I had hoped that the raiment would still be in the dog-creatures’ caves, but I knew it was unlikely."

"Mmm." Azure draws her lips tight at that.

"Retrieving the artifacts will require an extended journey, and at the end, if those who undertake the quest are not pure of spirit, it will all have been for naught. I have done many great things in my life, but I am under no illusions as to the purity of my own heart.” Sir Blueblood stares off at the far wall for a moment. “I cannot lift the crown. But, Virtue, perhaps you can. And for the rest of you... well. You understand, I am sure."

Virtue gives a respectful curtsy. "You flatter me, Sir, but if there is any way in which I can continue helping the Princess, I shall."

Azure Charger nods crisply. "As will I."

"This quest is of too great an importance to abandon only half done.” Silver Shine nods to Sir Blueblood. “I shall remain so long as the party can use me."

Moonlight Meadows is tapping her chin with her hoof, a puzzled expression on her face. "Why do we need really good brandy to complete the quest?"

Sir Blueblood considers Moonlight's question for a moment. His expression is hard to read, but there’s a hint of amusement in there.

"Brandy?" Azure blinks, and gives Sir Blueblood a puzzled look. "Is that what's meant to counteract the sacred force of the raiments?"

"Yes," Blueblood says after a moment. "We'll go with that." Azure nods and flips through her bit-purse. "I'm sure Virtue can clear up any other questions you may have. Later. Now, this bring us to the matter of your lead—"

Up Turn gives an indignant huff. "A description of an earth pony from eighty years past is not a lead."

Sir Blueblood shares a look with his sister. "Discovery, then. A cold trail, given, but I think I have discovered a means by which you might make use of it." He beckons to the new unicorn. "Dawn, please! Do not lurk in the shadows. Step forward and introduce yourself."

Dawn Star nods and steps forward, regal and deliberate motions. "A pleasure to meet all of you. I am Dawn Star, a member of the Princess’s Court." She bows deeply.

"A colleague of Moonlight's, one might say,” says Sir Blueblood with a knowing smile, “and among other talents, gifted in finding that which is many years lost."

"Ah, what luck then." Azure gives a respectful nod to Dawn Star. "We are honored by your assistance in this matter."

"I've never actually been to Canterlot," Moonlight muses.

Virtue eyes Dawn for a moment before lowering her head… slightly. "It seems we're fairly inundated in curious talents of late."

"My brother attracts that sort," Up Turn says, less than pleased with that fact.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Blueblood says, complete with roguish grin. 

Moonlight Meadows leans over to Azure. "He probably likes there being so many mares around, too," she murmurs, too low for anyone else to hear. Azure Charger winces slightly, giving Moonlight a half-hearted shrug.

"Still, on more than one occasion, she has been able to find items years or even centuries lost,” says Sir Blueblood. “She has been unable to find the raiment pieces themselves, but perhaps she will have more luck with this mysterious stallion of yours."

"Then we welcome her into our midst.” Virtue nods to her. “Miss Star, as the expert, how would you recommend we begin?"

"I will need something from you to begin," Dawn Star says, stepping forward from behind Sir Blueblood, and giving a light bow.

"And what might that thing be?"

"A description of what it is I am to seek, and something tied by time and circumstance to the object of the search. In this case, a description of the stallion and an item from the treasure hoard should suffice."

Azure nods. "Well, items from the hoard, we can certainly help you with. As for the description..." She taps a hoof under her chin.

"Moon with a chain across it for a cutie mark," she muses, stepping forward a bit to look more closely at Dawn Star.

Dawn Star nods. "And an earth pony, Dot's message said. Was there anything else? The more detailed the better."

"He burned his hoof really bad,” Moonlight adds. “I remember Fire Opal saying that."

Dawn Star nods again, reaching back into her saddlebags and producing a small item—a glass sphere that gently rests inside her hoof, delicately held up to the air.
"Right, that. And he was a ‘he’, right?" Azure's ears fall flat. "Was a bit distracted during the description bit."

"Yes. He." Moonlight frowns, brow furrowing and eyes crossing. "Also black with blue hair. Black coat and blue mane probably I think."

"That shall do. If I could have something from the treasure pile, then?" Dawn Star asks, opening one of the windows at the back of the room and letting a shaft of sunlight stream in. The glass ball in her hoof catches the sun’s rays, splitting them into a thousand little beams that sparkle and dance across the audience chamber.

"Ooooooo," Moonlight says, as the lights play over the room. And her.

“Silver Shine?” asks Azure. “Could you assist Dawn Star here?"

Silver Shine eyes the strange sight of the crystal ball. "I'm not sure how, exactly."

"I need an item from the treasure pile,” says Dawn. “Something that this mysterious stallion may have touched, perhaps. The closer the connection to him, the more closely I will be able to locate him."

"Oh yes, I recall. Something from the hoard, you said?" Silver Shine looks up in thought. "Something he may have touched... hmm, quite a quandary we have ourselves. We know too little about the stallion to know what he might have touched or once possessed. We know too little of his motivation."

"Aside from touching one of the hoofboots," Azure deadpans with a sigh.

Silver Shine strokes his chin. "If I may go out on a limb, my hypothesis is that the stallion was after more than the material value of the raiment. It's possible he was seeking its magic."

Virtue nods. "That would be almost certain."

"If so,” says Silver, “he may not have been interested in the other valuable objects we have found."

Dot Dash reflexively covers her shiny new anklets.

"Mmm. Although... He might have dug through the pile, looking for the raiments." With a cough, Azure adds, "Out of desperation."

"Let us make a best guess then, and see where that takes us," Dawn Star says.

"Very well." Silver digs into his saddlebags.

"If need be, we can take a few days for you to examine what we have." Virtue half-shrugs. "It's not like we haven't waited eighty years."

Azure frowns and fidgets at that.

"Mmm, true. But much as it would bring me joy for dear Dot Dash to present the Princess with her things on our behalf, I might prefer it if we retrieved them while we were all still alive," Sir Blueblood jests. "So, if you would, Silver?"

A coin appears in Silver's hoof. "Use it wisely," he mutters as he flips it to Dawn Star. She catches it in her teeth—grinning a little that she managed to pull it off without either getting hit on the muzzle or swallowing it.

After a moment though, she turns back to the little glass ball in her hoof, focusing on it as the sun’s rays shine out into the room. She tilts her hoof this way and that, gentle motions making the ball roll, the hundred shards of light in the audience chamber fracturing, rejoining, and then fracturing again. It's a dazzling display. The sun’s light is cast against every shiny object in the room, losing none of its radiance in the process. Still, not much seems to be happening.

Until, against one wall, a pattern can be seen, little motes of sunlight assembling themselves in recognizable shapes. The vague outline of a roof, then, the rest of the building. An earth pony town, little houses crudely outlined in dots of light. Shapes that must be ponies jerkily move along the image with every wiggle of her hoof, the town slowly coming into recognizable focus.

"Well look at that..." Azure murmurs.

"That's as good as I can get it," Dawn says, frowning as she concentrates. "The link is very weak." After a moment, the image fades, and she puts the crystal ball away.

"Equestrian. Fairly cosmopolitan. It can't be too far..." Sir Blueblood says, thoughtfully.

"There were... earth ponies, I guess?" Azure offers helpfully.

Moonlight Meadows frowns, trying to think of which one, exactly, it could be.

"I have seen this place before... Yes, it must be... the town of Rambling Ridge. It's not too far away, to the southeast." Silver frowns for a moment. "Although what connection there may be between our quest and this little town, I have not the slightest idea."

"Oooo, yeah, that sounds about right.” Moonlight nods rapidly in agreement. “I knew that town hall looked familiar."

Azure lets out a low whistle. "You recognized that off that? Not bad..."

"Yes, it has a particular vernacular style, doesn't it?" says Silver. Virtue eyes him sideways, and hides a smirk.

"We should look into getting caramels while we're there. The confectioners are really, really, really good at making those.” Moonlight licks at her lips. Up Turn frowns sharply at Moonlight, while Sir Blueblood chuckles.

Azure clears her throat. "Whatever the reason, it sounds like it's our best lead, at this point. Shall we?"

"Yes, as soon as you are ready." Sir Blueblood puts a leg out to one side, pulling Dot Dash a hair closer. "My niece, however, will be staying. After the events of your last excursion, well… Dawn Star is quite qualified to keep me apprised of events from afar."

Dawn Star simply nods. "If you'll have me, of course," she directs to the group.

"I've no objections. Undoubtedly your"—Azure idly looks over Dawn's spear— "knowledge and study will be of use."

Virtue touches Dot Dash's mane briefly, smiling. "I'll be sure to bring you back something."

Dot Dash scrapes at the floor with a hoof, blushing a little as she smiles and an embarrassed smile. "I wanted to go, just, you know. Mom is so overprotective."

Azure smirks lightly. "She means well. Do take care of yourself, Dot Dash."

"I will,” she replies. “And you take good care of Virtue, okay? She's really, um. Nice."

"And prone to swooning over feats of valor," adds Moonlight. Virtue swats at her with a hoof, and blinks in surprise as her hoof gets caught within the curls.

"That's mostly what I was—ow! Mom!" Dot Dash says, as Up Turn pulls her away by her ear.

"That's quite enough of that," Up Turn chides her.

Azure Charger's coat starts to turn from light blue up to red. "Yes, well. I assure you, Dot Dash, no harm shall come to anypony."

Sir Blueblood chuckles—a deep, reverberating sound. "On your way then. May fortune smile upon you."
> Running Round Rambling Ridge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rambling Ridge isn't far, really. More than twice as far as the diamond dogs’ caves, as the crow flies, but the whole journey is over proper roads. A hundred miles of clear paths and friendly towns goes by quicker than ten through the brush, and the group has no trouble staying in good health and good spirits for the whole of the way there.

Rambling Ridge is, as many earth pony towns are, a center of agriculture. Though the way Moonlight and Silver tell it, it's a bit more cosmopolitan than most, growing more cash crops than food and making fine goods from them—caramels included.

It's a bright morning when the group spots the town in the distance, the only way in a gate that's watched over by two guards. Despite the traditional security measures though, they seem at ease, the gate half open and the guards just lazily chatting with each other and leaning on their spears.

"Hello!" one of them calls—a blue earth pony, with a dark tan mane, like wheat bread.

"Hail," Azure greets. "May we enter this village? The lot of us were hoping to ask a few questions of the locals."

"Indeed,” says Virtue, “my diverse companions and I are visiting your fine town to peruse your goods."

"Sure thing. What are you looking to buy?" the guard asks, nudging the gate open behind her with a rear hoof.

"Caramels!" chirps Moonlight.

Azure blinks, looking quickly from Moonlight to the guards. "Yyyyes. Caramels. And to meet the fine locals."

The second guard—a tan earth pony stallion with a blue mane—gives Azure a suspicious look, and after that, glances over everypony else.

"Your town is famed far and wide for such delicacies." Virtue smiles flatteringly.

"Sure," the first guard says. "Butterscotch's store is just on the left through the gate. You might want to try Suger Cane though—he's young, but he makes the best—"

"Hold on," the second interrupts, pointing out Silver Shine with a hoof. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

Virtue quickly pushes forward. "I would be surprised if you had. This is my stallion-at-arms, White Knight. we've just come from a castle out west a ways."

"Sure thing friend,” says Silver. “I was here for the caramel festival a few years back."

The guard glances between the two of them, obviously not buying it. After a moment though, he lowers his hoof. "My mistake. Go ahead in then."

"Really? He's better than Butterscotch?" Moonlight says, trotting up to the mare. "Because Butterscotch's caramels are amazing."

"Yeah,” nods the guard, “Butterscotch has the best caramel, but Suger Cane makes these new peach things. They're amazing. Give them a try."

Virtue walks through gracefully, hooves striking the cobbles. She waits until they're well past the guards to shoot Silver Shine a look. Azure Charger follows after, looking so nonchalant you wouldn't even believe it.

"Ooo, that sounds yummy," Moonlight says, licking her lips and following Virtue inside. "Thanks!"

"Nice to see a mixed group like that," they hear one of the guards say in their wake. 

"I guess," the other agrees. "Was that a mountain lion though?"

Inside the walls, they find a cheerful, bright little community. The streets are full of ponies going about their regular routine, as well as a considerable number of merchants operating stands or pulling carts full of goods. The air smells heavily of fresh bread, sweets, and just a hint of dust from construction, a number of new buildings going up in bright brick. 

The ponies spot a pegasus on top of the guard house turning to watch them as they pass—a teal pony, with a blonde mane—but other than that, it seems to be an entirely earth pony town. Moonlight Meadows waves to the pegasus as they trot past. She doesn't wave back, but perhaps she's busy sunbathing.

"You are making a bad habit of jumping in and trying to finish things far too early, Sir White Knight," Virtue tells him. "It leaves a mare wanting." Silver shuffles a bit under the rebuke, but otherwise maintains a flat expression.

"This is our town, then?" Azure murmurs to Moonlight, eyes drifting from building to building.

"Yes! Yes it is. Now let's see…” Moonlight looks around the town square, then pouts. “Oh ponyfeathers. She didn't tell me where Sweet Tooth is."

"Mmm, tricky. How are we to—wait, hold on." Dawn Star trots off, returning a moment later with a box of hot, steaming candies from one of the vendors. "How are we to proceed, then?"

Azure shakes her head and turns to Dawn Star. "I suppose we ought to start drilling the locals then. Split up, divide and conquer. We can split the town into five quadrants."

Virtue moves forward to Azure Charger, thoughtful. "I think we should pretend to be on some form of official business. The guards were already fairly suspicious. One of us could be on candy-buying duty, and question those in the shop there. Another looking for quarters at the nearest lodging."

Moonlight Meadows frowns. "They were only suspicious because it looked like we were trying to hide something."

"Yes.” Virtue nods. “Looked like."

"It's an earth pony town. Just be here to buy things and also we're trying to find a pony," says Moonlight.

Azure scratches the back of her head with a hoof. "Right. I'll ahh... follow your lead here I guess."

Virtue beams. "Excellent. Why don't you and Miss Meadows go deal with the candy problem?"

Azure stares blankly. "Candy." She turns and looks at Moonlight's expectant face. "Err. Right then. Shall we?"

"Yep! Come on," she says, flicking her tail and trotting over to a nearby pony. "Hi! Can you help me find Sweet Tooth? I hear he's got these peach things."

"Oh, sure!" offers the vendor. "Just go two houses down, take a left, then second on your left. Oh, and tell him that you might be interested in buying a few hundred. He'll go crazy. He's trying to attract new business and really overdoes it with the free samples."

Moonlight Meadows nods. "Thanks," Aaand she's off, Balti following lazily, to find this Sweet Tooth. Azure nods idly to the vendor and trots off after her.

"I'm curious about the pegasus on the gatehouse," muses Silver Shine, looking back up at the guard tower.

"First, Master Shine, I'd like a word." Virtue nods to Dawn Star, then moves off a bit, down a nearby alley. "Miss Star, would you accompany us?"

"Of course." Dawn Star says, trotting after Virtue. Silver Shine follows soon thereafter.

"Master Shine, perhaps you'd care to explain the nature of your last visit here." Virtue pauses. "In some greater detail."

Silver fixes Virtue with a level gaze. "As I said, I happened to be passing by, after a vacation to the Eastern Sea, and stumbled upon this quaint town---Moonlight isn't lying, the caramel is quite good."

Virtue considers. "And would the locals have any reason, rational or otherwise, to bear you malice?"

"They certainly shouldn't."

"Are you positive? If not, I can take corrective steps."

Silver Shine frowns and looks side to side. They seem to be alone for now. He asides to Virtue, "A disguise, eh? You're confident it would work?"

Virtue beams. Plucking a pin from her hair, it poofs into a red cap. "Absolutely."

Silver Shine nods at length. "Perhaps there is wisdom in that."

Virtue lowers her horn over it, her magic sparkling a bit. "Miss Dawn Star, have the guards in Canterlot changed their uniforms at all lately?"

"Not that I recall," Dawn Star says to Virtue, shaking her head. "I'm not... entirely sure I'm okay with this deception. But I suppose it is for the best."

"Delightful. Put this on." Undeterred, she hands it over to Silver Shine. "And I expect it back, in good condition."

"Your wish is my command," Silver says to Virtue as he takes the cap, "although I must admit I had not imagined wearing this outfit anytime soon."

Virtue has a lidded grin as she watches Silver Shine put the hat on.

There's a brief sheen, and then Silver Shine begins to bulk up, putting on sleek muscle. His coat whitens until it's almost gleaming, and his hair takes on a shine, before it begins to lengthen. His tail sweeps nearly to the ground, filling out. White armor clings to his form, a helmet pushing his crest up.

...is it Dawn Star's imagination, or does he look awfully svelte? Silver himself looks distinctly uncomfortable at the whole affair.

"I think that looks marvelous, don't you agree, Dawn Star?" coos Virtue.

Dawn Star looks uncomfortable, tugging at her armors collar. "It's... fine, yes. Perhaps we should be on our way!" she adds, quickly.

"Excellent idea. Come along, White Knight, and try to look properly attentive." Virtue trots off, with a spring in her step. Silver Shine mutters a few words under his breath before reluctantly following.





Walking past a number of ponies going about their business, Azure and Moonlight soon find themselves facing a large building broken into a number of smaller stores. One of them, “Sweet Tooth's Confectioneries” immediately draws their attention, by scent as much as by name. A wonderful odor of peaches, strawberries and other fruit wafts out the open door, and entering it, they find it to be a hive of activity. There's a number of ponies working there, but one stands out from the rest—a snow-white stallion with three Sweet Tooths on his flank, and a mane cut so short he's almost shaved.

"Hello there! Something I can help you with?" he asks, his hooves covered in flour.

"Yes! The gate guards told us about your peach candies. Though not what they were called. I wanted to try some! And also she does too.” Moonlight waves at Azure Charger, who looks like a rather imposing pegasus knight, considering she’s still in full kit.

"Yes, yes I would." Azure nods enthusiastically. "I do love caramels. Bit of a sweet tooth."

"Oh, nice to meet you both. You must be here to help Lightning, right?" He asks, as he turns back to pull a tray off a rack behind him.

Moonlight tilts her head. "Is Lightning the pegasus at the guard tower?"

"Mmmhmm," he says, as he lays the tray out on the counter. The confectioneries on it don't look like caramels—in fact, Moonlight isn't quite sure what to make of them, other than to observe that they're individual, strawberry shaped red candies speckled with little black dots. "She's our weather pony. Our only weatherpony. I assumed your friend was here to help her. If you're not here for that, what brings a pegasus all the way out here?"

Azure opens her mouth, but thinks better of it and simply says, "Yes."

"...yes what?" Sweet Tooth asks, after a moment.

"With the weather, yes," she says with a nod. "Straight in from Cloudsdale to assist."

Moonlight Meadows sniffs at the candies, then delicately picks one up and starts eating. The candy is delicious. Chewy and hot and full of fruit flavors and a dozen little tastes that give it tang. The dark bits crunch under her teeth and release new flavors as they do, the wonderful scent of it flooding her nose. It's amazing!

It is also very sticky.

Azure blanches as Moonlight helps herself. "Uh. And also, to buy a few treats, for my friend here."

Moonlight works on the candy, but, in a rush to share the experience, stuffs one in Azure's mouth as she is speaking. "MHmmhmhHhhmM!' Azure also finds it delicious, and she'll say so, just as soon as she can open her jaw… It might be awhile.

"So! What do you think?" Suger Cane asks. "They're a new candy, still a bit of a work in progress."

Moonlight Meadows works at the candy with her tongue. "Mmmmh. Hmahmhmhehmham." 

Azure's muzzle crunches up, her eyes crossing to stare down at her latched mouth. "Mmmrhph?" Her hoof instinctively reaches for her oversized toothpick... but luckily she thinks better of it.

"Mmm." Sweet Tooth frowns. "I was so sure I'd fixed that. The boiling point of the sugar is too low. Makes the candy a little bit grabby." With a shrug, he smiles at the two ponies. "Oh well, call it a freebie then."

Moonlight Meadows nods, and smiles. Azure tries to wedge a hooftip in between her teeth, but they're too wired shut to allow it. "Mph rhmprh. Mu dumph phu."

"They're better for you than caramels too. Really, there's hardly any sugar in them. The sweetness is all from other things, carefully applied." He wags a hoof, nonchalant. "And that'll wear off soon. An hour, tops."

Azure Charger gives him the most deadest of pans.

"Hm hhrmhr?!" screams Moonlight.

"Everypony's a critic," he says, with a grumpy frown. "These things are going to catch on. Canterlot wasn't built a day."

"Hm hrr hhm hmmd, hm hhu hmmd hm hem hhmmhd hhmmg hrm hhd hmrd hhd."

"I'm working on that part," he says, a tad sullen, adding, "Obviously."

Azure taps Moonlight on the shoulder. Once she has her attention, she rears up on her hind legs, making swooping and elaborate gestures with her forehooves.

Moonlight Meadows looks over at Azure, and blinks.

Azure grasps Moonlight's mane and gives it a light shake, before swirling her hoof about willy-nilly.

Moonlight blinks again, cocking her head to the side.

Azure facehoofs.

"Hmmm, H hd hu hmm hh hhu hhm h hh hhmm."

Sweet Tooth sighs. "Hold on." He reaches under the counter, and after a moment, emerges with a set of wooden blocks, letters printed on each side. "Here," he says, pushing them across the counter to Azure.

Azure immediately sets to work with the letters. In short order, they spell out a word. “D O M A G I C S T U F F”

Moonlight Meadows blinks again, then takes the blocks herself, building, in rather short order, a small tower. She then knocks it down, and rearranges the letters to spell. "C A N ‘ T"

Azure facehoofs a block into her own forehead, leaving a light "R" imprint

Still using the letters, Moonlight presents Sweet Tooth with "W A T E R H E L P"

He sighs, his earlier defensiveness over his candy replaced by a sort of resignation. He's quick enough about fetching two glasses of warm water, putting them on the counter in front of the pair. "I'm really sorry about this. It's just... you know. I really thought I'd fixed that problem." He shifts uncomfortably on his hooves. "If you could not mention this to anypony, I'd be really grateful."

Moonlight opens her mouth with a resounding "pop," the candy falling out ... only to be caught on her tongue, which pulls it right back in. She rolls the candy around in her mouth for a bit, then stuffs it into her cheek and leaves it there. "It's reeeeeally tasty."

Azure motions her jaw around in wide, stretching circles. "Right. I'm sure we'll soon laugh this off and forget about it. Completely unrelated to forgetting about this, we were hoping to ask you a question or two."

"Do you know of any ponies with moons for cutie marks? Besides me," says Moonlight.

"They'd be quite old,” adds Azure. “Perhaps no longer amongst us."

"Uh... mmm," Sweet Tooth considers it, tapping the counter with a hoof. "I don't think I know any older ponies with a moon on their cutie mark, no. One of the night watch guards is named Moon Light, but his cutie mark is an eye and a spear. Anything else you could tell me, maybe?"

Moonlight Meadows cocks her head. "Well he had a pretty badly scarred leg, but… who knows when he might have been through here. Would you mind if I took a couple of those candies?"

"Not at all! In fact, go ahead and take the tray full," Suger Cane says, quickly and efficiently moving the candies from the tray into a paper bag one by one. "And really, I'm sorry about this."

"No, no, it's okay. They're really good. I think you just have to not chew. Oh, and maybe some caramels, too?” She reaches around in her mane for her bit-purse.

Back in the candy shop, Moonlight soon has her bag full of the best candies—as well as a few free samples for her patience. And not mentioning this to anypony. Really, don't. Moonlight hands Azure some caramel, and immediately sets out looking for the others. Azure nods courteously to the shopkeeper, then sets out after Moonlight, absent-mindedly popping a caramel into her mouth as she goes.





Meanwhile, across the street, Virtue, Dawn, and Silver have found an inn where merchants and guests can regularly stay. As a cosmopolitan sort of town, Rambling Ridge has proper accommodations for the visiting merchants. It's a considerable step up from sleeping in somepony's loft—though also considerably more expensive. At this time of day, of course, it's also mostly empty, everypony staying here actually out seeing to their affairs. There's still somepony here though, a light tan mare with a folded sheet and mint on her cutie mark.

"Oh, hello," she says, looking up from her book. "I'm Turn Down. You all looking for a room?"

"Indeed,” Virtue says with a smile. “Room sufficient for six."

"Sure. Will that be six individual rooms, or three pairs?" she asks politely, moving to a set of keys behind the counter.

"I'm not yet certain how long we'll be staying in town. Let us say three pairs."

"HAIL CELESTIA!" Silver Shine blurts out in a bombastic voice.

Turn Down looks at Silver Shine. For a while. "...so three rooms then."

"Quite so," Virtue says, as if nothing happened. "We're expecting someone, as it turns out." She gives a description of the earth pony thief. "I don't suppose you've seen them? We were supposed to meet in another town along the way, but I confess we were delayed terribly.”

Turn Down thinks about that as she leads them upstairs, picking three keys off the stand with her ears, letting them hang there like earrings as she walks. Virtue finds something terribly cute about key earrings. "No... can't think of anypony like that," she says. "I mean, you'd notice somepony with a ruined leg. It sounds a bit like Wisp Will's father, but he's been dead for a few years."

"Oh? That would be terrible,” says Virtue. “Is Wisp Will in town, perhaps? I might like a word."

"Sure. She owns a little store just south-west of Butterscotch's store. Candles & Potted Plants. You can't miss it," Turn Down explains as she shows each of the ponies to their rooms, handing the keys over one at a time. "So, those are your rooms—there's breakfast in the morning downstairs, and you can pull the little cord by the door if you need anything. Will there be anything else?" Turn Down asks, polite.

Virtue will give the rooms a brief once over before taking the keys and stepping out again. "No, thank you, this will be excellent. You have been most kind, Miss Turn Down." On her way out the door with Dawn Star and Silver Shine, she pauses, saying back, "Oh, and don't mind White Knight. She's not been out of Canterlot for a while and she's terribly nervous around strange ponies."

Silver’s eyes bulge at Virtue’s particular word choice. He leans down and takes a moment to do an emergency undercarriage check.

Well. That's new.

"Oh, I was wondering." Turn Down gives as polite a smile as she can muster, before returning to the front desk. "Enjoy your stay!"

Virtue is looking far too pleased with herself as she trots over towards the candy shop. Moonlight and Azure are already en route as she leaves the inn, so the herd meets together in the middle of the street.

Moonlight Meadows blinks, looking at the new pony. "Who's this?"

"Mmm, more of Celestia's regiment?" Azure blinks, looking askance to Dawn Star. "Friend of yours?"

"...yes. I mean, no, I mean!" Dawn Star looks completely relaxed and at-ease. "Celestia doesn't like it when ponies lie. Unless it's really important… yes."

Silver Shine looks acutely embarrassed. Moonlight blinks at both of them. A lot.

"Ahhhhh." Azure Charger nods knowingly, then winks down to Moonlight. "She's a 'friend'." Moonlight Meadows raises an eyebrow.

"Ah, no! Not like that!" Dawn Star waves away with both hooves, a blush spreading on her face. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Virtue has some trouble keeping a straight face. "Why don't you introduce yourself?" she asks, sweetly. Silver Shine nervously glances about, but she prods further. "Oh, come now, don't be shy. We're all friends here."

"My name is S…” He coughs. “I mean Melody um... Moon. And I am... a guard. And um..." He looks to Virtue and swallows. "I just couldn't stop worrying about Virtue." With that, he wraps his leg over Virtue's neck.

"Terribly sweet of her," Virtue adds. She buffs a hoof, looking unwholesomely amused at something.

"Mrrr." Balti sniffs at 'Melody Moon' disdainfully.

Azure Charger frowns slightly. "Yes, well. I'm afraid we hit a bit of a dead-end on our end. Might be a guardpony named Moon Light but doesn't sound terribly promising."

Virtue nods. "I discovered there's a mare in town by the name of Wisp Will whose father greatly resembled our quarry."

Moonlight Meadows frowns, disregarding the change in topic. "Dawn's right. Ponies really shouldn't lie, especially when they're that bad at it."

"Oooh. This is the moral slippery slope, isn't it?" Dawn Star asks, worried. "They warned me the outside world would be like this. Am I in bad company now?"

"Canterlot mares," says Virtue rolling her eyes. "Aren't they so uptight?"

Moonlight Meadows thinks for a moment. "Why is Silver a girl?"

"What." Azure Charger gives Moonlight a funny look, but then she blinks and frowns at Virtue. "Where is Silver anyway? He was supposed to be with you."

"Uhh." A blush appears on Silver’s white cheeks. "Well, one thing led to another..."

Moonlight Meadows quickly waves him away. "Nooo, that's the kind of story that ends with surprise foals and impromptu wedding ceremonies. Don't start with that explanation."

Virtue is somehow managing not to break down laughing. It looks to be a titanic effort.

The herd can visibly see the gears turning in Azure’s head. Virtue is kind enough to wait, until the moment that Azure's jaw drops and her eyes bug out. "Oh sweet Celestia..." She shivers lightly. "Remind me never to blow our cover again."

"Look, just keep it quiet,” hisses Silver. “It's just temporary. I hope."

"And the best part is, now that I've established the cover identity there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it until we leave," Virtue says, rich with vile glee.

