Dragonbite Castle

Today

Baron Climber Snowflake and his family sat at the long table in the great hall of his castle in the Neighagra Falls Plains, as he studied the morning post.

“Petition, petition, building application…” he mumbled as he rifled through the letters. “A card from Saddle Arabia.” He took the card out of the stack and hoofed it to his wife. “It’s probably from your cousin, Explorer.” His wife took it with a smile and began reading immediately. Meanwhile, the baron redirected his attention back to the stack of letters. Because of this, he did not notice that a valet had entered the room and stopped in front of him right away. Only when the valet cleared his throat did the baron take notice of him.

“My Lord,” said the valet, presenting an envelope to the baron, “a letter for you has just arrived.”

The baron raised an eyebrow. “I just received the morning post. Why wasn’t this one included?”

The valet bowed and said, “This letter comes from Princess Twilight. It was not sent by regular post, but rather brought here directly by courier.” At the mention of the word ‘princess’, all other conversations at the table stopped. Even the baroness looked up from her card.

“A letter from Princess Twilight?” she asked, surprised.

Climber Snowflake took the letter and inspected the lavender sealed envelope. “Mmmh. What would the princess need from us?” he wondered aloud.

“Open it, Darling. Then we shall all know,” his wife said.

The baron turned the envelope in his hooves before breaking the seal and pulling out the letter. He focused on reading the message written in Twilight’s neat cursive.

“So, what’s it say, Climber?” his wife asked curiously, looking at him from her seat to his immediate left at the table.

Climber scratched his muzzle with a hoof and leant back in his chair. “She’s coming for a visit,” he stated, deep in thought.

His wife dropped the card onto the table and stared at him. “The princess is coming here? What an honour! Let me see!” she cried excitedly and extended her hoof. The baron gave her the letter.

While his wife read the letter, Climber reached for a small bell on the table in front of him and rung it. After a moment, his butler entered the hall, bowing in front of him. “You rang, Sir?”

“Yes, Trustworthy. We expect a visit overmorrow*. I wish for our best guest room to be prepared.”

“Of course, Sir.”

“And tell the cook to prepare a feast for lunch that day.”

“Very well, Sir. Anything else, Sir?”

Climber thought for a moment and then added. “Make sure that all status symbols of this house are taken care of properly. Flags, banners, and so on. The portraits in the ancestral hall need a good dusting.”

“As you wish, Sir.” Once again, Trustworthy bowed. “If I may be so bold to ask, who is it you expect? I may be able to make individual arrangements for our guest.”

Climber nodded. “Princess Twilight Sparkle is going to visit us.”

The name took Trustworthy by surprise. He gave his master a dumbfounded look, before regaining his composure and cleared his throat. “Very well, Sir. I will arrange everything.” With another bow, he turned around and left the room.

While the baron spoke to his butler, his wife had finished reading the letter. She had waited patiently for her husband’s attention then said, “A princess here at our castle! I need to tell my friends!” as she then began to clap her hooves together in excitement.

Her husband listened to her plans with a calm smile. “This should prove to be interesting…” he thought, mentally still concerning himself with the coming visit.

2 Days later – Morning.

Dragonbite Castle was filled with busy workers, as the staff hurried along the hallways and corridors. In the great hall, the last preparations for the upcoming banquet were made. The kitchen helpers set the large table at the room’s eastern side with silver cutlery, crystal goblets and finely marbled china. The tables were decorated with impressive candle holders, surrounded by napkins folded into the shapes of small dragons. All across the table cloth, in the colours of the family crest of red, black, and silver, small glass snowflakes were placed. In the middle of the great hall, a large round table had been placed, which was already bulging with all kinds of delicacies. In the centre of the table, a multi-layered blue cake stood towering, which the cook was just now finishing with a bit of icing. Not even the walls had been spared, as expensive tapestry shared the space alongside portraits and banners of House Snowflake.

Not only had the inside of the castle been prepared, even the courtyard had been taken care off. The gravel path from the castle gate to the actual entry had been tilled, the hedges and shrubberies had been cut back, and a lot of small details had been corrected, the kind that made the difference between ‘acceptable’ and ‘really impressive’.

Multiple pegasi had been paid to clear the sky, who were doing great work, that the castle and its surroundings were flooded with bright daylight.

Indeed, the Snowflake family was doing their best to properly greet their visitor and to maybe even impress a little. But even though everything was working more or less perfectly, said family was still on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Anxiously, the baroness hurried from room to room to check on the preparations, give a few last commands, and ensure a spontaneous change here and there.

The baron on the other hoof, tried calming his nerves by looking down at the anthill of workers from the battlements of one of the castle’s towers. On normal days, he would come up here a lot and relax for a few minutes, taking a break from the hard work of heading a barony every day. Of course, in recent years, it had been a lot easier, since a lot more responsibilities had been transferred from the nobles to the princesses, now that there were three of them sharing the work, rather than only Princess Celestia doing it all on her own. Still, the baron enjoyed the moments of peace up here, looking over his land. Today, however, the familiar calm feeling just wouldn’t come. He sighed and made his way down the many steps of the tower.

Same Day – Close to Lunchtime

Climber was anxiously pawing the white carpet with his right front hoof. A quick glance at the clock tower revealed that it was not yet twelve o’clock, just as the previous seven times. The baron stood at the top of a few stairs, his wife and children on his right, all in their best clothes. They were framed by their servants, properly ordered by rank.

His gaze wandered back to the castle gate. Above it, a green mare was on watch, trumpet in her left hoof, her right covering her eyes from the sun, looking out for Princess Twilight.

Obviously, Climber’s anxiety did not go unnoticed by his wife. Despite being much more nervous than him only a few hours ago, she was now radiating with a noble calmness. “She will be here soon, Climber.” Her voice was soothing to him, quiet and familiar. “Everything is prepared, we are ready to greet her more than adequately.”

Climber looked from the watch-mare to his wife. Although he was able to keep a straight face, the corners of his mouth wandered a tiny bit north. “I know, it’s just…” She carefully brought her left hoof up to his shoulder. In many other high-born families, this would have been against etiquette, and reason for one rude comment or the other, but Climber liked this a lot about his wife. She had always been able to ignore the rules of etiquette in order to show her love and support. He took her hoof in his, kissed it and turned back towards the entrance. “Thank you,” was all he said, much more relaxed than just a second ago.

The minute hand of the clock tower had almost reached the twelfth hour, when the group of ponies atop the castle walls began to move. The green mare slightly lifted her head over the railing. She saw a small dot appearing on the horizon in the distance, quickly getting closer, even though its trajectory was not the straightest. She reached for her little telescope and looked through it, before putting her trumpet to her mouth.

The fanfare was heard far across the plains, and after a few moments, multiple small trumpets joined in to welcome the princess to the Eastern Neighagra Falls Plains.

As Twilight Sparkle crossed over the castle wall and landed in the courtyard of Dragonbite Castle, she was confused for a moment by the sheer amount of ponies gathered there. Despite having been a princess for a while now, she had not yet gotten accustomed to the amount of prestige she had gained. Seeing almost every inhabitant of a castle come together because of her, and bowing in front of her, was making her a bit uneasy. Hesitating, she began waving at the assembled crowd while she touched down. A quick, almost electric, shock shot through her hooves as they came in contact with the ground. “Ouch!” she cried, startled and a little bit confused. Before she could properly focus her attention on the strange phenomenon, the two ponies at the top of the stairs started slowly coming towards her, while the rest of the crowd kept a humble stance.

“Welcome to Dragonbite Castle, Your Highness,” Climber announced, as his voice carried his words to everyone present in the courtyard. “My name is Climber Snowflake. Your presence deeply honours my family and me,” he continued, once again bowing as he stopped in front of her.

“Ummmm…thank you, Baron Snowflake,” Twilight replied, still slightly uneasy. “I’m glad you could accommodate me on such a short notice.”

The baron raised his head again to look into Twilight’s eyes. “The House of Snowflake is at your service anytime, Your Highness.” Climber stepped aside and pointed at his wife. “May I introduce you to my wife?” he asked. “Lady Pleasant Smell.”

Said lady came forward and also bowed. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, it is an honour and a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Welcome to Dragonbite Castle,” she said, humbly.

“Thank you, Baroness. It is quite nice to make your acquaintance as well,” Twilight replied.

“And if I may,” said the baroness, “these are our children, Cave Light and Distant Shine.”

A light green filly, barely a mare, approached Twilight then bowed, followed by a much younger grey colt. Twilight smiled politely as the suddenness of formality, that had been thrust upon her, slowly overwhelmed her.

“Please, Your Highness,” the baron took over the conversation again. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the castle’s inhabitants and then take you to the great hall. A feast honouring your visit is expecting us.” He made an inviting gesture towards the main building.

Although Twilight attempted to force herself to relax a bit from the earnest greeting, she couldn’t help but throw a few nervous glances to the crowd as she slowly made her way to the servants waiting on the stairs.

Paying attention to etiquette, the baron first introduced his servants according to their rank, such as his treasurer, Fang, or his leader of the guard, Watching Eye, and onward until the their names became a blur to Twilight. Finally, he brought the princess to her special spot in the great hall, on the baron’s right. Once Twilight had sat, one after the other, everypony else took their seats allowing the feast to begin.

All eyes were locked on the princess, much to her dismay, as the first course was served.

“What are they waiting for?” she wondered. “Why don't they start eating?” She looked around in confusion. Everypony was paying attention to her and not a single one had taken up their cutlery. “This is strange. The book on table manners stipulated that everyone should start to eat as soon as everyone has gotten their meal.”

“Your Highness,” the baroness, who had recognised the problem, whispered at Twilight. The princess looked towards her. “You have to begin eating, everypony is waiting for you.” The baroness whispered charitably and meaningfully glanced at the assembled ponies.

“Me?” Twilight replied sceptically. “Isn't it up to everyone to start eating?”

Pleasant Smell shook her head slightly, “In Canterlot maybe Your Highness. In castle Dragonbite, however, the one with the highest rank starts the meal.”

Twilight blushed a bit, “I wasn't aware of that, sorry.” She tried lifting one of the many forks next to her plate in her magic. Much to her surprise, her horn only lit up briefly and the purple aura began to flicker. “Huh?” she began, but was interrupted by the sound of a falling fork. Startled, Twilight looked at the utensil and tried to understand what happened. Again, she tried lifting it with her magic, but again it escaped her grasp after a short moment. “What in Tartarus is going on!?” she thought. With a much stronger surge of magic than usual, she tried grabbing the fork again, successfully this time. But it felt like it weighed multiple pounds. Confused, she stared at the utensil and wondered what this all meant.

“Apologies, Princess. We should have warned you. Magic works differently at Dragonbite Castle,” the baroness told her.

Confusion turned into curiosity as Twilight heard this. After all, she was an expert in all things magic, and if this was a regular phenomenon at Dragonbite Castle, she should be able to figure it out. “You mean this is normal?” she asked after a moment of thought.

“Indeed it is,” the baron said, joining the conversation. “For centuries, unicorns have had trouble casting magic at Dragonbite Castle. That is why there are few among my staff.”

“You see, the effect does not lessen over time, and I have been told you cannot get used to it either. This keeps many from working for us, and the few that do only stay a couple of months before leaving again,” the baroness explained.

Hearing this, Twilight was impressed. “It really affects any unicorn? How far does the effect reach? Does it also affect other magic users? What about enchanted artifacts or other objects?” Twilight wasn't able to hold back her curiosity once it was aroused. The questions came out like gunfire.

“Your Highness, calm down,” the baron said under the assault of Twilight’s questions. He made a calming gesture. “There are two unicorns among my servants who should be able to help you with your questions. My family consists of earth ponies, as such, we are not as educated in terms of magic.”

Twilight paused with her questions. “Oh. Of course.” After a short pause, she added, “I would like to talk to these two unicorns.”

“Naturally, Your Highness. I will call them to you right after the feast,” the baron said.

This allowed Twilight to calm her curiosity enough that she could turn her attention back to her food. After contemplating it for a moment, she picked the fork up with a hoof and began to eat.

As the first course came to an end and there was a short pause before the second one, the baron turned to his guest. “Your Highness, you mentioned in your letter that you are interested in our family history?” he asked, curiously.

“Oh yes, that is correct. During my studies of Equestria’s noble houses, your family caught my attention. What I read has gotten me very curious.”

Climber smiled charitably. “Is that so? What exactly has caused your curiosity?”

Twilight, still thinking about the strange phenomenon, considered her approach carefully. “What does the name ‘Burning Snowflake’ tell you, Baron?”

He froze for a moment, before putting his goblet back on the table without taking a sip. For a second, he looked Twilight in the eyes, and she could see the cogs turning in his skull. At this point, she also realised how quiet everything was all of a sudden. The busy chatter all around her had stopped, and even the servants busy with replacing the plates stayed where they were for a moment.

“Yes, something strange is going on,” Twilight thought.

The baron cleared his throat causing the servants to go back to work.

“I do know the name,” the baron finally answered. “May I ask where you have learnt it?”

“In some filly’s tale books and comics,” Twilight replied, a metaphorical halo appearing above her head.

“Oh,” said the baron, hiding his relief behind a thick layer of self-control.

Twilight, however, was not fooled. As if she just remembered, she added, “And she is put down as adoptive mother of your patriarch in a book from the Canterlot Royal Library, which happens to be in my possession.”

For a moment, the baron looked like a foal caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. He sighed. “That is what I feared,” he admitted. “She had always ensured that this part of the story would not be forgotten.”

“Who do you mean ‘she ensured it’?” Twilight said, confused by the statement, yet continued on with her questions. “And which part of what story?”

The baron began to say, “I do not think that—” but was interrupted when Pleasant Smell put her hoof on his leg and looked him into his eyes, shaking her head. There was a quick exchange of opinions as their gazes met. Sometimes words aren’t needed to lead a discussion and like so often in these situations, the stallion lost. Again, Climber sighed before turning back to the princess. “Burning Snowflake—Princess,” he answered her question with considerable delay. “She had always ensured that it would never be forgotten that she is the adoptive mother of Compassion Snowflake.”

“You mean ‘was’, don’t you?” Twilight asked.

“Is,” Climber answered firmly. “My ancestor is dead, no doubt, but Burning Snowflake… Burning Snowflake is still among us.”

*Translator’s Note: Overmorrow is indeed a word, meaning the day after tomorrow. The translator is of the opinion it should be used more often, as it is shorter and more elegant than the more common form.

A Tale or The Truth

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One hour after the feast

The baron, his wife and Twilight sat in the kaminzimmer, or fireplace-room by modern translation, in the southern wing of the castle Dragonbite.

Twilight, had at first, been confused by the idea of a room being dedicated to a fireplace that wasn’t a kitchen. Most of the Equestrian castles, including castle Dragonbite, had fireplaces all about, so it seemed silly to designate one room in particular to a fireplace, beyond that of the kitchen. Upon entering the room, however, the answer became welcomely clear.

It was a small, yet cosy, room with a few bookcases and tapestries along the stone walls, interrupted only by the occasional sconce and its dim lighting. A small decorative carpet covered a tiny space of the cobblestone flooring as they sat upon the finely crafted wooden chairs with modest cushioning. The lone sofa and ottoman remained aloof and unused, having been politely refused by Twilight. Only a tiny table stood between the three of them, an even smaller chessboard sitting upon its top compared to the glassware that sat next to it. The fire burned hot behind the mesh screen of the large fireplace, muting some of its flickering light, but not the loud cracks of the burning wood.

Strangely enough, the room wasn’t blazing with heat. It was warm, but not inhospitable to where one of the glass pane windows would need to be opened.

The wonder of delving into regional differences was short lived once they had returned to their previous conversation. What had begun as only a little surprise conversation during the banquet, had quickly led to a serious debate on the possible and not possible, then to a fierce argument between the princess, who lead logic and magic theory onto the field, and the baron, who defended his family history.

Once the baron had unveiled that Burning Snowflake should still be alive, Twilight immediately countered with several logical reasons as to why this was impossible. The baron assured her that the facts of his family history were the truth only to have Twilight disclaimed them as ‘improperly recorded mouth to mouth family-lore’. This had offended the honour of the baron and his reply of ‘that logic and analysis alone could not explain everything’ had been significantly sharper than he had intended. This, in turn, angered the rational thinking princess enough so, that any of her social awkwardness or stresses had vanished, to defend the empirical research she treasured to the last. In short, one word led to another, and it would have been even worse if the baroness had not intervened and made the proposal to move the discussion to somewhere private after the banquet.

"There is no indication that Burning Snowflake was an alicorn," said Twilight from her chair at the right side of the fireplace, her voice filled with a trace of annoyance." If I read correctly she was a pegasus pony.”

"No one said she was an alicorn," replied Climber with clenched teeth from the other side. "I'm merely saying that she is still alive!"

"Then she would be over three hundred years old."

The baron exhaled slowly and said, ”she is even more than seven hundred years old."

"Why not one or two thousand if we are already at this point," replied Twilight snappily. "Apparently being immortal is no longer enough to be famous today. Next you will tell me that she can actually breathe fire like in the comic books. Why stop there for a pegasus pony, she might as well cast teleportation magic..."

"She can't teleport,” Climber said interrupting the princess. “Fire spitting and breathing, yes. Also, she can cast magic. But, again, no teleporting."

Twilight rolled her eyes and made a frustrated sigh. "I came here to solve this little mystery, not to hear nonsense about some heroine from a comic book. If you are not willing to take this matter seriously with me, Baron, I'm only wasting my time here," said Twilight as she began to stand up.

"Please, Your Highness," Pleasant Smell said, finally intervening in the matter, "calm down. My husband told you the truth as he knows it. The story of Burning Snowflake is closely linked to house Snowflake and is passed down from generation to generation. Climber’s intention is not to annoy you, Your Highness."

Twilight let herself sink back into her chair. The disbelief in her words was clear to hear. “So, if I am to understand you correctly, the adoptive mother of your ancestor was an immortal, magic enchanting, fire breathing pegasus pony." Upon seeing the baron’s sour face, Twilight remembered that even though she did not believe the tale, these ponies did. She began to wonder if she had, just perhaps, gone a little too far. “I don’t mean any disrespect, Baron. I am merely having a hard time believing as you do.”

The baron looked into Twilight’s eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Yes, Your Highness, we do," he said then immediately continued, "Forgive my anger Princess, this is about my family and therefore I take your disbelief very personally. I know that all this is hard to believe, but the story of Burning Snowflake has been told to me by my mother and she heard it from her father and so on. The records located in your possession are further proof of the truth behind it.”

"Wait a minute," Twilight thought for a moment then said, "You said your mother told you the story of Burning Snowflake? The whole story? How she became Compassion’s mother and how she came to live for seven centuries?”

"So it is, Your Highness," replied the Baron.

"And you can give me your word, that you and your family think this is the truth?" Twilight said, now with a spark of curiosity in her voice.

"Absolutely."

“Then I am all ears.” Twilight took a comfortable posture in the chair. With a air of confidence she said, "However, with my knowledge in history, I am sure I shall easily show you the errors therein."

"Then you know the official history of Equestria very well and trust in your knowledge, Your Highness?" replied Climber.

Twilight could not escape the feeling that there was something lurking in his voice. She leant forward and said, "I have carefully studied the history of our country and know it as good as I would know myself."

"Good, Your Highness, then you don't mind if I ask you a few questions about the official history first?” asked Climber.

"Not at all."

The baroness looked over at her husband with a raised eyebrow. She knew what he was about to do and asked with the way she looked at him, "Is this wise?"

He returned her gaze and in his facial expressions, "I'm not sure, but I think it might help to make her at least open to the idea of who and what Burning Snowflake is."

Pleasant Smell’s answer was letting herself fall back into the seat, a sign of quiet, if not agreement, but at least approval.

"You were involved in the events which concern the return of the Crystal Empire?" asked the baron to Twilight.

"Yes, I was."

"And you have knowledge of how the kingdom disappeared?"

"Also correct."

"May I ask you to reproduce them?"

"Of course, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated the tyrant Sombra, then imprisoned him in the ice of the North. But not before he could impose a curse on the kingdom to cause it to disappear for a thousand years.”

"Excellent Your Highness. Now, the curse was exactly meant to last for one thousand years, according to the story, correct?

"Correct.”

"When you, as one of the Elements of Harmony, reconverted Nightmare Moon to become Princess Luna again, you, at some point I would presume, possibly heard or read of how Princess Celestia banished her sister and under what kind of conditions, correct?”

Twilight nodded silently.

"Then you surely know the exact words of the prophecy of how she returns?"

"‘On the longest day of the thousandth year the stars will help her escape and she will try to evoke the endless night’," replied Twilight without hesitation.

The baron grinned triumphantly. "This is the exact wording of the official history of Equestria, Your Highness?"

"Word for word."

"Well, well, Your Highness, one final question." He looked her straight in the eye when he asked it. "If Princess Luna has returned exactly on the longest day of the thousandth year of her exile, how could she help defeat Sombra, who has cursed the Crystal Empire to disappear for a thousand years, when we all know that the Crystal Empire reappeared two years,” he said, laying special emphasis on the word and pronounced it very slowly, "after her return?" He crossed his front legs, appraising her movements as he waited for the response.

Twilight tried several times to reply, but only an ‘uh’ emerged from her lips.

"What did you mean by ‘uh’, Your Highness?" asked the Baron politely, but with some smug satisfaction.

"I mean…I think…that is…" babbled Twilight.

"Just spit it out Princess,” he said as he leant forward with a smirk.” I am greedy to get involved in your great knowledge.”

The baroness’s glare caught his attention, speaking loud and clear her thoughts. "Don´t overdo it dear, she is a princess. Show a little more respect!"

The baron looked back to Twilight, who now seemed to be engaged in a dialogue with herself. "...cannot be...official story...Celestia would...Luna there...was there..." Her mane had managed to roughen up in the brief moment that Climber was distracted by his wife.

Climber ran his hoof over his muzzle. "Are you okay, Your Highness?" he asked.

"I’m fine," she answered with a tinge of hysteria in her voice. "Definitely an inaccuracy in the transcript, yes, exactly an inaccuracy." Then she drifted back a little bit, "Celestia was there, she dictated it...controlled...Luna...a mistake, only a mistake..."

Now it became a little creepy in the baron’s opinion. "Um," he cleared his throat, "Your Highness, I'm sure Princess Celestia can make all of this clear. You simply could ask her when..."

"Yes, ask Princess Celestia...a great idea!" Twilight interrupted. Her horn produced a violet aura. There was a short bang and then a bewildered Twilight appeared one meter above her chair and fell back into it.

"Please remember that magic in castle Dragonbite doesn’t work too good," stated Pleasant Smell. "Besides, I think my husband meant you should ask Princess Celestia when you are in Canterlot the next time."

Twilight shook her head briefly to shake off the confusion. The ungentle recoil after her failed teleport had at least one good side effect, her thoughts were once again in order. She rubbed her forehead with her hoof. "Ouch," she muttered then thought, "I wonder why this castle has such a high influence on magic?"

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" inquired Pleasant Smell.

"Everything is alright," Twilight answered with a defensive gesture. "This was more a surprise than painful."

"Want to have some ice?" the baron asked.

"No, that won’t be necessary," replied Twilight

"Are you sure?" asked the baron again.

"Yes Baron, I’m fine. Now, getting back to your question," said Twilight." I do not know if it would be possible for there to be an error in the archives, or while copying the text...it’s so improbable.”

With a nod Climber took her reply to note. He could cite more events, but in terms of Twilight's reaction distancing himself from such desires might be for the best. "So you might agree to concede that sometimes the historians are—at times—a bit inaccurate or even simply wrong?"

"I am at least prepared to let this possibility take a place in my mind. That does not mean that I simply accept what you will tell me as the truth, but I’ll consider the possibility that your version also might be the right one," she said, then added after a short pause, “As hard as it is to me.”

"That's all I ask for," replied the baron. "However...I'm not sure you really want to hear this story." He hesitated for a moment, his mind deep in thought about how he would tell the princess about such a sensitive matter.

Twilight watched as the baron leant more and more on his forehoof, as he fell deeper into thought. “Baron?” she asked after a while, trying to get his attention.

“Darling?” inquired the baroness as the baron recovered himself, clearing his throat.

With a smile to his wife stating he was alright, the baron then turned to Twilight. “My apologies Princess. I was merely attempting to find a way to convey something that you may find...distasteful.”

“Baron, I have seen many distasteful things as one of the Elements of Harmony. I think I can handle it,” said Twilight.

The baron nodded in agreement to the statement. "Princess, you must understand Burning Snowflake..." he sighed and tried again, "Burning Snowflake...is not only the good matchmaker from recent comics. She is," he paused, taking a moment for the right words to form,"...less good-natured.”

Twilight scrunched up her face and asked, "What do you mean by that?”

"Well, this comic thing includes the last few centuries. Burning Snowflake has lived much longer, she has really brought many couples together as described, but..." he threw a glance at his wife. The baroness put her hoof on his foreleg, which again was resting on the armchair rest.

"Tell her my dear," she said to him with a small smile of compassion.

Climber turned back to Twilight who now was waiting patiently to sedate her curiosity with his explanation. "In the four hundred years before, her philosophy was based more on 'do what needs to be done,' as on the principle of kindness, compassion and forgiveness. She has herself liable to protect Equestria, like you do today, fighting against the devil-ones. Only now you try to reform them. I have heard of Discord, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer, all of which were defeated by you and the other Elements of Harmony and converted to be good." His face assumed a serious expression, "Burning Snowflake usually takes into account other measures."

"You mean she has banished them or turned them into stone as Celestia and Starswirl the Bearded have done?" inquired Twilight.

"No—well—some of them yes. She also has passed some to the Royal Guard or directly to Celestia. But the ones which were too dangerous or were just at the wrong place at the wrong time...no, that's not it. Let's just say, when it was the safest option for Equestria in the long run and it couldn’t be avoided…she did not hesitate to...eliminate the villains."

"You mean," Twilight wavered between bewilderment and disbelief, "she had...killed them?”

"Yes, Your Highness, that's what I mean.”

After this revelation, the ponies remained quiet for some time with only the crackling of the fire keeping the silence at bay. Then suddenly, a gentle knock at the door of the kaminzimmer stirred them from their quiet reflections. When the door opened a young yellow earth-pony mare with a red mane entered into the room. In her mouth she held a small tray with glasses, a jug of apple juice and some small snacks on it. Carefully she bowed slightly as she moved closer and placed the tray on the small table which was positioned between the other three ponies and the fireplace. When the mare passed by Twilight, the princess saw that a small foal, perhaps, one or maybe one and a half years in age lay on her back, sleeping.

"The kitchen chef thought you might want to quench any renewed hunger or thirst, Your Lordship," said the mare.

"Thank you Pencake," replied the baron.

Pencake bowed and replied, "Always ready to serve your lordship. Some extra wishes?"

"No, that would be all Pencake, you can go,” said the Baron.

After another nod to Twilight and the baroness, Pencake left the room and closed the door behind her.

Before the uncomfortable silence came back, Pleasant Smell took the initiative and filled the glasses. With a polite nod she gave one to Twilight, who took it with her hooves, the next to her husband and finally one for herself. "Cheers," she said simply, followed by them all taking a polite sip.

"So you say the mother of Compassion," Twilight linked back to the conversation, "was, forgive me, is a murderess?"

Climber stood up from his chair and walked a few steps toward the fireplace and looked into the flames. "No, not a murderess," he answered her question, "but she killed when she thought it was necessary." He called back a detail of Burning Snowflake’s story to mind. "Or maybe, once she has murdered someone," he continued, "if you believe the version of my great grandfather." He started to explain, "The records only tell part of the story. What happens before, after, or in between some events is always handed down orally. In the course of time, certain important factors are no longer as accurate as they were once remembered. We know with certainty, they have taken place in history and what has happened generally, but small details have been lost so there are different versions of certain incidents. Do you follow me, Princess? " After a nod from mentioned pony he continued, "It is mostly just only unimportant details, like the coat colour of a pony, the exact day or night time, little things, not the major parts of history. However, there are a few major moments that we don’t know exactly how they went. In the version that my great grandfather told there is a point where Burning Snowflake has murdered someone. Like I said, we don't know these moments with any certainty, but the possibility exists.”

"I think I have made a decision," Twilight said after this information. "Tell me your version of the events surrounding the life of Burning Snowflake, Baron."

Climber returned to his chair and put himself back into it. "As you wish, Princess." Taking a moment, he said to himself more so, "Where do I start?"

"At the beginning, Baron, I want to hear the whole story," Twilight interrupted his thoughts.

Climber looked over at her, "Well Your Highness," he said and began to talk...

700 years in the past

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Canterlot, 700 years ago

It was a balmy summer day in Canterlot; a few isolated cotton clouds moved lazily across the sky and provided shade for the many ponies going about their day's work, be it buying or selling necessities, visited friends or just enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Yes, even seven hundred years ago, Canterlot was a place full of life and joy, met with the hustle and bustle and loud noises that were typical for such a large town. So it is not surprising that hardly anypony took notice of the young pegasus mare who walked slowly through the great big city gate, under the suspicious looks of the guards. She hesitated after she passed the gate and came to a halt at the beginning of the wide boulevard, which led into the main market square and the heart of Canterlot.

It had been years since she had been here. A queasy feeling in her stomach worsened as she thought back to the last time when she was here. No, she did not have fond memories of the day she left this place. With difficulty, she shook off these thoughts and continued on her way. She did not have far to go, only a short distance along the boulevard, to the second well, then a right into the side street.

As much as she wanted to calm down, her nervousness grew with each step. The memory of the last time she had taken this route came back into her mind; she had fled, crying, full of despair. A small orange pony, little more than a foal, with long green pigtails. Again, she tried to ignore the thought. "That was years ago," she thought. “The ghosts of the past have no power over me!"

After a while, she arrived at the crossroad and could see her destination. A small white house in the middle of the street, on the left. There was nothing special about this house; it matched its neighbourhood in all aspects. But for this young mare, it once meant everything. When she had seen this house, her only thought had been ‘home.’

That was a long time ago...

In front of the wooden door she stopped; so often had she imagined her return to here, and every time she had rejected the idea. Now she was here—it had required all of her courage, but she had returned. Nevertheless, this was once her home. She had thought she would be able to leave it all behind, but she was wrong.

During her escape from Canterlot, she had turned her back to everything she knew. Her home, her parents, Canterlot—even the borders of Equestria hadn't been able to hold her back. She had gone far in her escape. So far that she had been to places that only a few ponies had ever seen let alone transverse. In her travels she had seen miracles beyond her imagination and the natural beauty of the world...and all the horrors that came with it, eagerly ready to devour a young and inexperienced pony away from home. But always, Fate had kept its hoof gently around her and she had survived when she should have not. Still, however great the dangers had been, rarely had she felt such fear as she did here and now. Slowly, she reached out her front leg, holding it a few inches in front of the door, only to linger there.

Her courage threatened to leave her and she already wanted to turn away, when suddenly the door opened and a dark brown pegasus stallion with a black mane appeared in the doorway. The stallion held a small briefcase in one hoof as he placed a cylindrical hat atop his head. He was still engaged in conversation with someone inside the house and did not register the pony outside his door at first. It was only when he took a step into the street and almost ran against her that he noticed her. "Oh pardon miss..." he began, then his eyes widened in shock and the briefcase fell out of his grasp. As he stood rooted, finally his eyes narrowed to small slits and sparkled at her angrily. "YOU!" he hissed, tired, yet audibly.

In her mind, this reunion had played hundreds of times, with all the possible beginnings and outcomes. So much trouble she had gone through to find suitable openings, greetings and responses. But now, in this moment, all she could say was, "Yes, father. Me."

Her father's face turned red, "DO NOT CALL ME THAT!" he yelled at her. "I'm not your father. You are an abomination!"

This outburst got them the attention of a few passers-by on the street who turned towards them.

"Father, listen to me—"

"How dare you to come back here, Snowflake," he snapped at her, "after what you've done!"

"What I have done!" Her temper was more than willing to take this fight but her conscience spoke up and reminded her that this was not what she wanted. She swallowed the venomous words that had quickly found their way up her throat and instead said, "Six years, Father. It has been six years since we last saw each other."

"And sixty would not have been enough," he replied, harshly. "Whatever goes on in your sick mind that you thought you could return, you were wrong. Leave and never, ever, return!" He flung the last words at her with fresh anger.

"Father, please..." she began, but in this moment another figure appeared in the doorway, a red pegasus mare, her blonde hair carefully tied in a ponytail.

The red mare stuck her head out of the door and asked, "What is wrong, Clip? What are you yelling for?" Then her look fell on her daughter, and she froze.

"Hello Mother," was all her daughter said.

The younger mare could read the emotions on her mother's face: surprise, shock, disbelief, rage and finally anger. Relief that she was still alive, or joy, were not included.

Snowflake’s mother quickly recovered and the older mare’s response was the same as that of her husband’s. "Do not call me your mother. I have no daughter. For me, Snowflake died six years ago!”

Meanwhile, a small group of onlookers had formed, which was rapidly growing. The many glances and murmurs came to her parents’ awareness, rather unpleasantly.

"Look what you've done again," her father snapped at her again, "It's just like before! You bring nothing but shame to this family!"

"It wasn’t me who started yelling in the street," was what Snowflake wanted to say. Instead, she began, “I—” but was interrupted again, this time by her mother.

"‘Me, me, me,’ yelled her mother. “It doesn’t matter if now or then, it always has to be about you!”

"You never thought about what your actions meant for us!” her father added. “You never did care about the consequences for us!" He took a moment to breathe, then continued, "You're not welcome here, go away and leave us alone before I call the guards!"

Now it was his daughter’s turn to look shocked. Sure, she had imagined many outcomes of this conversation, but that her parents would call the royal guard on her…despite everything, she did not think they would go this far.

"Y-y-you would?" she stammered.

"No, I wouldn’t. I do!" he replied and immediately yelled, "Guards!"

“He did it!” she thought frantically, “The Royal Guard of Canterlot will be here to arrest me!” With tears in her eyes, she turned around and made her way through the crowd as she escaped. "Just like six years ago," she thought.

The Fireplace chamber, Present

Twilight lowered the cake she was nibbling on, and with a curious and compassionate voice asked, “What did she do that would cause her parents to hate her so much?"

The baron spread his forelegs out with the bottoms of his hooves upwards. "Nothing we would say much about today, but back then, something unforgivable and heinous."

“Times change,” the baroness said from her spot at the window which she had yet to open. “So does the rhyme and reason behind such. Sometimes, there is no reason.”

“Well put,” the baron said, nodding to his wife.

"If it was that bad then I must know. So, what was it?" inquired Twilight, placing the half eaten cake back on the table.

After a moment of thought, the baron smiled mischievously. "Let yourself be surprised, Your Highness. Simply let yourself be surprised until I get to it later on."

Dissatisfied with his response, Twilight reached for her glass of cider again and took another sip of it, which coincidentally hid her disapproval. "Go ahead, please," she said, after taking a long sip, only to have a new thought catch her attention. “Actually, wait a second. Why’d her parents call her ‘Snowflake?’”

"You really pay attention to details, Your Highness," said the baron, pleased. "Well, her parents called her ‘Snowflake’ because that is the name they had given her at birth. The ‘Burning’ was added later, during her adventures abroad. Also, her cutie mark changed during this time; it was previously only one large snowflake. By this time, her snowflake had flames rising from its centre.”

"Her cutie mark changed? Twilight asked, sceptically. "How? Even I myself tried using magic to change a cutie mark, years ago. It did not go as expected."

"I'm sorry, Princess," replied Climber, "this knowledge was not passed on to me. To be honest, we know as good as nothing about the six years of Burning Snowflake’s absence."

"I thought that would be part of your family history?” noted Twilight.

"Fragments, Your Highness," said Climber. "As I said, the key events, or at least their results, are known to us, such as the change in her cutie mark. The details, however, like how this change was done..." he lifted his hooves again. "This knowledge is or was known, with the exception of Burning Snowflake herself, as far as I can say with any certainty, by only two others, and perhaps one more individual. But we're getting far ahead of the story." He thought for a moment. "Where was I? Oh yes..."

700 years ago

A lot can said about the Royal Guard of Canterlot today. Fleeing suspects were asked to surrender politely, or if they got caught, were brought down with as little violence as possible. In those times, on the other hoof, the guards put their trust in blunt violence. The principle was clear. If a pony tried to flee, the pony had done something wrong.

Burning Snowflake was now able to witness this herself, as she tried to escape through the busy streets. All it took from the guards was a quick glance from her to her father, who was screaming ‘guards,’ and they were on her heels, and those beefy ponies did not take the time to question witnesses or reconstruct the situation that had taken place.

Fortunately for Snowflake, there were just two earth ponies after her currently, but at any moment flying support could arrive. Shaking off her followers in the capital's streets was almost impossible; she needed a place to hide. Somewhere she could go and hide until they’d stop searching, or at least somewhere she could have a few moments where she was seen by no one.

Her mind worked hectically under the high pressure, comparing her memories of the streets and homes to what she saw before her. “A place to hide, a place to hide, I just need a few moments alone. C'mon Flöckchen you know this city, where, where, where?” Suddenly, a spark flared up in her brain. "The city administration, that's it!”

A yell resounded behind her,“Freeze!”

She risked a quick glance over her shoulder and saw that her pursuers were gaining on her. “Damn, these guys are fast,” she thought as she moved around the ponies that stood in her way. However, the ponies in question quickly backed away from her pursuers, making it a straight shot to her. She had no time to lose. She had to use her wings and fly off, even if it did draw in the flying portion of the guard down on her. She needed that head start more than the camouflage. With some mighty flaps of her wings, she flew over two blocks before she even noticed the pegasi and their spears had added in with her pursuers. From the corner of her, eye she saw the glint of their favourite weapons firmly gripped..

Although she knew that the guards would not kill her, a stab in her wing sinews from their spears, which would paralyse her, was always an option for them.

Fortunately for her, she reached the town hall with a few seconds ahead. Snowflake flew directly through the open entrance, where she pushed a few passersby aside. A barrage of curses and angry yells was the result. Without pause, she rushed to the second floor and into the left wing.

"Please, please, be there still," she thought.

From the entrance, the royal guard was now heard, storming in. Burning Snowflake ran around the corner of the corridor in which she was located and saw that her fortune had not left her. It was just like six years ago. With a relieved breath, she ran through the door into safety.

The three pegasi guards stood at the beginning of the corridor in which Burning Snowflake had disappeared.

"From here, she cannot escape, Corporal," said the youngest of them. "This is the only way out and above the building, guards are in position. Now we have her.”

"Your orders, Corporal?" asked the second guard.

"Search the premises," ordered the corporal, a yellow stallion with a blue mane. "Last Strike, the ones on the right. Doorbreaker, the other side. Capture the fugitive, if she shows resistance, subdue her.”

"Aye, Corporal!" they both replied.

The first door was on the left side, and it was on Doorbreaker to search first. She opened the door with her pink foreleg and held her spear ready to fight. "Royal Guard!" she shouted out loud, as she stepped into the room. The room turned out to be a small, windowless archive with multiple filing cabinets. A quick glance was enough for her to see that there was no hiding place for an adult pony.

Her red mate meanwhile had reached the first door on his side and had opened it. He faced a small office with a desk in front of the window. Behind it, a grey mare sat, processing a mountain of papers. Said mare looked at him sceptically when he announced that he belonged to the royal guard and was looking for an orange mare, hiding somewhere. The grey mare just shook her head and went back to her paperwork.

"Clear," yelled Doorbreaker from the hall.

Hearing Doorbreaker’s call from the corridor Last Strike stepped back into the hallway and shouted, “Clear."

Gradually they searched all the rooms of the corridor without finding Burning Snowflake, until only two doors were left behind the bend.

Last Strike looked at the symbol on the door that was next to him, and said, "That's your job, Doorbreaker."

The mentioned mare also looked at the icon, nodded and answered, "Ok, I’ll take care of this room." Carefully, she opened the door to the fillies’ room and walked inside. Three small stalls to her left, two sinks, each with a mirror above it on her right and on the opposite wall, a large open window. She rushed over and peered out. Doorbreaker saw the busy main road of Canterlot, full of ponies, and her flying colleagues from the guard, here, the orange mare could not have escaped.

The sound of a toilet flushing brought her attention back to the stalls. "Royal Guard, come out of the stall!" she shouted.

After a moment she heard the door lock jump up and lifted her spear ready for a fight. However, it was not the pony she was looking for who stepped out of the cabin, but a white unicorn with a yellow-purple mane and a confused look.

"My goodness," said the unicorn, "what is going on?"

"We are looking for a fugitive orange pegasus mare, "replied Doorbreaker." Did you see her?"

The unicorn went over to the sink and washed her hooves. "No, I'm sorry. I was busy. I saw no one," she said, and went straight for the door.

Doorbreaker nevertheless pushed the door to the other stalls open and looked in.

"Clear," she shouted as she joined Last Strike before the last door.

"Then she is in there," he guessed. “That's the only room left. If she were to jump out of one of the windows the others would have her.” Last Strike struck against the door with the blunt side of his weapon. "Resistance is futile! We know you are in there! You will come out!" he shouted.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Again, he pounded on the door. "If we have to get you, you will regret it!" he threatened.

Again, nothing happened.

"Ok, we storm in," he whispered to his colleague. "On my mark."

Doorbreaker nodded and brought herself into position on the left side of the door as Last Strike put his hoof on the doorknob. With a nod to Doorbreaker, he turned the handle. Doorbreaker kicked the door hard sending it crashing against the wall inside the room. A split second later, Last Strike stormed in, his spear raised to strike. Several brooms, mops and other cleaning equipment had been taken completely by surprise and stood calmly on the walls.

Fireplace Chamber, Present

Climber paused in his story to take a small sip of cider. It was lukewarm by now, but the flavour had not yet vanished. Collecting his thoughts, he poured some more cider from the bottle, mixing in with what lingered about in his cup, and tempted the beverage again. With a nod of approval, he sipped again, longer this time, then continued on with the story. "Burning Snowflake managed to escape from the guards,” he explained.

Twilight made a sceptical expression. "You said she ran into the same corridor the sergeants were searching, didn't she?”

"Yes, that is precisely what I have said."

"All the rooms were searched, and they offered no hiding place, correct?"

"Exactly."

"And Burning Snowflake could not escape through a window, unseen by the flying guards above the building?"

"Correct."

Twilight rose from her seat, walked around the room a bit, and thought for a while. Finally, she said accusingly, "You told me she couldn’t teleport, Baron!"

Climber nodded with a smile. "She isn't able to do so, Princess.”

"But... " Twilight started to complain, but the baron made a defensive gesture.

"Okay Princess, I will explain it to you. If you may return back to your seat?”

Twilight did as she was requested.

“You remember the white unicorn Doorbreaker meet in the bathroom?” Climber asked.

“Of course.”

“That ‘unicorn’, ” he emphasised the word, “was the camouflage of Burning Snowflake.”

“What?” Twilight shook her head, believing she misheard him. “Can you repeat that please?”

“I said this unicorn wasn't a unicorn, it was my ancestor Burning Snowflake.”

Twilight stomped a hoof. “I already told you not to fool me Baron and you never mentioned that your ancestor was a changeling!”

With a smile, Climber answered, "Is, Princess, not was, and no, I did not, because she is not. But I am glad that my story is able to surprise you from time to time. Oh but I should add that her ability to change shape was far more limited those days than today. She would fall back into her natural form when she fell asleep or got hurt or even surprised.”

There was a brief pause as Twilight collected her thoughts before she spoke. " How could she change her form when she…" Twilight hesitated for a second, "‘is’ not a changeling."

“Alas, I don't know. I only know that she covered herself in green flames during her shape-shift, which allowed her to grow a horn or let her wings disappear. It took only, as far as I was told, a few seconds for her to do so. I should also add that during the night after this terrible event she cried herself to sleep in her room at the tavern. Everything she had hoped to achieve that day, remained unreachable. For her at the time, this was one of the worst moments of her life.”

Twilight flattened her ears for a moment as she tried to rationalise the scenario until finally, she heard that ‘but’ in her mind. Her scholarly instincts quickly took control as she remembered the time she had transformed her friends into breezies. "Oh wait," she said, "Ok, ok, in theory, such a spell is possible, but only someone with great magical power can perform it. I find it hard to believe that a pegasus pony even can cast magic.” Then added, “It's so unbelievable."

Climber nodded sympathetically, "I understand your point Princess, but it is nothing but the truth. Compassion’s adoptive mother is a pony with amazing abilities. Although you are not convinced yet, she has lived through the history of Equestria for more than seven hundred years and influenced it for only a few years less than that."

Pleasant Smell once again joined the conversation, as she said, “As you heard, her skills were much weaker at the beginning than at later times. As you yourself repeatedly make the best example in demonstrating, magical abilities improve with age. Since your ascension to an alicorn, it is almost weekly that we hear of your latest successes, Your Highness. And Burning Snowflake became smarter and more powerful in her ongoing lifetime. Even Princess Celestia has…”

The baron cleared his throat forcefully.

"Oh. Forgive me, my dear,” Pleasant Smell said, ashamed, “I did not want to pre-empt your story. I know the enthusiasm with which you like to play with the emotions of your audience." She gave him a warm smile.

Climber blushed." Yes, sometimes I let myself be carried away a bit, don’t I?" He turned back to Twilight. "To get back on topic, many of the skills that were attributed to Burning Snowflake are hard to accept as true. However, we experience much more amazing things in the here and now each and every day. Princess Celestia can move the sun, Princess Luna visits the dreams of all ponies and can change them, and things you have seen and done..." he said, leaving the sentence hang as he shot her a meaningful look.

"Granted," admitted Twilight, "not everything that happened to me in recent years sounds instantly credible, but... " she trailed off for a moment. "Ok, for the moment I’ll accept that Burning Snowflake was able to change her form…excuse me, is able. What happened next? How did this poor pony become a figure of history? And what did Princess Celestia have to do with it?"

At the mention of her former mentor, Twilight shot a questioning glance at the baroness.

"Oh no, your highness," Pleasant Smell answered, "that, my husband has to tell you.”

"Fine," said Twilight. "And you still wanted to tell me what Burning Snowflake had done, Baron."

Climber implied a bow. "Well Your Highness, with the greatest pleasure."

First Try

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700 years earlier

After the fiasco with her parents, Burning Snowflake stayed hidden for a while, contemplating about her current situation and what she was going to do, that and tending to her new wounds of the heart. Her hopes of a reunion with her family had let her down more so than she had realised, and, for now, she was still on her own. But even with all the heartache, there was still a spark in her heart which gave her courage. For all of the years she had lived away from Equestria, not one day passed when she didn’t miss it. That was one thing that she had learnt very well; there was no substitute for the place a pony could call ‘home.’

This time she wasn’t going to flee to some unknown future far away from Equestria, rather, she would build up a new life—her life—here in Canterlot.

In her head, she had made a list of the necessary things to do, which obviously on the top was ‘find a job.’ After all, bits paid for the roof over one’s head, one’s food, and in her case, could be helpful in convincing some important ponies to look the other way.

The hostel which she slept was a prime example. With the bits that she had during her travels, she not only managed to get a place to sleep but also managed to arrange things so that nopony questioned too closely the behaviour of the strange white unicorn who came and left at any time of the day.

Of course, Burning Snowflake tried to act as unobtrusively as possible when around others, but to recall all the customs and traditions of Equestria, especially those of Canterlot, took some time. It was, for example, a bad habit to eat pancakes before lunch, or for pegasi to moult in buildings. They were only minor things, but, depending on who was around, breaking enough rules would eventually catch the attention of others, and it would only take one pony to ruin all her hard work. At least, until she created a new persona.

As long as she stayed in the form of a unicorn however, she obviously didn’t need to worry about losing feathers.

Sure, she was able to change shape if the circumstances made that necessary or if she was asked too many questions, but to integrate into society, she needed a fixed identity. It was obvious to her that her current form wasn't the one for that task, but it was good enough to make the first steps and make contact with the inhabitants of Canterlot. It was inevitable that she would make some mistakes during her first try. Hence, the excuse of ‘going back home’ was perfect.

However, there was one disadvantage to the form she chose. Ponies expected unicorns to use magic. That in itself was no problem for her, she only had to remember to create an aura around her horn every time she cast magic. In contrast to the magic of unicorns, however, her magic recovered far less quickly.

The second thing on her list was, logically, to build up a stable identity. Or, more accurately, prepare for it at the moment. She had to research a bit, but she already had an idea for her new background in mind and needed only to work on the details.

Burning Snowflake’s alter ego had to be somepony without any connection to her real family. The easiest way was to explain that her alter ego’s family was dead. This also would have the advantage that no one would ever ask why her ‘parents’ never showed up or sent a letter, and some compassion would come on top. On the other hoof, being an orphan would drop her down some steps of the social ladder and close some doors. It wasn't so much a problem at the moment, but it would be a problem for her plans for the future.

As an alternative, it was possible to find jobs for her imagined family that explained their absence. A family of sailors or pioneers maybe. However, they would had to have been settled long enough in Equestria to count as natives, but not so long that people expected to have heard of them.

The last big thing on the list was to, as she put it, ‘improve my control over my abilities’. Sure, it was a great advantage to change one’s form at will, but, and that was a big ‘but,’ nopony was allowed to see her sleep and more importantly, she had to avoid getting hurt. Not even the slightest scratch. Even if she only cut herself during cooking, per se, or got a bruise, her coat would immediately change color back to orange.

It was also quite possible that she could simply be so scared her disguise would just fall away, and she would return back to her natural form. It had happened before, to the horror of those present around her.

She had to work on that.

No less problematic was her ability to spit fire. Naturally, it was useful in many situations, but if she got the hiccups…

When it came to her attributes, on the other hoof, there was one that was bittersweet to her: her immunity to other magic. Oh, how much she loved and hated that attribute simultaneously. It was a blessing if someone tried to grab her magically against her will or if she was too close to an explosion of dark magic. Yet, it was equally a curse if she was watching a magical firework display, only being able to see the influence of magic had on basic substances instead of the colorful magical explosions themselves, or, and which was especially annoying, if she hurt herself and the doctor was a unicorn who healed with magic. By that point her cover would, quite possibly, be blown.

Unfortunately, this effect wasn't limited to the magic done by others; her own magic had issues with it too. Burning Snowflake had tried for a long time to find out why her transformations, on the one hoof, worked perfectly, even when she was magically burned out. And yet, on the other hoof, she was unable to heal herself or teleport even the shortest distance away. The same was true with the nuances of her transformations. She could change back to her original form, regardless of how wounded she was, but if she had become wounded while as her normal self, changing could become a death sentence.

So it came that Burning Snowflake, in the shape of a white unicorn, strolled through the streets of Canterlot. She didn’t have a fixed plan in mind for her search for work, rather she just watched for opportunities as she strolled by a few random stands, some craftsmen’s shops, and even some of the many small taverns that littered Canterlot. Even so, her interest in being a waitress or a salesmare was virtually nonexistent.

Nevertheless, it did her good to be part of the ‘other side’ of Canterlot again. Namely for the desirable behaviour of the inhabitants and the lack of guards.While she walked slowly through the colorful streets she noticed with interest the pulsating life on it. She passed by a few stands here and there where the sales ponies competed over the few customers that showed interested in buying little things and also was a few times nearly overrun by some fillies which played ball games in the side streets. All this strange but not unfamiliar nor unpleasant impressions drumming on her.

Burning Snowflake couldn’t help but smile when she recalled how much she had missed all this. In fact, she was so pleased with the view and the things that happened around her that she simply took a seat on a bench and spared a moment to simply watch.

After a while, she heard a pony speak up from next to her. “Excuse me, is this seat still free?” When she looked up to the source of the voice she saw a grey mare with a silver mane who looked back at her smiling.

“Oh, of course,” she responded, nodding, and slipped a bit to the side to make more room for the other mare. With a quiet sigh, said mare took the seat. By now, Burning Snowflake was able to see the heavy looking package on the mare’s back, which the mare placed down next to herself at that moment.

“That looks very heavy,” Snowy said.

“You could say that,” the other mare responded. “It feels good to drop it for a moment.” She stretched her back a bit. “It feels like I was carrying it for years, but in fact it was fifteen minutes at the most.”

“May I ask what’s inside?”

“Some tools for working with wood. They are a present for my husband; his birthday is today.”

Burning nodded before she said, “I am sure he will be very happy with it; give a stallion something to play with and he should feel lucky.”

The grey mare smiled. “So it is. He was looking for this for a while now and to his luck this week it was on sale.”

After that, some time passed in peaceful silence before the grey mare spoke again. “Are you new in Canterlot? I can't remember if I have seen you before?”

“What a good opportunity to test the credibility of my story,” thought Burning Snowflake. She answered loudly, “I’m from Vanhoover, I moved to Canterlot just a few days ago.”

“Oh really? You haven't the usual accent of somepony from the Northwest Coast.”

“My mother was from Las Pegasus,” Burning explained with the typical accent from that place. She spoke carefully and drew out the letter ‘s’ so that her attempt at saying ‘Las Pegasus’ sounded more like ‘Lass Pegasuss.’ “My father, however, was from Manehattan.” She cleared her throat and then continued on in a rather jovial voice. “Sure, he was really tough; married my mother when she just turned eighteen. Was before, let me say, he found work in Vanhoover. That was, I say, some kind of stallion.”

The other mare just blinked a few times and then said, “Excuse me?”

“Forgive me,” said Burning Snowflake with a smile, now again in her best Canterlot accent. “I was trying to say that my parents are from Manehattan and Las Pegasus, and moved together to Vanhoover before I was born. That’s the reason I am able to talk in so many accents. But I was sure it would be useful to speak the normal Canterlot dialect of Equestrian, so I learnt it too.”

"Amazing," said her companion. "To grow up with multiple accents is a unique experience."

"It also has its down sides. When I was small, I sometimes changed arbitrarily between different ways of speaking. As you have just heard yourself, it can be a bit…distracting."

The grey mare nodded. "Yes, it sounds a bit strange indeed. And your choice of words, don’t take it as an offence, but I imagine rather a longshore stallion from Manehattan to this than a venerable stallion from Vanhoover."

Burning Snowflake explained, "My paternal grandfather ran a transport company for goods from overseas. My father, since he was a foal, helped in the family business and so had almost daily contact with all kinds of people from around the world, such as griffins, minotaurs, and the like. During that time, he found out it is much easier to start talking to potential customers when he tried to speak in a slightly jovial tone, similar to that of the dockers. He was so proud of his discovery that he learnt their dialect in no time and started to apply it in everyday life. And so, over the years, it was his natural mode of speaking. At first, my grandparents were worried about the altered speech of my father, but it was good for business, so they tolerated it." She pointed to herself and continued. "It was inevitable that he passed the knowledge of his way of speaking to me."

"I understand, but I would suggest that you stick to the choice of words and the accent of Canterlot," said the grey mare. “At least for as long as you stay here. Some ponies would probably turn their noses and refuse to talk with you, if you address them in that particular accent.”

"I'll remember that. Thank you," said Burning Snowflake in a friendly manner.

The grey mare lifted her pack back on and pushed it back in place before she said, "Well, I should probably get back on the road. A good day to you."

"You too," she said, then thought, "Nghh, probably a bit too much. I have underestimated the bias of the residents of Canterlot towards strangers. I'll have to work on my story when I want to get a job...”

Fire-Place room, Present

"Forgive me if I again interrupt you Baron," Twilight said, "but I think that requires a more detailed explanation. As I understand it, Burning Snowflake grew up in Canterlot. The peculiarities of the local population should be familiar to her. And how did she know the accent of Manehattan, Vanhoover, and Las Pegasus? And how was she able to mimic them too?"

Climber used the break to take a sweet from the table and took a bite before replying. "I have a possible explanation," he began, "but I could be wrong."

"You mean you don’t know it?"

"No, I don’t know it; like I said, not every detail of the story makes it through the centuries." With a hoof in front of him, he prodded the air, as though to a fixed point. "However, if you allow, I have enough evidence to make a good theory." After a requesting gesture by Twilight, he continued on. "We know that Burning Snowflake had left Equestria for something around six years, and we also know, almost certainly, that she had not been in the land of the griffons at that time."

"How so?" asked Twilight.

"Quite simple." replied Climber, "Her skills are the clue for that. You see, if it was recorded in the griffon kingdom that someone, or somepony, had become immortal, learnt to cast magic, was able to shapeshift, and even spit fire, we would have heard of it. That, or at least there would be a historical reference to these things. There would be some old legend or a myth about it. Anyway, we would have a little clue, even if it were only a fragment of an old, semi-ruined text. If not for all of her skills, then at least for one or two." He stretched both hooves half into the air as he gave a dramatised shrug. "But there's nothing. That makes me feel confident to be right with the assumption that she wasn't there at that time.”

“Also, later on in her story, she made contact with the griffons and their kingdom. Her behaviour, as far as we are aware, can hint that she had never been in the griffon kingdom before."

"Other countries are not as careful in preserving their history as Equestria is," Twilight pointed out, "and it would be quite possible that all indications were simply lost over time. And even if not, it would be possible that we have simply not heard of them yet. The exchange of ancient knowledge between Equestria and the griffon kingdom is not the best."

"Like I said, it is only a presumption, Your Highness," replied Climber, "and I could be quite wrong. I'm going to assume either way that she was not there, or at least did not acquire her skills in the griffon kingdom."

"Okay, so if we assume that you are right, Baron, then how would you explain how she came to have her dialects?" asked Twilight

"A process of elimination, Your Highness. In my opinion, she learnt the dialects when she left Equestria heading westward on the waterway."

Twilight’s mouth hung open for a moment before she replied in surprise, "Westward? But with the exception of a few small islands, there is nothing there."

"Indeed, Your Highness, there is nothing else...that we know of.”

Twilight thought for a moment, then said, "In the history of the past centuries there have been repeated expeditions westwards, but they never discovered a new country. Some of the expeditions also end up missing; it is assumed that they sunk, or were otherwise devoured by sea monsters. Even later experiments using airships to discover new countries failed. Princess Celestia has forbidden sending any more expeditions into the Undiscovered West for the last two hundred years.”

Climber nodded approvingly and said, "And as it happens, a fleet of three ships disappeared without a trace on such an expedition seven hundred years ago. The Rose Carrier, the Dragonlance and the Pride of Vanhoover departed from Vanhoover, on course for the Undiscovered West. Equestria never heard from them again."

"And you believe Burning Snowflake was on one of those ships?" asked Twilight

"That's my assumption," confirmed Climber. He made an extravagant gesture before he then said, "There are good reasons that speak against the land of the dragons and the minotaurs. Even the Frozen North, the land of Yak's, drop out for me. Let's spare the details of why for a moment and concentrate on these three ships. Where the Pride of VanHoover and her crew were from is obvious. The Rose Carrier, on the other hoof, was built in Las Pegasus and was commanded by Golden Compass. The ship sailed for many years in the service of the merchant navy before becoming privately commissioned, or seemingly so. I am not sure if she was bought or rented for the expedition. Regardless, it can therefore be assumed that at least most of the sailors came from Las Pegasus, her home port. And last, but most certainly not least, was the Dragonlance'—"

He was interrupted by Twilight's raised hoof. "Let me guess, Baron," she said. "Built in Manehattan."

Climber smirked and replied, "Unfortunately not, Your Highness. Baltimare, actually."

The princess huffed, unsatisfied by the answer.

"Yes, it is somewhat unusual that a ship from the East Coast to be used on the West Coast, especially with a crew from Manehattan. The ship was, to be truthful, at least built in Baltimare, though; that much is historically proven."

"One moment please Baron," Twilight interrupted. "I can’t help but wonder how you know so much about an expedition that disappeared about seven hundred years ago?"

"Let's just say that you are not the first one to question this part of my ancestor’s story."

Up until that point, the baroness had remained silent. Now, however, she chose to speak at last. "That was one of the first things that I learnt when I married into this family; from the time at which the ponies, born into the House of Snowflake, first hear of her tale, each has a personal interest in the history of Burning Snowflake." She gave her stallion a warm smile before she turned back to Twilight. "It's kind of sweet that they hardly say a word about her to the world but also discuss every little detail among themselves with enthusiasm. My youngest is, for example, sure to have solved the mystery of how the Dragonlance came to the West Coast. He maintains the theory that a giant dragon raised the ship and flew it over to the Northern Luna Ocean. It was only when the crew was able to tickle the dragon with their oars that he dropped the ship.” The baroness grinned. “I wonder how long it will be before he makes the connection between the oars and the name Dragonlance.”

"Yes, well," remarked the baron, somewhat embarrassed, "there is quite a lot of room for speculation. The importance of Burning Snowflake for our family is immense, and calls for an outright hiring on conjecture." He brought the conversation gently back to the topic, "It goes without saying that everypony has to make their own theories about her, and adjust them if other clues are found. When I was a foal, I also had some very strange and outrageous theories about how she left Equestria and to which probable destination she was headed. Of course, over the years I was able to disqualify more and more of them."

"Why don’t you tell the princess how you had come to your idea of the expedition in the first place?" suggested Pleasant Smell.

Climber turned back to Twilight and said, "Does it interest you, Your Highness, or would you prefer that I continue with the story?"

Twilight was, for a moment, undecided as to what she was about to answer, but finally, her good manners prevailed. It seemed quite obvious that the baron wanted to tell how he came to his theory, and so she only replied, "Of course, Baron."

“With pleasure, Your Highness,” Climber began. “The whole thing started from the moment it was made clear that I would succeed my mother as her heir and become the next head of the house of Snowflake. She insisted that I had to care more about the laws and rules that must be abided by in order to lead a barony. To do so I visited the archives of Canterlot. I spent several weeks working through most of the books about laws and how they are created and why they exist at all. To be honest, I did so more because my mother told me to do so than out of my own interest. But on one of these days, I paid less attention to my studies; there was a Wonderbolts show that day, you see.