"Okay, but, why a girl?” Moonlight’s frown deepens. “I mean you introduced him as a stallion at the gate, and now he looks like someone completely different, and now people are going to ask questions."

"I've dealt with greater contradictions. Besides, stallion-at-arms is a gender-neutral term," Virtue says, deflecting the concerns with a wave of her hoof. "Now, then, shall we go investigate?"

Moonlight shrugs. "Oh, okay, fine. Just don't blame me when we're all stuck up on the rooftops without our fur, shivering in the cold and hiding from the timber wolves. Candy?" she says, proffering one of the strawberry shaped ones to Virtue.

Virtue accepts it. "Why, thank you, dear." With a bit of work, and a few delicate chews, she swallows the treat. Azure stares at her, slack-jawed. She smiles back, blissfully unaware of the dire fate she just avoided.





Leading the group around the bend, Virtue doesn't have much difficulty finding Candles & Potted Plants. It appears to be one of those stores—and entering it, they find it contains a lovely collection of candles and ferns. The store is small, and as everypony files in, it soon becomes quite crowded. Behind the counter is a younger mare, perhaps twenty years of age, with a dark tan coat and a bright blonde mane. She's presently trimming one of the larger plants, her cutie mark visible as three points of light in mist.

"Hello," she says, not looking up from her work. The innkeeper had said her name was Wisp Will. "Can I help you?"

Virtue looks over the mismatched inventory with an appraising eye, before coming up to the counter, letting her compatriots roam. She bears a pair of blue candles with her in her magic. "Yes, indeed. We had just arrived in town, looking for somepony of my acquaintance. I asked about and several ponies pointed me your way," she says, as she puts them on the counter to buy. Scented, probably.

Moonlight Meadows trots over to the ferns. They are well tended and lush, and quite young, perhaps a year old… Well, that's not so young for ferns. Still, she seems to grow them quite well, and they're still shooting up like weeds.

"Mmm," Wisp answers, looking up at Virtue. "I'm not much for directions, but, I'll do what I can. That will be ten bits… HEY!”

Jerking her head away from the table of potted ferns, Azure wipes a bit of drool from her mouth and looks at Wisp Will. The storekeeper points to a sign above the desk that reads 'NO GRAZING’. Azure scowls.

Virtue puts some bits down with her teeth, smiling. "Thank you. Well, when we described him, it was rather the consensus that you might be related to the person in question..." she says, describing her father in tones that suggest nopony told her that he had died.

There's a diminutive oak sapling in a large pot in the back. It's probably the oldest plant here by a considerable margin. Moonlight trots over the oak, eyeing it over. She narrows her eyes a moment, and twitches an ear, turning so as to face Wisp. Her eyes half-close, her breathing slows, and her body goes... very, very still.

Wisp Will pauses in her work partway through Virtue's description. "Yes," Wisp interrupts Virtue, after a moment. "Yes, that's... that my father. He's dead, though. Two years next month."

"Oh," Virtue says, touching her chest. "I'm sorry to hear that." She makes it sound as if she is. And, well, she is a bit. Losing one's father is not something everyone likes to hear.

"Yeah," Wisp says, quickly. "How did you know him, exactly?"

"Well, we are searching for some things that he was known to have possessed,” Virtue explains. “We had hoped to speak with him about it and see if we could make an offer. I understand it was quite some time ago. Nearly eighty years, now, in fact."

"I wouldn't know anything about that," Wisp Will says, quickly enough, her tone low and... well. Touched by sadness. "He traveled a lot, when he was younger. He only arrived here with me fifteen years ago."

Virtue gives a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, this is a difficult subject, I know, and this is hardly the setting to do it in. Perhaps we could talk later, over dinner perhaps? I wouldn't want to trouble you, but it is important to us."

Azure Charger wordlessly arches an eyebrow.

Wisp Will looks at Virtue for a moment, obviously thinking it over. "No, I don't think so. I sold most of his things anyway. If you're looking for something specific, I might be able to tell you who has it."

"Very well," Virtue nods. "A quartet of plus sized golden hoof caps, a thick golden necklace, and a golden crown."

Wisp Will thinks it over for a moment, but shakes her head. If she recognizes the importance of the items, it doesn't show on her face. "No, nothing like that. It was mostly just griffon stuff. And souvenirs."

"Griffon... hmm," Azure murmurs, furrowing her brow.

"I'm sorry to hear that,” Virtue says. “Was there somepony your father dealt with, often?"

 "No," Wisp Will says, quickly enough. "I understand that you're looking for something of his, but I don't think I have it. Perhaps you should be on your way."

"Miss Will, please," she says, in a tone that suggests a gentle appeal, "what we are looking for is of great importance to us. We have searched for a long time and braved many dangers to find it. If there is anything you know, anything at all that might help us, even if it seems unimportant to you, we would be greatly appreciative if you could tell us. I swear to you on my mark we shall be on our way and never trouble you again." Even as she says so, she gestures the others to begin going, already packing up her candles in a bit of loose paper. The others look to her with confusion but hesitantly oblige, leaving the two mares alone in the shop.

Wisp Will looks down at the counter, pushing her pruning tool around with a hoof. She's obviously very uncomfortable, her body language tight and stiff, her tail tucked in about herself. "My father didn't have anything like that when I knew him. And he never told me much about his travels. I'm sorry, I can't help you. Now, please leave."

Virtue inclines her head, stepping out. She's a little quiet as she does, putting the candles into her saddlebags without comment as she walks back towards the inn. As she exits the shop, Moonlight steps back inside, then approaches the counter.

"Listen, if you could please just go—"

"How big would that oak grow?" she asks, pointing to the corner.

"Mmm?" Wisp Will glances up at the pot, surprised by the non-sequitur. "I don't know. It's a bit runty. Maybe twenty-five feet?"

Moonlight Meadows nods. "Your plants love you. I'll come back here, when I have somewhere to plant." Wisp Will doesn't say anything to that—just some mumbled nothings, and then she lets Moonlight go.





"His name was Cell," says Moonlight, once the group has crossed the street, out of earshot.

Azure Charger fumbles for words. "His? She—" She looks at Silver Shine, then back toward Candles & Potted Plants. “You mean, Will Wisp was hexed too?"

"What?" Moonlight Meadows blinks, then goes cross-eyed a moment. "Her dad's name."

“...oh.”

Virtue glances down to Moonlight. "Good work. I take it you can speak to plants, as well?" she says, evenly.

"Only sometimes."

"Did they tell you anything else?" 

"Both Wisp and Cell were good ponies who care well for their plants and talked to them. Cell mostly talked about sad things, though. And could only use one hoof. Wisp is still a good pony, too." Moonlight taps her chin. "I think I might want that oak tree, if no one else gets it before I have a place to put it."

Virtue tightens her lips for a moment. "Very well. I'm going to see if there's anypony I can speak to about Cell before word gets around that we're asking and we become unwelcome."

"Maybe some of the other old ponies around here,” Moonlight suggests. “Old ponies are like that, you know. They like to know each other and the towns they live in and who does what with who and make friends with each other and then talk about it."

"Yes, that was my thought," she murmurs, patting Moonlight's mane in an absent fashion reminiscent of Dot Dash. Moonlight blinks as Virtue's hoof gets stuck in her mane again.. Virtue shakes it free with a moment's effort. "Does anypony need anything before we make ready? Suggestions?".

Azure Charger has been a bit quiet. At this, she steps up and speaks. "A little troubled that Mr. Hoofburn had griffon relics." She looks away in thought, then frowns. "Not troubled. Puzzled."

"Yes, it is a bit puzzling," Virtue agrees, seeming to let out a breath she was holding.

Azure rubs the back of her head with a hoof, continuing, "See, they're not exactly the friendliest of creatures. Nor are they frequently seen in these parts. Between that and the raiments, seems safe to say our friend was a bit of an adventurer."

"A fair point, yes. It sounds like he came here to retire.'

"Not sure what to do with that, though. Normally, I'd think to question the guard, but, well..." Azure looks quietly to the main gate.

"Moonlight's suggestion will do, I believe." Virtue looks consideringly. She's been a bit terse since leaving the shop, but it doesn't seem to stop her. "Perhaps you all could see about asking as well. There's likely to be quite a few, and I can't cover everypony."

Azure nods. "Right. Might as well get to work."

"Kay-o!" chimes Moonlight.

Virtue glances back towards the shop for a moment, and then walks on, leaving the others behind. Azure frowns a moment, watching her leave.





Virtue has made a terrible, terrible mistake. All the others can do is watch in silent horror, knowing that there is nothing, nothing they can do to help her.

"—needed a candle shop. So he went and bought a load of mint candles from old Bees Wax. Mint candles were the style at the time, you see. It's been impossible to get a good candle in this town every since she passed away," says the old mare outside the paper shop, gently swaying back and forth on her rocking chair. Her green mane is now mostly grey, her coat much the same. “Wisp does her best of course, but candles and ferns? That's no proper way to run a shop. It's a slippery slope, y'see. Young pony opens a nice shop, sells something proper—candles, or couches, or quills. And that's all well and good, until somepony says, you should carry something else! Make it better. And of course, everypony knows it's a terrible idea, but they figure it won't be too much more work, and it's twice as many thing to sell. Then next thing they know they're running a combination Frying Pan and Pet Food emporium and they're too embarrassed to admit it makes no sense, so they stick to their ground. And of course, nothing gets done the way it should. Which reminds me of the time—"

Virtue knows that the gift of being charming, alluring, and beautiful can be a double-edged blade. But at this point, she may find her ears falling off from the effort of keeping them erect. "What of her father, Cell?" she interjects.

"Mmm?” Old Bat asks, looking Virtue's way. "Well, he was alright, I suppose," she says, with a more moderated tone. "He was born here—back in my mother’s time. We might have met once when I was little, but if we did I was too young to remember it. Left as soon as he could though, the way my mother told it. Broken his parents’ hearts. Didn't hear a thing from him for nearly sixty years, then he just walks in one day with his wagon behind him and little Wisp sticking her head out. Never did say where he was all that time. When we asked he'd just say he wanted to see the world."

"Truly?” asks Azure Charger, braving the dangers of talking to the elderly. “Surely he had a story or two to share of his travels."

"Not a one," she says, rocking back and forth, a cane pushing against the porch. "Way he told it, you'd think he just went out for a long walk around the town. Little Wisp was different though. She'd yammer on and on about her griffon friends and all the ponies they'd met and being on this ship or that. But she was so young, it was all only half there. Dear didn't really remember much. Never did find out who her mother was. Not right, a stallion his age having a foal." She frowns. "It's only her luck that he lived long enough to see her grown."

"Ship, you say." Virtue arches an eyebrow. "Did she say where she'd been?"

"Griffon friends," Azure murmurs, running a hoof through her mane.

"Well," Old Bat chuckles. "At that age, the stories changed every time she told them. Didn't help that she felt she had to defend her father’s good name, you know how it is. She'd make up the most absurd things—that they lived in the Emperor's own palace and her dad tutored the little feathered prince. None of it was true though. He has some old toys, sure enough, but they were as old as he was, rusted and broken. She was a funny filly, though," Old Bat continues, with a frown. “Had a mean streak a mile long. She grew out of it though, thank Celestia. I suppose her dad helped. He wasn't bad with foals."

"A mean streak?" Virtue asks, gently guiding the conversation.

"Oh, you know the sort," she says, with a bit of a frown. "All smiles and sweetness with the grownups are around, but once they're gone… Sweet Tooth pushed her into the mud when they were still little, and she held a grudge. Terrorized him so much that one day he just hid under his bed and refused to go to school. Might have turned out to be a real witch, if it weren't for her father. But, he straightened her out well enough. They're actually friends now, way I hear it."

Azure Charger taps her teeth with a hoof. "Maybe she just hung around a few bad apples? Before she moved here, I mean."

"I suppose it's possible. Filly grows up on the road and gets all kinds of bad habits. She did end up sweet enough too. Quiet, responsible type."

"She has happy plants," Moonlight says, level.

Old Bat laughs. "I bet she does! She's up at sunrise every morning working on that shop, and is always in before dark."

"Mmm..." Azure looks to Virtue.

Virtue glaces back. "Did he come back with any strange articles, perhaps of other lands?"

"Oh, sure. Lots of things! Little gee-gaws and tiny statues and models of ships and weapons and books. Even had a full set of griffon armor. Wisp sold it all when he passed away though. Said he didn't like having it around. I bought a piece actually—one of the gee-gaws."

"Could we see it?"

It turns into a bit more of a production than Virtue was hoping for. But to be fair, that was a very unreasonably high shelf. And young ponies these days are very surly. Virtue would have offered to float it down, but she knew Old Bat wouldn't be happy until she'd given them an earful.

 But, soon enough, Old Bat returns with the item in tow. It's a small device, but quite beautiful and intricate—a glass sphere, filled with tiny copper rings and gears. When she turns it over in her hooves, the gears click and clack, and the rings spin on the outside, showing the movements of constellations and planets. It looks a lot like an orrery, although it's not quite right for that.

Virtue doesn't need to feign being impressed. "That's quite a spectacular little device."

"Isn't it? It tells the time," Old Bat says, pointing at the little bands. "You turn it around until the stars on it match the stars in the sky and it makes little clicky sounds. Seems silly to me, since if you're looking at the sky you already know what time it is. But it was just so pretty, I had to have it. Talked her down to five bits."

"Five?" Azure’s brow furrows. "Quite a friendly bargain."

"Well, she was eager to be rid of it all. Practically just let ponies give her a few bits and then rummage around for whatever they wanted."

"Could I perhaps tempt you into parting with it?" Virtue suggests, with a smile. "I am something of an astronomy enthusiast, and it would make a darling gift for a young apprentice of mine. She's a sweet little thing, just coming into her own."

"Aww, well. I suppose I don't get much use out of it." Old Bat agrees, reluctantly. But there’s just a hint of a smile. "I sure a prim and proper unicorn like yourself can afford it too. Really get some joy from it."

"Perhaps a little." Virtue smiles, tapping out ten bits.

Old Bat stares at the bits in silent contemplation. "Gosh. Canterlot has fallen on hard times, has it?"

Azure coughs, raising a hoof to her mouth. It is definitely not hiding a smirk. Moonlight is rather distracted by playing with Balti's tail, while Silver is occupying himself with staring out the window.

Virtue considers the stack. "Well, I suppose since you took it off young Wisp for five, I suppose some reasonable profit is expected," she says, tapping out ten more.

"Well, that seems fair." Old Bat nods and smiles. "...then again. It also has great sentimental value to me."

Moonlight whips her head around. Azure's not-a-smirk falters. But Virtue’s smile shows no signs of wavering. "I'm certain. How else could you tell the time when the stars are out?"

Virtue was trained by Sir Blueblood himself in the art of negotiation, and by Up Turn in the ways of coin and trade. She is a prodigy of haggling and the art of understanding, driving other ponies towards her goal. But Old Bat has experience, and candy isn't an industry for the faint of heart. The sugar bargaining table is where fillies become mares!

Back and forth the conversation goes, with the others fleetingly aware of the titanic battle of wills that now occurs, the price fluctuating wildly back and forth. Finally, Old Bat settles on a scant five hundred bits. It just tears her up to ask for so much, but otherwise, what will she have to leave her grandkids? You understand the tough position she's in.

“Pleasure speaking with you, young mare," Old Bat says, making the stack of coins vanish quick enough.

Virtue for her part never openly questions the old woman, always managing to make it seem as if she never wanted the thing and her grandkids would probably just let it collect dust on a shelf in a basement somewhere… The last one out, she takes a moment to carefully wrap her gain.

"Right..." mutters Azure as they head back out into the streets. "So, what did we learn?"

Virtue steps out, joining them. "We charter a ship for the Griffon kingdoms, that's what. We'll go in the morning." Azure Charger nods. Virtue hefts her bags to 'Melody Moons' or 'White Knight' or whatever she’s calling herself now. "Be a dear and take these to my room. You have a room to yourself, Azure shares with me, and Moonlight with Dawn Star."

Azure Charger blinks, a bit wide-eyed, but she quickly recovers a level voice. "Apparently Sweet Tooth was a foalhood friend, but he didn't seem of much help otherwise. Unless he knows more about Wisp that she didn't let on."

"Mm. Good idea, I'll go ask him." Virtue looks up. The sun will be setting soon.

"We didn't ask about Wisp. We asked about Cell.” Moonlight hesitates. “Sort of."

"Blocks were involved," Azure deadpans.

"Oh?" she looks at them, oblivious to their earlier plight

"And wild gesticulations. Candy?" Moonlight holds out another of the strawberry-shaped confections.

Virtue waves it off, smiling, "No thanks. Dinner is coming soon, I'd rather not spoil my appetite.”

Azure's eyes bulge, and she laughs loudly. "Ahahaha, yes, yes, good. Perhaps for after dinner." She shoots Moonlight a look.

"Kay-o." Moonlight shrugs. as Virtue trots off, tail flicking.





Candy stores are not known for being open all night, and so when Virtue returns to Sweet Tooth's Confectioneries, it's clear that he's about to close up for the day. "Hey! Just give me a moment, I'll be right—" he starts, when his eyes catch Virtue. "...hi."

Virtue slides up. "Well, hello there. Would you happen to be Sweet Tooth?"

"I would be. And uh... your name?" he asks, with a nervous smile.

"Virtue," she says, "Some friends of mine were at your shop and they simply died to tell of your confections. I would have been remiss not to come at once and purchase some of your stock… Oh, were you closing?" she asks, with that faint air of someone who finds the prospect may drastically harm the fate of the planet.

"Yeah, actually—" one of his assistants starts, only to let out a loud “OW!” and jerk behind the counter. “Hey, why did you just kic—OW! Stop that!"

Sweet Tooth just smiles as best he can. "We're open a few more minutes."

Virtue is blissfully oblivious of any such severe hammering. "Oh, that's marvelous! Would you happen to have anything to recommend for five mares hungry from road travel? We've been ever so long at it. Downright exhausted."

"Oh, well, I mostly make candy, but… I do have sweetrolls! They're quite filling," he says, quick to fill that inexcusable gap in his skill set.

"I'll take an order of those," she says, brightly. Then, as an afterthought, she adds, "Could you perhaps be troubled to throw in a box of those mints there?" she says, pointing them out with a hoof. "I'd imagine they'd be very soothing."

"Oh, of course!" he says, quickly filling the order. "You're new in town, right?"

"Indeed so, just arrived this morning."

“Well, then, why don't you just take these? If you'll be around for a little while, I mean,” he says, trying to remain as casual as possible. "Uh... call it a free sample." His assistant rolls his eyes, but is keen to not get kicked in the ankles again, and so says nothing.

Virtue beams, as if it were his idea. "Oh, you're just a proper knight." She lets her hoof linger on his as she takes the boxes and places them on her back, balanced in that pony way on her way out. She hears a longing sigh in her wake. Then again, she's used to that.





Soon enough the group is gathered back at the inn, a regular crowd appearing as the sun drifts towards the horizon. The inn seems a lively place at night, and friendly enough, and the herd has found a table at the back, with some reasonable privacy.

Virtue seems back to her old self again, walking into the inn with a spring in her hooves, a box of sweetrolls balanced on her back. As she enters, a stallion is current offering to buy “Melody” a drink. Her day is officially made.

Azure smirks at Virtue's arrival. "You're looking quite giddy. Good news, I take it?"

"I love accommodating ponies, don't you? Compliments of Sweet Tooth," she gestures broadly to the box. "He seemed all too eager to make our stay a welcome one."

"Uuh-huh." Moonlight studies her.

Confused, Azure pops open the box. Her look is quickly replaced with a wide grin. "Niiice." She begins voraciously attacking one of the sweetrolls.

"Almost a shame we're not staying, really, I could get used to this." Virtue sighs airily. "Really, even Mel seems to be enjoying herself,"

Azure snorts, coughing and spraying specks of frosting about.

"Mmm-hm," Moonlight hums.

Virtue giggles. "I have to say, I'm a little excited at the prospects in the future, though. Can you believe our journey is taking us beyond the borders of Equestria itself?"

"Yes." Moonlight’s answer is plain and straightforward.

Azure snickers. "I suppose a cave two days out would have been a bit too simple, for relics of ages past."

Moonlight hmms then looks over at Dawn Star. "You ready to cross the sea?"

"Oh... gosh. I guess so. I only left Canterlot two weeks ago and now I'm leaving Equestria?” Dawn Star titters. "But, if you got stuck, you can't exactly walk back to Castle Blueblood to ask for help. So I suppose I'll have to go,” she says, with a rather stiff nod.

"Proper dedication, there." Virtue smiles. "The Princess should be proud."

Dawn Star smiles, though there’s a wavering look in there. "I hope so. Are you sure it's time to strike out, though? That's a big area to search."

Azure Charger nods solemnly. "We may not be back for some time. Best that we make any necessary arrangements tonight."

"A proper adventure.” Virtue looks upward, dreamily. “Why, I'd barely dreamed of such things even as a filly."

"Proper adventure indeed." Azure idly tries to lick frosting from the corner of her mouth. "It was a fair bit of trouble to ask for information in a town of earth ponies. We're looking to skydive right into the heart of Griffon territory."

"You did make it a little harder than it had to be, I think," Moonlight says, looking around the table. "Mostly the unnecessary falsities."

Azure Charger folds her ears down and pushes her sweetroll around the table. "Hey, I didn't exactly snap at anypony this time. Foal steps, y'know."

"There were some parts that were rocky. But I would like to think that I—" she pauses. "We got past them." Virtue waggles a roll at Moonlight. "You can never know what you're stepping into in these situations, dear. It's always best to feel your way through them."

Moonlight Meadows rolls her eyes at Virtue. "They're earth ponies, not diamond dogs."

“And?” Virtue doesn’t miss a beat. “Were they unicorns, pegasi, minotaurs, or dragons, I would be cautious of letting them know too much about what I was about."

Moonlight cocks her head to one side, then rapidly shakes it. "No no no no no, I'm talking about the thingies, I'm talking about the... um. Who we are, and things."

"That depends on entirely who we are," Virtue answers coyly. "Who we are is an intimate part of what we were about, particularly if some of us may have been troublesome at some point in the past."

Silver Shine returns from the bar at that very moment, drinks in tow. Most of which he did not end up paying for himself. "For all its lovely colors, the world is not always a kind place."

Azure consider. "Mmm. Perhaps it would be naive to think otherwise. But one can hope, can't they?"

Silver seats himself down.  "One can change. One can make a difference."

"Oh, well spoken," Virtue says, brightly.

He gets a little quiet. "But what do I know?" he says dismissively.

"I'm just saying. Seems silly to be all parachute about it." Moonlight exhales. 

Azure shakes her head. "Like I said though. Ponies are one thing. Griffons will likely be a different manner."

"It will be a lot harder to blend in," Silver agrees.

"Well, yeah. Over there is probably different," Moonlight concedes, though she seems less than pleased with the change of topic.

"Speaking of," Virtue says, taking out the carefully wrapped orrery, "perhaps our new friend can tell us something about this?" She puts it down on the folded cloth, in front of Dawn Star.

It's an odd little device indeed. A mass of brass gears, sealed in a sphere of glass, it supports a number of half-shells showing views of the sky, that twist and turn as the ball does. From Old Bat's description, if you turn it so that it matches the night sky, it lets out a little chime that tells you the time.

"Ah, that?" Dawn Start blinks, shaking her head, as if in the middle of thought. "Well… it's used for scrying I think."

"But what does it say, dear?" Virtue prods.

"I can tell you when it's day out,” Dawn says, giving a sad little shrug. “I can't see things at night."

"Ah, that makes sense. I guess." Azure’s face scrunches up. "Not really understanding all the magic-shmagic going on."

"Interesting," she says, floating it up and rotating it in midair before her. The device clinks and chimes faintly as the gears turn—a bit like a music box. The sound is lost when it goes back into Virtue's pack. "Oh now that is lovely. I shall have to examine this before bed." It seems to just be a function of the sphere—or, so Virtue determines after several more experimental turns. Whenever she holds the sphere so that it forms a starfield, the ball lets out a few musical notes, some internal mechanism chiming like a music box.

Dawn Star shrugs. "I'm not great at it, either. It just happens."

"I'm not denying its usefulness,” Azure says quickly. “After all, Dawn Star, we only made it to this town because..." She waves a hoof around, "you did... that thing."

"Do you talk to the woodsies too?" Moonlight asks, and then scarfs down one of the rolls.

"Er… no, I just believe really hard.” Dawn looks down, smiling self-consciously. “Like friendship. And when I do, well, stuff happens."

Virtue brightens. "I've just had a lovely idea. Azure, would you be so kind as to bear me to the roof of the inn? I could get an excellent view from there, I'm sure."

Azure Charger's posture suddenly becomes rigid. "Bear—Up to the roof? Uh, sure, that'd be easy enough."

"Fmrmam..." Moonlight Meadows swallows. "Might want to ask the innkeep first."

Virtue looks towards Moonlight, rubbing her chin with a hoof. "Perhaps, yes."





The innkeep offered no objections—just don't knock any of the roof tiles loose—and so the group makes their way out onto the street. In the hour or two since the group went inside, the sun has set—the stars rising high into the night sky. Earth pony towns tend to be a bit early-to-bed-early-to-rise, and Rambling Ridge seems to be no exception, the streets largely empty despite it still being the early evening. The only ponies about are a few late workers pulling carts, a hoofful of guards, and the pegasus you saw earlier by the gate.

"Oh, look, it's Lightning," says Moonlight. The pegasus seems to be hovering over the gate now, looking off at something in the sky.

"I wonder what she’s looking at?" muses Silver.

“Maybe we should ask?”

"I could ask,” Silver Shine says with a nod. “Maybe in a minute."

Moonlight tilts her head."Why in a minute?"

"I've never been carried before. I'm not sure quite how to stand,” Virtue says brightly, looking to Azure. “Should I lay back, perhaps?"

"Oh, uh..." Circling about, Azure glides down above Virtue and hovers onto her back, wrapping her forelegs around Virtue's torso, near her own forelegs. "Just keep your legs locked... and..." With a few strong flaps, she lifts Virtue up, taking her at a steady ascent up to the inn's sloped rooftop.

Virtue slips, but Azure is able to catch her—and after a few hesitant moments, she finds her balance again. "Oh! Careful now," Virtue giggles.

"Easy there!" Azure calls out. Virtue gives a little squeal. Azure maintains a firm hold on her. "Do you, err, do you have your hoofing now, Virtue?"

Silver Shine smiles. "With these two..." he says, gesturing to Virtue and Azure, "anything could happen."

Moonlight Meadows blinks, and she looks up at him. "Like Virtue falling and Azure catching her and then they look into each other's eyes for a really long time, starlight reflecting in the depths?"

"Yeah," Silver replies. Moonlight peers up at the roof, to see if she can spot the two.

Virtue clings to Azure for a moment, glancing down at the ground. She tosses her hair, getting it out of her face. "I'm good, yes... just a moment..." She taps her hooves a bit, making sure she has her balance before letting one hoof go. It takes her another moment to let go of Azure's neck.

"Good," Azure adds quickly, a sharp blush on her face. "Good." With a flap, she herself lands on the rooftop. 

"Hmmmmm..." Moonlight looks over at Silver/White Knight/Moonsomething. "Are you a betting pony?"

Silver eyes Moonlight. "When I know I'll win."

Azure clears her throat exceptionally loudly. "Sorry. Sweetroll."

Virtue sends a small light to the roof next to her, using it to bring out the orrery as she rests her haunches. She glances up to Azure. "Sweetroll?"

Azure's blush strengthens. "T-The treats you brought for dinner! I... I wasn't... Err..." She eagerly points to the orrery. "How's it work?"

Dawn Star coughs a little, face in hoof.

"Oh! Well, come over here and I'll show you," Virtue says, patting the portion of roof next to her. Azure scoots about an inch and a half in that direction. At another continued pat, she eventually scoots the rest of the way.

Virtue lifts the orrery carefully, snuffing the light out. Without the light from her horn, she can see the stars clearly, the vault of the heavens slowly turning above. The orrery is very sensitive—scrambling stars, planets, and the moon when she makes the faintest motions of her hoof.

"Oh this is delightful," Virtue says. "I haven't been out stargazing in so long. The nip of the cool air, the breeze in my mane. Just us and the Mare in the Moon."

Azure gives a light shrug. "I get to see the stars a lot during night flights, but I guess I never really stop and just, y'know. Look at them." Her gaze turns skyward.

"Ahum." Moonlight stares ahead, deadpan. "Let's go bother Lightning. Or something. I'm getting bored. I mean we can do that, or we can go moonlight dancing. I think the moon's still out." She looks up at the sky suspiciously, looking for the moon.

Virtue and Moonlight alike soon have to find the moon in the sky, watching it chart its course overhead. It's a waning moon, and will be a new moon tomorrow, barely a sliver of a crescent visible in the sky.

With a shrug and a brief adjustment of his unusual uniform, Silver lifts off. "Right... I'll ask."

"Kay."

After a short flight, Silver pulls up to a hover beside the rooftop Lightning rests on. With a melodious voice of angelic grace granted to his present disguise, by virtue of Virtue's illusion, he greets the pegasus. "Hi there! it's a nice night isn't it? May I land?"

Lightning turns to look at Silver with a rather dour expression—obviously less than pleased to have company. She's a bright blue pegasus, with a blonde mane to match, her cutie mark a pair of crossed lightning bolts. "Sure, I guess. I'm Lightning Glass."

"Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting... My name is Melody Moon." Silver says, landing and folding his wings.

"A bit," Lightning Glass says, turning back to looking at the horizon. "Weather is weird tonight."

"Weird weather?" Silver says, trailing off and looking towards the sky. To Silver Shine's eyes, the sky is clear. Not a cloud to be seen.

"There's a breeze there shouldn't be. And it's too cold," she says, after a moment. "These things happen. Somepony somewhere messes up a cloud formation, and the effects spread over all of Equestria. Still bothers me every time."

Still looking perplexed by talk of weather patterns, Silver sighs. "Sometimes I wish I had a better connection to the sky, the currents, the clouds."

Lightning Glass bristles that that—her wings flapping sharply, turning her to face Silver Shine head on. "Why? Something wrong with being a guard?"

"I am what I am." Silver shrugs.

Lightning Glass flutters back a few inches at that. Her expression narrows for a moment, staring suspiciously at Silver Shine. Then, she lets out a curt snort. "I'll bet you are. I'm going to go check on the clouds." 

With that, she turns and flies away, up into the sky. There are no clouds in the sky for her to tend, and she doesn't seem to be flying anywhere in particular. Just up and away. After tracking her flight for a few seconds Silver breaks away, slightly peeved.

Back on the rooftop, the orrery lets out little chimes, the closer Virtue gets to the night sky, sounding off with her every motion of the stars and planets. Finally, she completes the pattern. The gears inside let out a loud click, and like a music box, the orrery lets out a series of bars, two notes, and a bar away—a short song, no more than two or three seconds long. That seems to be all it does.

Below them, Moonlight Meadows blinks, ears twitching. She gets up, and tests the tune out. Tap with a hoof, tap, tappity. "Five are six," she murmurs. Before too long, she's invented a simple little dance to go along with the tune that the orrery played, comprised mostly of hooftaps and the occasional turn. 

Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Azure watches the orrery with quiet awe, listening to it’s simple tune.  "Wow, that's... pretty cool." 

"There are many mysteries there in the stars, and much to be learned, I think. I wonder what that sound means..." Virtue muses. Taking the orrery, she points it at different planets and constellations, but it will no longer chime. The sections slide more smoothly now as well. Perhaps the tension in the gears has been released, and like a music box, it must somehow be wound again. If so, she does not see any mechanism for doing so.

"Strange little toy," murmurs Azure, her attention momentarily drawn to Moonlight's odd dance below. "Why do you suppose Stovetop Accident had it?"

"Splendid question. It mystifies me, certainly." Virtue gives a little pout. "Oh well, we can at least enjoy seeing the stars come out." She leans back to prop slightly against Azure. "Are you familiar with the constellations? I confess I know little about pegasus knight training."

Azure jolts slightly at the contact. "A-A few." She clears her throat. "The North Star, plus a few constellations. They're useful for navigating, you see. When it's dark, or when you’re high above the cloud cover, you can’t exactly use the land to get your bearings."

"Oh I'd imagine. We unicorns study them in order to gain insight into magic. Many mysteries of the world are reflected above, and perhaps vice versa.” Virtue leans in and points with a hoof, leading Azure’s vision around the constellations. “There's Cassiopeia—said to be so beautiful a monster was sent against her to restore order to the cosmos. And there's Lyra—each year in spring, meteors seem to spring forth, as if shot from the strings."

 "Huh," murmurs Azure, her gaze following Virtue's hoof as she points them out. "I'd never heard of those two before. I guess it makes sense you'd study them more. Magic and all that." She taps lightly on the shingles with a hoof.

"There are all sorts of little stories about them. I loved them as a child.” She looks down at her undressed self and titters. “I left my cloak in my room, but you can see many of my favorite constellations on there."

Azure chuckles as well, soft, good-natured. "You quite fancy the stars, huh? It's nice to see somepony with such a passion for a hobby."

"I have a few passions," Virtue confesses, giggling. "I don't typically share them, I admit. I fear you would think me a hopeless—what is the word? Egghead—if I told you even half of them."

Azure Charger snickers, giving a teasing grin. "I probably would!"

Virtue gives a mock haughty lift of her muzzle. "You see? I daren't reveal anything now. It would ruin my fabulous mystique as a wizard and lady of the court."

"Oh no, should anything come between a unicorn and her mystique... Hurricane forbid!" Azure’s posture becoming more relaxed.

"You see the problem exactly!” Virtue grins slyly, lowering her eyelids. “Now, perhaps, if I knew something about you, I might feel less exposed in incriminating myself."

"Me?" Azure blinks at Virtue’s inquiry. "Like... uh." She taps her hoof on the shingles once more. 

Below on the ground, Moonlight performs her dance once more, with twist and hooftap, before nodding self-assuredly. "Hmm.. That could do. Want to do it with me, Dawn?"

"Ah, I've got four left hooves," says Dawn. She gives a slight laugh as she watches Moonlight’s dance.

"Oh, piffle. This is easy, watch, you just put this hoof like so, and..." Moonlight proceeds to show the dance over again, saying the words to the rhythm. 

"Five are six, one is two,
the younger old, the elder new."

"See, that's the first part. Come on, you try."

Dawn Star gives a determined nod. "Alright. Five are six..." She balances a bit awkwardly on her hooves as she follows Moonlight’s example. "One is twooo… Mmph. The younger old, the elder new..." And… She doesn't fall over! But she's clearly not very good at this whole dancing thing.

"Good!" Moonlight says with a smile. "See, and the second part is like this." She begins with a turn and a hoofstep, chanting once again: 

"The sun retreats from darkened dreams, 
And no thing that flies is what it seems."

Dawn Star nods. "The sun retreats," she repeats, speaking and dancing a lot slower than Moonlight, "from darkened dreams, and no thing that flies is what it seems." As she finishes singing, she gives Moonlight a curious look. Not suspicious, of course not! But certainly inquisitive. "This doesn't seem like that nice of a song, to be honest!"

"It's a little weird, yeah," Moonlight says, cocking her head to the side. "I wonder what it means."

"Where did you learn it?"

Moonlight Meadows blinks, looking at Dawn Star quizzically. "Just now. The thingy Virtue has sang it." She cocks her head. "Didn't you hear it?"

Dawn Star shakes her head. "No..."

"Well now that's just plain odd. That thingy is neither animal nor plant, and I didn't even ask for those. I wonder if they heard it." She looks up at the two of them, pondering. "Probably not, because Virtue would have picked up on it I think."

"I wonder why.” Dawn mmphs, sitting on her hindquaters.

 "Dunno. Let's ask."

Listening back in, they can hear Azure above them, making what sounds like painful smalltalk, punctuated by hooftaps on the shingles. "Well... I'm a knight of House Charger... Lancer First Class... I've been training since I was nine... Uh..." The pace of her hooftaps speeds up slightly.

"That's all very known, however," says Virtue brightly, prodding her on, "Something I wouldn't know or guess."

"Hey Virtue!"

Azure leans over the edge, looking a bit... relieved, perhaps? "How can we help, Moonlight Meadows?"

"Did the thingy sing words?" she asks. Behind her, Silver Shine aside Dawn Star, looking a bit dour.

"Sing?" Azure ear flicks slightly at that. "Nnno, not that I heard."

"Notes, dear.” Virtue’s tone is correcting, though gentle. “If you'd like to look at the orrery, you may."

Moonlight Meadows shakes her head. "No, see... I heard words."

"Oh? What did you hear?"

“A song."

Azure shrugs. "She was singing it earlier, I think. And... dancing?"

Virtue’s brow furrows in thought. "Sing it again for me, Moonlight.”

Moonlight tilts her head side to side. "You gotta do the dance, though."

"...dance?" 

"Well, if you can dance on a slope..."

Azure frowns at that. "No no, there's no sense dancing this high up. Somepony'll get hurt." 

Virtue sighs, then gives Azure an apologetic smile and her extended hoof. "And I was enjoying the rooftop. Help me down, dear? I'd rather not crack the good innkeeper's tiles after she so graciously permitted us up here."

Azure’s frown lingers a bit more, but she nods to Virtue at lenght. "Sure." She flaps up and around, holding Virtue from behind. A few beats of her wings and a gentle glide bring the two back down to the rest of the group.

Virtue gently removes her silver hoof caps, leaving them with her bags by the side of the inn. She lights her horn up, generating a small white orb that floats above the group, before turning her attention to Moonlight.

"Well, okay. Everyone together, okay? You do it like so." And Moonlight begins, going through the little dance a step at a time.

Virtue follows her lead. Unlike Dawn Star, she needs only try before she steps smoothly into the moves. It's clear someone practiced courtly dances

Perhaps it is the graceful figure of Virtue's illusion that eases the sight, but whatever the case, Silver shows himself a nimble dancer, light on his feet. He is only betrayed by a slight lack of rhythm and a grimace on his face.

"Everyone?" Azure repeats sourly. After a moment, she gives a begrudging sigh and follow suit. Attempts to. There's some resemblance.

Virtue smiles at Azure, tapping her hooves in a little rhythm. "Like this, dear, one, two, three, one two, one two, one two three four."

"Right, I know, it's just—" A particularly sharp spin knocks herself off balance. A quick flap of the wings is all that prevents her from eating cobblestone. "Can't figure out how she's doing that spin thingy."

Moonlight looks encouragingly to the group, helping Silver with his form. "Practice. Okay. We all got it?"

Virtue laughs, a sweet little thing, and spins on one hoof gracefully, bending down beside Azure to help her up. "Just lower your head, dear. It's a change of your center of gravity. Imagine it like trying to knock over a larger foe."

"Center of gravity?" Azure cocks her head. "Oh, you mean like..." Rearing up again, wings extended, she spins a quick circle. Not as graceful as the others, but with significant improvement over the last attempt. She betrays herself with a grin. "Nice! Thanks, Virtue."

Virtue clops her hooves on the earth encouragingly, grinning. "Exactly! All right, Moonlight, you've my attention. Let's try it."

"Okay. So. From the top…” Moonlight leads the group through the dance steps, as well as the song. The others slowly sing the lyrics back to her as they dance in turn.

“Five are six, one is two, 
The younger old, the elder new.
The sun retreats from darkened dreams, 
And no thing that flies is what it seems."

"Nice!" Azure cheers enthusiastically, finishing her dance a half-beat behind the others. At once, her smile flips. "Wait. Why exactly are we doing this, again?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering that too." Dawn Star taps her chin.

"Because it seemed right," Moonlight says, scratching at her snout. "But yeah, that's what the thingy sang."

"I don't get it," Azure says, patting Moonlight gently on the head, "but I've already learned better than to dismiss this one's peculiarities out-of-hoof."

"Yes. I suspect I will have some reading to do at the castle." Virtue ponders it, tapping a hoof on the floor, then looking up toward the sliver of moon. "All right, ladies. I think we'll want to get an early start tomorrow."

"That we shall," Azure nods, "if we're truly to leave Equestria, come tomorrow."
> The Tail-Braiding Ceremony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's not that Virtue is unaware of the concept of a "chamber pot." Or, for that matter, a handle-operated well pump. It's just that, the notable—one might even say distinct—lack of unicorn magic in this town has... altered, the course of her evening. In unexpected and unpleasant ways. Usually, she cleans up, has a nice hot shower, maybe sneaks a pasty from the kitchen, and then drifts off to bed. Today however, when she finally makes it back to her room, the wind whistling outside, she feels cold and damp in ways that she didn't think possible.

Virtue takes a few deep breaths. The town had been so nice up until now. Apparently, quaint was the best description. Full of rustic charm, and rustic accoutrements to that charm. A price for everything. The room is simple, but well made, two beds resting with a table between them, opposite a small mirror, a trunk by each one. It's best not to describe how she does anything, but eventually she finds her way back to the mirror with a bowl of water, with which she washes her hair as best she can and then begins to run a brush through the dampened locks

Azure, of course, has been cozily tucked up under the covers for some time—her armor neatly folded at the base of her bed. Her own evening ritual had been unsurprisingly spartan. She alternates between resting her eyes, and watching Virtue fumble about., and she watches Virtue with idle amusement. "Got everything you need, there?"

"Quite all right, thank you. I think I figured out how to work everything."

"Well then, glad to hear everything is alright," she teases. At that, she goes quiet a moment, rolling onto her back. "Virtue?"

Virtue glances her way a moment, her comb pausing. She goes back to running it through her mane again, looking like she's about to be lost in thought. "Mm?"

"I—" She opens and closes her mouth a few times. "Forgive me. It's a common part of training to check on the well-being of one's team, but sometimes I forget that these questions, to civilians, could come across as a bit... invasive."

"I'm sure I will forgive you if it is too ‘invasive’, dear, please go on."

She rolls onto her side and props herself up a bit. "Are you feeling okay?" After a pause, she adds. "You've been a bit quiet today, sometimes. Like after we talked with Wisp." She shrugs. "It was just a bit different, is all."

Virtue pauses her comb again, looking over to her face, her own unreadable.

Azure frowns. "I don't mean to pry, but... We'll be heading into enemy territory soon. I just want to make sure that your head's on straight... as it were..." She trails off, her ears sagging slightly.

“No, it's all right," she says, quickly. "I should have better control of my emotions is all."

"Emotions..." Azure murmurs. She rolls over further and idly fluffs her pillow a bit longer than necessary. "Tricky business, those."

Virtue starts combing again, but it's an absent thing. After a moment's silence, she says, "I could have gotten more out of her. A touch, the right look in the eye..."

Azure looks back to her, studying her expression for a moment. "You think that you failed yourself."

Virtue shakes her head slightly. "It's not that I failed to get the information out of her, Azure. I've always been gifted at getting what I wanted—at getting other ponies to do things that I wanted them to do. Wisp Will would not have been difficult."

Azure frowns and rolls onto her back, working her jaw around for a moment. As the pause extends, she finally asks, "Would you like to hear how I got my cutie mark?"

Virtue puts the comb down, turning to look at her.

She blinks suddenly. "Sorry, just... you'd asked earlier if I could tell you something you didn't know, and..."

"No, no, please, go on." Virtue urges, gently.

She sits up in bed and turns to face Virtue. "Back in Cloudsdale, we have this yearly event called the Pegalympics. It's a series of physical competitions, where everypony can compete to see who's the fastest or strongest. There aren't too many events for the young fillies, but at my mother’s encouragement, I signed up for the Cloudsdale Circuit--basically just a race looping around the perimeter of the city. Just shy of five miles. I was so excited for the race. Felt like I'd be the fastest for sure. Do my family proud." Her ears fold flat at that, and her posture slouches. "I came in second-to-last."

Virtue folds her hooves, resting her head on them to listen.

"Well," Azure says with a chuckle, "somewhere in that filly brain of mine, I decided that if I couldn't win in speed, I could win in distance. I dunno, it just made sense at the time. So I just kept flying. A few of the adults told me to stop, said the race was over... but none of them actually stopped me. They didn't want to take this from me, y'know? Eventually my wings cramped up, and the adults swooped in to catch me. I ended up pulling something, and had to be bedridden for a few days. But"—she smirks and turns sideways, flashing her cutie mark, a lance overlaid a set of wings—"it wasn't all for nothing."

Virtue smiles. "Unstoppable, tenacious. Fine qualities to have."

She smiles lightly at that. "And I sure heard plenty of that. But..." Her frown fades. "I also hurt myself in the process. Because I was a bit too driven."

Virtue circles her hoof on her bed. "Do you ever worry, perhaps, that you might hurt other ponies with your dedication, Azure?"

Azure looks down to the floorboards for a moment. "Yes," she says, quiet. "Pushing too hard can have consequences." She shakes her head. "I guess I'm just trying to say... It's important to always give it 110%. But sometimes, you won't come out on top and... you just gotta accept it, sometimes."

"I understand." Virtue shakes her head slightly. "It's not quite that, though. There's a lot of power to hurt others in words and actions that have little to do with combat. Azure..."

Azure Charger looks up.

"You recall how I managed to get that diamond dog to work with us?"

"Right. Some sort of... Nice Doggy spell."

"It's more than that, really." She glances back towards her flank "With very little effort, I can get people to want to help me—to very much feel like they need to." Her gaze falls to the sheets. "I don't usually give it much thought. It's something I'm good at. It informs my magic. It gets jobs done. Generally speaking, nopony is the worse for wear for it, and I certainly don't try to mistreat those I draw in… But would you have thought less of me, if I had done so to Miss Wisp?"

Azure pauses, contemplating the question. "I mean… Even without your spells, or your special talent, or whatever..." She fidgets with the sheets. "You do seem like a really nice pony. I guess what I mean is, when you say that you definitely wouldn't mistreat her, then, well," she looks back up at Virtue, "then I believe you."

"I felt like I mistreated her enough as it is," she murmurs, her ears falling back as if she'd been hoping for a different answer—but she looks touched regardless, a small smile touching her. "Thank you. I'm glad you have confidence in me."

She shakes her head. "You may feel like you mistreated her, but..." Pausing, Azure gets up off her bed, walks over to Virtue and sits beside her. "It's important to remember that we're doing everything for their sake. Y'know? Even if we're making somepony act nice to us, or lying to a few ponies, or... even hurting a few diamond dogs. Those may not sound like nice things, without context. But they're being done for good reasons. The best reasons, even. Protecting others."

"I'm concerned about where justifications like that may lead."

Azure Charger stares at the far wall, chewing that over. "I'm training as a lancer. We're taught to not question orders, to trust our captains. So I'm not really sure I can answer that. But..." She turns back to look at Virtue. "My older sister, Cerulean. She always used to say, 'I always wonder if I'm doing the right thing, and that's how I know I am.'"

Virtue laughs at that, but a gentle one. "I like that thought. Thank you."

She titters lightly. "Eh, don't worry about it. Cer always did have a way with words."

"I wouldn't discount your own abilities so quickly," she says, smiling.

Azure scratches behind her head, but offers a weak smile. "Nah. No harm in sticking to what you're good at."

"Tsk, a little polishing and you'd be a lady of the court."

A loud snort is the only warning before Azure bursts. "Pfffft ahahahah! Me, a proper lady?! Aaaahahaha!" She doubles over, slapping her thigh with a hoof.

Virtue giggles. "I suppose it does seem facetious at first glance." She reaches over, to lift a bit of Azure's golden hair. "But at second glance, you certainly have more than enough in the way of looks... but, perhaps more importantly, you have more heart than any courtier I can name."

Azure's laughter fades away at that. She stares straight at Virtue, searching for something with her amber eyes. But then she breaks the eye contact and starts to fidget with the sheets underneath her. "Uh... thanks."

Virtue giggles again, a little more like herself: faintly wicked. "You can't see it? A nice dress, your hair done up just right… Handsome lords taking your hoof..."

She makes a face, but her tone stays light and playful. "Eugh! And I'd have scores of loyal maids on hoof, ready to attend to me in case the bowl of grapes on the other side of the table is just too far away?" She sticks out her tongue. "I'll stick to the front lines, thank you kindly."

Virtue laughs. "My, you aren't frightened of court, are you?"
Her tongue snaps back. "I… I'm not frightened of court." She motions vaguely with her hooves. "I could totally, like... Like if there was some sort of infiltration mission, or..."

"It's quite alright to feel embarrassed. Many young girls get jelly-legged and faint at the thought of appearing in front of so many important ponies."

An evil grin grows on Azure's face. "Many young girls, eh? Eh?"

"Quite so."

She pokes Virtue twice in the ribs. "We wouldn't be... talking from experience, now would we?"

"I?" She touches her chest. "I was radiant at court. I knew that there were all sorts of jelly-legged mares out there who were going to eat their livers when they saw me." Virtue smiles. "Though perhaps I was a touch nervous."

She laughs in earnest, bringing a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, no doubt. I'm sure nopony could match your radiance."

"I should hope not. That's where I got my cutie mark."

"Did you now?" Azure rests her head in her hooves, all the image of a schoolfilly.

"Tsk, I don't know if I want to say now. Somepony seems to doubt me."

She laughs and waves a hoof dismissively. "Doubt you? Perish the thought! We're talking about Virtue, are we not? Esteemed wizard of Sir Blueblood's court? I have no doubt of your ability to surpass the uncouth lower members of court."

Virtue smiles and gives her an evaluating look. "Mmm, a good start. We'll make a lady of you yet."

She sticks out her tongue. "I was just trying to sound like you."

"I lilt a little less~"

"I'll keep that in mind," she laughs. "So!"

"Yes?" she asks, innocently, as if she didn't know

Azure frowns. "You were... you were going to tell me the story."

"Story of what?"

The trap is sprung. Azure grins ear-to-ear, holding a hoof to her chest. "The story 'bout how amazing and daring I am?"

"Oh, well, if you want to hear that I'll have to practice a bit, I can't tell tall tales on command." Virtue swats her, laughing.

Azure Charger giggles, and she pokes Virtue again. "Yeah yeah. Get to the story, already."

"All right, all right, as you insist~" Virtue flicks her tail, and gestures with her horn, turning the lights down.  Azure ooo's and aaah's respectfully as her horn flares, and little images appear around them, impressions of a court laid out on the bed between them. "So there it was: the 90th Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot."

Azure repositions herself on the bed, resting her head on the mattress to get a better look. The princess is instantly recognizable from her wings, horn, and most importantly, stature, a whitish pink presence on a pedestal.

"My father, Authority, and my mother, Charity, had already arrived. I was late, having had to stop to fix my hair as it had become snarled. I was, of course, mortified. It was to be my debut."

"Debut?" Azure looks up from the bed. "For what?"

"It's a court ritual, of sorts. When a filly comes of a certain age—and I was a bit of a late bloomer, I confess—she is meant to present herself at court and thus to the eyes and attention of everypony else. For a young mare looking to make her mark, it is perhaps the most important event in her life, if she intends to make a name for herself in society. You show off your grace, your beauty, poise, your ability to entertain and socialize—in short, the very first introduction to politics." Virtue’s face grows taut as she recounts the tale. "And here I was, arriving late, as if I were somehow above the other ponies who had arrived on time. It would make them seem as if they were waiting on me, a mere schoolfilly."

"Yikes, that all..." Azure scratches her head. "Seems like there's a lot of stuff to think about, in court. I'd only be worried about being late for, y'know, missing stuff. Or getting chewed out by my CO."

"Though I am sure there are many key differences, the similarities may surprise you. The repercussions follow you for years." Virtue chuckles and draws up the image of a dark-haired, gangly girl, done up in spectacular fashion, if a little mopey looking. "So there I was, waiting outside the hall. I was pacing back and forth—carefully, so as not to ruin my new shoes—and wondering if I should have the herald announce me or simply turn around and flee."

Azure Charger blinks. "Oh. Because missing the whole thing sounded easier than everypony seeing you be late, huh?"

"Quite so. It would have been a little easier to make up for that than a bad first impression. And I had been schooled all week by my mother and aunts for my first appearance—an appearance that was timed early so I could approach people one at a time. Fate, however, intervened."

Azure tilts her head.

"Just as I was preparing to leave, it seemed another pony had arrived late. This one rather more deliberately: a princess, in fact, albeit not our dear Princess Celestia." One of Princess Platinum's granddaughters, her daughters, and her entourage."

Azure’s eyes grow in size. "Wow. Quite the chance meeting."

"By then, escape was impossible. They would have seen me running out, and that would have gotten all over. But I knew that if I let the Herald announce me now, everypony would notice I had come in ahead of her. It would seem as if I were trying to upstage her."

"Yeesh..." She scratches her head. "So what did you do?"

Virtue smiles faintly. "Something outrageously stupid. I went and talked to her while the Herald was announcing her entourage—it's always in order of least to most important, you see."

Azure Charger scrunches up her face. "But if going first is upstaging her... and going last makes you seem more important..." She groans and holds a hoof to her temple.
"And if that had been the end of it, I may well have found it more practical to pack up my things and move to Stalliongrad on the first train out."

With a sympathetic chuckle, Azure winces and looks back up. "So... talking to her was nice... at least?"

Virtue shakes her head. "That was the thing. I was so nervous I should have been quaking, but it was as if I had gone on autopilot. Perhaps it was because I had nothing to lose at that point. I figured I might as well go out in a bang—offend the entire court in one go and at least be mentioned in the history books, with a picture of my tombstone. But somehow, I managed to charm the old lady.'

Azure smiles.

"While we waited, I regaled her of my tales in school. Told her of my family, our work as wizards and our charities… She said I reminded her of herself when she was my age. When it came time for her to be announced, she had her maidservant take the herald aside, and I was announced just before her… as her guest."

Azure Charger sits back up at that, struck. "That... wow."

"That's only the start of it, though. When I spoke to her youngest daughter later, at a small after party, she told me that the old princess had been nearly intolerable for years. Perhaps her husband dying, perhaps failures in court, perhaps merely a lifetime of playing the game… But that night she was laughing and dancing like a pony many years her junior." A dreamy look overtakes Virtue’s face. “I felt so... empowered by that. The very next moment, I felt myself swelling with joy. And what should appear on my flank but this," she says, displaying the coruscating gem.

Azure smiles and nods lightly. "It wasn't solely that you felt empowered. You also helped an elder feel... how did you put it? The happiest she's been in years?" Instinctively, she puts a hoof on Virtue's shoulder. "That's important, too. You did a good thing."

Virtue smiles, glancing up at her from the little play below, letting it fade into mist. "I know, and... that was really the best part of it, I think. I like using my gift to make people feel better. I got those sweetrolls for pretty much nothing, but if Sweet Tooth didn't leave his store feeling like a million bits, I'll retire."

Azure smirks. "I had wondered about those..."

Virtue giggles. "Mmm... I didn't tell anyone else about this, but… I actually went in there to get some mints for Wisp. Old Bat told me she loved them, even though others considered them bland. I paid a colt to take them to her and not say who they were from. I know it doesn't make up for anything at all, but..." Virtue actually blushes, looking away shyly

Azure Charger puts her hoof back on Virtue's shoulder. She smiles and shakes her head. "You probably made her day."

"I hope so. I felt terrible."

"You shouldn't, Virtue." She smiles warmly. "You're a good pony, with a good heart."

Virtue sits up a bit taller, looking at Azure with a bit more solemnity. "Let's make a deal then: I'll try and keep you from doing anything harmful in enthusiasm. You keep me from doing anything harmful in my sense of duty to the princess."

Azure nods, slow and deliberate. "Deal." She reaches out to bump hooves. Virtue bumps it in turn.

"Now I do feel like a school filly again."

Azure chuckles, regaining a bit of her composure. "What? Just because we're sitting in bed late at night, swapping stories? I should point out that nopony braided the other's hair."

Virtue grins slyly. "You do have very lovely hair."

Azure Charger's eyes bulge as she realizes the door she just opened. "Oh... well, err..."

"And so long, too. Longer than mine." Virtue beams.

Azure fidgets with her hooves. "No, I mean... yours looks really nice too. It's a lot shinier and bouncy... and stuff."

"You just need to take better care of it." Virtue looks coyly at her. "Really, a pegasus knight with an impractical hair length. I wonder."

She smirks. "Getting results tends to give you a bit of leeway, when it comes to regulations."

"I thought it might be something like that. Does the noble knight perhaps have a tiny shred of vanity in her?"

Azure bristles with mock offense. "Just because I prefer a certain look doesn't make me obsessed with beautifying myself. I simply like to look the way I am, that's all."

Virtue holds a hoof to her chest. “But of course, nopony could dream of implying anything less! And somepony who isn't vain would surely not object to a close friend braiding her hair. It matters so little."

Azure Charger turns sharply toward Virtue and frowns. She makes several noises that sound like objection or protest, but doesn't manage a coherent word. With one final pout, she scoots around with her back to Virtue.

Virtue giggles, taking her tail. "Oh, and this is very long. Combat handhold, isn't it?"

Azure Charger looks over her shoulder and smirks. "Oh of course. They always think that. And that makes them predictable."

Virtue begins to separate it into three locks and then gently tugs, weaving them in complicated fashion. "Did your sister do this for you?"

Azure’s smirk falters, and she faces forward again. "She did, sometimes."

"Tell me about your family a bit."

She titters slightly. "...I suppose it wouldn't surprise you to hear that I'm from a family of knights. My mother, Nimbus Charger, is a Lieutenant Colonel, and my father, Strike Charger, is a Master Sergeant. Service just runs in the family, I suppose."

"Nothing wrong with that, certainly. My family serves as court wizards. A cushier job, certainly, but a form of service.” She giggles. "Cushy in terms of what we sit on, anyway!"

Azure Charger chuckles. "So naturally, when I showed interest in serving as well, they were fully supportive, and when I was chosen to represent House Charger in this mission..." A faint smile appears on her lips. "They can be a bit strict at times, maybe not great with emotions, the Lieutenant Colonel especially, but… you could tell."

Virtue brushes some more at Azure’s tail, the braiding falling into place. "As an only child I am ever fascinated to hear of sibling relations."

"Ah," she says quietly, nodding. "Cerulean..." She looks up. "She just had this... presence, y'know? Nothing mean or fearsome or overbearing. You just... It didn't matter what was going on. You could look to her and know, yeah, Cer knows exactly what to do. It's okay now. I really looked up to her, when I was young."