“Of course,” he was quick to add upon seeing Twilight’s disapproving raised eyebrow, “I had to catch up with my studies and so I stayed longer than usual at the archives, hence it was late by the time that I had finished and nopony else was around. So I collected my things and headed for the exit, but when I did so I passed by a bookshelf which had an open book still left on it. I was bored, and I happened to feel a strange…attraction to the book, and so I gave it a look. I was surprised to see a very detailed and well-drawn picture of a trade galleon. When I skipped a few pages, I found even more sketches and paintings which impressed me and so, impulsively, I decided to take it with me. It has its advantage to be a noble from the House of Snowflake for sure.

“That book told me a lot about expeditions, as well as what the ships of the day looked like. There were more specific things, too, including how one could make money from them and the dangers of doing so as well. It almost immediately aroused my curiosity, and so I was quick to take out more books on the subject. One told of long forgotten expeditions, including the one we are now talking about. Specifically, the expedition fitted the time period when Burning Snowflake disappeared from Equestria. I connected the dots and then the real history and my expedition theory were born.”

“Most interesting,” said Twilight politely, “and your theory would explain her accents...but not her problems with understanding the behavior of the inhabitants of Canterlot.”

“The explanation of that is much more simple, I guess,” said Climber, “she was still too young when she left Equestria. If she had only fled to another city, she surely would have learnt the peculiarities of the people of our nice and beautiful country whilst she grew up. This way, on the other hoof”—he raised his forehooves again—“she knew nothing. It doesn't matter which theory you believe as to where she had gone to, she only learnt the culture of that place.”

For a moment, Twilight was quiet as she thought about it, then commented, “That’s at least plausible, although not entirely convincing."

"What sounds unfitting for you, Your Highness?" the baroness asked. "I, myself, found this part was always the most convincing of my husband’s theories."

"I'm not sure," replied Twilight. "It seems somewhat suspicious that a pony of eleven years would be able to forget everything so simply."

Pleasant Smell smiled leniently, as her motherly wisdom kicked in. "As far as I know, you have no foals yourself, Princess?"

It was more a statement than a question, but Twilight shook her head.

"Foals of a young age are highly influenced by their environment, Your Highness, and I see it every day. When Burning Snowflake left Equestria she was about eleven years old and she fled under traumatic circumstances. It seems only logical that she repressed most of which she learnt here, and perhaps she wanted to forget it as well. If a foal is thrown into a new culture with this state of mind, they surely will learn the new culture in less time and abandon their old one.”

Twilight ran the hoof thoughtfully over her chin. "I'm still not entirely convinced, but I trust a mother's opinion. Now that we have clarified this, for the time being, how did the tale go on, Baron?"

The baron had, during the short time that Twilight had been talking with Pleasant Smell, managed to add some firewood to the fire and with the poker, jabbed them into place. "Of course, Princess. I will continue with the story, if you just give me a few seconds." After he was satisfied with the, again, pleasantly burning fire, the baron hung the poker back on the wall and returned to his chair to begin again with the story. "After Burning Snowflake’s first experience at telling her self-woven history to the Canterlot ponies, she began to further refine it. It was during this time that she managed to get her first job...”

Gravity of Fire

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It was late afternoon when Snowy, still in the shape of a white unicorn, returned to the inn after another unsuccessful day searching for work. It wasn’t that she hadn’t found any work she would have liked, it just so happened there were always good reasons that, unfortunately, spoke against it. Most of the time, she simply lacked the expertise that was needed. For example, the position as a gardener, which was advertised in the Canterlot newspaper, would have been ideal if only she could have changed into a true earth pony. That is to say, without their physique and earth tending talents, it was pointless. She might have been able to change forms, but, as fate would have it, her skills did not quite stretch so far as that.

Then there was the job as a weather pony, which was offered in the town hall, for which she simply lacked the necessary ‘relations’. As if that were not enough, there was also the further disadvantage of her abilities, or lack thereof. Such as that she could no longer walk on clouds. Sadly there was no spell yet that could allow her to do such. Not that it would have helped her anyway with her immunity to magic, and of course, to attach the spell to some shoes would be ridiculous. Just an accidental touch by her at the spot in question, where the spell laid, and ‘poof’. Even if such existed and such a thing happened would be the loss of her disguise.

And the apprentice's job at the blacksmith’s... Oh, how she had wished she could accept it. Working with fire... She sighed at the thought of it. As an apprentice no prior knowledge would have been required and, fireproof as she was, she could have formed masterpieces with her hooves. But it was that ability that prevented her from signing the contract there and then; there was no way to use her special abilities without attracting her teacher's attention. And then there was the risk of losing her disguise, in a burst of green flame, due to an injury. She could always change into one of the many ponies she had met on her travels, but that would not help her from the wrath of the master, or some other pony, from swinging tools at her, calling her a ‘Discord spawn’. But the thought of the heat coming up... How she would have loved it.

She could not help but think about her affinity for fire again; even though she had a rough idea of where her affinity for fire had its origin, she could not explain why she was so magnetically attracted to the crackling flames.

Funnily enough, caught up in her thoughts as she was, she could smell the smoke and fire as though she was standing next to the forge itself. She paused. Focusing her concentration on the here and now, she noticed that she had not just imagined it. The thick and pleasantly pungent smell of smoke and burning wood flooded the alley.

Looking for the source, she saw a small smoke column rising a few blocks to the east, which grew rapidly into the sky. Before she had even realised, her hooves had already started carrying her toward the fire.

Even though she had been unsuccessful at finding work, the last few days had taken her further and further from the centre of the Canterlot and to the outskirts of the city. Gradually, the paths and alleyways became familiar to her once again; the map of Canterlot, in her mind's eye, fresh and much more detailed that it didn’t take her long to reach the source of the fire.

In front of the burning house, a group of helpers and gawkers alike had gathered, whispering and shouting as Snowy arrived; the bells of the fire-fighting carriages coming from the distance.

She stared at the house as flames blazed from its roof. The window panes were cracked on the first floor, with the window boards already catching fire, but the ground floor was still spared from the flames. About a dozen ponies rushed frantically in and out as they tried to salvage anything valuable. Slowly something like a bucket chain began to form in front of the house.

Luckily, it looked as if the inhabitants were able to keep themselves safe; a small group had gathered around a family with three children and did their best to look after and comfort them. Right next to the group stood an elderly couple who looked, with tears in the eyes, at the burning house.

As Snowy came closer, she could also understand what was spoken. The little filly was wept bitterly, trying to escape the grip of her mother as she crying about something called 'Bluescale'. The mother had pressed herself to her foal and tried to calm her down, but to no avail as the filly’s wails increased. After a moment’s consideration, Snowy came to the conclusion that this ‘Bluescale’ was surely some pet of the child’s, and trapped on the first floor of the building.

Her instincts wanted to drive her into the burning building anyway, even if her logical side protested violently. In the end, it was the chance to do something good and the filly’s pet wouldn’t last long enough for the firefighters to arrive, which tilted the sensitive balance in favour of her instincts. She ran to the doorway of the house and disappeared inside, just as the first fire brigade carriage rushed around the corner.

The first thing she noticed was the dense smoke and the hellish heat. “Simply awesome,” she thought. The second thing she noticed was the hurried ponies, who quickly grabbed everything tangible and stormed out. Snowy, on the other hoof, scrambled up the small staircase to the first floor; one of the ponies called for her to stop, but she did not care.

The corridor, which she ran into, was already blazing in flames, with the smoke hindering her view. Three doors were to her left and two more to her right. A small part of her mind wondered why she did not have to cough, but for the moment she pushed the thought out and went to search for the room of the little filly. Randomly she picked a door and peeked into the room behind it. As luck would have it, her third attempt at doing so proved to be successful.

The sight which met her eyes was disheartening; the little bed with the pink bed covers was aflame, as was the small chest of drawers. In the northeastern corner of the room, she found a small, flat, tipped basket.

It burned.

Snowy feared she had come too late, when she noticed a movement from under the bed. Without hesitation, she flipped the burning bed and discovered a small blue-green turtle who had been hiding underneath. Its shell was smeared with soot, and it had retreated into itself. Snowy quickly reached for the turtle, pressed it with a hoof to her chest, and then ran back into the corridor and down the stairs.

Her heart skipped a beat as she crashed into a black monster lurking at the bottom of the stairs. She wanted to kick it with a hoof and was just preparing to strike when she noticed that it was not a monster, but a firefighter pony. The pony was wearing a black helmet that also concealed the face and only vaguely hid the eyes behind the tinted glass. The rest of the pony’s body, too, was mostly covered by a black firesuit, down to leather boots. Only a few yellow strips here and there served as an optical recognition aid. It was then that Snowy also noticed the little magical oxygen bottle on the pony’s back and the hoses that connected it to the helmet.

Her impact was not strong enough to throw the firefighting pony on the pony’s back but enough to make the pony take a few steps back before grabbing Snowy and pushing her towards the exit.

With the turtle still in her arm, Snowy was led straight out of the exit of the house towards one of the fire-brigade coaches, where a medical doctor was waiting. Without listening to her protests, he immediately tried to cover her with a little oxygen mask, connected to a small bottle of air, and began to inspect her body for burns. To Snowy’s misfortune, a few embers had caught themselves with some ashes in her fur, and while she was still trying to stop being covered with the oxygen mask, the doctor levitated a swath of cold water over the embers.

Only with effort was she able to keep herself from beating him; she knew, of course, that he only wanted to help her. With a dripping wet mane in her face, trembling by the violent temperature difference, and with the hooves of a strange stallion in her fur, her self-control was, as though, dependent on the strength of a silk thread.

To the doctor’s fortune, the little filly chose that moment to come over to the two of them, shouting excitedly for her turtle. The happy face of the small foal was enough to calm Snowy down again. The little one took her pet from Snowy’s hooves and squeezed it tightly before she leant against Snowy’s chest and thanked her most profoundly for the rescue.

"You've been very lucky, miss," Snowy suddenly heard from her side. The doctor had finished his investigation. "You haven’t suffered any burns, and, since you are not coughing, your lungs seem to have miraculously survived without any serious harm. I honestly cannot fathom how."

Now, Snowy gave the doctor a serious glare for the first time. He was a dark blue unicorn with a black mane and a cutie mark which depicted a small tube with a yellow heart on it. He wore a white tunic with all sorts of medical-looking tools in it, and around his shoulder he had strapped a small bag, probably containing bandages or healing ointment.

"Running into a burning building is not something you should make into a hobby, miss," he said, just as she was done with glaring at him.

"I'll remember that, doctor," replied Snowy. "Thank you."

"Only a medic, ma’am, not a doctor," he replied in a tone that suggested he had been saying that line more than necessary with ponies. "I will never understand what makes people want to play the hero, but usually I can put them back together after it."

Snowy glanced at the little one, who had expressed her thanks well enough, and happily ran back to her family.

"Honestly, it was not my original intention to enter the house," Snowy confessed, "but when I heard about her pet"—she pointed to the small filly—"being still in the building, I ran inside without thinking."

"What a wonderful story," he commented, with a little sarcasm, "which usually leads to the hospital and ends there."

"Hey, I was able to save the turtle, so it's not really so bad, is it?" she replied.

"Technically you should have come out of such with smoke poisoning and scorched fur," he replied soberly. "You were lucky; if you’d gotten yourself hurt and we had to save you in the end, you would have helped nopony." With those words he turned around and trotted over to the other helpers to help tend to the ponies who had been salvaging anything that they could.

"So really," thought Snowy, "you are doing a good deed and will be scolded for it."

She dropped her gaze back to the burning building. The fire brigade had begun pumping water from their vehicles into the building via hoses. Again, she felt that it would be a wonderful idea to walk back into the fiery building and look for a cuddly place to snuggle up on. She remembered one of the rooms having a half melted bedspring. "What in tarnation is the matter with me?" she thought, surprised. "I have a taste for fire, I was aware of it, but why did I have to throw myself at the first big fire presented to me? I am like a filly with chocolate!"

Feeling suspicious of her thoughts and wondering about her emotions, Snowy stayed still for a while near the house and continued to watch the firefighters as they worked. She couldn’t help but overhear a conversation between two of the fire brigade ponies.

When it was clear that there was no living creature in the building, and there was no longer a need to go directly between the flames, the two ponies dressed in heavy protective suits returned to their carriage and began to exchange their gear for something more manageable to help with regular firefighting. They took off their helmets and got rid of the magical oxygen bottles. Only their fire-protection clothing was kept on for safety.

One of the ponies was the same pony who had assisted her earlier; a violet earth pony mare whose face was now largely hidden by her sweaty yellow-blue mane. The other was an older light brown earth pony stallion. Their skill in changing their equipment while they continued their conversation was a witness of their long experience in firefighting.

"And again an operation without any significant injuries to civilians," said the mare.

The stallion put his helmet on the loading surface of the coach and opened the zipper on his side, holding the straps of the oxygen bottle. "These are my favourite operations," he said as he slid them off the back. "We get to be heroes and no one has to suffer for that status."

She put her bottle next to his on the loader and teased, "As if someone would call you a 'hero' when you just walk around while I do all the work."

The statement made him smile. "And no one is better at walking around uselessly than me. You will find it hard to find someone who even walks around as well as I do when I retire next moon."

"Maybe if we put a straw doll in your old clothes and put it on one of the carriages..." She let the sentence end.

The stallion laughed as he threw the tensioning straps beside his bottle and went to lend a helping hoof with the pumps. The mare, on the other hoof, turned in the opposite direction and trotted over to the hoses, helping one of her comrades hold them.

"Looks as if a place will be vacant soon," Snowy noted. "I think I know where I'm going to apply." She glanced at and surveyed the progress made by the team of firefighters, thinking, "I do not think it's as great as working in a smithy, but as long as I can keep myself from lying down into the fire it’s the right job for me."

She continued watching the fire-fighting for a while and a thought struck her. "Well, a unicorn would probably not be suited for the job." She sighed. "For the protective suit, I will probably have to be an earth pony."

First clue

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The laughter of the Princess of Friendship echoed through the fireplace room. At first, it was only a small smile, while the baron talked about the job that his adoptive ancestress had chosen, but had grown steadily until Twilight could no longer suppress it and laughed loudly.

"What amuses you so, Your Highness?" asked Pleasant Smell.

Twilight wiped a tear out of her eye and took a moment to bottle up her laughter just enough so that she could answer. "A fire-spitting pony at the fire department! I just had to think about how crazy it would be if my assistant Spike decided to join the fire department. Imagine a little dragon at the fire brigade; what a splendid irony!"

The baroness and the baron exchanged a perplexed look. Of course they knew that the princess' assistant was a little dragon, but the amusement that she found was something that they could not share.

"A good choice for a fireproof species, I would think," the baron commented a while later, when Twilight had calmed down again.

"Sure," agreed Twilight, "but the idea of it is still amusing." For a moment she remained amused at the tale, then she continued, "And, did she get the job?"

"Yes. There were, of course, a few initial difficulties, but she got it," answered Climber. "It was much more difficult, however, for her to ensure that no one discovered her special abilities."

"For a while now I’ve had a burning question: why is she hiding her abilities at all? I mean, she could, as you say, do a lot of things for both her own entertainment and the safety of others,” said Twilight, “for example the forging."

"To answer that question, you must consider the…nature of ponies at that time," said Climber. "Society was much…less friendly…or in a word: hostile, to beings with unusual magical abilities. Discord had dominated the throne only three hundred years before, and the remnants of his 'regency' were relatively frequent in the dense forests and mountains of Equestria. I personally think that the way she was hated by her parents when she returned had something to do with her secrecy; had she been kindly received by them, or at least politely, she would have maybe revealed her true nature after a while."

"As you describe it, Canterlot was probably not a very friendly place at this time," commented Twilight. "So, I can not quite understand why Burning Snowflake stayed, homey or not."

"As for the other places, just ask yourself this: which places would have been better? Las Pegasus, Manehattan, and the others at that time—I do not think they were not very different from Canterlot in terms of the treatment of strangers and magical individuals—aside from unicorns and Celestia herself, of course. Canterlot had the advantage that she at least knew it a bit."

"Please wait a moment Baron," interrupted Twilight. "Canterlot also had the disadvantage of bad memories." She pointed to Pleasant Smell in a casual manner and said, "You told me that a young foal would probably want to quickly forget their own culture if it meant fleeing under such circumstances, even if you have not told me yet exactly what those circumstances were." She sent a reproachful look at the baron. "It seems illogical to me that she did not turn her back on Canterlot immediately after her meeting with her parents, and settled in one of the other cities. By staying in Canterlot, she would always be reminded of those events."

"True, Your Highness, but I don't think that Burning Snowflake acted logically in this matter. For her, in my small opinion, Canterlot was the only town she had a personal connection to, whether good or bad. If she had decided to leave the capital, she would most likely have left Equestria.”

"Excuse me, Baron, but had she not done so already?" Twilight argued. "Why not a second time? She travelled the world, according to your version of events, and she returned with amazing abilities. When she first left she was young, weak, defenceless; if she had left at this point, she would have been prepared and more than capable of defending herself."

"Again, true," Climber replied, "she could have done better than before, but who knows what she found out there? ‘Homesickness’ has been the reason for her return told to my family throughout the centuries, but what if it wasn’t the only one? I would have thought that it would be more than possible that there was more to it; what if she was being hunted by some enemy or there could have been a war or windigos or worse things? Maybe her return also had to do with her new instincts; she didn't know herself so well at this point. Just because we have not heard of these reasons doesn't mean they couldn't exist.”

After saying so the baron fell quiet for a little while, and Twilight worried that he was not going to speak again; when she tried to do so herself his expression changed and he said, "Yes, I think it's time for a little more background knowledge for you." The baron looked at the princess questioningly. "Do you remember that I said only two ponies had certain knowledge of how the change came to be?

Twilight nodded.

"Well, without wanting to get too far ahead in the story, I can tell you, if you have not already guessed, that one of them was my ancestors Compassion Snowflake."

"I had taken this into consideration, Baron," replied Twilight, "but I decided against it because of your incomplete information about Burning Snowflake's absence from Equestria, and if your ancestor knew how it had changed, it should actually be in your family history."

Climber shook his head, "No, Your Highness, this knowledge was deliberately withheld. Compassion and his adoptive mother had no secrets from each other, but that does not mean that he shared all of his knowledge with the rest of the world, not even the rest of the family."

"I had thought that the knowledge was lost, but it appears I was mistaken." Twilight paused before she said, "It makes logical sense after thinking about it."

"I am surprised," Pleasant Smell said. "Very few ponies who have heard Burning Snowflake's story are of this opinion."

"I conclude from your words that you agree?" asked Twilight.

"Certainly, Your Majesty. In contrast to the majority of my family, I see the danger of giving all ponies access to such powers."

Climber, who apparently disagreed, added, "If all these skills were open to everyone, there would be no big issue; problems would only result if the access was limited and only a few ponies with enough influence and power could get access to them."

"Like a certain family with a very particular ancestress?" Pleasant Smell raised an eyebrow.

"Family is different," said Climber.

At first glance, it was obvious to Twilight that this was a longer dispute within the Snowflake family. For a moment she was tempted to watch the whole thing to get some more information, but she quickly decided against doing so. Supporting the baroness actively in this matter seemed, at the moment, unwise to her as well. Although Pleasant Smell was right, in Twilight's opinion, this would surely serve only to anger the baron and negatively affect his readiness to reveal to her more background info.

As the Princess of Friendship, she saw it as her duty to settle this dispute as soon as possible. So, with a little disappointment, she interrupted the emerging discussion and said, "I'm sure there are many pros and cons for both sides, but maybe we should return to it later and turn back to the real issue for the moment?"

The two nobles exchanged a glance, and in quiet agreement, they dropped this subject and turned back to the original.

"I agree with Climber," said Pleasant Smell. "If Burning Snowflake wanted to stay in Canterlot, due to her new instincts, it could have subconsciously played a role. Canterlot is the centrum of power in Equestria after all, even more so those days than today."

"How come?" asked Twilight.

Pleasant Smell exchanged a look with her husband, the latter nodding after a brief hesitation. "As will be made clear over the course of her story, she feels more and more attracted to sources of power over time."

"You think the power has corrupted her?" insisted Twilight.

"No, Your Highness, not as you think," corrected Pleasant Smell. "She did not show interest in grabbing or using the power; she just wanted to be close to it. It was a bit like how she reacted with the fire; even though she did not know why she was increasingly under its spell."

“Interesting,” Twilight thought aloud. “The affinity to fire and power as well as the ability to spit fire is actually characteristic of dragons, even if they do tend to strive, with little regard for their actions, for greater power as they get older. Baron, are you certain that Burning Snowflake never travelled into the dragon lands?”

"No, Your Highness, I am not. I merely think it would be very unlikely," declared the baron.

"Please be so kind and explain?" asked Twilight.

"Well, for one," began the baron, "you must consider the duration of her absence. Six years is a long time to be away for a place that can be reached in just a few days. And, as Compassion himself said, homesickness was one of the reasons for her return. According to her own statement, she had missed Equestria nearly every day; had she lived only a day's flight away, she would certainly have had a chance to return, even if for just a short while. And, furthermore, dragons have never been known for their hospitality; a little, helpless pony would surely have ended up as breakfast." He paused for a moment, then continued, "And, I have to confess, I hope that she was not there. If she was, it would mean that however she got her abilities, they would not be available to us."

"And you came to that conclusion...how, Baron?" asked Twilight.

"Well, Burning Snowflake, in her long life, inevitably lost a friend or two. Such is one of the disadvantages of immortality, and..." He paused when he came to the realisation that this statement seemed to have hit the princess. Her gaze had wandered to the ground and her posture had changed from relaxed to defensive. Climber was quiet, if only briefly, confused, but then realisation hit him. "Forgive me, Princess, it was not my intention..."

Twilight raised a hoof. "It is all right. Go ahead, Baron."

Climber cleared his throat, then went on. "Let's say if the key to immortality was lying directly in front of our doorstep, I’m sure Burning Snowflake would have saved some of her friends from death."

Twilight's gaze wandered over to the chimney fire and hung there. "Yeah, I'm sure she'd have done that," was all she said.

Climber looked helplessly at his wife. She, too, had immediately understood what the princess had to deal with, but could do nothing about it. There was a reason why ponies called it 'the curse of immortality' and not 'the blessing of immortality'.

"Perhaps a break will do us all well?" Pleasant Smell suggested. Looking out of one of the large windows, she then said, "It must be late afternoon, Climber. Would you mind to see if dinner will be prepared soon? We don’t want the princess to go hungry."

Climber looked irritated but, after his wife sent him a pointed glance, he rose hastily and said, "Surely a good idea, dear. It would be incredibly rude of us if we were to keep Your Highness from eating. I shall take care of our meal immediately." After a little, unenthusiastic nod from the princess, he quickly left the room.

Pleasant Smell let a few minutes elapse before she began to talk once again. "You worry about the future, Princess?" she asked sympathetically. "I can see your pain; you worry about the fate of your loved ones, since you are doomed to suffer the same fate as all immortals."

It took a moment for the princess to respond and when she did she just nodded, without looking away from the fire.

Pleasant Smell took a sip of apple juice from her glass and took the time to find the right words. Finally, she decided to approach the issue from a different angle. "This is one of the things that my husband does not understand—or maybe all stallions have a problem with it. The transience of the ponies around us; family, friends, ponies close to us. Stallions simply lack the feeling for the circle of life that we mares have. Where we come from...to there we shall return, sooner or later. No one will disappear forever. " Twilight glanced towards Pleasant Smell, and she continued, "It is our loss that hurts, not the fate of the one who returns. When the last star is extinguished, and the last of the light has disappeared, we all meet again Your Highness."

"You believe this, Baroness?" Twilight asked.

"On the whole... Yes."

"A very philosophical way to look at this all," said Twilight. "What if you are wrong, and that death really is the end?"

"Does it matter then?" the baroness replied. "When death is the end, it does not matter what you do, did or will do. If you follow this view and believe that, at the end of each day, nothing is of any importance, you won’t ever get very far, nor will you be content." She let the words sink in for a moment, then added, "If, on the other hoof, death is another step on the long path of existence, you will see your beloved ponies again one day."

"It is a reassuring thought, at least," said Twilight sadly. "But, even if that is the case, I will inevitably outlive my friends."

"And no one will be able to replace them," agreed Pleasant Smell, "but, I am sure you will get to know new friends. Who knows; perhaps at this moment one of your future best friends was born, or her great-great-grandmother. Temporary loss will be a constant companion throughout your sovereignty, but you must always keep in mind that it is not a permanent bereavement."

Twilight nodded again, then she looked into the eyes of Pleasant Smell and said, "Thank you, Baroness."

The Baroness got up from her chair, walked over to Twilight, put her hoof on her shoulder and said, "Anytime, Princess."

"Twilight. Just Twilight is enough."

"As you wish Your... Twilight," Pleasant Smell said with a smile, "but then you must also call me by my name."

"All right." Twilight smiled again. After a small but not unpleasant pause, she then said, "I think I heard something about dinner?"

"Of course. In about half an hour, I would hope," said Pleasant Smell, "but in the meantime would you like to, uh… Would you like to refresh yourself?"

"A good idea," said Twilight with a nod.

"I'll send a servant to pick you up," offered Pleasant smell.

"That would be nice."

***

Finding her way around the castle was not a challenge for Twilight. Without hesitation, she always turned into the right corridor and took the correct steps at any time. Growing up in Canterlot Castle, she had been well acquainted with the general construction of castles and palaces and once one understood the basic principle, it was easy to compensate for the small changes that the architects had occasionally managed to add.

She was still two corridors away from her destination when she came across a brown unicorn who was just about to push a car with dirty laundry. In the events that followed the festivities, she had completely forgotten that she had actually wanted to keep a conversation with the two unicorns of the baron's accord. Well, at least she could now catch up with one of them.

"Hello," Twilight began.

"Oh, Your Highness!" the brown unicorn said with a bow. "What an honour."

"Do you have a moment for me, Mister...?"

"Chisel. Certainly, Your Majesty."

"Very well, Chisel. I’ve got a few questions about life here as a unicorn in castle Dragonbite."

He pushed the cart to the side and said, "Go ahead, Your Highness. I am fully at your disposal."

"I am particularly interested in how the castle affects your magic, because I have been having some difficulties with it myself."

"I'm not surprised to hear that, Your Highness. I've been working for the Baron and his family for more than three months now, and I'm still not even able to get the simplest levitation spell working without great difficulty."

"And other spells, for example, like light?"

"Takes much more effort than usual and have a very unstable effect. Have you not tried it yourself yet?"

Of course she had, with the result that she had only managed to make a mediocre light at the top of her horn which flickered a lot. But she wanted to know how it affected others, so she said, "Yes, but I would like to hear your experience with this strange phenomenon. Tell me, is this phenomenon restricted to the property or does it extend further?"

"Mhh, the exact range is difficult to determine, but it is not limited to the property. I would say that there is about a one or two hundred meter radius around the castle where unicorn magic is…unstable at best. Give or take in certain places."

"Interesting," Twilight murmured to herself. "And does the effect suddenly stop, or does it take a while for one to regain one’s magic?"

"It is a quite abrupt change, Your Majesty. As soon as a pony has left the area around the castle, they are instantly capable of performing magic without restriction."

Twilight tapped her chin with her forehoof. "Sounds like a magic dampening field to me; variable in the range of action, depending on the obstacles."

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"Oh, forgive me! I read some time ago about magic dampening fields. It is something like the predecessor of the protection shield spell."

It was easy to recognise the bewildered look of Chisel, who seemed to have gotten lost in Twilight’s technicalities

"Uh, don’t worry," Twilight said, then thought, "If it has a variable range, it would naturally be stronger towards the centre and the absorbed magic would need a valve to escape, unless it is not a dampening field but a suppressive field, but then it would need a constant energy source for ongoing operations. The baron mentioned it has existed for centuries, so it is either not a suppression field or someone is filling up the energy again and again."

"Is there something else you want to know, Your Highness?" Chisel asked.

"Yes. What is the effect on magical items?"

"They lose their ability to function and have to be recharged as soon as they have left the grounds around the castle. The household items here at castle Dragonbite all run on electricity, from the washing machine on the ground floor to the mixer in the kitchen."

"Was that always the case?" enquired Twilight.

"Unfortunately, I can not answer that, Your Highness. I only know that it has been the case since I started to work here."

With this information, Twilight unfortunately could not do much. "Thank you for your time, Chisel," she said. "I think that will be all my questions on this topic for now."

"Was a pleasure to help, Your Highness," he said as he bowed again, reached for his laundry cart, and pushed it along the corridor.

"I think I have an idea," Twilight thought.

When Twilight entered the dining room half an hour later, accompanied by the attendant, she immediately noticed the immense difference to the great hall. This room placed much more emphasis on comfort and aesthetics rather than for pomp. Whoever was responsible for its design had created an atmosphere of cosiness and tranquillity and had not intended to show off for the ponies who were present in this room.

Twilight liked the hall immediately.

In contrast to the festivities at noon, this time only the family of the baron and a few servants were present. While the servants bowed respectfully to the princess, the baron and his family rose and waited for her to take her place at the table. One of the servants helped her with the chair and, after he had told her which dishes were available, he took her order for dinner and departed with haste.

While she had sat far away from the youngest members of the present Snowflakes in the main hall, Twilight was now seated close to them. Because of this fact, the two were overly excited. It was with great difficulty that the baron's young son, only nine years old, had been able to stop himself from jumping behind the princess as she approached the table to get a feather from her as a trophy.

The baron's somewhat older daughter, after all fourteen, managed to be a little more calm on the surface than her sibling. However, she could not risk that her little brother would be the first to take one of the princess’ feathers. Both had tried in vain after the feast to bring an intact feather of the princess’ into their possession, however, the three feathers which they could find were quite broken. Although Twilight knew nothing of the two collecting her feathers, she did notice, them 'unobtrusively' getting closer and closer.

"I hope the food is to your satisfaction?" asked Pleasant Smell from her seat, the second from Twilight's left. "If you don’t mind a little waiting time Twilight, our chef is sure to be able to prepare you something else if you want."

The shock of the very personal address by his wife was obvious to see in the baron’s face for a moment before he could conceal it behind a mask of serenity. Apparently, Pleasant Smell had forgotten to tell him that she was now on first name terms with Twilight. On the other hoof, the little smile on her face, which grew around the corners of her mouth, indicated that this was not an accident. As in most good marriages, there was also an imaginary scoreboard between the spouses and the baroness had just won a lot of points.

"Thank you," Twilight answered. "I'm looking forward to trying one of the salads."

The many exercises he had gained during his reign over his barony would normally have allowed Climber to cover his astonishment. Against his own mare, on the other hoof, it unfortunately did not help him. "This is one of these mares things that I will never understand," he thought. Loudly he said, "I'm glad to see you feel better again Princess."

"Yes, thank you Baron," said Twilight.

One of the servants, who carried a tray of drinks, came next to Twilight and inquired as to whether she would prefer a cup of tea or a glass of juice.

"A tea please." After the servant left a cup in front of Twilight and filled it with tea, she turned to the baron and said, "I had the pleasure to met Chisel on my way to my room."

"Ah, yes," the baron went on. "I hope he was able to answer your questions?"

"Partially. He has brought me to an idea, so I would like to start tomorrow morning with the search for the source of the magic-suppression which takes place on the site of castle Dragonbite, with your consent."

Climber exchanged an astonished glance with Pleasant Smell but then answered, "Certainly, Your Highness, if you so wish."

"May I ask what brought you to this idea, Twilight?" asked Pleasant Smell.

"Chisel told me that the effect has a variable range. Depending on the type of field, the maximum range should be roughly determined by its centre," explained Twilight. "I need, however, a plan of the castle grounds," she went on, and now spoke to the baron, "and do so hope you will let me take on the help of Chisel and the other unicorn courtiers that make up your staff."

"Of course, Your Highness. I will tell Chisel and Barksurfer to report to you and support you tomorrow morning. Are you ok with that?" asked the baron.

"Yes, that sounds good. Thank you, baron," said Twilight.

Climber nodded and turned to one of the servants. He immediately gave the order for all of the necessary arrangements to be sorted.

"After the meal I would be honoured if you would follow me into the library, Your Highness," said the baron to Twilight. "In the books there are records of the floor plan that you would like to have, and it would be my pleasure to lead you through my ancestral gallery, too."

At the word ‘library’, Twilight's wings opened with enthusiasm. "Great!" she exclaimed. "I was hoping that there was a library in the castle!"

"Of course Your Majesty, our collection of older historical texts is quite extensive, and shortly after my ancestor Compassion made this castle his homeplace he began to write down some of his mother's contemporary witness reports. He was not much of a reader himself, but he believed it to be his duty to pass on to his descendants the knowledge which he was fortunate to gain access to."

At this announcement, Twilight's eyes shone brightly and she scratched excitedly with her rear hooves on the ground, giving Pleasant Smell the impression of now having three impatient foals sitting at the table.

History is fiction

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"How exactly will your search proceed, Your Highness?" Climber asked. "You seem very confident in your ability to find the source."

Twilight, who trotted next to the baron through the corridors of Dragonbite Castle, was very willing to explain her plan, as she began, “My plan is to go through the radius of the phenomenon with your two servants. For this, of course, we need the map to record our measurements and to reconcile them with the circumstances of your family seat. I expect a somewhat circle-like area of effect, depending of course, if walls, buildings or other things within will affect the range."

“And you think that would lead you to the source?”

“In any case, I can limit the expected horizontal position, however, I will have to measure for the vertical position by myself as your servants cannot fly.”

“If it helps, I can let Barksurfer and Chisel each get carried by a pegasus, Your Highness.”

Twilight thought for a moment. “If it doesn’t cause too many inconveniences, it would certainly be very helpful.”

“Then it is decided,” said Climber.

“Thank you, Baron.”

A few minutes later they reached their temporary goal. Above the wooden oak door, a small recess had been made into the wall, from which a marbled pony head looked kindly down at her. The marble bust appeared somewhat weathered from age but otherwise completely preserved. As she looked more closely, Twilight realised that the marble head still had small remnants of pale blue.

“Is this?” she asked, pointing to the bust.

“Yes, Your Highness, this head is a replica of my ancestor, Compassion Snowflake.” He stepped forward a few steps and opened the door with a heavy iron key, keeping the door open for Twilight, and with a prompted gesture, he invited the princess to enter. After Twilight had passed him, he also entered and closed the door behind him. “Welcome to the ancestral gallery of Snowflakes, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight persisted in step with this over-formal salutation. It seemed to her as if the baron expected a proper answer from her, but she could not imagine what or how she should answer, so she just stopped.

The baron, on the other hoof, went past her into the middle of the room and lit the candlestick standing on a pedestal with the help of a match. The fire spread a little light in the otherwise dark room. The curtains in front of the only large window were almost completely closed and the sun had already reached the edge of the horizon, not long before Celestia would push it all the way from the sky to make space for the moon.

From habit, Twilight tried to cast a ball of light herself, but the success was only very moderate. Flickering light brightened the room for a while, affected by the mysterious phenomenon, but the improvement of visibility was little at best and so she let the light spell go out.

In the light of the candelabra, the room was very long drawn. On the walls hung portraits of ponies with small gilded nameplates among them. Important dates were noted on the signs; the time when they were the head of the Snowflake family, their date of birth and their date of death. Some even had their most important deeds noted.

Eleven portraits, counted Twilight, and there was still room for some more.

At the end of the room, on both sides of the window, Twilight could see some showcases. They contained as far as she could recognise several small items and a few great heavy books. There was also a lectern with a chair in front of it.

At the end, a large chandelier on the ceiling dangled. Bright light flooded the room as she pressed the light switch.

With the now useless candelabra still in his hoof, the baron remarked with a well-hidden trace of anger in his voice. “You really know how to spoil a carefully prepared mood for a little history lesson.” He blew out the candelabra and set it back on the table.

“Uh,” said Twilight, embarrassed, “I didn’t know. I can turn the chandelier off again.”

"No, Your Highness, now it's too late.” Climber sighed. “Anyway, if you will allow, I'll lead you through the room.”

“Gladly,” replied Twilight quickly before joining the baron.

Eventually, Climber stopped and straightening himself, pointing to the first portrait on the wall to the left of the door. “This is, as you can see, Compassion Snowflake," he said proudly.

Twilight inspected the picture carefully then slowly moved closer to read the words on the plaque. It stated that Compassion had ruled House Snowflake for twenty-six years and that it was three hundred years ago. The plaque also told that he was the son of Burning Snowflake. Upon further inspection, Twilight noticed that the words were in cursive instead of being engraved in a standard font. Following afterward detailed that house Snowflake was only created by him. With a short look at the other plagues it was obvious that Compassion’s was the biggest with the most information about his life.

“Twenty six years?” Twilight asked, curiously. “He must have been very old when he became a baron.”

Climber just shook his head slightly. “No, Your Highness, he was twenty four years old when he rose to the aristocracy and founded the house of Snowflake.”

“If he was twenty four when he became a baron and remained as the head of your family for the next twenty six years, his death must be at fifty years old.”

“You misinterpret the circumstances, Your Highness. I suggest that you read the rest of the plaque," Climber suggested, "Of course it will explain at which age he actually died and why this meant that he wasn’t quite young at this day as well.”

After Twilight reading, she announced to her astonishment, "He has it arranged so that every head of the Snowflake family will give his position to the next in the order when he or she reaches the age of fifty.” She looked back at the baron. “Why?"

"To be sure that there will be room for the next generation, Your Highness. He had the opinion that with old age comes with a certain stubbornness and a lack of ability to go in new directions. Compassion was not born as a noble, so he was able to see it from a different angle than the other noble houses. Without the desire to cling to power there was no intention from his side to claim the title till his death and," he added with a smile, "no one from the family—absolutely no one—would have dared to give him any orders after he had hoofed over his position with his mother still watching."

Twilight thought about that topic for a moment before she asked, "Was she very protective of the family, Baron?"

Climber shook his head, a bit unsure, before he spoke. “Well that’s a difficult question to answer.” His gaze wandered around over the portraits. “I would rather say she kept an eye on us”—his gaze stopped by the portrait of a pegasus mare—“or two…” Pointing at an empty spot at the wall and explained, “But—if we don’t show good behaviour, she will, also, slap our hooves.”

“Huh?”

“As long as we rule like Compassion would have, or more precise as long as we act like the traditional good guy’s everything is fine and we have her support or at least her approval. That means she pulls the strings behind the scenes in our favour, but if we bring shame on the memory of her son in any way, well, then she comes down on us.”

Twilight gave the empty spot a closer look. It seemed that a portrait had once hung there but was removed long ago, so she asked, “Can you elaborate on that a bit further, please?”

The baron sat down and scratched his chin with his hoof. “Mhh, how to explain this,” he mumbled. “This empty spot once was filled with the portrait of my ancestor, Flippant, till we was removed from rulership by Burning Snowflake herself.”

“Why would she do that? And how? I mean the ruler of this baronie is set by Celestia's laws and not by somepony else. I believe you when you say you have an arrangement or old contract with Celestia about your special terms of fellowship but I doubt that she would allow somepony to rearrange her barons at will. I mean it isn’t so that Burning Snowflake just can come here and put in charge whoever she wants.”

“You are right, Your Highness,” he said nodding, “but in this case that is more or less what happened.”

With a raised eyebrow, the princess commented, “Seriously, you want to tell me she simply walked into the castle and said ‘Flippant, you're dismissed’ and that’s it?”

“It isn't that simple, Your Highness.” He made an offering gesture. “If you want to hear it, I will tell you what happened that day and of course why it happened.”

“Go ahead, but be aware, I will argue with you about it after you’re finished.”

“That is only fair, Your Highness, so let me start with the reason why it happened. My great granduncle, Flippant Snowflake, used his position to his own advantage and a small group of knights around him, as best as he could, instead of caring for the ponies under his care.. He also changed the local laws, as far as the throne will allow a baron to do so in his baronie, to get higher taxes and get rid of the charity costs.”

“Which charity costs?”

“Oh, forgive me, Your Highness. Compassion once established a… How to name it? Some sort of village I guess, for poor people. Where everyone can get shelter and food, for free of course. It isn't some fancy place and the food isn’t that delicious, but you don't have to starve during the winter or freeze.”

“Nopony had to starve anyway, and I don't know anypony that would have to sleep in the cold outside during winter too.”

“Yes, today that’s the standard, but back in the day life was a bit more rough. But, of course, the importance of that village decreased over time. Actually, it still exists but it is no longer a place for the hungry and homeless. Yes, you still get food and shelter there but it is more for artists like painters or writers. In short, everypony who does some form of art for a living, yet doesn’t get paid well. But that’s not the point. Anyway, my ancestor closed it nearly seventy years ago. Well, he not only closed it, he chased off the ponies who lived there from our land.”

“That's horrible!” Twilight said. “All those poor ponies with no place to go. What happened to them?”

“Sadly, their fate is still unknown. The village was closed by the end of autumn. I can only hope they found another place in time before winter arrived, but truth be told I doubt that everyone found it soon enough.” Climber sighed while Twilight let her wings hang down a bit. “However, my ancestor Flippant did more ungrateful things during his rulership. He lowered the payment for all who worked in the castle and dismissed the ones that only got their job for charity reasons. You know kitchen helpers, gardeners and so on. In short, he did everything that saved him money and spent it for himself with dissipating feasts, tournaments and his expensive wardrobe. He really was a selfish tyrant.”

“If your ancestor was such a bad guy, why did Celestia not interfere? As her baron he had to justify himself towards her.”

“Two reasons, first is that Celestia generally avoided confronting my house as much as possible. I blame Burning Snowflake for that.” He raised a hoof to defend against Twilight's response and explained, “That’s only my opinion. I know you are still not convinced about her. And the second one is that the Democracy War was just thirty years ago from that point in time and Celestia surely didn’t want to risk another one by breaking the sovereignty of the inner baronie rulership.”

“That is actually one point I was wondering about while I read your family history, Baron. There was no Democracy War in Equestria. The members of the democracy movement and the loyalist faction simple gathered and solved their problems with a long discussion.”

“Oh no, Your Highness. This meeting did happen, after the war, even if the war merely was, primarily, one major battle.”

“That’s not what is documented in the history books.”

“Well—it sounds better that way, doesn't it? Simply overcome your differences by talking about them and find a solution instead of fighting over them.”

“The democracy movement was resolved after they told Celestia their sorrows about the way she was ruling and she promised to take care of their needs to a degree that they would be satisfied with, and they were. There was no war or fight at all.”

Climber simply shook his head. “That's not the truth, Your Highness. A nice lie merely to make history more friendly and to teach ponies that talking will fix all the problems, but sometimes there is no room for negotiation.” He moved a few steps to the right, over to a portrait of a white earth pony mare. “This is Birdsong Snowflake. She was the one who actually fought in the battle of the Hooves-Hills a bit south of the Foal Mountains.”

Twilight moved a bit closer to examine the portrait at first, then read the plaque below it. “If there was such a silly thing like an actual battle at this place you’ve mentioned, at least your family stood on the right side with Celestia and the loyalists.”

“Not from free will, Your Highness. Birdsong was an enthusiastic follower of the democracy movement.”

“What?” Twilight asked, surprised. “Why is that?”

Climber noticed her body-language, which had turned to annoyance. Standing against Celestia, seemingly, wasn’t a thing Twilight would approve in any case. He had to be careful about this topic so he thought for a moment for his explanation. When he finally started, he spoke slower than usual to give the words more weight. “There wasn’t only black and white in this dispute, both sides had their good arguments and for my ancestor the arguments and advantages of the democracy movement sounded better.”

With an unpleasant look, Twilight turned to him, and with a sharp voice asked, “And what do you think?”

It was more than obvious that the only answer that would not annoy the princess anymore would be that he supported the loyalists.

“I have full trust in the reign of the two sisters, Your Highness,” he started, which seemed to calm down Twilight a bit, “but I am not sure which side I would have joined in those days.”

“How dare you!” Twilight stomped a hoof on the ground as she said, “As a baron of Equestria your loyalty ought to be with Celestia and Luna!”

“That is more than just a bit impolite to question my loyalty in my own house,” he replied, then followed up with ‘princess’ with a sharper, than his normally respectful, tone.

“You told me just a second ago yourself that you are not sure which faction you would support!” she said, angrier than before.

“Back in those days, perhaps,” he explained in a nearly disrespectful tone. “Today I support the two sisters—and Burning Snowflake of course.”

“What has your wanna-be ancestor to do with this?”

“The same as she had to do with Birdsong Snowflake. I can’t act against her will, even if I would want to. Birdsong tried it and regretted it.”

The princess took a deep breath and then another. “Elaborate on that, Baron.”

He turned to the portrait again and snorted, annoyed. “Birdsong was willing not only to support the democrats with bits and words but really was willing to send troops into field for them. Not necessary to say how useless this would have been if Princess Celestia had not declined to fight herself.”

“Celestia never was needed to fight because there was no battle with the democrats at all. They all gathered and solved their problems together,” said Twilight.

“That is what the official history is telling, not what really had happened. I told you before that the facts I would confront you with would not be the same as that of Celestia’s fact, then or now. If you’re turning back to simply deny them as false, there is no point in furthering this conversation.” He sat down and crossed over his forehooves.

“And I told you I would argue about them with you.”

“Arguing is one thing, but simply ignoring them and stamp them as false at once is a different thing.”

“Arg, fine,” Twilight said. “For the sake of politeness, please just tell me your version and I won’t interrupt you till you're finished, but,” Twilight pointed with her left forehoof at him, “after you have done this you will let me challenge your version as best as my knowledge lets me.”

“Acceptable,” he said.

The princess sat down herself, on the ground, and prepared to listen, causing the baron to remember his normally good manners and fetch a chair from the reading-pult at the other end of the room to bring it to her.

“Thanks.”

“So,” he said with a cough, “for the version of events my family kept written down, and of course I guess there will be other families which have their own versions of this event kept somewhere in their ‘poison hidden’ bookshelfs, it started with the day Princess Celestia decided to reform the laws about territorial government of the nobles about their own land. The short version is that she removed some rights from the nobles about social topics like the one which allowed us to set up towns or villages on our own and even force our people to live there.” He shook his hoof a bit unsure. “It is not clear if that was a good or bad idea, the results however, were a massive discontentment of some of the noble houses about this. This and all the other changes she already made in the previous years but that one in particular was the final drop in the barrel. And here, more or less, the membership of the lords and ladies in one of the factions was set. The nobles in the countryside like my family joined mostly the new faction of democrats who were tired with the way the throne dealt with us. The loyalist faction however was filled with the lords and ladies of Canterlot and the ones that made more profit with trade or mining than farming.

“Of course that wasn't true for everypony,” he continued. “Personal preferences, loyalty or the promised outcome pushed the scales for some in a certain direction but as an overview it is useful enough. Till this point the truth hadn’t been covered up with the official history.”

A simple nod from the princess encouraged him to go ahead with his version of events.

“But in difference to Celestia’s version, these factions don’t simply gather and talk it out, I doubt that it would have worked this way anyway. At this point Celestia had so much experience in ruling the country that she believed she always knew best and in fact that was mostly true. With a normal lifespan you don't get as much experience than she has. On the other hoof a long life doesn't make you infallible either. No matter how wise you are, if you treat your people like little foals, even the one in charge of a shire or a baronie you will cause trouble.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Nobody’s perfect and we nobles have our pride. However, things escalated very quickly. The unity of the twenty four, which was the precursor of the democrats faction, wrote a postulation and gave it to Princess Celestia at one of her courts. It wasn't so polite as it should have been and Her Highness didn’t take it very well. She denied it, politely of course, as she knows how to play the game of politics but the anger behind the scenes on both sides increased.”

“Still nothing to start a fight for,” Twilight added as Climber took a short break. “They still could have talked their way out of it after things calmed down a bit.”

“Maybe,” Climber confessed, “but they didn’t. But let us skip the details a bit till the time my family was involved. Birdsong’s reasons for joining the democrats faction were friendship, loyalty and personal dislike of Princess Celestia.” Climber noticed that Twilight wanted to interrupt at this point but was held back by her offer to not interrupt him while he was talking so he stopped and made a gesture to let her know that he was willing to listen.

“Loyalty?” Twilight asked as she was visibly annoyed. “Loyalty should have kept her at Celestia’s side.”

“Not to the throne, Your Highness, loyalty to her friends and to the noble family ‘Clockwork’ which her younger brother was going to marry in. This family was part of the unity of the twenty four and so completely part of the democrats. But the strongest reason for her was without doubt her personal dislike for Celestia. These two had several run-ins with how baronies should be handled. With Celestia’s royal power behind her she won, nearly, all the conflicts between them in this matter.” He gave the portrait another glance. “As part of this family, I know I am biased about this so I won’t try to judge this here and now. It just has to be mentioned to understand the background of my ancestors dislike for the Princess of the Sun.”

“Everypony is allowed to make mistakes,” said Twilight.

It was not clear to which she referred but Climber would have bet it was Birdsong.

“Be it as it is, Birdsong joined the ranks of the democrats and was involved in the things that had to happen. Some of the nobles simply ignored the new laws from the throne and refused to obey the princess’ orders. This of course couldn't be ignored by Her Highness and so she first sent messages to the said nobles to remind them who was in charge and who gave orders to whom and when that had no effect she sent the guard to arrest them.” He drifted a few seconds away in his thoughts before he continued on with his telling. “There is, however, an obvious difference when arresting a criminal opposed to a rebellious lord. We have troops in our service and we, mostly, live in defendable places.” He made a gesture which included all of the castle around them. “It isn’t a surprise that the lords and ladies didn't accept the attempt by Her Highness to arrest them. In short, things got more and more worse till the point this all resulted in one big rebellion with the democrats.” He stopped for a moment and looked at Twilight. “I know what you want to say about this, Your Highness. Yes, this isn't mentioned in the history of Equestria and is also not known by the commoners.”

“Exactly, Baron,” she simply agreed. “If I never had read your house history, I would have never heard of this nons… alternative history.”

“Of course you would have not. Everypony who was involved in this conflict is dead by now, except for Her Highness and the other immortals. History is written by the winners and Celestia knows this.” Climber couldn’t suppress a smile, “Oh yes, her Highness is as well clever as generous.”

“Elaborate on that.”

“This version of events allowed the nobles who fought against her to save face and kept the common ponies from worrying as much as if they heard about an open rebellion against the throne. It also supported her royalty a lot, thousand years without a single revolt against her from the inside sounds very impressive compared with: had fought a rebellion of her own lords and ladies against her rulership for homemade problems.”

Twilight snorted.

“Yes, it was a very complicated matter to keep that all secret and convince the nobles, on both sides, to agree and stay silent. More so for the troops and commoners who were involved in this but even with a few spreading rumours in the following years it still worked. Remember how good Princess Celestia is in politics and how much she is adored and loved by the ponies. If she gives you an order to not tell something to anypony else as it might save Equestria from harm, would you deny her?”

Twilight thought on that for a moment then gave her answer. “I… guess I would not. It would be a matter of circumstances but to be honest I have trust in Celestia's wisdom. If she decides it is the best for Equestria I would accept her request on the matter.” After a second she added, “But that doesn't mean I believe your version at all.”

“In the bigger view, the same counted for the ponies these days,” Climber said, as he ignored the last part of her sentence, “not that it would be different today. For the democrats however there was more in the scale to bring them back to order. With the version Her Highness told they stayed in charge of their land and also some of the new laws were changed to make the impression more believable that they really had talked about this all in peace. That's the reason so few rumours about the true events spread afterwards, because if they had successfully revealed what really had happened they would have lost not only their land but their freedom too. Being a traitor isn't something that is easily forgiven or forgotten.” He shook his head. “No, they definitely lived better with the official events.”

Climber scratched his left foreleg while he sorted the words for the next part of the story. “For the lords and ladies of the loyalists on the other hoof, they were loyal in the first place and so in this case too, mostly. Some of them surely took advantage of their decision to join the loyalist ranks, it was far more easier to get a good post at the administration or an other high position in the court of Celestia for an ex-loyalist those days then for an ex-democrat. Her Highness’ decision to handle the events was a win-win situation for both sides and also for Equestria itself in the long run.”

Climber raised and took a few steps around the room, finally turned his attention to the portrait of Birdsong Snowflake again. With a smirk and a little shake of his head he spoke again. “Well, but back to my family. Birdsong was bound to the democrats by different reasons and so she had connections to the leadership of this faction. She got them by her actions during the time of the foreplay of the rebellion. She was very active in the circles of the vacillating nobles, seeking nicely for support where she could and also made threats to those she couldn't convince nicely. Also prepared our castle for the confrontation with the royal guards when it was obvious this could happen and so on. I tell you that to show she got sucked deeper and deeper in this every day and also was known well for her opinion about Celestia. That's very important for later. But by all the things she did, she made one fatal mistake.” He shook his head again lightly before he explained. “She started the second Snowflake call.”

“What is a Snowflake call? I never heard of this.”

“Simply said it is a command by the head of my house to all who consider themselves as Snowflakes in any way.”

“Like an order from Celestia to her lords and ladies?”

“A bit more than that. Princess Celestia's orders are important by law and loyalty; a Snowflake call on the other hoof pulls the family strings.”

“So it affects your parents, children and also brothers and sisters?”

“No, Your Highness, it affects every Snowflake out there, even those who married into other families or moved to the far other end of Equestria and as a Snowflake you have to answer it. There is no excuse or apology when a Snowflake call is made. If you deny to follow it you are cut out of the family.”

“That does sound a bit harsh to me,” Twilight said, “as life goes on there are surely other responsibilities and bonds made that couldn’t be broken just for a simple call of the leader of your house.”

“That is indeed true, but it doesn't matter. If a Snowflake call is made you have to decide where your priorities lay.”

“So if I get that right, if you make a Snowflake call right now, every member of your family has to answer it and follow your orders?”

“Yes, Your Highness, that is true, but if I do it just for fun it surely would be the last order I gave as head of the Snowflake family. As strong as it is, it is also risky to make this call. It unites my family to stand against our enemies but also cuts the connections to all those who refuse to follow it.”

“I see, a strange old tradition you have there, Baron. So tell me then what was the first Snowflake call? You said this was the second one.”

“The first one was about succession for this baronie, I may tell you later about it, for now we should stay at the second one for clarity.”

“Then tell me what happened after she made this call and what was written in it?”

“Of course, Your Highness. Birdsong simply wrote that all members of our family who are able to use a weapon and are adults have to gather at”—he poked the ground with his hoof—“this castle to join the troops.”

“That is one of the points I was sure that would cause trouble with this call,” Twilight commented. “You said Birdsong was well known for her opinion about Celestia and so your family would have known which side her troops would support. I am sure there were loyalists within the members of your family and with this call Birdsong forced them to either break up with your family, their family or to fight against their convictions. That's a horrible choice to make!”

The baron simple nodded. “Indeed you are right about that. It is as I said, a risk to make this call and also you have great responsibilities with it.”

“How did your family members decide?”

“Most moved to Dragonbite Castle, only a few choose to refuse. One hundred seventeen ponies.”

“For me, surely, it is a mistake in the first place to support the democrats. More so to gather troops to fight against Celestia, but besides the fact it divides the family, what was fatal from a neutral point of view at this call? Don’t get me wrong I think it is a cruel and in itself wrong but what was the fatal mistake in it from the side of your ancestor Birdsong?”

“Birdsong…” Climber searched for the right words to transmit the idea behind it, “Birdsong didn’t make sure that her Snowflake call would be approved, or at least tolerated, by Burning Snowflake.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Slowly I get the impression your ancestor’s adoptive mother had her hooves in everything your family did.”

Climber shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”

With a raised hoof to her forehead Twilight gave in on that and said, “Just go on with your story, Baron.”

“As you wish. So we had my ancestor in touch with the leaders of the democrats, some troops, mostly family members at Dragonbite Castle and a displeased Burning Snowflake ready to act. Best requirements to cause much trouble. Burning Snowflake told Birdsong she wasn't happy with her actions, but she didn’t tell her on some random day. Instead she did so on the day Birdsong wanted to move her troops to the democrats’ camp near the Hooves-Hills. And of course Burning Snowflake hadn’t been discreet about it either when she had told her in private. Actually, she trotted into a meeting of Birdsong’s performing her duty as leader of house Snowflake, with Lord Grass-Cutter Clockwork and some other knights and less ranked nobles in attendance.”

A dance with the Snowflake

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Dragonbite Castle, Birdsongs study, a few days before the battle of the Hooves-Hills

A white earth pony mare, in a suit of armor, who had a cutie-mark of a small silver bird with some notes above it, pointed with her hoof on a map at the table. “The loyalist will come from this spot,” she declared. “With our main camp over here,” she moved her hoof to another spot, over a river and some plains, “it may be the best if I lead my troops through the Fallen Coin path to rush into their flank when the battle has started.”

“I doubt that you would stay covered till that point, Lady Snowflake. The loyalist troops have more pegasus soldiers than we have and for that they got air dominance.” Lord Clockwork, who had far more experience in leading bigger amount of troops because of his service in the Royal-guard, explained. “We can stop them from coming into range of our main army for a while but we can't entirely stop their scouts from freely flying around.”

“What would you suggest instead?” Birdsong asked.

Before Lord Clockwork could answer, there was some noise coming from the hall doors and a few seconds later one of the guards from the other side of that door opened it and stepped in. He looked very pale and his voice was not steady while he spoke, “Excuse me, milady, but there is somepony who wants to speak with you.”

“Didn't I gave orders to not interrupt us?” said Birdsong angrily.

“Yes, milady, but I guess this would be an exception.”

“Why should it? Who is it who wants an audience?”

“Your ancestor, milady.”

“My ancestor?” Birdsong gave him a questioning look. “What the hay are you talking about?”

“He is talking about me,” said a strong voice from the door where a orange mare with green mane had entered. “Took me quite a while to get here after I heard what you are willing to do, Birdsong.”

The reactions of those present were very different, while the visitors either looked interested or annoyed about this entrance, the Snowflakes reacted more or less shocked. A few went pale like the guard had, some were stunned, while others seemed overly excited about this. There were even a few who were suspicious and gave the mare a closer look.

The orange mare trotted nearer and spoke again, “I was surprised that you would do something so foolish like supporting the democrat nonsense, even with your differences with Celestia. It is clear that the house of my son supports the monarchy.”

Lord Clockwork was the first who regained self control and was willing to respond to that. “Who do you believe you are that you dare, not only interrupt this meeting, but to tell Lady Snowflake what she has to do!”

A word of support for his statement was to hear here and there from the crowd.

Unimpressed by this accusation the mare continued to step closer and came to a halt in front of Birdsong. “Really, I am surprised and displeased by this all,” she said, “gathering the whole family to aid you in this stupid attempt against the crown.”

“Snowflake, I…” started Birdsong but changed her mind. “That is not your business,” she said instead of what she originally had thought. “Who knows if you are Burning Snowflake at all? Maybe this is a trick!”

The other mare simply grabbed Birdsong’s head with her left front hoof and pressed it down to the ground.

“Hey!” Birdsong complained, “keep your hooves away from me.” She pushed the other mare’s leg aside and raised her head up again. “If you really are Burning Snowflake then prove it!” she demanded.

“Filly, I am sure your parents taught you better manners than what you display,” the orange mare spoke while she reached out for Birdsong’s head again. But this time Birdsong took a step back and pushed away the other mare's hoof.

“Stop that!”

“Then be a good filly and do what I told you.”

“And stop calling me filly, I am a mare!”

“You are a few hundred years too young to claim that for you in my presence and with the things you did about the whole rebellion you acted like a little filly too.”

“Enough of that! I won’t be insulted by an impostor at my own home, guards!”

Unsure the guards moved closer.

“Take this mare to the prison!”

“Yes, milady,” the guards said contemporaneously.

But they didn’t even make a few steps when already the mare in question spit a small cloud of fire in their direction. “I would think about that again if I were you,” she said. “And you,” she pointed at Birdsong, “do as I told you.”

Suddenly, Lord Clockwork, overcoming the surprise that was affecting the present really quickly, and reached out for his spear said for all to hear, “What kind of monster are you?”

But Birdsong raised a hoof and shouted, “No! Stay away from her. If that is really Burning Snowflake you won’t get far with your spear and she may kill you!”

“I don’t fear any monstrous creature,” he responded while he took an offensive position.

“Don’t be silly Clockwork, you are no match for her!” said Birdsong.

Burning Snowflake simply gave his attempt to look dangerous a little growl before she turned her attention to her son’s progeny again. “You will stop this nonsense here and now Birdsong and kick out all these democrats from the castle at once. House Snowflake supports Celestia and your troops will aid the loyalist army instead of the democrat traitors.”

With the word ‘traitor’ the patience of Lord Clockwork was overextended, he was a noble after all and to be insulted by a common mare, which was some sort of monster too, was not something he was going to tolerate. With a battlecry he pushed forward and attacked the mare with his spear. Of course he wasn’t aiming for some lethal part of her body, but still he made the attack.

It was the next moment he found himself laying on the ground, his weapon gone and his head hurting a lot. Everything had happened so fast he wasn’t sure what actually happend at all.

“First and only warning,” the mare declared, “next time you get hurt.”

Birdsong rushed over to the other earth pony and helped him to get on his hooves again. “Are you alright Clockwork?”

He simply shook himself free. “I am fine. But why the hay do you allow this mare to act towards us this way? That is offensive, I demand that you arrest her immediately!”

“I doubt I would be able to do that,” Birdsong answered.

“That is true,” the mare added to their conversation, “and now I order that all of you democrat traitors leave my family's castle at once.”

“How dare you!” Lord Clockwork raised his voice indignant. But Birdsong laid a hoof on his chest to calm him down.

“That is not for you to decide,” Birdsong told the older mare, “the head of house Snowflake is me, not you!”

“Filly you are starting to get on my nerves. Do as I told you, now,” Burning Snowflake said, this time with a hint of annoyance hearable in her voice as well. “I won’t tell you twice.”

“And I won’t tell you twice that I am the head of this house not you!”

Slowly Snowy walked nearer to Birdsong and started growling again. “Either you show them the door or I will show them the door. The choice is yours.”