"Do you still?"

She looks down, smiling. "Yeah. Yeah I suppose I still do."

"I would have liked to have met them."

"She, uh..." Azure exhales. "She was awarded the rank of Captain. Posthumously."

Virtue goes cold. But then she smiles, slightly, touching Azure's back. "Then I regret that I never could. I am sorry." Virtue is silent, then, letting Azure make the first move as she finishes her tail.

Azure Charger reaches up and touches Virtue's hoof with her own. "Thank you. It was quite a while ago. We had a fair age gap between us, so I didn't even have my cutie mark when... when she left us. I still miss her sometimes. But she really left a legacy, y'know? I really look up to her, still. To her memory."

“I think that's beautiful. I believe she would be proud of you."

Her smile returns. "I hope so. I certainly try."

"Once we're done with this task, I'd imagine we'll be minor celebrities,” Virtue says. "For quite reasonable reasons."

She giggles and wipes idly at her eye. "I'd hope so."

"Let us dream of that, then, a future where our families can be proud of us." Virtue gives her a gentle pat.

"Let's." She looks over her shoulder at Virtue and smiles warmly, before getting up and returning to her own bed. “As we told the others, we've got an early start tomorrow. Best that we get some rest ourselves." As she crawls under the covers, she adds, "Not that we stayed up, should anypony ask."

"Not at all. And thank you, Azure," she says, as she slides into bed, tucking it around herself.

"Mmm," she refutes, shaking her head. "Thank you, Virtue. And good night."

"Good night."
> Silver Stole Sugar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's a quiet night. Still, serene. But the ponies of Rambling Ridge don't seem quite so serene themselves. Quite a few of them are up late, Moonlight notices. Lightning Glass hovers around the town well into the night, even after Moonlight goes to sleep, just staring off into the windy distance. Many of the shops leave candles burning at night, merchants there working late hours. And in the streets, from time to time, she sees ponies going on long, silent walks. Lost in thought. Still, she knows not to be worried. These are the subtler shades of the world, that are by starlight now revealed, and they mean her no harm. Eventually, she goes to sleep.

Come morning, everypony is awoken by a loud pounding. Crashing. A hoof beating on the doors to their rooms. "Town watch!" a pony shouts, loud and gruff. "Open up!

Azure Charger groans and stretches, rubbing at her eyes.

"Give me the keys," the rough voice says, and a jingle of metal can be heard. The door to Azure and Virtue's room opens first, two of the guardponies from the gate rushing in. The other two rooms are quickly opened as well, more guards joining them, two in each room.

Virtue comes awake, quickly, a fast spell arranging her hair and making her presentable "What is the meaning of this?" she demands, stamping a hoof in irritation.

"Whoa! Hey! What's the big idea?" Azure sits upright in her bed, looking sternly back at the town guards. "You can't just barge in on civilians without proper papers."

Moonlight Meadows looks about, rather confused, as the guards pile into her room. Her mane is a bit more of a mess than usual, the massive pink affair going off in all directions from being slept on. Right beside her, Balti is also looking at the intruders, though Dawn is slow to rouse. "Whosa what now?"

The guards quickly look around—though in Moonlight and Dawn's room, they don't get very far inside before Balti's growl deters them. "He's not here," one of them calls, from Moonlight's room. 

"Not here either," calls another from “Melody’s” room.

"Where's your grey pegasus friend?" The lead guard finally demands of Virtue. "The one you showed up with."

"The stallion?" she asks, making it seem as if she's cooling off. 

"Yes, the stallion," the guard repeats, firms, his partner looking around—as though Silver were hiding under the bed.

In the next room over, the the two guards look at Silver Shine none the wiser. "Sorry about this, ma'am." Silver gives an acknowledging nod.

"He took off shortly after we arrived,” Virtue says. “Something about not liking the town. I can't possibly see what he was talking about, up until this morning I found your municipality to be quite satisfactory."

"Well. He's your ‘knight protector.’ So I suppose we'll hold you until he comes back."

Virtue remains firm, looking him directly in the eye. "And why, precisely, are you insisting on such a thing?"

The guard eyes Virtue critically. "Your good sir robbed Sugar Cane's sugar supply last night."

Virtue narrows her eyes. "Have you evidence or eye witnesses? I will not accept a charge so lightly. If my knight has behaved so abominably that is on his head. He abandoned me shortly after entering, so my desire to see him exonerated is minimal, assuming he bothers to show up."

"Yes. Which you can discuss with the judge,” the guard replies, terse yet with a tinge of disinterest. "For now, I'll have to ask you to come with me."

"If you insist on this, I will have to speak most firmly with this judge of yours, and certain ponies of the court will have words with him if we are unreasonably detained," says Virtue.

The guard rolls his eyes. "Unicorns~" he says, with some degree of exasperation.

"I must agree with my friend." Azure gets out of bed and stands. "The pony you want is the stallion. I don't know how ponies of this town do things, but where I come from, only criminals are held prisoner. Unless you have matters to discuss with the ponies in this room, I believe we are done here."

"Unicorn or no, we are one kingdom now, and I will ensure you and your men are mentioned in any report I give. I should hope it will not be an unpleasant one. Lead on, guardspony," Virtue says, cinching her cape about her.

"Have it your way then, your royal highness,” the guard says, making no attempt to mask his snide tone. “But seeing as how you vouched for him under dubious circumstances, you are coming with me to talk to the judge."

The guards seem to accept that at face value, apologizing for the others for barging in, and they move to escort Virtue through the early morning streets. The rest of the herd scrambles to grab their gear—or in Moonlight’s case, to roust Dawn Star—and follow after them.






Earth pony towns are early to rise, and small towns are quick to gossip. Between the two, the sun has barely risen when news has gotten around town that there's been a commotion, and a small crowd has already gathered at the "jailhouse" by the time Virtue arrives. It's not much of a jailhouse, little more than small set of stables with bars over one of the stalls, the other spaces left for guards, and one judge's stand of sorts.

“Mommy, is she a criminal?' a little filly asks, tugging at her mom's foreleg.

"Maybe, dear."

The judge, or justice, or executor (depending on just how this town works) is an old stallion, with dark grey fur and a swinging gavel on his flank. He looks at Virtue grumpily over a pair of wire-frame spectacles as the guards trot back. The judge, unlike the crowd, does not seem to be enjoying this. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" he asks, looking at Virtue over a wrinkled muzzle.

Virtue gives a respectful bend of her leg. "I would heartily agree, your honor."

"Your honor," the lead guard says, stepping forward.

"Yes yes, get on with it," the judge says, gesturing him on with a hoof.

"Last night, six super-sized sacks of sugar were siphoned from Sugar Cane's sugar supply. Stolen, that is. He heard someone moving around upstairs, and caught the thief in the act, describing him as a grey pegasus wearing a battle-saddle. Before he could apprehend the thief however, he fled, using his wings to escape."

The judge looks over his glasses at Virtue. “A remarkably effective disguise he's employing then.”

"Your honor,” the lead guard continues, “this mare entered the town yesterday, vouching that the grey pegasus with her was her 'knight protector.' Given that there's no evidence that he was ever a knight and he vanished suddenly, it's very likely she's his accomplice in some regard."

Virtue flashes a brief smile and steps forward. "If I may, your honor?"

"You may," the judge says, gesturing her on.

She nods. "There was indeed a grey pegasus stallion among my party. He was assigned to my employ as my protector several weeks ago, and arrived with me yesterday morning. I can say with absolute certainty that I have no idea what he has been up to last evening, nor would I have approved of him gallivanting about with other pony's property," she says, all of which is absolutely true, as far as it goes. "Assuming for a moment that this is that pegasus—and, as he left early last morning I cannot say that it is, though a 'grey pegasus with a battle saddle' is as vague a descriptor as you could choose considering their common garb—he certainly was acting under neither my supervision nor my approval."

"The young mare makes a cogent point, officer," the judge says, fixing the guard with a stare.

"But, sir! We have several witnesses on the street who also identify the thief as her companion," the guard insists. "We have good evidence it's him!"

The judge though, shakes his head. "Then when you have him in custody—or material evidence linking her to the crime—we may resume this discussion. Until then, perhaps you should apologize to this young mare for barging into her room so early in the morning."

Azure Charger nods in approval.

The guard looks like he's like to say something to Virtue, alright. But finally, he grumbles out an apology. 

Virtue accepts it graciously, for her part, giving him a nod. "Thank you, your honor. Please, accept my apologies for troubling you so early in the morning. If it should happen that this thief can be identified as my stallionservant, please forward the damages. Is there perhaps anything I can do for you now?"

"Not unless you have some idea where he may have fled."

"If I did, I would wish to have stern words with him,” huffs Virtue. “It reflects poorly upon me. If it isn't too much trouble, then, I think me and mine shall be going."

"Very well, thank you again." The judge nods once, then exits the jailhouse.

The crowd quickly loses interest, already starting to disperse. In the crowd, a young colt sniffles, lowering his ears. “I'm never going to get to see a real courtroom drama.” His older brother gives him a pat on the head.

Moonlight Meadows turns to look at the colt, as she passes by. "Save up for a trip to one of the big cities. I hear they have lots of drama there!"

Virtue gestures to Azure. "Go fetch your things, dear."

Azure Charger rattles her ladden saddlebags. "Packed and ready," she murmurs.

Virtue smiles at that, much as her attention is elsewhere. "Oh, delightful. Ladies, let us leave this town behind. We have troubled it enough," she says, leading the way toward the city gates.

"Indeed,” says Azure. “I believe we have a boat to catch."

The town guards may grumble, but the group has no difficulty getting on their way and out of the town.





Most of the ponies are still getting dressed as they walk along the wooded trail, what with their rude awakening. The sun hangs low in the morning sky, easily visible through the light tree cover.

As they walk, Virtue slides up alongside “Melody”. "A word, dear. I had best hope that there was no truth to the good judge's allegations. I would have fairly firm words with that pegasus if there were. What do you think?"

One has never seen a more serene expression than the one that graces Silver’s face. He checks who is in earshot, but none save them are on the trails this early. "I should say, it reflects rather poorly on that pegasus's... skill. How embarrassing."

Moonlight Meadows's armor is rather simpler to put on, as it is a simpler piece - and, curiously, shaped out of wood. "Another grey pegasus? Like you said, it's not like that's a very specific description."

"Any notion as to whom the culprit may be, then?” Virtue asks. "Or perhaps where these stolen goods may wind up?"

Silver Shine scratches her chin. "Stolen goods can't be sold just anywhere. They would need someone willing to buy: a fence, in other words."

"Sugar isn't light, either," says Moonlight.

"Or are using it for their own purposes,” muses Dawn. “Any large events with baked goods in the upcoming future?"

Virtue nods to the collective ideas. "Delightful. Ladies, I have it in mind to pay these ponies back for their hospitality. It is a slight detour from our sacred charge, but one, I think, the benefactress would approve of."

Azure Charger dons her armor piece-by-piece as they walk along. Even with years of training, it goes slightly worse than you'd expect. She hobbles about on three legs, a hoofboot strap taut in her mouth "Wah you haf in mii?”

"I propose we locate this imposter, rescue the purloined goods, shove a sock in his throat, and cart both of them back."

Moonlight Meadows moves over to help Azure get her armor on.

"Thanks," she mumbles, self-conscious. As she fidgets, a strap comes loose and her saddlebags slip off, lodging firmly into Moonlight's mane. "Oh, ponyfeaters..."

"No no, I got it." She steps off a ways, braces... and then shakes herself, in a manner rather reminiscent of a dog.

Azure holds up a hoof, shielding herself from the debris. "And how exactly do we go about that?” she asks Virtue. “We've got as many leads as the townsfolk have? Not to mention, we've already got our own troubles with missing items, as it is."

There's a few things other than Azure's saddlebags in that spray. Like coins. And wrapped candies. And a small sword. And a map of Equestria. And a comb.

Azure Charger looks down at the comb. "What cruel fate."

"You're bathing every night if we can help it. That is ferociously non-hygienic," Virtue says, recoiling from the display. "If I weren't in a hurry I'd have you dunked into the river."

Dawn Star looks ruefully at the detrus. "When was the last time you washed your mane?"

Moonlight Meadows thinks. "Two days ago.” She then sets about gathering up the various things. “Balti helps."

"Twice a day then?" Dawn asks.

Virtue coughs. "Now, then. If there are no objections?" Virtue rubs her chin consideringly. "It's not a large town. Could you locate it, you think? Or is there a way we can identify it from the outside?"

"Find the sugar, find the stallion," says Silver Shine. “The sugar has to still be in Rambling Ridge, somewhere.”

Azure Charger grimaces. "We're pushing our luck to return there, after this morning's wake-up call."

"I had no intention of returning without already knowing where it is." Virtue looks to Dawn Star. "You, too. Do you have any magic that can suss it out?"

Dawn Star nods energetically. “Mmm! Once the sun’s at its highest peak.”
 
Moonlight Meadows thinks. "When did they say it happened?"

Virtue motions them all off the road once they're out of sight. "Last night.” Virtue gestures with her horn, taking a hair clip from “Melody's” mane, causing Silver Shine to poof back into his normal self. She fiddles with the clip in her aura. "You're the expert, Silver Shine, how do you want to look?"

He considers a moment. "Say, Moonlight, do you have any 'friends' who can track the smell of sugar?"

Moonlight shakes her head. "That wouldn't work. Sugar scent is all over that town. We'd just wind up at the closest sweet's shop."

Azure Charger looks up and scoffs. "No cloud cover. That'd make recon difficult. For only one pegasus in town, she's sure making a nuisance of herself."
 
"We can keep watch easily enough, then,” Virtue says.

"So can she."

"That's fine. If you see her, knock her out of the sky."

Azure Charger jolts upright. "I... what? You want..." She casts a quick glance to the road and lowers her voice. "You want me to attack her?"

"Only judiciously." Virtue smiles. "The thief, that is."

Azure Charger ruffles a hoof through her mane, looking back to the city.

"My thought is to track the sugar to it's most likely destination," says Silver. "How many ponies can there be in this town that can store a huge lump of sugar without attracting attention?"

"Anyone with a cellar. Also, any bakery." Moonlight pauses, tapping her chin. "I could also ask the cats. Do you want me to do that now?"

Virtue nods. "Ideally before they decide they'd rather be sun-napping."

"That's always."

Azure shakes her head. "Silver especially, but even all of us are on their watchlist now. You saw what happened to Virtue. This is risky."

Virtue waves the clip back at Silver Shine. "Either I give you a new disguise, you go in there, and find the sugar, or we wait until they leave. As I said, you are the expert."

Silver Shine shakes his head. "If I were to go in, there is always the danger of getting in trouble. Tempting fate, you know."

"Indeed, which is why I think an uninterested third party disguise would work wonders. I don't carry this for touchups, after all." She looks at him a moment more, but he seems steadfast. “But I won’t force the issue.”

Dawn Star tilts her head in the direction of town. "Do you think we could search the scene of the crime?"

"That makes sense. You should start that." Moonlight stands, and starts walking back towards town. "I'm gonna go ask the cats."

"Off to patrol, for me." Azure flies off to find a high tree-branch to scout from, hopefully unseen.





Azure has never experienced this before. It's a very... strange sensation. She has successfully snuck up on somepony.

Lightning Glass is sitting on a cloud directly over Rambling Ridge. At first, Azure thinks she's guarding the town, but as Azure sneaks in closer, she sees that Lightning is distracted. She's fiddling with a small item in the cloud, looking at it and mumbling to herself. Azure can't see what it is clearly, but she's absorbed enough she's not paying any attention, and Azure is free to observe the town from behind cloud cover—like the pegasus warriors of old, spying on their earth pony vassals.

...She feels a slight urge to set one of their buildings on fire and kidnap a bride. But no. Azure Charger isn't the sort to cuddle.

Looking about, she does spot a number of town guards. They're mostly just standing by the gate, or at their posts. It's not a town with a lot of crime, as far as she can tell, and they look pretty bored. She'd guess there's maybe six guards in the whole town.

A small crowd of well-wishers has gathered in from of Sugar Cane’s shop. From her vantage point, Azure can see that the north-facing window is clearly broken, and that some of the shingles directly beneath the window have been broken as well. But from her distance, that’s all that she is able to make out.

And so, she elects to simply keep her watch on the curious pegasus and her cloud. And to suppress thoughts of securing a cloud-wife, as in the olden days.





Moonlight Meadows starts transforming as she walks toward the town gates. This time, she shrinks, her form once again growing feline. Her fur has more in common with her coat than her mane, with the pink relegated to the very tips of her ears and tails.

"Hey there, kitty," the guard greets Moonlight on her way in.

"Maow."

"Just to your left, south-east corner of town."

Moonlight is well on her way in before the second guard asks, “Wait, you speak cat?”

Moonlight is able to speak with a number of the cats around town, and learns many useful things. For instance, that the houses here don't coordinate, so if you go and mew at a number of different doors, you can get fed multiple times a night.

Perhaps more relevantly though, an old calico cat the ponies call Muffins (she calls herself Dame Shorthair the Third), claims to have seen what happens. She gives a very detailed description of Silver Shine, and says she saw him scramble over the roof of the house owned by Sugar Cane, before flying across the main street to the buildings on the north side of town. After that, he hopped down off the roofs and ran off on hoof, all while carrying the sugar. She lost sight of him shortly after, though.

Moonlight Meadows thanks Dame Shorthair the Third, and goes off to check out the scene of the crime itself, and the roof of that building "Silver" scrambled over, if she can figure out a way up it. Oh, wait, she is a cat. Working her way up to the roof, she attracts the attention of two ponies who think she needs help getting down from the roof, along with their cries of, “Come down, kitty!”

She too finds the broken tiles that Azure spotted earlier. She can see them in more detail though, and there’s clearly four hoof-marks. Somepony landed on this roof with their full weight, carrying something heavy. There are also scratches leading along the top, and another pair of cracked shingles on the far side—probably from somepony leaping off the north face, she'd say—and again, putting a lot of weight into it. Beyond that, there isn't much to see here, and with the broken window sealed up and the shop closed, she doesn't see an easy way into the sugar shop.

So Moonlight goes to check out where Muffins said the thief descended from the rooftops, conveniently using one of those helpful ponies’ heads as a method of getting down. "Aaah!" Cats are so cute.

Inspecting the ground there, she finds another set of deep hoofmarks in the soil, somepony making a rough landing. She has no difficulty at all tracking the hoofprints around the building. The thief stumbled a few times, obviously struggling with the weight. The hoofsteps lead around the town, along the wall, and finally…

To the outhouse.

There are times when it's really, really better not to have an acute sense of smell. This is one of those times. But Moonlight thinks she does detect just a whiff of sugar. Nosing her way inside, Moonlight discovers regret. Also, a fine powdered dusted here and there on the floor. This is really not somewhere she wants to go poking around more than she has too, but she'd hazard this is the sugar, which would put the rest of it down the hole. As it were… that may impact the resale value.





It doesn't take long for the whole of the party to reconvene, including Azure, once she realizes the group is meeting up. "Looks like most of the town's back to normal. As long as we can keep a low profile, we should be in the clear." Azure looks up toward the sky. "Most of them. That Lightning was up to something."

A small brown-and-pink cat approaches. "Maow meow mew."

Virtue scritches Moonlight’s belly. "Who's a good kitty? Yes you are." Moonlight Meadows purrs, and then suddenly is no longer a kitty. "So. What did you discover?"

"Dame Shorthair the Third saw Silver steal the sugar," she says, and takes a moment to roll in the grass. "She put me on the track. Which I tracked." She pauses once again for a particularly vigorous roll, then stands up. "To an outhouse."

Virtue grimaces. "An outhouse with a secret cellar, I hope."

"Nope."

"Has the sugar somehow survived?"

"No. It was pretty clearly dumped down the hole."

Virtue snorts. "A frame up, then. This has just become personal. Not likely our thief will return, but perhaps..."

"But why?" Azure looks to Silver. "Who would be going to such lengths to frame you, would you think? Local enemies?"

Silver Shine frowns. "This is a very puzzling situation. Who saw me before Virtue's spell, and wanted to frame me? For all the fuss, my last visit was reasonably quiet."

"I am uncertain. I will ask when we find him." Virtue makes an uglier face still. "Perhaps if we had the bags we could use Dawn's power..."

"There was the guards at the gate who saw me,” he muses. “And the weather pegasus if she paid attention... Who else?"

Azure Charger looks back up toward the cloud cover and frowns. "The weather pony was doing something. With the clouds. Couldn't tell from my vantage point."

“I spoke to her yesterday,” Silver says to Azure. “She didn't seem... out for blood? And she certainly didn't see through my disguise, otherwise she would have framed me as Melody Moon."

Moonlight Meadows shakes herself off, lightly, and trots toward the river.

"I could make one of you invisible," Virtue offers.

Azure Charger nods at Virtue. "I suppose that's the way of it. I want to know what Lightning was doing with that cloud. Looked like she was digging into it, almost. Looked suspicious." She looks back to the group and arches the eyebrow. "A distraction could draw her away for long enough, though that's tempting fate quite a bit. Not much of a lead, but, well..." She grimaces. "I don't particularly want to retrieve the sugar bags."

Virtue nods. "Let us chase it up, then. Worst case scenario, I leave a note for Master Cane with some payment."

"It's probably best that Silver not draw further attention to herself,” says Azure. “If I can make friends with Lightning, will you be able to get in and out with the cloud?" she asks Silver.

Silver Shine arches an eyebrow. "With the cloud? What's your plan when she notices it's gone?"

Azure Charger opens her mouth and closes it. "Mmm. So we'd need to check the cloud without taking it? While it's hovering above town for all to see... Tricky."

"Well, we can give it a shot. As long as I'm unnoticed I should be able to fly in and take a look without too much trouble. Perhaps even bring something back."

"Invisibility," Moonlight says, coming back from the river... and, notably, soaking wet. You assume it's Moonlight, anyway. With her mane wet, you can't really see her face. It kind of... drapes. It's a rather odd effect. Also just points out how much mane she has. “Like Virtue said.”

Azure blinks. "Oh. Eh... hehe... right." She rubs the back of her head. "Forgot."

"Alright. Let's do it then." Silver nods.

Dawn Star looks Moonlight over. "That is a lot of hair..."

Virtue giggles, checking over Moonlight. "Did anyone ever mention you were adorable wet?" She levitates Moonlight's comb out to start brushing it back from her face.

Moonlight Meadows tilts her head to the side. "Hmmm. Probably."

"Mrrr." Balti leans over to her, licking her hair clean. It just won't look right overwise. Moonlight is used to this.

"Right then. Visible distraction. Invisible cloud digging." With a nod, Azure takes to the air and makes straight for the city's airspace. "Guards! Guards!" She hovers in front of Lightning, panting exaggeratedly for breath. "Stallion... attacked us... flew to the... north."

Silver Shine blinks a few times. "Well, that's one way..." he mutters, then turns to Virtue. "Shall we?"

"Let us," Virtue says, her horn flaring.

For a moment, Lightning Glass and the guards look at Azure. "Are you trying to lure me off so you and your thief friend can ambush me and job me?"

Azure stares, dumbfounded. "What?! We just”—she pants—“were attacked and you're just going to sit here?! Fine lot of guards you are!" She gets all up in Lightning's face.

"I'm not a guard. I'm a weatherpony." Lightning Glass shoots back. "And you're a criminal."

"Well I don't exactly see a trail going north for the groundpounders. Unless any of the others can fly along to help..."

"Are you even a real knight?"

"Ex-CUSE me?!"

"I don't think a pegasus warrior would be sneaking around earth pony towns stealing sugar."

Azure bumps Lightning off the cloud. "I will have you know—"

Lightning Glass swats Azure's hoof away. "Don't you touch me! What knight did you steal that armor from?"

"—that I am a Lancer First Class of one of the most illustrious of all Houses—"

Lightning Glass spreads her wings as Azure pushes her, the two soon glaring muzzle to muzzle. "What's your problem?"

From below, the guards call out, "Hey! What's going on up there!?" But Lightning Glass ignores them. 

"As if a mere weathermare like you knows anything about true honor or integrity! Just content to sit here at your cushy desk job."

"Cushy—" She snorts. “Yeah, I was content to sit there until you came along! Nopony's buying your little act, so just shove off!" Lightning Glass gives Azure a sharp shove in the shoulder to make her point.

Azure Charger shoves back. "That's awfully convenient. Helpless travelers, drag them before the judge. First sign of danger, you just sit here pushing clouds back and forth."

"I am not a guard! What's wrong with you!?"

"Will one of you please tell us what the problem is!?" shouts the guards below.

"No!" Lightning Glass shouts back. “I mean, I'm dealing with it!"

"What's the matter?" Azure crosses her hooves. "Couldn't make the passing grade?"

"Bite me! I was in the militia! I wanted to be a weatherpony! I could kick your flank any day!"

"Oh, jeeze," one of the guards groans below. "You two want to come down and talk about this reasonably, maybe? Any chance of that?"

"I said I'm handling it!" barks Lightning.

"You? Do you have any idea who you're talking to? Tell you what, dearie." Azure pats Lightning on the head, then points to the fields outside the north wall. "You and me, good ol' fashioned throw down. First to cry Uncle loses. Unless you don't think your militia training will cut it."

Lightning Glass looks at the the field. Then looks at Azure. "Sounds good to me. Also. Flying Scorpion Kick."

Azure blinks. “Flying what now?"

Lightning reaches out, grabs Azure by the wing, and twists both of them around, delivering a powerful kick to the spot right in the middle of Azure's wings. Azure's wings both suddenly go numb and lose their muscle strength, and she tumbles from the sky. She manages to recover in time to avoid crashing muzzle-first into the ground, but only just, taking a hard landing in the dirt. She's able to stumble to her feet, but something still doesn't feel quite right, all her muscles sluggish and unresponsive. Lightning Glass lands on the ground before Azure, rearing up on her rear legs, hooves raised. "I'll show you just how much I cut it, you two-bit thief!"

...Azure didn't know Lightning was one of those kung-fu weatherponies.

While Azure's being beaten up, Silver takes to the sky to survey the cloud.

Azure recovers reasonably quickly at least, the guards left momentarily at a loss as the two pegasi face each other. She leaps up to her hooves and lunges, trying to get Lightning in a hooflock. As she leaps forward, Lightning Glass grabs rolls out of the way, grabbing her by one hoof and one wing. "Sky!" She shouts, hurling Azure up. "Splitting!" She twists around herself, bringing her rear legs into position. "Strike!" she shouts, bucking upwards, and kicking Azure clear into the cloud layer.

"Who shouts their moves when they do them!?" screams Azure as she goes sailing. She manages to recover admirably, actually keeping in the sky. She sees the cloud discreetly sliding away out of town, though she can't see Silver.

"I do!" retorts Lightning Glass. "It's cool!"

"It is kind of silly actually," one of the guards points out.

"Whose side are you on!?" Lightning Glass glares at him.

"I still don't know what this is about!"

"Fine! Two can play at that game. CHARGE!" Azure charges into the fray, diving towards Lightning Glass hooves-first! Her hooves strike forward towards the enemy, and in the zen of battle, she realizes—

It really has been a long time since she practiced hoof-to-hoof combat. Maybe she should do those drills more.

Lightning Glass rolls to the side as Azure charges, leaping after her, over her. When Azure's charge ends, Lightning Glass is above her, and her hooves spike down. "Lightning Hoof Strike!"

Azure gets the wind knocked out of her, and she sees stars. Three quick strikes drive down into her back. The cloud is away at this point, but she's meandering drunkenly around the sky, just trying to stay up.

"You give up yet!?" jeers Lightning.

Azure sputters and slurs with her speech. "Ow... big dumb... FINE, just... you and your..." She turns to drift slowly out of town, tail tucked between her legs.

"Fine! And don't show your face around here again!" Lightning Glass calls, fluffing her wings angrily before flying back to... her... "Wait, where did my cloud go?"





Virtue seems to have found a bottle of rubbing alcohol somewhere. Azure is wrapped up in a rather un-knightly bandage as Virtue dabs her many cuts and bruises with the little cotton swabs. A knight, of course, would never show pain. Even if it does really sting.

Silver Shine is just making his way back to the group now. As a master of the thieving craft, he took a more circumspect route with his stolen cloud, just in case somepony was following him. Confidant that he made a clean getaway, he is now able to approach the group again, slowly drifting to a stop near them.

"You know, if she realizes you were holding back, won't she come looking for a rematch at some point?" Virtue asks, airily. Almost as if she was looking forward to the idea.

Azure has been, suffice it to say, a bit dour since her return, accepting Virtue's aid in silence. Her ears perk at Virtue's question, however. "...Indeed, she might." she says, a faint smile returning."So, what exactly did we get, that I had to eat a few Flaming Starfall Omega Happy Funkicks for?"

Moonlight Meadows has been engaged in that time-honored, ancient pastime common to many animals, ponies included, a practice hailing back to the very beginnings of time itself... Basking in the sun. She's almost dry.

Silver Shine walks up. "Well," he says, taking in the rather beleaguered state of Azure, "I guess she was tougher than she looked."

"Seriously who shouts the names of their attacks?" she mutters, scuffing her hoof on the pathway.


"Are you close to done?" Dawn Star asks Virtue. "Once you get her injuries cleaned, I can heal her."

Virtue nods. "Whenever you're ready, darling."

Dawn Star nods. "Alright, this'll be done in a jiffy," she says brightly as her mane seems to glow gold as a wash of healing energy. The golden light engulfs Azure, dulling if not outright banishing most of her pain, and visibly healing injuries. "Feel better, hun?"

Azure lets out a groan, stretching out her joints. "Oof, very. Thanks much, Dawn Star."

"Anytime, sugar," she says, bowing her head a little, an easy smile on her face.

The stolen cloud is just behind Silver Shine, floating quietly a few feet off the ground. Moonlight opens one eye from where she lays in the sun, looking at the cloud.

"So, then." Azure slowly walks over to the cloud. "What's this thing's story?"

There doesn't seem to be much to the cloud. It's just a small raincloud, of the sort a weatherpony might commonly have at hoof. The only thing that stands out about it is that a small section of it has been padded down enough that it will hold solid objects for a little while—like the shelves in a cloudhouse.

There, hidden behind some cloud-wisps, Azure finds a potted plant.

Azure sighs.

It would appear to be a small fern. It's seen better days though, a bit sickly. An eye-dropper full of water and a roll of paper are half-buried in the dirt.

Azure Charger looks at the fern, and sighs again. "I got my wings yanked, over a snack."

Virtue pats her side. "There there."

"Wonder how it got here,” Dawn wonders aloud. “The plant. Not the cloud."

Moonlight Meadows gets up, shaking herself a bit, and trots over to investigate the fern. "That's from Wisp's store," she says. "Same type of plant. Same type of pot."

"So, Kick Shouter shops at her store? Not exactly the conspiracy we were hoping for." Azure Charger looks back at the town in the distance, mulling things over. Frowning, she pokes through the cloud some more, as if hoping something else will pop out. It rains a little.

Virtue checks the paper out, since nopony else is. "Nothing useful for us, I think," she says, passing it over to Dawn Star. "We'll probably just let this cloud drift back if you can't make sense of that. Likely even so, actually."

Dawn Star nods, takes over the telekinetic hold of the paper, then reads it over. "Nothing here. Looks like someone planted this for a bit. I don't think paper grows into trees, at least, not that I've seen."

"Very well," Virtue says, taking it back. Moonlight grabbyhooves at the paper, giving it a quick inspection, before releasing it back. Virtue replants the piece of paper with an odd, tender gesture, making sure it looks reasonably similar. "All right. Let it go, Silver."

Silver sighs. "It still smells fishy to me." The cloud drift aways on its own accord. Silver keeps a suspicious eye on it for a few moments. Azure too gives the cloud a particularly dour look.

"Well, I think this narrows down our possible actions." Virtue turns to formally address Dawn. "Miss Star, if you can see the crime scene, could you possibly discover anything else of value?"

She nods energetically. "Mmm hmm. Only once a day though, when the sun’s at its highest."

"Very well, we have business inside town in any event. I would like to report the location of the missing sugar." Virtue glances to the others. "Perhaps it is just myself, but I also feel as if we are tangentially responsible for what happened to Master Cane. More accurately, he was harmed because of our presence. I would like to compensate him for his trouble. I can cover that amount with my personal funds, but if anypony would care to chip in a portion..."

“Kay-o," says Moonlight Meadows, standing aside her. She rummages around in her hair, finding where she tied her coin-bag. She undoes the knot, in that way earth ponies do, and peers inside.

Virtue smiles. "Of course, when we do find the thief, I plan to take it out of his hide."

But Azure hems and haws. "Dawn Star? I hate to suggest this. I really, truly do." She sighs and fixed a flat expression on her. "The bags that the sugar were held in. If they were..." she groans, "recovered, would your special talent work on them?"

Dawn Star smiles back, friendly to the core. "To find out who took them, hun? Of course!"

Virtue looks at Azure Charger, her face unreadable. "You truly are a hero."

"I'm afraid we're out of other options..." Azure tightens her mouth. 

"If there are no further suggestions, then," Virtue nods, and starts back towards the town. She levitates her hairclip, ready to return it to Silver Shine’s mane.

Azure Charger follows behind, walking the march of the damned, but she stops short. "Err. Speaking of disguises. I may have… caused a bit of a scene.” She scratches behind her head with a hoof. “So to speak."

Moonlight Meadows arches an eyebrow. "I think the guards are also all suspicious-like of you, Virtue."

Virtue hovers her clip in front of Silver, pausing before turning him back. "They are, but I do not care. I have nothing to hide. Do you think Miss Glass will make trouble for you, Azure?

Azure Charger frowns, giving consideration to the skyline. "Honestly, Virtue?" She smirks. "I hope she does."

"I somehow thought so." Virtue puts the hairclip into Silver Shine’s mane, and thus does Melody Moon return. She starts back towards the town, bold as can be.

Moonlight Meadows decides to act like a gazelle on her way back to town.





The heroic little herd makes good time down the road, and soon, Rambling Ridge and its open gates are in sight once again. The same two guards are there from before. One of them is leaning on her spear, the other reading through an introductory guide to speaking squirrel.

"Hey!" the more alert guard calls out at the herds approach, though it's Azure, not Virtue he calls to. "What was that about earlier!?"

"Oooo... multilingual!" says Moonlight Meadows.

"Oh, thanks. I'm trying to—uh, I mean. Yeah!" says the other guard, quickly putting the book away. "You can't just start fights."

Moonlight trots up to the guy with the book. "Ever thought about learning tortoise?"

"I thought about it, but I heard it was really hard to learn and—" He glances at Azure, and his partner, sensing an impending fight, "We should talk about this later."

Azure Charger fixes an icy glare on the first guard. "That, was about the ponies of this town leaving my companions unassisted in a moment of need."

"So why didn't you ask the authorities for help?" the mare guard demands, glaring right back. "Why did you go bother our weatherpony?"

The rest of the herd steps quickly, nudging their ways past Azure. "Excuse me, guardsponies,” calls Virtue. Azure opens her mouth at first, but yields.

"Hun, you know how pegasi get," Dawn Star asides to the guard.

"...well. No, actually," the guard says, after a moment. "Lightning Glass is the only pegasus I've ever met. Is this a thing?"

"They did challenge one another," says Virtue. "Pegasi challenges are quite commonplace."

"They get riled up. Something about competition." Dawn Star shakes her head a little.

Moonlight Meadows cocks her head to the side, her torn ear wiggling a bit. "Yep. 'S a thing. They're all 'I'm better!' 'No I'm better!' 'Let us fight! Ha ha!' 'You will feel the power of my lance! Ha ha!' And then they beat each other up and then go for drinks."

Virtue looks down to Moonlight Meadows. Moonlight Meadows looks back, and blinks.

"I was kind of wondering why she didn't want to press charges or anything," the second guard admits, a bit confused. "So, did she like, insult you or something?"

Azure Charger, for her part, lifts her nose in disdain. "She turned down a request for aide. Weatherpony or not, it's a matter of honor," she huffs.

Moonlight Meadows sloooooowly leans over to the stallion guard. "I think it's kind of like when earth pony stallions challenge each other to see who can haul the most stuff."

"Like I said, all about pride,” Dawn Star says. “Don't worry your little head about it. We all get like that, pegasi just do it in a different way than we do. And I've seen unicorns,” she whispers low, "do it about fashion."

The guard gives Dawn Star an irritated look, but shakes her head. "Well, fine. I suppose since she didn't press charges... if it's a pegasi thing.” He glowers at Azure. “But don't do it again! You made a real scene."

"I will make certain sure that it's fake next time!" Moonlight Meadows pronks away.

"Regardless." Virtue maneuvers to the front. "No charges were pressed, Miss Glass also won the fight, in any event." Azure ruffles her wings a bit, as Virtue continues. "And we are here on particular business."

Moonlight Meadows stops mid-pronk and turns around. "Oh right, we're doing that."

"Through magic,” Virtue says, undeterred, “I have discovered the location of the bags of sugar that were stolen from Master Cane, whose theft was ludicrously charged against me."

"Oh!" That certainly gets their attention. "Where?"

"They were disposed of within the town and—well, let us say soiled." Virtue wrinkles her nose. "I can show you where. Quite possibly, I can also discover more about the thief through them." Virtue starts forward, her capped hooves ringing in a determined pattern. The guards nod and follow behind her.





Entering the town, a few things can be seen right away. Lightning Glass seems to have recovered her cloud, and actually seems to be in very good spirits. She's just a ways down the street, passing the time near one of the venders and doing some sort of back-and-forth shuffle dance: "~Everypony was kung-fu fighting! Those bucks were fast as lightning~" she sings, to the amusement of those near her. Azure narrows her eyes, but the weatherpony doesn’t seem to notice the herd enter, and for now, Azure doesn’t provoke her.

Sweet Tooth is visible as well, currently sorting through a number of bags one of the out-of-town merchants has on a cart. He seems unhappy with all of them.

Finally, Wisp Will and Old Bat can be seen cheerfully chatting as the little herd and guards walk past. Wisp Will looks up as they pass. "Oh... hi. I thought you'd left already," she says, rather tepidly.

"We had, but the matter of the thief disturbed me greatly." Virtue inclines her head to her and Old Bat.

"Well, everypony knows you didn't do it," says Will Wisp. "I mean. The guards here are just kind of slow—"

“HEY!” The guard bristles.

"—slow to... overlook! Any potential evidence. But, um. Why are you back then?"

Virtue smiles. "I appreciate the sentiments, Miss Will. As I said, the matter of the thief needs attending to."

As they speak, Sweet Tooth wanders over from the merchant carts, perking his ears. “Hey there, you two,” he says to Azure and Moonlight, then he smiles in recognition at Virtue, then to Dawn and… Silver. “Ladies~”

"Um... hi. Sweet Tooth," says Wisp Will.

Moonlight Meadows blinks.

"Oh, hi Wisp," Sweet Tooth waves offhoofidly to her.

Moonlight facehoofs.

"Master Tooth," Virtue says, extending a hoof in greeting. "I never had the opportunity to properly extend my gratitude towards your hospitality yesterday."

Sweet Tooth gives a good natured smile. “Thank you. It was nice to meet you." He looks between the herd and the guards. “I… believe I overheard you mentioning the robbery?”

“Indeed we were.”

"Sugar Cane is my father," he says, briefly looking back to the sugar merchants. "I was at my father’s store earlier, helping him to repair the damages. I'm sorry you got dragged into this, but do you know anything about where your friend went?"

"It is the matter of your father being robbed that brought us here, in fact." Virtue glances between Sweet Tooth and Wisp Will, briefly. "I have significant reason to believe it was an imposter, seeking to inconvenience us, rather than a proper thief. I know where the bags were taken."

"Oh! Goodness," gasps Wisp Will. "What makes you think that?"

Virtue smiles. "Magic, my dear."

"Also a good nose," Moonlight mutters. Azure Charger looks at Moonlight and blanches.

"I thought you might like to accompany us," Virtue says, making the invitation sound general to both of them.

"It does sound a little farfetched," Sweet Tooth agrees. "But... well. I suppose if you were a thief, you would hardly have come back. So, lead on."

Virtue sweeps along, making it seem as if the guards are there as her personal escort. As she follows Moonlight's directions, the guards are... less than pleased, to discover exactly where Virtue is leading them. Extra less than pleased at the thought that physical proof needs to be... retrieved.

"Surely you can use your unicorn magic to uh... well. Yes," one of the guards suggests.

"Ah. No. The bags are far too heavy," Virtue says. "Truthfully, I would have preferred to corner the thief and return him and the bags intact, but c'est la vie, as the Fancy say."

"Well, the bags will probably have started to disintegrate by now anyway,” says Sweet Tooth with a frown. “We really only need a small piece, which means that—not it."

"Not it," chimes Wisp Will.

"Not it." The rest of the herd quickly secures their own futures.

"Not i—" The guard starts. "Horseapples."

Virtue always wondered just how it was that earth ponies clean outhouses. Now she knows! ...it's less gross than she had imagined. And yet, just gross enough that she's hesitant to shake hooves now. Eventually, the guard ends up with a substantive chunk of sugar sack on the end of his spear, Sweet Tooth holding his nose and inspecting the label. "Oh, did you receive those mints?" she directs at Wisp Will, as if distracted by the proceedings.

"Oh... those were from you?" Wisp Will asks, and her ears droop a bit. "Um. Yes. I got them. They were... nice."

“Master Tooth sent them, actually," she says, while the stallion in question is distracted. "I did offer to pay the young colt, though. He was so nervous, it was adorable."

"Oh, really?" Wisp Will asks, looking up. "I had thought, uh... that is. Well, nevermind."

"Mmhmm. That is the missing bag," Sweet Tooth confirms, leaning up and stepping away quickly. "One of them, anyway. A pity it's all gone, but I suppose this does clear your good name, Virtue. As if there was any doubt. I suppose your escort decided to make trouble for you before he ran off."

Moonlight Meadows looks at “Melody”. The pegasus looks on, every bit nonchalant toward the exchange.

"Possibly." Virtue plucks the piece in her magic. Even that looks unpleasant to her, like she's cringing away from it while she floats it over to Dawn Star. "Miss Star, if you will?"

Sunlight shines down into the little sphere in front of Dawn Star, split into a thousand points by the glass. The guards lean away, Sweet Tooth shields his eyes, Wisp Will bites her lip and backs away. The sun's dazzling beams splay out in every direction, and then the crystal loses its focus. For a moment, a few half-hearted images can be seen on the ground, and then, nothing but a rippling blur. Dawn Star blinks a few times, looking between the ground and her glass sphere.

"...is it supposed to do something now?" Sweet Tooth asks after a moment.

"Regrettably, that seems to be it… for today." Virtue frowns.

"Well," Azure deadpans. "That stinks."

"Oh. well said," Virtue says brightly.

"That was terrible." Wisp Will narrows her glare at Azure, then turns back to Virtue. "For today?"

"Indeed, the spell may only be performed once per day at noon. I'm afraid we'll have to continue our hunt on the road, it seems." She taps a hoof on the ground. ”However, I think it rules out our comrade. If it were him, the description should have identified him at once. No, I think we are dealing with somepony who wished to cast aspersions on us."

"I can't imagine why anypony here would wish you harm," the guard says, and after a moment she adds, "I hope no harm befell your companion. Perhaps you should check on him next? His vanishing does seem rather odd."

"An excellent idea. Thank you all." she says. "Now... I did wish to provide some form of compensation to your father. I understand this must have hurt him terribly, Master Tooth. And I feel responsible, seeing as how it would not have occurred if I were not here.”

Sweet Tooth quickly waves away the suggestion. "Oh, I couldn't possibly accept, and I'm sure he won't either. This is hardly your fault, and you came all the way back here to help us after bein—"

Moonlight Meadows nudges her way forward, tilting her head up at Sweet Tooth. "What if we were just convenient scapegoats and the real target was Sugar Cane?"

Sweet Tooth pauses at Moonlight's speculation. "Well. It was quite a lot of very valuable sugar—but not a ruinous amount. I... suppose somepony might hold a grudge."

But Virtue looks narrowly at Moonlight, her tone turning icy. "Let it never be said that I am not a mare of my word." And with that, she upends her money purse.

Moonlight Meadows blinks at the sudden coldness. "What?" The others in the herd look about in surprise as well.

How, precisely, she counts out a shower of three hundred bits is beyond anypony. But Virtue looks down at it, her horn flaring brightly, and she shifts them into a little pyramid of shining gold there on the street.

Sweet Tooth looks uncertain for a moment, glancing at the pile of money, but his resolve hardens, and he pushes it back. "It's very kind of you, Virtue, but I really can't let you take responsibility for something that wasn't your fault."

Virtue lowers her head, slightly. She looks down at the pile, and sighs. "Very well."

Azure Charger pauses, then trots up to Virtue's side. "All the same, we would like to do what we can to make the situation right."

Virtue slices off a few at the top, pushing it towards him. "Accept ten, please. For your kindness yesterday. I feel..." She stops herself, then says a bit tightly, "You and yours were hurt because of my presence. I cannot abide that."

"...well." Sweet Tooth says, clearly torn. "It's a new era. I suppose my family's dignity will somehow survive. Thank you. It's very kind."

"Yes. Um. Very kind. Of you. To him." Wisp Will scrapes at the ground with a hoof, as Sweet Tooth makes the money vanish.

Virtue looks to Wisp Will and moves closer. "I never properly apologized for yesterday, Wisp Will. I am sometimes... well, driven by what I feel I must do against what I feel is right. I felt deeply ashamed to force that upon you." She glances back at Azure; Azure smiles back, reassuringly.

Wisp Will gives a weak smile of her own. "You um. You just asked a few questions. It's... it's fine. Really. You should be on your way. Before it gets too late in the day, I mean."

Moonlight nods. "Yeah, we have a ship to find."

Virtue smiles shyly, lowering her head again as she glances towards Wisp Will. "Thank you. I fear we have a long journey ahead, indeed. Good luck." She returns to her pile and sweeps it back into her bag with a hoof.

Moonlight Meadows lingers behind the group a bit, and trots over to Wisp Will. "Hi."

"Oh. Um." Wisp Will looks up at Moonlight. "You're the mare who talks to plants, right?"

"Yes. I still want that oak, but if you get a place to plant it I'll understand. Also, 'cause time is kinda short and we're going to see the griffons and I don't know when we're gonna be back"—she says, pausing to take a breath—"if you like someone, go talk to them and maybe help them with making their candy and stuff. Of course I could be reading things completely wrong but I don't think so but that's what I had to say."

Wisp Will blushes a bright red, looking down at the ground and muttering something inaudible. Finally, she manages: "Good luck. With the whole griffon thing."

Virtue laughs softly, covering her mouth. "You, too, Wisp Will."

"Thanks!” calls Moonlight as she waves farewell. “We'll need it probably."





"Now, see, when I was doing it, it was subtle," Virtue says to Moonlight as the herd leaves town, her voice ringing of amusement.

Moonlight Meadows considers. "I'm not subtle, though."

"Lack of trying, really." Virtue giggles.

Azure Charger gives Virtue a nudge as they clear the town gates. "We're doing them a favor, you realize."

"That suits me right down to the marrow." Virtue nods. "I hope we pass by here on the way back."

Azure shakes her head. "I hope we do not. At least not soon."

"We're going on a ship,” says Moonlight. “It's gonna be months at least."

Azure looks askance at Virtue. "Because if it's true that the imposter thief is targeting us, they just might seek to follow."

"Good." Virtue stares straight ahead as they walk. "I want him close at hoof. All the easier to catch him."

Dawn Star hems and haws a moment. "You think he was using some sort of magic to hide himself?"

"Almost certainly. Though it may be a mundane skill, of course. Or perhaps a stranger ability, still." Virtue looks at Dawn Star with a raised brow.

"Hey now, what I do isn't that strange.” Dawn raises a hoof as she walks. “I just believe hard, and good things happens."

"Precisely." Virtue smirks. "You and Moonlight have forced me to revise many of my cherished assumptions."

Azure gives a pondering glance at Silver. "The question still remains if there's hostilities toward just Silver Shine, or the lot of us."

He nods. "Good question."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


Wisp Will: Proprietor of Phosphorescents and Potted Plants


Sweet Tooth: Seller of Sugary Snacks


Lightning Glass: Much Maligned Meteorologist


Suffice it to say, the GM was somewhat displeased with Azure’s treatment of local weatherpony, Lightning Glass.

GM: well, uh
GM: Let's just say
GM: when you said
GM: "I'll go make friends with her to distract her"
GM: I had assumed you meant, you know.
GM: "Hi. You wanna hang out?"
GM: Though I guess a kung-fu battle for dominance is a kind of bonding
Azure: Jaxie, Jaxie, Jaxie
Azure: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DefeatMeansFriendship
Azure: I didn't want the guards on my flank! D: lol
GM: They're earth ponies!
Silver: Fly away?
GM: What are they gonna do?
GM: Sit there and wish they had wings at you?
Pav: give me very disapproving looks!
Virtue: This just means you need to rematch and not be such a p***y next time :D

Luckily, she was an irrelevant NPC who never came up in the story, ever again.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

> Fireside Chat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As every night, Virtue is brushing her tail in front of the campfire. "So. Who else finds themselves concerned about the matter of our unidentified thief?"

Dawn Star raises her hoof as she stares into the fire. "Me."

"The physical description we provided proved fruitless." Azure Charger rubs her chin with a hoof, her other three tucked beneath her body as she rests by the fire. "Clearly, Dawn's ability didn't tie the perpetrator to their temporary guise."

"Quite. Would that I knew what questions were useful." Virtue looks to Dawn Star.

"Or they had some way of making it so I couldn't see them.” Dawn frowns. “I know some unicorns can do that."

"Magic disguises points to a unicorn,” says Azure. “Rooftop infiltration points to a pegasus. The heavy landings on the broken tiles points to an earth pony."

"Or a particularly heavy one..." Virtue arches an eyebrow. "Were they truly seen to fly away?"

"Not that I recall." Azure shakes her head. "I'd dismissed it as being overladen with the heavy bags, but..."

"Then we must reject all notions of determinism by race or even gender. Shame we can't ask twenty questions," Virtue muses. "You can narrow almost anything in the universe down with twenty yes or no questions." She perks her ears, looking to Dawn Star. "What do you usually do?"

"Well, usually, I try to have a clearer description to begin with," Dawn Star says, with a shake of her head. "An item that the pony has only touched once or twice is a very weak connection. That's why when we were looking for Cell, I was only able to narrow it down to a whole town. Even that was lucky, to be honest."

Azure nods slowly. "There's still tactical merit to this line of thinking. Cer always said, it's not enough to realize you don't know. You need to realize what you don't know."

"We don't know who framed us," Dawn Star offers after a moment.

"Their race, or gender."

"Well, it doesn't have to be a physical description. We know that they're sneaky,” says Dawn. "But unless they're the only sneaky pony who has touched this material, ever, we need more than that."

"We don't know why they attempted to frame Silver Shine, nor what they hoped to gain by doing so." Azure Charger looks to Moonlight's sleeping form. "If indeed, Silver Shine was the true target."

"What sorts of questions can be asked?" Virtue asks.

"Questions?" Dawn looks upward, resting her chin on a hoof. "That's not... really how it works. I think about something and the sunlight shows it to me. Sometimes. I guess..." She shifts about, uncomfortably. "I guess you learn a few things, growing up in Canterlot."

"Is it always a location?" Azure cocks her head to the side. "What the sunlight shows you, I mean."

"Oh, not at all. Sometimes it shows ponies, or objects, or even abstract things. Once, it showed me the notes of a musical song. I ran into a pony humming it later that day and it was just who I was looking for."

"We want to figure out who this pony is, and where they are." Azure rolls onto her backside, letting her wings fan out onto ground. "But we don't know enough yet to ask the right questions. So, what kinds of questions do we know enough about the answer that we can ask the question?" She scrunches up her muzzle. "...did that make sense?"

"Possibly." Virtue smirks. "Might be worth, at least, asking who the last pegasus to touch it was."

Azure thinks. "Neither me nor Silver touched it, nor... any townspony pegasi," she growls. "So that would at least give us somepony new."

"Alright. I can ask that in the morning." Dawn Star nods.

Virtue perks her ears, "Could we ask it who the last pony to touch it before yesterday's dawn was? Or is it not that specific?"

Dawn Star sighs, tucking her legs under her and lowering her head near the campfire. "I just see things in the reflected light. I'm not a fortune teller."

"Mmph."

"Well..." Azure says after staring up at the sky a moment, "we've several days before we reach the nearest port town, Van Hoover. Tomorrow's answer will help us decide what to do with our next question. And the next."

"Yes.” Virtue nods. "That is so."

“Oh! Um, just a moment.” Dawn Star stands up, making her way to the tree line, smiling apologetically. “Be back in a jiffy!”

Once they’re alone, Azure nods gently Virtue's way. "Feeling better? I mean, having had a chance to speak with Wisp Will once more."

"Ah," she says, swishing her dark tail behind her. "I suppose I could have hid that better. Sometimes I become a little emotional. But... yes."

Azure smirks and rests her chin on her folded forelegs. "I suppose a pony is entitled to a bit of emotion, for time to time."

"It's strange, really.” She looks down at her hooves. “I don't really feel much guilt at lying and tricking my way through ponies like those guards or the like, but I didn't even lie to Wisp Will, so much."

"But they weren't lies to gain us an advantage." Azure pauses to consider that. "Well, rather, to put them at disadvantage."

"Oh, of course, the difference is clear. And I suppose a little hypocrisy is a lady's privilege, isn't it?" Virtue pauses. "I very nearly chopped my funds in half, there. That may have been a bit excessive."

Azure Charger smiles and shakes her head. "There's nothing wrong in wanting closure. We made things as right as we could. In the end, even if it came from your own bitpurse, things were set back on course.” She smirks. "I thought it was very—" But then she stops short and considers. "Compassionate."

"That sounds like it wasn't precisely your first choice of words!"

Azure Charger's ears tuck flat against her head, and she suddenly spots something very interesting crackling in the fire. Virtue reaches out and pushes her shoulder, as Azure squirms and fidgets. "Err..." She coughs and drops her voice. "C-cute." She quickly raises her forehooves in protest. "Simply for how caring and insistent your actions were!"

Virtue giggles, covering her mouth. "Cute? I don't think I've been called cute since I was a filly."

Azure Charger blushes hotly, turning back to look at the fire, and mumbles. "It was just very principled, 's all. 's good to have principles."

"I'm glad you think so." Virtue looks like she wants to keep tormenting Azure, but Dawn Star’s return gives an opening.

"Ah, Dawn Star!" Azure's ears perk upright at her return. "Excellent, welcome back. We, err... we kept the fire going. While you were away."

Dawn Star smiles a bit and sits herself down by the fire. "Thanks. It's pretty nice but a nice fire's always good."

"So!” Virtue turns to face her proper. “Canterlot. I've been, of course, but I didn’t live there."

Dawn Star shrugs noncommittally. "It's nice. My parents helped build some of it and I guess, they just stayed."

Virtue looks to Azure. "Have you ever been?" Azure shakes her head.

"I mean, it's a young city, not designed for any one pony type specifically, which is nice," Dawn continues. "There's a cloud district, and the gardens are amazing."

"Many still grumble over it," says Virtue. "When I was little, my father taught me that the pony races were only brought together so that they might work together more efficiently. In the minds of most unicorns, that means they were the ones meant to rule." She pauses mid-thought. "Well, we."

Azure nods. "At its worst, it's a symbolic gesture. But, that can mean quite a lot to ponies. Little goes a long way, i suppose."

Virtue smiles coquettishly. "A more open thing than it was, thankfully."

"Still,” says Azure, scratching the base of her neck, “I believe you introduced yourself as a member of Princess Celestia's court?" She tilts her head and smiles. "That's quite the honor."

"Ah, well..." She blushes, forelegs rubbing against each other in embarrassment. "It's nothing special. I mean, like my strong beliefs, it's just something she's interested in. So, I help out with wherever I'm needed"

"And you help the Princess with your talents." Azure shuffles around on her belly, turning to give Dawn her full attention. "Well well well. I knew our group had been graced with a representative from Canterlot, but I didn't realize quite how close to the Princess you truly were."

"N-not really!" Dawn quickly shakes her head. "I mean, she rarely talks to me and I'm not her apprentice or pupil. I just..." She thinks for a moment. "I guess I just believe stronger than most others, and when I do, good things happen."

"I wonder if we met without knowing it," muses Virtue. "You and I."

"Maybe!"

"I didn't think I'd missed anypony in court. When was your debut?"

"Um, it wasn't really a debut as much as, uh, I healed somepony when I was working in one of the offices and I got asked how I did it and I showed them and I guess it just happened from there..." She flushes a little more, her breathing coming rapid as she timidly looks away from Virtue. "I'm not nobility or anything."

"Oh!" Virtue brings a hoof to her mouth. "That's... very egalitarian."

"Mmm, yes very." Azure Charger chuckles goodnaturedly.  "But I was simply impressed that your skills were valued first and foremost."

"Well, I mean, it's what we're good at, right? I just happen to be really good at believing in things." Dawn Star shrugs. "And since it helps out, I guess I do things that ponies who are good at, uh, baking, don't. But I don't bake bread or really anything so, it all works out in the end."

“Believing, mmm?” Virtue hums. "So if I told you Azure had a huge birthmark hidden by her coat, you'd believe me?"

"I—" Azure Charger’s eyes bulge. "What, what?!"

Dawn Star quickly waves her away. "Oh! No! Not like that! But in like, friendship! And in pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns working together for a better future! That sort of stuff.” She nods to herself, though her expression shows hesitation. “I mean, I know you're lying. The important part about belief is knowing when people are lying to you."

"Am I?" Virtue asks, her face straight. "It's fairly large. A shockingly good representation of a bucking mare, actually, if you look just right." As Azure squirms uncomfortably, Virtue leans in to whisper in Dawn’s ear. "I saw it last night when we shared a room. We had to get... very... close."

Azure launches into a fit of coughing, slamming a hoof into her chest. "Didn't—You wouldn't have—I never—That!"

"That what?" Virtue asks, looking perfectly innocent. Dawn Star has the good grace to blush and giggle a bit.