Birdsong raised to her full height and stared into Snowy’s eyes. “This is my house and I say they stay!”

“If that is what you want, then I’ll kick them out myself,” said Burning Snowflake.

Snowy was going to do so as Birdsong suddenly rushed forward and gave her a push with both front hooves. “Don’t touch my guest! As the head of this house I order that they can stay and that’s it! You can’t simply show up and take over control of the family!”

“Of course I can when you act so foolish!” Now Snowy had raised her voice as well. But when she made the attempt to move closer this time, Birdsong raised her own spear and pointed in her direction with it.

“I don’t want to fight with you Burning Snowflake but I can’t allow you to take over my position either,” the white mare spoke with a solid calm voice yet.

“Filly…”

“That’s Lady Snowflake to you,” Birdsong corrected,” and if you want my position you have to fight me for it.”

“I don’t want your position, just…”

“You want my right to give orders here and that I can’t and wouldn’t allow. So try to beat me or leave my house!” said Birdsong.

Snowy hesitated with a loud growl, giving the other mare a long look. A few times she shifted her weight like she was going to attack but every time fell back again.

“She is afraid,” one of the knights from Clockwork’s staff was saying. But immediately got hushed by Birdsong.

“Don’t be so foolish! She is thinking if she wants this battle or not,” Birdsong explained. “So what shall it be,” she then spoke to the orange mare, “you fight with me or leave?”

“I don’t fight with my son’s grandchildren.”

With a sigh of relief, the head of house Snowflake lowered her spear.

“But I wouldn’t allow these traitors to stay here either,” and with these words Burning Snowflake moved forward and just barely evaded the defensive attack Birdsong made with her weapon, and wrest the spear from her, throwing it to the far edge of the room. With a snort at Birdsong she turned to Clockwork and was willing to force him to leave when the impact of the white mare's body pushed her slightly away.

“You are not taking over so easily!” Birdsong yelled at her while she started to try to punch and bite her opponent.

Burning Snowflake, while surprised for a second by this unexpected attack, still managed to avoid Birdsong’s punches by either blocking them or evading them. It was far harder however to not get bitten in this close range. The surrounding ponies watched the melee combat, unsure what to do. The Snowflakes and their guards simply weren’t sure which side they want to support and the other nobles would have supported Birdsong but didn’t dare to act at all. Be it that their reason was that they feared the might of this fire breathing creature or the respect the Snowflakes around them showed to it.

It took Birdsong a while to notice that Snowy indeed blocked and evaded her attacks but did not attempt to strike back. It seemed her ancestor was serious when she declared she wouldn’t fight with her.

“Well, her bad,” Birdsong thought and without a care for counterattacks any longer she concentrated on attacking in an under normal circumstances suicidal way.

Even Snowy couldn’t manage to avoid getting hit by such art of attacks in this close range without strike back or harm her opponent at all.

So finally Birdsong pressed herself against Snowy and strongly bite her in the shoulder.

This caused two things, first a loud hiss from Snowy, and second, Birdsong felt a grip of magic, probably Burning Snowflake’s, around her snout which forced her to open it wide and also pulled her head back more and more till some distance was between these two opponents. Birdsong looked at Snowy’s face and went a bit pale because of it.

Burning Snowflake’s face had lost all the patience and leniency which was there before and... “Did she have fangs before!” Birdsong thought worried.

A loud metallic “crack” noise was heard and Birdsong turned her attention to the source of it, her flank. Shocked she watched her own armour was tearing apart from her and falling on the ground with much clatter.

“Wait! Wait,” Birdsong started, “we maybe should speak about this all again.” She raised her hooves in a defending and also supposed to calm down her opposite gesture, but Snowy simply growled and her fangs were looking even more dangerous while she did so.

The sweat was breaking out on Birdsong’s head and she thought about a way to calm Snowy down, but before she was able to try something her head was pressed to the ground by magic and her tail was pulled up by the same.

“What the hay?” Birdsong’s first thought then saw that Snowy had also pulled Birdsong’s spear to herself and raised it in the air. When Birdsong realised what her ancestor was going to do she didn’t believe it at first but then shouted, “No! You can’t do this to me! I am the head of the Snowflake family, not a filly!” But it didn’t help her.

Forcefully, the spear landed on her flank and repeated several times over. Snowy gave her descendant the spanking she thought a bad behavioured filly deserved. She didn’t care for the audience or that Birdsong was a noble or any other social norms.

The audience which had stared at this, paralyzed at first, were now mostly ashamed to watch this, but Lord Clockwork was the first again to act. “How dare you!” he shouted at the orange mare. “We have to stop her and help Lady Snowflake,” he commanded to his own fellowship and to the other nobles too. He pointed at Snowy and yelled to his ponies, “Stop her!”

A few of his knights stormed forward at once, a second later the rest followed and also some Snowflakes joined the attack. Snowy might have held herself back concerning her son’s progeny, but against the others, the results were disastrous. The knights of Lord Clockwork faced not only her firebreath but also her fangs and claws that had now formed. Being a shapeshifter for several hundred years now gave her some useful abilities so far. To say they didn’t have a chance was an understatement.

The first who had the joy to know the sharpness of her claws was a young brown earth pony stallion. Burning Snowflake sidestepped his lunge just at the right moment so that he and his spear stormed by her. With a punch to his head and a painful scratch through his armor along his side she let him stumble causing him to drop the spear and fall on the ground.

Using him as a springboard, the orange mare flapped over another two of Clockworks knights and spat fire at them causing them to drop their weapons and panicky run around in an attempt to extinguish the flames. Using the confusion to her advantage Burning Snowflake landed in the middle of the rest of the attackers, distributing kicks and punches while she evaded the counter attacks. One of the knights tried to grab her and she was ready to spit fire at him when she noticed the unique Snowflake crest of a family member. She closed her mouth and instead, did a forward roll to shake him off. Several other ponies, wearing similar variations of the crest, also attacked her and like the first she also avoided them.

In the mess it was hard to see quick enough which house the single knights was members from, but with more and more of Clockworks followers laying on the ground or run away to extinguish flames, it was easier to prevent Birdsongs from getting hurt.

Finally the remaining knights set off the attack and stepped back, so the room was filled with wounded knights of Clockwork and unharmed but now hesitating Snowflakes. Only Lord Clockwork was still standing from the members of his house.

“What kind of monster are you?” he asked half angry, half afraid.

“I am not a monster, you peasant. Now take your traitor scum,” she made gesture including all his followers, “and leave my home!”

Lord Clockwork was quaking in anger both because of his ponies being described as scum and, more so, because Snowy called him a peasant. He barely was able to hold himself back, snorting several times in an attempt to get his self control again. Eventually he took a look around, his beaten knights, the passive or defensive Snowflakes and finally at Snowy again, her threatening fangs and claws and also at the barely noticeable smoke that came from her mouth. And then he made his decision.

With clenched teeth he said, “We will leave, but this is not over yet!”

Snowy just shrugged her shoulders and waved him superciliously away like a common pony before she turned around to Birdsong again who was still grabbed in her magic. While she picked up the spear again, she didn’t pay attention to the angry complaining of Birdsong about the whole mess she had caused in her opinion and the damage she did to the friendship between house Snowflake and Clockwork, instead she raised the spear to continue Birdsong’s punishment.

Because of such, Snowy was unprepared when Lord Clockwork, instead of taking his leave, took one of the spears which lay around and threw it at her. Attacking an unprepared enemy was very dishonorable in the circles of nobles and it was to blame his anger and Snowy’s arrogance for this. The noise from the crowd, shock and surprise, was Snowy’s only warning and so it was too late to evade or raise a shield. With her left wing she managed to affect it’s flight angle a bit but still it scratched over her back leaving a long painful scratch before it glided over the ground behind her into the bottom of the wall.

Snowy roared in anger and pain and turned around to Lord Clockwork, focusing her gaze on him. Again she roared, this time it was however not of pain, it was a blunt roar of provocation and challenge. Her fangs and claws ready to strike, she stormed forward straight in his direction. He was closely able to pick up another weapon just before she reached him.

With a swift strike he tried to slow her rush and her following attempts to dodge the spear and get him was parried by his quick back-trotting combined with pointing the top of the spear always in the direction she was heading for. It worked, till he reached the wall and wasn’t able to move further backward. Any second now the orange mare would break through his defense and force him to melee combat where he was practical helpless. And it happened quicker than he thought, he was prepared for her tries to dodge and evade his spear but not for her simple grab the spear point and crack it off. He changed his martial style from defencive to aggressive and striked with the wooden shaft at her but she simply used her claws to cut piece by piece of his weapon till it was only a short stick of wood.

Running out of alternatives he threw the useless stick in her face, she on the other side bit at it and broke it a last time. Totally aware of his situation he still was able to bring up his courage and spat at her with, “Come on you monster, I am ready for you!” And he raised his hooves standing on his hindlegs now.

She was so polite to not let him wait and bounced at him at once…

Conflict of interest

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Dragonbite Castle, Ancestor gallery, today

“Did... did she kill him?” Twilight asked cautiously.

“I would say she was trying to, but don’t worry, she was held back,” the baron answered.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

“If you don’t believe my story, then why do you get emotionally involved with the content?” He ended with a smile.

“Well, every good fairy tale affects the emotions of the audience,” she replied with a stern look.

“Of course, Your Highness, of course,” Climber said with another little smile.

“So,” Twilight changed the topic back again, “who held her back?”

“Oh, Birdsong’s little brother, Charming Tongue,” Climber said. “This little genius, barely a stallion at this time and brave as well.”

“What did he do?”

“He stormed into the melee combat of Burning Snowflake and Lord Clockwork. Well, Clockwork was already wounded and Burning Snowflake wasn’t willing to calm down, so,” he pounded on his chin, ”it was quite possible that she was going for the kill.”

The princess made an uncertain look about this, which lead to disapproval.

“I know,” Climber continued, “not the acceptable way to handle things and I agree with your opinion, but under those circumstances she had at least a reason, if she was going for the kill at all.”

“You can’t be serious about supporting her actions in this case!” Twilight said angry, “Trying to kill someone is never an option!”

“Yes, I agree, still I say I understand why she was willing to do it. She…”

But he was cut off by Twilight this time as she raised a hoof and silenced him. “No, Baron, there is no explanation or reason which allows that. When you told me she has killed and maybe also have murdered somepony I was expecting something that… well I don’t know exactly what I had expected but surely not being attacked with a spear. If she is as powerful as you have said, she should have much more self control and was surely able to take other actions into consideration than trying to kill somepony!” While she spoke the last part of the sentence her voice had gotten louder.

A few seconds of silence passed till Climber reacted to her statement, turning around to the portraits of the previous Snowflake leaders. Then after another moment of silence he nodded. “This is a topic that needs far more care than a simple dismissive wave. It is never that simple.” With another look at his ancestors’ faces he turned back to the princess. “Do you think protecting a family is an easy job? Do you think protecting Equestria is that simple too?”

“That has nothing to do with the fact that killing is wrong.”

“Do you think so? Well then how about this,” he stepped closer to her, “how many lives is the safety of your family worth? How many…” he gave her a questioning look, “...civilian lives in general?”

Twilight gave him an unsure angry look. “I don’t get what you talking about.”

“You simple say killing is wrong and I agree to that, still there are situations where Burning Snowflake had to face and had to decide, when not only one life was in the scales. If you have to decide to take one life to save two others what do you do? And what if hundreds are in the scale and you can save them—if—you took the life of another?”

“Ahm, what are you talking about?”

“Going a step further.” Climber elaborated while he continued to slowly walk around again, “What if you can save one of your family members, but,” he changed the direction, “the only way to do so is killing two strangers for it? Again, what would you do?”

“I haven’t had to make this decision and I hope I will never have too, but still that is not the point.”

Climber turned around to face her again, “It is! Burning Snowflake had to make this kind of decision during her life again and again, so don’t judge her so easily.” Climber again turned around swiftly, “You haven’t had to make this sort of decision and neither have I. We should be grateful it is so.”

Twilight followed him a few steps. “Yes, we should. Still, there is no excuse for ending a life out of anger.”

Climber turned his head around to her and spoke over his shoulder. “Well,” he sighed, “you're right, Your Highness.” He moved his head forward again. “Lord Clockwork still made the first strike and threw the spear at her, in her own home, and in front of her family. A bit of understanding for her anger isn’t to much to ask for.”

“Do I have an understanding for her anger? Yes. Do I have an understanding for her attack on him? Yes, just a bit. But do I have an understanding for her attempt to kill him? No,” Twilight said. “If she was trying, she was wrong and she should have been sent to jail for it.”

Climber let loose an unhappy giggle. “Locking her up…” another giggle followed, “I can’t see that happening, not with her abilities.” He let a second pass to collect himself. “I really think she tried to end Clockwork’s life at that moment, but even so she never was able to put her plan into reality.”

“I don’t see how a young stallion would have been able to stop her, if she is as good in hoof to hoof combat as you have said, she easily could have done it, if she wanted. Maybe, just maybe you're wrong about her plan and she wasn’t so bad as it seems.”

“Charming Tongue didn’t leave her a choice, he hit her where she wasn’t able to resist. He pulled in the family bounds.” He faced Twilight again. “His special talent was to curl ponies around his hoof.

Had he stormed towards her with a sword or a raised hoof, that she would have been able to fend off without effort, instead, he simply hugged her and said “Grandmother, no!’”

“And that worked?” Twilight asked unsure. “Doesn't sound highly possible to have success.”

“Oh it did, family always has a high meaning for Burning Snowflake, maybe because her parents hated her so much, who knows, still it had. However she wasn’t able to resist Charming Tongue, clever little stallion, possibly the most dangerous mare in all of Equestria, hold back by a hug and addressing her as ‘Grandmother’.”

“Since when does your family call her ‘grandmother’?”

“We don't, Charming Tongue did. With these simple words he underlined his right to claim Compassion’s heritage for him and so Burning Snowflake wasn’t able to scratch a single hair off his coat. In fact, she turned back to her true self and hugged back.”

“After all the mess she caused, she simply stood there and hugged him? Like nothing had happened at all?”

“Oh no, she sent Birdsong to bed without dinner of course, she was annoyed by her behaviour still.”

“Uhm…what… huh?” Twilight shook her head by this sudden unexpected statement.

“Excuse me, Your Highness,” Climber giggled again, “I am used to making up this part when I tell this story to my children, you understand? Can’t tell them the complete events till they are older and so this was what they got to hear and care about the most.”

“Arg, fine, still your ancestor’s mother seems to be more a criminal than a hero.”

“She never wanted to be a hero, Your Highness, too many bad memories about this for her. But yes, she took law in her own hooves sometimes. To be fair, Celestia does the same, it isn’t like her laws have to be judged by common ponies or even nobles. Only her sister has some influence on them.”

“Don’t try to change the topic again, Baron, our discussion is about Burning Snowflakes behaviour and actions, not Celestia's way of ruling Equestria.”

“Of course, Your Highness, of course, forgive me. In case of Burning Snowflake, I would say she stood a bit outside of the law. She tries to do the right thing but also, in her opinion, the necessary things that will protect Equestria.”

“Taking the law into your own hooves is forbidden and for good reason. Self-adjudication is too vulnerable to errors and mistakes, also the degree of punishment, mostly, isn’t fair, which is why only the royal guard has the right to enforce Celestia’s laws.”

“I am quite aware of that. For an immortal powerful pony, however, it is hard to follow the rules all the time anyway. The legal system isn’t made for these cases.”

“I’ll give you that, but it isn’t for Burning Snowflake to adjust the law to her liking either.”

Climber smiled a bit. “Well you may tell her that yourself one day maybe, I mean it is highly possible that you two will run into each other one day, considering the fact you're both immortal.”

Twilight was bewildered for a moment. “Yes, your logic is correct, Baron. If Burning Snowflake exists and is still alive, well I am sure I will meet her at some point I guess. I never thought about that yet.” Twilight tipped her chin with her hoof several times. “Maybe I should use the time I have here anyway to keep an eye on finding her sooner.”

“I…” Climber started but was interrupted by a loud slam from the door, which caused him to wince in shock for a second.Twilight, also winced from the door slamming. A dark blue stallion approached. When he had gotten close enough, he lifted his brown hood and spoke in a deep voice, “Seeking someone who doesn't want to be found, may not be so clever, more so if the mare in question could easily wipe the ground with you.”

“Fang!” Climber replied angrily after he regained his composure. Turning to Twilight he said, “My apology, Your Highness, my treasurer,” he gave Fang another angry stare, “ sometimes forgets how to behave.”

“It is alright, Baron,” Twilight said calmly with a waving hoof, and to Fang she said, “You may explain, why you think she doesn't want to be found first, before you tell me why you think she would ‘wipe the ground with me’ too.”

Ignoring the threatening look of his lord, Fang stepped nearer and snorted. “This phantom of my lord's family is like a force of nature,” he punched with one hoof in his other, “whenever she shows herself in the last centuries, she,”he made a vanishing gesture, “appears and disappears without a warning and do whatever she likes. To disturb her seems very unwise. Especially for a pony who used magic as her main defence and is... weak... in unmagic fights.”

“That’s enough Fang!” shouted the baron.

“No,” Twilight simple commented, raising a hoof,” I want to hear his opinion and want to respond to it.”

“Your Highness, please...” Climber said while starting to move forward but was held back by Twilight’s hoof.

“So, you consider her as a threat?” she asked the baron’s treasurer.

“Depends on what you represent,” he said, then his voice took on a disapproving tone, “Celestia's prime people, for example, a princess and another pawn in the game of ruling Equestria.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I really wish people wouldn’t see me as an extension of Celestia’s hoof anymore, but yes, we are close friends. Why do you think that would be a disadvantage?”

He gave Climber a short look. “You haven’t told her yet, have you?”

“Told me what?” Twilight now looking at Climber too.

But again it was Fang who spoke. “That Burning Snowflake had …”

“Don’t you dare!” Climber shouted angry. “There is no proof that had happened!” The baron had no doubt what Fang was going to say and so he stepped between him and the princess, pushing Fang backward. “And I forbid you to speak about it!”

The two stallions exchanged a long stare. It became very uncomfortable for Twilight to watch this going on, until Fang snorted and looked away. “As my lord wishes,” he said and lightly bowed his head.

“Not so quick, Baron. What was Fang referring too?” Twilight’s curiosity was triggered.

Climber returned his gaze on Fang, and stared angrily before he replied, “Nothing we should yet speak about. We will come to it when the time is right.”

“I prefer to hear it now if you don’t mind” said Twilight.

“Your Highness…” said the baron.

Twilight straighten up and also opened her wings, just an inch, a trick she learned by watching Celestia, to look more impressive. Then she gave the baron a certain gaze, also something Celestia did during diplomatic negotiations lately and said, “Yes? Is there a problem with my request,” she looked down at him, “Baron?”

He visibly shrunk under her gaze, not willing to tell, but also not willing to displease the princess when she was pulling rank.

“I am waiting, Baron,” she said.

“Your Highness, I am sorry but…” Climber said.

Twilight stepped closer to him and stared him down. “You where saying?” she added an displeased and impatient look.

Climber wasn’t able to withstand it for long, so he sighed. “As Your Highness wishes.” With a gesture he requested Fang to tell, obvious he was still angry at him nonetheless.

Unimpressed by that, Fang just started to speak right away. “My lord’s ancestor wounded Princess Celestia once.”

A moment of silence followed while Twilight was too shocked to speak but then she roared, “She did what!”

“She wounded Princess Celestia,” Fang repeated. “Using her claws and fire against her.”

Twilight faced Climber again. “And when did you planned to tell me that?”

“Your Highness, please,” said the baron.

“No, Baron! Not only is Burning Snowflake a self justifying criminal, she also attacked Princess Celestia, the ruler of this country.”

Instantly Climber rose his hooves in a defensive gesture.“she possibly did, we don’t know for certain. It could also have never happened. Celestia never told anyone.”

“It doesn’t matter if Celestia told anyone or not. If there is a chance Burning Snowflake did that it has to be found out!” Twilight declared.

“It seems unwise to bring something like this up when talking with Her Highness, Your Highness, at least for me and my family,” Climber elaborated defensively.

Twilight just stared at him.

“You see,” Climber said, still crouching under her gaze, “maybe it never happened and Her Highness could take it as an insolence to ask something like that, or in the worst case scenario, it has happened and to bring it up would be obviously a bad idea anyway.”

“However it was,” Fang interrupted, “you see your connection to Princess Celestia could cause you some trouble. It would be the best for you to stay away from her anyway.”

The princess turned around to Fang and walked forward without stopping and when she reached him he suddenly felt himself moving backward to avoid her face colliding with his. “Avoiding her?” She spoke again in her loud voice, “I will find her and find out what is up with her attacking Celestia or not and if she did, I will teach her some friendship lessons!” With another angry stomp of her hoof she headed for the door. “Arg!” And with this audible release of her anger, she left the ancestor hall.

From mare to mare

View Online

"Twilight, are you there?" Pleasant Smell asked with a soft knock on the door.

"Yes I am here," Twilight responded in a grumpy tone.

"May I come in?"

There was a few seconds delay, followed by a simple "Yes."

Pleasant Smell opened the door slowly and peeked inside Twilight’s chamber. The princess was standing in the middle of the room, seemingly restless as she focused from one thing to another. Opening the door further, Pleasant Smell noticed the light mess that consisted of randomly placed books, some scattered clothes, and a long scroll that seemed to be the beginning of, from what she could tell, a checklist. She had heard of the princess’ need to organize, perhaps this was a way Twilight was trying to distract and calm herself.

"I heard what happened in our ancestor’s hall," Pleasant Smell opened with then said, "Can we talk about it?"

"I don't know what there is to talk about," Twilight answered, "If Burning Snowflake is real, it is possible she had once attacked Celestia... this cannot be tolerated."

"At least she isn't screaming anymore." Pleasant Smell thought, then aloud she said, "Possibly she had, but even if she did, there is more to it then it seems." Walking into the room, stepping over some books that lay on the ground, she placed the chandelier on one of the tables, which added a bit more light to the room, and walked closer to Twilight.

"Not another story please. I’ve heard enough of excuses and reasoning your family always seems to find for your ancestor’s actions, no matter what she did."

"True."

"And more so, your husband seems to like her, regardless of the things she may have done. Considering how things have gone so far in her life I doubt she was really careful when she chose how to handle law and order. For me it seems Burning Snowflake is a criminal who should be locked up in Canterlot's prison, with all that your family has told me. It wouldn’t surprise me if it is true what your husband's great grandfather told about her, that she had murdered somepony in your family’s history. I don't know yet who her victim would be, or how many at all, but you make no secret about that she had already killed somepony."

"Also true."

Twilight started to walk around in the room again. "I don't see how you can be proud of her, or why your family show so much respect to her. I understand now however, why you don't make a big deal about her in public."

Following Twilight with her eyes, Pleasant Smell explained," That is not true, Twilight, the Snowflakes never denied their connection and heritage to her. Everyone can read it like you in our family history."

"There is a difference in letting it be written somewhere in an book, barely being read by someone, or get the word be spread in general."

"Yes, you're right about that, still I suggest you put a bit more thought into the circumstance. My family just pays respect to Burning Snowflake’s wish to stay hidden."

"And support a criminal in hiding before the law with it. I get the idea why she stays hidden now."

Pleasant Smell shook her head. "Now you do both her and us wrong. I really doubt she is afraid of Celestia and her royal guard, let alone the law in general. As far as I know she could win a fair process."

"Now you too try to defend her," Twilight said displeased. "It is silly to think she could go to court and leave as a free mare with all the things she had done, and more so if she really did all the bad things she may or may not have done too."

"My apology, Your Highness. It wasn't my intention to continue the argueing you had with my husband."

By Pleasant's formal addressing of Twilight’s position, Twilight stopped her round trotting for a moment. "There is no need to be formal again, Pleasant Smell," she said.

"To be honest, there is. You see, I was coming over to calm down the waves and instead we restarted the argument you had with my husband." Pleasant Smell caught up to Twilight again. "And that was not was I was trying to do. It isn't so important what you think of Burning Snowflake, instead I care more about you being annoyed and maybe upset with Climber. Truth be told, even if I seem mostly uncaring about social norms of being a noble as much as others, I still have a duty as baroness to fulfill, which means I must care about having an annoyed royal princess in the guest chamber of my home."

Surprised, Twilight completely stopped her attempts to trot around and focused her attention on Pleasant Smell. "I thought my opinion about Burning Snowflake is very important to your husband?"

"Oh it is, but for me, your thoughts about my family are more important. My family surely is very obsessive about Burning Snowflake, fortunately I am only married-in and so I can see a bit more beyond her influence."

"What’s your point?"

"Besides the fact I would, of course, like you to hear more about Burning Snowflake again and understand her actions and motivation better so you could make yourself a real judge about her, I care more about your mood as our guest. Truth be told, as my duty as baroness, I care about your royal thoughts about my family as well."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Why does everypony have to make such a fuss about me being a princess. Or, I should say, why only the wrong ponies care for it?"

"Unfortunately that is part of being a noble. There is no way of tearing that apart. But what do you mean by only the ‘wrong ponies care’?"

"It would be very useful if some ponies took more respect to that fact even if I don't care so much myself, like when I go on a friendship mission or such. Sometimes nopony cares at all and, mostly, those are the ones I have to convince of something or help them. In daily routine it is, however, a bit more uncomfortable. My close friends, usually, don't care anymore and I am glad about that, with the exception of Rarity who always seems to find a reason to come up with a fancy dress for me." Twilight said thoughtfully, "But in 'normal' life I would like it if people don't pay attention to me being a princess so much."

"Yes, being a noble has its disadvantages, doesn't it? Sadly, you can't choose who will pay respect to it and who won't."

"More than true."

"In our case," Pleasant Smell started, "I want our guest," She pulled out a little bag from her mane, "to feel not so grumpy anymore," and she overhoved the bag to Twilight. "And of course paying respect to 'Her highness' to." She added a blink.

"You don't have to give me something Pleasant Smell," Twilight said while she took the bag, "what is it?"

"Oh nothing much, just my family's new secret weapon."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and opened the bag. In it she found a few small raspberry muffins. "Oh," she said neutrally,"well I am not hungry but thanks."

"Try one," Pleasant Smell said with a little bit of enthusiasm.

"I am not sure if I can enjoy them right now. I am really not hungry."

The baroness just gave her a smile and waited.

After a few seconds of silence, Twilight said, "Alright, I guess it doesn't hurt to eat one," and threw one in her mouth. "Ohhh," was all she said at first and then chewed on it till the have eaten it up. "Delicious, I have to get the recipe for Pinky when I get home."

"Oh no, Your Highness," Pleasant Smell denied with a smile and a happy face. "Secret family weapon. I can't give you the recipe."

"Well in this case," Twilight started now with a smile herself," I will have to use my royalty status to demand it."

"You wouldn't dare!" Pleasant Smell replied with a giggle.

"You don't want to displease 'Her Highness', would you?" Twilight said, pretending to be annoyed. "And disappoint your guest too."

"Oh you are really good at playing 'that' game." Pleasant Smell admitted while the had started to laugh and soon Twilight joined in. They both took a seat on the corner of the bed after this and Twilight offered to share muffins with the baroness.

"Oh no, thank you, I can have them all day if I want to."

Quickly two more mini muffins landed in Twilight's mouth, followed by an pleasant noise from her. "Ok your secret weapon was more than I could handle to stay grumpy any longer so the problem of an annoyed princess in your guest room is solved."

"And the problem of an unpleasant guest?"

It took Twilight a moment to respond, "Well I am still thinking about your ancestor's story and I am not happy with her actions. But I calmed down a bit."

"If I may, you could be a bit more comfortable with her actions if you let me tell you about some of it."

"You? I thought your husband was willing to do it alone?"

"Yes, he was, but if it is necessary to calm 'the annoyed princess' down, he will have no reservation against me telling further," she said with another blink.

"I doubt my opinion will change if you or he told the story."

"It is a question about the angle you try to tell it... and of course now it is a talk between mares."

"Now you sound a bit like my friend Rarity."

"That was the white mare with the gemstones as cutiemark, wasn't it? I think I have met her in canterlot a few years ago." She tipped her chin while she thought about it. "Yes I think I did." Another tip on her chin. "Darling, you h-a-v-e to listen to this marvelous story of my ancestor!" Pleasant Smell tried to copy Rarity's accent and way to talk.

"Close enough for somepony you met a long while ago, so yes that is her."

Another giggle of the baroness. "I tried my best." She sighed to get her giggle under control. "So Climber told me you were very angry about the possible attack on Celestia?"

"Of course I was, Celestia is the ruler of Equestria and a friend."

"I understand, still it makes no sense to tell the end of the story before the main part so I will just assure you there is probably a bit more to it. And Celestia wasn't hurt so badly if this all had happened, otherwise there would be something in the official history too."

"Maybe..."

"So what I can do however, is telling you about the first time she ended a life actually, how sad that is nonetheless."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because you believe she is a self-justifying criminal and that is not true in my opinion, giving context to the things she does is helpful I guess."

"I am not sure if context helps here, if she continued to take lives during history she made something terrible wrong. And she has to be stopped."

"Is that the reason you want to find her?"

"Your husband told you a lot."

"He is my husband..."

"Actually, I am not sure if that is the only reason, but it is one of them of course. The fact that she may have attacked Celestia was just the push in the right direction, but the more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion someone has to stop her. I confess I am still unsure if she exists, but if there is the chance she did and also the way your family describes her, it seems to me it is my duty as princess to stop her."

Pleasant Smell turned her gaze away from Twilight and looked forward for a moment deep in thoughts.

"What are you thinking?"

"Actually I am not sure, it is not for me to give you advice, Twilight. I am a bit unsure about you finding her, you know you are the element of magic after all and she is," Pleasant Smell searched for the right words for a moment, then simple said, “she is a 700 years old magic resistant mare." Another moment of thought followed, "I don't think she would harm you, that is not how I imagine her but, if you try to catch her... just promise me you will be carefull and don't rush things."

"I can promise to be careful. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

"What was that? I never heard such an promise."

"I learned it from my friend Pinky Pie, it is well known at Ponyville and maybe at Canterlot too."

"In this case I will speak with Climber about it, I am sure I can convince him to support you also by your search for Burning Snowflake. Or at least he wouldn't lay stones in your way."

"Thank you Pleasant Smell."

"Oh don't think about it, just be carefull. But of course I would suggest you listen a bit more to the story of her life before you search for her especially, could not only help you to find her but maybe give you a push in the right direction again. I mean away from trying to imprison her."

"I am willing to listen but..."

"And of course I can order some more muffins," Pleasant Smell added to her sentence quickly with another smile.

"I... I have to fluff up the pillows first," Twilight ended her sentence.

Pleasant Smell rose and trotted over through the door and gave orders to one of the servants she found in the corridors near by. At the moment she returned Twilight already had rearranged the bed blankets and pillows to create two comfortable places to lay on, one already filled by the princess.

"I was so free to order some drinks too, I know it is already late but some refreshments could do us good nonetheless."

"Don't make so much fuss about me," Twilight said.

"Oh it isn't much effort, the kitchen is staffed anyway, many mouths to fill even during night." Pleasant Smell wished Twilight's objection away with a hoof. "So tell me where have you two stopped in the story of Burning Snowflake in the time around 700 years ago? Still at the spot she joined the Fire-fighters?"

"Yes, we didn't spoke about that time period any further since our time at the fireplace-chamber." Twilight answered while the baroness climbed in the bed and took a pleasant position.

"In this case I can go on from five years later, shortly before she... well you know, ended a life for the first time."

A fateful encounter

View Online

695 years ago

"What a wonderful day again," she thought, "perfectly for the firework this evening."

Slowly, Burning Snowflake trotted through the streets of Canterlot's entertainment district, passing by a lot of ponies on their way to the main market square.

"They all want to have the best of view of it later," she thought while her gaze wandered to the sky. "Not a single cloud today, the weather ponies did a good job. But what else is to expect on Summer Sun Celebration day? Sure th... Uff!"

A little colt hadn't paid attention where he was running and had collided with her. Now he was laying on the ground and looked up to her with his big eyes. "Sorry officer," he mumbled.

"It is ok, kid," she said and ruffled through his mane with a hoof. "Just watch where you are going, ok?"

"Ye-yes ma'am, I'm sorry," he said, quickly rose and vanished into the crowd again.

"Ma'am" Snowy repeated in her head again with a sense of pride. It was not long ago she passed the test to become a full member of the firefighter team. Her yellow helm with the insignia of the fire department and her name on it proved that. To be fair, it wasn't her real name of course, but the one of the shape she used for her work, 'Waterdrop'.

Snowy remembered very well the words of the chief firefighter when he gave her the helm and her license, "Waterdrop, I never met a pony so bold to help others and with less brains that she doesn't fear fire at all. Either, and that is more possible, your lack of fear will kill you one day, or, you will become the first sergeant of Canterlot's Fire Department.”

A little smile formed at her mouth. It had been two weeks since this event and she still wasn't used to being called, respectfully, ma'am that came along with being a firefighter. She had calmed down a little bit and wasn't walking around with her head in the clouds anymore but still, during her patrols, she enjoyed the attention and respect from the other ponies a lot.

With being a firefighter there were duties of course, like in this case, she had not the free time to watch and enjoy the fireworks or join the others by the stands and try her luck at one of the games. She had to check for possible dangers and such around the area and later on she would have to see if the fireworks didn’t cause some fire in the city. The chance for that was really low, but someone had to do the job and she wasn't complaining.

"So far so good," Snowy thought. No stands were blocking the way and none of the artists who showed their talent in the street seemed to be causing any trouble. Normally the royal guard would take care for that but today, with the festival activities going on, they needed every city officer out there to make sure.

Snowy continued her patrol, giving a look here and there but with nothing uncommon in sight. It was a bit later that a little growl in her belly reminded her that she hadn't anything for lunch, so she watched out for a special one of these little sells stand with fresh baked bread filled with salad. "Ah, there it is," her gaze hung on a wooden stand which was painted green and red. A tasty smell drifted over to her and pulled her automatically nearer.

"Hey, Oatmeal, one of your delicious salad breads please," she ordered when it was her turn," with extra curry sauce please."

"Coming at once, Waterdrop," the slim stallion behind the counter replied. " Maybe a cup of cider too?"

"No thanks, today just the bread please."

“As you wish.” He turned around to the shelf and took one of the awaiting breads and added another drop of curry to it. “Here you go,” he said while he hoofed it over to her. “It’s one with peppers, I know you like them.”

“Thanks Oatmeal.” She took it, placed the bits on the counter and bite in it hungrily. “Delicious,” she added a second later when she has swallowed the first bite.

“You’re welcome, just...” he pointed at the left corner of his mouth with a hoof.

“Huh?”

“Curry sauce.”

“Oh.” With a quick lick she removed it from her lips. “Mhh, very good.” Another few bites followed and fast the bread was nearly eaten up.

“Maybe I should buy another? Will take some time till before I find the time to eat something again,” her thoughts started when she noticed an unpleasant feeling in her throat. “Oh no! Not yet!” she thought uneasy. She pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with her hooves.

“Everything alright, Waterdrop?” Oatmeal asked.

Snowy just nodded and waved with her hoof. “Everything's fine,” she whispered between grinded teeth.

“Really,” he asked again, “You look a bit uncomfortable, everything ok with your bread?”

Snowy wasn’t longer able to suppress it and released a little hiccup, “Just… a bit… spicy…”

The stallion gave her a surprised gaze. “Normally you love the peppers.”

“I do,” she said with still grinded teeth, then an idea came to her mind. Much louder she said, “but today your peppers are…” she choked a few times and then didn’t hold back the hiccup anymore. Snowy aimed for the sky and with a lance of fire the next hiccup broke free and forced the other customers and also Oatmeal to step back from it. “... far more hot than usually.” She supported that statement with an face expression from somepony who really had bitten on to hot peppers, let her tongue hang out and fanning air to herself.

Oatmeal was too shocked to reply to that, his mouth hung open, he blinked a few times and without a word he pushed a cup of cider over to her. “That...one...is on the house,” he slowly said.

Snowy took it and looked around to the other ponies that had seen her firelance. “Really hot peppers,” she explained, presenting the rest of her salad bread in the air.

The stallion next to her gave his bread a unsure look and then placed it back on the counter. “I think I’ll pass,” he said worried and left the stand. Several others did something similar.

“I am really sorry Oatmeal,” Snowy thought, then she said aloud, “I think they are delicious nonetheless.” She also added a smile by her last words before she drank the cider in one go. She really wasn’t thirsty but it would be suspicious if she would have denied it. Placing it back on the counter, also the remaining bread, she said, “Still I should go on with my patrol, see you Oatmeal.” And before he could say something she was quickly on her way again, away from the shocked stallion and his stand of salad breads.

“Well at least I didn’t burn down the stand… this time,” she thought when she stopped some side streets away. Snowy facehoofed by the memory when she found out the first time that she is able to spit fire and what had happened because of this. “I have to make it up to him somehow later, maybe buy him some ice cream or so.”

She shook her head, “Ice cream will not do the trick. Maybe should I ask Random Dice what I can do, she mostly knows how to make up for something.”

Still with her thoughts elsewhere she noticed something that brought her back to here and now, a little wagon filled with some fireworks, pulled by a griffon and another following a few feet from it, passed by and vanished down ‘Old Brick-Placer street’. After a moment of confusion Snowy raised an eyebrow and started to follow it quickly before it was out of reach. “Awesome, someone has made a mistake by sending them here, there are no fireworks planned in that area of the town.” She sighed, “Me and my luck again.”

When she reached the corner where the wagon had just entered the street a short moment ago, it already had made some distance. It seemed it had speeded up after she had lost eye contact to it. “Hey you!” Snowy shouted, “Wait for me!”

But the two griffons didn’t react to her yelling.

“Hey!” she shouted louder, “You two griffons!”

One of them, the one who didn’t pull the wagon turned around his head to her and gave her a look. Then he made a gesture with his claws, implying that he couldn’t hear what she was saying, just before he and his colleague entered one of the private properties through a massive stone-portal, throwing the iron-gate shut.

“Effrontery!” She galloped down the street to the gate, looking through it. The building was an old factory for bricks that had been abandoned when this part of town had become the entertainment district. All the machines, ovens and any other necessary equipment to make bricks had been moved to the new factory years ago. If the property hadn’t been so expensive or would have lain in a better, more public place, it surely would have been sold already.

At the moment, however, it was more important where the griffons were going with the wagon full of explosive firework.

The griffons were nowhere to be seen anymore, they had entered the building through one of the big gates obviously. For a moment, it occurred to Snowy, that these two might not be part of the firework team. After all, civilians weren’t allowed to carry dangerous explosives around town at will, and if they weren’t part of the festivities... she dropped that thought.

She pressed down the handle and jolted the gate but it didn’t open. Taking a step back, she gave the wall on both sides a gaze. “Easy to fly over but very hard to climb on. It is hard to be an earth-pony sometimes…” For a second she thought about changing back to her normal form to fly over the wall but that was far too dangerous, what if somepony saw her? “Of course I could melt the lock,” she sighed, “but that would also be hard to explain later. Maybe some magic can open the lock, let’s examine it a bit closer.” Unfortunately it was one of the locks that were specially designed to resist magical attempts to open it, the inner parts were completely invisible and without further knowledge the mechanics inside were a mystery to Snowy, meaning she wasn’t able to open it without destroying it.

Frustrated, she bucked against the gate without any effect.

Playing with the whistle around her neck, she considered to use it to get the attention of the griffons, but it was only for emergencies and until she could prove otherwise a “misplaced” wagonload wasn’t really one. “Left only climbing, great...”

The stonewall already had seen better years, still it was Canterlot so it was not dilapidated. Looking for some spot that qualified as a ledge, Snowy trotted along the hindrance. Eventually she found a fitting spot, or to be honest, a spot that looked more useful than the others, which wasn’t much.

Taking a few steps back, she galloped at the wall, jumped up, misplaced her rear hoof next to the spot she was aiming for and felt back on her flank. “Ouch!” She rose up and rubbed her flank. Another try followed which made her able to scratch over the edge of the wall with her hooves, lose grip and landing on the ground again. The third attempt was eventually successful and she was able to grab the top of the wall and pull herself over it. With far less elegance than intended she landed on the other side.

“Alright,” she adjusted her helmet to regain some confidence, “where are those griffons now?”

Giving the old windows and the few doors looks again and again she slowly trotted towards the nearest entrance of the building. Pushing the door open, some once orange snippet fell down and spread over the floor. “Been awhile since someone opened that door.”

“Hello?” she shouted. “Somepony here?”

Silence was the only answer.

“Helloooo!” Snowy repeated more loudly, but still no answer, so she trotted in.

She found herself in the far left corner of a spacious hall. How large exactly was hard to tell due to there being some extra walls to separate several parts of the hall, also dividing walls to subdivide some areas even more and a maze of galleries around the outer walls, leading from one level to another. To make matter worse, there were many doors and small corridors to help one get completely lost.

“I wonder which genius has sent them here. Starting a firework from here may burn down, not only this old facility, but the whole district too. Whoever is responsible has no clue how fast a fire can spread, also from building to building.”

Still annoyed by this recklessness Snowy started to explore the place further. With the wagon nowhere to be seen she decided to go for the next bigger part of the hall. While she trotted over, she saw a bunch of small critters alerted by the echo of her hoofsteps which quickly ran away. “This place is abandoned for too long already.”

Pushing another door open in between the walls, she saw the wagon with the firework standing in the next part of the hall. “There you are!” She sped up a bit and placed her hooves on the edge of it to examine its content. When she first had seen it, she has noticed it was filled with fireworks, what she didn’t notice on the first look however was how big these firework-rockets and explosives where. “These things are huge!” She carefully took a rocket from the wagon and gave it a look. “Are they crazy? Only one of these rockets fly in the wrong direction and it will blow away a complete roof of one of the houses!” Her gaze turned back to the other items on the load area, “And what is this?” She lay the rocket back down and picked up a small wooden box. After opening it, it revealed only pure explosive. “What the hay is this doing here?”

“It seems you gave yourself an overview of our stock of fireworks, officer. ”Scared for a second Snowy swiftly turned around to see who has spoken. A brown griffon with some stripes in yellow on his back had entered and walked towards her. Behind him the two griffons she already had seen, followed.

“May I ask what you are doing here anyway? I wasn’t aware somepony had asked for the support of the firefighters,” the griffon added in a polite but somehow bored tone.

“I am here because I saw your wagon filled with fireworks driving through the streets,” Snowy replied while she pointed at the wagon and after she recovered from the surprise completely, she added in a didactic tone which couldn’t conceal her annoyance, “It isn’t allowed for civilians to carry that kind of stuff around town, you know? So I assumed somepony has mislead your fireworks, but now, when I see them closer, it is also revealed they are the wrong type.”

“Don’t worry officer,” he gave her a smile, “these are the right kind of fireworks at the right place.” He stopped in front of her. “I have all the necessary documents,” he held out a claw to the griffon on his right side. Said griffon rummaged in his saddlebag and pulled out a little scroll which he clawed over to him. “There it is,” and with this words he gave her the scroll.

Unfolding it, Snowy read the instructions. It was written that a wagon filled with firework shall be placed at the brick facility on ‘Old Brick-Placer street’. Signed by the administration office of Canterlot. She turned around the scroll to see if there was more on it but there wasn’t.

“That is not correct. Neither is there a description what kind of firework, nor was the fire department informed about this.”

Lifting his claws he said, “that is not my fault officer, I was paid to arrange a nice firework starting from this building and that is what I am going to do.” He gave the other two a wave, “Store the rest of the boxes in the cellar and the rockets go in the west tower, hush, hush.”

“Wait, that is not right, somepony must have made a mistake,” Snowy interrupted. “You can’t fire these rockets over the town, what if one flies in the wrong direction and hits one of the houses? Somepony may get hurt!”

“Sadly I can’t help you with this. My orders are clear and I was already paid, so…” he stepped forward and pushed her aside a bit to make room for his comrades to continue emptying the wagon. “If you don’t mind, I would like to have my documents back.” He held out a claw.

“I think I’m going to keep them and speak with the responsible ponies about it, it’s far too dangerous to start a firework display here.” Pointing at the boxes she added, “And I really want to know what this stuff is doing here.”

“Sorry officer, but I need my orders back.”

“No, I keep them, there is definitely something wrong with them.”

His eyebrows narrowed, “I fear I have to insist,” he said. “Give them back,” he impatiently repeated his demanding gesture with his claw.

“No, I will show them to the administration ponies, they surely can tell what has gone wrong.”

He grabbed her free hoof, “Hey!” Snowy protested.

“As I said, I have to insist.”

“Who do you think you are! Keep your claws away from me at once!”

He only increased the strength of his grip while he reached out for the scroll with his other claw.

“I am an officer of Canterlot and you will take away your claw instantly!”

Something in his gaze changed, his face had become thoughtfully by her mentioning her rank. He didn’t let go, but didn’t tried to get the scroll either. “Well, you're right about one thing, as an officer, ponies have to show respect to you.”

“Finally he realised with whom he is talking.”

“You could cause us some trouble if you try too, don’t you? Maybe it is better if we make sure you don’t leave this building…” he said.

“What?” Snowy started, but before she could do anything the griffon already pulled her closer to himself and threw her headfirst into the wagon. Little stars were dancing around her head for a moment when she tried to get up again. But she didn’t have time to recover, shortly after her collision with the wagon four strong griffon claws grabbed her and lifted her up.

“Make sure our little officer here is locked away safely before you go on with the preparations, I don’t want her to disturb our plans.” The griffon ordered.

“Yes, commander,” the two other griffons said in unison and saluted.

Snowy shook off the stars and asked, “Commander?” She gave them all a closer look, “Who are you guys?”

“Oh, that you want to know, don’t you? You know what, it wouldn’t hurt if you knew, so,” he bowed with elegance, “Griffonstone’s secret service. Normally I would say a pleasure to meet you, but to be honest, it is not. You are an unwelcome interruption in our plans.”

Starting to struggle and trying to buck, Snowy tried to get free but it wasn’t successful. “What is the griffon secret service doing here? Let me go!”

“No way, you could do far too much trouble.” The ‘commander’ answered, “A civilian could have gone,” he made a repelling wave with his paw, “nopony would listen to them and if they did say something,” he shrugged his shoulders, “it would take forever to react. An officer on the other claw, that's far too risky. Maybe you’d really manage to get the official side involved and that, “he walked towards her till he was close enough to look her directly into the eyes, “we don’t want to happen, do we?”

“I don’t understand, what the hay are you doing here?”

“Don’t worry about that,” he replied and gave the griffon on her right side a nod. Without further warning, the griffon on her left pulled away her helmet, the other hit her with a brick and the world turned dark for Snowy.

***

A sharp pain at the back of her head pulled her back conscious, “Ouch, that hurt.” Snowy tried to rub the spot with her hoof but she wasn’t able to move it. Slowly she got back her senses and looked down at her hooves. A rope was wrapped around her forelegs, effective hindrance to moving them. When she tried to stand up she noticed two things, first her rear legs were bound too, second, it increased the pain in her head significantly when she tried to stand up. Letting herself slide back to the ground, she scanned her surroundings. The room she was in, was only slightly lighted. There was no window, the only light came from the cracks between the only door and the walls around it. As far as Snowy could tell, this room was once a storage room. She didn’t have a proof of it, still it seemed to her that the room was placed in the cellar of the facility.

With a groan she crawled to one of the walls and pushed herself upward so her back leaned against it. She paused for a moment till the pounding in her head was lowered to a level she could endure.

“What are these damn griffons planning? Why did they knock me down and what are they going to do with all these explosives? Whatever it is, it is nothing good, so much is clear.” She gave the room another short look, some barrels, a few tall wooden boxes and an empty shelf was to see. “I have to get out of here and get help.”

Setting up her ears, she tried to listen to any sound that could tell her if somepony, or griffon, was near by. When everything stayed silent for a moment she lifted up her forelegs as far as it was possible with the rope around them. “At least I can get rid of these,” she thought and spat a small cloud of fire above them. The old rope caught fire quickly and Snowy held it against the rope at her rear legs. Within a minute or two they were falling off and on the ground, spending a bit of light.

Using her now free hoof, she touched the back of her head and with another noise of pain she pulled it back. A small bit of dried blood clung to it. “That gives a bump.”

She rose completely and trotted over to the door. Pressing her ear at the wood, she listened again for some sign she wasn’t alone, still nothing was to hear. Carefully she pulled down the handle, trying to open the door silently but it was locked.

“Well that isn’t much of a surprise.” Suddenly another thought floated into her mind, “Where is my helmet? Another gaze around but it was nowhere to seen. “Hopefully they didn’t break it.”

Turning around to the door, she focused her attention on the lock. A simple one which had seen better years. Using a moment to get a feeling for her inner reserve of fire, she decided it would be the best to use magic this time to break the lock. Standing on her rear hooves, she made the gestures she had learned to use to summon magic. Moving her hooves from left to right and back again before the lock, Snowy got a magical ‘feeling’ for it. When the image was clear before her inner eye she let flow in her magic and manipulated the inner parts of the mechanism. It was like she was able to grab the parts with her hoof, they moved in the same direction she moved her hoof after she established the connection. A few seconds after the first movement, the door was unlocked.

“That is much easier if no griffon has tried to crack my head before. Hopefully nopony has heard that.”

Her pulse increased a good bit when she pushed the door open, luckily there was nopony or griffon on the other side. A quick glance right and left and it was clear this was the cellar. In both directions there were corridors, splitting up after a few steps and also had many doors along the walls. With her ears perked up she decided to sneak down the left corridor.

At the corners of the next intersection she stopped and peeked around them, twitching her ears around too, but she was alone. On the right side, the next corridor ended after a few steps with a door at both sides, the corridor at her left side had stairs at the end, leading upwards.

Snowy instinctively moved toward the stairs till she noticed one of the doors she was passing was open a gap. She stopped and peeked inside, in the darkness behind the door it was hard to see anything so she gave the door a push. With a slight creak it swung open, giving free the sight of a stack of the wooden boxes Snowy already knew and many, many more of similar appearance.

Unbelieving, Snowy walked closer, “This is enough explosive to blow up the whole building!”

Hastily she opened some of the other boxes but it was every time the same, they all were filled with explosives. Then her eye fell on a stack of empty boxes at the other side of the room. Some of the content already was unpacked and elsewhere now.

The unpleasant image of some of these big rockets flying around with extra explosive attached to them sprung up in her mind. “What are they going to do? Setting the whole district on fire?” One of her ears perked up, there was some noise from the top of the stairs… pawsteps! A second later the door already was opened and mix of the voices of three griffons made its way down to her. Panicked, Snowy swung around her head to find a spot to hide in, but there wasn’t anything here except the boxes, Without a choice she jumped behind the door, it was a very bad place to hide but there wasn’t any other option. Standing up on her rear hooves she leaned against the wall.

When the griffons got closer she was able to hear what they say, “I didn’t misplace them,” one of them complained, “Thirty-two boxes for the cellar and five for the roof, plus one painted dark yellow with the detonators in it. They forgot to paint it, it isn’t my fault.”

“Even if they forgot, it was your duty to check the load before you brought them here.” That voice was from the Commander.

“But…” the first voice spoke again, but was interrupted by a voice Snowy hadn’t heard before.

“Stop your excuses, Gobbo, you messed up.”

“That makes four griffons.” Snowy thought.

“I didn’t, you could…” the first griffon started again.

“Enough!,” the commander silenced them. “Just shut up and find the detonators!” He sighed, “For one time if I could only work with professionals, only one time…”

As they entered the chamber with the explosives, Snowy closed her eyes and tried to make no sound at all, she even put a hoof at her nose to suppress the sound of her breathing. Her heart was beating so loud she feared they could hear it.

In the following minutes, which felt like forever, they searched through the boxes. With every second passing by, Snowy got more and more nervous. “Just get the darn things you are looking for and leave!”

Finally, the griffon who wasn’t Gobbo or the leader yelled, “I got them!” A little rummaging followed.

“Good,” the commander said, “place one here and two more in the other rooms, then bring the remaining boxes up to the roof. Gobbo you will help him.”

“They are really going to blow up the whole building!”

“Yes, Sir.” They answered and a minute later they left the room. Their leader, however, didn’t move as far as Snowy could hear, he just stood in the middle of the room. Another few minutes passed by till the others were done with their work and walked towards the stairs.

“Sir?” one of them said questionly when they reached the room with Snowy and the Commander in it again.

“I’ll take a look at this firefighting mare,” he answered.

“What shall that be good for?” the third griffon asked.

“Don’t you have orders to fulfill?” the commander said in a displeased tone.

Without any more conversation the other two started to walk on, when they passed the exit door, the commander yelled at them to close it behind them.

Still he didn’t move. “What is he waiting for? Just leave now!”

He clicked with his claw tips rhythmically on the ground for a few seconds, “I wonder how you managed to escape,” he said and Snowy froze. “Really, I am surprised you not only got rid of the ropes, you also were able to unlock the door, impressive.”

“Snowy opened her eyes, the door was still in place and covered her from the light that he has with him, possible a lantern or something similar. “How can he know I am here?”

“If you wonder what has revealed you, your tail tip shows between the wall and the hinge.”

“Dammit!”

“You’re lucky the others are amateurs, otherwise they’d have noticed it too.”

Pushing away the now useless door, Snowy faced him. He simply smiled.

Falling down on all four hooves again Snowy asked, “And now?” She wasn’t able to suppress her worries completely. “You let me know all of your plans and where the detonators are, knowing you can’t lock me away…”

His smile got wider. “Yes, you see, reason number one,” he raised a talon of his claw, “could be that I have gone totally insane and my bosses just forgot to take me out of charge.”

The hair in Snowy’s neck started to stand up while she slowly placed her hooves, bit by bit, closer to him to be able to swing that door completely open without her staying in the way anymore.

“The second reason could be,” he raised the second talon of his claw and then moved it to his mane, “to make sure,” he pulled a dagger out of his mane, “you don’t make it out of here with that wisdom.”

While Snowy’s eyes widened in shock he already pushed forward without hesitation and horizontally struck at her. Snowy screamed in fear, raised her forelegs before her face to protect herself, followed by a scream of pain when he hit her, leaving a deep cut starting at her lower left leg to the middle of her right one. At once he pressed forward using his movement to hit her again with his elbow pushing her head aside and gave her another smaller cut over the right cheek.

“Stop!” Snowy screamed, her voice filled with pain, “Stop!”

But he didn’t listen. Barely she was able to dodge another strike but when she aimed for a counterstrike he just grabbed her hoof, flapped his wings to gain speed and threw her through the room into the stack of empty boxes.

“I was expecting a bit more to be honest,” he mocked at her.” After you managed to free yourself, I thought you would be a challenge, that was the only reason I wanted to do this myself and not let the others handle this. A shame you are such a disappointment.”

With a painful groan Burning Snowflake rose, swaying between the boxes and got on her hooves again, turning around to him. He played with his dagger and flipped it over in the air a few times.

“Ready for another round,” he asked, giggling.

She grabbed one of the boxes and threw it at him. He caught it and laughed, “Oh there is a spark of resis…” The rest of his sentence was cut of when the box exploded into thousand of splitters and something hit him forcefully in his left shoulder, kicking him back through the door and into the wall on the other side of the corridor. Falling down of it, dust trickled down on him.

Standing still a bit unsteady, Snowy pressed her right foreleg to her chest. “That hurts!” Doing the necessary gestures as quick as possible also wounded wasn’t the most pleasurable thing. She gave the griffon a look, he was already standing up again!

He coughed, then spoke, “I wasn’t aware all ponies can cast magic,” another cough, “that makes things much more interesting.” Flapping out his wings and moving the wings joints around a bit he regained readiness. “Alright, ready for the third round.”

“We don’t have too!” Snowy appealed, “Just get out of the way and let me go!”

“That is not up for discussion, it is you or me now and you know what? I am really excited about this.”

“Yo-you’re enjoying this?”

“Oh, of course I do, haven’t a good fight in a long time, but enough with the words, let’s keep going!” The last words he screamed at her while he threw his dagger at her, which he had picked up secretly.

Faster than ever before, Snowy moved her hooves past each other in front of her face and created a small blue jiggling shield, a split of a second before the dagger crashed into it. It held, but didn’t slow the weapon down much so the shield smashed right into her face, causing her to roll back over.

She heard her opponent roaring like a predator and knew what was coming, so without thinking she kicked out with her rear hooves in the air, hitting the griffon who tried to jump on her. That gave her a second to think, “How can I get out of this?” She considered to give him another blast of magic but even if she was fast enough for this, and he was stupid enough to get hit she wasn’t fast enough to outrun him as long as she was in earth pony shape.

“If I turn back… but if anypony knows about my ability…” her thoughts were racing, should she give up all her plans for the future, her home? or should she… “No! Better a life elsewhere then no life!”

She made her decision and let her cover shape fall, wounded as she was, there was no turning back. Green flames ran all over her body and restored her true self, and thank Celestia, that meant she had wings again!

The griffon had jumped on his paws and brought his claws in a defence position, “What in Tartarus are you?”

Ignoring him, she used his astonishment to push herself off the ground and catapult herself with a forceful flap of her wings towards the door. She was already flying over the fourth step upwards when he started to follow her.

“You can’t flee from me!” he yelled.

“I hope I can!” she hit down the door handle, “Ouch my leg!” and rammed the door open. Behind it laid the great hall she was in, when she entered the facility. A quick glance around, his helpers were nowhere to be seen, they must be at the roof. Another glance and she flew up to reach one of the windows. “If I can break through one, I will be safe!”

Half the way up, she dared to look back. Only a few feet behind her, her persecutor caught up. She gave everything and sped up a bit, but truth be told, she never was a fast flier. In the moment she started to gather her magic to blast one of the windows, he grabbed her leg and pulled her back down.

“No!” Snowy thought and kicked at him with her other leg but it was useless. He fended off her attempts to get rid of him and at her third kick he managed to also grab her other leg. Snowy pulled as hard as she could, flapping her wings like a hummingbird. Still, she first got pulled down slowly, then faster and faster. “He is too heavy,” panicked she now aimed her magic uncontrolled at him, shooting one blast after another downside.

One of her attacks hit some of the feathers on one of his wings but that didn’t shake him off, with most of her blasts hitting the ground and the walls below them, breaking splinters out of them.

“Let go!” she screamed.

“I told you, you can’t get away!” he pulled at her rear-legs again while he made a bigger swing of his wings too, so he was suddenly on the same level with her. Clinging to her, he used his claws and paws to injure her and rip out her feathers. Snowy tried to push him away and get free but only more and more orange feathers were falling to the ground, till the point she wasn’t really able to fly anymore.

Satisfied with the damage he had done, he let go and Snowy was falling to the ground only slightly slowed by her still flapping wings. With a ‘thud’ she crashed to the ground.

With far more elegance he took his time to land near her, approaching her in his own speed, knowing she wasn’t flying away anymore.

“At least this was some fun, don’t you think?”

When she weakly lifted her hooves again he rushed over to her, jumped on her and grabbed them, holding them away from himself. “Oh you don’t want to shoot at me again or? That would be so rude.” Struggling with her for a moment he added, “Even with all this being fun, I guess we should end it now, I have other things to do, you know?”

Tears formed in Snowy’s eyes, “Why?” she asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“I don’t have time to explain it to you,” he said while he pushed her hooves back bit by bit to reach her throat with his claws, “now just stop resisting and I’ll make it quick.”

Using all his weight, he shifted his body more and more forward, sweat formed on his face while he got closer to Snowy’s with each bit he pushed her hooves down. Close to defeating her he asked, “Any last words?”

Now Snowy let freely run her tears down, “I am sorry.”

“Huh? Sorry for what? Interrupting our operation?”

“No... for this!” and she spitted every last fire she had right into his face setting him on fire at once.

He jumped up and screamed and roared while Snowy rolled on the side, cried and watching him said, “I am sorry,” again and again.

In her guilt she realised too late where he was heading for in his agony, only when he reached the wagon with the last boxes of explosives she became aware of what danger she still was. Bringing up all her remaining strength she rose from the ground as fast as she could and stumbled away from the wagon.

Shortly after she made the first steps the griffon fell into the vehicle, a few steps later an explosion followed when the fire reached the boxes, blowing Snowy from her hooves. She rolled over the ground, bouncing a few times and come to a hold a good distance away from where the explosion has caught her.

Stones and glass splinters rained down into the hall but Snowy was not able to flee or protect herself at the moment. She didn’t even notice how close a few of the stones crashed right next to her into the ground. When she opened her eyes again the world was blurred and she had a ringing in her ears which made her nearly deaf. Snowy saw something hit the ground just next to her left front hoof but couldn’t identify it. More and more of that things landet next to her, she felt there was something more to this, wasn’t there something important she had to do?

“My head… why does my head hurt so much?” she lifted a hoof to press it on the hurting spot just to notice something red on it, “Is this blood? … it seems so, ... mine?” Suddenly the memory struck her, this was hers and she still was in this collapsing building! She shook off her disorientation and looked into the chaos her surroundings had become. There were flames around the center of the explosion, spreading fast all over the place, even the roof had caught fire, also some of the supporting pillars were gone. One laid across the ground, shattered, another just was blown away.

Snowy wasn’t an expert in architecture but surely it was bad that they were gone. Her ears weren’t normally functional still, but there was a dull sound coming from the walls which sent a shiver down her spine.

“I have to get out of here!”

She spread out her wings and jumped up just to fall back on her hooves, “My wings! …right!” She cursed the griffon for a second till she remembered what happened to him and guilt replaced her anger.

“Then on hooves!” she thought and galloped forward, ignoring the pain that this caused her. Unsure in which direction the distance to the exit was the shortest, she took the next best way.

The moment she passed by the next between wall, was the moment some of the ‘firework’ rockets started. Luckily, for Canterlot, they didn’t launch like planned, instead caught fire at the place and position they had laid. Causing them to fly around in the building.