"Anyway!" Azure declares, a bit loud considering two nearby sleeping companions. "Dawn Star was saying something about friendship and harmony, I believe. Nice, safe topics." She nods to herself before looking back up at Dawn Star. "You did say you had an eye for when ponies were lying, yes?"

Dawn Star shrugs. "Well, I'm okay at it. It's not my special talent. But, if I try hard enough I can make ponies tell the truth.” She stops to think. “Well, some of the time"

Azure nods again. "Good. Good."

"I get ponies to love me," says Virtue, giving Azure a half-lidded smile. "They often tell the truth after that."

Azure swallows, looking back at the fire. "Yes, well, uhh, as the town of Rambling Ridge proved, the gathering of information is quite important. So, useful talents, all."

"What about you? What's your special talent, Azure?” Dawn asks. “Uh, other than flying and being tough and fast?"

Azure smirks, the change in topic putting her more at ease. "You say that as if it's not enough. House Charger prides itself in producing some of the finest fighters and most upstanding guards. It is simply my hope to uphold that tradition."

"Indeed." Virtue says, proudly. "I think you can exceed it."

Azure Charger's smug expression wavers slightly at that. "Well, that... we certainly have a long lineage to live up to. I like to think myself good with a lance, but there's a lot to live up toward, y'know." She coughs. "And what of yourself, Virtue? You certainly made quite the entrance into court, the way you'd described it."

"I hope to build on that,” Virtue says with a bit of flourish. “Not to sound arrogant or self-aggrandizing, but somepony must stand out."

Azure nods. "Certainly certainly. Well, with your fortune and abilities, I'd have no doubts in your ability to succeed in your aspirations."

"Oh you are too kind. Of course,” she says, her voice lilting, “when you return by my side with the raiment in hoof, well… Somepony might find herself suddenly part of the court."

Azure Charger fixes Virtue with a half-lidded stare and a faint smirk. "In honor of my heroic acts? Or because you seem Tartarus-bent on getting me in a frou-frou dress with the rest of the nobles?"

Dawn Star winces. "I've worn those… They aren't very comfortable."

Azure Charger shivers lightly. "I couldn't imagine so."

"Nonsense! You would look simply fantastic." Virtue beams. "Oh, and the honor would be yours of course," she adds with a wave of her hoof.

Azure Charger gives Dawn Star the look of a doomed pony, whose days before being coerced into a game of dress-up are numbered. "Yes well," she says, waving her own hoof back, "part of combat readiness is to run drills for situations that will never, ever arise." She ponders this for a moment. "Ever."

"Yes, surely a brave warrior such as you would not shy away from such a task."

Dawn Star looks sympathetic. "It's… not too bad. Pegasus fashions lean towards, uh, decorative armor. So, that's something at least.” Her eyes light up. "And flowing robes! There's a lot of those!"

Virtue shakes her head. "Nonsense. She isn't a general, so that would be inappropriate." She grins wider. "It would have to be something wonderfully feminine."

Azure Charger feels a looming mix of deja-vu and dread. She holds herself upright, closes her eyes, and rotely states, "While embracing one's femininity is an important part of being a mare, as a pegasus warrior, first and foremost thought should go towards protection of the realm." Opening her eyes, she looks over at Dawn and mutters, "Besides, Dawn Star is in court, and she doesn't have to wear dresses either."

"We'll fix that," says Virtue. "Besides, the realm's morale is boosted by seeing such lovely figures clad in finery."

Azure Charger tries to brush this away with a hoof. "Lovely... Come now, no need for—" She points a hoof. "Aha! Dawn Star can tell when you're lying, don't forget! So no need to act all silly."

Dawn Star remains silent for a moment, awkwardly staring at her hooves, before speaking. "I don't think she's lying, Azure."

Azure blanches, meeting Virtue’s beaming grin as the latter props her chin up on her hoof. "Yes. Well. Err." Azure looks straight up. "The stars sure are clear, tonight, huh?"

Virtue rises. "If you'll excuse me, ladies, I need a moment to freshen up," she says, heading into the brush with a cheerful flick of her tail behind her, her hips swishing.

"Yes. Okay. Sure. Take your time." Azure nods encouragingly, her eyes lingering as Virtue leaves the camp.

Dawn Star turns to Azure once they’re alone. "So… um… how long have you known her for?"

Azure Charger whimpers, laying her hooves on top of her head. "A week."

"...oh. Um..." Dawn Star blushes.

"Zephyr's barding, am I really acting as foolish as I suspect I am?"

"I think it's just her… She's very, um..." Dawn searches for the word. "Um… forceful?"

Azure rubs at her temples. "She does seem to know how to push a pony's buttons. Regardless"—she clears her throat—"everypony here is on a mission of utmost importance. I should think the lot of us can keep focused on the task at hand, wouldn't you? And to not allow wayward thoughts to detract from the matters at hoof. Yes?" She nods. "Yes."

"Yes!" Dawn chimes brightly.

"Good, it's settled then." She's still nodding. "No rest until the raiments are secured. Well..." she waves her hoof in a circle around camp, "I mean, we can rest rest, but you know what I mean."


Dawn Star nods along, but stops as a thought crosses her mind. "And after?"

Azure Charger stares blankly at Dawn Star. "Yes, well. We'll... just have to see where life leads us. I suppose." She clears her throat. "Certainly you have your own goals in mind, for after our mission is seen through."

"Um...not really.” Dawn Star shakes her head. “I mean, I wanna meet a bunch of people and see the world but, if I'm needed, I'll do that instead. I'm sure it'll be fun no matter what!"

"Quite an upbeat attitude." She smiles at that. "It takes a certain kind of pony to be willing to heed the call of adventure."

"I guess..." She looks into the fire, thinking quietly for a moment. "I mean, I just do what comes natural to me."

"Often in life, actions are what matter, not sitting about any thinking 'Should I? Couldn't I?'" Azure grins at Dawn Star. "Your gut instinct is something to be trusted. There's no shame in acting upon it. And,” she continues after a bit of hesitation, “for all her flattery, Virtue raises a good point. Should we be successful, more than a fair bit of renown may come our way. That has a tendency to open a lot of doors, you know."

"I guess..." Dawn frowns, lost in her own thoughts. "I don't think I'll be much different with fame though."

"Perhaps not. But there's always opportunities on the horizon." She nudges Dawn Star on the shoulder. "You yourself already serve on the Princess's court. Certainly, after assisting in such an important mission, even if fame is not your own goal, you'd have the ear of many a pony. That can be helpful in whatever you should take up next."

Dawn Star nods a little, though seems somewhat uncertain. "Yeah… that seems to make sense."

"Humility is a virtue,” chimes Virtue, on her way back to the campfire. “She's also one of my cousins."

Azure's ears swivel about, followed by her face. "Ah! Yes, welcome back, Virtue."

Dawn Star waves. "Have a nice… um, whatever you were doing?"

"Freshening up," she insists, brightly. "I think the only pony who will suffer at court would be Moonlight, actually." Virtue considers where she lay, thoughtful. "I haven't actually asked, but do you think she is fully grown?”

Azure shakes her head. "I honestly cannot tell with that one, sometimes."

"She could just be small?” Dawn offers. “I know a few ponies that are."

"They normally look more... mature.” Virtue worries at her lip. “I worry that perhaps she did not have a proper upbringing, sometimes."

"And yet, she's shown to be most insightful at times, when it fancies her," Azure chuckles.

"From time to time, Dot Dash could be as well,” Virtue says, nodding. “I suppose we'll get to know her."

"Silver Shine as well... Hmm" She frowns, considering the sleeping pegasus.

"You mean Melody?" Dawn Star grins. Virtue giggles as well.

"Heh, yes, Melody, the most clandestine of the Royal Guard," Azure chuckles for a moment. "Yet… The attack in town was based in part due to... unsavory rumors about our traveling companion." She frowns again. "I wonder what of this is truth."

"I thought it best to avoid the temptation," says Virtue, looking to the fire. "It seems my defenses bore fruit."

Azure nods. "Perhaps as... Melody warms up to the group, she'll feel more comfortable to tell us the nature of her ‘accounting’. Such that we needn't jump to conclusions."

"I can't imagine where Sir Blueblood may have drawn her from.Somepony with such skills is certainly valuable…” Virtue taps her hoofcap on the ground. “Perhaps he did not expect me to reveal the task to you. I undertook that at my own discretion when I thought we were near."

Azure flexes her jaw idly. "True. For as much as we know, there still remain a number of questions."

Virtue nods. "Still, my lord did not offer any sort of warning… So I see no reason not to offer trust."

"Well, honesty is a virtue,” says Dawn with a smile. “Along with loyalty and kindness and a few others!"

 "Also my uncle," muses Virtue. "The others aren't relatives. Yet."

"Indeed." Azure stretches and yawns. "But that's for another day, for myself. Think I'll join our friends there." She nods to Dawn Star and Virtue. "Don't hold back on my account."

"Oh! Yeah…” Dawn catches Azure’s yawn. “I might too. Maybe."

"Good night, Azure," Virtue calls, preparing herself for bed.

Azure Charger tucks in on her sleeping pad and starts nodding off."...nigh~"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Sooo yeah. The herd didn’t actually solve the mystery of Rambling Ridge like the GM had intended.

GM: ...well.
GM: Okay.
GM: The orrory's riddle was supposed to be the main hint.
GM: "-and nothing that flies is what it seems."
Azure: LIGHTNING GLASS
Virtue: so my error was in thinking this was part of a long term plot :D
Azure: ^
Moonlight: ...I thought that too.
GM: ha ha ha ha
Virtue: "Clearly, guys, the GM is more clever than we think he is."
Moonlight: I mean the thing was owned by Cell, I figured the riddle was gonna come into play over in Griffonland.
Virtue: "He won't prove us wrong at that point!"
GM: It might yet.
GM: ^_^
GM: But-
GM: It's true though. Silver Shine wasn't what he seemed due to a disguise.
GM: The thief obviously wasn't since they looked like Silver.
GM: Lightning Glass is up to something.
Azure: and Azure is ragingly straight.
GM: I was going to say "Azure puts shields between herself and others."
GM: But yeah, sure. We could do this the tasteless way. :|

We mistakenly assumed that this was a longer-running plot thread. But luckily, once the GM saw how badly we wanted to figure things out, he took pity and allowed us a second chance to turn around and solve this mystery, via a combination of a certain pony’s talents, and a certain item in their possession.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


> Divining the Poocloth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next few days of westward travel go by fairly smoothly, save for one niggling detail—the unsolved mystery of Rambling Ridge’s sugar thief, the pony who sought to frame poor Silver Shine for the crime. However, the herd has two useful tools at their disposal. One, a chipper unicorn from Canterlot who possesses powers of divination once per day, when the sun is at its apex. Two, the ruined bag of sugar from the outhouse—which at least one of the ponies may be flippantly referring to as “the poocloth” at one time or another—which in theory has a strong link to the pony who framed Silver. And so, every day before lunch, the herd stops to divine more information about Rambling Ridge.

Of course, as Dawn Star explains to the group, there are limitations. The stronger the connection that the subject has toward the bag of sugar, the stronger the vision. If the subject only held the bag once, the divination would be vague or completely inaccurate, whereas if the bag was a treasured heirloom, the divination would be strong and clear. But the object itself is just a focus. The divination must address properties intrinsic to the subject, so a divination like “which pony touched this last” are less than ideal.

After reflecting on the limitations, on the first day the herd asks to see the pegasus with the strongest sympathetic link to the bag. Through the sun's splintered rays, a vague shape can be seen. Swirls of smoke, and a feathered wing. The image is uncommonly hazy, and takes some time to clear, but finally, they see a glittering house of clouds, above a series of rainbow pools. The image lasts only for a moment, and then fades.

Naturally, Azure launches into an angry rant about how she “knew it all along” this, and how she “shouldn’t have let that blasted weathermare off so easy” that. She eventually calms down after Virtue and Moonlight speak to her, convincing her that such a hazy vision is hardly indemnifying. So they march west, waiting for the next augury.





On the second day, the herd asks Dawn to divine on the pony who holds malicious intent that concerns the sugar sack. Yet again, the image is very hazy, but they do see an image for a moment… Flickering outlines of strange creatures, too foreign to be ponies. The outlines of a very large room—a great hall, perhaps. Certainly made of stone A pony in armor. A bed with someone in it.

The vision ends.

Dawn Star bites her lip, trying to remain optimistic. “Well, hmm. Maybe that request was too vague. But then again, sometimes these visions are really metaphorical, so we shouldn’t get hung up on the details. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen a pony represented as some mysterious creature.” She looks upward, thinking a moment more. “Oh! It's entirely possible that it's some sort of pony wearing a disguise."

"That as well. They've proven their usage of disguises already." Azure Charger hums. "We did already once ask about a pony touching the cloth, matching Silver's description. It puts all our eggs in one basket, but we could attempt that again, with a different pony..."

Virtue rubs her chin. "Whom?"

"If there were any ponies who lived in such a castle that we suspected.” Azure massages the base of her wing. "Any particular pegasi from Rambling Ridge."

Virtue nods half-heartedly. "We could ask what Lightning Glass's involvement was, yes..."

Moonlight Meadows frowns and rubs her chin. "Wait a minute… Those tiles weren't only cracked where the thief landed. They were cracked where they started the jump too."

"True," admits Azure.

"Who do we know who's got that kind of leg power?" Moonlight asks.

Azure Charger frowns, looking to the group. "We are heading for the griffon kingdon. We could inquire if"—she waves her hoof in a circle—"anygriffon touched it."





Therefore, on the third day Moonlight proposes they augur about a creature with enough leg strength to leave cracks in roof tiles when jumping. 

They’re shown a blur of images. Multiple ponies, stallions and mares, all earth ponies, all shown hauling the sack this way and that. As the image dances on the ground though, a warm summer wind picks up, and the shadows from the rustling tree branches seem to blot out the image one at a time. First, a stallion vanishes, then one of the mares, until soon, only a single, flickering image of a pony is left. The image is very vague, her face just a mass of sunlight—but it's definitely a mare, and an earth pony, of a surprisingly slight built.

Virtue frowns. "Well, that wasn't terribly useful."

Azure Charger taps at her temple. "One augury shows an earth pony. Another shows a cloud house, and a third, a castle."

"Could it be some sort of clever illusionist we're seeing?" Silver Shine ponders.

"The cloud house was when we asked about a pegasus who touched it, right?" Moonlight tilts her head. "But none of the pegasuseses who touched it could've broken those tiles, looks like."

"I suppose it wasn't a pegasus then." Azure Charger gives a begrudging sigh. "So the first augury is no longer relevant. Female earth pony, with possible ties to a knight."

"She appeared quite thin though,” says Silver. “Could it really have been her that cracked the roof tiles and moved the goods? And then there's the question of who impersonated me."

"Well, if she had bags of sugar, I guess she could have. I mean, being thin doesn't matter too much.” Dawn Star tilts her head this way and that. “Like, if I believe hard enough I'm strong, I get strong. She could be like me, except not believing in nice things."

Silver rubs his chin. "That's fair, but the cracked tiles? The fact that there seems to be someone out there who manages to look like a dead ringer of me, then disappears into thin air? I'm suspicious. I don't want to underestimate our opponent's capabilities."

Moonlight Meadows wiggles her nose, and scrunches a bit. "Hazy creatures. Kind of wispy."

"What's that, Moonlight?" Virtue asks.

"The second one. We saw a big stone room, a pony in armor, a bed with someone in it, but before all that, we saw hazy creatures. Wispy creatures." Moonlight Meadows gets up and starts pacing. "Mare, earth pony, small build. Wisps. But she didn't see Silver, she saw Melody, I thought." Azure Charger blinks at her.

"Yes. There's that as well,” Silver grunts. “Not many ponies would have seen me before Virtue disguised me as Melody."

"Lightning Glass was one of them, wasn't she?" Virtue asks.

"She was?" Azure taps her hoof on the ground. "So if our tile-cracking pony wasn't working alone… And, if Moonlight Meadows is thinking what I think she's thinking..." She blinks. "I think."

"Rather puzzling, isn't it." Silver Shine scratches his chin.

Moonlight reaches down and grabs a mouthful of grass, idly chewing while she thinks.





On the fourth day on the journey to Van Hoover, Dawn Star divines upon the pony who would desire to frame Silver Shine.

Dawn’s glass orb flickers once, and then goes dark. The poocloth, in its aged and magically drained state, finally succumbs and crumbles into dust.

"Well..." Virtue draws her lips tight, watching the dust fly off in the wind. “That was ridiculous.”

"I guess that's it," Dawn Star says, apologetic.

"Curious..." Azure rubs her chin. "So, it was nothing personal then? Silver was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Moonlight Meadows nods. "So maybe whoever did it had something against Sugar Cane or Sweet Tooth instead.”

Virtue sighs. "Unless we wanted to go back and interrogate Lightning Glass directly, there's no way we're finding out now."

Silver Shine smirks. "I doubt she'd take that well."

"Much as I'd love to, she doesn't seem the talkative sort," Azure grumbles in agreement.

Virtue looks equally annoyed. "I could have persuaded her."

Azure puts a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Regardless, we now know a fair bit more about their relation... and a possible tie to a noble. We can keep a watchful eye forward in our travels."

Virtue stomps a hoof down. "You know what? No, I don't think we're done here!"

Azure casts a reluctant eye to the west and works her jaw, before looking back at Virtue. "You really want to see this through, don't you."

"Ponies were hurt over us," Virtue says, plaintive.

"Yeah, but, like, what'll we say?" Moonlight draws her lips. "We know it was you because tiles and hazy pictures? And we know it wasn't Silver because he's actually Melody who was with us the whole time?"

"We'll need a way to turn this into concrete evidence," Azure agrees. She smirks at Virtue. "While I appreciate the chance to force a confession out of our dear Lightning Glass, I doubt that will be tolerated a second time."

Virtue grinds her stomped hoof against the earth. "We shouldn't have left until this was solved."

Azure Charger blinks. Twice. "Virtue. How... effective is your manepin?”

"Extremely. I can disguise anypony to look like anypony. Even nonponies."

She arches an eyebrow. "To look like anypony."

"Indeed," Virtue replies.

"We suspect that these two ponies were in cahoots, yeah? Perhaps the two traitors could arrange a face-to-face meeting?"

Virtue looks to Azure thoughtfully. "What do you have in mind?"

"If we were to impersonate one of the pair... set up a meeting..." Azure taps a hoof to her teeth. "Maybe they would let loose some piece of incriminating evidence?"

Moonlight shrugs. "I'm not very good at digging for skulls."

Virtue looks to the others. "Does anypony have an objection to us doing this? The Griffin Kingdom has already waited for some time, after all."

Azure Charger gives one more look to the west. She looks back to the group and nods. "We'll just have to be quick about it then. Clean and elegant, without waste, and whatnot."

Moonlight shrugs again.

Silver Shine: "Alright.” Silver nods. “I'll admit I'm curious about the whole affair."

"Well… I guess,” says Dawn Star. “I mean, we did promise we'd find it, but I guess taking some time off is okay?"

"We will," Virtue assures Dawn. "I have not forgotten my duty."

Azure tightens her jaw at Dawn Star. "Aye, we did promise."

"But making sure that this pony doesn't do things like this again is important too.” Dawn Star nods enthusiastically. “So, I'm okay with it." 

“So,” asks Silver Shine. “What’s the plan?”

"Well, I can certainly draw our friend Lightning Glass away," Azure says with a smirk. "But admittedly, we know a bit less about her. Wisp Will, we know more about, but would be harder to drag her from the shop."

“I volunteer to play the role of insider.” Virtue levitates her manepin out, twirling it in front of her eyes. “Perhaps it would best to confront Wisp Will. She would be easy to meet in private, inside her storefront, after all.”

“And I can see to Lightning Glass's needs," says Azure, grins widely.

Virtue glances at her sideways. Moonlight coughs, while Silver simply shakes his head.

Azure looks back at them, blinking, gears whirling in her head. Three… two… one… She jolts upright. “Uh! For fixing her attitude. With force. I didn't—” She blushes.

Dawn Star looks confused. "Um, you didn't want Azure?" Virtue laughs.

Azure Charger coughs loudly. "We should probably get moving. Long trek back, burnt a few days, chop chop."

"How do we explain why we came back?" asks Moonlight.

"We needn't, not yet," says Virtue. "I don't see a need to reveal ourselves."

"Only myself, for now,” adds Azure. “The rest can remain in disguise, or outside the town."

Silver Shine nods. "Good thinking. Better to remain concealed."

And so, the herd doubles back, trekking back down the wooded paths they’ve traveled these past four days. The port town of Van Hoover and its ships toward the griffon kingdom will have to wait. For now, the herd needs to travel back to the town of Rambling Ridge, to set things right.


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Moonlight: as a side note I would never act on evidence this flimsy in actual life
Dawn: yeah, I'm in law school, this would never stand up in court :D
Virtue: Good thing this is premodern
Azure: yes but auguries and magic and stuff :P
Moonlight: a good half of my reasoning is based on "who's been named in the plot so far
Virtue: And we're also vigilantes
GM: In actual life you are not a pastel pony with magical powers!
GM: ...I think. If you are, tell me
Dawn: HOW DO YOU KNOW?!
Azure: says you.
GM: brb kidnapping ADD
Moonlight: crap ... I knew this character was too close to home!

Back on the trail! It’s time for the herd to put this mystery to rest!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



> Secrets of Sugar, Revealed!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Azure Charger approaches Rambling Ridge once again, she can see Lightning Glass on one of the rooftops near the gate. She seems to be dancing and singing to herself. "~I got the Light and the Ning and the G-L-A-S-S, small town weatherpony but I do it with class, fancy ponies come in, think they can make a scene, but I...~"

Azure flies toward the town at half speed, approaching Lightning. Her tail is sagging, her ears drooped, her gaze downcast. "Umm... Hi, Lightning Glass."

Lightning Glass trails off, stopping her little dance as she notices Azure Charging flying up. "Oh, it's you again," she says, with a frown. "What is it now?"

Azure rubs one foreleg with the other. "Look, uh, I just wanted to apologize for how I acted…  last week?" she says after thinking a moment. "Last week. That was a pretty disgraceful way for me to act."

Lightning Glass eyes her suspiciously. "What are you even doing back here? Aren't you supposed to be in, like… somewhere, by now?"

"I was! But I felt really bad about all this," Azure says, looking downcast. "I was hoping I could apologize and make up for it."

Lightning Glass pauses and sizes her up. "You came all the way back here, just to say sorry?"

Azure quietly nods.

"...well," Lightning Glass says, after a moment. "That's about right. Because you were a huge jerk. And you went and picked a fight, and you're the reason everypony keeps hitting on me now. But..." She pauses, while Azure gives a confused little glance at that last bit. "Whatever. Apology accepted, I guess."

Shaking off the confusion, and with a sheepish look, Azure spreads her forelegs apart, offering a hug. "So... what do you say? Bury the hatchet?"

"We'ree not on hugging terms just yet," Lightning Glass says, gently pushing Azure back. "But, you did come all this way, so… Sure. We're cool."

"Ah well. That's fine too, I guess." She turns her back to Lightning, hovering just in front of her. "Suppose I shoulda seen that coming anyway. After all..." She inhales sharply. "Hindsight Twenty Twenty!" And then she lets loose a sharp buck to Lightning Glass’s head.

Lightning Glass gets kicked in the face, leaving a fetching hoof-shaped impact mark around her eyes. The snap blow leaves her stumbling, and after a moment, she tumbles off the edge of the roof. 

Two of the earth ponies who had been watching the exchange rush to her, moving to help her up. "HEY!" they shout up at Azure.

Azure Charger blows a raspberry down in her direction. "What's the matter? You can dish out named attacks but can't take em?"

"You... unbelievable..." Lightning Glass sits back up, holding a hoof over her eye.

"Are you okay? You—" one of the ponies helping her asks.

"I'm fine. Which is more than I'll be able to say for her in a second!" Lightning Glass shoots back up, spreading her wings and taking off. Azure Charger laughs and takes off at top speed out to the forest, Lightning Glass cursing and giving chase, the two pegasi bolting off into the distance.





"I know I said it was a thing, but is it really a thing?" On the road nearby, Moonlight Meadows frowns, watching Lightning chase Azure off toward the horizon. "Because it looks like it really is a thing."

"I wouldn't put too much thought into it," Virtue says nonchalantly, as she transforms. She uses a small mirror, levitating it in an unseen aura to make sure she has all the details right. Soon, she stands before them as a spitting image of the weathermare: a sky-blue pegasus pony with a golden mane and tail, with a golden lightning bolt cutie mark.

Moonlight Meadows stands up and stretches. "Do you want comp’ny?"

"Possibly. What's your plan?"

"I can be a cat."

Virtue nods. "That will do. Can you question her plants while in that shape?"

"Meow." The unremarkable housecat nods to Lightning Glass. And so, the two of them head off toward the town gates once more.

The two guards are still peering off into the distance when they approach. "Hey! Lightning Glass!" the stallion calls, trotting forward to meet her. "Are you okay!?"

Virtue takes on entirely different mannerisms as they approach, tossing her mane irritably and flicking her tail. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Moonlight Meadows pads up to the stallion, weaves her way between his legs, and starts pawing at his tail.

"I saw everything! I can't believe she… Uh…" He lowers his head to peer down under his legs. "Hi there, kitty," he says, awkwardly trying to move away. "Uh. Mew? Mew."

"Maow."

"Oh." The guard blanches. "Why didn't you just say so? Sorry, go ahead. We won't bother her."

"Mrow."

Virtue walks on past, doing her best to look like she has no interest in chatting the others up.

The mare guard looks at her companion, then after Lightning Glass: "She was just in a brawl! We should at least—"

"No, cat says she needs some private time."

While there are a few more conversations of that sort, the townsfolk offering 'Lightning Glass' their outrage or sympathy, the two have little trouble making it to Wisp Will's Potted Plant and Candle store, the little bell over the door ringing when they enter.

"Hello!" Wisp Will calls from behind the desk, sing-song. "How can I h—" Wisp Will falls silent at once when she sees Virtue. "H-help. Help you. Hi. Lightning Glass." She is obviously ill at ease, her body tense.

While Moonlight Meadows makes a beeline for the oak tree, Virtue grins at Wisp Will, putting on the sort of arrogant confidence she always saw on Lightning Glass. "Wisp! Just the pony I was looking for."

"Were you. Now?" Wisp Will asks, her speech stilted. 

The oak tree is right where it was before. Moonlight Meadows's fur ripples a bit, as she extends claws and does that thing cats do, with the clawing of wooden surfaces. In short order, she is communing with the small oak once more.

"What, not happy to see me?" Virtue asks, stepping forward.

"No, of course I'm... happy to see you," Wisp Will says, with a stiff smile. "Here to... buy another plant?"

"May be, at that," Virtue says, leaning up against the counter. Wisp Will leans away, looking at Virtue head on, her eyes darting left and right. "Looking for something?"

"No!" Wisp Will yelps. "I mean, no. Just... wondering why you're here! Eh heh."

"Oh, well, if you must focus on business..."

"Uh. Sure. Sure. That sounds... good." Wisp Will says, almost sweating. "Um. What do you want to talk about?"

Virtue reaches out to touch her, her eyes giving off the faintest of glows. "You know one of those ponies from last week showed up again?"

"Ah," Wisp Will says, her panicked breaths slowing. "I thought they were gone. Moved on to griffon lands."

"So did I. Wonder might have brought them back," Virtue says, narrowing her eyes at Wisp suspiciously.

Wisp Will gives a sharp twist of her body, her face snarling up. "No, shut up!" she snaps.

Virtue arches an eyebrow. "Beg pardon?"

"I mean—" She stammers, giving Virtue a wide-eyed stare. "N-nothing. I said, how should I know what brought them back?"

"No, actually, you told me to shut up."

"N-no, I—"

Virtue opens her eyes, seeming to suck her right in. "Tell me everything..."

"I didn't. I..." As she stares back at Virtue, her form seems to slouch ever so slightly. Her muscles and movements are still tense, but her breathing at least takes a more regular pace. "Fine. I mean, fine. You're right. Maybe we should talk privately?"

Wisp Will to the door of the shop. She pauses halfway through locking the door to the shop. After a moments hesitation, she completes the motion, pulling the blinds down and casting the room into a shadowy darkness. "Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning."

"I... I guess that would be best," she says, turning back to face Virtue. "Well. I guess I would say it really started about... eight years ago now? That's the first time Dad told me that one day, a group of ponies would come around, asking questions!" Her hoof drags over the floor, producing a loud scraping on the wood. "And that they wouldn't—"

Wisp Will bucks Virtue hard in the chest. Virtue goes wide-eyed, coughing up a few specks of blood.

"—leave me—"

A savage right hook connects with her gut, launching Virtue a few inches into the air.

"ALONE!"

Virtue crumples immediately to the floor upon landing, robbed of her consciousness. From her corner of the shop, Moonlight stares, frozen in place, as Wisp Will stands over her fallen friend.

"All I wanted is for you to leave me alone!" Wisp Will screams, reaching down to pull the clip out of Virtue's hair, her disguise fading away. Her eyes are wide and wild as she rants at Virtue, not appearing to pay the small cat any mind. "All you had to do was leave. I like just selling ferns and candles. I can be a normal pony! I'm good at being a normal pony. But you just kept poking around and lying to me and attacking my friends, and so this is your fault!"