They didn’t catch Snowy’s attention, till the point the first exploded and also caused the rest of the explosive on the roof to do the same. If Snowy wouldn’t be already nearly deaf, she would have been now. When she recovered from the impact of the shockwave, she risked a gaze at the roof, it was gone…

“Ponyfeathers!”

The new explosion gave the remaining building the rest, whatever part of it, which had stayed unaffected by the loss of some of supporting pillars, was now collapsing like the rest. This was supported by the parts of the roof that followed gravity and crushed back down to ground, some of it right back into the facility.

“I can’t make it out of here.” The realisation of that fact nearly let her give up, but there was a last option she clung too. She doubted it would work but what did she have to lose anyway? Snowy crouched down and focused on her magic, there was not much left. She took the rest of it and created a shield in form of a small box around herself. “I hope it will hold.”

Every second she got, was a second more to strengthen her shield. Stones, beams and everything else that the building was made from was crushing on her shield and created a heap around it and over it.

“Maybe it holds each other?” she hoped, “maybe I am safe…”

At this point, the fire reached the explosives at the cellar and the following detonation let her shield collapse...

Excavated truths

View Online

The heavy rain that the pegasi created over the now ruined factory was a great help in the extinguishing procedure. Dozens of ponies were fighting with the flames for quite a while before the rain clouds arrived. Luckily the debris flying around after the explosion didn’t cause much damage and the few airborne pegasi swiftly collected the burning bits of rubble from, and also out off the surrounding roofs, preventing the fire from spreading.

Several fire brigade carriages surrounded the ruin and a few more were driving through the streets, refilling their water or returning to the place of action. The royal guard was also present, keeping the civilians at bay to let the firefighters do their job undisturbed.

With the flames getting lower a small group of firefighters has stopped the attempts to extinguish the flames and were gathering around a waggon filled with equipment necessary to enter the building and search for buried ponies.

Pulling on his clothes, the group leader, Pear Thrower, said, “Remember, we do everything by the book. Four groups, two ponies each, nopony goes alone! When the chief gives his ok, Toothpick and Filled Bucket, you two go first, search the middle of the factory.”

Mentioned two nodded.

“Juggler, you take High Pressure with you and go right after you pass the collapsed main entrance. See if you can find a way to the cellar, maybe it is still intact. If somepony has survived this, then most likely there.”

“Roger that,” the two replied.

“Teapot, Silent Hooves, you go left. The roof somehow managed to not collapse there yet, be careful, watch out for falling debris, no feats! If it seems too dangerous, stop the search and return to the main area. Understood?”

“Yes Sir,” they said.

“Good. Rookie, you come with me.”

“My name is Listening Ears, Sir,” he replied.

“I know, rookie. You stay at my side, we go last and then help Toothpick and Filled Bucket in what is left of the main hall.” He gave his ponies a look. “Any questions?”

“No Sir,” was the only answer.

“Alright.” They all finished putting on their clothes and took their equipment. “Get in position and wait for the signal from the chief. And remember, no feats! We don’t know if somepony was in the building at all. I want you all back in one piece and not toasted!” the leader said, his voice a little suppressed by his helmet.

It didn’t take long till the expected signal was given, immediately Toothpick and Filled Bucket entered the building, followed by the others. The sight was discouraging, the place was filled with rubble, still glowing embers and a lot of mud from the water pumped in the ruin. Still, they didn’t hesitate to start the search and split up as planned.

***

“How could someone survive being in an exploding building like this?” Listening Ears asked, his voice a bit muted from the oxygen mask, while he cleared some bricks from the way to the next room.

“You would be surprised, rookie, what a pony can survive,” the leader said from a few hoofsteps away. “Now concentrate on what you're doing.”

“Yes Sir.” He let the bricks drop to the side and pushed himself slowly through the small opening. His helmet-lamp magically illuminated the area only insufficiently and the smoke and steam still lingering in the air didn’t help too. “Is somepony here?” he shouted. The only answer were the little sounds the ruin was making.

Pear Thrower crawled through the opening too and stood next to him now. “Let’s move on and see if we can spot an indication that somepony is here.”

Slowly the two continued their search, climbing over small hills of debris and evading small sources of fire. They repeatedly shouted out and listened if somepony responded, but that never happened. At some point they reached a blocked door again, but this time there was a huge wooden beam in the way, crushing half of the door.

Listening Ears grabbed his axe but was held back by Pear Thrower. “No, rookie, if you cut this beam the whole wall will collapse, we have to find a way around it.”

“Oh,” was all Listening Ears said while he put back the axe. Then he followed the older stallion while he walked on to find a way around the beam. Small pieces of ash and ember were drizzling on their uniforms.

“Over there,” Pear pointed at a hole in the wall in front of them, “seems like we have found a new door.”

Next to the hole lay something, it was not clear on the first look what it was. Pear walked nearer, examining it. “Looks like some kind of… wheel? Maybe?” The thing was broken and some parts were missing, still it could have been a wheel of a wagon. “Whatever this was, it has crashed into the wall and created this hole for us.” He carefully laid the thing back and walked to the other side of the wall.

“That must be the place where the main explosion happened,” Pear said. “Look rookie, how little is left from the walls that once have stood here and by that, you can guess where the center was.”

“If you say so…” Listening Ears said a bit unsure.

“It is not that difficult, look, the groundlines of most of the walls are still there and the debris is mostly on the outer side from the center of the explosion,” pointing at some of the spots he was going on, “and also you can see that there is a hollow over there. It is filled with rubble, still you can see where the ground is lower than the rest. This means either the falling debris has cracked a hole in the ceiling of the cellar or, with the sorry state of surroundings in mind, the explosion did.”

“Hmm, yes, now I see what you mean.”

“Anyway we have to move on, be careful, watch your step, the ground could collapse.”

Listening Ears nodded and slowly followed Pear while he approached the filled hollow. Step by step they moved closer, till suddenly Pear stopped and raised a hoof to tell Listening Ears to do the same.

“What is the matter, sergeant?”

“I… I think I heard something.”

“A pony?”

“No, more like—” a loud cracking noise interrupted his sentence, “—that! Pull back!”

Swiftly the two turned around and galloped back as fast as they could, just in time. The floor was collapsing further and further in front of them. A huge part fell into the darkness beneath.

“Faster!” Pear yelled when he reached Listening Ears and pushed him with his head. “There over this rest of a wall!” Both jumped over it, turning to see the crack wandering past them and finally stopping a dozen steps later at the next wall.

“That was close,” Listening said and released a heavy breath. “How did you know it will stop at the wall?”

“I didn’t,” Pear started, drawing a shocked gaze from his teammate, “but the fact that this level hasn’t completely fallen down yet means that some of the walls down there are still standing, or at least are intact enough to carry the ground level.”

Listening just shook his head in disbelief.

“Well, come on, we still have a job to do.” Pear pointed his helmet-lamp at the hole in the ground, but the small light cone had problems to get past the dust. “Is there somepony?” he shouted.

“Sergeant? Is that you?” the voice of High Pressure was coming from the cellar.

“High Pressure? Are you alright down there?” Pear asked.

“Yes Sergeant, we both are okay. Was that you with falling ceiling?”

“Yes, the floor seems very unstable, be careful down there.”

“We are,” she replied and then added, “Juggler found something you should see.”

“What is it?”

“Waterdrop’s helmet, Sir, it is really battered but it is hers.”

“Waterdrop?” he said thinking about it. “Isn’t she in Cool Air’s team? Has somepony seen her during the extinguishing procedure?”

“No, Sir.” High Pressure’s voice was heard from below and shortly after Juggler’s followed, “Me neither.”

Pear looked over to Listening but he shook his head too. “Are you sure it is hers?” he yelled down.

“A few letters are missing, Sir, but her name is still on it,” this time it was Juggler who replied.

“Okay, you two keep searching down there, Listening and I are heading back to find out if somepony has seen her. “

“Roger that,” they confirmed, starting to search the surroundings again.

***

Pear and Listening made their way back to the area near the main entrance where they met with Toothpick and Filled Bucket. There, Sergeant Pear decided that Filled Bucket should go to the Captain and find out if Waterdrop reported in for duty or if she was missing while he stayed to organise the ongoing search.

It didn’t take him long to come back and report that nopony has seen Waterdrop and that she should have been around this area anyway.

“So we can assume that there is a high chance she was here when the building exploded,” Pear said.

“Sadly that is true, Pear,” commented Filled Bucket. “But we only found her helmet, maybe she made it out or just lost her helmet.”

“Can you remember the time you got your first real helmet, Bucket?” Pear asked. “The pride you felt? Do you think you would have simply lost it?”

Filled Bucket covered himself in unpleasant silence.

“Yes, I think the same,” Pear added. “We have to act like we know she was here, in best case she wasn’t and we just wasted some time and sweat, otherwise…”

***

“Still no sign of anypony, Sir,” Teapot said. “We nearly completed searching what is left from the main hall of the ground floor and are now going for the cellar below, but it is getting darker, we need more oil-lamps and also could use a few more horns down there.”

“I know, Teapot, I already told the Captain,” Pear responded. “He has sent a request for help to Baltimare, but it will take some hours till their ‘Building Shoring Unit’ arrives. We have to work with what we have until these unicorns get here with their supporting spells. Search room by room if there is no other option.”

“Still no sign of Waterdrop?” Teapot asked.

Pear gave her a look, scanning her dirty, mud covered boots, the ash covering her clothes from the back to the hoof tips and the sweaty mane with bits of dirt, now for everypony to see with her helmet hanging from a carabiner at her chest. “No, she isn’t at home and nopony has seen her since the factory exploded.” He sighed. “Cool Air is close to even searching Tartarus for her, he is asking me every ten minutes if we found her.” He pointed at the entrance to the pavilion they were in, the mobile headquarters of the firefighters at the moment. “If she just walks in, telling me she has fallen asleep and just woke up, he would hug and kiss her, a second before he’d tear off her ears for sending all of us and especially him into such worries.”

“Couldn’t Her Highness help?” Teapot suggested a bit uncomfortable. “I mean, she is strong enough to lift some of these rubble hills and would make it a lot easier for us in there.”

“I heard Her Highness is back in the castle, something is going on there. I don’t know what it is, but it needs her full attention as it seems.”

“Really bad timing,” Teapot said, then she grabbed one of the water bottles that was standing near by and emptied it in one go. “Time to get back to work,” she added and returned to help the others.

***

It took them all night and the following day to dig out the cellar below the main hall and to shore the remaining walls enough to make the work safe. The task was exhausting, they had to work in shifts and take pauses very often. The progress was painfully slow, but they all gave their best, aware that with every passing hour the chance to find somepony alive was decreasing.

It was then, when exhaustion demanded its price, that the Captain of the Canterlot firefighters decided to call them back and ordered them to take a rest. It was far too dangerous to let them work half-asleep in this kind of place. They weren’t happy about it, but considering how fatal even the smallest mistake could be, they left the ruined factory.

“You can’t pull back yet!” Cool Air was yelling at Captain Big Helmet. “She is still in there and needs our help!”

Big Helmet gave him a stern gaze, “There is no other option and you know that, Cool Air. The mares and stallion are tired and nopony will be helped if they too get injured or buried in that building.”

“We can’t stop yet, we need to help her!”

“I understand how important this is for you, still, I won’t risk the life of a dozen ponies for one individual. You can’t expect that from me.”

“You would think different if Waterdrop was one of your mares!”

Big Helmet raised a hoof, pressing it to Cool Air’s mouth. “Enough! Waterdrop is part of the fire department, therefore, she is one of my mares too. I want to find her as much as you do, but the team needs a rest!”

Cool Air pushed away the captain’s hoof. “Fine. If the other teams need a rest, they can have it, but I and my team will continue to search her.” He turned around and put his helmet back on.

“Stop!” the Captain ordered, “my orders also apply to you, your team needs a rest as much as the others do.”

Cool Air turned around to face the Captain again. “My team will take a rest when we find Waterdrop, not a single second earlier.” He threw a challenging gaze at the Captain. “You can ask every member of my team, they all will tell you the same.”

“You don’t have my permission for that, I gave you the order to rest!”

“And I don’t listen to your orders.” He turned around again and moved towards the exit. “Try to hindrance me if you dare!”

“Cool Air!”

“What?” he asked over his shoulder.

Big Helmet took a few heavy breaths.“I hope you find her.”

With a nod, Cool Air left the pavilion.

***

“Where in tarnation are you Waterdrop?” Cool Air thought. As he expected all members of his direct team had not hesitated to disobey the Captain's orders and followed him back into the ruin, now clearing more and more from what was left of the the cellar beyond the main hall.

“I know you’re here somewhere,” he thought, “if we only knew what happened at all, maybe we would also know where you are now.”

“Cool?” one of his subordinates interrupted his thoughts, “I think you should see this.”

He turned around to the mare and saw her raised hoof. Small orange bits lay in her grip, something tiny and… “Are those… feathers?” He took them from her and turned them around in his hooves, “How can that be?” He looked her in the eyes. “Where did you find them? And why are they not burned?”

“I don’t know, Cool, but we found them in one of the rubble hills that the collapsing ceiling created.” She pointed towards the direction the others were working at the moment. “Just a few rooms further.”

“Maybe they are from the pegasi that created the rain?”

“No, it was under the rubble, not on top.”

“Could be, the feathers fell into the factory during their work and later when they lay on the ground a wall gave in and the ceiling of the room collapsed and buried them under the rubble?” he guessed.

“Unlikely, very unlikely, we have dug them out just now and we’ve been moving rubble away for hours already, they’re very deep in the stack. Also it is a bunch of feathers, not only a single one. If the pegasus that lost them wasn’t in a fight with some swarm of birds over the building, then I don’t know how they all could have fallen out and landed in the building together only to get buried under a stack of rubble afterwards.”

“Hmm,” Cool thought about it for a moment, “show me where you have found them.”

The mare, Oven Cloth, lead him to the place they found the feathers at. Two stallions were busy there, moving more and more shattered bricks and other detritus out of the way and into a small wheelbarrow.

When Cool entered they looked up and one of them said, ”Ah, there you are, did you see the feathers?” It wasn’t really a question and he just continued, “We found more of them while Oven Cloth was informing you.”

Like he said, on a nearly intact brick next to the two stallions lay another bunch of orange feathers and some single green hairs.

“We also found these,” the stallion explained. “We cannot figure it out however, how can they be that undamaged. The building was on fire, on fire! And these hairs are not even slightly ruffled by all the heat.”

Giving them a look, Cool said, “That is strange.” He walked closer and picked a hair up, after a second of examination he continued, “But I guess that mystery can wait for later. More important is if the owner of them was in the building when it exploded. All of this was found in this room?”

“Yep,” the other present stallion replied, “all was somewhere deep in this mess here.”

“Considering we have no other clue for where Waterdrop or any other pony might be, we also can focus our search here,” Cool Air decided. “You three stay here, keep going and I will send Hot Cheese and Potato Cream over to assist you. In the meantime, I and the others will concentrate on what is left of the corridor nearby. So if you find another clue for somepony being around here we are not far away.”

***

About one and half an hour later they dug out the end of a huge steel beam. Unfortunately it continued straight forward into the rubble hill before them, most of it still buried, making it far more difficult to advance their progress through the debris.

Annoyed Oven Cloth gave it a kick, “Stupid beam! Can’t you lay somewhere else?”

“Whoa, be careful Cloth, we don’t want this stack to get into movement,” Potato Cream said.

“I am sorry, just… arg, I feel so helpless at the moment.” Cloth grumbled.

Potato Cream set the handle of the wheelbarrow back down and walked over to Cloth, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “I know how you feel, but we just can’t give up. We will find her eventually and she will be okay.”

“Are you sure?” Cloth asked with an unsure look. “It has been nearly two days already and all we found are some stupid feathers and hairs that are not even hers.” She gave one of the stone pieces at the ground a kick and it smashed against the beam producing a loud noise.

“I… I am sure we will find her, don’t worry.” Potato Cream avoided a full answer they both knew could be a possible lie.

“I ho…” Cloth started when her ears peaked up. “That sounded like...” she thought.

“What is it Cloth?” Potato Cream asked, noticing her friend's body language had changed to full attention mode.

“Shh! I think I heard something.” She waved with her hoof. “Shh everypony!”

Now everypony was looking at her, while she closed her eyes and moved around her ears. This lasted for a few seconds till one of the stallions asked, “What…?”

“Shhh!” Cloth repeated and then turned her attention back to listening.

After half a minute without anything happening, the others gave each other a look and Potato Cream said, “Maybe you misheard?”

Cloth let her head hang down. “Maybe...”

“That’s just the exhaustion,” Potato Cream guessed. “Give yourself a pause for a few minutes.”

“No, I am fine, poss…” Her ears perked up again and focused on the beam. “There! There was it again!” She rushed over to the beam and placed her ear on it.

“Cloth…” Potato Cream started.

“I am sure! Just be silent!”

“You're overworked, you are starting to hear ghosts.”

“I am not!” She kept listening but again nothing happened.

Now one of the stallions spoke, “It can happen, Cloth, being underground all day and with all the hard work, surely it will be the best if you take a pause.”

“I don’t need a pause and I don’t hear ghosts!” She grabbed a small stone from the ground and knocked it into the beam, producing that loud noise again. After a few seconds she repeated it a few times. But like before nothing happened.

“Cloth, that is enough! Take a pause and drink something before you drive us all crazy.” The stallion pointed at the door.

“But…” she started.

“No, no discussion. Just leave and come back later,” he insisted.

Potato Cream placed a hoof on Cloth’s shoulder and pushed her away from the beam and towards the exit. “Come Cloth, you can help me with the wheelbarrow on the way out.”

The other mare nodded in defeat and let her colleague navigate her towards the exit. They just picked up the handle of the wheelbarrow together, when a faint metallic noise came from the beam and reverberated quietly through the room for a short moment.

Now all ears were directed at the beam, shortly, after a second, a second metallic noise followed.

The handle in her mouth forgotten, Cloth turned back, nearly throwing the wheelbarrow over. She returned to the beam, sitting down. Grabbing another stone, she hit the beam with it three times in rapid succession, listening for any response. Everypony held their breath, till finally, the response came in the form of one tone, followed by two others with some delay.

“Somepony is there!” Cloth cheered.

“Do it again! “ Potato Cream said, her enthusiasm suppressed only slightly. “We have to make sure it is not some happenstance, make a short melody, Cloth.”

They all gathered closely around the beam when Cloth drummed the beginning of Equestria's best known song. The following silence was nearly unbearable, second passed after second, their enthusiasm slowly vanishing. Cloth exchanged a look with her teammates, shrugging their shoulders. Worry creeped its way back into their faces. What if they were wrong and nopony was there?

She repeated the melody… and again, nothing happened. “This can’t be! Somepony is there! I know it!”

In this moment the melody continued, played by somepony else. It was too slow, missing the rhythm and barely hearable, but it was the melody Cloth had started.

The following jubilation was ear deafening in the room, Cloth grabbed her whistle and blowed it as hard as she could. Not that it was necessary at all, their cheering had already alerted the others and they were galloping over.

“Somepony is there!” Cloth yelled. “Somepony is still alive!”

***

With the rough knowledge of where the buried pony was, it was far easier to decide how to get to it. Instead of digging through the cellar, they returned to the ground floor and tried it from above. The fact that they got so close to find somepony refreshed their powers, the newly-found vigor pushing them through the rubble into shouting range.

When they noticed that the pony below was actually able to hear them, because they made noises with the beam every time the firefighters shouted to them, the squad did their best to assure that they would be there any minute now.

“Just hold on, we’re almost there!” Cool Air shouted.

“Only a few bricks and small wooden beams,” another stallion added. “We’ll get you out of there!”

“Careful now!” Cool commanded when they lifted another beam and the small hole below was revealed. “Potato Cream, the lantern!”

She handed it over and he slowly let it sink into the hole by the attached string, the small flame inside illuminating its depths. Under some broken stones, a lot of other things and also the steel beam, a black hoof was for all to see. No, it wasn’t black, it just was covered over and over with soot.

“There they are!” Cool looked deeper into the hole, and raised a hoof to suppress the starting cheering. “That can wait for later, we can’t get to them from here.” He pointed at two spots nearby. “There and there,” he ordered two ponies to one spot and himself and Potato Cream to the other, “we have to dig the other beams out first! Cloth, you are the smallest, see if you can push yourself deep enough into that hole to reach them, keep their company while we get rid of the rubble.

Cloth strapped the helmet closer to her head and also pushed her uniform and boots as close as possible to her body, before she started to crawl through the entrance of the hole. Pushing away a stone or brick here and there, she made her way deeper into it. Small trickles of scree were sliding down to the bottom while she tried to find a good spot to place her hooves. First her chest, then her rump vanished, so only her tail remained visible from outside.

“Hello there?” she said softly, “Can you hear me?” Pushing herself closer to the visible hoof of the other pony she tried again, “Talk to me if you can hear me, please.”

She heard the other pony cough several times before they actually replied, so faintly, she had trouble to hear them. “Cloth? … Cloth is... that you?” A series of coughs followed that short sentence.

Baffled, Cloth needed a moment to answer, “Yes, yes it is me, with whom do I talk?”

“Flöck… Water…” another wave of coughing stopped the pony from speaking further.

“Water, yes of course, just hold on a few moments longer, we will give you some, once we dug you out.” Cloth tried to say it in an up-cheering tone, still thinking about who the other pony could be.

“No, Cloth… it is…me... Waterdrop…” the other pony, a mare, said.

“What the hay? That isn’t Waterdrop’s voice!” Cloth thought. “Waterdrop?” she asked unsure and reached out with a hoof to touch the other mare’s soot-covered hoof. Gentle as she could, she brushed away a small part of the soot just to get her hoof grabbed by the other mare.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going away,” Cloth assured her, still looking at the hoof. In the light of the lantern it wasn’t clear to see what colour the mare's hoof was, so she activated her helmet-lamp, pointing the scone at it. Black, even more so than the soot itself, was the color revealed.

“Definitely not Waterdrop.” So much was clear for Cloth. “Whatever, play along with it Cloth, this mare is buried here for two days, even if she said she was Princess Celestia herself, just roll with it.” She said aloud, “Waterdrop, oh yes… of course. You got us worried out here, we are searching for you a while now, you are really good at hiding.” Cloth considered giving herself a facehoof for the nonsense she just spilled, but it worked. The other mare let out something like a weak giggle or maybe a stifled cough.

“You… you never were… good with… words, Cloth.” The words were still interrupted by coughing, but were a bit louder now.

Cloth began to stroke very softly over the other mare's hoof, simultaneously trying to keep herself firmly wedged in the hole. The broken bricks and wood splinters below her didn’t look too inviting. “Well, maybe not, but I am good with gestures.”

Continuing with the stroking, she waited for a response. After nothing happened for nearly a minute, she asked, “Are you still with me? Waterdrop?” She shook the hoof softly. “Waterdrop? she asked again, a bit louder this time.

“Ouch.”

“Oh sorry,” Cloth said and instantly stopped to shake the hoof, returning to stroking it.

“I… drifted away… for a… second.”

“You have to stay awake, please, do it for me, okay?”

“I… know the… danger of sleeping… Cloth… but… I am… so tired…”

“Oh no!” Cloth insisted in a louder tone, “You are not going to sleep on my watch, Waterdrop! Speak with me, if you know the hoofbook, you know how this is played.”

“Talking about… my family? Friends… and… such?”

“Yes, yes exactly.” Cloth agreed, “I’ll get on your nerves with questions till we got you out of here if necessary.”

“You always… were a… pest… Cloth, “ a whiff of a smile was hearable in the mare’s voice.

“Where does she know me from?” was still a thought in the back of Cloth’s mind. “Always happy to be, so keep talking, tell me about your family.”

“I never... told you much then… not yet… my parents are dead, that's… it. And you… know… I have no… other siblings… anymore.”

Giving the hoof in her hoof another look, Cloth was wondering for a second if this really wasn’t Waterdrop, but it remained black. “Probably a friend of Waterdrop? Maybe she was hit by a stone on the head and thinks she is her now?” “You never told me what had happened to them.”

“And you… think… this is the… best moment to ask?”

“I would talk with you about anything to keep you awake at the moment.”

A few seconds passed till the other mare spoke again, “Really? Everything?”

“Anything you want. If you promise to stay awake while we speak.”

“So… you and... Silent Water… ”

The hot feeling of blood rushing into her cheeks hit Cloth. How could she know? “She can’t be some random friend of Waterdrop, she promised not to tell somepony!”

“Waterdrop promised to tell nopony! How can you know?” At once she wished she had bitten on her tongue instead of saying that, if the other mare thought she is Waterdrop it wasn’t healthy at the moment to put that in question.

“I… I…” the black mare started, but was interrupted by Cloth.

“Oh silly me, excuse me Waterdrop, I was just surprised by your question. Well, Silent Water and I are dating for a while now.”

“Aaaand? Did he ask… you already?”

“Asked me what?” Cloth replied sheepishly.

“If you… want to… be his… special somepony.”

“Waterdrop, it is very rude to ask something so private. Can’t we talk about something else?”

“You… said… anything… ”

Considering in what state her talk partner was, Cloth gave in and said, “Yes he had. A little early of course, on our eleventh date.”

A long moment of silence followed, till Cloth asked again, “Are you still awake? You promised not to sleep in!”

“I am… sorry… what did you say?”

Turning her head to the hole opening above, Cloth yelled, “Can you please work a bit faster!” She turned to the mare, saying, “Yes he asked me and… I said yes.”

“If you had... said no… I would have… dug myself out… and… kicked your… flank.”

“I was close to saying no,“ Cloth confessed. “He really rushed it with asking so early, but he is indeed very likeable besides that.”

“Likeable?”

“Maybe a bit more than that.”

Small pebbles started to rain down on them, first a few, then more and more.

“Cloth!” Cool said from the entrance of the hole, looking down, “We have reached the last beam, but it is all across them, we have to cut it, so we can lift the part above. That might set a bit of rubble in movement, be careful down there.”

“Will do,” Cloth responded, then turned her attention back to the other mare. “You see, Waterdrop, just a few minutes more and you’ll be free.”

“I think… with a little… effort… I can lift… my left wingtip… to cheer… a bit.” A moment later, she added, “Nope, doesn't… work, I think… it’s broken, don't… feel it though.”

“Wings?” Pictures of dozens of pegasi rushed through Cloth’s head, everypony close enough to Waterdrop to have the knowledge the other mare had. “It simply doesn’t fit, Waterdrop is very very nitpicky about her friends, she didn’t have many and as far as I know, there are no pegasi mares so close to her.”

“Spare your power, Waterdrop, just move as little as possible. I am sure your wings will be fine, just let us get you out of here and then we can care about them.”

“They really… could use… a preening… but... ” her voice fainted away.

“Waterdrop!” Cloth yelled. “Stay awake!”

“So… tired… have slept… a few times... since… being here… already… can’t hurt… so… much… ”

“Don’t you dare! You hear me? You stay awake the last few minutes till we got you out of here or by Celestia, I’ll pull you out by your hoof myself!”

“You are… far too… small for that. Our… soft little… firefighter filly.” A little laugh, followed by coughing followed. “I can... feel your… ears shift in… anger… from here…”

Normally, exactly that would have happened, Cloth was used to getting teased with her shortness by her teammates but that didn't mean she was okay with it. Now however, she was far too worried to let such thing annoy her.

“And there goes your chance for a preening anytime soon, I will tell everypony that your wings are far to sensible for that for at least two weeks.”

“You… are… so… evil…”

“No, I am far too short for being evil, I am cute.”

Cloth did her best to keep this friendly fighting going on for the short time till the others had finally cut off the part of the beam in question and lifted it away.

“Careful ponies,” Cool commanded as they picked up the last few scraps that covered the mare. In the light of their helmet-lamps more and more of the black body was visible. Together, the other two stallions lifted the one big rubble-part that covered her head, constantly speaking with the mare. The euphoria had caught them all.

One hoof pushing the rubble-part, Cool lowered his head to look in the mare’s face as soon as possible, a bright smile on his face. The view he got however, was, even for him with his years of experience as firefighter, horrifying. A short scream of fright escaped his mouth before he could suppress it. In the light of his lamp, he saw the mare's head, but it was all black. Not only the coat, the ears, the mane, even the eyes, were all black.

“Dear Celestia!” Cool yelled with a hoof to his mouth. The others were first wondering what has scared him so much, but when the stallions had thrown the rubble over, it was clear for all to see. A wave of disbelief and fear went over them.

“What the hay?” one of the stallions asked.

“How can that be? Cool, how is that possible?” the other asked.

“I… really don’t know,” was his response after he regained his self-control.

“Charming… as… ever… Cool,” the mare said. “You… really… know how to… speak to… mares…”

“Sorry miss,” he said. “I was just …” he hesitated to find the right words, “surprised how beautiful you look like considering the circumstances.”

“You are… even worse at… lying than… Hot Cheese…” The black eyes of the mare wandered from one pony to the other. Then she started crying, even her tears were black! “I am… so happy… to see you… guys…”

“Shhh,” Potato Cream whispered, “shhh, it is okay, everything is alright now.” Her face however, didn’t match what she said. She shared unsure looks with her teammates, “Does somepony know who that is?” was the clear question behind it, also “What is with her eyes?”

Another scream was heard, this time Cloth’s. She has crawled back out of the hole and joined them. “What…” she started but stopped when her attention was grabbed by Cool heavily shaking his head.

Now the black mare got a bit worried. “What?” She shifted her gaze from one pony to the other. “What is it?” A series of coughing stopped her questions.

“Nothing, shhh,“ Cool tried to calm her down. “Everything is okay, we’ll just get rid of the last few obstacles and then we can get you out of here. He gave Potato Cream a wave, she moved closer and pulled out a small water bottle, opening it.

“Little swallows,“ she said, her voice nearly calm, while she lifted the mare’s head and set the bottle on her mouth.

Avid, the mare drank from the bottle, so Potato Cream had to lift it to stop her. “Slow… slow or you will drown.” She set the bottle down again, now the mare drank a bit more carefully. “That’s better, just take your time.” Again she had to take away the bottle when the mare started to cough.

Meanwhile the others started to put away what was still on the mare and also fetched a lantern so they weren’t in need of the small helm-lamps anymore. The moment the light of the lantern hit the mare, Potato Cream yelled in surprise and threw the bottle in the air.

The mare was now orange!

Covered over and over with soot and dirt, still her coat was orange! And her mane was two-tone green, even her eyes had regained colour and displayed a light green iris surrounded by white.

Potato Cream pulled back her hoof so the mare’s head dropped on the stone, “What kind of dark magic is working here?” she yelled while she slid back on her hind hooves.

Everypony who has seen her now orange coat took a step back from her by instinct and after the others had recognised it, alerted by Potato Cream, they took a step back too.

“Cool!, what is going on here?” one stallion asked, near to panicking. “Mares are not supposed to change colours!”

All eyes were now switching between Cool and the orange mare, waiting for an explanation.

“Ahh… “ was all Cool had to say at first, then he swallowed and added, “I don’t know, but I am sure there is a logical explanation for this.”

“A logical explanation?” Potato Cream stopped to move her gaze between the mare and Cool, “First her eyes were black, black! Now they are green and her body was black too!” she yelled.

“I see it, but I can’t explain it right now. I don’t know how this is possible,” Cool said.

The stallion holding the lantern moved another step back, so the lantern didn’t illuminate the mare completely anymore. Her body, now a mixture of orange and black, was half covered in light by the lantern and half by the helm-lamps. The colours following exactly the movement of the light from the lantern.

It took them a moment to realise what they saw, but then Hot Cheese grabbed the lantern from the stallion and covered its light with a hoof. Now the mare was completely black, including eyes and everything else. Removing the hoof and holding the lantern higher, the mare was coloured again.

Disbelieving, Hot Cheese repeated that a few times, everytime the same effect.

“What is… it, what... ” the orange mare started, “what is happening?” She tried to lift her free hoof, but she was too weak for it. “Cloth…“ she moved her head a tiny bit, “Cloth…?”

The addressed mare took another step back, not willing to move closer. Instead it was Hot Cheese who had the courage to get closer again, the lantern still in hoof.

“Cheese?” the orange mare asked, but Hot Cheese didn’t answer. She lifted the lantern above the other mare’s head, focusing the light on it.

“Like the hair we found,“ Cloth said.

Looking at her, Hot Cheese asked, “What do you mean?”

“Remember the green hair we found and the feathers?” Cloth’s voice was unstable from shock. “It is all the same here.” She pointed at the mare’s green mane. “Not singed in the slightest.”

Hot Cheese moved her head closer to examine the hair herself. “You're right!” She moved the lantern down the mare's body, followed by the worried gaze of the orange mare, “and not a single burn either!”

Everypony fell into silence after that discovery, both from shock and fear. It was Cool who regained his composure first, so he said, “I think you owe us an explanation miss.”

“I am… fireproof…”

“Nonsense!” Potato yelled, “Nopony is fireproof!”

“I am.”

“That’s some kind of dark magic for sure!” Potato proclaimed. An idea formed in her head. “Maybe she has set the building on fire!” She looked around and saw the unsure glances from her teammates. “Think about it, she is here in the ruin of it, buried under the rubble, completely unharmed by the fire, nor is she choked by the smoke! And her strange reaction to the light of the lantern, I say she is one of Discord’s spawns!”

“You can’t be serious!” Cool shouted quickly, “Discord has been gone for three hundred years already and all of his creatures have left with him!”

“What if she is right?” one of the other stallions said. “What if, “ he pointed at the orange mare, “ she had set the building on fire?”

“She could be an evil enchantress,” the third stallion added.

“There is no such thing like an evil enchantress, Chimney Cleaner! And you know that!” Cool scolded him.

“Some evil creature nonetheless,” Potato said. “Whatever she is, she has to do with this all.” Potato gestured to the burnt walls and caved-in ceiling.

“You can’t know that, Potato, I won’t let this turn into a monster hunt!”

“Why don’t we ask her?” Hot Cheese interrupted them. “Let us hear what she has to say.”

“Yes, awesome idea!” Potato said ironically. “Let the Discord spawn explain it, she totally will confess she burned everything down.”

“It doesn't hurt to listen,” Cool decided. “Stop!” He silenced Potato, the mare raising her hoof to retort. “Enough of your panicked mongering, even if she had burned down everything, she doesn't seem very dangerous at the moment.” He pointed at the orange mare. “She can’t even lift a hoof, she isn’t going to jump up and eat you.”

There wasn’t much Potato could say to that, so, for the moment, she contented herself with a snort.

Turning his attention to the orange mare, Cool said, “We all are curious about your explanation, miss, you better have a good one.”

“What do… you want to… know, Cool?”

“Maybe start with your name?” he said.

It took the mare a long moment till she responded to that, it was clear she was thinking about her answer a lot before she said anything, giving them one by one a gaze. Then she made a decision, “You know me… for nearly five years… already, the name I use… around you… is Waterdrop.”

“A lie!” Potato stumped with her hoof and the others also didn’t seem convinced. A loud tumult followed as everypony proclaimed their thoughts about this statement.

“Be quiet!” Cool shouted. “Miss, that is nonsense, we’ve all known Waterdrop for a long time now, and she has neither your coat colour nor your voice and definitely, she is not a pegasus.”

Affirmative murmle followed his words.

“It is the truth, I am… not a Discord spawn… but I can… copy a pony's… body once… I touched it… I met… the pony whose… body I used for… Waterdrop… many years ago.”

“I said she is an evil enchantress, she can steal the body of somepony!” Chimney Cleaner yelled worried, hugging his other male teammate.

“Copy… not steal… I look the same but… I’m still me…”

“I never heard of a creature able to do that,” said Cloth. “You are saying you can copy anypony?”

“Yes, everypony.” Waterdrop answered.

“Even us?” Hot Cheese asked.

“Even you.”

“I heard of a creature like that,” the third stallion said, pushing Chimney away. “My grandmother told me about some kind of… ‘bug-pony’, I think it was something like that. They camouflage as ponies and eat them. I didn’t believe her and thought that was a horror story of hers though.”

“Bug-ponies?” Hot Cheese asked. “Are you sure about that?”

He raised his hooves. “It was a long time ago when she told me that.”

“I don’t eat… ponies, nor am I … a bug-pony. I am… a pegasus.”

“At the moment,” Cloth said.

“No, I was… born as one,” Waterdrop corrected her, “and to make… that clear… I am far too… young for being a… Discord spawn… I am twenty-two.”

“And you think we will believe that?” Potato asked. “How stupid do you think we are?”

“I have to agree with Potato Cream here, “Cool said. “Even if the part about your ability to copy bodies is true, you can tell us anything, we can’t prove it. You could very well be five hundred too.”

“Does it really… matter? I am not… able or willing… to harm you… anyway.”

“We only have your word for it,” Hot Cheese said.

“I… promise, I don’t want to… eat you and my condition is… obvious.”

A promise was something even the most evil villains honoured, so that one calmed things down a bit.

“Okay maybe she will not eat us,“ Potato Cream said, “but still she could be the one who set the factory on fire, or blew it up in the first place.”

“I may… have to… do with it… but I am not to… be blamed for it.” After this explanation, Waterdrop started to cough again.

After a second, Cloth overcame her worries and picked up the water bottle nearby, luckily it wasn’t broken. There was still a bit of water inside. She moved it over to Waterdrop and let her empty it.

“Now tell us what happened,” Cloth ordered, “step by step.”

“Can’t that wait… till you… get me out of… here?”

“I don’t think so,” Cool added, “you told us you are an bodycopying pony, fooled us for years and are found in an exploded, burnt-down factory. I think an explanation is necessary.”

“We don’t get you out of here till you tell us everything,” Potato Cream added.

“Shouldn’t we bring her to the hospital first?” Hot Cheese asked, scratching her head. “She is not in the best of all conditions.”

That was a good question, they all were unsure what would be the best. On one side, this mare, who fooled them all for years was a possible great danger to them. Could be that she burnt down the factory and Celestia knows what else she could do or has done already. On the other hoof however, she was a pony in need of help, they all had agreed to help those in need when they had become firefighters and this mare needed help.

“The short version, miss- Waterdrop, if that is your name.” Cool said, “If we believe you, we will get you out of here.”

Waterdrop took a few heavy breaths, then agreed. “Alright Cool, I guess… I owe you all at least that.” And in a slow speed, with many pauses in-between, Waterdrop told them a very short version of what happened, beginning from her seeing the griffons, till the building collapsed above her. Only the part with her magic she let unmentioned. In case of her firebreath, there was not enough time or energy in her to come up with a plausible lie.

Family effects

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Pleasant Smell yawned and pushed away the cushions she had laid on during her storytelling. “Well, this should be enough for tonight.”

Raising a hoof Twilight said, “Wait, you can’t let me hang here. How did they react to her story? If she told them about her abilities, ponies would have known about them during that period of time, wouldn't they? And what was it with the secret service of Griffonstone? There shouldn’t be one in that time period.”

“That's a good thing to be told by Climber tomorrow,“ Pleasant Smell said, stretching and gracefully hopping out of the bed. “I showed you that she isn’t just a murderer. How this all ended and how she became the phantom of Canterlot after that, well, that is for my husband to tell you.”

Now Twilight rose too and hopped next to her. “Can’t you at least tell me what her teammates did? I assume they got her out of the ruin?”

“No, Twilight, no more spoilers for you tonight,” Pleasant Smell said while she picked up a little pillow the princess had kicked out of the bed inadvertently.

“And, if the princess insists?” Twilight asked with a begging smile.

“Mother's duty comes before baroness’ duty, I have children to attend to in the morning, so no more time for stories,” Pleasant Smell said giggling ,while she trotted to the door. “And I have to speak with my husband too.”

Twilight sighed. “But I have so many questions now.”

“And Climber will be more than happy to answer them for the curious princess, instead of the annoyed one,” Pleasant Smell said from the door, smiling. “Goodnight Twilight.”

“Goodnight, Pleasant Smell,” Twilight said a bit unsatisfied.

***

Twilight slept a few minutes longer than usual the next morning. She had tossed and turned around in her bed, all her questions spinning through her mind. More so, the lack of ability to use her magic properly broke her pre-bed routine, not adding to her sleep much. She wasn’t even able to use her toothbrush correctly! She was woken by a gentle knock at the door coming from a maid. Upon gaining the permission to enter, she cleaned up the room and also asked if the princess wanted to have her breakfast in her room today. Twilight denied and prepared herself to move to the main hall, so the maid promptly left with the dishes from the night before, promising to inform the baron that Twilight would be at the table in a few minutes.

When she entered the main hall, Twilight could easily tell by the many already empty plates and some servants collecting dishes, that most residents of Castle Dragonbite had already finished their breakfast and prepared to leave the hall to get to their daily duties. When she thought about it, she got the feeling that they all have just waited for her to appear, be it because of personal interest or by the baron’s order, Twilight didn’t know.

She headed for the table of the baron’s family, where a seat was reserved for her. For a noble it was absolutely unthinkable to not wait for the princess to wake up. Twilight was a little bit ashamed that they had waited for her, but it was nice of them nonetheless and while trotting over, she gave the present ponies a closer look. The face of Climber was more or less neutral, his children both seemed to be up to something and Pleasant Smell gave her a smile.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Pleasant Smell said, rising from her chair. “I hope you slept well?”

“More or less,” Twilight responded, “I still have to get used to this anti-magic phenomenon.”

“I see,” the baroness waved off a servant who had laid his hooves on Twilight's chair to draw it forth for her and did it herself. “A good breakfast will take care of the lack of sleep.”

“Your Highness,” Climber, who had risen too, greeted, followed by a more enthusiastic greeting from Cave Light and Distant Shine.

“Good morning baron, Distant Shine, Cave Light,” Twilight greeted back while she took place, giving a thankful nod to the baroness.

After the others had took place again too, Climber started, “I want to apologise for my treasurer again, Your Highness and of course that I have left you uninformed of the… the possible incident concerning Her Highness.” His gaze a bit ashamed as he threw a quick look to his wife.

“It is okay baron, I think I overreacted a little bit too.” Twilight accepted his apology with a nod. “Still I would prefer it if you would be a bit more chatty about such matters.”

“I doubt that would be possible,“ Climber began, but received a certain look from his wife and with a stroke over his chin he corrected, “Of course Your Highness, of course. I will inform you about possible negative events from your viewpoint in the future earlier.”

“Thank you, baron.”

After this, the breakfast was served and the conversation was going for more casual themes, but it didn’t slip Twilight's attention that the two young ponies gave their mother impatient looks again and again and whispered to her often. The baroness on the other side, did her best to calm them down and keep them away from Twilight.

Curious what that meant, Twilight asked, “Your children seem very impatient this morning, Pleasant Smell, is something wrong?”

“I am sorry Twilight, Cave Light had the idea to accompany you while you search for the source of the phenomenon and of course her brother wanted to go with you too.” She turned her attention to the mentioned two again. “Alright you two, now you have disturbed our guest’s breakfast and I told you what happens then,” Pleasant Smell addressed her children with an reproachful look. “No trip with the princess for you.”

Both young ponies begged her mother instantly to let them go nonetheless and also pleaded Twilight to take them with her.

“Cave Light! Distant Shine!” Climber said a bit louder than usual. “What kind of behaviour is that? You should be ashamed to act this way in the presence of Her Highness.”

Indecisive what was more important at the moment, they fell silent for a second before Cave Light said, “We are sorry daddy.” Her brother turned to their mother at the same moment. “But you said we can go with the princess if we are good foals.”

“I also said, don’t disturb her breakfast,” Pleasant Smell stated.

“Why do you want to go with me anyway?” Twilight asked. “You can search for the phenomenon everyday, I mean, you live here.”

A sheepish grin was appearing on their faces, but not a single word got over their lips.

“The princess has asked you something,” Climber said after a moment of awkward silence.

“We… we want… to…” Cave Light tried to find words.

“Yeah, “ her brother supported her, “yes... we wanted to… help?” The questioning tone of his voice made it clear that he hoped to get away with this.

Their father just raised an eyebrow.

“And this has nothing to do with being near to a flying princess?” Pleasant Smell asked, knowing what the true reason was.

Distant Shine and Cave Light gave her an innocent smile. “No?”

“What has this to do with me flying around?” Twilight asked, shifting an curious look between them.

“My children have gotten the idea that…” Pleasant Smell started but was interrupted by Cave Light.

“Mommy! It is a secret!” Her cheeks reddened a bit.

Pleasant Smell thought about it, then decided. “Okay, but if you simply ask Twilight, she may help you, don’t you think?”

“Helping with what?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing fancy, don’t worry,” Pleasant Smell answered, turning to her children as she went on. “You really should ask her.”

“N-no, no, there is no need to,” Distant Shine said.

“Now it is enough,” Climber decided. “Pleasant Smell, my dear, what is it that our children are up too?”

The baroness gave her children a strict look. “You have put yourself into this, I can’t help you with it. Tell your father what you were aiming for.”

“But, we, we are…” Cave Light started but with the look of her mother still on her, she gave in. When she rose from her chair, Distant Shine gave her a poke in the side. “You can’t tell him!” he sharply whispered.

“Either him, or you say it aloud,” she whispered back.

Trotting over to her father, she leaned closer towards him, bringing her mouth close to his ear. He stopped her head with a hoof and addressed Twilight again, “I am sorry princess.” He was fully aware that this was very impolite of his daughter, but family comes first.

Twilight just waved her ok, so Climber lowered his head to listen to Cave Light whispering in his ear. When she had finished, he turned his face to her and gave her an amused gaze.

“That is all?” he asked. “For that you made all the fuss?”

Cave Light gave him a sheepish grin.

Climber ruffled through her mane. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I am sure I can help you with this.”

Placing her hoof quickly on his legs she whispered with haste, “You can’t tell her daddy! It is embarrassing!”

He just grabbed her head and pulled her nearer for a quick nuzzle. “Don’t worry, I will handle this most diplomatically.” Releasing her from the hug, he added in normal volume, “But we can’t ignore that you disobeyed your mother's orders. So you two will go back to your chambers after breakfast and do some homework,” he raised a hoof to suppress the unhappy reactions, “while I go with the princess and do my best to make this little ‘diplomatic mission’ a success.”

Twilight gave them a curious look, her gaze gliding from Cave Light to Climber. “May I know what’s going on?”

Climber gave her a little smile. “Of course Your Highness, I will tell you on our way out, it is a matter of high sensible diplomatics. This isn’t to be discussed at the breakfast table.”

“Well, if you say so, then we will speak about it later.” Twilight agreed, she had at least learned a bit about being diplomatic herself.

***

“Barksurfer and Chisel will meet us outside of the Castle walls,“ Climber explained when he and Twilight left the main hall. “Together with Summer Breeze and Winter Breeze.”

“The two pegasi to carry them?” Twilight asked.

“Indeed, I gave Winter Breeze the ground plan of Castle Dragonbite. I also ordered a table and some basic non-magic measure equipment to be ready at your disposal.”

“Oh, that was very nice of you, baron.”

“My pleasure, Your Highness.”

During their walk, a few servants passed by them, eagerly busy to remove the remains of the breakfast from the main hall and already preparing it for lunch. A kitchen cart, filled with dessert, including some of the delicious muffins, slowly rolled by them.

Twilight pointed at the sweets. “You are really lucky to have such a skilled chef, those are delicious.”

A wide smile appeared on Climber’s face. “Yes, we are lucky to have him and I see my wife already showed you our newest secret weapon.”

Twilight gave him a look.

“That's how she calls them,” he explained, motioning to the pastries. “I just call them tasty raspberry muffins. Do you want some?” Climber added, courteous.

“No, I just rose from breakfast.” Twilight declined, but it was clear to see that she was not so sure about it.

“Lemon Tea!” Climber called. “Hold on for a second and give us two of the muffins.”

The mare who pushed the cart stopped and fetched two muffins from it. With a bow she hooved one over to Twilight and the other to the baron.

“Thank you Lemon Tea,” Climber said and Twilight did the same. With a curtsy, Lemon Tea returned to her cart and pushed it forward again.

“So,“ Twilight started, after she took a bite of the muffin, “why do you bribe me with another muffin?”

“Was it so obvious?”

“You covered it very well behind your good manners but your little happy smile revealed you had something more on mind with it.”

Climber nodded. “Again your eye for details is very sharp, Your Highness. Indeed it was on my mind that a muffin would benefit my request.”

“A request?” Twilight took another bite. “Has this anything to do with the ‘high sensible diplomatics’ you mentioned before?”

“Yes, Your Highness, exactly.”

“Go ahead then, I promise I don’t bite,” she gave the half-eaten muffin a look, “or at least not you.”

“You see, Your Highness.” Climber was still a bit unsure how to handle it. “Cave Light and Distant Shine are… they collect feathers from the most popular pegasi and also from alicorns, like Her Highness and her sister.”

“Really?” Twilight thought about it. “A bit uncommon as a hobby, but I don’t see what's wrong with it.”

“There is nothing wrong with it,” Climber said. “It is just hard to get an unbroken and pristine feather of some ponies. I know they both have one from Her Highness Princess Celestia, Cave Light also has one from Princess Luna and Distant Shine has one from Princess Cadence.” He made a pause and gave Twilight a look.

“What?” she responded to his gaze.

“Now… at the moment the fourth princess happens to be in our family's castle as a guest,” Climber explained.

Twilight's eyes widened a bit in sudden realisation. “Oh right, that's me.” She smiled, then froze, “Wait, that means…,” she gave Climber a wondering gaze, “they want a feather from me?`”

“Yes, Your Highness, if that isn’t offending you of course.”

Twilight was a bit confused that someone wanted feathers from her, but she said, “Alright, I don’t think it hurts to give them each one. I can give them to them when we get back.”

“That would be very kind of you, Your Highness, but if I may ask, could you give them to my wife instead?”

“Ahh, sure,” Twilight said a little bewildered, “but why?”

Another cart, pushed by a pony made its way along them, so they trotted aside before the baron could answer. “I think my children should get them as a reward for something and my wife can judge that best.”

“Well then, I will give her two of my feathers when we get back,” Twilight promised.

“My thanks, Your Highness,” he said with a nod. Then he made a gesture with his hoof, politely ushering Twilight to continue their way out of the Castle.

It was a few minutes later that they crossed the forecourt, for Twilight, the hurly-burly on it was still more or less familiar from her times in Canterlot. For a pony that didn’t grow up in a castle however it would have been very confusing to see so many ponies moving around, the guards, the kitchen staff, one or two gardeners and many, many others. The great difference from Canterlot was that they all paid more attention to Twilight, having a princess around was nothing common here and with their work for a noble family, the ponies here were very well-caring for her royal status.

Twilight on the other side did her best to make a good impression, waving to a few ponies and giving a smile here and there.

“It seems not only your foals are most elated about having a princess around,” she said to the baron.

Climber nodded. “I know we are quite a bit away from fancy Canterlot, Your Highness, but my people are all quite aware of our noble duty.”

“I see.” Twilight kept an eye on the activities around them till they reached the castlegate. It was wide open and the guards above were just giving them a short look while they passed through. Peaceful times caused them to go easy on trespassers, not that in the case of the baron and the princess anypony would have interfered at all.

Suddenly the gaze of Climber went a bit surprised, then annoyed, before it became neutral again. For a moment Twilight was confused why, then she saw it herself. A bit down and besides the road that led out of the Castle’s exteriors and towards the next village lay a blanket with three ponies on it. It looked like a family picnic, there was Pencake, the mare who had served the refreshments in the kaminzimmer the day before, either sleeping or relaxing, Twilight couldn't tell. Together with her was her foal, playing around her, both surely not the reason for Climber’s annoyance and… then there was Fang, the impolite treasurer.

A good distance behind the small group Chisel and the other ponies had gathered, far enough to not disturb them.

“Of course it has to be today,” Climber said quietly to himself.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing, Your Highness. I just had forgotten that today was a high chance these three would be here.”

Twilight gave the three another look, they haven’t seen them yet. Pencake was still lying with closed eyes and Fang was too occupied by the little foal sitting on his head and chewing on one of his ears. The treasurer shook his head slightly, so the little foal grabbed his head harder, flapped his wings to stay balanced and giggled.

“Well, he can’t always be an impolite ruffian,” Twilight thought. Aloud she said, “I wasn’t aware he and Pencake were…”

“Oh, they are not,” Climber answered her question before she had finished it. “Fang would wish it was so but Pencake hasn’t accepted his offer yet.”

“Elaborate, please,” Twilight said.

“Well, since Pencake arrived at our castle, maybe a year and a half ago, Fang started to court her. She however only cares to rise her foal, Colorful Wings. She was showing him the cold flank at first, but he didn’t give up so easily. With the month passing by he did something right, showed good behaviour and father qualities towards Colorful Wings, Pencake liked that and so she first tolerated his presence and now also seems to enjoy it to a degree.”

"So, there might be something more serious between them in the future?"

“Maybe, Your Highness, I would think so.”

“I see.”

As they walked nearer, Fang noticed their presence. He shot them a displeased gaze and put Colorful Wings down from his head, wrapping a foreleg around him.

“Good morning,” Twilight said after an unpleasant moment of silence between the two stallions.

“Your Highness,” Fang replied quietly, “my lord.”

Standing near enough now, it was clear to see that Pencake was sleeping, her chest rising and falling rhytmically. Climber also spoke in quiet voice, barely nodding his head. “Fang, Colorful.“

Giving the princess another displeased look, Fang said, “I heard you’re trying to find the source of Dragonbite Castle’s influence on magic.”

“That is correct,” Twilight replied.

“You shouldn’t do that,” Fang said, grabbing Colorful tighter. “Some things better stay untouched.”

“Stop it already Fang,” Climber said firmly. “The princess has my permission to search the source and you shall not interfere.”

“But I do, the origin of this effect has stayed undiscovered for ages, why risk something by changing that now?”

“What do you think we risk by discovering it now?” Twilight asked. “It doesn't seem dangerous to know more about it.”

Fang took a moment to handle the now struggling little foal before him, Colorful had started to try to squirm free and it took Fang a bit of attention to keep hold of him.

“Lower your voice, princess,“ Fang reminded her. “Pencake had a double shift including a night shift in the kitchen and needs her sleep.”

Said mare however didn't seem to care, not even her ears were flickering at Twilight's words. If at all, she only had snored a bit louder.

“And about your question,” Fang continued, “I come up with a question myself, how do you benefit from finding the source? Disturbing something that lasted for over two hundred years just because of curiosity?”

“Enough of this Fang,” Climber ordered. “The princess wants to search for the source and I confess I am curious too what she will find, so this discussion is over.”

“I am not on duty my lord and we are not in the castle at the moment, so this discussion is not over. Instead I demand an answer. Princess, what do you expect to get from more knowledge about the source?”

“Fang!” Climber said indignantly. “What do you think you are doing?”

“Asking the right questions, my lord, somepony has to think about the possible consequences.” Turning his head down to Colorful he made a ‘shhh’ sound, the little one had started to make noises of displeasure, nibbling on Fang’s foreleg.

It came to Twilight's notice that Pencake indeed didn’t show a reaction to their talk but by the sounds of her son, her ears perked up and turned in his direction at once and her face had turned unhappy, even if she was still asleep.

“Mother senses are tingling,” Twilight thought for a moment before she answered his question, “Finding out where the source lies and also how it works can be a benefit for everypony, that is how science works, you examine a phenomenon, write your knowledge down and everyone can benefit from what you found out.”

While Climber did a polite nod, supporting Her Highness, Fang was not convinced. “And for your scientific curiosity you risk to damage or destroy whatever caused this all? Science was always a pest and will ever be, not paying respect to things that are not to be interfered with!”

“Science isn’t a pest,” Twilight said, she even managed to stay calm. “If I found out how this field works for example and if I am able to reproduce it, there might be many application possibilities in social life.”

“Didn’t I tell you to not confront Her Highness with your opinions?” Climber said, annoyed. “She is guest at our place, keep that in mind.”

“I do, my lord, still I am not on duty so I can say what I want.” He turned back to Twilight. “You can get hurt or set the contained magic free in one big explosion or worst of all, let the effect vanish and make Castle Dragonbite a castle like any other.”

Now Twilight was a little bit surprised, she lifted her head a bit back and raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think the magic would be contained?” she asked more curious. “It also could be simply suppressed or vanish as quick as it was summoned.”

“I am just assuming it,“ Fang said. “I don’t know however, but the risk is still there.” He lowered his gaze again to Colorful whose tries to escape had intensified. “Colorful, be a good colt and stay quiet for a moment.”

It didn't have the desired effect, instead of being quiet, Colorful started to bawl. Fang’s face went a bit pale by that and he lifted the colt up with one hoof and with the other he stroked over his mane. “Everything's fine, no need to cry, we don’t want to wake your mother,” he said with worry in his voice, pulling the foal closer to his chest and rocking him from side to side.

It was too late, just a few seconds after Colorful had started to bawl, Pencake woke up. She gave the situation a very short look and was already on her hooves. She rushed over to Fang, took her son from his hooves and started to nuzzle him. Like any other foal, the little one was more than happy to get his mother's attention and stopped bawling, instead, he giggled and put his tiny hooves on Pencake’s snout.

“I am sorry, I…” Fang started but Pencake turned around and kept her attention on her son. By ‘happenstance’ she hit Fang with her tail in the face while doing so.

“Really, I am sorry,” Fang repeated with a hoof on his cheek. “I just held him for a moment, I didn’t want to make him upset.”

Pencake pulled her son to her chest and snuggled him while she turned her head to Fang, “Don’t you have work to do or something?” she asked angrily.

“I told you I am sorry, really,” he explained but it didn’t help. Without a word, Pencake pointed at the Castle.

Lowering his head, Fang acknowledged his fate and turned around to move back to the Castle. “This is all your fault,” he whispered to Twilight while he trotted past her.

“I know I say this very often, but I am sorry Your Highness,” Climber said.

Twilight looked after Fang while he trotted away for a moment. “It’s okay, anyway...” She turned back again. “Good morning Pencake.”

The yellow mare just waved with her hoof while her mouth was buried in the orange coat of her son and blew air on his belly. Even a princess had to stay behind mother's instincts, Twilight got to know, already the second time since she arrived here.

“Good morning Pencake,“ the baron said, but he didn’t even get a wave of her hoof because Colorful had escaped the tickling of his mother with a flap of his wings and now was hovering around, followed by his mother. Both nobles smiled at the view before them, the giggling little colt trying his best to keep out of hoof range of his mother who chased slowly after him, always letting the foal escape her attempts to catch him in the last moment.

However, Twilight wondered a bit that Pencake, as a servant of the baron simply ignored him. In her opinion, it was as well cute as disrespectful. She mentioned it to the baron and he explained, “Well, when it comes to her foal, Pencake never pays much attention to others anymore.”

“But shouldn’t she?” Twilight asked. “I don’t think it is bad that you don’t hold it against her, but considering how your family holds up traditions, it seems a bit strange to me.”

“Oh, I have held it against her back in the days but she managed to, somehow, get under the protective hoof of my wife.” He shook his head unpleasant. “I don’t want to sleep in the guest rooms again.”

Twilight moved a hoof to her mouth to suppress a giggle.

“It's not that funny Your Highness, there is a longer story to it but we should move on, the others are waiting and the day is moving forward too.”

“I guess you are right, baron,” Twilight said. “Good bye, Pencake.”

“Oh, yes, good bye princess,” Pencake responded, now with her foal balancing on her head. Colourful Wings had one hoof between his mother's ears and tried to chew on one without falling down. He wasn’t very successful, but his wings kept him barely in place. “And also to you, my lord,” she said to Climber.

It was a few minutes later that they reached the others. To Climber’s pleasure, they all greeted the princess correctly and showed their best behaviour.

“Your Highness, baron, good morning,” Barksurfer said with a light bow, “we set everything in place, if you wish we can start right away with your examination of the effect, Your Highness.”

Twilight gave the prepared equipment a look and checked everything present from her mental checklist. Satisfied with the result, she agreed and they all discussed the procedure. It turned out, there were some unexpected hindrances. The present unicorns were indeed able to use their magic, but besides the very basic spells, like levitation, they didn’t know much else. Twilight hadn’t expected that they would be experts in magic like herself but one or two spells like a simple magic light ball, which could be fired at the Castle and vanish when it reached the effect of the phenomenon would have been not too much to ask for in her opinion. Not to mention a spell to measure distances.

So the start delayed a while till Twilight found a proper solution for that, but in the end she was able to find one. It was a bit costly though. The siblings Summer and Winter Breeze would hold one of the unicorns and fly around the castle while the unicorns would levitate several small objects in front of them. The pegasi would fly closer and closer to the castle till the levitated objects would start to fall down. Then Twilight, who took position a longer distance away from the castle, would cast a distance measurement spell on the remaining objects in the air and Climber finally would write the results down on the map.

They would have to repeat that a lot of times and also change the angle from which Twilight would cast her spell around the castle, because she couldn’t measure through the effect, but in the end, with a lot of mathematics, it would give them a really good overview how high the range of the effect reached. Checking the extent of the effect on ground level would be a breeze afterwards.

Even with a plan and good will, it took them the whole morning and also a good bit of afternoon to complete their task. Finally they all gathered around the table and discussed the results.

“Well, that wasn’t what I had expected,” Twilight said. “The outline looks more like someone had dropped some ink on the map and it spread randomly around.”

“The Castle itself is completely inside,” Summer Breeze said, hovering above the table, “and so is the west-field and the cemetery.”

“But it stops at the river in the north,” his sister, Winter Breeze said, “other than that, it seems to end and start very randomly.”

Indeed, the surroundings of Dragonbite Castle were, with the mentioned exceptions, sometimes in the field and sometimes not. The line was curved like a snake in some areas, going back and forth, so a few locations were half inside and half outside.

“That is really strange,” Twilight thought out loud, “I had expected a more round extent.”

“It doesn't really have a center,” Chisel commented, “but if one wants to determine the middle, it would be somewhat around the west side of the northern wall.”

“No, more like the the north side of the western wall,” Barksurfer corrected.