With a snarl, Wisp Will whirls about, glaring to her right. Moonlight doesn’t see anypony there. "No, but— No, shut up! I'm handling it!" She motions angrily with her hooves, pointing down at Virtue. "No, see? She's out cold. We can just tell everypony that she was hiding her friend with the clip and they'll understand." She goes silent as she stares at the unicorn. "...I guess she is tricky. I mean—" Wisp shakes her head slowly. "That seems a bit extreme." She worries at her lip a moment, looking to her window, then back to Virtue. "Well... okay." 

Moonlight Meadows decides to keep her distance. Quietly, she collects a few of the fern seeds, holding them in her mouth, then slinks along behind Wisp Will.

"It's not fair. It's not fair." She wails as she picks up Virtue's unconscious form and tosses her over her back. She starts up the staircase, Moonlight following at a safe distance. "All I want is to have a nice normal life." Upstairs, she enters a small bedroom and heads straight to its tiny closet. Reaching inside with her mouth, she bites down on a handle and drags out a large trunk. "I didn't want to hurt anypony. And you didn't want to get mailed to Cloudsdale by express freight. But we don't always get what we want, do we!?" She sets to work, stuffing Virtue into the trunk and shutting the lid. "No, just, shut up! I'm finding stamps."

Wisp Will sets about applying postage to the traveling trunk, along with directions to cloudsdale, grunting as she pulls it away and down the stairs. While Wisp does all this, Moonlight spies a window in the bedroom. She jumps up onto the sill and noses it open. Dropping the seeds onto the sill, she goes completely stock still, then looks out at the sky.





It's not long later that a bird goes tweet-tweet, landing on Silver's shoulder and looking between him, Balti, and Dawn. "Tweet! Tweet tweet tweet tweet!" the little bird says, obviously distressed.

"Hello Mister Bird! Or Miss Bird!" says Dawn Star, ever the friendly host.

Silver Shine blinks in confusion. "What the?"

"Tweet tweet!" The bird points towards the town with one wing. Holds its wings flat together in front of it, and bows its head as though in reverence. Then makes a sharp swinging motion across its head and takes a stage-fall, lying on its back with feet up. "Tweeet!"

"That can't be good," Silver grumbles. "Moonlight and Virtue must be in trouble." The bird warbles and nods eagerly. "Alright, they were going to Wisp's shop. Something went wrong. If the little"—Silver looks at the sparrow perched on his shoulder—"birdie is telling the truth, it doesn't sound good. We'd better think of a plan fast!"

Balti has a plan. "Mrrrow!" She darts off towards the town gates.

Silver Shine nods to Dawn. "You follow Balti. I'll fly in, land on the roof of that shop, and try and figure out what's going on."

"Right! Uh… lets go!" Dawn Star galloping after the mountain lion.





Back in the center of town, Wisp Will is dragging her trunk across the street to the post office, tailed by this oddly persistent housecat. She's muttering under her breath the whole time, the heavy load balanced over her back.

Then, three things happen at once.

The first of these is that Azure makes her way back, grinning ear to ear as she speeds into town, pursued by a furious Lightning Glass.

The second is that Balti runs at a full sprint through the town gates, the guards gaping as Dawn and Silver both speed after her, spotting Wisp in the street.

The third is that someone shouts: "Hey! It's the pegasus who robbed us! And he brought his attack cat!"

"MAOW!" mews Moonlight. Balti gives her a reproachful look.

"Oh, no! It's the sugar thief and that knight that keeps beating up Lightning Glass!" somepony shouts.

"We're being raided by pegasi!" shouts another mare, with a suitable panicked shriek. "It's the old days all over again! Quick, form a panicked herd!" 

"No! We're earth ponies!" yells another. "Form an angry herd!"

Ahead of them, the herd sees Wisp Will dragging a very large trunk across the street, but before they have time to consider that, a shout goes up from the earth ponies around the town! "Get them!"

Dawn Star looks over at her friends and moves to gallop towards Wisp. "Hey! Hey! Um… did you see a unicorn? Our friend, Virtue? She's in trouble and went to see you, do you know where she went?" Wisp Will doesn’t respond at first, too distracted with her luggage.

Above them, Lightning Glass puts on a burst of speed to get ahead of Azure, coming to a stop ahead of her to block her path. "Enough! I've had it with you! Time to fix your attitude for good!" She claps her hooves together, the horseshoes there sparking as she prepares herself to fight! 

Azure whips her lance out of its restraints. "Unfortunately, after last time, I don't think I'll give you the chance. Sonic Shish-Kebab!" She charges directly at Lightning with her lance.

"Calling attacks is my thing!" Lightning Glass manages to shout, before the charge connects.

The whole town looks up at the echoing boom that rings over the town, Lightning Glass launched clear through the air and into one of the many merchant stands that dots the way. She rips through the canopy and smashes down through layers of pumpkins, her impact smashing the stand to splinters.

For a moment, nopony moves, watching the remains of the fruit stand.

Lightning Glass groans, pushing herself back up, spitting out a chunk of melon and fixing Azure with a glare. "Is..." she starts, panting for breath. "That all you got!?"

Azure grins back, hot-blooded.

Moonlight Meadows sees what's happening, sees where things are going, and slips directly into a Stray Cat Strut, letting a soft mewl as she does so. The earth beneath the trunk that Wisp Will is dragging responds, and rapidly evacuates the area, dispersing itself into the air and creating a pit for the trunk to fall into. She then makes a beeline past Balti, yowling all the way.

The guard at the gate looks up and the sound of a distress call, albeit in cat. "Wait, what?"

The trunk falls into the sudden hole in the earth, smashing open on impact. Virtue hacks up more blood, moaning plaintively and clutching her head, but at least she’s conscious.

Wisp Will and Dawn Star both peer down into the newly-formed hole, at Virtue’s recovering body, then back up at one another. Her face darkening, Wisp Will shrieks at her. "You've ruined everything!" 

Before Dawn can react, Wisp swings at her with a precision nerve-strike attack! Luckily for Dawn, it lands right on that pressure point in her back that’s been giving her trouble. Already, Dawn Star feels more limber, and also like she has better circulation. "Oh! Thank you! Um...that's been bothering me for days!" she says with a bright smile. "But, that doesn't make up for the fact that you were really mean to Virtue!"

Wisp Will hears none of this. She is already running off, back toward her store from the looks of it.

Lightning Glass is still getting up out of the fruit stand when a crossbow bolt whizzes through the air past her, nicking her foreleg and making her stumble. Looking up above her, she sees Silver Shine in a hover, loading up another round. "Oh no you don't..." she growls at him.

"The sugar thief is trying to hurt Lightning Glass!" someone in the herd shouts. "Quickly! Launch formation!" And thus, the earth ponies defend themselves against pegasi encroachment in the traditional manner: in which the strongest amongst them lifts their greatest warrior, and hurls them skyward! 

Right at Silver Shine. He gets hit in the face by an angry, skybound earth pony mare. The mare can't get a good grip though, and he manages to shake her off and send her back to the ground. "Is that the best you can do!" Silver Shine calls down.

Azure blinks in shock. "What the... these townsponies are going completely ballistic!" A few groans are heard above the din of combat.

The thrown earth pony falls into the hole with a squeak. "Oof!" She turns to Virtue. "Run, dear! The pegasi are attacking!"

Needing no further encouragement, Virtue staggers up to her hooves and leaps, trying to hook her hooves on the edge of the pit. She’s still recovering from a concussion, however, so she slides right back down. Looking upward, she spots Silver Shine in the sky. "Idiot! Don't antagonize them!"  she shouts, bleary. "Keep an eye on Wisp Will and don't let her escape!" With that, her horn flares, and Silver Shine vanishes from view. 

Balti is going to go after the fleeing Wisp. Everything else is distraction.

Virtue herself feels the magic of another unicorn wrapping around her. Soon, she has cleared the ground, and she feels the vitality returning to her weary muscles. Dawn Star is waiting for her at the edge of the pit, wearing a warm smile.

"No way. No way!" Lightning Glass leaps forward, driving her hooves into the ground to accelerate her leap skyward. She hurls herself towards Azure Charger, hooves swinging as she shouts: "Lightning Parts the Clouds!" Azure manages to deflect the blows, though it's a close thing, the two striking and dodging as they whirl through the air!

"Y'know"—Azure thrusts with her lance but is dodged at the last moment—"you're being"—she blocks an incoming kick with her shield—"awfully persistent"—she thrusts again, this time landing true—"you know that?"

Lightning Glass gets cracked across the face by the side of Azure's lance, and goes tumbling down to the ground again, hitting the stones hard. "Bullies like you... s'why I left Cloudsdale. Not gonna give you the satisfaction!"

Meanwhile, at the edge of the fray, a small cat dances and hums to itself. Now, normally, plants are a requirement for an entanglement spell. In a paved city like this, usually, such a spell is useless. But Moonlight has an advantage. Lead by a heroic oak tree, the ferns leap out of Wisp Will's shop, tackling ponies to the ground and pinning them in place! "What in Equestria is happening!?" one of them manages to shout, as he's being pinned to the ground by a very large earthen pot.

Wisp, though, seems to neatly avoid her rebellious plants. Slowed, but not stopped, she leaps through the open window of her store, vanishing inside, with Balti hot on her heels.

On the wings of the mystified shouts of "Witch! Witch!" from the townsponies, Silver Shine silently—and invisibly—flies to the west and towards Candles & Potted Plants, hovering outside the windows. Silver Shine can easily see into the window to her bedroom, where she appears to be talking to herself and hurriedly packing a bag. The window is open.

"HOOOLD IIIT!" the gate guard screams at the top of his lungs. A fine set of pipes on that stallion. The mob slowly coming to a stop. "Why were you in that trunk!? Why are you even back here!? Why is there a mountain lion over there!? What in Equestria is going on?"

Virtue looks bloody, battered, and infuriated. She looks to all of the ponies gathered about, and draws herself up to her full height. "Wisp Will attacked me and apparently shoved me into that trunk while I was barely conscious. I believe she arranged the theft that took place a week prior and attempted to hush me up in a bid to conceal that fact."

"Okay..." He gives her a questioning look. "And why are your pegasi terrorizing the town and beating up our weatherpony!?"

"Suspected accomplice. If you'll step lively, gentlecolts, we may be able to detain Wisp Will and sort this all out."

Lightning Glass looks like she got run over by a stampeding herd of bunnies, but she picks herself up anyway, flying back up to Azure's altitude, looking over at her through a bruised eye. She swings, but her vision is swimming by now, and her hoof clangs off Azure's armor.

With the eyes of the townsponies on her, Azure looks Lightning in the eye, her expression completely level. "Y'know. You're kind of cute." And then she lands one last hit on the jaw, and Lightning Glass crumples.

Meanwhile, Candles & Potted Plants is swarmed from all sides. Dawn Star dashes in the front door, channeling radiance through her glass orb. Silver Shine flies in through the bedroom window, followed closely by Moonlight and Balti who manage to claw their way up the building’s siding. A quick spell from Moonlight causes Wisp Will’s skin to sweat and her muscles to fatigue. Or that might be the fact that Balti sits on top of her.





Once all the dust has settled, Virtue assembles everyone back in the town square. Quite the crowd has assembled, to see this all get sorted out. Charitably, they're here to finally see the mystery resolved! Though, Azure suspects some of them may not still be 100% convinced that she and her friends are not the bad guys. Particularly those towns-ponies now carrying bats. Or crossbows. Or that one very precocious young foal who seems to have found a grenade.

Somepony should really tell his parents. That's not safe.

The elderly judge from last week’s trial makes his appearance in good time, looking at the guards, at Virtue, at Balti sitting on top of Wisp Will, and at Moonlight perched on top of Balti’s head. 

Sweet Tooth has also made an appearance, pushing through from the back with considerably less decorum than the judge. "Wisp! What happened?"

"That's exactly what I'd like to know!" the judge says, with a sharp frown.

"Meow," Moonlight explains.

Virtue discreetly spits more blood out, walking towards the pair, as the judge calls out to her. "Young mare! Please understand I mean you no disrespect. But if you do not explain why your two pegasi friends are making trouble in my town, and why your cat is sitting on your other cat who is sitting on one of our citizens, I will have you and your friends thrown in prison without a second thought!"

Looking not at all pleased with what she's doing—or about to do—Virtue looks to the judge, then down to Wisp WIll. "I have to admit, I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Wisp Will, would you care to explain what you were doing?"

"Shut up!" Wisp Will doesn't look particularly villainous right now. In fact, she looks like she's struggling to emotionally hold herself together, her voice rough. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Well, um, Wisp, telling the truth here is super important. You really gotta do that, especially in front of a judge." Dawn’s horn lights up, and at once, the town square is bathed in a warm bubble of light. "There! Now everypony has to say the truth, okay?"

"Meow," says Moonlight.

"The cat can testify against her, Your Honor," the guard points out.

"Moonlight, please tell them what happened," says Virtue. "Unless Wisp Will would like to elaborate on why she was dragging me across town in a trunk of her own accord?"

"Wisp, it's super important that you tell." Dawn Star smiles at her.

"I just wanted you to leave!" Wisp Will says, her voice cracking as she looks at the ground, starting to tear up. "Because you're here to take me away and throw me in a dungeon for the rest of my life! Just like dad said would happen!"

Moonlight Meadows tilts her head quizzically. "Meow?"

"Why would I do that, Wisp Will?" Virtue asks.

"Because of Dad's old stuff! Because of me," Wisp Will says between sniffles. "He said that one day ponies from Canterlot would come asking after him, and if I wasn't careful I'd end up in a dungeon for the rest of my life. And now it's coming true. It's not my fault," she insists, crying now as she stares at the ground.

"Um, I don't wanna put you in a dungeon!" Dawn coughs. "And I'm the only one here from Canterlot."

Virtue frowns. "What isn't your fault, Wisp Will?" 

"Help us understand why it's not your fault," adds Azure. 

Wisp Will doesn't seem to want to say, and the spell won't let her lie, so she says nothing, just whimpering and pressing her hooves together.

Virtue goes down to her knees, lowering her face near Wisp Will. "I don't want to put you into a dungeon, and I won't let that happen."

Moonlight Meadows hops down from Balti's head, and starts rubbing her head against Wisp's cheek.

"It's not my fault," Wisp repeats, staring down at the earth. After a moment, Sweet Tooth joins Virtue and Moonlight next to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "I didn't want to be a freak. I just kind of do things, like see through your disguise or make faces. I don't even know how! But Dad said nopony could ever know or you'd..." Wisp Will finally breaks down, crying incoherently in the street, her forehooves over her head.

"Shh, it's..." Sweet Tooth struggles and fails to find something clever to say. "It's... it'll be okay."

"No it won't be. My life is over," Wisp Will sniffles.

Moonlight Meadows looks at Virtue, twitching an ear questioningly.

Virtue sighs. "You did what you did because you were scared. I... understand that. It doesn't have to end in prison. Your life doesn't need to be over."

"The law does not necessarily see things that way, young mare," the judge points out, gruffly. "If she committed grand theft and then attempted to frame an innocent pony to hide the evidence, that is a very serious matter, circumstances notwithstanding."

"That's not fair!" Sweet Tooth says, quickly. "She thought she was in danger!"

"Sweet Tooth..." Virtue puts a hoof to him, then looks to the judge. "I understand the seriousness of the charges, Your Honor. Even if I drop my own charges, the remainders are quite severe. Which is why I would like to take responsibility for this mare and her rehabilitation."

"Absolutely not," the judge says, at once. "Firstly, there is still the matter of you lying about your own involvement. While you may not have stolen the sugar, obstruction of justice is in-and-of-itself a crime. One I may decide to charge you with, if the mood so strikes me! Second, that would require you to be of a good standing and unquestionable moral character—properties which you have yet to demonstrate to me. She'll be held in the jail until decide otherwise."

"Um, I could," Dawn volunteers, raising a hoof. The judge considers her a moment, then snorts.

"This mare beat me within an inch of my life and I am prepared to forgive her," Virtue continues, "because I understand that she did both that and the theft with deep fears of her safety in mind."

"Young mare, please understand I'm only this grumpy because I was awoken by the sight of my daughter being hurled through the air as an earth pony anti-air projectile. However, I was awoken by my daughter being used as an anti-air projectile. So certainly, no one in your company—"

Virtue steps forward, interrupting. "My employer, Sir Blueblood, can vouch for my on my behalf. He makes a practice of reaching out to ponies with strange and misunderstood powers."

"...mmph." He frowns at Virtue.

"Mrrrow."

'The cat vouches for her, Your Honor," the guard supplies.

"If need be, I will contact Celestia herself," says Virtue. "Dawn Star here is a member of her circle, however distantly. I don't want to see Miss Will rot in a dungeon. Justice is not served by harming those like her."

"Name dropping carries no weight with me, young mare! I don't care if you're Celestia's own daughter." After a moment’s thought, the judge harrumphs. "But, I will contact Sir Blueblood. Perhaps he will have an opinion as to if you yourself should be charged with something. You can remain free, until I hear back from him, and she will remain in jail until that time as well."

Sweet Tooth takes a hesitant step forward. "Can I keep her company?"

"...yes, very well. Guards? Please. Let's get this horrific chain of events over with."

The guards move to take Wisp Will from Balti, apologetically attempting to shoo the cats away. "Mrrrr!" Balti reluctantly moves.

"It's all right, Balti." Virtue looks to Azure, a little uncertain.

Azure Charger nods in return. "Sir Blueblood will be able to straighten out the matter of this detainment, I'm sure."

With the show over, the crowd starts to disperse. A few ponies trot up to apologize to Virtue or Azure or even Silver for suspecting them—or to say that they knew they were innocent all along! Some ponies seem disappointed there wasn't a better fight. Most are just shocked and gossiping. That Wisp always was a strange one.

Virtue thanks whoever comes up to apologize to her, looking tired. She should be pleased, by all rights, but she just looks haggard instead.

Only the guard that speaks cat stays behind the watch them really, the judge already going off to write his letters. "I ah... I didn't see that one coming, I admit. I have to ask though, did Lightning Glass have anything to do with it, or was that really just a pegasi territorial thing?"

Azure silently works her jaw a few times before offering. "No, not territory. It would seem she was tied into these messy affairs." She bows slightly. "I apologize for my handlings in the matter. We can see about contacting Cloudsdale while Lightning Glass recovers."

"Of course," he nods. "We can do without a weatherpony for a few days, at least. In the meanwhile, I know it's small courtesy for everything you've been through, but I'm sure the judge will cover your stay until this all gets sorted out. You... look like you could use some time. You'll all be alright?"

Azure nods. "Yes, thank you." Then, she turns to Virtue, giving her a gentle nudge. "C'mon. You should lie down a bit."

"Mmph..." she nods, rocking back a bit. "I suppose. It just doesn't feel right. Why is it everything has to be so ambiguous on this journey?" She sighs. "No, don't answer that. Foal's question." Azure chuckles goodnaturedly. "Thank you, all, for coming to help me… I don't know what she was doing, but I suspect I wouldn't have liked it."

"Mrrrrrow." Moonlight nods in agreement.

"She says she was planning to mail you to Cloudsdale," the guard says.

Virtue goes to Meadows, giving the little cat a hug, then around to Silver and Dawn and finally Azure, embracing each in turn.

"Locked in a bin?" Silver chuckles wryly. "Can't have been good."

"Well, I’m glad we got you out. I don't think you'd have liked Cloudsdale." Dawn Star pauses, looking skyward. "Well, maybe, but, not going in the mail."

The guard pats Moonlight’s head gently. "That's one smart cat you've got, by the way. Saved the day."

Azure chuckles. "Yes. Yes, she's a smart kitty."

"Rrrrrrrrr."

The guard blanches. "I'm not translating that. It's rude! Anyway…" he says, shaking his head. "I'll let you all... collect yourselves. Let me know if you have any more trouble. I'll be at my post." The guards heads off, leaving the group to their own devices.

Azure Charger gives an apologetic shrug to Moonlight, then starts leading Virtue to the inn. "C'mon. Worrying to the point of exhaustion won't help any."

Virtue lets Azure lead her. She seems a little shaken up, actually, rubbing her face where it got hit. "...I suppose I do need to be cleaned up."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Ouch. Well! The herd finally found their culprit, but there’s a lot of mystery and a lot of fallout. Multiple chapters’ worth, in fact. Still, at least for now, spirits were high that everypony was safe, and that we were on the verge of putting this one small mystery to rest.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

> Lightning and the Mare in the Moon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The young mare who ran the inn felt terrible about all this. First, the group was woken up by police in the early morning for a crime they didn't commit. Then, they were framed and assaulted by the fern and candle mare! Then, her younger brother got a grenade from somewhere! She makes it up to them as best she can—which is mostly just by being overflowingly polite and assuring them that if they need anything, they can just call. But, the group also gets some good food for their trouble: delicious grass stew and fresh, crispy haybacon. After food, rest, and a chance to collect their wits, they're all feeling a bit more equine.

Particularly Virtue, who was able to take good advantage of their host’s hospitality, by making her pump the water for a proper shower. Virtue's coat was still poofy from water when she returned to the room the group has all to themselves to talk, the smell of haybacon and cider still strong in the air. Virtue seems a lot more settled after that. Brushed and shining again, she seems more like her old self, thanking the innkeeper and joining her friends at their table. "Everypony settled in all right?"

"Yesth," Moonlight says, from around her mouthful of haybacon.

"Fine." Says Silver, couched in a deep plush chair.

"Mmprprm," says Azure, for the same reasons as Moonlight.

Dawn Star nods eagerly. "I am, yeah. Are you doing okay?"

"Better, thank you." Virtue gives a polite bow. "We are all ponies with interesting abilities. I am coming to appreciate that more and more." She slides into a seat and levitates herself some food, carefully dividing it into portions. "Well, it took us a while, but we did sort this town out. Though I suppose there is still some unfinished business. Speaking of, the real hero of the day is Miss Meadows. I don't know if we could have recovered if you weren't there with me."

Azure works her jaw and eventually manages to swallow her mouthful of food. "You had the right idea though. I wouldn't be surprised if Sir Blueblood is able to make special arrangements for our friend. That kinda leniency might help her get a bit more talkative."

Virtue hesitates. "Not quite why I did it, but... possibly. Speaking of, what happened after I was put out, Moonlight?"

Moonlight Meadows swallows, first. "Weeeeell, she kinda freaked out and said a lot of the same things she said when we caught her, but it was like she was talking to someone else."

Virtue nods. "I wagered she was unstable, while I was in the midst of being bloodied."

Moonlight continues as she serves herself more of the stew. "Like she was at first gonna just say that you'd been hiding Silver with the hairpin and were in on it and that you'd come to menace her, but then it was like she was arguing with someone and decided that she needed to mail you to Cloudsdale but she wasn't happy about it. Like if you've ever heard a unicorn talking to another unicorn with that weird mind talking some of them can do?"

Azure Charger cocks her head to the side. "Framing Silver... was the plan all along. Why change it now?"

Virtue nudges Moonlight. "She still didn't elect to hurt me further, though, so I suppose there is that. Nothing wrong with taking credit, particularly after I gave it to you." She reaches down to give her a friendly nuzzle. "I'm grateful."

Azure winces, bringing a hoof near Virtue's temple but not daring to touch. "You say that, but she certainly gave you quite the lump."

"I mean it. I just got my face pounded in." Virtue grimaces. "...Is it that visible?"

"I—No, no it's—The swelling should go down overnight." Azure takes a swig of her cider, staring off into space.

"Mmh. Well." Virtue sighs, fidgeting with her mane. "Be that as it may, she only did it to protect herself. I can't imagine what the stress of lying to everypony around her has been doing. Being told by your father that you would be imprisoned for your gifts… Convinced you'll be imprisoned for revealing the truth..."

"Speaking of..." Azure nods appreciatively. "That was quite the feat you pulled, Dawn Star. I admit, I was a fair bit worried about how we'd..." She chuckles. "How we'd shed light on the situation, after the dust cleared."

"Quick thinking and very competent work, not only in rescuing me, but also capturing Wisp," Virtue agrees, beaming. "So don't you feel shy."

"Um, well, I mean…" Dawn Star fidgets with her hooves. "I just really wanted her to tell the truth, was all. Sometimes, my special talent just happens like that. Which is really nice, but I don't depend on it too much. The same way I really wanted Virtue to feel better and she did. It's like that really."

Azure tilts her head. "Mmm. Regardless, I was feeling its effects myself. And it sure seemed to help Wisp Will with being forthright."

"Indeed. It has been a rather eye opening experience," says Silver Shine. "I didn’t imagine this group would be so at ease with intelligence gathering."

"Meow," says Moonlight Meadows, despite being fully equine at that moment.

Dawn Star nods. "Yeah, thanks Moonlight! You were amazing!"

Balti yawns wide, leaning up to lick Moonlight's mane. Moonlight scritches Balti's chin, and nods to the others. "Thanks, but… well, I was just doing what I was supposed to."

Azure hoists her mug. "Well said, though it doesn't mean you can't take pride in a job well done."

"In all honesty," says Silver, "if it wasn't for you, the rest of us might never have found Virtue. Who knows what could have happened."

Azure nods. "I was otherwise entangled, at the time."

Moonlight Meadows looks at Virtue and raises an eyebrow, but accepts the complements with a nod. "Kay. That's why I went along in the first place, anyway."

Azure looks aside to Silver. "Furthermore, Silver Shine's name was cleared in addition. So he'll no longer have to worry about all these faulty accusations."

"The traipsing I don't mind, the somepony else part, perhaps a little moreso." Silver Shine cringes.

Virtue giggles. "A little perspective never hurt anypony. Now you know more about how life is for the other half."

Dawn Star giggles a little too. "Understanding is important!"

"Well then," Azure says, folding her forehooves on the tabletop, "where does this leave us?"

"Well, we need to settle out the matter of Wisp Will's fate," Virtue says crisply. "Whether Sir Blueblood wants her taken to the castle or not… And then it's off to Vanhoover to catch a ship."

Azure nods. "Hopefully he will be able to get the paperwork put in order shortly. I'm glad that we were able to get this issue straightened out, but we've still a long journey ahead."

Virtue shakes her head slowly. "I wish we could have seen it earlier. We are, however, just learning to work together and use our gifts. In a synergistic way."

Moonlight Meadows blinks. "What?"

Azure Charger blinks as well. "What what?"

"Like a pack of wolves," Silver calmly observes over a goblet of cider.

Moonlight shakes her head. "We don't fight over food enough for that."

Silver chuckles. "Give us some time."

"...I could nip at you to get some haybacon?" Dawn helpfully suggests. 

Moonlight growls as Virtue laughs. "You are so earnest and accommodating, Dawn Star."

Dawn smiles in earnest. "I try my hardest to be a good friend!" she says, meaning every word.

Virtue gives Azure an amused look. "She'll make some stallion very happy some day, I'm sure."

"Only one? I want to make a lot of ponies happy!"

The room rings out as Virtue bursts out laughing, and Silver chokes on his cider. Even Azure gets this one; she gives Virtue a reproachful look and a poke in the ribs.

Virtue squeals, clutching her ribs with a hoof, still laughing uproariously. "Careful! Tender~" she giggles, wiping her eyes

Moonlight Meadows leans over and whispers in Dawn's ear. Dawn Star blinks. And then, she goes RED.

Azure clears her throat. "Word choice aside, I think it's an upstanding sentiment."

"Okay, okay, I'm done," Virtue says, gasping for breath. "We really ought to do something nice sometime."

Moonlight Meadows bites her lip, staring at the ceiling. "Y'know, we never did figure out if Lightning had anything to do with it at all."

Azure Charger looks down, taking a few quiet bites of her food.

"Indeed. We could try questioning her more closely, but..." Virtue looks to Azure.

Moonlight rests her chin on the table. "She didn't seem all that connected from what the plants said. She's not very good at taking care of her fern, but..."

"But what?" Virtue asks.

"Well, she's a pegasus, so that's not that surprising, and also that's about the only thing she was in the shop for I think... was because she's trying really hard to take care of her fern but not doing so well so she kept coming back to Wisp to get help with it."

Azure Charger swallows her food. "’scuse me." She stands up and heads for the door. "Gotta use the little filly’s room."

Virtue frowns after her. She touches her mouth with her napkin, rises from her seat cushion, and exits the room as well.

Moonlight Meadows tilts her head, watching them go.

"Must be a mare thing..." Silver mutters under his breath.

Moonlight looks at Silver. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just seems like visiting the loo can be a team effort sometimes."

Moonlight blinks slooowly, then looks at Dawn Star.

Dawn Star looks back confused. "I don't do that!" she protests.

"He doesn't get it, does he."

"Well, no, but, I mean…" Dawn Star taps her chin with a hoof. "I guess we could ask Virtue to make him Melody again and we could teach him"

Moonlight Meadows opens her mouth, then closes it again. "Um. Wait, you don't get it either."

Dawn Star smiles brightly. "Oh! Yeah, I guess not."