“Actually it is eighteen and a half hoofsteps under the surface,” Twilight said.

“Excuse me Your Highness, but how is that possible?” Winter Breeze asked. “We only measured above the ground, how can you know the middle is beneath it?”

“Yes, how can you know?” her brother asked too.

“Basic mathematics,” Twilight said and explained, “We know how high does the phenomenon reach. If we look at the angle between the southern tower and the highest point and compare it to the alternate angle at..." Twilight trailed off, seeing the other ponies rubbing their heads and scraping the ground with their hooves.

Twilight heaved a sigh, “Fine, I’ll try to explain it more simple.” She pointed at the castle on the map. “Here, there is the highest point of the effect.” After she got everypony’s attention, she moved on to the other marked spots. “It gets lower and lower till here, that's the lowest point of a center of the effect range atop the area. By comparing the maximal extension and heights of the effect above the main Castle, I was able to determine a factor for height versus extension.”

Looking into the faces of the others, she saw they had only a very, very loose idea.

“Your Highness, I am afraid your knowledge of advanced three-dimensional mathematics is something we are not capable of keeping up with,” Climber said.

Approving mumble followed his statement.

“Alright, even if I wanted to teach you more about it, this time you will just have to trust me,” Twilight said. “If this phenomenon has a center from which it starts then it would be here,” she lay the tip of her hoof a little bit outside the northern wall of Castle Dragonbite, “eighteen and a half hoofsteps under the surface.”

“Ha!” Chisel shouted out, “I said it!”

Barksurfer just rolled his eyes while Chisel exchanged a brohoof with Summer Breeze.

Examining the map, Twilight asked, “So the question is, what lies there?” She looked at Climber who gave the map a look himself.

“I would be surprised if there would be anything besides earth, Your Highness. It doesn't make much sense to build something outside the protection of the castle walls, even if it was underground.” He thought about it for a moment. “Well there could be an old escape tunnel… maybe.”

“Could also be an old kind of pipeline,” Winter Breeze added, “it headed towards the river.”

“Or the sewerage,” Barksurfer said with a disgusted face.

“Whatever it is, we should be able to find out,” Twilight said confident.

Unexpected help

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“Yes, Your Highness, if there is something beneath the surface, we should have a map showing it.” Climber pushed the door to the library open. “The copy we had with us was the most accurate and up to date one, but if there is some abandoned place, it should be noted on an older map.”

The smell of paper, dust and time wafted around Twilight’s nose when she stepped over the threshold. No matter how long her time as a full time student was over, this smell still brought a smile to her lips. She let her gaze wander around, the room was not as big as she would like it to be, but still bigger than the main room of the Golden Oak Library was.

Along three of the walls, including the one the door was in, were bookshelves. Each was filled with scrolls and books up to the ceiling. In the middle of the room were several smaller bookcases, together with one or two armchairs and a table here and there. Only the wall to her right missed any bookshelves, instead, there was a fireplace in the middle, far enough away from the books to not harm them. Left and right of it were a door on both sides, leading to another area of the library, Twilight thought, at least.

While she let the room affect her, Climber moved on and entered one of the shelf rows near the middle. Twilight trotted after him, but then her attention was pulled by something else. She sniffed the air and her nose picked up a hint of another smell. It was freshly used ink, drifting over from a book rest to her left.

“It should be… here.” Climber crouched in front of a bookshelf and pulled out a stack of well wrapped scrolls. “One of these should…” He turned his head back to Twilight. “Your Highness?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Twilight removed her gaze from the open book on the book rest. “What did you say?”

“One of these,” Climber lay the scrolls on the nearest table and waved Twilight to follow,” should hold what we are looking for.” He removed the string and moved his hoof over the labels. His mouth formed the words while he read till he stopped and lifted one of the scrolls. “Foundations and cellar, also good hundred and thirty years old. A copy of course.” He blew away a bit of dust from it and then removed the little blue cord wrapped around the paper.

He weighed down the beginning of the map with two heavy books and then unrolled it completely, revealing many fine drawn lines and little numbers besides them. Moving his hoof slowly over the map, he quickly found the northern wall. “Over here, Your Highness, is the spot we are looking for.”

Twilight lowered her head to the map. “There is nothing noted at this place.”

“At least not at the level of the foundation,” Climber said with a hoof stroking over his chin. He returned his hoof on the map and moved over to the drawing of the cellar, which was on the same scroll, a bit more to the right. “Maybe a floor deeper.”

Both nobles lowered their heads even closer to the map to see what could be there. To their disappointment, the plan didn’t show anything at the spot in question.

“You are sure this plan is accurate?” Twilight faced the baron. “Shouldn’t there be anything, like the pipes of the castle water supply for example?”

“No, Your Highness.” He shook his head. “The pipes and also the newer electrical wiring are noted on an extra scroll. But any room that is big enough a pony could stand in is on the maps that are like this one before us.” He shrugged. “I don’t expect you think the source is just pushed into an empty pipe or cable, buried deep underground?”

Twilight scratched her head. “That indeed sounds a bit implausible, but we should keep that possibility in mind. We don’t know what caused the effect and how big it actually is, sometimes small objects have a very strong influence on things around them, just think about the Elements of Harmony for example.”

Climber nodded. “In that case I better fetch the other scrolls from the archive, as well as the older original plans of the castle underground tunnels and pipelines,” he wrinkled his nose, “including the sewage system as well.” He checked through the keys on his key ring till he stopped by a little yellow one. “Ah, there it is.” He looked back up. “I will be back in a few minutes, feel free to browse through the plans in the meantime, Your Highness, but please be careful with them.”

“Don’t worry, baron, I’ll handle these plans with care.”

Climber gave her a nod, then moved over to a door right to the fireplace. With a quick turn of his hoof he unlocked it and then entered the room behind.

“Alright,” Twilight said to herself while she looked through the other scrolls, “time to see if I can find something.”

***

Adding another scroll to the stack on Book Cover’s hooves, Twilight sighed. Not a single one had brought any enlightment to this mystery. Not nowadays nor hundreds of years in the past was anything built on the spot in question, according to the maps.

The librarian wasn’t much of a help either, not that it was her fault, the library of Castle Dragonbite was simply not big enough to have a full time librarian. Her job was mainly collecting the books the inhabitants of the castle had borrowed and dropped somewhere in the halls.

“Thank you.” Twilight gave her a smile. At least since she showed up, Book Cover did all the trotting work.

“You are welcome.” Book Cover nodded, then turned around and sorted the scrolls back.

“We should consider the possibility that there could be nothing,” Climber said with an apologetic smile.

Twilight wrinkled her lips. “I guess so, but my measures were correct. There should be something.”

“How exactly can you determine the spot on the surface above the center?” Climber made a circle with his hoof on the map. “How large is the area we are talking about exactly?”

Placing both hooves on the map, Twilight quickly compared the size of the drawn rooms with her calculations. “Approximately, this large,” she said and moved her hooves to mark the area, “twenty-four standard double steps radius.”

Climber shook his head. “That's too wide, Your Highness.”

The princess tilted her head to the side. “Too wide for what?”

“To dig out whatever it is, twenty-four standard double steps radius and a possible depth of eighteen or more hoofsteps.” He shook his head again. “Without magic and considering, whatever the source is, it could be just the size of my hoof... no.”

Twilight slowly nodded. “Sadly, I agree. More so, it is the center but still, that doesn’t meant that there is something for sure.”

“Maybe you can find a way to increase…” Climber started when the door to the library opened and Cave Light trotted in.

By the entrance of his daughter, Climber’s head moved up and he stopped speaking, waiting for her to explain her appearance.

“Princess.” Cave Light made a slight bow, then looked to her father. “Mom says it is time for tea.”

“And mom thought I would simply dismiss any servant that would come to gather us, didn’t she?” Climber asked with a smile.

Cave Light smiled too. “I think so, you did that often enough in the past when you were studying something, but you wouldn’t dismiss your own daughter, or?” She made her best puppy eyes.

He laughed. “Why do I get the feeling you are on her side now because she is the keeper of two royal feathers at the moment?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” she said with a bright innocent smile, after she moved closer and looked up to him with crossed forelegs.

Twilight giggled. “I think you are confronted with unbeatable cuteness, Lord Snowflake.”

Ruffling through his daughter’s mane, Climber agreed, “Well, it seems I am hopelessly outnumbered, this little one comes after her mother. There is just so much cuteness a stallion can stand and not more.”

Cave Light blushed. “Dad!”

“Alright, alright.” He turned his head to Twilight. “Would you like some tea, Your Highness?”

“Tea would be nice, but I would prefer to think about this,” she pointed to the map, “for a few more minutes if you don’t mind.”

Now Cave Light gave the map a curious look. “What are you searching for? Has it to do with the phenomenon?”

“Yes,” her father said, “Princess Twilight was able to come up with a possible location of the source, sadly none of our maps can support her theory.”

“Where is it?” the filly asked. “Is it inside the Castle?” Her eyes darted over the plan. “No, then it would be on the map.” She rubbed the back of her head. “Maybe on the southern hills?”

“No,” Twilight showed her the possible spot with a hoof, “right over here. The thing is, however, that according to the maps, there is nothing.”

Putting a hoof to the spot herself, Cave Light seemed to think about it for a moment, till she started to measure distances herself, beginning from the nearest noted room.

“The possible center is twenty-four double steps wide, but still there is nothing inside that area.” Twilight explained while she watched what Cave Light was doing. The face of the younger mare was highly concentrated and she had put her other hoof on the map too.

“What sort of tea would you prefer, Your Highness?” Climber asked and drew Twilight's attention back to him. “If you don’t mind, I’ll go ahead and arrange everything to your pleasure.”

“Oh.” Twilight thought about it. “Strawberry would be fine.”

“Then strawberry it will be.” He bowed. “And you, little miss,” he addressed his daughter again. “Be a good filly and take care of our guest while I am gone. Don’t let mom send me to gather you up,” he added with a wink.

Cave Light looked up for a second. “Yes dad.” She turned back down and continued her measures.

With a smile, Climber left the library.

Returning to her thoughts, Twilight didn’t pay much attention to Cave Light in the following minutes, till she spoke in a shy tone, “Princess?” After Twilight didn’t react, she spoke again, a bit louder, “Princess Twilight?”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked and turned to Cave Light. “Yes?”

Cave Light took a look at the door, then over to Book Cover who was still sorting back the scrolls. With nopony near, she leaned in closer and whispered, “Can you keep a secret?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “A secret?”

“Psst.” Cave Light made a shushing gesture with her hoof. “Yes, a secret.”

“Well, yes I can.”

Cave Light pointed on the map near the area Twilight had showed her. “I think I know what's there.”

“You do?” Twilight asked, excited.

“Shhh!” Cave Light repeated and quickly threw a look over to Book Cover, luckily only her tail was to be seen above one of the smaller bookshelves.

“I am sorry,” Twilight now whispered to her. “What is there?”

The younger mare opened her mouth to respond but then hesitated, it took her a few more attempts till she finally spoke, “I should correct, I know how to get there but I can’t describe what ‘there’ is actually.”

She blushed a bit under Twilight's look. “It is nothing more than a tiny tunnel that leads there, but I never was at its end.”

“A tunnel?” Twilight leaned in closer. “Where? And where does it lead to?”

“It is a secret, I shouldn’t know.” Cave Light avoided a clear answer and looked down on the map again.

“And you would be so nice to tell me?” Twilight implied with a begging smile.

“I am not sure, Your Highness.” She rubbed her foreleg. “It is a big secret.”

“You can tell me.” Twilight intensified her smile. “I am a trustworthy pony.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Cave Light now looked her in the eyes again, “it’s just... “

“Yes?”

“One should not give away a secret so easily, my mom always said. At least one should think carefully about the advantages and disadvantages of telling somepony.”

“And what is your opinion in this case?” Twilight asked, curious.

“I- I think we should make a trade,” Cave Light said and pushed a “Your Highness” behind. “If you could do something for me, I could tell you the secret in exchange.” Her gaze had gone sheepish by this words, knowing how her parents would think about bargain with a princess.

Giving a look over to Book Cover, who was still diligently working, Twilight peaked up her ears, “What is it that you want?”

Unsure, the baron's daughter looked around again, then she placed a hoof on the table to keep her balance while she leaned in closer till her mouth was next to Twilight's ear. Twilight's eyes widened in surprise while Cave Light told her what she wanted.

When Cave Light pulled back, Twilight gave the young mare a long look, obviously very unpleasant for her as she started to shift under Twilight's gaze. “Your first two wishes are okay, I can arrange that, but your last one, isn’t that for your parents to decide?”

Giving Twilight her best innocent smile, like she did with her father before, Cave Light answered, “They wouldn’t say no, if it is a princess who asks for me.”

“Hmm,” Twilight leaned back again and thought it over once more, “I can get you the permission but it is still up to your parents if they let you.”

“If you tell them you support it, they will say yes. I am sure.”

“Well, then I’ll arrange the part I can, in exchange for your secret and tell your parents I approve your idea. Is that a deal?”

“Deal.” Cave Light happily raised a hoof to bump it against Twilight’s to seal the deal. “Just don’t tell my parents from whom you know about it.”

“Okay.” And with a hoof bump it was settled.

***

“Excuse me, Twilight,” Pleasant Smell lowered her teacup, “but how did you come to the idea that our family crypt is the solution for this?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Climber added with narrowed eyebrows, “that is a really good question and I have to say it is really rude to ask for permission to enter it. There are limits, even for a princess.”

“I know,” Twilight said with her hooves raised in front of her, “I don’t want to disturb your ancestors, I just think the entrance to the effect’s source is in the northern end of your crypt.”

“Even if that is so,” Climber said, displeased, “It is our ancestors’ last resting place. We don’t do scientific research there.”

“I don’t want to research there,” Twilight explained. “I just think from there we could enter the rooms or whatever else is down there.”

“And that brings us back to my question.” Pleasant Smell placed her cup back on the table. “Why are you thinking that?”

“Because, “Twilight pulled out a small brown book, “the court architect of your ancestor Brisk Snowflake wrote it down.” She moved her hoof in a circle. “Well, kind of.”

Both the baron and the baroness reached out for the book, it was Climber, however, who grabbed it after his wife stopped her attempt to take it. “What do you mean, ‘kind of’?” he asked while he opened it and browsed through the first pages.

“He is mentioning that the expansion of your family’s crypt discovered a system of caves below it.” Twilight poked the ground with a hoof. “Right under the crypt are small caves, mostly empty, very tiny and branched. They used some of them as alcoves, plastered with white marmor, he described them as very beautiful and appropriate.”

“Indeed, they are.” Climber nodded. “I confess I never read this book,” he weighed it in his hoof, “and I was always wondering why they are placed so randomly when I was younger. Still, I don’t see what these caves have to do with the possible origin of the phenomenon.”

“In his reports about repairs, further back in the book, he mentioned two times that water had infiltrated the walls of one of the alcoves. After the second time your ancestor have ordered the wall to be broken up and the source of the water had to be searched. Turning out it was from the river, the architect had explored the cave behind the wall and then sealed it.” Twilight waved with her hoof. “Probably, high water caused by heavy rain had pressed the water into the caves so it was easy to fix. Anyway, if you draw a line from your family’s crypt on the cemetery to the nearest point of the river, you come very close to my calculated coordinates.”

Of course Twilight couldn’t mention that she knew that one of the tunnels between the caves exactly passed the spot. Climber and Pleasant Smell wouldn’t be amused that their foals had found an entrance to the caves through the crypt and more so had started to explore them.

Sinking back into his chair, Climber gave the book to his wife and asked with fresh annoyance, “And you want to break up a wall again to enter these caves?”

“Oh no.” Twilight flinched and repulsed that idea by shaking her hooves. “I hoped there would be a forgotten entrance to them, maybe an old trapdoor or some maintenance stairs behind a door that hasn’t opened for ages.” She surely knew there was such thing, but again couldn’t tell without betraying Cave Light.

The baron crossed his forelegs and moved one hoof up to thoughtfully rest his head on it. His hind hoof was impatiently tapping on the ground while he did so.

With a quick look, Twilight snatched for support from Pleasant Smell, but to her surprise, the baroness had taken a neutral position and returned Twilight's look without revealing any emotion. Whatever she may of thought about this, she wasn’t willing to interfere this time.

After a while without saying anything, Climber rose from his chair and slowly trotted back and forth in the room. Twilight wanted to speak but rather stayed silent in the end. Following her husband with her eyes, Pleasant Smell too decided to say nothing. Now it was clear to Twilight that this decision only lay in Climber’s hooves. Finally after another few minutes Climber made a decision, he stopped, raised his head and faced Twilight.

“Alright, princess, I will allow it.” He completely turned to her and trotted closer till he stood right in front of her. “But I expect respect for my ancestors and appropriate behaviour. Be aware, I don’t tolerate any disrespectful behaviour,” he lowered his head to look her deep in the eyes, “not even from a princess.” Then he left the room.

Twilight released a heavy breath, she hadn’t even realised that she had held her breath. “Puh, for a moment I thought he would get angry again,” she said to Pleasant Smell.

Still keeping her gaze on the door, Pleasant Smell reached out for her teacup. “It is his family, he has all rights to be sensible.” She took a sip from her tea. “I don’t know if I would allow you to visit the crypt, if it were my ancestors who rest there.”

“You don’t consider his family as your family?” Twilight wondered.

“Remember that I am just married in.” She looked back to Twilight. “My family’s crypt is at the castle of my grandparents.” She took another sip. “Of course I will be buried here when the time comes and so will be my children one day, hopefully many ages far away.” She licked a tea drop from her lips. “At least Cave Light will as the head of the Snowflake family one day.”

“Are you annoyed, Pleasant Smell?” Twilight asked. “You sound a bit different than usual.”

Pleasant Smell took her time with the answer and played with the handle of her teacup. “No, Twilight, I am not, I just hadn’t expected that your search would lead you to the crypt. It is a very sensible thing and only makes my advice even more important.”

“Which one?”

The baroness looked up from her cup. “That you have to be careful, don’t get carried away by your curiosity down there. Be silent and calm, my husband… he may throw you out of the castle if you seem to overstep the line of what he thinks is appropriate behaviour.” She shook her head. "But that's not the problem. The problem is that, if the mare you are looking for, finds what you are doing disrespectful...“ Pleasant Smell moved one hoof to her temple and massaged it. “Just be careful.”

“I will, but I wonder why you bring that up again, you were okay with me searching for her,” Twilight said. “ Now you are worried about me entering the crypt. I understand that this is a sensible matter, but I thought the most critical point would be the moment I found her.”

Removing her hoof from her temple, Pleasant Smell slightly shook her head. “If you find her, the worst case scenario is that she finds you annoying, as long as you are careful she may not do much.” She made a gesture with her hoof as if chasing away a fly, “Forcing you out of the Castle at worst. Now however, you are not dealing with her personally. You might unintentionally interfere with her dead grandchildren. She always was very protective towards them.”

“Thank you for your advice, I will keep that in mind,” Twilight said, serious.

“I hope so,” Pleasant Smell placed her teacup on the table and rose from her chair, “for you, Twilight.” She moved to the door and stopped on the threshold, turning her head back to Twilight. “I don’t think you have a proper dress for visiting a crypt with you?”

After Twilight shook her head, Pleasant Smell nodded. “I will look for one for you, give me a few minutes.”

***

When Climber came back, he had changed his appearance. Now he was wearing a red bow tie, a black tuxedo and silver shoes. Twilight first wondered about his new dress, it didn’t look like anything she would have thought would be good for visiting a crypt or showing respect. It took her a moment till she remembered that it was colored in the Snowflake’s family colors.

In the meantime Pleasant Smell had brought some clothes Twilight was now wearing. She earned a short approving nod from the baron for them. Her dress was, in difference to his, only black, with a hint of silver from the jewelry around her hood. As shoes, Pleasant Smell had decided to give her black and flat ones. Good enough for showing respect but nothing too fancy. The only problem Twilight had with her wardrobe was that it was designed for an earth-pony, meaning no wing holes. They stretched a bit above her wings uncomfortably.

“That will do it,” was everything Climber said before he made a gesture to invite Twilight to go along with him.

Following the invitation, Twilight closed up and together they left the room, leaving Pleasant Smell behind. This time, while they trotted through the corridors of Castle Dragonbite, Twilight got the unpleasant feeling that it didn’t matter at the moment that she was a princess. Had Climber always at least tried, even when he was angry, to show her respect and to be courteous towards her, now he was strictly trotting forward and did not attempt to start a conversation or anything. At best, Twilight felt like a tolerated but not so welcomed visitor.

It seemed to her she had made a mistake in her expectation that the baron would gladly show her the crypt. Considering how proud he had been at the ancestor gallery, she had thought he would come up sooner or later himself with the idea to visit the crypt. Twilight was surely aware that her request was a bit rude, but she had expected that, after she explained the reasons, Climber’s own curiosity would kick in and his desire to impress others with his family history would do the rest.

“I am sorry, Lord Snowflake,” Twilight said, “I wasn’t intending to annoy you.”

The baron gave her a quick look and made a grumbling noise, one of the kind a stallion does when he is not really interested in what a mare said, but is forced to show a response somehow.

“Really, I didn’t,” Twilight went on, “I just want to traverse the crypt and see if we can enter the tunnels below.”

Another grumbling noise.

“Wait.” Twilight stepped ahead and moved a hoof in his way to force him to stop. He did, but gave her a vexed stare.

“Listen,” Twilight made an apologetic face, “I wasn’t aware how important this is for you, if it really is such a big thing for you to show others the crypt, we don’t have to go.”

The baron snorted. “It isn’t about showing someone the crypt, it is a question of time and place. You don’t request to go there, you get invited and if you go there, either by intention or by request, you do it to show respect to those who are gone, not because of curiosity.”

“But I don’t want to visit the crypt and your ancestors, I just want too… “ Twilight felt silent, when she realised the problem. “Oh.”

Climber narrowed his eyebrows and looked down at Twilight.

“Ohhh,” she repeated, “now I understand.” Rubbing the back of her head, she tried again, “Again I am sorry, Lord Snowflake, may I make a suggestion?”

He sat down and crossed his forelegs. “I am listening.”

Doing her best to look regal, she lifted her head, straightening herself and also clearing her throat, she spoke in a serious and polite tone, “Lord Snowflake,” she moved a hoof to her chest, “I know it is a bit impolite to ask you for this, but it would be an honour, if you allow me to visit your ancestors’ crypt.” She lowered her hoof and looked him into the eyes. “To show them my greatest respect, hear about their glory and their feats. Truly, it comes to my… “ she hesitated for a second, then changed it to, “...Our ear that the ancestors of your family have done well in the history of Equestria, so as a princess, the last thing We can do is to honour their remembrance.”

Lowering his forelegs, Climber was a bit astonished at first, so he didn’t respond instantly. Twilight used the silence to increase the weight of her regal background by using her royal-voice when she spoke, “The Princess of Friendship is requesting to visit your ancestors’ crypt, to show them respect and honour their remembrance. What is your answer, Lord Snowflake?”

The echo of Twilight's voice lingered far through the corridors and halls of Castle Dragonbite, shaking the nearby walls a bit and causing small showers of dust to crumble and fall down.

Still perplexed, Climber didn’t realize he moved his hooves to smooth his mane back again. He shook his head and got back to his senses in the moment a few of his servants and other inhabitants of the castle started looking around the corners of the connected corridors.

Twilight could only hope she did the right thing by pulling her rank to the extent and directing as much attention as possible to the fact she honours the Snowflake ancestors. A few seconds passed without a reaction from the baron, Twilight's confidence getting the first cracks, another few seconds, now sweat showed up on her forehead. Had she overdid it and will be kicked out now? Will he explode in anger?

Finally Climber stood up again, giving the surroundings a side look without moving his head much, noticing the attention and reactions of the other ponies. To Twilight's relief, a tiny smile formed around the corner of his mouth before he lowered his head in a bow and spoke, “Again, the House of Snowflake is pleased by the attention of a Princess of Equestria.” He raised his head back up and spoke even louder, so the audience could hear him clearly, “It would be honour to show Your Highness the last resting place of my family.”

Twilight almost had said, “Then go ahead.” but then remembered the show she put on in the last moment and instead started, “So lead the way, Lord Snowflake, We shall follow you guidance.”

The baron’s noble manners were, however, still a bit better than hers, so he closed up next to her and extended his hoof for her to hook in. “Your Highness, if I may?”

With a graceful nod, Twilight lay her hoof in the bend of his foreleg and in a slow and dainty way, both nobles trotted on towards the cemetery. It was a blast to Climber’s family ego, that all the other presents had seen this scene, so he was far more cooperative and his courteous behaviour was back in place.

They didn’t speak, not till they left the walls of Castle Dragonbite, but at least the aura of ‘You’re not longer welcome’ as Twilight would name it, was gone.

***

When they reached the entrance of the cemetery, Twilight stopped and took a fascinated look at the two statues of earth-pony stallions, guarding the iron gate. Not only to stay in her role as a princess, but also because they were interesting. Both of them made out of bronze, kept in good condition, also holding a spear and surprisingly, a shield, attached to their right foreleg. The pose they took was defensive, they stood on their hind legs, holding the shield in front of them while the spear lay above it, pointing on some unknown enemy. By giving them a closer look, Twilight noticed the family crest of the Snowflakes on the center of the shields. Their heavy armour of chestplate, leg-protection, saddle and the typical antic helmet model with the circular brass bosses and crest rounded up the view.

“Really impressive.” Twilight moved her head between the statues to gave them both a good look.“I wonder why they stand on their hind legs, isn’t that a bit uncommon for warriors? Shouldn’t they stay with hooves solidly planted to the ground?”

Climber, who had stopped a few steps before her nodded. “Yes, Your Highness, it is just a pose. As far as I know, this stance is taken either right before a charge or an impact of a flying enemy on the line.” He gave the statues a look himself. “It also is a good stance to look impressive.”

Unsure if this was a joke or just a proud comment from him, Twilight didn’t reply. Instead she closed up while he pulled the handle of the gate, followed by him pushing it open with both hooves. Unexpectedly swift and silent, the two parts of the gate swung back and allowed them to enter.

In the light of the early evening sun, the cemetery looked beautiful. Besides the main pathway, made of white cobblestones, flanked by hedges, there was a lot of sideways, with colorful flowers all along the edges. This place was not for despair and grief, it was to remember the good times.

A little bit wondering, Twilight looked back at the statues, then again at the cemetery and back again at the statues. The heavy contrast bugged her, but she, again, stayed silent, the breakable good will of the baron should not be tested, she thought.

A bit down the main way in front of them stood another statue, blocking a lot of the view. Behind it, Twilight saw the white walls of what she guessed must have been the crypt.

In opposite to his usual behaviour, Climber just waited long enough for Twilight to get a good look and then trotted on. No storytelling, no explanation of family history, just moving on.

On their way, they passed by some other statues, which were placed cleverly in between the hedges. It was only to Twilight’s guess if they were showing old members of the Snowflake family or just mere decorations. Whatever they were, they all sported a smile or other up-cheering terms.

While she followed the baron, a lot of other things grabbed her attention as well. Be it the gravel ways, leading away, curling deeper into the cemetery or the grave slabs nearer by, some of them extraordinary well made and with a lot of text on them. If there wasn’t such a tragic background to them, Twilight would have taken a closer look. She tried to stay focused on following Climber, holding her head high and also keeping her moving according to her royal status, just in case he suddenly looked back.

It didn’t take them long however to reach the statue at the center. From there Twilight finally had a good view of the crypt. Behind a long area of just green grass, kept neatly short and watered, there was a circle-shaped area of white shingles and in the middle of it, a one level building, made of marble. It was somehow formed like a podest, a very flat roof and aslant walls on the side. On top of the roof, right above the entrance, stood another two statues. One of them colored in blue, with a black mane, the other was ivory, with a mane colored in a mix of very light cyan and light emerald greenish gray. They both were in a romantic hugging pose with each other.

“Are these?” Twilight now dared to speak, pointing at them.

Climber, who had taken a hold, nodded. “Yes, Your Highness, these are my ancestors, Compassion Snowflake and his wife, Heartwarming Smile Snowflake, formerly known as Heartwarming Smile Pillow.” It was clear to see that it itched him in the hooves to tell more, but he suppressed the urge and trotted on, towards the entrance. Twilight hesitated for a moment, then followed. Once he was there, he unlocked the wooden door and opened it wide, so the sunlight was able to fall onto the stairs behind and also illuminated the room below.

A cold breeze escaped the crypt’s depths, in it was a hint of the smell of time again, this time however, it was not the smell of history, it was the smell of ages of silence. Twilight shook, a shiver running down her spine. Even it was a crypt, there was nothing to fear.

Near the door was a holder for torches. Climber took one of them and set it on fire with a match he pulled out of his pocket. Holding it up, he walked down the stairs.

His hooves made a loud echo, lingering through the deeper parts of the crypt while he took step by step further down.

Watch your eyes

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The old hall waiting for them at the end of the stairs was now dimly lit. The torch, still in Climber’s hoof, revealed a white, polished ground and walls painted in the Snowflake family’s colors. In the center stood a single, tall statue of Compassion made of granite, lightly shimmering in the light. Unlike the one on the roof, this one wasn’t painted. Behind the statue were to see the shapes of two doors, each leading further down into the crypt.

Climber just waited long enough for Twilight to catch up before he headed for the left door. With him holding the only light source, Twilight had no choice but to follow. She could create a flickering light herself, but thought better about it. When they passed the statue, she stopped and took a moment to give it a look. The time had left its marks on it, a few little pieces of the stone had been worn away and some spots inevitably crumbled apart. Nothing uncommon. She was already turning back to proceed to the door, when she noticed tiny marks running along the statue’s back. They were different from the ones made by time, instead they looked like something had sat or laid on the statue, something with sharp claws.

Twilight moved her head closer, squinting at the marks in the flickering light. “That was his mother,” the baron's voice interrupted her examination. He stepped back and lifted the torch so Twilight could see better. “She used to lay on the statue after his death for a while,” he gave the marks a look himself, “when the statue stood over his sarcophagus back in the days.”

Now in the light, it was indeed to see that dozens of claw marks of all sizes, from tiny to hoof large were placed all over the statue’s back.

“I wonder why she lay with claws instead of hooves on the statue?” Twilight thought and just nodded to the baron.

“We should trot on, Your Highness,” he said and turned. With a short last look at the marks, Twilight followed.

Behind the door, there was a long stretched hallway of stairs, leading deeper down. The light of the torch was not enough to illuminate it till its end, vanishing into darkness. The flickering light was enough, however, to show an alcove a few steps ahead on the right side, filled with a sarcophagus. When they moved forward, it was revealed that every few steps another sarcophagus was placed in an alcove along the sides.

It was a good thing that Twilight didn’t believe in ghosts. A small smile appeared on her lips, imagining how Spike would have freaked out already. The soft echo of their hoofsteps, the small, eerie dancing light source and the dead ponies were still enough to send a shiver down her spine.

“It must have been a difficult task to move these sarcophagi and the statue down here,” she thought. “How many ponies would be necessary to shift them? And how did they do it?” She followed the baron till they reached the end of the hallway, occupying herself with this question. Another door waited at the end, this time covered with a banner of the Snowflakes. Climber pushed the handle and trotted into another, very large hall behind it. Twilight stopped just behind the doorframe, she could only guess the dimensions of the hall.

The baron also had stopped just a few steps ahead, working on something Twilight wasn’t able to see. She only heard some liquid streaming down and then a loud ‘fluff’ followed by a burst of light that blinded her. Covering her eyes with her foreleg, she groaned, displeased. When she opened her eyes again, the hall was illuminated by the light of a fire pit, set ablaze by Climber’s torch.

She was going to reprove the baron for this painful flash of light, but was taken aback by the sheer appearance of the hall. The walls were black and swallowed a lot of the light, but four pillars of silver color reflected the fire quite well and set sparkles all over the interior. Many stone sarcophagi stood in small alcoves along the walls, each with a small statue of the deceased pony on it. Many epitaphs adorned the stone veneer around the alcoves, but Twilight couldn’t discern the exact words. With her eyes getting used to the light, she was able to see that the walls weren’t all black, there were paintings of events from long time ago all over them.

The whole room was dominated by a huge stone double sarcophagus at the center of the opposite wall. Into it was carved the Snowflake family’s coat of arms, this time the snowflake in its center was underlaid by a red heart, assembled as mosaic of rubies and light sapphires.

“Compassion and Heartwarming Smile,” Climber said, following the princess’ look. “Founders of the House Snowflake and buried peacefully together.” He nodded. “They weren’t separable in life and also not after death.”

Twilight was a bit unsure how to react, she didn’t know what would be the best response. “Should I ask him to tell me more about them? Or better just nod? No, that would be coming over as uninterested. ...Oh! I stayed silent for too long already!”

“You never told me about Heartwarming Smile,” she blurted out. “Why not?” She facehoofed in her mind at that question, but it seemed the baron didn’t mind.

Climber put the torch into an holder and explained with a part reproach, part smile on his face “You never asked about Compassion’s wife, you didn’t expected all of us to be adopted, did you?”

“N...no of course not,” Twilight said a bit embarrassed. “I am sorry, I should have asked earlier.”

“Maybe,” Climber said with a nod. “Doesn't matter now, so you don’t have to worry about it, Your Highness. I can tell you about her now.”

He stepped closer to the sarcophagus and after a respectful bow he sat down. After she decided it would be right, Twilight did the same. A shiver ran down her spine at the touch of the cold stones, , but it didn't matter, both ponies sat there in respectful silence, till finally Climber spoke again. What followed was a short story about Heartwarming’s life, after she and Compassion had been married. It was nothing too deep, just enough to show what kind of pony she was, a few happy memories that made it through the time and also a few struggles and problems of her daily life.

It was not like when he told stories in the fireplace room or in the ancestor hall, this time the story wasn’t to impress or to prove something, it was just about a mare, a mother, a wife. By what she heard, Twilight thought she may have liked Heartwarming, have they met each other. This mare had raised a couple of foals, withstood the pressure of her family standing against marriage with the stallion she had chosen and also had to deal with an immortal, very powerful and very protective mother-in-law. All tough tasks.

When Climber had ended, they both felt in silence again. Even if she had nothing to say herself or neither had any connection to Heartwarming, Twilight didn’t mind the silence or the cold and the respect drifting through the air.

After a while Climber rose from his spot and trotted over to another nearby fire pit and ignited it too. Now the hall was well-lit and he offered Twilight to go along with him, showing her each last resting place of the great members of his house. He also said a few words now and then about the ponies they passed, sometimes even a short story, some enlightening, some more of the serious kind.

It was then that Twilight noticed that the hall was originally only nearly half as big. It was clear to see till where the paintings and embellishments on the wall reached originally. From that imaginable line on, the paintings were a bit brighter and the kind of embellishments changed as well. She looked around again to confirm her thoughts. Her gaze went to a small door, painted in black right next to the ‘line’ that was nearly invisible, right at the place Cave Light had told her it would be.

She knew it led to the level below, to another room filled with sarcophagi and next to it another long forgotten room, with a hole in the wall leading to the caves below, that just had the luck to be discovered by two curious foals.

For now, Twilight kept her attention to the ancestors of the baron and his stories about them, showing respect as she had promised.

***

“Unbelievable!” Climber snorted, half angry, half embarrassed. “This should not be!” He stomped with his free hoof in angry disbelief. “In my family’s crypt, found by a guest!” He kicked a small broken stone through the source of his annoyance. What he thought would be a door or something similar, like Twilight told him during tea, turned out to be a hole at the bottom of the wall, granting access to the caves below.

A bit surprised by the heaviness of his outburst, Twilight rubbed her foreleg and stayed silent to not feed his anger. If she had known how he will react, she would thought twice about ‘finding’ the hole. She was aware she had to go here anyway, still the circumstances could have been arranged a little bit differently. But now it had happened and there was no turning back.

The baron had started to trot back and forth in the small room as best as he could, mumbling grumpily, the torch in his hoof throwing its flickering light here and there.

Twilight used the time to give the hole a closer look. Down here, one level below the grave of Compassion and Heartwarming the walls weren’t decorated, sporting only a dirty white layer of smaller stones. Behind them, the stones visible at the edges of the hole were normal grey and much thicker. If she had to guess, Twilight would have said the wall had become porous over time and its own weight had made it collapse. With a heavy sigh, Climber regained a bit of his calmness. “I have to take care of this, it can not be tolerated to have,” he pointed at the hole with a fresh wave of anger, “… this, in my family's crypt!” He took a few slow breaths in and out. “At least,” he said with a mix of diminishing anger and a raising spark of curiosity, “we do have access to the caves below with it and it will take time till tomorrow for the repairs to start anyway, so we can as well take a look, if you wish Your Highness.”

“If that is really alright with you?” she gave him an uncertain look. “Of course I would like to and I don’t think it is your fault this wall collapsed, this stuff happens over time. You should not worry about it too much.”

“I know, this apple had been picked already.” He unhappily shrugged his shoulders and held the torch into the hole. “We should make the best out of the situation.” He crouched down, swinging the torch left and right. “As far as I can see, this leads to a small cave.”

Crouching down next to him, Twilight took a look herself. “Anything else to see?”

“Not from here.” He lifted away the torch again. “If you don’t mind, Your Highness, I should go first and see if the cave is safe, if so, you can follow.”

With a raised eyebrow, Twilight asked, “Are you sure there could be any danger below?” She fixed him with a self-assured gaze. “I am sure I can handle an empty cave, there is no need for you to be the brave stallion here.”

“Of course, Your Highness, of course.” He nodded. “Anyway it is my duty as baron to protect you from any harm, more so in my own home, so I’ll go first.”

Twilight wanted to say more to this but was cut of by Climber’s firm shake of his head. “No, Your Highness, if something happened to you, even if you just got a hoof sprain, Pleasant Smell will be angry with me, and I don’t want to sleep in the guest room again. So if we explore this cave, I go first, or we both head back to the castle and I let this cave be explored by my guards.”

“Oh,” Twilight rubbed her head, “I didn’t think about that.” She rose and stepped by his side, “I am sure your wife wouldn’t blame you for it, but probably it would be best to not risk anything.” She gestured to the hole. “After you.”

With another nod, Climber slipped out of his shoes and moved forward. Slowly hoof by hoof he crept forward till he passed the wall and slid down the short slope that lay behind.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, now nearly engulfed by the shadows.

She heard him brush off some dirt off his clothes before he raised the torch again and turned around to look up to her. “Yes, Your Highness, I am fine.”

“What do you see?”

“Well,” he swung the torch around, “a cave obviously.” Giving his surroundings another closer look he added, “Nothing uncommon as far as I can see. Give me a moment, Your Highness, I will scan the surroundings”

The cave wasn’t big enough to let him go out of sight or leave Twilight’s hearing range, so she didn’t have to wait for long before he called her. “You may now come in, Your Highness, it should be safe.” He returned to the opening and illuminated the way for the princess.

Quickly, Twilight crept past the wall and simply jumped down the few hooves to him.

“There are three ways out of his cave, as far as I was able to see. None of them leads towards the place we are looking for though.”

“How can you know?” She gave the surroundings a look herself.

“Excuse me, but I know my home a bit, Your Highness.” He pointed at an, in Twilight's opinion, random wall and said, “There is north, so we want to head in this direction. The only exits I found so far however,” he pointed in the other directions, ”are leading south, west and northwest, we can’t be sure which would lead us towards our destination.”

Remembering what Cave Light had told her, Twilight pointed at the exit to the left, the one leading south, and said confident, “We should try this one, I have the feeling that one might bring us to the source in the end.”

Looking not convinced, Climber replied, “That is nearly the complete opposite direction, it will only lead us further away.” He gestured to the northwest exit. “This way has the highest chance to turn in the right direction a bit ahead.”

“Probably.” She nodded, then motioned to the south exit. “Still, I want to take that one. I feel it will be the right choice.”

Climber shifted his gaze between the two exits in question,” Well, hmm…” He scratched over his cheek.

“I also could try to summon more light, if you don’t think it would be disrespectful? I don’t know how good it will work, it should be enough to get us an overview.”

“Huh?” He looked confused. “I don’t want to offend you, but as far as I remember it didn’t work well in my ancestors’ hall, why should it work here?”

“I don’t think it will work much better and I don’t aim to lighten up the whole area constantly. Instead I want to create a short living, very bright ball of light to illuminate our surroundings for a few seconds only. ”

“Down here outside of the crypt,” his eyes wandered around in the darkness, “it may be helpful and I have no problem with it. Feel free to cast it, Your Highness.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said and immediately cast the spell. A big ball of strong light formed on her horn. Climber turned away to not get blinded by it, totally surprised by the princess suddenly jumping into his forelegs with a loud, “IEK!” He dropped the torch before he could burn her with it. It hit the ground and almost blinked out, leaving only a small flame that didn’t give off any useful light.

“What happened?” he asked alerted, taking a few unbalanced steps back, trying not to fall over by Twilight’s impact. “Your Highness, what is going on?”

“Something is there!” she screamed, still shocked. “Right over there!”

“Where? I can’t see anything in this darkness!” He set her down gently, but resolutely. “Stay behind me,” he whispered. “Who is there?” he shouted into the darkness. “Reveal yourself.”

“It was over there, a few steps into the northwest tunnel.” Twilight shivered and pressed herself against Climber, pushing his gaze in the right direction. “It wasn’t a pony!”

“Quick, cast that light spell again,” he ordered, taking a defensive stance between Twilight and whatever was there in the darkness.

A burst of light followed. It rushed all over the walls, causing tears in Climber’s eyes. He wasn’t able to see whatever had scared the princess. With a swift move, he grabbed the torch. “Show yourself!” he once again yelled. The light flickered. He threw a look back to Twilight, sweat had formed on her forehead. “Are you sure you saw something?”

The light got a bit less flickering. “Yes,” she said with the effort to keep the light steady clear in her voice. “Something stood there!” She panted and increased the light once more. “Right at the beginning of that tunnel, looking at us!”

Climber shifted his stance, “Whatever you are, show yourself!” He put the torch in his mouth and fumbled in his pocket, bringing another match to see. With much effort, he was able to keep his gaze at the tunnel entrance and ignite it at the same time.

Removing it quickly from his mouth, he raised the now burning torch high in the air. “If you don’t come out, I‘m going to come and get you!”

“I don’t know if that is a good idea!” Twilight panted again. “I am not sure what this thing is. It could be anything!”

The light of her horn started to fade away again.

“Whatever it is,” Climber took a step forward, “I am going to find out. I don’t allow something to lurk in the caves below my ancestors’ last resting place!” He pointed to the opening in the wall with his head. “Maybe, whatever creature is here, made the hole in the wall. I have to stop it if it’s so.”

With her magic light fainting and Climber moving forward, Twilight trotted forward and closed up. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

He snorted. “Good idea or not, I have to take care of this.” Climber looked back at her for a second. “Just stay behind me, Your Highness, I will protect you.”

They carefully moved a bit forward before Climber spoke again. “Down here, without sunlight and barely anything to eat, this creature will be small and harmless anyway,” he said, followed by too quickly added, “I guess.” It didn’t calm down Twilight in the least.

“It wasn’t small,” Twilight said but Climber trotted on nonetheless.

Reaching the northwest tunnel entrance, the baron gestured to Twilight to stop and moved on slowly step by step by himself. The torch caused dancing shadows along the stone. His hoofsteps echoed back from the walls. Worried, Twilight watched him enter the tunnel, swinging his torch from left to right and back.

“Nopony is here,” he shouted from inside the tunnel. “Seems we are alone once more, whatever was here is gone.”

“Where did it go?” A shiver ran down Twilight’s spine suddenly. Her ear flickered back by a nearly unhearable noise, right behind her, a pebble rolled over. Climber said something but she didn’t listen anymore, slowly she turned around her head. She held her horn ready to strike with another ball of light. “B-b-baron…” she said shaky.

“We must have scared it away.” Climber swung his torch one last time. “I told you it would be…” He was interrupted by a flash of light and a scream of fear from Twilight. “Your Highness!” he shouted and started to storm back to her. Before he made the first few steps she already reached him and grabbed him by the hoof.

“Run!” she screamed, dragging him along already.

With trouble he held grip on the torch and also kept his balance, running by her side. “What is going on, what are we running away from?” He glanced over his shoulder, trying to see if something followed them. He freed his hoof from her grip before she made him fall over. “Your Highness, what did you see?”

Twilight didn’t respond, she was too focused on getting away, just pushing forward. Climber had no choice but to stay by her side. They passed by a few other tunnel entrances and also randomly entered some. It took a few minutes till Twilight slowed down and finally come to a halt.

She panted heavily, sweat was on her coat and she threw a worried look at the way they came from.

Panting himself, Climber trotted over to one of the walls and leaned against it. He took a few heavy breaths before he spoke, “Your Highness,... may I ask… what have you seen, back there?” He pointed behind them with the torch. “It was very unwise to blindly storm into this tunnels.” He lowered his head and released a heavy breath again.

“I…I think it was a…” Twilight started, but then stopped and shook her head unsure. “I am not sure.”

Climber returned his gaze to her.

“It was some scaled creature,” she explained, “with red eyes.”

“Are you telling me we just ran away from a lizard?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

Twilight shot another look back at the tunnel behind them. “No! Not a lizard, it was far too tall for that, about this height.” She looked back at him, placing her hoof at the beginning of her throat.

“So it was a huge lizard?” Climber left his rest at the wall and stood tall in the tunnel again.

“No, I told you it wasn’t a lizard,” Twilight repeated the confrontation in her head, “it… it… had feathers… and claws.”

“Feathers and claws?” Climber didn’t sound convinced. He threw another look backwards, “Even so, you shouldn’t have been so afraid when you saw it first in the tunnel, Your Highness. A feathered lizard doesn't sound so dangerous.”

Twilight's head turned forward into the darkness before them. She shivered again. “That wasn’t what I saw the first time.” She swallowed. “It was far taller the first time, I think it crouched on the ground and still was bigger than the other… creature.”

Now it was at Climber to show the first sign of fear. “We didn’t just run randomly into this tunnels towards an unknown creature?” He illuminated rotatory both directions of the tunnel. “Did we?”

Twilight shrunk a bit, “I fear we did... I am sorry.”

“We can speak later about that, now we should see that we get out of here.” He gave the torch a look. “This one will last for awhile still, we will have light, but I don’t know if there is another exit besides the crypt.”

“There must be,” Twilight said, half hoping, half guessing. “These creatures have to get in or out of here too and they didn’t go through the crypt for sure.”

“We…” Climber started but fell silent when they both heard the sound of something moving through the tunnel they came from. He raised the torch and placed himself between Twilight and whatever was coming closer.

“Whatever you are,” he shouted, “I warn you! Don’t come any closer!”

The steps stopped for a moment. The tunnel was silent again.

“I have a weapon and I will use it!”

A few seconds passed… then the steps continued, faster, coming closer and closer. Climber and Twilight slowly stepped back without even realizing it.

“Stay away!” Climber shouted once more. This time however, he received an answer, a loud ‘cocka-doodle-doo’ sounded through the tunnel. “What?” Climber pulled back up his head in confusion. “What does a chicken do down here?” he mumbled. “Feathers and scaly claws… Princess,” he said aloud again, “Could it be, you were scared by a chicken?”

“I… I wasn’t.” Twilight shook her head slightly, repeating the encounter in her head again. “A chicken does not have red eyes.” Then the realisation of what the creature must be hit her. “A Cockatrice!” she yelled.

Climber, who had turned his attention back to the tunnel, gave her an alarmed look. “A Cockatrice?”

They started to trot backwards again. “Yes, now I am sure.” Twilight nodded with worry on her face. “I met an Cockatrice back in the days, I never forget how it looks like.”

Another ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’ was heard, this time just from the darkness before them.

“We should see that we get out of here,” Climber suggested. “Here, take the torch, I’ll stay between you and this Cockatrice.”

“You don’t have to.” Twilight wanted to deny but he grabbed her hoof and placed the torch in it.

“We don’t have time for this.” He pushed Twilight forward. “Keep going and don’t look back.”

“But…” Twilight started but fell silent when the light of the torch felt upon a little creature behind Climber that had just reached the light. Climber noticed the shock on Twilight's face and turned his gaze backwards.

“Run!” He shouted and pushed Twilight again, forcefully this time. The Cockatrice was faster still, the second time Climber dared to look back it already jumped at him, he was barely able to raise his hooves to catch it. Both fell to the ground.

“Baron!” Twilight shouted and instead of running for her life, she turned around and tried to help. Climber and the Cockatrice were already rolling over the ground. “Don’t look it in the eyes!”

Swinging the torch at the Cockatrice wasn’t an option. The two moved too fast and were too close. Twilight lay the torch down, that way it couldn’t burn out, and tried to kick the Cockatrice off the baron. Placing herself in a good position and keeping an eye on the two wasn’t easy. She tried it several times, every time they just moved right before she was ready to kick.

“Hold still!” she commanded.

“That sounds far easier that it is!” he yelled back.

Finally there was a chance for her to hit the Cockatrice. She aimed and raised her rear-hooves. Unfortunately in that moment the creature stared at her and in her panic she turned away her face and kicked blindly backwards, hitting the baron instead.

Climber rolled over, taking the Cockatrice with him. They tumbled around until they collided with the next wall. The Cockatrice stood on top of his chest, staring right at him.

“No!” he yelled and unwisely looked it right in the eyes.

Surprisingly, he didn’t turn into stone, nor did the Cockatrice attack him. It made a ‘coo’ and shifted so it lay comfortable on him. Coming to his senses, Climber raised his hooves to protect his face and looked away. “Get off of me!”

Another ‘coo’ and the Cockatrice rubbed his head against his chest and throat.

After a moment of stillness, Climber blinked between his hooves. “What is going on here?” This, the Cockatrice took as invitation to push its head against his hoof, cooing even louder.

Climber was baffled. “I don’t know what I shall think of this…”

Keeping its head rubbing against his hoof, the Cockatrice made it really clear what it wanted. Very unsure, Climber carefully moved his hoof to pet the creature’s head.

Twilight, who had quickly galloped over to him, was confused too. Her jaw dropped. “I don’t want to complain,” she said, still a bit on her nerves, “but is this supposed to be so? I don’t expect you to have any special talents for handling Cockatrices?”

“If so, I didn’t know till now.” Climber used his other hoof to softly grab the creature’s middle, lifting it up slowly. “I never met a Cockatrice before.”

“The only one I ever met turned me into stone at once.” Twilight took a small step back again. “We should be careful, we don’t know if it will stay friendly,” she warned.

The Cockatrice didn’t seem to be happy, being held with one hoof. It began to fidget and squirm. After Climber let it go, it just waited long enough for him to stand up, then jumped on his back.

“I am not sure if I am fine with that.” Climber scratched his chin. “On the other hoof, it is far better than it would be chasing us through the tunnels again.”

“Hmm, I wonder if it lives down here,” Twilight thought out loud, “or if it has come through another entry.”

“I don’t know, but I guess,” Climber gave him a look over his shoulder, “it will be helpful if we run into whatever else you saw earlier.” Their new ‘friend’ had made itself a comfortable spot on his back. “If it is in the mood to help us.”

Seeing the creature stay calm and quietly on Climber’s back, Twilight picked up the torch again and dared to come closer. It was a good opportunity to learn more about this species, even if the moment was not the best to do so. She took a moment to give its body a closer look. It had the head and claws of a rooster, including the cockscomb, green scales, two legs and wings with little red spikes along its lower back and tail tip.

“Interesting.” She got a little closer again. This time however, the Cockatrice reacted, sending a loud ‘hishh’ to her.

Twilight pushed back her head quickly and took a step back. “Uhh, whatever made him like you, didn’t count for me apparently.”

“I don’t know how to help that,” Climber raised his hooves, “I still have not even a clue why he likes me at all.” He inspected his chest to see if the short fight had done any harm and patted off some dust from his tuxedo. With a sigh he stopped, the tuxedo didn’t make it through, also his bowtie lay a few steps away on the ground, torn. Returning his gaze to Twilight, he said, “It would be the best if we find the answer later and went back to the crypt.”

“You are right,” Twilight offered him the torch, “it surely is the best if you lead us back to the crypt.”

“I was hoping you could,” he smiled sheeply, “to be honest I lost track while I followed you on our escape run.”

The face the princess gave him was enough of an answer, “You didn’t notice the way either, did you?”

***

“We crossed this way three times already, we are running in circles.” The frustration in Twilight's voice was clear to hear.

The mark they made on the wall made it obvious that Twilight was right.

“We should have found the exit by happenstance already,” Climber rubbed over his head, “this caves can’t be so spacious.”

“If we don’t find it soon,” she gave the torch an unhappy look, “we’ll run out of light and have to find our way out blind.”

“I still have the box of matches, with,” he pulled it out and counted them, “six matches left and you have your magic, which can get us some light every now and then, so the situation isn’t as bad as it seems.”

Twilight took a deep breath and released it along with a push of her hoof through the air. “You are right, still I would prefer if we find the exit before we have to get to those options.”

“Considering we passed by three times and there are only four ways to go from here, well, at least it isn't hard to decide where to go next.”

“True,” she looked down the last tunnel for a moment, then returned her attention to him. “How is the Cockatrice doing?”

“Still taking a nap.”

“At least one of us isn’t worried at all,” Twilight shook her head slightly. “Well, let us try the fourth way, we won’t get out by just standing here.”

“I agree.”

Making another mark on the wall, Twilight took the lead again.

***

Both ponies stood dead still, listening to the darkness. A few seconds ago a roar had echoed through the tunnels.

“Did you hear that?” Climber looked over to Twilight, who nodded.

Another roar echoed past them.

“Whatever you saw earlier wants to make itself known.”

Peaking her ears up, Twilight concentrated on the sound. “That sounds different from the usual angry roars of creatures that lurk in the dark. If I don’t misinterpret it, it is more like…” she felt silent, thinking for a moment. “I can’t name it but it sounds odd.”

“You can differ these sounds?” Climber asked more than a bit surprised.

“Well,” Twilight rubbed her head, “the girls and I had the pleasure with that kind of creature a few times already.”

A ‘coo’ drew their attention to the Cockatrice, the little one had woken up by the sound and was listening too. When the third roar came, it jumped down from Climber’s back and before they could stop him, he made a loud ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’, bursting straight into the darkness before them.

“Hey wait!” Climber shouted, but it was too late, he was already gone.

***

“It gets better and better,” Twilight complained, giving the flickering torch a last look. “Here goes our light source.”

And with a last sizzle the torch extinguished.

“We are running out of luck it seems. So much is true,” Climber answered.

With a little effort Twilight summoned a little bit of light again. “We should be vigilant with what we have left, it is kind of exhausting to get even this small light shining.”

“We should also not forget we are not alone here, I think it would be a good idea to spare the matches for the moment we may really need them, if that is okay with you, Your Highness?”

“We don’t really have a choice, do we?” she thought the situation over for a moment. “Alright, I have an idea.”

“I am all ears.” Involuntarily, Climber had stepped closer to the princess.

“You go along the left wall, keeping a hoof on it, while I do the same on the right side. This way we don't need light to find other tunnel entrances.” She moved over to the right wall, “When we reach a crossing, I cast some light again so we can see if we marked it already.”

“I am not happy about walking down here in the dark, but sadly, it sounds reasonable.” He picked up the remainings of the torch. “We will still need this for making marks.”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that,” Twilight confessed.

After the baron had reached his side of the tunnel she let the light fade away and darkness surrounded them again.

After a short moment of acclimation, it worked out somehow. A few misstepped hooves, one or two hits by a protruding stone, nothing unexpectable. Still the nightmarish surroundings and the silence was hard to handle. It was Climber who suggested to keep talking, even if there was a chance that something heard them, they were both more than happy to not stay in silence.

“What shall we talk about?” Climber politely let the princess choose. “Anything besides our situation will be okay with me.”

“I agree, something to distract us should be good. Hmm…” She stopped when her hoof plunged into nothing. “Wait, we reached a crossway.” Lighting up the tip of her horn, she gave the connecting tunnel a look.

“No marks at this one,” Climber said. “Which way shall we take?”

“Let’s go straight this time, it is as good as the other way.”

“As you wish,” he marked the tunnel they choose with a little arrow. “Done.”

Twilight let the light vanish again and they continued their move forward.

“You said anything would be okay?” she asked a few moment later.

“Indeed,” he paused for a second, “as long as it doesn’t remind me of our situation it will be fine.”

“So, you and Pencake? What happened that you had to sleep in the guest room?”

She could feel his gaze on her. “Seriously?”

“You said anything and I don’t think it is a good time for a long story about Burning Snowflake at the moment.”

He sighed. “As you wish, Your Highness.” Even if she couldn’t see it, she knew he shook his head. “The short version will do of course. Pencake was sort of a little rascal when she arrived at my Castle, no manners, no special talent that would be of use for us and no good recommendation of any kind, but it was kind of cold outside, she had no place to go and also had a young foal on her back. So naturally she was allowed to stay.” He grumbled. “That was the day the problems began.”

“How so?” Twilight asked, curious, “What ha…” a loud smack was heard, it wasn’t actually very loud but in the silence of the tunnels it occurred so. “Ouch!”

“Your Highness? Are you alright?”

“Yes,” she groaned, “I just found another protruding stone.” She reached for her head with a hoof. “But I am fine, go on with you story please, what happened?”

“Well, she was a troublemaker from the first moment. Mostly the reason was her son.”

“Colorful Wings?”

“Indeed.” He snorted. “Oh this mare and her son. They drove me crazy for sure, nothing was good enough for her little one, nor was she easy to satisfy too. I gave her some work to do, nothing too hard or difficult, but she refused to not keep an eye on him, always carried him around on her back those days. Made it impossible to fulfill some of the tasks. I was forbearing with her, most of the time, but one day she overstepped the line, immensely.”

“What did she do?”

Now it was at him to grumble, the anger was clear to hear in his following sentence, “She slapped my wife!”

Twilight gasped. “No way!”

“It is true.” The next placement of his hoof was a bit louder than before. “I still get angry by thinking of that.” He snorted again. “But that was long time ago.” He took a few slowly breaths. “Anyway, my reaction was to throw her out of the Castle immediately. Nopony slaps my wife and stays in my castle, or better that was what I thought. Pleasant Smell had a different opinion.”

Climber sorted the events in his mind before he carried on, “Well, when she found out a few hours later that I had thrown Pencake out, she rushed into me like a creature from Tartarus. She was standing there with a blue eye, yelling at me, I guess she was to hear till Canterlot. How dare I throw out a young mother, a helpless young mare with a little foal. It was in front of nearly every servant of our Castle and who wasn’t there from the beginning, shortly gathered up around us.”

He shivered under a mix of feelings, part shame, part anger. “I never knew my wife could get so angry, I felt like a little colt getting the rebuke of his life. I didn’t dare to say anything at first and when I did, she cut me off at once. ‘Watch what you say!’ were her words. I closed my mouth, the best thing I could do in that moment. She told me I had to bring her back and till I do so, I will sleep in one of the guest rooms. Unwisely I disagreed.”

Unnoticed by Twilight, he made a face. “Not one of my best ideas. I was never aware how much influence my wife had on the castle staff, it took my guards three days to find Pencake and convince her to come back. Three days I had to endure the anger of my wife and also the disrespect of my servants. When she came back, Pencake acted exactly like before, she wasn’t even sorry about slapping my wife! Can you imagine that? My wife told me how it happened though, she had tried to lift Colorful Wings from Pencake’s back, without asking for permission or giving a warning. So Pencake turned around and punched her straight in the face.”

He stomped his hoof. “Pleasant Smell said it was her own fault, underestimated a mother's protective instincts. Even if she already was a mother herself for some years, she said it could be different from mare to mare. I don’t know exactly what happened between Pencake and her former special somepony, but so much is true, it didn’t increase her trust in other ponies when it comes to her son.”

Climber stopped. “What do you think, Your Highness? Would you have acted differently than me?”

He didn’t got a response.

“Your Highness?” he asked, a bit uncertain. “What do you think? Your Highness?”

He stretched his hoof out to touch her but grabbed into nothing. “Your Highness, are you there?” Worry crawled into his voice, “Princess, can you hear me?”

“Answer me,” he shouted a bit louder than he normally would have dared. “Princess?”

Rummaging in his pocket, he pulled out the matchbox and with shivering hooves he ignited one. The light didn’t reach wide. “Your Highness?” he whispered and swung the match to his front and backwards, but Twilight was gone...

A whiff of the past

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A groan of pain escaped Twilight’s lips. She lay on the ground, her body sprawled on the cold stone floor.. She moved a hoof to her head and tried to recover from the impact a little more before she tried to stand up. Unsteady, she placed her hooves on the ground and misstepped to the side a bit before finding her hoofing again.

She wasn’t able to see them, but she had felt every single stone stair on her way down the spiral staircase.

“Where am I?” she thought. She groped for the pole of the staircase and placed her hoof on it. The last thing she remembered, before falling down the stairs, was the baron talking about Pencake and then, when she placed her hoof on the wall once more, it turned. Before she had been able to overcome her surprise and say something, she was hit by the former top of the wall and kicked down the stairs.

She looked up to where the entrance must be, somewhere in the darkness above. “Baron? Baron can you hear me?” She peeked up her ears but no answer came. “Baron?” she shouted louder but the answer was the same, nothing.

She was going to climb up the stairs when she finally received a reaction, even if it was not what she had expected. From behind her, in the opposite direction of the stairs, came a noise. “Wasn’t that?” She heard it again. “Yes, that's the Cockatrice. What is it doing here?”

When she focused in the direction the noise came from, she was able to notice a very weak shimmer of light.

She trotted towards it. “Hello, is somepony there?”

She didn’t get an answer, but the light got brighter with her every step. When she was close enough, she saw a room connected to the passage she was in.With a loud, “Hello?” she tried to make herself noticed once more, before peeking around the corner. When she did, she gasped. She didn’t expect this at all.

In front of her lay a medium sized room, furnished like the kaminzimmer in the Castle with an extra area for studying. In the light, emanating from a small lamp on the ceiling, she saw a desk covered in books and scrolls, some bookshelves, a few chests, an armchair in front of a little fireplace, a bed of smaller size and in one corner sat the Cockatrice in a padded basket. In front of the little one lay two bowls filled with water and fruits.

Astonished and curious, Twilight trotted in. “What is this place?” In the center she turned around and scanned the surroundings once more. “Some sort of cave home?” Her gaze wandered to the desk again. “Or a secret study?”

A soft ‘coo’ reminded her of the Cockatrice’s presence. “Looks like someone cares for it.” She gave its place a second look. “A padded basket and some food… maybe it is a pet? True or not, somepony has given it food. That means somepony had to be here just a short while ago.”

“Hello?” she shouted again. “Can somepony hear me?”

Now she noticed that she couldn’t see another exit. “Must be hidden,” she guessed.

An unhappy sound from the creature in the basket made it obvious that it disliked the noise Twilight caused. “Oops, sorry.” She gave it a smile and the Cockatrice cuddled back into its basket.

She was unsure what to do, the logical thing was to either go back to the top of the stairs and try to open the hidden entrance again or to search for an additional exit down here. On the emotional side however, her curiosity itched her to give the books on the shelves a closer look.

“One look couldn’t hurt...”

She brought her head closer and gave the covers of the first line a look. Most of it was about fantasy and heroes from the past it seemed, Twilight remembered the names of them from the times she had read bedtime stories to Spike.

A bit disappointed, she inspected the next level of the bookshelf. A few nonfiction books of different fields rested on the shelf. “Isn’t that?” She pulled out one and opened it. To her delight, she was right, it was ‘Magic and mechanic: An analysis,’ written by Rolling Gear. On the side of the pages were notes all over the place. “Are they?” She quickly flipped a few pages and repeated it several times, checking the notes. “They are!” A scream of joy escaped her. It was the original with the notes of Rolling Gear himself.

She placed the book back and swiftly took some of the others out of the shelf. It was always the same, all these books were originals.

“What a treasure!”

With fresh curiosity, she scanned the next level of the shelf, this time however there was only one large book stored horizontally in it. There wasn’t a title on this one, so Twilight pulled it out. She needed both hooves because of how heavy it was. She placed it on the desk and opened it in the middle.

It seemed to be a photo album, well, kind of. After she had turned some pages with photos, there were also some with drawings of ponies. And some of them seemed to be very old, maybe that was the reason they were hoof drawn.

The names under the photos didn’t tell her anything at first, but when she turned back several pages to the beginning, the name Pear Thrower showed up.

“Could that?” She read the names of ponies around the picture. High Pressure, Potato Cream, Oven Cloth... so it was true, this pony was the Pear Thrower from Burning Snowflake’s story.

“Does this mean this is her photo album?” She lifted her head and let her gaze wander around the room again. “Is this her room? Could that really be?” She scratched her chin. “Or is it just a collection made by a fan of hers, maybe one of Baron Snowflake’s ancestors? But why store it down here then, outside the Castle? Or could there…” she inspected the walls again, “...be a secret door leading from here to the Castle?”

“Mhh…” She wasn’t able to spot something suspicious. “I should check that in a minute.”

Turning her attention back to the album, she browsed through a few pages again, moving to the beginning of it. On the first page, there was only one big picture. In it were two mares sitting in front of a rainbow waterfall. One was light purple or pale rose or maybe even pink coloured, as far as Twilight could see in the dim light, and had a mane of dark heliotrope with wisps of light amber. Twilight felt as if she had seen her before, even if she didn’t remember where.

Wrapped around her were two orange wings and also two orange hooves, pulling her into a hug. A little smile played around the first mare’s lips, the rest of her body keeping an elegant pose. That didn’t count for the second mare, she was laughing on the picture freely, her head buried halfway into the first mare’s mane.

It was a warming moment of joy to look at. Whoever the first mare was, she surely shared a good moment with Burning Snowflake. It had to be Burning Snowflake, so much was now clear to Twilight.

“A friend? A member of her family?” Twilight thought, she knew she had seen that mare before. Was it during her stay at Castle Dragonbite? Maybe a distant relative of the Snowflakes that she had seen in an old picture?

On the second look, Twilight noticed a few special things about the first mare. First, she had fluffy ears. Twilight carefully examined the picture to make sure that it wasn’t an illusion. Second, she was a unicorn, her horn wasn’t clearly visible at first sight, but it was there. And last, she seemed to be a little short. She only had Burning Snowflake as a comparison, so she couldn’t be sure, but the impression stayed.

On Burning Snowflake however, she only saw a bit of a chest fluff, not usual for modern day pegasi, but not so uncommon either. Other than that, she looked quite normal.

The hint of a noise pulled Twilight's attention up from the album. She spun her ears around, but heard nothing. “Maybe the Cockatrice moved or something...”

Turning her attention back to the album, she flicked through the pages again. A lot of ponies had found their way in there. While she read the names below the pictures, Twilight began to remember some of them herself. Among them were a few very famous ponies, artists, poets, musicians and also some heroes from hundreds of years ago.

When she reached the middle of the album, the pony from the first picture showed up again. First a few pictures here and there, but then more and more, till she was nearly on every photo or drawing for some pages. It was then, looking at one picture, were the mare was wearing a specific hat, that the memory of who that pony was hit Twilight. This was Sherlay Hays! The famous detective from Canterlot, the mare who had solved tons of mysteries and crimes, together with her friend Dr. Oatsen, the stallion who had written all the books about her.

Twilight turned back to the frontpage, after a few looks back and forth there was no doubt. This was Sherlay Hays, cuddled by Burning Snowflake. Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “What?” she said baffled. “How, why…?”

Of course it was only logical that these two had to run into each other someday, considering the fact that both lived in Canterlot and both were quite active there, in front of, as well as behind the curtain. But never had Twilight thought about that simple consequence.

That these two had become friends, even with thinking about it, it did not come to her mind either.

She leaned back and looked into the bookshelf again. What hadn’t come to her attention before, came now. The two lowest shelves were full of books about Sherlay Hays’ cases.

Now Twilight took a moment to digest this new information. However, it didn’t take long for her curiosity to bring her back to reading further. Another few pages later, a little blue colt showed up, Compassion Snowflake. He also got a series of pictures of his own, slowly turning from a little colt to a full grown stallion.

Behind him, there followed a variety of ponies again. Most of them were unknown to Twilight, but she remembered a few of the Snowflakes the baron had showed her in the gallery. When she turned another page, a picture fell out and landed on the ground. Twilight picked it up and looked at it. On it was a shiny mulberry coloured mare with a silver mane, she looked a bit embarrassed, while happy at the same time. Her cheeks had turned a bit more red than they already were and it seemed she wasn’t used to smile so much at all. In her hoof, she held something. It wasn’t good to see because it was cut off by the end of the picture, but it could have been a plushie.

Twilight turned the picture around, reading the name written on the backside.

“Summer Stars,” Twilight mumbled and gave the picture another look. “Doesn’t ring a bell.” She returned the picture into the album and inspected the last pictures, till she only skipped over empty pages.

It itched her in the hooves to go through the album again and look at every page, but she didn’t have the time to do so. She suppressed the urge and closed the album, putting it back into the bookshelf.

She was about to go on with her examination of the room when she stopped and blinked over her shoulder again. There were four lines of books, with fifteen books each on the lower shelves, all Sherlay Hays books. So sixty books at all, but, there was only fifty-seven Sherlay Hays’ books written by Dr. Oatsen. That meant there were three books to many. A quick check of the titles revealed Twilight was right, there were indeed three extra books, namely Sherlay Hays and the Phantom of Canterlot, part one to three.

“I have never heard about these.” Twilight took the first one and inspected the cover, there was no image on the front page, just the name. She turned it in her hooves, scanning the empty backside. She opened it and found a personal note of the author:

Dear Miss Burning Snowflake,

It has been a while since we last met and to be honest, I am not sure if that is a good or bad thing. Even after all those years Sherlay has been gone, I am… I can’t… Well I still have mixed feelings about you. I can’t pretend to blame you for her last bow.
But, when I look over to Mrs. Oatsen, playing with our little colt on the sofa… I… I understand. Love, love was your reason and for that, I can’t blame you.

With everything between us, it was a hard choice for me to make. But in the end, I decided to send these to you. What you hold in your hooves is my latest work about our closest friend, Sherlay.

So hard I tried to pretend it, I still confess I am biased about you and your actions, far more than I may be aware. Still I tried to write this down as objective and fair as my modest skills let me.

I was tempted to just publish it, like most of Sherlay’s other cases. I was fully aware that would tell all the world about you and your secrets as well as Sherlay’s biggest failure, indeed also a form of triumph. I know Sherlay wouldn’t mind what ponies think about her and her actions… but I am also aware she wouldn’t want me to spoil your secrets.

I believe you should be the owner of these books. That is what she would have wanted me to do.

In shared memory of a good friend,
Oatsen

Twilight let the book drop. “This makes two things clear, Oatsen knew Burning Snowflake, obviously and it seems a little bit closer than just a loose acquaintance. Second, Hays was friends with both of them but they were not friends with each other. Or at least they weren’t any longer after Sherlay left them.”

“Mhh…” She let out a sigh. “I don’t know what to do with this knowledge yet, but it might be useful later.”

She threw a short look at the first few pages of the actual story, just to see it was the same kind of introduction that all Sherlay Hays books shared; Oatsen speaking about his memory with Sherlay Hays and giving a little emotional background to his thoughts about the case.

“I would like to read these books, but now is not the right moment to do so. Sadly I can’t carry them with me either, I wish I had a saddlebag with me.”

Unable to do anything useful with the book at the moment, she placed it back into the shelf and moved on.

“Maybe there is a saddlebag or something I can borrow from one of those chests.” She moved over to the first one and opened it. The thought that she shouldn’t rummage through other ponies’ stuff flashed through her mind, but she shook it off.

In the chest she found some sort of clothes, or it looked like clothes at first. When she held them up, it appeared to be some kind of… she wasn’t sure. It was obviously some piece of garment, a mix of fabric, some metallic rings and straps and also a thin layer of some kind of rubber on the outer side. It was multipart too.

Twilight turned it around and looked at it from different angles, still none the wiser she put it back. She continued to explore the chest’s content. She found some crested clasps in shape of a Snowflake, two, no, four small vials, two times two connected to each other, a brown coat and a few small accessories.

Closing the chest, she moved over to the next. When she put her hooves on it, a sharp sting shot through her hind leg. “Ouch!” She turned her head around to see what was going on and found the Cockatrice standing behind her. It cocked its head to the side, its beak ready to peck her leg once more.

“Hey!” she shouted at it. “What are you doing?”

It hissed and hopped on the chest, protecting it from Twilight.

Twilight rubbed her hind leg. “You think I shouldn’t look into that one, don’t you?”

Another hiss was answer enough.

Taking a step back, Twilight tried to calm things down, “Alright, I will not open that chest if it is so important to you. But you don’t mind me looking around a bit more, do you?”

The Cockatrice made itself comfortable on the chest, not making attempts to stop her while she trotted over to the last big chest and put her hooves on it.

“Well, if you don’t mind.” She opened the chest slowly. “Maybe it guards its food or something that belongs to it?” Twilight thought while she took a look into the last chest. There was a blanket, some socks and a pillow in it, next to various other things to make yourself comfortable on a good evening by the fireplace, like a bottle of cider and a box of sweets.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, glancing at the Cockatrice, then at the fireplace. It had some ash in it. Returning her gaze to the bottle, she took it and opened it. The cider was still fresh.

“I get the feeling this place is well visited, more than once or two times a season.”

She closed the chest, only to reopen it a moment later. A little grumble in her belly had reminded her that it was a while since she had eaten anything. She didn’t know how long will it take her to get out of this room and the caves, so with a bit of bad conscience, she took one of the sweets out of the box and ate it. She struggled with herself for a moment, then took two more. They were delicious.

“If I meet the owner of this box, I will pay them.” Closing the chest, she gave the room a last look. “Now I should try to get out of here, even if…” her thoughts trailed off when she remembered the scrolls on the desk she hadn’t examined yet. “Mhh… maybe there could be a plan of the caves in it.”

The sound of a small stone falling down the staircase grabbed her attention.

“Hello?” she called. “Is somepony there?”

She listened, but she could hear only the little noise the Cockatrice made from time to time. She trotted over to the entrance and repeated her call, but still no answer came. She thought about investigating further, but without a proper stable light source to carry with her, she doubted it would be a good idea to enter the staircase room at the moment.

At least she could throw a short look into it from where she was. She cast a light spell and peaked around the corner.

There was nothing to see.

She shook her head and let the light fade out. “Nothing. Just a pebble falling down from the ceiling or something. Well, where was I? Ah, yes...”

Twilight trotted over to the desk and started to examine the scrolls. The first she opened seemed to be some kind of letter, she read through its content quickly. To her surprise, it was some kind of travel information, describing the weather and special spots in some distant lands.

A little bit confused, she returned the scroll to the stack and opened the next one. This was even more confusing than the first one, it contained economic reports. A list of, it seemed, random companies all over Equestria with information about their production output and their connections between each other.

“Why was somepony collecting this?” Twilight wondered. “If this all belongs to Burning Snowflake, I don’t know what she would do with it. If it belonged to some of the other Snowflakes, shouldn’t it be inside the Castle and being of use there?”

When she reached out for the third scroll, she already expected it to contain something weird or confusing and she wasn’t let down. Her eyes quickly moved over the lines, while her surprise raised more and more with each word.

What she held in her hooves was a list of activities of Equestria’s secret service. A very detailed one, containing date, mission goals, involved agents and even a mark of success or failure at a few spots.

Twilight lay the scroll on the desk and examined it closer. “How in Celestia’s name did this get here?” She unrolled the scroll further and mumbled while she read on. “Las Pegasus, Canterlot, Griffonstone, Striped Rhymes,” as far as she knew a town in the land of the zebras and far further down, “Dragonbite Castle… What?” she stopped and double checked it.

There was indeed a mission report about Dragonbite Castle mentioned. The short summary on the scroll however, raised more questions than it answered. It said that five ponies were sent to the Castle two months ago.

Twilight gasped, and placed a hoof to her mouth.

Two of the names had a ‘MIA’ behind it, the shortcut for missing in action, while the other three were marked for injured.

“What happened?” Twilight wondered with a queasy feeling in her belly. She moved her hoof along the lines till she reached the mission goal.

Locate and, if present, identify ‘The Phantom’
Direct contact with target is not advised, target could be hostile.
Keep distance from the Snowflake family.

“They looked for Burning Snowflake.” Twilight removed her hoof from the scroll. It curled up and she reached out for the remaining stack of scrolls. “The entire report has to be here somewhere.”

She winced at the sudden noise of another stone falling down the staircase. Her gaze wandered without her intention back to the scroll with the note about several missing or injured agents.

“Just some pebble, Twilight, nothing to worry about,” she told herself. “No need to be worried.”

Reaching out for the next scroll, she froze when another noise came from the staircase room.

“Hello?” She turned around and faced the entrance to the stairs. “I know somepony is there,” she said a bit quieter till her voice nearly faded, “I heard you.”

The lamp started to flicker. “Oh come on!” she complained. “Are you foaling me?”

She shot another look to the entrance, then back to the lamp. “There must be something that can produce light. If nothing else, there should be a piece of wood at the fireplace that can do the trick.”

Going to grab one of the logs, she stopped at the big chest. The Cockatrice hadn’t moved away, but its head had turned to the tunnel too.

“You heard it too, didn’t you?” She hadn't expected an answer but she got a little chicken sound.

An idea stroke her. “Good little Cockatrice,” she said, causing it to make another chicken sound. “Yes, you are a good Cockatrice, aren’t you?” She kept her voice calming and soft while she moved slowly closer.

Another flicker of the light drew her attention to the lamp again. “Just stay calm,” she said even more softly. “Just for a second longer.”

When she was close enough to it, she burst forward and grabbed the creature before it realised what she was up to.

With a sharp ‘hish’, it made its anger hearable.

“I am sorry, truly,” Twilight said nervously and lifted it up with one hoof while she held its head straight forward with the other.

The Cockatrice squirmed and hissed, making it hard to maintain a steady grip. One of its wings hit Twilight in the chest. “Ouch!” she yelled.

Her spontaneous plan to use the animal as a weapon was not as good at it seemed in the first place.

In need of a quick solution that wouldn’t end in her turned to stone, she galloped over to the tunnel and threw the angry Cockatrice in it. “Take this, whoever you are!”

A mix of sounds followed, one of the kind you get if you throw one of Trixie’s fireworks into a chicken coop.

Twilight never had thought one single Cockatrice could make so much noise, but to her misfortune, she clearly heard it wasn’t the only source of the commotion.. Somepony was struggling with it in there.

“I hope the little one doesn’t get hurt,” she thought with a hint of bad conscience. Still, she knew she didn’t have the time to see who will win this confrontation. No matter who, they would surely be angry at her. She had to get some lightsource and then get out of there real quick.

For a second she thought she had heard a voice, but she wasn’t sure. It could just be her imagination. Without longer hesitation she turned around once more and headed for the fireplace. Of course she was tempted to open the last closed chest, but she thought better about stopping for checking it out.

When she reached the fireplace, she just grabbed the first piece of wood she found and hold it up. With very much effort she cast an ignite spell on it, the wood catching a small flame on the tip. Unfortunately the stick she had grabbed was a very small one, one of the kind you use to start a fire, not to burn bright and long.

“Oh no!” She shook her head in realization. Immediately she dropped the stick into the fireplace and searched for a more suitable one. She found it on the side of the fireplace, there was a little recess with some bigger logs in it. Swiftly she grabbed one and repeated the ignite spell, sweat breaking out on her forehead while she did so. She was rewarded with a small flame which grew rapidly.

“Oh, I hope this will do,” she said and moved over to the wall, knocking on it with a hoof. There had to be an exit somewhere and she had to find it real quick. With haste she moved along the wall, knocking hectically on it high and low. Always the same dull sound was to hear.

For a moment she dared to look back and listen to how the fight was going. Silence… a really bad sign.

She increased her attempts to find an exit, now knocking nearly panicked on the wall.

“Reveal yourself you stupid secret door, I know you are here somewhere!” she yelled and bucked against the wall in frustration. It didn’t have any effect.

She tried to take a second to think this through and use her intellect to find the exit, but a growl from the tunnel entrance interrupted her attempt.

Pressing herself against the wall, she looked back and saw it. The head of a green dragon peaked around the corner, staring at her. His eyes had the colour of dark blue like the deepest part of the ocean and they were just as cold.

Twilight screamed in horror, even with more intensity when the lamp finally gave up and the light shrunk to the little bit the improvised torch was able to spent.

“Let me out of here!” she screamed and scratched over the wall with her hooves.

The dragon let out a little growl again and started moving in her direction. He moved ever so slowly, knowing his prey couldn’t escape. He took his time, enjoying her fear.

“Stay away from me!” Twilight yelled and moved along the wall to get as much distance from him as she could in the small room. When she was close to the fireplace again, she grabbed another log.

“Stay away!” She aimed for the dragon and threw the log in his direction. He just moved a bit to the side, avoiding the log with ease.

Not giving up so easily, Twilight grabbed another one and threw it too. It missed like the first one but she hit him with the third. It just made him release a light chuckle and nothing more.

In her rising panic she just pulled on her magic and threw a bunch of logs at him all at once. It didn’t do much to him, besides slowing him down a bit. The one that hit the secret button to open the door next to her, on the other hoof, was a lucky strike.

Twilight was baffled for a moment by the sudden appearance of her escape route and didn’t move at first. The new roar of anger from the dragon, who saw his prey had a real chance to escape, brought her back to her senses immediately.

She stormed through the door and right into the tunnel that followed. Her rapid hoofsteps echoed loudly from the walls. The tunnel wasn’t too long. Only it ended in another wall.

“No, no, no, no!” She punched the wall with her hooves. “Not another hidden door!”

A quick glance over her shoulder showed that the dragon hadn’t reached the tunnel yet, giving her the time to search for the opening mechanism.

“Think Twilight, it has to be in comfortable hoof range, or placed on the ground.” She calmed down a bit, moving her hoof to her snout. “If somepony is on this side already,” she pointed down on the ground, “it is clear they had come from the secret chamber, otherwise this door here would be open. There is no need to hide it well here, the only question is if it is easier to place it on the ground or the wall.” Remembering the books she read about simple mechanics and physics, as well as some about the history of the castle, she placed her hoof on the left wall and within a few seconds she managed to hit the button to open the door.

“There is no problem logic and study can’t fix!” she cheered while the door moved out of the way. With another look back, she entered the now open tunnel in front of her.

Only two ways lay before her, left and right. The secret door had brought her into the middle of another tunnel. Twilight swung the torch, illuminating the beginning of both ways. There was no real difference between them. She galloped into the left one, hoping it was the right choice.

She didn’t stop until she could see a crossway and felt a sharp pain in her head, growing which each step she took.

“What is that?” She reached out for her head, placing her hoof on the base of her horn. She shot a short look back to see if the dragon was still on her hooves. As far as the torchlight reached, he wasn’t in view. Twilight thought she could slow down a bit and trotted on slowly, but the pain increased as she did so. She dropped the torch and covered her horn with both hooves.

“Ouch!” She leaned against the wall. “I can’t stop yet, I have to trot on.”

She took in a few deep breaths and gritted her teeth, then she picked up the torch and straightened up, trotting into the crossway. Looking into the tunnel she saw that the tunnel got smaller and smaller, till only a foal could crawl through. Suddenly, the pain in her head exploded.

She fell on the ground, rolling back and forth, screaming in agony. It felt like eternity. She didn’t realise it was only for half a minute or less till her wild kicking hooves hit somedragon. She knew she should run away but she wasn’t even able to stop rolling and kicking around.

With a growl he evaded her hooves and grabbed her tail with his snout.

“Stupid alicorn!” he mumbled while he pulled her out of the crossway, back into the tunnel. Her hooves hit the top of his head several times but he ignored it.

“Oh look at you, the magic in your horn… ” he groaned mumbling with the effort, “is about to boil and…” he had to re-bite into her tail to not lost the grip on it, “it feels like it’s trying to kill you. But no…” they passed the tunnel entrance and the pain in Twilight's head lowered, “as an alicorn, far too stubborn to turn around, you never would run away from the source of it.”

He spat out her tail and gave her a second to recover before he grabbed her now harmless rear hooves, pulling her further into the tunnel.

Twilight's look fell on him, her vision blurred. She vaguely saw the little Cockatrice on his back before her gaze sunk to his hooves. “What?” she thought before she drifted slowly into unconsciousness.

Domino effect

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The mumbling of a few voices drifted past Twilight’s ears. She subconsciously spun them around towards the source of the sound. There were some ponies talking, but she wasn’t able to understand what they said. She raised her eyelids slowly, groaning.

The voices of the other ponies seemed to draw nearer and changed from simple common chat to a more serious tone as she slowly woke up. Twilight moved her head up and gave the ponies a look, but her view was blurred. She blinked and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

One of the voices was now right in front of her, speaking to her.

Reopening her eyes, Twilight looked into the face of a mare. It took a moment till the colours and shapes got in the right place.

“Ple…” Twilight shook her head slightly. “Pleasant Smell?”

The other mare smiled. “Yes, oh I am so glad that you are awake! You really got us worried.”

Wiping a hoof over her face, Twilight groaned.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” Pleasant Smell placed a hoof on the side of the bed.

“Where am I?” Twilight inspected the surroundings, but her vision became blurred again by the motion and refused to clear. “And how did I get here?”

“Well, Your Highness,” a new voice entered the conversation, “you are in the infirmary of Castle Dragonbite, we found you lying unconscious near the entrance of the crypt. You almost made it out before you collapsed.”

Next to Pleasant Smell, Climber’s face showed up.

“With all due respect, Your Highness, leaving me alone in the dark was not a nice act of yours, what were you thinking?”

Twilight pushed herself a bit back against the pillow into a sitting position. “I did not do it on purpose. I fell through a secret door!”

“A secret door?” Both nobles moved a little bit closer, their faces curious.

“When I placed my hoof on the wall, it flipped suddenly and kicked me in.”

Climber raised an eyebrow.” I didn’t hear anything and I just trotted a few steps next to you.”

“Shhh,” Pleasant Smell turned to Climber, silencing him. Turning her head back to Twilight, she asked, “What was behind it, Twilight?”

“Some kind of,” she thought about how to describe it correctly, “living room, mixed up with a study.”

“There was a furnished room behind the door?” Climber asked with surprise and upcoming enthusiasm, his annoyance already forgotten. “Describe it and don’t miss out on details!”

“Don’t be so intrusive, my lords!” a third, very soft and melodic voice raised up. “Give her some space. She just woke up and still needs to recover.”

The voice belonged to a small red pegasus mare, standing a few steps behind Climber and his wife. She had a light-brown mane and tail and on her head was the sign of authority, a nurse cap.

“Of course, Nurse Licorice,” Climber said, but didn’t move his head back.

“Just a second, Licorice,” Pleasant Smell added and leaned a bit closer to Twilight. “So, what was in the secret room again?”

“Well,” Twilight focused on her memories, “behind the door was a staircase, leading deeper down.”

“Aha,” Climber and Pleasant Smell made together.

“I fell down, and-” A gasp escaped her and she looked down at herself. “I ruined your dress Pleasant Smell, oh I am so sorry! Wait, where is the dress?”

“I removed it,” Licorice said from her place at the table next to the wall. She kept her attention at a little mortar on top of the table, grinding a few ingredients as she spoke. “I had to check your body for injuries. We couldn’t know if you passed out by yourself or if you were hurt.”

“Shh, don’t fret your head over the dress now.” Pleasant Smell waved it off with a hoof. “Tell us more about the room that you found.”

“I didn’t pass out by myself,” Twilight said. “I… I... well I may had passed out by myself but not near the entrance. There was also the dragon that chased me!” She tilted her head. “Or helped me... maybe?”

“A dragon?” Climber’s eyes got wide. “You met a dragon down there?”

“Met is the wrong word.” Twilight shook her head slightly. “He tried to sneak up on me while my attention was focused on some scrolls I found.” Her mind trailed off. “Actually these scrolls were very interesting.”

A little shake of the bed brought Twilight's attention back to the nobles in front of her.

Twilight’s eyes were focused on Pleasant Smell, the baroness’ hooves still gripping the hoofboard tightly. “You wanted to tell us more about the dragon and why he snuck up on you.”

“Don’t shake the bed!” Licorice placed the mortar back on the table and faced the two nobles. “She just woke up, give her some space.” Licorice growled and returned her attention to the mortar, a little cloud of light blue raising from the bowl. “If you not let my patient in peace, I will have to throw you out of the infirmary, both of you!”

“Don’t worry, Licorice,” Climber said, giving the nurse a calming smile. She just snorted, blowing the blue dust away and adding more ingredients into the mortar. Climber continued, “So, the dragon, Your Highness, if you’d be so kind to tell us?”

“Well, as I rummaged through the scrolls, a strange noise from the stairwell caught my attention. I wanted to investigate, but my only light source began to flicker, threatening to go out.”

She stopped, a ragged cough escaping her throat. “I tried calling out to the stranger, but there was no answer.” By the memory of what followed she blushed, a bit ashamed. “There was also the cockatrice we met previously, guarding the chests in the room.”

“There he went?” Climber interrupted. “So it was the dragon who called out for him?”

Twilight nodded. “I think so… And actually, I’m not very proud of it, but… I tried to use the little one as a weapon.” She gave the baron a sheepish smile. “I couldn’t hold it longer, so I threw him into the room where the dragon was. ”

“That's not how to treat an animal!” Licorice scolded her with a raised hoof. “That little one couldn’t defend itself against a big pony, how mean of you!”

Twilight lowered her head a bit. “I know, but I was afraid and it was the first idea I had. I didn’t think it through.”

The nurse snorted. Before she could say more, A stomp of Climber’s hoof silenced her. “That's enough, Licorice. The princess tried to protect herself.”

Licorice shot Twilight an angry gaze, then went back to her work, mumbling.

Returning his attention back to Twilight, Climber said, “My apologies, Your Highness, Licorice is a bit protective about animals, especially about birds and critters.”

Twilight shook her head. “She is right, baron, I shouldn’t have thrown him.”

“Maybe not,” Pleasant Smell said, tapping softly on the bed, “but you did what you thought would be best at that moment to protect you, it is useless to think too much about spoiled cider. Better tell us what happened after you threw it.”

“I created myself some kind of a torch and shortly after that, the dragon showed up. In my fight with him, I accidentally found a secret passage and ran away, till I reached a crossway. I think it led to the source of your Castle’s phenomenon.”

“You found it?” Both nobles leaned forward and nearly pressed their faces against Twilight’s.

Backing deeper into her pillow, Twilight said, “I am not entirely sure,” Climber and Pleasant Smell raised an eyebrow each, “but it affected my magic enormously.” She shivered at the memory. “Oh, it felt like my horn was on fire.”

After exchanging a confused look with his wife, Climber asked, “Your horn hurt?”

“Not only my horn, my whole head had felt like it boiled. I fell to the ground and the next thing I can clearly remember is the dragon pulling me away from the crossway. It was strange, he had hooves instead of claws and on his back sat the cockatrice.”

“The dragon… saved you?” Climber tilted his head. “And he had hooves? Are you absolutely sure he had hooves? You didn't hallucinate or something?”

For a moment Twilight seemed to stare into nothing, then she replied, “Yes, he had hooves, I didn’t pay attention to it when he entered the room, but when he pulled me out of the crossway, my gaze hung on them for a moment before I passed out. It surely were hooves.”

A loud scream of joy escaped Climber, the baron dancing on the spot and screaming like a little filly that was just given a new doll.

Twilight was baffled by this unnoble outburst, her mouth hanging agape at the bizarre sight. “Are you alright?” she asked. “What is it you are so happy about?”

He stopped his dance for the reply. “You must have seen her! No dragon has hooves, they have feet and claws, but no hooves!” Another scream of excitement escaped him. “You are the first pony who saw her at Castle Dragonbite for over… well, ahem,” he thought for a moment, “over seventy years!”

“Uhm, you heard me say, he?” Twilight asked. “I mean it was a male dragon.”

He laughed happily. “Male, female, it doesn’t matter for a shapeshifter! She has taken shapes of royal guard members and also of some other male characters when necessary before.” He started to dance around again.

While her husband has gone crazy, Pleasant Smell on the other hoof fell very quiet. She had taken a seat before the bed, deep in thought.

“Are you alright, Pleasant Smell?” Twilight asked. “You seem to not be so happy about your husband's ancestor possibly staying here.” She looked at Climber. “I mean, if he is right at all. I wouldn’t be sure about that just with the information we have, but... well, he seems to believe it.”

Pleasant Smell’s eyes wandered to Twilight till she met her gaze. For a moment she just stared at her. Twilight opened her mouth, but she was cut short before a word could leave her lips.

“What else was in the secret room?” the baroness said in a serious tone, her gaze locked with Twilight's. “Any evidence somepony was there lately?” She stood up and moved closer to her, placing her hooves on the edge of the bed. “Ignore the dragon for a moment.” What else was there of importance? Was the place dusty? Was there fresh food? Some newspaper of modern date? Anything?” The baroness leaned closer, her muzzle almost touching the princess.

Twilight backed into the pillow even more, trying to conserve what little personal space she had left. “There… there was some food. Also some cider, still good,” she answered with some reluctance. “Why are you so intrusive all of the sudden?”

“Don’t change the topic, it is important. What kind of food, perishable?”

“Sweets, they were fresh, I ate two of them. But what is this questioning about? Pleasant Smell, you are making me feel uncomfortable.”

“I need to know, Twilight, it is very important that you tell me, what else did you find in that room?” She moved her head a bit back but let her hooves stay on the bed. “You mentioned a chest, what was in it?”

Twilight shot a gaze at the still dancing and celebrating baron as well as over to Licorice, she was keeping an eye on the baroness but didn’t interfere.

“The cockatrice didn’t let me open it, whatever was inside, it didn’t want me to go near it. It pecked me.”

Pleasant Smell wished her explanation away with a hoof. “Were there other chests?” She looked away for a second, thinking, “Or a wardrobe?” Her voice turned a bit more serious. “Maybe a weapon stand?”

“No, there was no weapon stand, why do you think that?” Twilight’s confusion raised even more. “A few other chests, yes, there were some random things in them, like something that seemed to be some kind of clothes.” She shrugged lightly. “A small twin glass bottle and some crested clasps in shape of a Snowflake, together…”

“Crested claps?” Now a hint of upcoming panic as well as excitement mixed in Pleasant Smell’s voice. “How many?” she nearly yelled. When Twilight didn’t answer at once, she shook the bed heavily. “How many, Twilight?”

Now the baron noticed what his wife was doing, calming down his excitement. “Darling, what are you doing?”

She only gave him a ‘shh’ and focused on the princess.

“I guess, it was eight, maybe nine?” Twilight said, unsure. “Could have been ten, but two were a bit ruffled I think.”

Without warning, all the energy left Pleasant Smell and her face went pale. She took a step back and her legs were shivering.

Swiftly Climber rushed over to her and extended a hoof to hold her steady. “Darling, what is with you? Are you alright? You turned pale!”

“I…” she moved a hoof to her head, “I will be alright in a second.” She shored herself on his arm. “Just a second.”

“Licorice!” Climber shouted. “Come here!” He guided his wife to the next chair and let her take a seat. “Pleasant Smell needs your help!”

Planting the bottle she held back on the table, the nurse quickly trotted over and gave the baroness a look. “Hmm, clear case of shock.” She placed a hoof on Pleasant Smell’s head, and the other on her neck to examine the case further. “Don’t worry, I can fix that.”

“I don’t need help,” Pleasant Smell declined, but her voice had lost a bit of its vigor.

“Nonsense,” Climber decided. “Licorice, do what you can.”

Ignoring Pleasant Smell’s resistance, Licorice headed back to her table and took the potion she had just made for Twilight. “Here, drink that, Milady,” she ordered. “I will make a new one for Her Highness.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Pleasant Smell tried once again, but her husband insisted. So she drank it while he watched her worriedly and stroked softly over her back. When she lowered the empty bottle, Licorice took it away.

Under the gaze of the nurse and her husband, the colour came back to Pleasant Smell’s face within a minute and she stopped to shiver.

“Better?” Climber asked.

She nuzzled him. “Better,” she rose and massaged her temples with a hoof, “but I assume it would be for the best if I took a little walk to bring my blood back in motion.”

“My dear,” Climber placed a hoof under her chin and with a soft fondle, he turned her face to him, “are you sure it won’t be better if you lie down and take a rest instead?”

“I am fine.” She nestled herself against his hoof. “A short walk will do me good.”

“Then I shall come with you to make sure it does.” He was going to turn to Twilight to make an apology, but his wife was quicker.

“No, Climber, you keep Twilight’s company,” Pleasant Smell said, then whispered, “She is a princess, darling, how would it look if we both just let her lay here?”

“But you can’t just walk around in your condition,” he whispered back. “What if you get dizzy again or worse?”

With a little smile, she said aloud again, “Licorice, you shall come with me and you,” she placed a hoof on Climber’s chest, “make sure Twilight got company while she is recovering.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by Pleasant Smell, “Why don’t you carry on with Burning Snowflake’s story? I am sure Twilight would love to hear more of it.”

“Oh don’t worry about...” Twilight started, only to be cut off by Licorice.

“I don’t think that is the best idea,” the nurse said.

After a short exchange of looks with the princess, Licorice gave Twilight the precedence.

“You can take the walk with your wife,” she said to Climber, “while I will get myself something to drink and eat. I am kinda hungry to be honest.” Moving swiftly, she threw aside her blanket and tried to stand up.

“You should stay in bed!” Licorice said emphatically and moved over to her side. “You are not ready to leave the bed yet. After somepony falls unconscious because of exhaustion or in your case magic impact, she should stay in bed for at least twenty-four hours.”

“I am already feeling good again, just hungry,” Twilight averted and hopped out of the bed. “See I am…” she started, but drifted away to the side when her legs wobbled under her. Licorice lunged forward, grabbing her to prevent her from falling on the ground again.

“Yes, I see,” Licorice said ironically, “you stay here till tomorrow. And,” she pushed Twilight back on the bed, “rest.” She turned to Pleasant Smell, who had moved a bit to the exit silently. “And you should know that walking around is not good for you at the moment. I insist that… “ She felt silent for a moment. “Well, actually I changed my mind, maybe it does you good.”

Climber, whose attention had hung on Twilight for a moment, turned around and threw a confused look between Licorice and his wife, then another. “Shouldn’t… wouldn’t it be…” he started, unsure what to say exactly.

Licorice steadied herself so her head was on the same level as his shoulders and filled her voice with the authority of a nurse. “I will go with the baroness and make sure she is alright. You,” she pointed at him, “should take care of Her Highness, while you,” she now pointed at Twilight, “stay in bed till I return, then I make you another potion that will help you regain your strength and also put you to sleep.”

Both Twilight and the baron were going to argue about that, but a look at Licorice silenced them.

“Good,” Licorice said after she was sure both would follow her orders. “I will also make sure you two get some food and drinks up here.” She turned to the door and followed Pleasant Smell outside.

Twilight's gaze hung on the door for a while after the two had left. “Am I wrong or was that a bit strange?”

“Actually, yes,” Climber agreed. He walked over to the chair his wife had sat on and placed a hoof on the back of it. “I have no clue why my wife was suddenly so interested in the content of the room, nor why she was so shaken by what you found.” He picked the chair up and placed it next to the bed. “Well, my apologies, Your Highness,” he said while taking a seat, “I hope you don’t feel like you have been treated rudely by this sudden incident.”

Twilight waved him off. “Don’t worry about it, I wasn’t so eager to drink that potion anyway. I am sure I will be alright with just a bit of relaxing anyway. I am more curious what you know about those crested clasps, it seemed your wife was very concerned about them. Did they have a special meaning in the story of your ancestor?”

“None that I know of.” He thought about it and his lips curled into a little smile. “No, I can’t remember that they were mentioned in any special way. Of course, there were one or two times when a piece of jewelry that fits your description was mentioned, but there was nothing special about it.” His smile got brighter. “Oh, I am still excited that she is here again.” His hooves minced on the ground. “Do you mind if I ask you to tell me what else you found in the room?”

With her mind still focused on the baroness and her strange behaviour, Twilight just nodded. “Sure… “ After another look over to the door, she shifted her attention back to Climber. “Actually there are two things I want to ask you about the things I found .”

Now he was a bit surprised and gave her a questioning look. “Sure, ask right away, Your Highness.”

“I found some scrolls down there with very… apprehensive content.”

“Oh? What were they about?” He leaned in closer again.

“They were reports of activities of Celestia's secret service, it was strange enough that they were there anyway, but more so… “ Now she hesitated. It came to her mind that by telling him what the secret service was doing at Castle Dragonbite and what happened in the end, she could cause a political crisis. She couldn’t know how the baron would react if he found out his home was spied on.

He tilted his head. “Yes?” he asked. “What was within them?”

She hesitated, raising his confusion.

“Your Highness?”

“I am not sure if I should tell you to be honest. I am afraid you wouldn’t approve the content,” she said, uneasy.

“Hmm, now you got me even more curious. What could be in the reports that could displease me?” He tapped his chin and thought about it.

Twilight covered her mouth with both hooves. “Oh I hope I didn’t said too much already!”

He caught her gaze with his own. “Let me guess.” He folded his front hooves and crossed his eyebrows. “Her Highness' secret service was acting in Castle Dragonbite?” Twilight’s eyes widened and she turned pale a bit. “That is answer enough, isn’t it?” he said in a grumpy tone.

“Ohhhh, please don’t be mad,” Twilight said, pleading. “I am sure there is a logical explanation to this.”

Climber rose and stomped his hoof. “I bet there is and I will get it, I will write a letter to Her Highness right now! See what she has to say to this! Spying on her own barons, what an effrontery!”

“Pleeeeaaseee don’t, don’t do it!” Twilight begged, starting to climb out of the bed. “I am sure this all can be cleared without starting a strife!”

He raised a hoof and stopped her attempts to rise. He held her gaze for a moment and gave her his best annoyed look. When Twilight had sat back on the bed, one of his lips curled a bit upward, then the other side till he smirked completely, just before he burst into laughter.

“What?” Twilight asked, worried. “What is so funny all of the sudden?”

“You should have seen you face, Your Highness,” he said, still laughing. “Priceless!”

Twilight’s jaw dropped.

“You really thought I could be angry about the secret service acting here?” His laughter intensified. “With my ancestor literally making a home in Celestia’s own castle without an invitation and staying there for a few hundred years, messing up so many of her events and taking judgement into her own hooves, well,” he wished a tear of laughter out of his eye, “I think it is alright if she tries to stay up to date on my family to a degree.”

Twilight’s left eye began to twitch.

Climber covered his mouth with a hoof to suppress his laughter a bit. “Normally, my ancestor takes care of them of course, or at least that's what I was told.” He tried to give her a smile. “She caught the spies, and after a month or two, Celestia got them back, wrapped up with a bow tied in their manes and placed somewhere in Canterlot Castle. Or,” he raised both his hooves, “in some other place if Burning Snowflake didn’t have the time to bring them all the way over to Canterlot.”

He saw Twilight’s distraught gaze and his smile faded a bit. “Well, that's what I was told of course. I never found a spy lying in my family’s castle myself.”

Shaking off the stun, Twilight regained her composure. “She caught them and then let them free a while later? Are you sure about that?”

“That’s what I was told, so yes, I think so.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “I am more than happy to hear that, you know, in the reports it was written that two agents were missing. That got me worried.”

“And you thought she had done something to them?” Now he looked reproachful.

Twilight blushed. “I was a little bit in a stressful situation, alright? And you told me she sometimes… took drastic measures to handle things, especially to protect her family.”

Climber shook his head slightly. “Alright, I’ll give you that, but still you shouldn’t assume her as that extreme in the first place. I don’t think she considers members of Celestia’s secret service as evil enemies.”

“Mhh, you are probably right about that,” Twilight agreed. “I just wonder where she hid them in the meantime then?”

Climber raised his hooves. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know about the room you found. I assume she has several more hideouts around and in the Castle where she could hide herself and somepony too.”

“And that didn’t worry you a bit?” Twilight asked.

“Why should it? I don’t see your point.”

“You have an immortal, shapeshifting mare hiding in your castle,” she slowed down her pace a bit to give the words more weight, “catching spies in her free time and all of that without your knowledge.” She took a deep breath, and moved her hoof through the air, trying to include the whole castle in her gesture, “That doesn’t make you worry? Not to mention what else she may do?”

“I am part of her family, remember? It is even better than a full metal armour from back in the days.” He smiled. “She may twist my ear and slap my hooves if I act wrong in her opinion, but besides that, I am safe. I would say even more safe with her around in the Castle than without her.”

Thinking about it, Twilight was not convinced completely, but she let it go.

“If you are now calmed down about the matter of her and the secret service, do you mind telling me more about the scrolls and what else you found?”

Twilight nodded, shook up her pillow once more and moved into a more comfortable position. Then she told him about the report she found. He was a bit surprised by the wounded ponies in it, but meant it could be an accident. After all, there was no word that they found ‘The Phantom’ at all. He giggled at the mention of her nickname.

Their conversation went on, containing a few more words about the cockatrice, the things she found in the chests, including the ‘thing’ with the rings and rubber the baron deemed to be Burning Snowflake’s armour, and finally reached the discovery of the photo album. There his excitement got another push, he asked Twilight to list the ponies from it for him.

He mostly nodded and smiled at the mentions of heroes from the past, probably comparing them with the list he had in his head already. The same for the artists and musicians, only a few times did he get surprised by a name he didn’t expect.

“And there was a very big picture of Burning Snowflake with Sherlay Hays at the first page,” Twilight said, giving him a questioning look. “You never told me they were friends.”

His gaze froze for a moment, then he pulled his head up, rubbing over it with his hoof. “Uhm, yes, of course, how could I forget to tell… indeed they were good friends.” He gave her a forced grin, his eyes ticking from side to side rapidly. Applejack under Discord’s influence couldn’t manage a more obvious expression. So it was up to Twilight to raise a questioning eyebrow this time.

Shrinking under her gaze a bit, he gave her his best innocent smile. Her eyebrow raised even higher, bidding him to continue. “Well, maybe I have held this information back on purpose,” he confessed sheepishly. “You know, this is connected to the question regarding why her parents outcast her.”

“Huh?” Twilight asked, confused. “How so, Sherlay Hays lived several hundred years after Burning Snowflake’s birth, her parents were already dead when Sherlay and Burning Snowflake met each other, or am I missing something here?”

“No, you are absolutely right about that.” He bit his lip. “It was more about a general error of Burning Snowflake that her parents were angry about. An,” he set imaginable quotation marks in the air with his hooves, “error in her personality that lasted through all the centuries of her live.”

With narrowed eyebrows, Twilight thought about it. “Hmm,” she made while she analysed the information she had and combined what it could mean in the end.

With a still sheepish smile, Climber watched her mind work, not willing to interrupt the princess in her thoughts. It took nearly a full minute till Twilight’s gaze returned to him.

“I don’t get it, was she some kind of troublemaker or something? I have never read about her in the Sherlay Hays books, so I assume she didn’t play a big role in her adventures, but there was a book, or better said, three books in the secret room called ‘Sherlay Hays and the Phantom of Canterlot’, volume one till three with a personal note from Dr. Oatsen. Oh, there were a lot of books, actually they all came with notes from the original authors... “ Her mind drifted off a bit.

“You found an original exemplar written by Dr. Oatsen himself?” Climber shouted out, curious and rapturous. “Mentioning Sherlay Hays’ time with Burning Snowflake! Do tell! What was written in it?” He leaned closer again and hung on her lips.

Twilight’s brow furrowed, the sudden change of topic irritated her. .“I hadn’t much time to read it, I just read the personal note Oatsen wrote to Burning Snowflake. I wanted to take the books with me, but didn’t have the chance to do so. Not that the dragon would let me have them anyway, I assume. Be it your ancestor or not.”

“Can you repeat the personal note for me, please?” Climber clapped his hooves together in excitement.

Doing the best she could from her memory, Twilight repeated the text for him. When she finished, Climber nodded silently and calmed down again. He sighed. “It is a shame it ended this way between them, even if it was more or less predictable. I knew that Oatsen and Burning Snowflake weren’t good friends all along but,” he sighed again, “I wished they had overcome their differences after Sherlay was gone.”

“I have two question about that, if you don’t mind?” Twilight said.

“Of course, Your Highness,” Climber agreed. “Just ask.”

“How did Sherlay Hays die? I read the books about her, including the last tome mentioning her death, but I assume there is a different version your family tells, isn’t there? Oatsen wrote that he blamed your ancestor for it, that didn’t make sense with the official end of her story. And the second question is, you say they didn’t like each other from the start, Oatsen and your ancestor, not Sherlay Hays and her, of course. Why?”

He took a deep breath and placed himself back on the chair, sinking heavily against the back of it. “Well,” he said and slowly exhaled, “I think it is the moment for when I said to let yourself be surprised. Your second question is easily answered if you figure out what my ancestor’s so called problem with her parents was. A little hint to put you on the path. She and Sherlay Hays were more than just friends, Your Highness.”

“Good friends?” Twilight asked.

He sighed again. “No, one level higher than that.”

“Best friends?” Twilight tilted her head to the side and looked unsure.

“Urgh.” He facehoofed in frustration, but quickly shook his head and started to laugh, just a little at first, then louder and louder.

“What is so funny?” Twilight was now confused even more.

He stifled his laughter to a giggle. “Your innocence, Your Highness, just your sweet pure innocence.” He gave her a smile. “I wonder if the thought of what her issue is could ever cross your mind if I don’t tell you about it.”

It followed a moment of silence between them, where Twilight didn’t know what she should say about this statement, nor did the baron say anything further about it.

“The problems they had with each other,” Climber finally started to explain, “to come back to your question, can be broken down to a simple question of ‘mine’. Sadly, in this case my ancestor is to blame alone. Oatsen did nothing wrong, he was just a constant threat in Burning Snowflake’s eyes.”

“A threat to what?”

“Burning Snowflake saw Sherlay Hays as a ‘property’ of some sort. This is most likely due to a different part of her than what we are speaking. Don't worry, it isn't as you might think. I will say quickly, as I am starting to diverge, that you may have knowledge of this subject with a close friend of yours, more specifically, your dragon assistant. In Burning Snowflake opinion, Sherlay Hays belonged to her and her alone. Oatsen was just a close friend of Sherlay’s, but close enough that it made my ancestor jealous.” He caught Twilight's gaze and spoke clear and slow, “Burning Snowflake and Sherlay Hays were not friends, or good friends, not even best friends, Your Highness, they were a couple. My ancestor always was, is and with high probability, will ever be, a fillyfooler.”

A question of perspective

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After Climber’s statement, the room went silent for a moment. The gaze of the princess was still on his eyes while the seconds passed. First one, then another and another second flew by, yet nothing happened.

Finally Twilight blinked two times, followed by another few seconds passing without any further reaction from her. Climber was unsure if he should say anything, but before he could, Twilight's eyebrows narrowed in anger and blood began to rush into her cheeks.

She got into a more upright position. “That… that is…” she began, but had trouble containing her upcoming anger, “...unbearable! Awful!”

Climber flinched back in surprise before he stood up quickly and indignantly raised a hoof. “Hold on, Princess, you may be upset about her being a fillyfooler, but that is no reason to…”

He was interrupted by Twilight, “No! I am not mad about her being a fillyfooler.” Twilight now raised her hooves too. “I am mad about her parents. Which parents would chase their own daughter away for taking interest in the same gender!” She hit the mattress. “How old was she? Ten? Twelve? Who would do this!” The last part was a yell of outrage, not really a question.

“Eleven.” Climber sunk back on the chair and gave her a serious look. “She was eleven when she ran away from home.”

“Eleven!” Twilight repeated. “I already had compassion for her when you told me she had to run from home as a filly, but knowing the stupid reason for it…” She growled in anger. “Nopony should endure such… such…” she failed to find the right words.

Climber nodded slowly. “I know.” He threw a look out of the window. “It was cruel, horrible and her parents were one of the worst I have ever heard off… “ he returned his gaze to Twilight, “but it was also a stroke of luck.”

Had she first agreed with what he started to say, when he called it a stroke of luck, Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. “How could you say that?”

“The official reason would be that Equestria benefited from it, a lot.”

Twilight’s gaze got displeased even more.

“My personal reason however and the real reason,” he continued, “is that if Snowflake’s parents hadn't outcast her, she would never have become Burning Snowflake. She would have had a normal lifespan and passed away centuries before she would have been able to meet Compassion, meaning she’d never had adopted him and none of the consequences of this event would take place.”

“My family,” Climber made a gesture to include all of Dragonbite Castle, “wouldn’t really exist, or Compassion could have married somepony else and created a family anyway, but as an orphan the chances for that weren’t very high that days.”

“Good for your family, bad for her. I don’t think anypony would choose a similar fate for themselves, even with this outcome in the end.”

Climber made a gesture like he was balancing a scale with his front hooves. “I believe you would be surprised how many ponies would choose to follow in her steps. Reaching immortality is tempting for many.”

“Being immortal doesn’t only have advantages…” Twilight made clear, waving it off with her hoof and a little headshake .

“Of course not.” He folded his hooves back on his chair. “In the end, everypony would have to answer that question for themselves. I only say, given the choice, many would take the immortality.”

“Would you?”

“For the price she had to pay? No,” he said without hesitation. “My wife and I, we have different opinions about being immortal in general, but I would never prefer it before my family.”

“Why do you believe many would prefer immortality then?”

“Not everypony has a good relationship with their family, nor do they have kids or a partner of their own.” He shook his head. “I would never trade Pleasant Smell, Cave Light or Distant Shine for endless life. And I assume ponies with kids wouldn’t either mostly, but for the lonely…” He shrugged, then opened his mouth as an idea sprouted in his mind. He tilted his head, focusing on Twilight. “Well, I guess that goes for scientists too.”

“I don’t think I like where this is going, Baron.” Twilight frowned. “If you imply scientists generally set their own life opportunities over their family bonds, you are wrong.”

“I don’t say that in general, Your Highness,” he denied. “I mean a certain one,” he pointed at her, “namely you.”

“Me?” Twilight repeated, indignant. “How dare you imply I would choose immortality over the love of my parents!” She gave the mattress another hit with her hoof.

“I don’t say that, I just say that during your time in Canterlot before you were sent to Ponyville, you would have found that trade maybe a bit tempting yourself.” He stopped her rising protest with a hoof. “As a Baron of Equestria, I know the past of its princesses, including the newest one. I know that Celestia sent you to Ponyville because you didn’t have many friends and your only activity was reading and your studies. You rarely saw your family at all. If somepony had made such an offer to you at that time, are you sure you would instantly deny it?”

“Of course I’d deny it!” Twilight said, brusquely. “I was completely absorbed by my studies, but not blind to my family bonds. I love my parents and my brother and never would have I left them behind.”

Climber stayed calm and stroked over his muzzle. “You say that now with a distant view to it and after you ascended to the Princess of Friendship. I don’t doubt you love your family and always did, but the offer to live forever and continue your study by the side of Her Highness herself… you really want to tell me it wouldn’t have been a tempting offer at all? They wouldn’t be dead, nor would anything happen to them, only you’d have to leave them to get the chance to study for all the time you wanted.”

Twilight snorted. “I never would have abandoned my family!” She held herself back to take a breath. “Even if I don’t like it, I see a point in your argumentation. I agree that it could be a tempting offer for some less lucky ponies.”

It was clear to see for Climber that Twilight’s thoughts hung on her time back as a student of Celestia now. She had moved her gaze from him, looking at nothing in particular. The baron couldn’t know, but Twilight shifted her thoughts from her own past to the past of those she knew or had met during her friendship missions. There were indeed some ponies she believe would have gladly accept that offer, Moon Dancer came to her mind, in the state she was before Twilight had made her apology or Starlight Glimmer and Sunset Shimmer before their redemption. None of them had sought immortality in the first place, but getting such an offer may have fallen on fertile soil.

“Family and friends are far more worth than a never-ending life, far, far more.” She moved her gaze back to the baron. “I never asked for this and I would have denied such an offer,” she sighed, “but I know some ponies who maybe would have gladly accepted it if their lives would have taken a different path.”

He nodded. “I wonder how are you going to think about it in a few hundred years, Your Highness,” Climber said then stopped, biting on his lower lip. There lay more on his mind, but he thought better than to continue this conversation about such a delicate topic. “Maybe we should change the topic of our conversation now and return to your second question, Your Highness?”

“Hmm,” she thought about it, “that would be better.” It took a moment for her to shake off the emotions stirred by their conversation. She sunk back into a more comfortable position again. “If… “ she started but was cut off by a loud knock on the door.

The door opened and a brown stallion entered the infirmary, pulling a tea trolley. “Good day, Princess,” he stopped and bowed before Twilight and Climber, “My Lord.” He pointed at the trolley. “I was ordered to bring you dinner, I hope it is to your contentedness.”

“Very good, Happy Day,” Climber said and rose from his place. “Just push the wagon before the bed.” While Happy Day did as he was told, Climber placed his chair a bit back to make room for the trolley.

With the wagon in place, Happy Day moved his hoof invitingly over the crockery, listing what he had in store. A few sorts of tea along with some snacks and to the delight of Twilight, a big plate of hayburgers on the second level of the trolley.

It took a while though, till everything was arranged properly. Happy Day took his job seriously and served the food, also filled their cups, fluffed up Twilight’s pillow and moved the chair for the baron. Only when everything was right in his opinion, he stepped back, bowed and, after a nod from Climber, left the infirmary with the promise to fetch the wagon in an hour or so.

Hayburgers and Twilight of course, were a combination Climber wasn’t prepared for. His mouth hung open when he saw how fast and furiously the princess ate them. Burger after burger was devoured by her, leaving spots of ketchup all over her face. She wiped them away from time to time with the bun, but it only spread even more around.

When he became aware that he was staring at her, Climber quickly hid his face behind his cup of tea. He waited patiently till Twilight was finished with her dinner before he brought their conversation back in motion.

Placing his cup back on the trolley, he addressed the princess again, “To come back to your question, Your Highness,” he paused while Twilight put back the serviette she had used to clean her hooves and then gave him her full attention again, “Sherlay Hays did not die by falling from the viewing platform above Canterlot north-west waterfalls during the fight with professor Memory Artist, better known by the name he got during his expeditions in the forbidden jungle, Mory Arty. She survived, how exactly I don’t know, that would be a question for Burning Snowflake herself to answer. What I know is that my ancestor’s mother wasn’t involved in this event at all.”

“So you simple say she survived, that’s it?” She raised a hoof. “No explanation how she survived the fall?” Her other hoof went up as well. “No word of how she managed to not get shattered by the rocks at the bottom? The north-west waterfall isn’t like the many small waterfalls in the city itself with a little lake at the bottom, its end is plastered with sharp rocks, not to mention the many bulging cliffs on the way down.” One of her hooves moved slowly down towards the top on the trolley, imitating a falling pony. “The long, looong way down.” The dull sound her hoof made when she hit the trolley rounded up her presentation.

“Indeed, that would be something I would like to know too.” He smiled a bit. “Luckily for me, or us in this case, we may get the chance to ask Burning Snowflake ourselves.”

Twilight commented that with only a “Maybe.”

Climber rubbed his front hooves in excitement before he returned to his calmer self. “What I can say, however, is that Sherlay Hays disappeared from the public life in that moment. Only a few ponies knew that she hadn't died that day.”

“Dr. Oatsen?” Twilight asked. “The way he wrote the last book… it seemed he wasn’t aware of it at first, considering all the mourning and grief you can feel when you read it.” She wrinkled her lips. “Or what was his last official book at least.”

“It very well seems so, I can’t deny it.” He shrugged. “If Sherlay Hays didn’t think it was a good idea to tell him immediately, Burning Snowflake wouldn’t do it by her own intention anyway. With how things were between her and Oatsen, she wouldn’t feel guilty about letting him none the wiser. On the other hoof, I believe she knew it immediately.

“Because Sherlay Hays wouldn’t have secrets before her… partner?” She gave him a look that made it clear she didn’t believe that. “Sherlay Hays wasn’t so much the romantic type as her story tells.”

Climber scratched his snout. “Probably not,” he smiled lightly, “in Oatsen’s books she is not, but we can’t be sure how she was besides her detective work. In any case, it is most probable that Burning Snowflake learned about her partner being still alive immediately, because neither was Canterlot’s underworld set on fire that day nor did something happen to Oatsen after it.”

Narrowing her eyebrows and recoiling her head, Twilight asked, leery, “Wait, you want to tell me Burning Snowflake would take revenge on Canterlot's inhabitants if Sherlay Hays had died?” She moved her head forward again. “And what had Oatsen to do with that?”

“I very well believe that she would go on a rampage if Sherlay Hays had died, yes. Burning Snowflake may spend her life protecting Equestria most of the time, but for two ponies she would have set it on fire without hesitation.” He lifted his left hoof. “Compassion,” he lifted the other, “and Sherlay Hays. I only know with certainty how she reacted when Compassion was in serious danger. To protect him she acted relentlessly, determined and without a moment of hesitation or negotiation. I assume the same counted for her love.”

Twilight raised a hoof to interrupt him. “Even with my compassion for her about her background, you only prove she is a threat and possible criminal with your explanation. Remember we had that conversation just yesterday.”

Climber breathed in to reply, but instead held his breath for a moment before he slowly exhaled. “Of course… Your Highness, of course. This may not put her in better light at all, so we should keep it short instead.” He waited for a nod from Twilight, then continued, “In case of Oatsen, let me just say that Burning Snowflake had to cope with him in some way and it was a give and take between her and Sherlay Hays about it. Sherlay made it very clear that if something suspicious would happen to Oatsen, no matter the reason, she and Burning Snowflake would be apart after it. Sherlay was not blind to the possibility that Burning Snowflake could arrange something to get rid of Oatsen.” He made a calming gesture with his hoof. “I don’t mean something drastic, just anything that would cause Oatsen to disappear or leave Canterlot or Equestria in general. With this threat however, she had to protect Oatsen instead, even during the detective cases.”

He exchanged a look with Twilight to make sure she didn’t want to ask something, but she just waited for him to go on.

“In return, Burning Snowflake requested something too, or better made something clear herself. It is a bit difficult to shorten it,” he shook his hoof, a bit unsure how to say it, “the main part was that if Burning Snowflake would keep an eye on Oatsen, Sherlay Hays better keep an eye on herself too. You know from the stories how she acted sometimes, not aware or simple ignoring the danger she brought upon herself. Just remember when she walked on board of that one zeppelin alone to confront its captain.”

“I remember that scene.” Twilight nodded. “Book fourteen, if I am right.”

Climber flicked his tail and wiped the book number away with a hoof. “I don’t remember the number, just that she was careless. With Burning Snowflake bound to the task of keeping Oatsen safe, she wasn’t always able to protect her special somepony. So she made her standpoint clear too. If something would happen to Sherlay Hays, something of that kind with a bad and permanent ending, Oatsen would face the same fate.”

“That is…” Twilight started but was interrupted by Climber.

“Awful, I know, but considering the circumstances and how Sherlay Hays was, I would say understandable.” He shook his head. “Burning Snowflake was not willing to risk her relationship with Sherlay Hays in any way, and Sherlay used it against her in this case. It made Oatsen’s life much safer, having Burning Snowflake watch over him. Also it made my ancestor’s mother unable to make sure Sherlay was as safe as she wanted her to be. Burning Snowflake only used her own ultimatum in case of Oatsen to makesure Sherlay was as careful as possible.”

He raised both hooves now. “Don’t take this wrong as a threat to Oatsen, it was a statement to protect Sherlay instead.”