Moonlight Meadows motions the two of them closer. She gives a small sigh and a deep inhale, then, "Okay, so, like, Azure's this pegasus knight and knights are usually big on honor and treating ponies fairly and stuff, and Lightning Glass is maybe probably not actually guilty of anything but Azure wasn't really thinking about that until I said something and so now she feels guilty about getting in her face twice." She pauses, looking at the two of them. "Follow?"

Silver frowns, not say anything.

"Oh! Yeah, I think so." Dawn nods. "Azure feels bad cause she feels like she cheated and is picking on someone who can't fight back well?"

"Well maybe not the ‘can't fight back well’ bit so much, I mean, Lightning did give her a bit of a beating the first time, but anyways..." She chews on a few blades of grass. "I mean it's more like if… No, that's close enough, I'll move on. So that's why she left the table probably. Now, Virtue likes to fix things, I think, and I think she also feels responsible for ponies she knows or has talked to and especially for stuff that happens partly because she was involved, which the whole Azure and Lightning thing counts as. Also I think she likes Azure. Or maybe it's just pegasuseses in general or something. But anyway Azure's upset so Virtue goes after her to talk about it, and that's what happened." She furrows her brow, then nods. "Probably." Moonlight Meadows eats another strip of haybacon.

Silver Shine considers his thought for a moment. "Where I grew up, it wasn't always wise to share your weaknesses," he says slowly, Dawn nodding sympathetically. "Fewer ponies who know, fewer that can hurt you. Even friends." He pauses. "Of course, I guess not everything can be hidden." He takes a drink.

"Where was that?" Moonlight asks.

"It was called one of the free pegasus tribes. It was free, in a way, in that no one told them what to do, save maybe Celestia herself. Nomadic. Hierarchic. Paternal." He takes another draw from his cider. "Warriors from a few top families ruled. I wasn't one of them. At least in Canterlot, there were other opportunities for... well, me." Silver's expression hardens. "But, that matters little at the moment doesn't it?"

Moonlight goes quiet as well. "Maybe." The three continue their dinner in awkward silence.





Virtue follows Azure to the washroom. Inside, it’s a simple affair, much like the rest of the inn, with wooden walls and a quaint little vanity station. It houses a pair of stalls: one with door open, one with door closed. Virtue walks into the open stall and taps lightly on the side. "Are you okay, Azure?"

Azure scuffs her hooves, visible under the divider wall, and she lets out a long sigh. "Y'remember what we talked about? Last night before bed? We made a promise."

"Yes." Virtue sighs. "I know how you feel. I think I came very close to breaking my promise, too."

"I thought we knew that Lightning Glass was part of this. She had that fern. And she was acting suspicious." Azure’s hooves stop their movement. "During the fight. In town. She said I was a bully…" She takes a weighty sigh. "She's right. I started both of those fights. Unprovoked. She might've kicked my flank the first go round, but... Well, she didn't do anything wrong. I deserved what I got."

"Azure." Virtue balances her tone, firm yet gentle. "You did what you did because of... well, me. We suspected Lightning Glass, we wanted to see if she was up to anything. We suspected she was part of the game Wisp was playing—"

"Suspected."

"Yes, but it wasn't your fault. You were just doing what you could to help us. You suspected her too, yes, but you weren't bullying her for no reason." Virtue looks down at her own hooves. "And, I think, we will need to pay for that."

Azure goes quiet for a moment.

"That makes the difference, you know." She looks in Azure’s direction, even if she can’t see through the divider. "If you do something wrong... you can't just let it lie, even if it was in the pursuit of something right."

"Y'know? If I'm being honest, I used to think that you could get a little crazy about that, sometimes. Paying ponies back, one way or another." Azure chuckles faintly. "But. I think I'd like that," she says quietly. The stall door comes open.

Virtue steps out, getting a look at her. Azure's eyes might be a little red, but it's hard to tell. At first she's wiping at them with a hoof, but further, shortly after Virtue steps out, Azure pulls close and nuzzles into her mane. "Thank you, Virtue," she murmurs.

Virtue presses up against her, her head under Azure’s. "It's all right, I wouldn't leave you hanging like that. We'll go together."

She pulls back and nods, with a smile. "Yeah. That sounds nice."

"You're a fine knight, Azure, and not a bully. Bullies don't have a good cry after they push somepony around." She laughs softly, nudging her.

Azure clears her throat and straightens up a bit, letting some mock haughtiness return to her voice. "Who said anything about crying? I was just having a bit of seasonal allergies. Hay fever and all."

"Oh, excuse me, I would never accuse a noble pegasus warrior of weakness," says Virtue, fanning herself. "Lest I be kidnapped to a cloud fortress."

Azure laughs at that. "Ah, the 'fair maiden locked in the tower'? Awaiting rescue from some upstanding knight? Begging your pardon, but I somehow don't see you allowing that fate to befall you. By the time I got there, half the guard would be mesmerized, serving you chai."

Virtue taps her chin. "You know, you're probably right. Actually, that might be rather fun."

She bows low. "A thousand pardons milady. Next time you're being shipped express, I'll be certain not to interfere." Azure laughs and laughs, punctuated occasionally with a snicker.

Virtue punches her with a delicate hoof. "If you don't rescue me, I might start to think you don't care!"

Azure gasps and brings an exaggerated hoof to her lips. "But alas! If I leave you be, I appear uncaring. If I rescue you, you'd be deprived your tower of servants." She grins. "It seems you'd have to choose."

"Hmm." Virtue taps a hoof coyly at her chin. "Tower servants... knight rescue… I suppose you'll just have to fight them to see who is more worthy."

Azure smirks. "Well I think we both know how that would turn out, don't we?"

"And now you feel better," Virtue says, smiling warmly. "Mission accomplished."

Azure chuckles a bit, then smiles genuinely back. "Thanks. We uh..." She nudges her head to the door. "They're probably waiting..."

"Indeed. When do you want to go see Lightning Glass?"

She looks to the tiny windows near the ceiling that those types of bathrooms always have. "It's… probably not too late, right? Maybe we could check on her now."

Virtue nods. "I think we should."

The pair exit the washroom together, heading down the staircase of the inn. As they reach the ground level, they hear another set of footsteps following behind. Soon after, Moonlight makes her way down the stairs, giving the two mares an inquisitive look. With a collective nod, the three of them head out into the night.





Lightning Glass may be a pegasus, but there are no cloudhouses in Rambling Ridge, and so she lives in an earth pony dwelling. A little house at the far edge of town, though it's not quite on the outskirts. It's more of a cottage than anything really, the sort of house people would describe as 'quaint' with varying degrees of either charm or sarcasm. It has a garden (which is mostly dead), and a small pond out front, in which small bright fish can be seen. There's a field out back, which is probably beautiful during the day, but under the starlight, it's just a vague mass of undulating grassland.

As the three approach the house, they can hear something: a faint, repetitive sound coming from inside. There's a small stone path leading up to the door, but when they reach the front, the sound is not much clearer. A pony noise, coming in starts and stops. Laughter, maybe?

Azure Charger brings her hoof up to the door and hesitates, looking back to her friends.

Moonlight Meadows twitches an ear, focusing on the sound. "Yeah. She's crying." Azure lets out a low whining groan.

Virtue smiles encouragingly. "We're right behind you."

Sighing, Azure lets out three tepid knocks on the door with her hoof. She squirms about, waiting for the door.

The sound inside stops instantly, and a shuffling can be heard. "Just a second," Lightning Glass calls down, working her way down the steps before finally coming to the door. On the other side, a latch turns.

Moonlight shifts to the side, and a little closer to the door.

The door opens, and they see Lightning Glass, still showing bruises from their earlier fight. As soon as Lightning recognizes Azure in the starlight, she moves to slam the door, but Moonlight is faster, getting a hoof in the crack and preventing it from closing all the way. "Go away!" she shouts, unable to conceal how ragged her voice is.

"Hi again..." Azure says, her body language just as stilted and awkward as the current situation. "I... sort of wanted to apologize. For my first apology." She scratches the back of her head. "And for everything."

"Fine, you win, now go!" Lightning Glass says, trying to shove Moonlight's hoof out of the doorframe. Moonlight hums softly to herself, refusing to budge.

Virtue steadies Azure, putting a hoof to her side.

Azure nods to Virtue, then looks back at Lightning. "Not yet, please. I—" She inhales. "Let me do one thing first. I pulled a really dirty move to start the fight, earlier today." She sits back on her haunches and holds her forehooves behind her back. "So, I want you to get a fair shot back."

Virtue rubs her face. Pegasi.

Lightning Glass stares at Azure out through the doorway. "You know, ponies like you are why I left Cloudsdale? I don't want to hit you! I didn't want to hit you in the first place! You just made it perfectly clear you were going to keep being a jerk to me until I proved I could rough you up." Azure slowly wilts as Lightning Glass’s rant grows louder. "You're all the same. Strutting around with that whole pegasi-warrior-tradition bunk. Like the old days were EVER coming back. It's just an excuse to fly around and beat ponies up. There's a reason I chose to live in earth pony town. I like it here. Okay?" She takes a few heavy breaths, then points back toward the inn. "So, whatever. I forgive you if that makes you feel better. Now go away." With that, she does her level best to shut the door, heedless of Moonlight's hoof.

Azure starts to oblige, hanging her head, but Virtue pushes her friend, slightly. "Your promise, Azure."

Azure licks her lips a few times, and shuffles on her hooves. Moonlight’s hoof, it seems, isn’t going anywhere, so it buys Azure some extra time to think. "For what it's worth," she finally says, "you've got a pretty wicked combo. If you'd rather not fight, that's totally fine but..." She rubs one foreleg behind the other. "If you ever did want to try out for the militia again, you'd make a really great asset for them. But if you'd rather be a weatherpony, that's a really great job too." She tries to smile weakly. "Either way, you've got a lot of different ponies relying on you and depending on you. So, anyway..." She lowers her head. "I'm sorry for twisting your leg like that... so to speak."

"Wow..." Lightning Glass says, her quiet voice coming through the crack in the door. She stares out at Azure, struck silent for a few seconds. "That is the worst apology I've ever heard. Just… Just wow." She shakes her head. "Nevermind, fine. I know what you were trying to say. Now please have your friend take her hoof out of my door?"

Azure can't help but chuckle at that. "Yeah, I, um... I'm not really good at this, if you can't tell."

Virtue puts a supporting hoof on Azure’s shoulder. "We came here because we did you wrong."

Azure looks to Virtue a moment, then back to Lightning. "You're sure there's nothing else I can do to make it up to you? Anything at all. If not, then we can go ahead and leave you alone forever."

"Yeah, actually, you have!" she snaps, causing Azure to flinch back. "It was bad enough being the pegasus in town. Now I'm the less crazy pegasus. That's me summed up in a little box for the rest of my days. Thanks a lot!"

"I don't think 'less crazy' is doing yourself justice," Azure tries, kicking up some dust. "I was sorta all over the place."

"I think it will be subsumed in what happened to Wisp Will, but you're right, we caused that." Virtue sighs. "I'm not especially happy about what happened to Wisp Will, and I will do all I can to help her, but I fear she was hiding a great deal and it led her to do some unfortunate things."

"Yeah, thanks for that too. I liked her! She was nice," Lightning Glass huffs behind the mostly-closed door. "Maybe she had a good reason for hiding things. Ponies can be jerks."

Moonlight Meadows looks at Virtue, beckons her closer, and whispers in her ear. Virtue nods to Moonlight.

"We just want to make sure that everypony is safe. Wisp Will seems genuinely scared and didn't want to hurt anypony."

"I can have a word with the guards before I go, too," Virtue adds. "We can clear up the misunderstanding there. You don't have to lose any more friends over this."

Azure bites her lip and moves a bit closer to the door. "I know I'm not setting the best example here, but we're not the bad guys. I don't want her going to jail anymore than you do."

For a little while, there's no answer.

"Thanks, I guess," Lightning Glass says, sniffling quietly. "She doesn't deserve it. She's a nice pony."

"I promise I'll do everything I can to help her." Virtue pauses at that. "Would you like to go see her?"

"She thinks she's lost everypony because of what happened," Moonlight says, quietly, but loud enough to be heard through the door. "She could use a friend."

"We didn't know each other that well," Lightning Glass says quietly, after a noticeable pause. "I mean, we talked sometimes. And she gave me a fern once. They're good for talking to."

Azure takes a quick look at the garden behind her. "You, uh... you like to garden?"

"No. I kill everything I touch," Lightning Glass says, though her voice is gradually calming. "It's just... you know. It's a thing that ponies do."

"That's pretty neat, though." Azure gives an apologetic shrug. "I think you're the first pegasi I've heard of who has their own garden, and everything."

"I live in an earth pony town. I thought it would help me fit in." After a few moments, Lightning Glass adds, "Listen, I appreciate what you're trying to do. It's fine though, really. I'll visit Wisp in the morning. Or something. Thanks."

Azure scuffs her hoof.

"No... not to us. It's not fine until we've made sure we've done as much as we can," says Virtue. "Tell you what. Why don't we get breakfast together at the inn? Our treat. Then we can go visit Wisp. At the very least, ponies will get to see us interacting normally, if a little awkwardly."

"Um..." Lightning Glass doesn't quite seem to know how to respond to that for a moment. "I guess that would be okay."

Azure Charger 's face lights up. "Great, then. Great. Just stop by the inn first thing in the morning, and we'll get everything squared away with visiting Wisp Will." She pauses. "Anything special you like for breakfast?

Lightning Glass laughs, even if it is a strained sound. "Trying too hard."

Virtue laughs as well, as Azure smirks and rubs the back of her head. "Nah, just new at it," Virtue says encouragingly. "I think she's sweet."

"Sure. Sure. I'll um... I'll see you tomorrow." Lightning Glass clears her throat. "Now please get your hoof out of my door?"

"Err, right. Sorry." Azure nods to Moonlight. "We'll, ah, let you get back to sleep."

Moonlight Meadows blinks, puzzled, staring back for a moment. "Oh. Right." She takes her hoof from the door, and to its credit, the door doesn’t immediately slam shut.

"Thanks, um… Good night, then," says Lightning.

"Night," Azure Charger calls out as the door closes. She sighs once the latch clicks shut. "Thank you. Both of you. Without your help that would've been an unmitigated disaster." She blinks. "As it was, it was a salvageable disaster."

"That's okay. We all have to start somewhere. I think you did fine," Virtue lies blatantly, but smiling and giggling. Moonlight narrows her eyes at Virtue.

Azure scuffs her hoof. "The breakfast order thing was too much, huh?"

Virtue giggles. "Maybe, but it's the thought that counts. Get her some apples."





On the way home, with Moonlight between them, Virtue looks up at the Mare in the Moon with a heavy sigh. "I still feel like this is my fault. Am I wrong?"

"You feel that about a lot of things," says Moonlight wryly.

"Yup." Azure Charger nods. "I appreciate you jumping in to help--truly--but picking a fight with Lightning Glass was my decision alone."

Virtue sighs. She doesn’t quite drag her hooves—that would scuff up her hoofcaps something dreadful—but she comes close. "I could have figured it out earlier. I could have pushed Wisp harder."

Moonlight jumps in. "Except you felt sorry for pushing her as much as you did and also none of us suspected her of framing Silver at all so you had no reason to."

Azure nods, and points to Virtue's sore spots with a chuckle. "Besides, I think you pushed her plenty."

Virtue looks away. "I'm sorry. I seem to be all over the place," she says, smiling apologetically. "I try to take all of the blame on myself. As if I should be perfect and infallible."

"It's okay," Azure Charger says, bumping her playfully. "We didn't know everything going in, but we're doing what we can to make things right, right?"

Moonlight nods. "Yeah. I mean, I didn't talk to Lightning's fern. And think about why this all happened, with her daddy putting it in her head that she'd be considered a freak and friendless and stuff, and we still don't know why he did that so maybe there's someone even further back in all this, who's got some of the blame for his silly fears." She pauses to consider. "Of course, on the other hoof some ponies are silly about things like turning into bears."

"Yes..." Virtue says slowly. "Speaking of. It seems to me that I recall a certain owl on our first night together." Moonlight twitches an ear.

"Oh, right. Caused us a huge hassle when we were..." Azure pauses. "Stargazing."

Virtue looks to Azure; Azure looks back and tilts her head.

"Was that before we went and flirted with the duplicating chef pony to get cupcakes?" Moonlight asks.

Azure nods. "Yep, the owl left just a few seconds before you showed up." She blinks a few times. Moonlight blinks back at her, slowly. "Ah," she says at last, nodding. "The mysteries of this group never cease."

"Indeed," says Virtue. "I seem to remember getting upset at that, too. Felt like I had been humiliated in front of Azure."

Azure rubs the back of her head. "...and I felt like a bit of a mule, for just laughing and not helping you out. No offense," she says instinctively, looking around. But the three of them are alone, with not a mule in sight.

Moonlight Meadows raises an eyebrow at Virtue. "So you were upset specifically because it was Azure." Azure starts fidgeting at where Moonlight's going with the questions.

"What makes you say that?" asks Virtue, not tipping her hoof just yet.

Moonlight thinks for a moment, then shrugs. "Dunno. Seemed like you put some emphasis on that name though." She pauses. "Also you two flirt a lot."

Azure Charger squirms. "Not that much," she mutters.

Virtue hums. "Do you think I wouldn't have felt that way around somepony else?"

"Well, you looked down."

"Aye." Azure nods.

"She was the pony who was there," Virtue insists. "But, you know… Afterwards, you came up and healed my wounds. While I then became distracted, you did help me feel better."

"Oh?" Moonlight tilts her head. "Why's that?"

Virtue reaches out, touching the poofy mane. "I didn't know what to make of you for a while."

Azure chuckles lightly. "Sometimes it seems like everytime we learn something new about you, it just raises further questions."

"A little peculiar, strange powers I don't understand. You seem so... distant, sometimes, too. I honestly thought, at first, that you didn't want to get to know us," Virtue admits. "From the sounds of it, though, you have a very active world indeed."

"Yep."

Virtue prods her. "Can you tell us about that?"

Moonlight Meadows tilts her head to the side again. "It's kind of like... well, the whole world is talking. Not just the ponies, but the wind and the plants and the animals and the sky, even, sometimes."

Virtue frowns up at the moon, briefly. "Go on."

"But to hear it you have to listen. Really listen. So you have to be quiet, and still, if you're listening to the very small things or the very big things."

"What sorts of things?"

Moonlight Meadows nods. "You learn a lot just by listening."

"That can kinda be tough though, can't it?" Azure asks. "I mean, the world can be a noisy place sometimes. LIstening isn't always easy."

Moonlight nods some more. "Yeah. 'S why I practiced. And I still have to concentrate really hard to know for certain sure what the plants and the animals are saying."

"Huh." Azure mulls it over for a moment. "Did you figure all of that out on your own?"

"Kinda." Moonlight Meadows tilts her head, then halts and looks up. "She's hard to hear, too, see. And she can't teach directly. I think she's sleeping. I mean, not just right now. It's like when a pony talks in her sleep, right? But she makes more sense." She pauses, moonlight reflecting in her eyes.  "Songs. She likes music. Stories, too. Bee dances, sometimes."

"Does she talk to you personally?" Virtue asks her.

Moonlight Meadows has to think about that. "I don't know."

Virtue looks to Azure, then back to her. "What do you know about the Mare in the Moon, Moonlight?" Azure blinks, and stares up at the moon herself.

Moonlight doesn't respond right away. "There's a song she likes," she says, finally. "I think it's a song somepony sings to her. Would you like me to sing it?"

Virtue and Azure nod in unison.

Moonlight Meadows stands, rather than sits, and, eyes closed, she starts to hum, at first tuneless, then catching the harmony. A slight sheen crosses her cutie mark, and when she opens her mouth, her voice does not sound like her own—there is a slight otherworldly quality to it. She sings of two sisters, one who outshone the other. She sings of jealousy and anger, regret and sorrow. As the song draws to a close, she sings of hope at the end of a thousand-year reprieve.

Azure Charger sits down, listening intently as Moonlight sings her tune. "It's quite pretty, though."

Virtue’s frown has progressively deepened as she listens to the song, her attention split between Moonlight and the moon’s light. She contemplates in silence for a few minutes after Moonlight’s song, before at last, she speaks. "This... isn't widely known," she says at last, "but you know I have an interest in histories. Most speak of it in legend—it was over a hundred years ago. But Luna, the Princess of the Night, attempted to overthrow her sister. She managed to silence the sun for a full day, which we now... well, I wouldn't call it celebrate, but we commemorate as Nightmare Night."

Moonlight Meadows nods. "That's when I hear that song the most. That's also part of why I stay quiet, and listen."

Virtue purses her lips. "That's why I was more than a little concerned when I heard you sing to the moon first, I admit. Now I'm not sure what to think. Still a little concerned, in truth."

Azure Charger tilts her head. "You think this relates, somehow?"

"It seems a spectacular coincidence if not."

"Huh." She mulls that over.

"Oh! Before I forget...." Virtue gives an apologetic smile.  "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"

Moonlight Meadows thinks for a moment, tapping hoof to her chin. "Was it spring or summer... hmm… Eighty two or eighty three, depending on the season."

Azure blinks. "...like, years?"

Moonlight blinks back. "Seasons."

"Early twenties," Virtue muses.

"Oh." Azure looks down at Moonlight. "...really should get you on a routine. Maybe you can join me on my morning exercises or something."

Virtue shudders. "I don't know how you do that thing with your wings, but the rest of it would be murder."

Azure tilts her head. "That thing with my wings?"

"I'm not fat," Moonlight pouts. 

Azure Charger blanches. "No, I didn't... wasn't saying... Fitness is for everypony."

Virtue and Moonlight giggle. "I think she more means, well, you're very compact," Virtue offers.

"Don't worry," Moonlight says. "I go running with Balti."

"Does that count if you're a lion at the time?" Virtue asks.

"Yes. But I'm usually not a lion."

"Hmm..." Azure muses. "How did you meet Balti, anyway? I don't believe you mentioned that yet."

"How I met Balti..." Moonlight rolls her eyes upward, losing herself in her memories. "That was in... oh... fall, I think, just a little before the Running. I don't remember why, but I'd gone out on a longer trip, beyond the woods and way far out where ponies hadn't been before. I think I was just trying to get somewhere with less pony noise."

"Makes sense, I suppose," says Azure, nodding.

"I do remember that as the sun was setting that night, I found a nice little rocky overhang, with just enough depth to cut the wind and to provide some shade. So I ate a few berries and a little bit of grass for my supper, and I sat down, and I listened." She turns back to her friends. "Did you know that rocks can talk?"

"Rocks," Azure blankly echos.

"Yes."

"Now I do," Virtue murmurs.

"I don't really recommend it, though. They're very dull conversationalists." Moonlight nods to herself. "But yeah, I listened to everything I could, and I didn't sleep at all. And about sunset the following day, I heard a chirping that was very much not a bird. So I got up and went to investigate." Moonlight gives a nostalgic smile. "I found Balti. She was the one who was chirping. We talked for a bit."

"What about?" Azure asks.

"Well at first it was about how I was not food and she would get her fur singed if she tried it." Azure chuckles at that. "Then we traded life stories. Hers was pretty typical. You know, growing up with her sisters and brothers and playing while momma hunted and then eventually taught them to hunt. And then momma kicked all of them out, and she'd been wandering for a while since then."

"So, she decided to tag along with you? Just like that?" Azure arches an eyebrow.

"Yep! After we made a couple things clear."

"Like that you weren't food."

"And that other ponies weren't food either," Moonlight says, nodding definitively.

"She does seem surprisingly well-tempered." Azure nods in consideration.

Moonlight shrugs. "She's had practice. And of course she still hunts. Plus she likes scritches"

"Ah yes, the infamous scritches." Azure smirks. "I can see now why she's keen to stick around."

Virtue shifts around a bit, getting more comfortable on the grass. "What are you hoping to gain out of this mission, I'm curious?"

Moonlight Meadows gives a small smile. "What do you think?"

Virtue grins back. "I hear Celestia gives fantastic ear scritches."

"Ear scritches," Azure says, completely stone-faced.

Moonlight Meadows turns her eyes upwards in thought. "Might have to try that. Would be a nice perk."

"I can imagine," says Virtue, smiling.

Azure Charger giggles. "I can see us asking for quite the wide range of rewards, at this point. From riches and rubies, to ear scritches and pudding"

"Which of those is yours?" Virtue glances sideways at Azure.

Azure rolls her eyes skyward to think, then snickers. "None of em, I suppose. Mostly just the honor and glory, y'know. And you, Virtue? Perhaps a nice cup of vanilla pudding?"

Virtue smirks. "While I wouldn't say no, I think I might ask for a position of authority. Somewhere I can make a difference. Though, who knows? My needs may change."

"Mine probably won't." Moonlight nods. "It's very earth pony."

"I suppose it's fair to say that mine are quite pegasi." Azure sticks out her tongue.

"The moment I regard either of you as typical examples of a race is the moment I chuck myself into a stream." Virtue lifts her chin and a hoof, proudly.

Azure Charger snickers. "And the fact you'd make such an offer proves you're no typical unicorn, either."

"Naturally! I am unique, and never forget it."

"I'll try not to," Azure teases back.

"Oh, try, she says." Virtue looks to Moonlight. "See what I have to work with here?" 

Moonlight nods. "You like it though. You want the challenge."

"True enough." Virtue looks up at the stars. "Wow, we've been out here for a while."

Azure grins and shrugs before laying back and propping her hooves under her head. "Mmm… S'pose so. Was late when we left the inn, anyway," she says with a yawn.

"If my father knew I was out so late with strange ponies—particularly ones who weren't unicorns—he would be in mourning," she jokes, poking Azure's blue side.

Azure forces an eye open through the yawn. "So strange unicorns would be no problem, then?" She nods to Moonlight. "We should go find some cardboard tubes, you and I."

"Or pine cones," Moonlight agrees.

"Or perhaps," Azure says, rolling onto her side, "two pairs of cardboard wings. Take you up to Cloudsdale." She nods. "Quite the view from there, like you wouldn’t believe."

"Re-enacting the tribalist riots of the first decade? Tsk." Virtue giggles. "I know there's a spell somewhere that allows flight, actually. Perhaps some day."

Azure puts her hooves behind her head as she looks up at the stars. "Spells... vehicles... I think I've even heard of enchanted horseshoes. There's a few means of getting groundpounders up there."

Virtue looks aside. "Anywhere you always wanted to go, Moonlight?"

Moonlight Meadows thinks. "The big mountains up north, but it's cold there. And the dragon nesting grounds. Maybe the old castle. Maybe."

"Of the Royal Pony Sisters?" Virtue asks. Moonlight nods in confirmation.

"So," says Azure, counting on her skyward-pointing hooves, "the frozen tundras, the nesting grounds of creatures as big as a house, and an ancient ruin buried—if i'm not mistaken—somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest." She smirks. "A little trip into griffin territory is probably nothing for you, eh?"

"Griffin lands..." Virtue gives a terse little sigh. "Why do I get the strangest feeling it won't end there?"

"Because eighty years is a long, long time," Moonlight points out.

Azure Charger nods in agreement. "And it sounds like our pony was a bit of a traveler himself..."

Virtue gives a resigned nod. "Wisp Will might be more frank with us now, at least."

"Mmm." Azure nods. "Especially if Sir Blueblood can offer her asylum, as we're hoping."

"He will… or he had better." Virtue frowns. "I take my word very seriously."

Azure laughs, gentle. "Yep, I know you do."

"Mmph, not looking forward to that," says Virtue, her frown deepening. "I had just gone through the effort of reassuring these townsfolk. I hope not to cap that off with breaking Wisp Will out of prison."

Azure Charger blanches. "I'm sure things won't come to that. Blueblood will deliver."

Virtue nods, offering a hoof up to Azure.

Moonlight Meadows rises as well, and shakes herself off a bit. "If nothing else, he might find her useful. But, best sleep, or we'll miss Lightning tomorrow," she says. With a nod, the three mares head for the inn door.

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Straight from the GM’s journal, a few of his background notes on Lightning Glass, that he’d prepared at the start of this particular arc:

Lightning Glass is Rambling Ridge's weatherpony, who moved there after extensively bullied as a foal in Cloudsdale. Intensely socially awkward, she has not been able to make any friends since arriving, a fact not helped by the towns (at times) backwards attitudes and the fact that she's the only pegasus most of them have ever seen. She can often be found hovering around on her cloud or sitting on rooftops, listening to others conversations. Desperately lonely, she has started to wish she were an earth pony just so she could fit in, a secret she confided in Wisp Will. Wisp gave her a hug and some kind words, along with a fern, referencing a piece of old earth pony folklore that if you bury a wish under a plant and care for it, the wish will come try by the time the plant is strong. Wisp meant that Lightning Glass should wish for friends, but instead Glass wished to fit in, and now that her fern is dying, she's becoming increasingly convinced she'll always be alone.
Plot Notes: When the PC's confront Wisp, Lightning Glass will be quick to rush to her aid and defend her against any accusations. If the PC's attempt to reveal Wisp's secret as evidence, Lightning Glass will become furious with the idea, particularly if they use magic to pry out what Wisp knows (as she fears her own secret may become public knowledge). Her fundamental plot role is therefore as Wisp's villainous sidekick.

And yes, in case it wasn’t obvious, the song Moonlight sang was Ponyphonic’s Lullaby for a Princess
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