“You are sure they were a couple, Baron?” Twilight asked with a hint of sarcasm. “Sounds more like opponents to me. Making such awful conditions for each other to stay in their relationship.” She crossed her forelegs.

“Let me ask you a counter question, you said you have read all of Oatsen’s public books about Sherlay Hays, Your Highness?”

Twilight nodded.

“With Sherlay Hays’ outstanding... personality, you really think a simple ‘Please don’t get yourself in danger while I watch over you friend Oatsen’ would have worked?”

Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it again. She did it again, till the third time she simply said, “No, probably not.” with grudge in her voice. “However, that does not make it alright at all,” she quickly said afterwards.

“You remember when I told you she did what was necessary instead of doing it the friendship way? This would count as such a case. Effective, not very harmonic.”

“Not what some ponies would call love… “

“There was love, a lot of pure unadulterated love, only the complexity of both their characters made things a bit com… interesting.” He lowered his gaze and took his teacup, playing with the spoon in it. “They had a very turbulent way to come together and their relationship often was a game of cat and mouse, not that it was clear who was who of course.” He smiled with his eyes still lowered into his teacup and took a sip. “Sometimes when I think about it, I wonder if they knew who was who.”

“If the books can be trusted, Sherlay Hays should be the cat. The informations you gave me so far support that supposition too,” Twilight said. “Sherlay Hays was far more independent than your ancestor’s mother is and she seemed to be more manipulative too.”

Finally Climber looked up again. “And you think that makes her the cat?”

“Well, obviously?” Twilight gave him a wondering look. “Sherlay Hays controlled the game, so she is the cat. Burning Snowflake made her point too, but she only reacted while Sherlay took the initiative.”

“Good point,” Climber confessed. “I haven’t looked at it from that point of view. I have to think about that, thank you for your insight, Princess.” He lifted his cup and gave her a grateful nod.

“You are welcome,” Twilight responded. “May I ask what you thought about it?”

“I assumed they were equal in that matter.” He placed his cup back on the trolley. “When they were in the castle of Her Highness, Burning Snowflake was the dominant, or the ‘Cat’. In Canterlot’s city it was Sherlay Hays who mostly gave the tone. She… “

“What does that mean?” Twilight interrupted.

“Excuse me?”

“Gave the tone, what does it mean? I don’t see what music has to do with it.”

“Oh that,” he gave her an apologetic smile, “is an old saying, it means who ‘takes the lead’. Freely translated. It has it origins in the profession of a conductor. They lead the choir, so they decide what would be played. So if you give the ‘tone’, you are in charge.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, Sherlay Hays was somewhat in charge in Canterlot itself. She worked there and Burning Snowflake had to adapt herself to that, in most aspects. But she wasn’t a slave to Sherlay’s will either.” He took a breath in. “In the castle of Her Highness and close by however, Sherlay had to play by her marefriend’s rules.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Twilight asked, curious. “What Sherlay Hays expected, I have a good clue about. Burning Snowflake surely could support her detective work and also help her with her research and satisfy her curiosity in matters of history and wonders of the world. Burning Snowflake surely had a lot to tell about these.”

“Amazingly accurate, Your Highness.” He grabbed his cup again and hid his face behind it.

Twilight hummed contentedly and smiled. “So with that cleared, what were Burning Snowflake’s rules?”

When Climber didn’t answer in a reasonable time, she gave him a questioning look. “Baron?”

Still holding his cup, his face was hard to read but when she looked closer, Twilight saw his cheeks were reddened.

“Are you alright?” she asked. “Is your tea not good, maybe?”

Climber stared into his cup. “Everything is right with my tea, Your Highness.”

“Then what is…” She started but Climber cleared his throat..

“Could we just skip that topic, please?” He gave her a smile. “Truly, Your Highness, it isn’t so important and I would prefer to not speak about that at the moment.”

“Mhh,” Twilight thought loud, “if you want to… okay.”

“Thank you.” He raised his head to give Twilight’s cup a look. “Some more tea, Your Highness?”

Emptying it, Twilight extended her hoof with her cup over the trolley. “Yes, that would be nice.”

While the tea streamed into the cup, Climber said, “If you don’t mind, I would skip right to the end of what I know about Sherlay Hays and Burning Snowflake’s last known days together.”

“Alright, go ahead,” Twilight answered, pulling back her cup. “Now I am curious what will you tell me.”

“Actually, there is not much to tell about their last days together in general. As a background information, it may be useful that their relationship lasted twenty years. Twelve of them before the official death of Sherlay Hays and eight after it. There would be a lot more to tell about these times for sure, but the important thing worth emphasizing is, that Burning Snowflake didn’t age, while Sherlay Hays did of course.” He gave her a confirming nod. “This fact is mentioned more than one time, not pointed out directly, but if you read between the lines, it is very clear.”

He shifted his weight on his chair. “If you set the puzzle pieces together, it seems that Burning Snowflake wanted to do something about it, well at least to me. There are intimations here and there in their shared part of the story. Sherlay’s aging had become more and more of a problem in their relationship. Not that their love had lessened, there is not even the tiniest hint of that, the opposite seems to be the case instead. But fear that Sherlay would pass away one day grew in Burning Snowflake’s head from day to day, I assume. And then, one day, Sherlay Hays disappeared all of the sudden.” He made a wave in the air with his hoof as if wiping a table clear. “No word about where she went, what happened, if she left or anything else. From that day, till my ancestor’s mother told Compassion about her, there are only rarely words about her and none of them concerned her vanishing.”

“Not a single word?” Twilight gave him a quizzical look, “In that case the words Oatsen left for your ancestor’s mother didn’t surprise you as much as they should have. You must have had a clue,” Twilight insinuated.

“Indeed,” he smiled, then his smile disappeared, “but it is a sad thing.” His gaze wandered back into his teacup and he sighed. “I wasn’t surprised, because I guessed that Snowy had tried something to prevent Sherlay’s normally unavoidable death and it got terribly wrong.” The tea had become very interesting for him it seemed, he swung the cup around a bit and watched the liquid move. “That would explain why Oatsen blamed Snowy for Sherlay’s disappearance. True or not, Sherlay Hays didn’t appear in the story in person from that point and my ancestor’s mother didn’t find a new special somepony as far as we know.”

“That explains it.” She nodded. “Is there any evidence she had made attempts to find a new partner at all?”

“Mhh, I don’t think so.” He thought about it for a moment. “No, she didn’t… why?”

“It gives me a better understanding of her character. Either this means she is still heartbroken and mourning Sherlay Hays’ death or she got more secretive in general about matters of the heart. Normally I would say she just became disinterested in that kind of relationship, like Celestia did, but I doubt that Compassion wouldn’t have interfered here.” She tilted her head. “If he was such a caring stallion, he would insist his mother would get a new partner or at least she should try to get one.” She gave him an inquiring look. “I see it as fact that he wasn’t homophobic?”

That brought a little smile back on his lips. “No, at least not in matter of his mother of course. When she told him that she was into mares,” his smile got brighter and his mind drifted off for a second, “he asked her if she wanted to adopt him. Snowy was… ahem… well, she was very well aware that she couldn't do that and secretly stay the Phantom of Canterlot at the same time. She had to either deny or tell him everything, to a degree. Burning Snowflake was afraid he wouldn’t want to get adopted anymore if she told him. His reply was, well let me quote what he said.” He coughed. “He had hugged her forelegs and was looking up to her, saying,” and now Cimber imitated the voice of a little colt, “Does… does that mean I can have two moms then?” Climber now changed back to his normal voice, “His eyes were sparkling with hope and happiness. Snowy wasn’t able to hold back her emotions after this and started to cry, lifting him up into a hug and embracing him with her wings.”

Climber swabbed over his left eye with his serviette. “My apologies, Your Highness. This is one of my favorite parts of my family’s history.”

“It is really touchy,” Twilight admitted and reciprocated his smile. “Did she say yes?”

“Of course she did, she adopted him as you already know.”

“No, did she say yes to him having a second mother? You know, if she said yes to the question, it would imply that she was open for a new relationship.”

“You and your eye for details.” He gave her a light disbelieving head shake and closed his eyes while he thought about it. “I don’t remember her answering that question directly.” Opening his eyes again, he repeated his head shake, a bit stronger this time. “No, she didn’t answer that question and as long as she was around her son, she didn’t have a certain mare at her side. Means none of the castle inhabitants saw it, nor Compassion wrote it down or told somepony about it.”

“Interesting, but it doesn’t have to mean much,” Twilight said and took a sip of tea. “If she was that… mhh… if she had enough to do with her task to rise and protect him, she maybe was too busy for a relationship.” She placed the cup back on the trolley and denied Climber’s offer to refill it. “As far as I know, in her comics, I mean in the comics about her, there is no special somepony mentioned for her too.” She scratched her mane. “That of course could be because the publisher didn’t want to scare away the readers with the fact she was into mares. Also, it’s possible he simply didn’t know.”

“Both is possible, Your Highness.”

“That brings up the question, who drew the comics in the first place? Or who told the artist what he had to draw?”

“Don’t look at me,” Climber shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“But can you make a guess?” Twilight asked.. “If somepony can, then the head of the Snowflake family,”she said with a requesting smile.

He let out a polite giggle. “You flatter me, still I don’t have a clue.”

Twilight raised both her eyebrows and gave him a requesting look as if glancing at him over invisible glasses.

“Alright,” he gave in, “if I had to guess,” he leaned back and stared at the ceiling, “there are a few options. First, and that is really unrealistic, somepony with a very long lifespan was present during her activities. That would explain that all of the comics managed to preserve the same way of drawing and design.” He shrugged. “That pony would have to be talented in drawing of course.”

“You mean, one pony could have drawn them all alone?”

“I said, it could be, not that it is realistic.” He focused back on her. “Second, she made them herself. Honestly, I have no clue about how good she is at drawing, but this way, the fact that the comics are published over a time period of two hundred years is covered. As well as the same design too.”

“Good point,” Twilight said, “I just wonder why she should have done this? The question is how does she benefit from it. I don’t see her needing the money or the fame all of the sudden.”

“Indeed, a reasonable question. Somepony could have pushed her to do it, even if she made them maybe, it mustn't have been her idea in the first place.”

“Doesn’t answer the question why.”

“I give you that, still I am just guessing,” Climber reminded her. “Third, a bunch of ponies made them over time, just taking every effort to make them look like from one hoof. Again, I don’t know the reason why they would have done this, but the possibility stays anyway.”

“We have a lot of ideas, but none of them seems completely fitting.” Twilight placed her hoof on her chin. “We are missing something…”

“Dad!” The voice of a little colt made itself noticed as the door of the infirmary suddenly opened. Distant Shine quickly trotted in and swiftly moved closer to his father. “Mom said she is too busy to read me a story tonight and you are telling a story to Twilight anyway, so I can stay up and listen to that instead.” He placed one hoof on his father's chair, then looked over to Twilight. “Hello, Princess!” He waved to her with his other hoof, accidentally dropping the plushie he was holding.

“Hello, Distant Shine,” Twilight greeted back with a smile.

Climber was a bit surprised. “Your mother told you that?” He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure she said it exactly that way? You didn’t misunderstand something?” He fondled through Distant Shine’s mane.

Picking up the plushie, his son answered, “Yeah, mom said you will tell the story this evening. She allowed me to take Sev with me too.” He raised the plushie for his dad to see. “He will help you,” he looked at Twilight again, “to get better soon!” Distant Shine took a step in direction of Twilight to give her the plushie but was picked up by his father.

“I don’t think it is a good time to do that, Son. I haven’t started the story yet and I have a conversation with Her Highness going. I can read you a story tomorrow instead.”

“No!” the little one’s voice became defiant as he tried to escape his father's grip, “I don’t want to hear it tomorrow, I want to hear it now!”

“Distant Shine,” Climber’s voice got a bit more serious and determining, “what have I told you about behaving in front of our guests?”

“Dad! It is story evening! You and mom promised to tell me a story at story evening!” He gave his father his best reproachful gaze.

“Ohhh,” Climber just made in realisation what day it was. “Well, Son, I… we… your mother and I are a little bit busy at the moment, so…”

“You promised!” Distant Shine said accusingly and gave his father a push. “You promised! You promised, you promised!”

Helpless, Climber peaked over to Twilight. “It seems I can’t talk my way out of this, my son is right about that I made a promise. Would you mind if we continued our conversation later, Your Highness?”

“No, not at all,” she said with a smile. “A promise is a promise, there is nothing to argue about.”

“Yeah!” Distant Shine yelled with joy. “You see dad, she says it too!” He fidgeted till his dad placed him back on his hooves. At once he walked around the trolley and over to Twilight, offering her his plushie.

A bit unsure, Twilight took it. “Thank you,” she said, giving the plushie an uncertain look. It was a small light blue dragon, with a fluffy tail tip going a bit into purple. The same applied to his chest fluff and some sort of mane. “And who is that?” Twilight asked.

“That is Sev, the cuddliest dragon in all of Equestria!” Distant Shine announced. “His full name is Severhak, but I call him Sev.”

“Well, hello there, Sev, nice to meet you,” Twilight said.

“I will lend him to you for tonight, he will watch over you and make sure you get well in no time.”

"How generous of you," Twilight said and placed Sev next to her on the bed.

"Hey, Distant Shine!" Climber called out for his son, who had placed his hooves on Twilight's bed and tried to hop onto it. "What do you think you are doing, little stallion?"

Half hanging, half climbing, Distant Shine answered, "I’m preparing for the story, Dad." He pushed himself up a bit further and then grabbed Twilight's tail to pull himself completely into it.

"Distant Shine!" Climber rose from his chair, ready to grab his son, but a raised hoof and a giggle from the princess stopped him.

"It is okay dad, you don’t need to help me.," Distant Shine said, completely misinterpreting the situation.

Climber sunk back on his chair and covered his face with a hoof. "Distant Shine, you can't just use somepony’s tail as a climb assistant. That is rude."

"But Dad," his son protested, "how else should I get up here on my own then?"

"You shouldn't," his father answered.

"Don't worry about it," Twilight interfered and moved a bit to the side so one of the smaller pillows was free for Distant Shine to lay on. "The bed is big enough."

"Is there place for one more?" A shy voice now came from the door. In the frame stood Cave Light, holding a pillow in her hoof. "Mom said you all would be here and that dad would tell a story. I would like to listen too, if I am allowed?"

"Ahem," Climber made throwing unsure looks between Cave Light, Twilight and Distant Shine. Only after a nod from the princess, he said, "I don't know, maybe if we move one of the other beds closer..." He looked at Twilight. "If that really is alright with you, Your Highness?"

"Of course it is," she said and already organised everything necessary. "Distant Shine, you move a little closer to your dad, while I move over to the other side so Cave Light can have the middle."

That offer she didn't need to repeat. Very quickly Cave Light trotted over and jumped onto the bed. It was followed by a little fight with her brother about the blanket and the general allocation of the space in it, but it was quickly settled. After a short while, Twilight and the foals were laying in the bed under the blanket with Sev on Twilight's belly, so only his head peaked out from under the blanket.

"Aren't you a little bit too old for carrying Sev around with you anymore?" Cave Light teased her brother.

"I don't carry him around!" he protested. "I brought him for Princess Twilight!"

"Foals, don't fight with each other," Twilight ordered. "Be nice to each other so we all can listen to your father's story."

"She has started it!" Distant Shine protested, turned around and pointed at his sister. "And I know you still carry Hedvika around with you sometimes!” He looked over to Twilight, “that’s her little unicorn scientist doll.” he explained.

"That is a lie!" Cave Light ranted.

"Foals!" Climber said loudly. "We have a guest here, behave like it."

Both his foals gave him an innocent smile, then kicked at each other under the blanket. It stopped immediately when their father’s eyebrows narrowed. He was going to say something but Twilight was a little bit quicker. She lifted Cave Light up and placed her on her right side and took the place between the foals.

"Are you two now going to be peaceful?" she asked. "Otherwise one of you must sit on the ground."

"I have been well-behaved all along," Distant Shine claimed, set Sev, who had slipped from Twilight's belly, back in place and snuggled his back against her.

Climber raised a hoof in his direction when Cave Light said she had behaved as well as her brother and snuggled against Twilight's other side. Climber pulled back his hoof and ran it desperately through his mane. Luckily, Twilight didn't mind the cuddling. Now peacefully and patiently, all three waited for him to start with the story.

"I..." he coughed and gave the scene a last suspicious look. "Could you remind me where my wife had stopped, Your Highness?"

"Of course, Baron." Twilight shifted herself a bit back and forth to lay more comfortable. "Pleasant Smell stopped right after Burning Snowflake told her team members about the griffons and how she ended up under the collapsed building."

"Cool!" Distant Shine shouted. "That is right before... "

"Don't spoil the story!" his sister reminded him. "Twilight doesn't know yet."

"Oh," he gave Twilight an apologetic look, "I haven't thought about that, I am sorry."

"Don't worry about it," the princess replied. "You didn't spoil anything yet."

"Well in that case," Climber threw a meaningful gaze at his son, "I may have to let out a few details and tell the foal friendly version instead."

"I am old enough to hear the adult version," Distant Shine commented. "I am already nine and a half years old."

"So still a few years too young," his father replied. "I will tell you the other version when you are twelve at earliest."

"That is not fair!" Distant Shine complained.

"It is and I will not discuss that with you. The foal friendly version it is," Climber decided.

Pushing the trolley a bit out of the way, he placed his chair closer to the bed. "Alright, let me tell you what happened after she told the other firefighting ponies about the incident in the brick factory...

Still a team?

View Online

When it was clear that Waterdrop had finished her story, the firefighters instantly created a commotion. Everypony, except for Cool Air, loudly expressed their opinion about it. Worries, disbelief, compassion, everything was in it.

“We can't trust her!” was shouted, as well as “She fooled us for years” or “I doubt any griffon would do that!”

On the other side of the argument, ponies shouted, “She did no harm to any of us!” and “She is still a pony, no matter what she can do!”

The upcoming arguing started to get out of hoof real quick. It was Cool who stopped it just in time by raising a hoof. “Silence!” he shouted loud enough that it was clear it was an order. “We don’t have time for this and it doesn’t matter at all!”

Everypony was now looking at him, hardly suppressing the will to speak.

He put his hoof back on the ground. “Listen up! We have to make a decision and we have to make it now.” He stepped a bit forward, closer to Waterdrop and pointed down on her. “Either we let her lay here and the royal guard handle this, or,” now he pointed at himself, “we help her and get her out of here ourselves. That also includes us coming up with a story to not blow her cover, otherwise we could give her to the guard and be done with this.”

“Cool,” Oven Cloth started, but Cool stopped her right from the start.

“No, Cloth, and this goes for all of you.” He looked them all in the eyes, one by one. “I can’t decide that alone, because we all will stuck with what we decide now. It is a majority decision of our team, whatever the result will be, we all have to promise to support the chosen way before we vote.”

“You really think that is a good idea?” Hot Cheese said, unsure. “We just vote and that’s it?”

“Shouldn’t we speak about this a little more?” Cloth added.

“No,” Cool ordered. He pointed at the orange mare, who was coughing again, lying weakly between them. “I won’t let her suffer more than necessary just because we have a long civilized discussion going on. She told us her version of the events like we asked and now it is up to us to make our move.”

He stepped further forward and looked down at Waterdrop, still addressing his team, “You all heard what she said, do you believe her and if you do, do you think she was right in what she did? Now promise to stuck with the result, whatever it will be.” He lifted his gaze and looked around. Everypony nodded in agreement, even if it took a few seconds for some to agree.

“Good,” Cool nodded himself, “then, who is for letting her lay here and the guard handle this?”

Three hooves raised up.

“Mhh,” he commented, “now, who is for taking her out of here and helping her keep her secret?”

Again, three hooves raised up.

“Stalemate,” he mumbled, “that is going to be a …”

A groan of pain interrupted him, Waterdrop slowly raising her hoof. “I… vote for... “ she coughed heavily and her whole body shook, “for getting… me… out… of here.” Powerless, her hoof sunk back.

They were all silent for a moment, it was clear to see that the gears in Cool’s head turned hard.

“You can’t be serious!” Chimney Cleaner said, indignant. “You can’t take account of letting her be part of the vote!”

“She has nothing to say to this,” Hot Cheese supported Chimney.

“You said,” Waterdrop quietly said, “it… is… a team… decision.”

“Nopony asked for your opinion,” Hot Cheese said, angrily.

Oven Cloth cleared her throat. “Technically, she is still part of the team.”

“You too?” Hot Cheese turned to Cloth and raised her voice, “You simply ignore the fact she has lied to us for years and now you still trust her?”

Cloth shook her head. “I only have a problem with letting a heavily injured pony lay there while I can help and instead let her face an unknown fate in the hooves of the royal guard!”

“Stop it!” Cool silenced them both. “We all agreed to deal with the result of the vote of our team.” He stepped right next to Waterdrop and lowered his head so his face was on the same level with hers. “Look at me.”

She did as she was told.

He held her gaze and asked, “Are you really Waterdrop?” He grabbed her chin when she tried to blink and look away. “Look me in the eyes and tell me, are you our team member Waterdrop, or not?”

“I… “ she started, “I… “ Her voice trailed off and her eyelids slowly sunk down more and more.

“Hey,” Cool carefully shook her head a bit, “don’t sleep in now.”

She opened her eyes again and tried to focus on him. “I am… your teammate… Waterdrop… even if that… is not… my… birth name.”

He stared in her eyes for a moment, looking for any hint of a lie, any betrayment, anything that felt suspicious… he found nothing. “Alright, I believe you.” He placed her head softly back on the ground and took a step back. “Four to three it is, we will get her out of here.”

“Cool!” Potato Cream yelled while she stepped over, stopping right in front of him. “What do you think you are doing? You just allow her to be a part of the vote because you voted for her yourself, you are biased!”

Cool Air steadied himself so he was able to look down on Potato Cream. “I said, it is a team decision. And actually, Potato… you are saying she fooled us for years, playing Waterdrop, a member of our team. That means, even you accept that she is Waterdrop, our teammate, as well.”

Potato opened her mouth again, so he placed his hoof on it. “No, Potato, I won’t let your fear be the reason for which she has to suffer longer than necessary. If the vote had been clearly against her, I still would have accepted it immediately. With the vote balanced, I decide we act the pony way and help her. Waterdrop is one of our team, regardless of using a fake identity or not.”

The mumbling of the others that followed his statement was a mix of approval and disagreement.

Cool let Potato’s mouth go, his gaze wandering over the rest of his team. “You all promised to support whatever decision we make as a team, now keep your promise.”

The ponies shared looks with each other, Chimney Cleaner’s worries were still clear to see on his face, and Cheese was not happy with the result either. In the end, they both gave the injured mare another look, then exchanged one with each other, followed by a short nod in Cool’s direction. Cloth and the last remaining stallion had voted for Waterdrop in the first place, so Cool returned his gaze to Potato.

“Can we count on you?”

She gave him a snort and kicked a stone away.

“Potato, yes or no?” Cool asked again, sharper this time.

Another snort. “Fine…”

“Thank… you…” Waterdrop whispered.

“Don’t thank us so quickly, Waterdrop,” Cool said. “We’ll get you out of here, but after we have done that and your wounds are taken care of, I insist you tell us everything about you.” His gaze became penetrating. “You heard me, everything. Who you really are, why have you joined our team and again, what happened here in detail.” He raised an eyebrow. “Did you really think we wouldn’t notice that there were a few really vague spots in your explanation?”

Without waiting for any response, he addressed the rest of the team again, “What we need now is an explanation as to why Waterdrop is here, but isn’t Waterdrop at the same time.” He stopped for a second, thinking. “Actually, this is complicated enough in the first place,” he looked back at Waterdrop, “and we need to call you somehow anyway when we carry you out. So, what is your real name, Waterdrop?”

Waterdrop took a few deep, slow breaths before she answered, “Promise… to keep it… a secret…”

“How dare you!” Hot Cheese burst out, angered. “You are the one who fooled us and now you expect us to keep your real name a secret?”

“Shh,” Cool silenced her, “this is still not the time. Waterdrop, we promise to keep it a secret until you are healthy enough to care for yourself. After that, we’ll freely decide what to do with that knowledge.” He looked around. “Everypony agrees?”

There was some hesitation, especially from Cheese, but they all nodded again.

“Good, so, Waterdrop, your real name is?” Cool asked.

“Snowflake… Burning Snowflake…” She winced when she tried to move a bit to look at everypony.

“That tells me nothing,” Chimney said. “Anypony else know that name?”

“No, doesn't ring a bell,” Cloth answered.

“Doesn’t sound familiar to me, either.” Hot Cheese scratched her head. “Snowflake, mhh, Snowflake as a family name… no, there is no family with that name in Canterlot as far as I know. It is your family name, isn’t it?” she inquired.

Burning Snowflake just closed her eyes, silent.

“Hmpf,” Cheese made and dropped the topic.

“Alright, we still have to come up with a plausible story why she,” Cool pointed at Burning Snowflake, “is in this building and why Waterdrop isn’t here for sure.” He looked around. “Any ideas?”

“A beggar who sought shelter?” Cloth suggested. “Made a home in this abandoned building, maybe?”

“Then somepony must have seen her before, trotting through the streets, begging for money or food,” Chimney denied. “This all will drag a lot of attention, whoever we pretend to have found here. Some ponies may ask questions why nopony knows her, if she is a beggar.”

“Good point,” Cloth agreed, “didn’t think about that part.”

Suddenly Burning Snowflake was far more awake again, realising what that meant for her. “No!” she said with emphasis, even if it caused her to cough again and wince at the pain it caused. “I can’t… be in…”

“Whoo, whoo, calm down,” Cool said quickly and placed a hoof on her forehead, softly stroking it. “Don’t panic, we are just considering possible explanations, nothing to worry about.”

“You don’t… understand…” she heavily panted, “there… are still… ponies who… know me…” A row of coughs ended her sentence.

That information caused the team to think about it for a moment.

“Somepony knows you and you fear they may find you?” Potato raised an eyebrow. “I knew you were some kind of wanted criminal!” she declared. “No wonder you took up somepony’s body shape as a cover!”

“What if she is right, Cool?” Cheese asked quickly. “Think about it, if she is a wanted criminal, we would help a criminal.”

“I don’t want to help a criminal, if I am being honest,” now the third stallion finally said something to it. “Helping somepony that fooled us,” he raised a hoof and turned the bottom up, “is one thing,” he waved his hoof slightly, “more so if she is in need of help, but helping a possible criminal?” He shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe we should patch her up and give her to the guard anyway.”

“Wait!” Cloth interrupted the upcoming discussion. “Wait a second.” She sat down and trailed off, her mouth formed silent words while she put her thoughts together and repeated something she had heard.

“What is it, Cloth?” Cheese asked.

Cloth slammed her left front hoof into her right one. “I know who she is hiding from,” she explained. “She isn’t a wanted criminal,” she looked over to Burning Snowflake, “right, Snowflake?”

A short look at the other mare’s eyes was all Cloth needed.

“You know who she is hiding from? Come on, spit it out already!” Potato demanded.

“Let’s take what she told us about her as fact for a moment,” Cloth raised up again, “she told us she is twenty-two.”

“Annnnd?” Potato requested her to speak on.

“She didn’t want to tell us her real name at first, and also didn’t give you,” she pointed at Cheese, “an answer, if Snowflake is her family name.”

“I don’t see where this is leading too,” Potato said, while Cool and shortly after him Cheese let out a loud ‘ohhh’.

“I see.” Cool rubbed his muzzle. “That explains it.”

“Indeed,” Cheese agreed, “if that is the case, we can’t use her real name for the public announcement.”

“Would somepony be so nice to explain it to me?” Potato asked.

“She is from Canterlot in the first place, Potato,” Cheese explained. “She didn’t hide from the guard, she hides from her relatives.”

Giving Burning Snowflake a look, Potato asked, “But I thought her parents were dead and she has no other siblings?”

That the orange mare avoided Potato’s gaze just confirmed that Cloth had guessed right.

“That was part of her fake identity as Waterdrop.” Cloth took over again. “Think about it, why Canterlot? From all places in Equestria, why of all things Canterlot?” Her voice sped up its pace as she put the puzzle pieces together. “It is the most risky place for her, in no other place you have so many guards, such a high population and a lot of eyes on you.” She started to walk around in a small circle. “If I could change shape and try to stay unnoticed, I would choose Vanhoover or even better make my home in the White Tail Woods, or any other lonely place like that.” Cloth stopped and let her voice get a more serious tone. “I say she was born here.” She tapped on the ground with her hoof. “Here in Canterlot, twenty-two years ago.”

Cloth stepped closer to Burning Snowflake and looked down on her. “Am I right?” It wasn’t really a question, it was more of a statement. She lowered her head till it was right in front of the other mare’s. “You still have a family here, don’t you?”

Burning Snowflake looked away and even tried to turn her head, but Cloth stretched out her hoof and softly placed in on Burning Snowflake’s left cheek, turning her back. When their eyes met again, Cloth asked, “What happened that you have to hide from them?”

It was then, when tears started to form in Burning Snowflake’s eyes, that Cool placed his hoof on Cloth’s shoulder. “That can wait, Cloth, we don’t need to know it now.”

Looking up to him, Cloth opened her lips but with a quick glance at the orange mare again, she just nodded.

“Let’s focus back on her cover story,” Cool changed the topic. “We can choose a code name for her when we know what story we tell the guards and Big Helmet.

“Mhh, what if we say she is a tourist,” the third stallion suggested. “Coming over to Canterlot for the festival. When she flew by the old brick-factory, she heard Waterdrop fighting with the griffons and went to investigate.”

“If the fight was loud enough to be heard outside, it would be expected that somepony else had heard it too,” Cheese added.

“We have to come up with something that explains why she was already in the building when the fight started, or why she flew in without knowing about it before,” Cool said.

“We could also say she entered the building together with Waterdrop,” Chimney said. “When Waterdrop, as an earth pony, wanted to enter the factory, she could have asked a pegasus to give her a lift over the wall.”

“That would only work if nopony had seen her entering the building,” Cloth denied.“At the moment, nopony witnessing her entering it was found, but somepony still might appear and raise suspicion.”

“She is right,” Cheese agreed, “it is too risky to say that. Somepony just has to remember that they saw Waterdrop climbing over the wall and our story is blown up.”

“The tourist thing seems to be the right start nonetheless,” the third stallion pointed out. “She can be from everywhere she wants, makes it easy to come up with a lie about her origins.”

“If we stay with that,” Cool picked up the thought, “Why would she enter the factory in the first place?” He waved his hoof around. “These halls were empty and only old forgotten stuff had lain around here, I don’t see the reason for it.”

“A window!” Cheese yelled suddenly, formuling an idea she just had. “She flew by and saw Waterdrop in a fight with the griffons through one, or better one griffon so it is more plausible she didn’t call for the guards at first and instead tried to solve it herself.” She shrugged. “With the factory burned down mostly and a huge part collapsed, nopony could say if it was possible to see her or the griffon.”

“A good idea, Cheese.” Cloth nodded. “That covers why she is here and nopony else.”

“Still, we have to think about why Waterdrop can’t be here anymore,” Cool reminded them. “If we didn’t find a possible answer, we have no excuse to stop our search. Waterdrop must have somehow found her way out of the building, otherwise our story will not work.”

“Did she?” Potato asked, sceptical.

“Huh?” What do you mean?” Cheese asked.

“Well, if she made it out, we still have to seek for her somewhere else. Even if we say the griffons escaped and foalnapped her for example, ponies would then expect us to start a search in Canterlot and surrounding areas.”

“You surely don’t want to say she died during the explosion?” Cloth suspected.

“Why not?” Potato answered brusquely.

“You can’t be serious,” Cool judged indignantly.

“It would make things so much easier for us, and, we still didn’t hear all of her backstory.” Potato pointed at Burning Snowflake. “Who knows if we are willing to take her back into our team when we know the full truth? Furthermore, Waterdrop hadn't existed in the first place, letting the world believe she is dead wouldn’t make a difference.”

“Do you listen to what you say?” Cool couldn’t believe his ears. “What you say is cruel and we wouldn’t be able to pretend we believe she is dead at all.”

“Hmm, I confess it would be difficult to feign the sadness we would have felt if she really would be gone for good,” she tilted her head, “but why do you think it is cruel?”

“Because...” Cool started, but Cloth answered the question.

“Did you think about her friends even for a second, Potato? Do you want to tell them she is dead? Do you care about what they would feel in the slightest?”

“Oh,” Potato made, ashamed. She rubbed her fore leg. “I haven’t thought about that.”

“Whatever we decide to tell,” Cloth demanded, “it has to end with something that allows ‘Waterdrop’ to come back safe and sound in the end, that much is clear. Either because we will welcome her back in the team or if we want her to leave, she can say goodbye to all who like her.”

“What if we have to tell the guards about her in the end?” Chimney asked. “I mean, after we patch her up and everything? We could end up in big trouble if they find out we lied to them.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Cool waved away his worries, “if the guards find out about her, we can pretend she lied to us.” He threw an eye on Burning Snowflake. “It wouldn’t be false completely.” Seeing her lay there, wounded and helpless, let the anger about it vanish as fast as it had raised up again. He sighed. “Alright, we can use Potato’s side idea anyway, Burning Snowflake saw some of the griffons take Waterdrop with them on the way out before the building exploded.”

He rubbed his muzzle and closed his eyes to think the story through one more time, adding a few points here and there to round it all up. “So, we have a tourist, flying by the building and seeing a griffon in a fight with a Firefighter officer of Canterlot, she tries to help but it turns out there are actually several griffons. They overwhelm Waterdrop and knock her out. In the fight with her,” he pointed at Burning Snowflake, “they set the fireworks or explosives on fire by happenstance.”

He hesitated. “No, better let them chase after our tourist and set the explosives on fire. So our tourist, as a pegasus, is a bit faster than Waterdrop and manages to not get caught by the griffons, so she sees them dragging the unconscious Waterdrop out of the building, but before she can get out herself, the explosives detonate and a piece of ceiling hits her. After that, she can’t remember what happened and the next important thing she notices, besides that she is buried under rubble, is that we dug her out.” He let his gaze wander over the others. “Thoughts?”

It took a moment for them, to think about it themselves.

“I guess that may work,” Cheese said. “Just to get things straight, in the fight with whom the explosives caught fire? It is a bit confusing with Waterdrop and our tourist being the same person in reality.”

“They caught fire when they chased our tourist,” Cool explained again, “if they caught fire in the fight with Waterdrop already, they all would have done their best to get out as soon as possible. This way, they had time to get Waterdrop out of here and that's what we need the most.”

“Wait,” Cloth said,” there is one thing we wouldn’t explain that way, look at her wings.” She returned to Burning Snowflake and with a “sorry,” she carefully lifted one of her wings a bit so the feathers were clear to see for all, or better said, what remained from them. “Plucked, mostly all of them,” she explained. Placing the wing back down carefully, Cloth continued, “If she got hit by the rubble, we don’t have an explanation for this.”

“What if one of the griffons got her right before the explosives blew up?” Potato asked. “He grabbed her midair and plucked her feathers out, only to get a kick from her, which threw him into the center of the following explosion. That would also explain why we didn’t find him…” She gulped. “Also, it would justify why Burning Snowflake feels responsible for the death of one griffon.”

A moment of silence followed, nopony liked the image in their heads. Still, it was a good explanation. Finally, Cool nodded. “Yes, that sounds g… uhm, okay.” He shook his head to get rid of the image. “Alright, that’s all we need for the moment. Chimney, Potato, get the gurney. Cloth, you free her,” he pointed with his head at Burning Snowflake, “from any rubble left before we can lift her. You two,” he turned to Cheese and the third stallion, “keep in mind what we have decided to tell the others, go outside and arrange a medical transport for her from here to the hospital.”

“Cool,” Cheese said, “what name shall we use for her? We haven’t thought about that one yet.”

“Right.” He scratched the ground, impatient. “What's your cutie mark, Burning Snowflake?”

She didn’t respond.

“Waterdrop!” he yelled to get her attention. “Your cutie mark, what is it?”

“A Snowflake… it is… on fire…”

“Melted Ice, that's her name now,” Cool decided. He repeated it a bit louder for the others to hear, “Her name is Melted Ice!”

With everypony having their task to do, he used the time Potato and Chimney needed to build up the gurney to speak with Burning Snowflake again. He told her the story they came up with again to make sure their stories would match and also distracted her from the work Cloth was doing.

It was several minutes later, when everything was arranged, that Cloth, Chimney, Potato and Cool lifted her up together, placed her on the gurney and carried her out of the ruin.

Curiosity, the incentive for everything

View Online

“Extra edition! Extra edition, read everything about the brick factory incident!” The colt held up a ‘New Canterlot Post’ for the crowd to see. “Griffons accused for blowing up a building in Canterlot! One mare survived the explosion. Firefighter officer still missing!” He turned to the other side of the street. “Extra edition… !”

“Could you please close the window?” Snowy asked the seashell white unicorn nurse.

“Seems like you are already the talk of the town,” Nurse Sugarcube said while she trotted over and glanced down on the street, past the lattice, which hold off too curious pegasi. “That was quick.” She placed her hooves on the frame and took a deep breath of the fresh and warm afternoon air. “Hmmm… wonderful,” she said before she closed the window.

Sugarcube trotted back to her trolley. “Though, I guess that was to be expected.” She lifted one of the thermometers with her magic. “You know, with the story you told the reporters and the fact,” she levitated the thermometer over to Snowy, “that you… woooh, watch out!”

Sugarcube saw the thermometer fell down after it had touched the orange mare’s lips and quickly tried to grab it again with her magic. The sound of breaking glass proved that she failed.

The nurse sighed. “I am sorry, Miss Ice, looks like I am a bit clumsy today.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Snowy said. She would have waved it off with her hoof, but the many bandages all over her body prevented her from doing so.

With a routine, the result of many, many days of working as a nurse, Sugarcube grabbed the brush and sweeper and cleaned the mess. “Good we have more than one of them.” She forced a little smile to her lips and levitated the next thermometer up.

“Could you just give it over to me by hoof?” Snowy asked nicely.

“I am not that clumsy,” Sugarcube narrowed her eyes.

“Please?” Snowy insisted.

“Hmpf,” Sugarcube made and let the thermometer fall in her own hoof. “If you wish.” Still careful, she inserted it into Snowy’s mouth.

“Thunk yuu,” Snowy mumbled.

While they waited for the thermometer to do its job, Sugarcube checked her patient’s bandages and plasters, also tried her best to fluff up her pillow and bring her in a little bit more upright position.

When she finally pulled out the thermometer, she raised an eyebrow. “Oh dear, somepony has a fever and not a small one.” Sugarcube placed a hoof on Snowy’s forehead. “You glow, miss, that’s not good.” She let go of the tool and when her magic failed to grab it, another unpleasant noise of breaking glass followed.

“Seriously?” Sugarcube facehoofed. She stepped back slowly, avoiding the fragments. “You should drink more and take your medicine,” she said to Snowy while she cleaned up the mess again. This time she used her hooves in the first place when she grabbed the cup with the medicine, placing the pills in Snowy’s mouth one by one. The cup of water received the same treatment.

When her patient had taken all of her medicine, Sugarcube nodded contently. “Alright.” She placed everything back on the trolley. Then she pulled over a chair and grabbed a plate from her trolley. “I hope you are hungry, today there are peas with chopped carrots.”

“Why the hay did it have to be carrots? I hate them!” Snowy thought. She sighed. “Is there a chance to get something else?” She threw a begging look over to Sugarcube.

The nurse was holding the plate in one hoof and the spoon already in the other. “Candied almonds, maybe? Or better an extra large sandwich with extra onions?” A raised eyebrow underlined her sarcasm. “Eat peas and carrots or nothing, what do you think this is, a hotel?”

“No, I… I just hate carrots, you know?” Snowy said with an apologetic smile.

“Nonsense,” Sugarcube replied, “if you are hungry enough, everything tastes good.” She put some peas and carrot pieces on the spoon and lifted it to Snowy’s mouth. “Now be a good pony and say ‘ahhh’.”

With her free ear flinched tightly against her head, Snowy reluctantly opened her mouth a bit. She was indeed very hungry, but carrots… she shivered by only thinking about it. “Here goes nothing,” she thought and after Sugarcube had placed the spoon in her mouth she took a bite. “Awful!”

“You see, they are not as bad as you thought, right?” Sugarcube gave her a smile.

“Twice as awful as I thought indeed.” Snowy forced herself to smile back. “You are right.”

Now Sugarcube smiled brighter. “See, I told you so.” She gathered a bit more of the vegetables on the spoon. “If you eat up everything, you get some dessert as well, vanilla pudding with cinnamon.”

“I doubt it is worth it… “

“Really, you should be more thankful for what you get, Miss Ice,” Sugarcube said when her ungrateful opposite again made a face like she was forced to eat the broken thermometers. “Not everypony survives an explosion like you did and gets away without any burn marks.” She let her left ear hang and tilted her head. “You know? You had the doctors wonder about that a lot.” She pulled back the unwelcomed spoon and focused on her thoughts. “You had broken a lot of your bones and got cuts all over your body, but not a single hair burnt in the slightest.”

“I guess I had a lot of luck with that.” Snowy avoided eye contact. “The rubble must have protected me.”

“If there wasn’t a whole team of respectable firefighters, who said they found you in the ruin, I wouldn’t believe it. Still, you must be right, a lucky mare you are.” Sugarcube set her head straight again and also remembered the spoon in her hoof. “Oh, I am sorry.” While she resumed to feed her patient, she continued to babble about her thoughts.

Snowy couldn’t decide if she was happy about the other mare’s presence or not. Sure, she was hungry and also was not displeased by some company in general, but that Sugarcube had to speak about the events in the factory and also feed her carrots… she really wasn’t sure.

When she had lain there, buried under the ruin, she really had begged for a pony to talk to. Just anypony, more than two days of isolation had taken their toll, but then she woke up after the doctors had patched her up. First all the questions about her state and how she feels, and then the royal guard showed up and with them a lot more questions. Every point of her story had been questioned, it felt like the guard was assuming she burnt down the building, not the explosion or the griffons, but she alone. Luckily one of the doctors had finally decided that she needed rest and had thrown the guard out. They had hesitated to leave at first, but the authority of the doctor in the hospital had convinced them.

A few hours of sleep and rest had indeed followed, till the newsponies had shown up. They tried everything to get an interview with her, it went so far that one even disguised herself as a nurse and sneaked into Snowy’s room. When the real nurse had shown up, she was discovered and one wouldn’t believe how mad a nurse can get when her patients are disturbed. There was not much missing and the newspapermare had needed a bed for herself afterwards.

In the end they had moved their most popular patient to the more secured area she was in at the moment, with lattice in front of the windows and also two security stallions at her door. They were not only there because of the reporters though, with her as the only witness of the possible crime of the griffons, they were there also to protect her from ‘suddenly disappearing’.

When Snowy’s thoughts hung on the guards finally, she noticed some commotion in front of her room’s door. Somepony was arguing with the guards.

“I hope that is not another one from the newspapers,” Sugarcube said. “Really, these ponies are a pest.”

Sugarcube straightened her ears and listened. Snowy did the same, at least with the ear that wasn’t covered in bandages. With a little effort, she was able to differ three different voices, two belonged to the guards while the third was a stallion that sounded somewhat familiar.

“Could that…”

“I am just a normal visitor!” the third stallion explained. “I am not a threat!”

“Yes, it is. What is he doing here?”

“Sorry, sir, but without permission of the chief physician, we are not allowed to let you enter.”

“I am sure you two can make an exception,” Pear Thrower said in a comradely tone. “I am a firefighter, and we city employees have to stick together, or?”

A moment of silence followed, probably while the guards thought about this.

“I fear we can’t help you,” the guard answered, “if you want to visit her, you still need the permission of the chief physician.”

“Or must be a relative or close friend of her,” the other guard added.

“Gentlestallions,” Pear pulled out his best manners, “see, I am friend of hers, so let me in.”

“Everypony can say that,” the first guard took over again, “do you have any proof?”

Sugarcube shook her head. “He really should have thought about a good story before he tried to get in here.” She lowered her ears and prepared the spoon for another bite from Snowy. “You don’t know him, right? It is just another pony who wants to get a good story, isn’t it?”

“I… “ Snowy started but stopped when she heard Pear come up with a very unsuitable proof that of course didn’t work on the guards.

“I brought flowers for her,” he said.

“Flowers? Tasty flowers!”

“Pear!” Snowy half yelled, half said. “Pear, my good friend! How nice of you to visit me!”

With some hesitation, one of the guards opened the door and peaked in. “You know this stallion, ma'am?” He opened the door a bit further and allowed her to throw a look at Pear and the medium bunch of flowers he was holding.

Snowy nodded slightly, but with enthusiasm, something she regretted instantly. “Ouch!” she made. “Yes, I know him.”

The guard opened the door completely and let Pear pass. “One hour, sir, till the visit time is over.”

“Understood,” Pear replied and trotted in. “I will keep that in mind.

The guard nodded and closed the door behind him.

“Hello, Melted Ice,” Pear said and also nodded to Sugarcube. “Nurse.”

Sugarcube gave him a suspicious gaze. “You two know each other?” She gave first Pear, then Snowy another look, before she rubbed her chin. “You didn’t mention you have a friend here in Canterlot, Miss Ice,” she threw a second look at Pear, “and more so that your friend is a firefighter.”

Shock ran down Snowy’s spine when she realised her mistake too late. She played Melted Ice at the moment! Waterdrop knew Pear, but Melted Ice did not! How could she forget which shape she was in! And another shock got her when she noticed that she called him by name, something Melted Ice also couldn’t know!

“Actually,” Pear explained, “I was part of the rescue team which searched the brick-factory for her. We didn’t know each other for long, but I guess that counts as permission to visit her.”

“Oh,” Sugarcube made, “well in that case, I would say yes.” She glanced over to Snowy. “Alright,” she placed the spoon on the plate and returned both to the trolley, “I’m going to let you and your lifesaver have a moment of privacy.” She rose from her place and went to leave. “But when I am back, you eat up your carrots!”

Under normal circumstances, Snowy would have shivered by the thought, but at the very moment, her gaze and attention hung on Pear Thrower completely. He didn’t show any reaction to her mistake, maybe he hadn’t noticed or had found an explanation for himself why she knew his name?

He lowered his head in respect when Sugarcube passed by and then he trotted over to Snowy’s bed.

“Normally I would wonder a bit why you know my name, Miss Ice.” Pear gave her a smile and took the now free chair. “The logic however says, that we met somewhere already and I just don’t remember or noticed.” He played with the bunch of flowers in his hoof.

With effort, Snowy was able to reciprocate his smile, just hers looked way more forced and unfitting. “Yes,” she intensified her false smile, “we ran into each other back in the day, I thought that was the reason you came to visit me now, but with you not remembering, I have to say I am surprised you did so.”

Pear nodded slightly. “Mhh,” he made approvingly, “that is a really good question.” He shot a look at the door, which closed a few seconds later, leaving them two alone in the room. “Well, there are many good explanations.” He leaned back on the chair and spun his free hoof around through the air. “One as false as the other. I could pretend I talked with Cool and his team about the mare they found in the building and got curious, or that I had to visit somepony else here and thought it would be a good idea to visit the only survivor of the collapsed factory.” He leaned forward, his face becoming more serious. “Nothing even close to the truth.”

Snowy had trouble keeping up her false smile. “So, the real reason you visited me then is…?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” he now leaned back forward and gave her snout a closer look, “I just want to see a firespitting pony?”

Her smile froze on her lips when he said that. “I have no clue what you are talking about.” She squeed innocently.

Pear moved right in front of her mouth and even dared to put a hoof on her upper lip, trying to push it back a bit.

“Hey!” Snowy complained and shifted her head to the side. “What do you think you are doing?”

Pear lowered his hoof. “I just wanted to see how you do it…Waterdrop, or Burning Snowflake, if you prefer that.”

“How did you know!” she yelled, worried, before she realised that she may alert the guards at the door with it. “How did you know?” she repeated quieter again, a hint of upcoming panic in her voice. She wasn’t in the condition to make an escape now.

Following her gaze with his eyes, Pear smirked. “Don’t worry, I am not here to blow your cover. If I wanted that, I would have showed up with the guards in the first place.”

“Then what do you want? And how do you know? Did the others tell you about me?” The questions raced in her head, forcing her to babble them out real quick.

“To answer your first question, mhh,” he tipped on his chin, “I guess you can call it curiosity.” He nodded to himself. “Yeah, that would fit mostly. And duty of course. When I heard what you said in the ruin, I…”

“You were there?” Snowy interrupted. “How? When?”

“When you told your team about your confrontation with the griffons. I entered the collapsed building to see how they were doing. You must know, Cool and I are friends, when I was sure you were part of his team and that the chance was high it was you who was missing,” he shrugged, “I felt forced to lend a hoof if I could. I mean, if it had been one of my mares who was missing, I wouldn’t close one eye till I found her either.”

“But the captain ordered you all to sleep,” Snowy half-said, half-asked. “And one must have seen or heard you on your way to… to…”

“The place where you lay?” Pear helped out.

Snowy gulped, then just nodded slightly.

“I had taken a short nap,” Pear said, “just not as long as I was told. I really needed some rest in that moment, but even still a little bit exhausted, I didn’t want to let Cool down. So, I dressed up again and moved over to the collapsed factory. It was just a coincidence that I trotted in when you focused all the attention on your story, otherwise you and the others would have heard me, no doubt. I wasn’t sneaking, though I hadn’t turned my helmet lamp on, you guys had lit up the area like a Hearth's Warming Eve tree.”

Snowy had some trouble calming down her emotions while he spoke, not only was she nervous about his knowledge of her secret, he also pulled back the pictures of the ruin into her mind, the fight, the explosion, the isolation, the… She tried to hold it back, turning her head away and closing her eyes, but still tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

Generously, Pear said nothing to it, he just placed the flowers on the bottom of her bed and picked up a hankie from the nightstand, softly dabing her tears away with it. After all, with her hooves in bandages, she wasn’t able to do it herself.

His calmness allowed Snowy to gather up herself. “Thank you,” she just said and sniffled.

He gave her a few more seconds. “Better?”

“Mh-mh,” she affirmed and sniffled again. “Bad memories.”

“I understand.” He scratched his head. “Uhm, well, to shorten it, you all didn’t notice me and when I heard you set one of the gr… what you did, I wasn’t sure what to do. To me, it seemed the best to let this be settled between you and your team, they know you far better than I do.”

“You weren’t afraid of what could happen if they helped me?” Snowy asked and avoided his gaze. “Someponies really get afraid if they hear about my abilities.”

“You mean that they think you could be a Discord spawn or an evil enchantress?” He shook his head. “Not me, I was on guard, but not really worried.”

Slowly, the orange mare’s gaze wandered up to his eyes, “How so? I doubt you meet creatures like that on a regular basis, shouldn't they still scare you?.”

An amused sound escaped his throat. “No, I can’t assert that. Still, there was half a dozen firefighter ponies around you and you didn't seem to be in the state to attack them. And, even if you were, I am capable of throwing a very good hoof axe.”

Snowy’s eyes widened. “You mean, that you would...”
He gave her a serious nod. “If necessary, a firefighter knows how to defend himself.”
She looked down again. “Well, seems good for me that I wasn't such a threat.”

“Yes, indeed,” Pear agreed and shrugged. “Anyway, with your team taking care of you and you not spitting fire at them or turning into some kind of monster... there wasn’t a point in interfering anymore.”

“So you simply let it be and trotted out?” Suspicion crawled into Snowy’s voice, replacing the heavy emotions and she focused on his facial expression when he replied.

“It seemed to me like a good idea.” He kept a straight face, only his tail flickered a bit. “What would I win if I confronted Cool and the others at once?”

“What do you win by confronting me, here, now?”

“I don’t know,” Snowy confessed. “It just seemed to be normal behaviour in such a situation.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” he raised his hooves unsure, “for me, it seemed the best not to.”

“And what… what… achoo!”

“Gesundheit.” Pear took another hankie and helped her clean her nose. “What were you going to say?”

“Thank you,” she lowered her free ear, “I was trying to ask, what has changed your mind to come here in the end.” Now her ear moved forward, more or less pointing at him. “If you didn’t want to interfere then, why today?”

Pear flicked his tail again and licked his lips, obviously not sure how to approach this. “I, uhm, my duty as an officer of Canterlot told me to investigate further.” Now he avoided her gaze. “With somepony like you around, it is my job to know a bit more on the subject. You know, to protect the city and its inhabitants.”

Snowy’s look went flat. “You remember I am a firefighter too? Engaging possible dangerous subjects is not our duty, neither mine nor yours. What are you really here for?”

“Uhm,” now sweat formed on his forehead, “I am just doing my duty,” he smiled, “nothing wrong with that, or? I can have a different opinion about my job than you have.”

Her piercing gaze screwed up his lie and left him without escape.

“Fine,” Pear rolled his eyes, “you got me.” Unhappy, he whipped the chair with his tail. “I am just curious, okay?” He stood up and moved around a bit. “You see, when they pulled you out of the ruin, I was sure everything would be alright and it felt more like a moment between you and your team then…” he trailed off when he failed to find the right words and just shrugged. “I don’t know, well, I thought about it like a private moment, you know?”

He looked over to her, trying to read her thoughts, but she just kept a straight face. Moving on, he turned around again.

“Anyway, with every passing hour, I questioned my decision more and more. I mean, how often does one get the chance to meet a firespitting pony?” He returned closer to her bed and placed his hooves on its side. “A shapeshifter too,” his voice caught excitement, “I just couldn’t let the chance to know you better elapse, maybe I could even become friends with you!”

With a hopeful smile, he grabbed the flowers and placed them nearer to her head. “And I thought bringing you something more tasty than the hospital food would be a good first step.” Now his tail swung back and forth in anticipation.

Slowly, very slowly, Snowy’s ear moved backward till it looked like an angry cat’s and a growl formed in her throat. Pear got caught by surprise and swiftly moved a few steps back and ducked. Before she could suppress it, a loud ‘hish’ escaped her mouth. If she wasn’t tied to the bed by her bandages, she would have risen and bit him. Pear, who had no clue what had angered her so much, tried to calm the situation by saying placatory things.

She cut him off with an angry whip of her tail against the bed.

“Do you have any clue how much you scared me!” she bellowed at him, but not loud enough to be heard outside. “You nearly give me a heart-attack and brought back all that bad memories to satisfy your curiosity!”

“I didn’t wa…” he started, but couldn’t finish his sentence.

“What do you think I am? An animal in the zoo that you can befriend by feeding it?”

“Of course not, I just…”

“I am a person, by Hurricane’s rusty spear! I nearly got killed two days ago and I have to deal with ponies who found out what I am and what I can do, all my life is screwed up at the moment and it is totally up in the air what will become of me,” now tears filled her eyes, “and you just come here saying you want to be friends, but all you want is… is…” She broke into sobbing, overwhelmed.

Ashamed, Pear watched her crying. It was true that ponies made new friends very easily and his intention was well-minded, still, the circumstances had requested a bit more sensible approach. With hanging ears, he admitted, “I am sorry, Waterdrop, I didn’t think this all through it seems. It was not my intention to make you sad.” Unfortunately, his apology didn’t help much, if she had listened, which he wasn’t sure of, she either ignored it or didn’t care.

The thought to quickly retreat and leave the room to not make things worse crossed his mind, but there was one little detail he couldn’t ignore, she was unable to move her hooves and therefore couldn’t clean herself up. Letting all her tears run down her face onto her chest fluff, plain for the nurse to see when she finally came back to clean it up afterwards… he had enough good manners to not let that happen.

He put on an apologetic smile and took out a towel from the closet. “Really, I am sorry for being so thoughtless,” he said and stopped in front of her, holding up the white towel. “May I…”

When she showed no attempt to resist, Pear did his best to dry her face and chest, taking care of all the small drops that had become entangled in her fur. When he had completed this task, the mare in the bed was well cleaned as well as gathered up again a bit. Still, she avoided his gaze.

Pear sighed, this all had not gone as well as he had hoped, instead of making a new, interesting friend, he had messed up, badly. It would be for the best if he took his leave before it could get any worse. He dropped the towel in the laundry-box and headed for the door. “Goodbye, Waterdrop,” he said, “I will keep your secret, don’t worry about it.”

Snowy watched his retreat. Pear’s shoulders hung down and also his normally happy flickering tail was dangling unmotivated behind him. With his ears lowered too, he simply looked terribly sad. How could he be so rude and ignorant, while on the other hoof, so gentle and thoughtful to help her when she couldn’t help herself? She didn’t get it, what was wrong with him? She didn’t know him so well privately, but from what she could recall from work, he was good in his job, painstakingly conscientious and always respectful to his colleagues. And now… but was what he did really so bad? She thought about it again, this time trying to ignore her anger and sorrows. Sure, he had scared her, forced up bad memories, still without bad intention, he just got ahead of himself and besides all that, he did not only kept her secret, he also didn’t point at her, screaming ‘Discord spawn’ or ‘monster’. Actually, he wanted to be friends instead, even if it was for some silly selfish reason. That was something Snowy had not encountered till now, a pony who did know about her secrets and still actively tried to befriend her.

When Pear’s hoof was just before the handle of the door, Snowy made a decision and called to him. “Pear,” she said and when he turned his head to her, she continued, “how am I supposed to eat them, if you don’t help me?” Snowy pointed at the flowers with her nose. “If you don’t help me with them, Sugarcube will surely throw them away because they are not healthy, or worse, will put them in a vase out of my reach so they torture me with their promising taste while I have to eat these terrible carrots. You don’t want to be such a ruffian to let that happen, do you?”

When she had said that, his ears peaked up again and a quick flick of his tail followed. “You mean, I can stay?” He looked at the door. “I mean, at least a little bit longer?”

“That depends.”

He took an suppressed happy step in her direction, “Depends on what?”

“How tasty the flowers you brought me are.”

Hope, trust and harsh revelations

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Dim moonlight softly seeped through the shutters, highlighting the small motes of dust dancing in Snowy’s room. In the last hours, the floors outside her room had become more and more quiet and, in the end, silent. After a long day, the night had settled into the hospital.

It was when the nurse had finished her final round, that Snowy was alone and thought about the day again. She relaxed and watched the ceiling wondering why her team hadn’t shown up, but soon she pushed that thought aside, they will come soon enough and with them, a lot of unwelcomed questions.

She sighed, but quickly smiled again when her thoughts reached back to Pear’s visit. In the end, he had turned out to be a welcomed visitor, not only were the flowers he bought fresh and tasty, much to his luck, more so, he had brought up some interesting topics to speak about. They had a very lively conversation, he had found the right mix between telling her about himself and asking questions about how her life was, especially that of a shapeshifter.. Pear, despite how thoughtless he could be, somehow had the right sense of how far he could get with his questions to not anger her or make her feel uncomfortable.

When the visit time was over, Burning Snowflake had caught herself thinking that she would prefer him to stay a bit longer. “If he tries, he can be a good company,” she had told Sugarcube when the nurse came back to ask Pear to leave, but she didn’t want to hear about it.

“Nonsense,” Sugarcube had said with a smirk and when her gaze came down on the flower stalks, she added, ”you two can continue your flirting tomorrow.”

Both Pear and Snowy had reddened by her words.

“We didn’t…” Pear had started and quickly risen from his chair, nearly flipping it over.

“You misunderstand!” Snowy had added in the same moment.

Both didn’t impress Sugarcube, she had just raised her hoof and waved it. “Spare me that, I know what I see.”

All protestations that they were not flirting fell on deaf ears and when Pear tried to stand his ground to clear up this mistake, wanting to stay a bit longer, Sugarcube taught him not to mess with a nurse in her hospital. In the middle of his oration, she had grabbed his ear and twisted it. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!” was all he was able to say while she dragged him to the exit like a little colt.

“You can visit your lovebird tomorrow again,” she had said and hoofed him over to the guards at the door. “And if you have to bring flowers, then tulips, they are more healthy!” she shouted over her shoulder, returning to Snowy’s bed.

Snowy had blinked, baffled, calling her a bird was one thing, an insult, but how the nurse had enforced her authority, that was really over the top!

“Effortney! Poor Pear!” she had thought for a short moment, till the anger about the insult raised in her belly, replacing her compassion with anger. “Calling me a bird! I don’t call you spikehead, do I?” But when she thought about it again, she had decided against saying that outloud. Truth be told, she was pretty helpless at the moment and angering the one who had to care for her didn’t sound like a good idea. Slowly, she had breathed in and counted to three, then, she was able to ignore the insult. Also, she was able to eat up that horrible carrots without too obviously shown disgust, much to the delight of Sugarcube.

“See? Wasn’t that bad, was it?” Sugarcube had said and reached out for the pudding, “time for your reward.”

Well, the pudding had been indeed nice, still Snowy was more than happy when Sugarcube had ended her shift and the nightshift nurse, Tight Bandage, already had showed up checked the patient and let her rest for the night.

Focusing more on the here and now again, Burning Snowflake used the chance as well as the peace that the night brought to check on her own body. As far as she could tell, the last two days had done her good. The food and warm shelter allowed her body to heal again, something it didn’t do during her time under the ruin. At least not with the speed it normally did. There was a reason why ponies were known for their quick recovery from injuries, at least among the species that knew them good enough. Which other species were able to heal a broken wing in a few days, for example?

Anyway, looking at her state now, she had a good feeling about how fast the healing process proceeded. Her legs and chest were on a good way, the cuts she got didn’t hurt any longer when she was breathing, and she guessed it was only a few days, till she could at least walk again herself, not needing a wheelchair anymore. Her wings, however, had taken quite a toll. She stretched them slowly feather by feather, creating a rustling noise when they streaked over the pillow till the unpleasant feeling started to turn into real pain.

“So much for healing in a few days… this will take at least a full week, maybe two,” she thought. “This means no enjoyable preening soon,” she grumbled unhappily. “If only I could use my magic to heal faster…”

Knowing it wouldn’t work, she still tried to focus on her magic. A soft tingle moved down her skin, starting from her forehead, over her nose down her body till her green tail tip. Where normally her magic flowed through her like a strong and deep river, it was only like a fine rivulet at the moment. Not much to her surprise. It always regenerated so slowly and she had given all that she had when she fought against that griffon. On a second thought, she was a bit surprised though, not about the speed of its regeneration, but that it did so still when she had been injured so badly. It seemed her magic regeneration didn’t really depend on her body’s healtyness.

“One day, one day I will understand this all.”

She was going to pull on even that little amount of magic she had, to help herself heal, knowing it wouldn’t work anyway, when she remembered that without her hooves freely moveable, she couldn’t do the necessary gestures. With another sigh, she dropped that thought.

Only one thing was left to check then, she took a deep breath, licked her lips and formed them into a funnel. A second later, a small flame escaped her mouth, throwing dancing shadows on the walls. The orange mare smiled and let the fire vanish, still the flame had been bigger than she wanted, due to her lack of control of it, but still, her body had already started to fill up her reserves.

Eased, Snowy allowed herself to relax once more, if nothing bad happened, two weeks at best and she would be alright again. That uplifted her mood and she was able to push her worries about the future away for the moment, allowing her to sink back into her pillow, closing her eyes and finding some sleep.

***

A quiet sound lingered in the air for a moment, its source hard to locate. The mare in the bed didn’t notice, her sleep was too deep. When the sound repeated however, the mare’s ear flickered, still it was not enough to disturb her sleep for real. Only when another sound mixed in, it was enough to make the mare frizzle her snout, turning her head slightly. A metallic clank echoed through her room, followed by the sound of something metallic hitting the ground. That last sound startled the mare in the bed out of her dreams.

Slowly with much effort, one of the mare’s eyes opened, then the other. Unsteady, the mare lifted her head till a sharp pain shot through her body, stopping her. With a groan Burning Snowflake fell back into her pillow.

“What the hay!”

When the pain diminished, she opened her eyes again and threw a look into the room. It was still dark, only a small bit of moonlight slipped past the closet shutters, not enough to illuminate the room.

She wondered what had woken her up. Her eyes tried to get used to the dim light. Her free ear peaked around. Everything was silent. Her gaze peered around into the darkness. Nothing, neither to see or hear. But something had woken her up! She listened again… silence. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Maybe she… her ear peaked in the direction of the door. There was something! She focused on it, was there…? Nearly unhearable, the scratching of wood on metal lingered in the air.

“Hello?” Snowy asked into the darkness. The sound stopped immediately.

The door was on the right side of the room. Far away from the window. Too far to be illuminated by the moonlight.

Silence was the only answer she got. Her heartbeat sped up a bit.

“Hello? Is somepony there?” she asked again. Her eyes accommodated to the dim light. She was able to see the contour of the door, it was open a bit!

“Hey, there is somepony! I know!” Her voice got louder. It was in that moment that a cloud moved over the moon and even the dim light vanished.

Now quietly, but painfully loud for Snowy’s nervous ears, the door swung open with a squeak.

“Who is there?” she yelled. “Answer me!”

Silence. All she was able to hear was her own breathing. It became faster.

Then, she heard steps coming in her direction. She listened. That weren’t hoofsteps! She looked for the candle on the nightstand. It was out of reach. She still wasn’t able to move her hooves. The steps came closer.

“Whoever you are, stay away from me!”

Unimpressed, the steps came closer till they were right at the side of her bed. A shiver of fear ran down her spine. She pressed back against her pillow as best as she could. “Wh..who are you?” she asked with trembling voice.

When no answer came, fear won over her caution. She spit a small flame to the side the stranger stood. In the flash of light there was… nothing.

The room was empty.

“But she had heard somepony!” Somepony was here!” She shot a look at the door in the already vanishing light, it was closed. “Impossible, I saw it was open! Just a few seconds ago!”

The room was completely dark again. She peaked up her ear, focusing on any sound that may come up, but she only heard her own breath. She breathed fast, far more than she had been aware. She forced herself to a little smile, “Nothing to be afraid of, your mind just played a trick on you, Flöckchen.” Slowly, her breath became slower, more and more, till she took a deep one and held it for a second… when she heard somepony breathing to her left!

Panicked, she threw her head to the other side. The cloud just moved away in time and the moonlight flooded in again, revealing a guard standing next to her! A knife shone in his raised hoof and in a split second, he thrust it into her chest!

***

A burst of fire escaped Snowy’s mouth, flying straight forward and dangerously close to Cool Air, who barely saved himself with a quick dodge. So close the hair on his snout started to curl. He covered it with his hoof, which he removed from Snowy’s chest.

“Whooo! That was close!” he said, a bit shocked. “You nearly toasted me, Snowflake!”

Ignoring him and the pain, Snowy unsuccessfully tried to rip off the bandages to lay her hoof on her chest, making sure there wasn’t a knife stuck in it. The guard had stabbed her at the same spot Cool’s hoof had touched a second ago, but her skin was unharmed as far as she could see. She looked around panicked, sweat covering all of her body. What the hay was going on?

All of the sudden, Cool, Potato and all the others of her team stood in her room, looking at her worried.

Snowy took a few heavy breaths. “What are you doing here? Where is the guard ?” Still panicked, she tried to free herself from the bandages again. “He tried to stab me!”

“Wait! Wait.” Cloth moved closer and tried to calm her down. “Everything is fine.” She laid a hoof on Snowy’s chest and softly pressed her back down. “You had a nightmare, you are safe now, nopony is going to harm you and there is no guard here.”

“But, but…” Snowy protested, quickly looking from one to another, her breath as fast as if she had run ten miles straight.

“Everything is alright,” Cloth ensured her once more, putting up a smile as best as she could. “Look around, take your time,” she said quietly, “only we are here, your team, nothing to worry about.” She put a little more force into her push when Snowy tried once more to stand up, but then she calmed down a bit.

In the light of a small lantern, which Cheese was holding, Snowy recognized them all one by one. Cool slowly raised his head up again, patting it with a hoof to see if some of his mane had gone missing by her firespitting. Next to him stood Cheese, who was holding the lantern a bit higher so Potato was able to ignite the candle on the nightstand with a match. On the other side of the bed stood Chimney Cleaner, next to the last member of her team.

“At least you didn’t lie about your firebreath,” Potato snapped and blew out the match. She shook it for a moment to let the smoke vanish and dropped it into the little iron trash can. “You nearly toasted our little sergeant,” she added with a smirk.

“I am not little, Potato,” Cool said, removing his hoof from his head, “and I am still your sergeant,” he furrowed his eyebrows, “so a little more respect.”

“Chill, Cool.” Potato rolled her eyes. “We are not on duty, relax.”

Ignoring the little banter that she knew so well, Snowy asked, “But how did you get in here?” She threw a quick glance at the candle, then to the lantern and finally to the window, it was still dark outside. “Visit time is long over and the security stuff didn’t even...” she stopped and hesitated to say Pear’s name.

“If he wants them to know, he surely would have told them already.”

“They don’t let ponies in so easily, even during visit time because of all the newspaper mares and also... for my own safety,” she said instead and lowered her ear. “Still, I think they are not sure if they can trust me..”

“Well, you can thank me for us being here,” Cheese said and raised her head a bit higher. “I pulled a few strings and used my influence to get us in.” She polished her hoof with her chest fluff and tried to look cool.

“By using her influence she means that the chief physician is her uncle,” Chimney Cleaner explained.

“Oh come on!” Cheese complained. “Was it really necessary that you had to blow it? Can’t I have a moment in the spotlight too?” She seated herself on the ground and crossed her forelegs.

“You still did a good job, Cheese. Without you, we wouldn’t be here now,” Cloth tried to comfort her.

“And then we had to come here in the afternoon, something that really would be unpleasant,” Cool added and tousled through her mane. “So thank you, Cheese.”

“Ha! Far better!” Cheese acknowledged, letting her forelegs go back in a normal position. “Good to get some recognition for my doings.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question completely,” Snowy interfered. “I now know how you got in, but still not why you chose to be here at this time?”

“It just came in hoofy,” Cool answered her question. “We are all still a bit out of our normal day and night rhythm, so we thought it would be for the best if we took advantage of that, given what are we going to talk about. There are not so many ponies around at this hour.”

“Yes,” Cloth supported his statement, “some of the things you promised to tell us are,” she spun her hoof around, “maybe a bit too private to risk somepony just walking in on the wrong words.”

“I didn’t promise to tell you anything…” Snowy thought and flinched her free ear back. “But, to be fair, you saved my life. I think I owe you at least a bit of honesty.”

“I told you we would wait till the doctors had taken care of you,” Cool took over again, addressing Snowy, “but after that, you owe use some explanation.” He spread his hooves including the whole team, “So, here we are.” He sat down next to Cheese. “Now, tell us a bit more about you, we are all ears,” he said, flickering his ears to underline his point.

Snowy waited till the others had taken a seat too, which took a moment. Chimney was the only one who had a chair to sit on while the others sat themselves on the ground around her bed. Snowy sighed, thinking about what she actually wanted to tell them… and what not. She was very well aware that, if they got too suspicious or felt like she lied to them, they would probably spoil her secrets to the guard. On the other hoof, there was no need to tell them everything, some secrets were better kept secret, that was the best, for all.

She needed a bit more time to make a decision and think of a way to present it, why hadn’t she thought about that earlier? To be fair, nopony could have guessed they would all show up in the middle of the night to demand answers from her. Now when she looked in their faces, Burning Snowflake really wished she had thought about how to handle this earlier. She licked over her lips. “Could I have a glass of water first? I assume this to take longer.” An apologetic smile underlined her request.

Her team changed a look and then all eyes focused on Potato who sat the closest to the nightstand with the carafe on it.

“Arg, fine!” Potato grumbled and got up. With more speed than sensitiveness, she grabbed the carafe and filled up the glass next to it. “Here.” She grabbed the glass and held it right before Snowy’s face.

“Uhm, I can’t take it,” Snowy said, pointing with her eyes to the bandages.

Following her gaze, Potato mumbled, “This can’t be true…” and pressed the glass against the orange mare’s lips, tilting it slowly. When it was empty, she pulled it back and asked, “Are you happy now? Or do you need another? I will not stand up again, once I sit down.”

“Thank you, I am fine now.” Snowy gave her a little smile, to which Potato responded with a snort before she took a seat again.

“I can’t remember she was ever so unkind to me before she found out what I can do. Is it really a good idea to tell them even more?”

The doubt must have been visible on her face, forcing Cloth to speak. “Don’t mind her, she is just a bit grumpy today.” She laid a hoof on Potato’s shoulder to keep things calm before the other mare could respond to this. “But we are all curious about you, so don’t let us wait anymore, do tell, am I right, are you really from here?”

“Yes, yes I am,” Snowy nodded to Cloth, “and to go ahead and answer your next question, yes, I also still have relatives here.”

“Oh, I knew it!” Cloth smacked her hooves together. “I…” she stopped when she looked back at Snowy’s face, “I mean, uhm, alright, go ahead. Who are they?”

“And why are you hiding from them?” Cool added.

A flare of anger and regret flowed through Snowy mind, no, not regret, sadness was what she felt. A strong sadness, which normally was buried deep in the back of her mind.

Snowy hesitated. “Do you really need to know that?” she asked, looking to the side, tensing visibly. “Does knowing it give you anything useful?”

“I think we must insist,” Chimney Cleaner said. “You ask a lot of us to trust you, in return we can expect nothing less than the whole story.”

Sounds of approving raised up, even the three who had voted for helping her in the first place, Cool, Cloth and the other stallion besides Chimney and Cool seemed to be obstinate about it.

Snowy bit her lip. “My ‘parents’,” she pressed out the word like it was pure poison. “Don’t get fooled, they didn’t earn that form of address in any way, they are heartless, they are… they are…” She growled in frustration when she failed to find an insult, a curse to describe them. “ There is no word in Equestrian, or any other language I speak, to describe them!”

“What did they do?” Cheese quickly asked and knocked on the wood of the bed to get Snowy’s attention before her anger could rise too much for her to speak on.

At once, the pegasus turned her head around to her, the growl still lingering in her voice when she spoke, “They cast me out! Their own daughter! They threw me out of our home, sending me to an unknown fate, denying their relationship with me from that moment!”

“Because you had turned into,” Potato said and made a gesture including Snowy’s whole body, “this?” She obviously wasn’t emotionally touched by Snowy’s revelation. “Whatever you would call yourself now.”

“No!” Snowy hit the bed with her tail and looked to the side again. “But they probably would have done that too,” she added a bit quieter. “My parents are cruel heartless ponies before everything else.”

“Then why did they cast you out?” Chimney pushed the conversation back on track after a short look around.

“Because! Because. Because…” Snowy trailed off, even her anger wasn’t enough to make her keep eye contact with them.

“Yes?” Chimney prompted her to go on.

“You really mustn't know that!” Snowy’s gaze became ashamed and her cheeks reddened, even more than they were already from her anger.

The force of her denial surprised her team. Cloth exchanged a look with Cheese, but the other mare only shrugged, unsure, and turned to Cool. He had shored his chin on his hoof and was thinking, as the team leader, it seemed natural that he would respond to Snowy’s denial.

Instead of saying something at once, he first checked on his team's opinion with a few quick looks. Chimney slightly shook his head, a sign that he wouldn’t let this go. The stallion next to him just shrugged as Cheese had done, while Potato rolled her eyes, not hard to guess for him what she thought.

When he had taken all that into consideration, he spoke again, “No, we won’t let you keep that to you, Snowflake. It may be something private, but we want, and have to know what kind of mare we are dealing with, so we demand an answer.” He placed his hoof on her bed. “What made your parents cast you out?”

Keeping her gaze on the floor, Snowy didn’t show any sign that she was going to answer soon, so it was Potato who spoke, “Fine,” she crossed her forelegs, “if you don’t want to tell us, I am sure the Royal Guard will be most curious about you too.”

“Potato!” Cloth poked her in the side with her elbow and furrowed her eyebrows.

“What?” Potato hissed back. “If she doesn’t tell us the truth, we will hoof her over to them, that was the deal.”

“We…” Cloth started, but was interrupted by Cool.

“Stop it!” He threw an reproachful look at them both. He nodded to Potato. “Potato is right, for a change.”

“But we…” Cloth started again.

“No.” Cool shook his head. “We excavated her,” he pointed at the mare in the bed, “because we all agreed to stick with the vote we had made, even against Cheese’s and Chimney’s objection. In return, we now demand the full story from her. Trust works only in both directions.”

The last sentence silenced Cloth. She threw a last unsure glance at Snowy, then retracted her protest.

After he was sure Cloth would stay silent, Cool threw another look around before he spoke to Snowy, “Alright, come on Snowflake, don’t hold it back any longer, what was the reason?”

It still wasn’t possible for Snowy to look at them again, so she told the floor, “They… they…” She ground her teeth and fell silent, only her face turned even more red, till the scarlet hue reached her ears.

Pushing Potato away, Cloth took the place at the headboard of the bed, carefully placing her hoof on Snowy’s, supporting her.

So it was Cloth’s face that Snowy looked into when she finally had the courage to look back up.

“You can tell us,” Cloth ensured her with a small smile.

A moment passed by, then Snowy spoke, not breaking eye contact with Cloth. “They didn’t,” she gulped, “they didn’t agree on my idea of who should be my special somepony.”

Cloth flinched her ears back and raised her eyebrows, this was a surprise. The others felt the same surprise as she did, only Potato stayed unimpressed and snorted.

“So you had a liaison with some stallion that was not meant to be by etiquette? Really big deal,” Potato said sarcastically. “A little romance with,” she thought for a second, “who was it? The son of the Captain of the Royal Guard, or maybe the younger brother of the leaders of the Wonderbolts?”

“No, and the problem was not who she was,” Snowy said, lowering her gaze to Cloth’s hoof.

“You mean, he was, right?” Cheese corrected.

“No, she is correct.” Cloth’s hoof became the most interesting object in the world… and it hurt like a dagger in the back, when Cloth pulled it back. It was only for a second before she placed it back, while the realisation of Snowy’s words sunk in, but it was enough.

“Like I had a contagious disease.” Snowy thought and tears formed in her eyes while the shame burned in her heart. “They hate me for what I felel, like all the others.” She didn’t see or hear what the reactions of the others were, her world had shrunk to her inner dialogue.

Her mind returned finally to the here and now when another mare leaned over her and pulled her head in for a hug, stroking softly over her mane. It hurt, but the comfort it gave was more than worth it.

“Shhh,” Potato made, “shhh, everything is fine.”

Even with her voice whispering right into her ear, it took Snowy a moment to comprehend this was Potato. She turned her head around as best as she could without breaking the hug and although her tears blurred her view, she saw it was indeed Potato who was comforting her. Neither had Snowy recognized that Cloth had removed her hoof, or that Potato had pushed her away to get closer.

“Potato?” Snowy asked, her voice a mix of stutter and nearly broken. “Potato....”

The other mare didn’t respond, she ony made calming sounds and kept Snowy’s head in her embrace, not minding the tears that rolled down into her coat.

“Seems your parents know what is appropriate,” the stallion between Cool and Chimney said, disgusted. “A bit over the top to cast you out, but still… ” he lifted his head in arrogance.

“Have you lost your mind?” Potato lifted her head too and turned it around, baffled. “How can you dare to say that?” she spit out the words at him.

“Because it is the truth,” he looked down at her, “there is no place for such unnatural behaviour in our society.”

“Oh really? And you are the one to judge that, right?”

“Not only me,” he pointed at the others, “they think so too. There are things that are not meant to be, things that are incompatible to the pony-way.”

Another shiver of Snowy, triggered by his statement forcing Potato’s attention back to her. “Shhh, shhh.” She patted the other mare’s mane and head once more, turning Snowy’s gaze up to her own. “No need to cry, he is totally wrong, we don’t judge you.” Potato could only hope that was true. Till now, none of the others had really made their standpoint clear.

Potato quickly let her gaze wander around, trying to see what the others thought. Chimney just stood there, a bit unsure what to do it seemed. Cool on the other hoof blushed slightly, rubbing his neck, obviously uncomfortable with the situation, but not really hostile. Cheese and Cloth, however, stared at the third stallion, disbelieving what he just said. It may be that Cloth had her reservations about a pony that was interested in the same gender, but bluntly attacking it was not along her alley.

“Speak only for yourself,” Cheese said, “I am not part of your opinion here. To be fair,” she turned to Snowy, “also not alright with your preferences either. I don’t think it's healthy or good. Still as long as you keep your hooves to yourself, I don’t judge what you do in your free time, … at home,” she quickly added, “where nopony sees you.”

“I agree on that,” Chimney said after a short moment of thinking. “I don’t wanna hear about it, but it is none of my business either.”

“Am I the only one with a bit of common sense here?” the third stallion said, annoyed. “Such behaviour would ruin our society for sure! What do you all think foals come from, huh?” He threw a look around. “Iit doesn’t work with two mares or,” he shivered, disgusted, “with two stallions. And think what influence it would have on the foals, if they see such abomination of a relationship in public!”

By the word abomination, Snowy burst into tears once more. This time, however, not a few ones, it was like somepony had opened the gates and a stream of tears flowed down her face, accompanied by her cries. “That's exactly…. what my father… had called me, an abomination,” Snowy pressed out during her sobbings.

While Potato instantly moved to comfort the orange mare once more, the stallion, who was against this way of life, spoke again, “And he was right with it, to a degree. If I had an adult daughter who turned this way, I probably would act nearly the same way he did.”

“I wasn’t adult!” Snowy shouted when anger mixed into her sobbing for a moment. “I was eleven years old! I was a filly back then!” After this outburst, she fell into crying again.

Now consternation befell her team, no matter what they thought or may thought on her taste about mares, all of them except one gasped for a second, then came closer, forming a group hug, as best as they could with Snowy still injured on the hospital bed.

The second time today, a sharp sting of pain shot through Snowy’s body, when all the ponies tried to hug her. Nonetheless, the comfort of her team accepting what she was, or most of her team, was more that enough to let her don’t care in the slightest.

***

It was a good while later when they broke the hug, no matter how urgent it was, it couldn’t last forever. It had fulfilled its purpose anyway, Snowy seemed to feel a lot better, her crying had stopped and she wasn’t sobbing anymore. Even her only adversary, watching the scene, stayed silent for the moment.

It was a good moment to move the conversation on, Cool thought, before somepony could extend that topic more. There was still to know were she got her powers from and Cool asked her about it. This time however, Snowy refused to tell them for real, or at least, that is the version which made it through time. If she really had told them anything, who could say seven hundred years later? Some ponies may say she did, some may say she didn’t, Climber however, told the princess she did not.

What made it through history was, that the conversation reached the topic of the griffons at one point. Surely, Snowy had expected Princess Celestia to do something about them, but in the situation she was and without any further information, she hadn’t spent too many thoughts on the political consequences. Now she heard that the griffons probably were part of a diplomatic legation, which happened to reside in Canterlot Castle.

Truly, there were other independent griffons in Canterlot too, but not so many or so well organised that they could have done such an act of chaos, what the destroying of the factory was, by themselves. More so, as far as the firefighters knew, something had been stolen out of the Castle the same night as the incident happened. It didn’t seem to them like a coincidence.

The Royal Guard thought the same, causing them to set the griffons under house arrest for the time being. Without any tangible proof that they were to blame for both acts, still, there was no way to send them to prison without risking heavy damage to the diplomatic relationship with Griffonstone. Even if it was only a city state more or less, Equestria did not want to anger their oversea neighbours.

Strangely enough that Griffonstone would order to steal something from Canterlot, but the item in question wasn’t to be found anywhere in their belongings and also not in the Castle anymore. The night guards swore that no griffon has left the city that night and a quickly set curfew for Canterlot made sure that the item didn’t leave Canterlot any time soon.

The question now was, were had it gone and, more important for Snowy, how could they prove that the griffons were to blame? One would think that it wasn’t important, but for her, it was a question of her existence in Canterlot as Waterdrop. If the griffons would walk out of this free, it was not only a great injustice, it also would bring her in great trouble to explain where Waterdrop has gone, not to mention that she already got the feeling that the guard suspected her to be the one who blew up the factory.

Snowy could just vanish and return as a new pony, but if she didn’t find a way to solve this situation, her days as a member of the firefighters were gone and with it, all she has reached as Waterdrop.

***
“And that was the point, when things got out of hoof really quickly,” Climber said and reached out for his cup of tea. He took a great sip and a sigh of joy escaped his mouth when the liquid refreshed his throat. “I mean, who would have thought that they would infiltrate the royal palace and try to find the item by themselves?” He placed the cup back, stretching his legs and moving his shoulders a bit to get rid of the tenseness that had crawled into them.

Twilight raised an eyebrow and shifted a bit under the blanket. “Wasn’t she too injured to do such a risky mission? It was the royal castle after all.” She softly moved a bit back to a more upright position, careful to not wake up Distant Shine, who had snuggled into her wing. A little smile showed up on her face when she remembered how excited he was to hear a good part of the story and now was dozing off.

“It was nine days later,” Cave Light explained before she yawned. “The firefighters waited as long as they could.“ She rearranged her position according to Twilight, tapping Twilight’s wing and shoulder with her hoof and then, when she found out the princess’ new position wasn’t suitable for the way she had lay before, simply placed her head on Twilight’s chest. With closed eyes, she continued, “Two weeks was all they had. Without any evidence, that was the longest time Princess Celestia could keep the griffons under house arrest, also the curfew started to break.” Now Cave Light pulled the blanket back above her and with a satisfied sigh, she let her head sunk into Twilight’s fur and remained silent.

“Indeed,” Climber nodded. He had overcome his reservations about his children snuggling with the princess, because of the fact she hadn’t complained till now, so she wouldn’t probably do so soon. “Burning Snowflake needed some time to recover, but the time was running out. Nopony could have guessed at this point that she would become the Phantom of Canterlot later and therefore it seemed important to keep a place for Waterdrop in Canterlot.”

“Obviously, that’s not what happened, right?” Twilight asked. “Burning Snowflake didn’t return to her life as firefighter, or?”

Climber smiled and slowly stroked his chin. “Maybe…” He threw an eye on his son, who had instinctively grabbed Sev again, after he didn’t have Twilight’s wing to snuggle anymore. “Yes, I think I can tell you what crazy idea they had concocted, and, how this all turned out.” He nodded. “Alright, some more tea before I go on, Your Highness?”

Welcome to the castle

View Online

“A Tartarus of a plan this is!” Snowy thought before she threw another glance over her shoulder, her gaze falling on Cheese and Potato, who were hiding behind the corner of the next side street behind her. “This is never going to work!”

Her attention was dragged forward again when she misstepped and nearly slipped on the smoothed stones of the street. Uncomfortable, she shifted her legs a bit, it always took a while till she got used to being in the shape of somepony else. At the moment, she had the pleasure of using Oven Cloth’s persona. The fact that Oven Cloth was a few sizes smaller than her didn’t help though. It had been a long, long conversation about this plan, and in the end, it came out that Cloth’s shape would be the best for the job; small, cute and with a bit of authority of a firefighter. The argument didn’t fall in Snowy’s favor, but this didn’t mean that she had to be happy with it.

She straightened herself up and kept moving forward past the empty alleys. A stray smell still lingered in the air from the day before, some mixed spices and, when she sniffed again, cinnamon, if her nose was right. With her wisdom about the other cities in Equestria, she always wondered a bit how Canterlot managed to still smell so good.

The pony she was looking for should trot by soon. As far as her team had found out, she came across this way every evening, shortly after her shift in the castle was over. Nervous, Snowy pushed away a strand of her mane. “Why can’t you wear your mane bound behind your head, Cloth?” She blew another strand away. “So,” she looked around the empty alley, “where is she?”

Barely anypony crossed her path, the street was rather empty at this time of day. Still, no sign of her. “What if they have got something wrong? What if she has another shift today or is sick or…” a lot of possible circumstances passed through her thoughts, making her even more nervous. “This all would be so much easier if we had more time!”

Without the time limit they surely would be able to come up with a better plan, some that didn’t require her to trot through town in Cloth’s shape. For her it was already a concession that she used it, Snowy still could have denied the good arguments if ‘Melted Ice’ wasn’t still under the sharp eye of the guards. It already was a risky task to get out of the house she was actually ‘invited to stay in’ with the guards watching it day and night. More so when they got more and more into the idea that she, and not the griffons, were to blame for the factory incident. Sure, she could have changed into anypony after leaving the house’s line of view, but she went along with their plan as a sign of goodwill.

Snowy sighed. “Good there is no pressure, no pressure at all.” She just had to complete the plan, convict the griffons, find the stolen artifact, and return it to the guards in the shape of Waterdrop. But at the moment she needed to finish the task at hoof. Hopefully before somepony recognized that it was Cloth who was lying in her bed now. “Really a breeze…”

By thinking of Cloth, the moment when she had turned into her the first time came back to her mind. Cloth stood there, a little bit baffled, then had examined her own shape very closely, moving her hoof over her coat and brushing through her mane.

“Even better than a mirror,” she had said.

That was before she had jumped around and proclaimed how awesome this ability must be.

“It can indeed be awesome,” Snowy had answered with a smirk and then had jumped on the bed and cackled like a chicken, completely with pecking and using her front legs as imitation of wings. All in Cloth’s cute shape. That had caused good laughs among the others, Cool, Cheese, Potato and Chimney, and, after a few seconds, also by Cloth.

Things went out of hoof when the inevitable happened and Potato had interfered and demanded, “Do me! Do me!”

Snowy facehoofed inwardly. “Well, at least better than the opposite reaction.” The others had only let her rest after she had shifted into every mare present. Good thing that wasn’t hard to do. Sure, at first she had been worried that the remains of her wounds would cause her problems, but after her shapeshift into Cloth had gone well, her worries vanished.

This was not the time for memories though and she pushed them away. She had something to do and a distraction was too risky. Focusing back on the streets, she watched out for the mare once more. Still no sign of her, the only companion she had most of the time was the echo of her own hooves and it stayed so till she had passed two other streets already. “I can’t walk through Canterlot all day in this shape, every moment I do so, the chance to meet somepony who knows Cloth raises more and more.”

Snowy froze and flinched back her ears when suddenly a stallion crossed her way, coming from one of the side streets. She had been so deep in thoughts, she hadn’t heard him coming closer.

“Miss,” he politely greeted and passed by.

Luckily not the mare she was looking for. She just nodded and relaxed. “She will be here soon, stay focused!”

It took nonetheless a good while till she finally showed up. When the castle gate opened, releasing the ponies from the dayshift, Snowy was able to spot her in the middle of the group.

Blue and magenta mane and tail, white coat and a bit of orange at the feathertips of her wings, that was her. As it seemed, she was surrounded by guards, kitchen helpers, administrative staff, and a few cleaners, most of the ponies who worked in the castle during the day.

“Okay, stay calm, don’t make her suspicious.” Snowy slowly moved forward, staying in the middle of the street. “Just let her pass you by and then misstep against her, no problem. She is just the wife of the Captain of the Guard, really nothing to worry about.”

She gulped when she got nearer. “Here goes nothing!” Snowy’s heartbeat increased with every step. “Just don’t lose your nerves now, stay calm… and stop staring at her!” Quickly, she looked down on the street again, only using her other senses to keep aware where the other mare was.

A few ponies of the group passed her, forcing her more and more to the side of the street, making it hard to stay in her way without drawing attention. “Come on, just a few steps, I only have this one chance!” She stepped forward…

“Cloth!”

She almost reached her. “Just a little closer!” She reached out with her hoof

“Cloth!” A stallion grabbed her hoof and turned her around. “Cloth, what a pleasure to meet you here.”

Before she could react, the stallion had pulled her hoof up to his lips and placed a kiss on it. “I thought you were still on duty this evening, my dear.” He leaned in to give her another kiss, this time on the lips. Snowy barely hold herself back to not punch him and just evaded his kiss by stepping to the side, making her collide with a blue stallion.

“Hey, watch your step!”

“I… I am sorry,” Snowy apologized immediately, throwing a quick glance at the Captain’s wife. “Ponyfeathers!” She was already a few steps ahead of her, so much for the plan to ‘accidentally’ bump into her.

“My dear, are you alright?” the stallion asked her, moving his head in front of hers, dragging her attention back to himself. Snowy gave him a serious look for the first time… and her fur stood on end.

“Silent Water! Cloth’s special somepony!” Her ears flattened and she ducked a bit. “Ponyfeathers!”

With his gaze still on her, waiting for a response, she wasn’t able to come up with something more suitable than, “Oh, uh, hi, uh, Silent Water!”

He pulled his head back and gave her a questioning look. “Cloth, why are so formal all of the sudden?” He moved forward again, pressing his head against her cheek, nuzzling her. “I told you, I prefer if you call me just Sil.”

“Oh, oh of course, I normally would do that,” she stopped his unwelcome nuzzling with a hoof, pushing him back. “But I, uhm, I am still on duty, yes, on duty, like I told you.” She smiled. “You know, no private acting on duty, that’s the way things work.” She moved her head to the side and dared a quick peak after her target.

“Oh, sure, Cloth,” he replied, moving his head in her line of sight again, “I mean Officer Oven Cloth.” He blinked. “And when does your shift end today,” he moved closer, whispering seductively, “Officer?” His lips curled up into a smile, “I know our favorite restaurant always has two places free for us.”

“That sounds greaaat,” Snowy said, pulling back so she was nearly sitting in an attempt to make room between him and her face. “Sadly, I… I don’t know how long I have to work today.” She slid a bit back on her rear-hooves. “Yeah, really a shame, isn’t it? A lot of work today.”

“Indeed, it is.” He looked a bit disappointed. “What about tomorrow?” One of his wings found its way on her back, sliding slowly around until it reached her throat, moving upward till it reached her chin, lifting it up a bit. “We could visit the park together, if you’d like?”

Snowy’s rear-legs screamed urgently to buck his face, to shove his feathers off of her. With all her willpower, she suppressed that urge, knowing the action would put Cloth in trouble.

“I will think about it,” she said, pushing his wing back a bit too roughly with a hoof. “Right now however, I have my duties to fulfill, so I will tell you either after my shift or tomorrow if that will be to late.”

He was going to reply when Snowy saw that the mare she was going after vanished into one of the crossing streets and put her hoof on his mouth. “Later… my dear.” She shivered inwardly and quickly placed a kiss on his cheek. “Ugh!” “I have to go, see you later!” And with that words she already galloped on, after the other mare.

Confused, Silent Water looked after her. “Yes… see you later, Cloth…” He placed his hoof on the place she had kissed him and smiled before he shook his head. “Mares, it would be boring if they were different than they are!”

***

It didn’t take Snowy long to catch up to the other mare, still she was completely out of reach. Snowy stood on a little plaza, looking upward into the sky where the pegasus she was looking for hovered happily. In front of the windows of a nearby house, a few levels above the ground, her target was having a conversation with some young stallion inside.

“Oh, come on!”

While being Cloth had a lot of advantages, flying wasn’t one of them, leaving her with very few options.

She moved closer, thinking what she could do. Should she try to come up with something to lurk the other mare down or better inconspicuously trot below her and wait for her to land again?

While she was still unsure, the choice was grabbed out of her hoof when another stallion entered the plaza and drew the attention of the mare by waving and calling her name. It only took a moment for her to respond and, unfortunately for Snowy, fly over to him, even further out of her range.

She gave the newcomer a look, he was a bit bulky and athletic, typical for a guard, like the white coat and short mane he had. On his back, he carried a saddlebag.

“It’s always getting easier…”

A whiff of their conversation reached her ears while she approached them, catching the words ‘husband’ and ‘shift schedule’.

“Seems he is some sort of messenger. Hmm, can I use that somehow to my benefit?”

She thought about giving him some attention and starting to flirt with him to get close enough to touch the mare, if she landed, that is. There was just a little problem, not that she had much experience flirting with males, none to be honest, but that she was still in Cloth’s shape!

A lot of ideas shot through her mind, one more crazy than the previous, all inappropriate for her as long as she was playing Cloth.

“All this just to touch a mare.” Snowy smiled a bit by this thought. “Never had guessed it would be so difficult once I was practically in hoof range to her.”

Now the stallion got aware of her approach, stepping in her way, between her and his Captain's wife.

“Can I help you, miss?” he said in an questioning, unfriendly tone.

“Why do all the guards have to be so rude?”

“Uhm, yes, if you don’t mind. I heard that a famous… goldsmith lives nearby,” Snowy improvised.“But I can’t find him, maybe you could help me?”

“A goldsmith?” the guard wondered. “I don’t know any who live around here. You may have more luck in the merchant district.” His gaze wandered up to the sunset. “Better try tomorrow though, it is getting late, no gain in disturbing them at home at this time anyway.”

“You're probably right about that,” Snowy replied, trotting right in front of him. “I should wait till tomorrow to speak with him, still, if I can find where he lives now, it can spare me time searching tomorrow.” She looked up. “Did you hear about him, miss?”

“Lovely Drawing, my name is Lovely Drawing,” the mare replied.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Drawing, my name is Oven Cloth. Can you tell me where to find the goldsmith I am looking for?”

“Sadly not,” the pegasus thought for a second, “no, I haven’t heard of him either.”

“What did you say?” Snowy placed her hoof to her ear. “Could you come a little closer, please?”

“I said, I have no clue where to find him either,” the mare shouted down to her before her gaze wandered over the rooftops in the direction of the setting sun. “I am sorry, but I don’t have the time to talk at the moment, but Fast Word here can surely spend a few more minutes to help you, right, Fast Word?”

“Sure can, ma’am,” he nodded, “would be nice if you would speak with your husband about the problem of mine in the meantime.”

“Of course,” the pegasus smiled. “And now if you two would excuse me.” She flew off with another smile.

“This turned out very well,” Snowy thought sarcastically. “Great job, Flöckchen, really well done.”

“If you tell me more about the pony you are looking for,” the guard stallion dragged her out of her thoughts, “I might be able to help you find him.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, of course.” Snowy gave him a random description to distract him while she thought of what to do next.

“Sorry miss, but I have never met somepony like the one you described and I am sure I would have if he lived here.” He watched the sky while he thought about it again. “Thinking about how often I travel between the castle and this part of the city, I am sure I would know if he had a house around here.”

Snowy’s ears perked up. “You travel between the castle and the city regularly?”

“Yes, miss.” He moved aside so she was able to see his saddle bag better. The coat of arms of the Royal Guard was on it, together with a blue scroll, marking him as a member of the reporting service. “I have the honour to serve Her Majesty by delivering messages between the castle and civil servants around the city. And other civilians from time to time.”

“Impressive, you must be really important.” Snowy nodded approvingly, stretching out her hooves for the bag. “May I?”

“Of course,” he said proudly.

She laid her hooves on the bag, examining the coat of arms further. “It’s beautiful, only… “ She lifted it a bit and placed it back in a more correct position. “There you go.”

“Thanks, miss,” he gave her an apologetic smile, “I am sorry that I can’t help you with your search.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, you have helped me a lot actually. Don’t have to look around here anymore since you know this area so well.”

“Glad to be of help, miss.”

“Could you do me another favour, Fast Word?”

“Depends on what you want, miss.”

“Well, I am curious, not often does one get the chance to talk to a courier of the Royal Guard, do you mind telling me more about you and your job?”

He smiled and got into a more impressive position, “would be a pleasure, miss.”

***

“Did you get her?” Cheese shouted when Snowy came around the corner of the agreed meeting point.

“No, I didn’t,” Snowy answered.

“Why not?`” Potato asked. “You only had to touch her!”

“It really wasn’t that difficult!” Cheese added.

“I ran into Cloth’s,” she pointed at her body, “special somepony.”

“Ohhh…” the other two made.

“Yes, ohh,” Snowy continued, “I think I was able to prevent any harm to their relationship, but it hindranced me to touch her, and when I had escaped Silent Water, I chased after her, but she flew off before I was able to touch her.”

“That is not good!” Cheese said and sat down. “How are we supposed to get you into the castle now?” She lifted her hooves in frustration.

“My mission wasn’t an utter fail,” Snowy said.

Cheese and Potato’s ears peaked up. “It wasn’t?” Potato asked.

“I still may be able to get into the castle,” Snowy made a vague gesture, “ I was able to touch one of the couriers.”

“Hey, that’s great!” Potato exclaimed and clopped her hooves together.

“Well, there is just a little problem… well, two to be fair. We talked for a little while, still, my knowledge of this pony’s background is very limited and,“ shyly, Snowy rubbed her front leg. “Uhm, it was a stallion.”

“Oh…” the other mares said together.

***

Snowy breathed in deeply, trying to calm her nerves. She stood in the middle of the living room of her guest house, surrounded by most of her team. After she had told Cloth what happened while she ‘borrowed’ her body, Cloth had nodded and told her she will visit
Silent Water, making sure everything is fine, and then left.

“Being male is nothing to be afraid of,” Cool tried to support her. He rubbed his head. “At least I guess it doesn’t feel sooo different.”

“You will just be a bit taller and stronger,” Chimney agreed. “Like the size difference you already have with Cloth.”

“And your brain will shrink a few sizes.” Potato giggled in an attempt to break the tension.

“Har-har, very funny, Potato.” Cool shook his head, amused. “And you will act far more polite and mannerly, Snowflake.”

“Yes, with all the blood in your muscles and not in your brain,” Potato flickered her tail, “you are not smart enough anymore to make fine taunts.” She pressed her hoof on her forehead and bumped into Cool’s side.

“The pure horror.” Cheese grinned.

“Okay, okay,” Snowy raised a hoof and smiled, “I get it. It will not be so different.”

Now with all the attention back on her, she shook her body one last time, exhaled and then let the green flames roll over her body from muzzle to tail.

“It feels... odd,” was her first thought before she reopened her eyes. She held up her hooves and turned them before her eyes, before looking down at herself. Chest, mane, far larger muzzle, everything seemed to be in place.

“Handsome*,” Cheese commented. “Not the worst choice, not at all”

“She didn’t really have a choice anyway,” Cool replied. “So, how does it feel? Something weird or strange?”

“I don’t know,” Snowy moved a step forward, “there is the size difference and the slightly different viewpoint, but…” she froze and quivered while her head pulled up by the next step.

“What?” Cool rushed next to her, ready to catch her if she fell. “What is it?”

Crossing her hind legs, Snowy unhappily stood in place. “This… doesn’t… feel right,” she said between gritted teeth.

“Did you mess up some body parts?” Cheese now trotted to her other side. “Is something missing?”

“No,” Snowy answered, “there is nothing missing.” Her face turned red like a tomato. “There is something too much!”

“Too much?” Cheese peaked around her, over to Cool and gave him a questioning look. She couldn’t see anything wrong on the side she was standing and by Cool’s headshake, she assumed it was the same on his side. “I can’t see anything that’s not meant to be where it is, what do you mean?”

“I… there… “ Ashamed, Snowy let her gaze fall to the ground. “It simply doesn’t feel right!”

“What? What doesn’t feel right?” Cheese inspected her body once more. “Your tail, mane and everything else is where it should be, if something is wrong on the inside, we can’t see it.”

“That’s the problem!” Snowy complained. “It should be inside, but it is outside and I can feel it when I move!”

“It should be inside, but is outside?” Cool repeated. “What are you… “ He stopped and his ears peaked up in realisation what Snowy was referring too. His lips curled up and he started to giggle.

“That is not funny!” Snowy said, blushing even more and with a bit of anger in her voice.

Cool put his hooves on his mouth to suppress the giggle, but with very little success. If anything, his giggling turned louder.

“Stop laughing at me!”

“I am,” a loud giggle escaped Cool’s mouth, “so sorry!” He let his hooves sink and started to laugh. “But this is hilarious!” Now his whole body shook in laughter.

Snowy started to turn around, away from him, but stopped immediately. “This is embarrassing!”

“Oh, you don’t mean she…” Chimney threw a look at Cool, then at Snowy and back to Cool, who tried to nod during his laughter. A soft giggle now raised in Chimney’s throat too, curling up his lips and forced its way out so he joined Cool’s laughing.

“Stop it!” Snowy demanded, but both stallions were unable to.

“Are you willing to tell us too?” Potato asked with an annoyed gaze. “What is so funny?”

“She… she…” Cool clopped on the ground, bursting in laughter again.

“She means…” Chimney started, but a giggle stopped him from speaking further.

“Guys!” Snowy shouted. “You are not helping!” If she would have been able to, Snowy would have sunk into the ground in shame.

“She is feeling her stallion parts!” Cool quickly spat out before his forelegs gave in and he lay down with his laughter, now no longer suppressed.

“You know…” Chimney was able to add, “the…” he stopped, giggled again and swung his hoof a bit to the left and right like a bell.

Potato’s jaw dropped and she turned to Snowy. “You have problems with… “ she pointed vaguely on the former mare’s flank. “them?”

With a face like she bit on very acrid lemons, Snowy nodded. “Hmm-hmm.”

“You can’t be serious!” Potato closed her mouth and facehoofed before she threw a look over to Cheese. The other mare had placed her hoof on her mouth and when she became aware of Potato’s gaze, she lowered her ears backwards, disgusted by the situation.

“Arg!” Potato sighed and moved forward next to Snowy. “You!” she poked her in the chest, “keep trotting around, you will get used to it. If these guys can do it,” she pointed at Cool and Chimney, “you surely can too.”

“But, Potato,” Snowy said sheepishly.

“No! No excuses!” Potato insisted and grabbed her muzzle, pulling her forward. “You will trot on!”

“I can’t!” Snowy resisted, but Potato pulled with such a strength that she was dragged forward anyway. “Please!” she begged and pushed backwards with her forelegs. “This is very uncomfortable!”

“I don’t care about uncomfortable! Am I the only pony here aware of the situation we are in?” Potato said angrily, stomping a hoof. That gesture even caught Cool and Chimney’s attention, enough so that they stopped their laughing and giggling for a second. “We don’t have time for you all to be playing foals again! If you don’t get into that castle soon, Snowflake, we will never be able to convict the griffons and that means we never get you,” she poked Snowy in the chest, “back as Waterdrop! That not only means you will lose all the things you achieved till now, but also everypony else that knows you will never hear from you again! Unless you spoil your secret to them too, of course!”

“I…” Snowy started, but didn’t know what to say. Cloth’s words brought back memories of the last few days, when nearly all of her friends showed up to ask Melted Ice about what happened to Waterdrop. It had been hard to not tell them the truth, but there wasn’t really a choice. Only Pear, who visited two times, knew about her outside her team. “I…” she started again, but was cut off by Potato once more.

“Spare us your excuses! Just move your flank forward!” Potato turned back to the other stallions. “And you,” they both winced under her gaze, “stand up and do your best to help her, stop rolling around like foals and support her or I will twist your ears till even Celestia can’t fix them anymore!”

Cool and Chimney were instantly on their hooves.

“Good.” Potato nodded. “Now move, Snowflake!”

Slowly, Snowy moved one hoof forward and, with a deep breath, she moved one of her hind legs too.

“Just keep going, you can do it,” Chimney said.

Snowy closed her eyes and lifted her head upward to the ceiling, trying to ignore the awkward situation. She wriggled and shook several times, but she set one hoof before the other constantly, step by step.

“You're doing good, just don’t stop,” Cheese said.

“Yeah, keep trotting,” Chimney added.

“I’ll try my best, guys,” Snowy told the ceiling. “It is just not ea… “ her sentence stayed incomplete when she tripped over the carpet, failing to find her balance again and faceplanting on the floor.

“Are you alright?” Potato moved by and helped Snowy up again.

“I am fine,” Snowy rubbed her nose, “it is just really hard to get used to the differences in shape so fast.”

“I believe that,” she pushed the stallion forward again, “so you better keep trotting.”

The former mare sighed, but moved obediently forward.

In the following minutes, her steps became more and more natural, just her face keeping the sour expression.

“Well look at you,” Cheese said and her lips curled up, “in the end, we did make a fine stallion out of you.”

If looks could kill, Cheese would have disintegrated right away when Snowy’s gaze hit her.

***

“Alright, he left the castle a few minutes ago,” Chimney reported when he came back from his look-out near the main gate.

“Good, then it is time for you to dress up, Snowflake.” Cool gave her a nod. “The same goes for us,” he told his team. “Everypony knows what their task is? Once Snowflake enters the castle, there is nothing we can change anymore.”

Snowy looked at the present ponies, receiving a nod in return from each of them. Her whole team stood gathered before her, except two ponies. The rude stallion from before had refused to help with such a ‘stupid mission to get a fillyfooler back in the team’ as he had called it. The second absent pony was Cloth, currently off duty to have lunch with Silent Water to prevent any damage to their relationship caused by the mission.

They had considered to let one pony stay at the house to keep up the semblance of Melted Ice being home, but in the end, this was an all or nothing mission, so they decided against it. They will either get Waterdrop back and this meant nopony would care much about Melted Ice anymore or they will fail and then there would no point in keeping that disguise up. Therefore, shortly after changing of the guards before Snowy’s room, they all left the house. Snowy had disguised herself as Pear Thrower, she was sure he was okay with it.

Now, while Snowy vanished into a small alley to do her shapeshifting unobserved, the firefighters pulled up most of their gear. Everything that could take too long to equip when they needed to hurry, like the protection suit for the body, was buckled on. Stuff like the heavy helmets and oxygen masks with bottles lay at the ready on the back of ‘The Blue Whale II’, their fire brigade carriage.

As the team leader, Cool had decided, totally by happenstance of course, that today would be a good day to train the handling and field repair of their carriage, with equipment completely on and the carriage filled with water and everything. At least that was what he told the Captain of the Canterlot Firefighters, Big Helmet. As for place for their training, he decided that the little square, not far away from the eastern castle gate, would be a far better place than the courtyard of the fire department. It was about field repairs and training after all. Big Helmet had raised an eyebrow, but only shrugged and gave his okay. Even when Cool had told him, already on his way out of his office, that they will maybe extend the training till nightfall, Big Helmet had only rolled his eyes, but didn’t retract his permission.

A moment later Snowy came back, now disguised as Fast Word.

“Are you ready?” Cool asked her when she stood next to him.

“I doubt I could ever be ready for this.”

“I count that as yes.” He placed his hoof on her shoulder and whispered, “Just remember what I told you about acting as a stallion and everything will be fine.” This was his attempt to give her courage.

Shortly before they left the house, Cool had dragged her to the side so that the others couldn’t hear, and explained a few things to her about how stallions acted when no mare was around and also a few more things about general behaviour. From his explanation, Snowy guessed that this was some kind of secret between stallions that mares shouldn’t be aware of.

“I’ll do my best,” she was going to give him a hug, but stopped when she remembered that maybe somepony could see them. It would raise some questions when the real Fast Word and Cool didn’t know each other. Cool noticed her attempt and nodded when she stopped, instead of a hug he raised his hoof for a hoofbump. With a second delay, Snowy bumped in.
Before Snowy left for her attempt to get into the castle, she addressed the others one final time.

“Guys,” she said just loud enough for them to hear and when she had their attention, she continued, “I just want to thank you all for your help. No matter how this turns out, I am very grateful that you all tried your best to help me get back my life and accept me as one of you.”

While the others just smiled, Potato said, “Oh, shhh, don’t get us all sentimental now. It is natural to help you and no,” she raised a hoof to stop Snowy from coming closer,“ you surely won’t get a group hug from us in this shape.” Her tone made clear it was a friendly squabble.

“Charming like ever, Potato.” Snowy giggled. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome. Now go and make sure that these griffons get their fair punishment.”

“And you can get that group hug when you are back as yourself,” Cheese said and stuck out her tongue.

Shaking her head with a little smile, Snowy turned around to trot to the castle gate, but stopped when Cool had one last thing to add.

“Remember, we are just one fire outbreak away.”

She simply nodded.

***

“Wow, that really worked!” Snowy thought, very surprised. “I never would have guessed it was really that simple.”

When she had reached the gate, the guards at it had just gave her a bored look. It had taken only a short little lift of her head and a ‘hey’ while she kept her pace and they let her pass without any questions. A simple ‘hey’ in return was all they gave her.

She wasn’t able to suppress a disbelieving look back after she had made a small distance between herself and them.

“Stallions…” she shook her head to get rid of that way of thinking, she had a mission to do and needed to focus now.

Snowy trotted over the path of white paving stones, her gaze hung on the main building for a moment. The many towers, all built of white stone too, were very impressive. She had been here before one or two times during her five years in Canterlot, but never was allowed to freely trot around without the attention of the guards. They had always kept an eye on her when she was inside the castle walls.

Now however, in shape of one of them and, furthermore, already behind the fortifications, things were different.

According to the plan, she could now either trot through the courtyard, past the School for Gifted Unicorns and take a sideway past the hedge maze, taking the risk to be seen by somepony that knew Fast Word and get caught up in small talk wherein she would make a very bad figure, or, enter the castle’s main building by a side door instead, where she could easily get lost. Not to forget that probably, there were some very important nobles trotting around who could have use for a pony of the reporting service too.

“Mhh…” she made while her gaze shifted between the the two paths real quickly.
When she reached the crossroads, she hadn’t made a decision. Still she had to keep her pace to not raise suspicion, so she let her instinct decide and took the right path into the main building.

As luck had it sometimes, the door she reached at its end was open, but lead right into the storage area of the castle’s kitchen. Considering how often deliveries of fresh food arrived, it made sense to place it here, Snowy however didn’t benefit from this.

“Is a courier allowed to roam around in the kitchen?” she wondered. “Or should I turn around and try my luck with the other way?”

She was about to turn around, but hesitated again. If one of the ponies who had seen her taking the way to the kitchen now saw her leaving all of the sudden, they might wonder why.

“Would they even notice at all?” Unsure, Snowy first turned back, then again towards the crossroad and back to the kitchen. “Maybe they would and will ask me about it.” She flinched her ears, looking back. “Or am I just getting paranoid?”

“Hello, Fast Word.”

Snowy jumped a bit while her heart skipped a beat.

“Easy there,” a lemon yellow earth pony mare stood in the door, giggling. “Seems you are a bit jumpy today, Fast Word.”

“Uhm,” Snowy put a hoof on her chest and tried to fake a smile while she calmed down, “you shouldn’t sneak up on ponies, you may scare them.”

“You are just a little scaredy cat.” The mare waved off with a smile. She moved over the threshold and stopped in front of her. “So, what brings you here at this time of day? I thought your shift was already over.”

“Uhm… I… “

“You wanted to sneak into the kitchen and get ahold of some of the cake leftovers from dinner, right?” She lifted both eyebrows and gave him an accusing while still smiling look.

“Uhm, hehe, yes, you got me, hehe.” In attempt to look abashed, Snowy rubbed her foreleg before she remembered the advice from Cool Air and rubbed her neck instead.

“You are not only a scaredy cat, you’re also a sweet-toothed pony, Fast Word.” The mare shook her head, luckily her smile stayed. “Alright,” she pointed into the storage area with her head, “come in.” She trotted back into the building, but stopped a few steps later. “But don’t let the chef see you!” she said sternly and poked “Fast Word” in the chest. “I don’t want to get in trouble because of you.”

“I will do my best,” Snowy promised. “If I can, I will avoid being seen by anypony.”

“Good,” the yellow mare said and cantered over to the first door on the left. “Here,” she trotted in and picked up a box full of vegetables, “since you are following me, you can make yourself useful while you do so.” And with these words she pressed the box against Snowy’s chest.

“Oh, of course.” Snowy grabbed the box and placed it on her back. “Just let us hurry a bit, you know, the chef shouldn’t see me.”

“Alright, you can go on ahead, I will follow when I have gathered the eggs and a few other things.” She grabbed a little basket and started to do as she said. “The cake is on the table in the servants’ break room, but don’t forget to drop the box in the kitchen for me first, just place it next to the chopping board.”
“Will do,” Snowy replied with far more confidence in her voice than she really felt. She passed by the storage room and stood right in front of the next problem. She had no clue where the kitchen or the break room were and before her, the way forked already.

Peaking into the left and also into the right corridor, she just shrugged and took the left one. In the end, somehow, one way will lead into one of the main corridors of the castle.

“Hey!” the angry voice of the mare sounded from behind her. “First the work, then the cake, Fast Word! I knew you would go straight for the cake, you rascal!”

Snowy looked back with an apologetic smile. The head of the other mare peeked from behind the corner, throwing an angry look at her.

“Would you believe me if I told you I have no clue were the kitchen is?” Snowy asked.

“Don’t even try to lie to me!” A yellow hoof showed up and pointed into the other corridor. “Move your flank to the kitchen and don’t let me catch you trying to sneak away again!”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Better for you.” The mare vanished into the storage room again.

“Phew, she really has a temperament, I should see that I get rid of this box and leave this area of the castle as soon as possible. I have other things to do than eating cake.”

At least she had the direction of the kitchen now. Without any other incidents, she moved towards it, following blindly in the direction the other mare gave her, till her nose told her the way. Canterlot already smelled good in her opinion, but it was nothing compared to the smells that seeped out of the kitchen.

As if by themselves, her legs dragged her forward now, even if she wasn’t hungry, that smell lurked her in and it was highly possible that there was a connection between the main corridors and the kitchen. That was what she calmed her conscience with at least, while she put her hoof on the wooden door and pushed it further open.

She was greeted by the warm light, flooding out of the kitchen caused by the big fires under the three, two-pony high cooking pots. Whatever soup there was cooked, it smelled wonderfully. She stepped in and her gaze wandered around between all this culinary delights and fruits from all over Equestria and beyond. The room was filled with colours, from nearly every wall, cabinet or cupboard hung a bunch of herbs or spices, filling the air not only with their smell, but also making the room look homely.

Snowy placed the box of vegetables on one of the workplaces and moved her head over to the nearest bunch of herbs. She didn’t know what this one was, but when she moved her nose close to it and sniffed, she really wanted to take a bite out of it.

“I don’t have time for this…” her conscience reminded her. With regret she pulled her head back and scanned her surroundings a little more. Four doors were leading out, the one she came through, two on the other side of the kitchen and one the side opposite to the cooking pots.

Taking another deep breath, followed by a lick over her lips, Snowy moved on. She made her way past the many little tables and kitchen cabinets, over to one of the two doors that shared a wall. She was nearly there when something caught her attention again. It was a small blue flower, which peaked out of a stack of vanilla seed pods on one of the tables. The flower itself was interesting with all its small blossoms and pink tiny stalks that sprung out of the main stalk, but what really catched Snowy’s attention was the thick and heavy smell that hung in the air around it and covered all the other smells.

It took just a few sniffs and she felt dizzy all of the sudden. She shook her head, but it didn’t help. And when she breathed another time, her mind felt like it was covered in soft and comforting wool.

“What… is… this…?” she thought, but her mind already drifted away. She started to stagger, her legs felt like pudding and her vision blurred. She blinked. She blinked again and the flower was now right before her. For a second a voice in her head asked why she suddenly stood before it, but it was far in the background and vanished in a split second again.

Without her intention, her head moved forward, her lips opened and she took a big bite from the flower, ripping off nearly a half of it.

“Candy,” the small voice in her head said, “tastes like candy.”

Before she could swallow the bite, unexpectedly her nose started to itch. With fascination, Snowy watched it turning orange. “Funny…” But it didn’t stop there, the orange colour spread, taking over her snout more and more, moving over her skin, first slowly, then faster and faster. She sneezed, spitting out the flower, and noticed the ground was getting closer. She sneezed again, stepping backwards and again she sneezed, with more force this time. She bumped into a table, tipping it over and with loud clatter, everything on it fell to the ground. The few fruits and vegetables just rolled around more or less silently, but the dishes really made some noise.

“Hey!” somepony shouted from behind the two doors. “What is going on in there?”

A few other voices raised too and the little voice in Snowy’s head thought that this could be a problem really soon. In the moment however, she had to fight with a coughing fit that had followed the sneezing, her throat felt like it was filled with sawdust. Uncontrolled, she swung her wings and flew backwards till she got stopped by the fireplace and the cooking pots on it, ramming a few of the cupboards on her way. One fell of its holder and crushed into the sink below. The little voice told her to stop flying and get out of the kitchen instantly. With her mind becoming clearer again with every second, she agreed.

She suppressed the coughing as much as she could and threw a look at the mess she had caused. “Ohhhh…” she thought.

“What the hay are you doing?” the mare who had let her in was to hear from the corridor, obviously she was galloping towards the kitchen.

Now Snowy came fully to her senses again, panicked, she shot a look at her again orange coat and another to the mess and the half-eaten up evil flower. She had to get out of here! Her gaze flew around, both sides were blocked and the door on the other side of the room too far away. Only a few seconds till the ponies would reach the kitchen: an angry shout from the stallion and his comrades behind the two doors made that obvious. Without any more hesitation she jumped into the next best hiding place she could find.

The door to the kitchen was smashed open and the kitchen chef burst in, followed by a few members of his staff and also one night guard, who still had a little piece of cake clinging to his cheek.

When the chef saw the mess in the kitchen, his face first turned red and then he burst into flames like only unicorns were able to. “Who did this!” he shouted with his strong and loudvoice, which he gained by years of yelling at his subordinate. The mare who let ‘Fast Word’ in galloped through the opposite door in the same moment.

“Flower Bouquet!” The attention of the chef focused on her. “What did you do?” It wasn’t really a question.

“I…” Flower Bouquet looked around for a moment to realise what mess the kitchen had become.

“What did you do!”

“I did nothing,” she took another look around, “I was fetching some stuff from the storage room. I just ran back when I heard the sound from here.”

“And all this mess happened by itself, huh?” He stepped towards her. “Or what explanation do you have?” He pointed at the chaos. “You were supposed to watch over this place, not mess it up!”

“Uhm, sir,” the member of the Night Guard spoke, “she couldn’t have done this.”

Angry, the chef turned around to him. “And why not?” he yelled at the guard.

The look the guard stallion gave him back did a good job at calming him down. Even in his own territory, he didn’t want to mess with a member of the Guard, so his next sentence was a lot more polite.

“I mean,” he cleared his throat, “what makes you think so?”

The guard pushed away a few kitchen helpers and moved a little closer to the center of the mess. “First, the center of this mess is close to the door we came through, while she,” he pointed at her, “came from the other direction than we did and was therefore farther away from this mess than we were. I doubt she could be so quick, that she not only was able to leave this room before we arrived, but also managed to gain a good distance from this room so that she was able to enter in galloping speed.”

“That is only guessing,” the chef said.

“Hmm,” the guard agreed, “furthermore and that is the main evidence, look at her.”

The ponies did as they were told.

“She is too small to reach the upper cupboards and throw them down without climbing on the workplaces or a stool, which would need even more time and she doesn’t have wings.” Now the guard flew up himself and pointed at one of the upper cupboards that was still in place. “And this,” his hoof stopped before a tray of smudged ingredients that slowly slid down the door of the cupboard, “is clearly caused by some pegasus wings, you can see it at the way it is placed.”

Flower Bouquet let out a sigh of relief, not only because she was proved innocent now, but also because Fast Word was absolved of guilt too.

“But when she didn’t do it,” a blue mare out of the group asked, “and we neither, who was it then?”

“That is the question,” the guard answered, “somepony else must have been here, leaving the room through that door over there.” He pointed at the fourth door.

“Impossible, that door leads only to the storage room for the pots and pans and other kitchen utensils, there is no exit,” the chef said.

“In that case, the one who caused this is either in that room, or is hiding in this one.” The guard took one of the pans, a really heavy, iron one and moved over to the door. “I will check the storage room, while you search here.” He raised the pan, shifting it in his hoof a bit till he got a good grip and, ready to strike, he pushed the door to the storage room open.

“Come out with raised hooves or I will come in and get you out by force!” the guard demanded, looking into the dark room. With a few seconds passing by and nothing happening, he asked for a candle. One of the mares ignited one at the fire and offered it to him.

“No, just hold it up so I can see, if there is somepony, I better keep this pan ready.”

She did as told and stood close to him, they stepped forward into the room, looking out for anypony that could show up. He with his raised pan, she with the candle. There was nopony, just the mentioned kitchen stuff.

“It seems whoever we seek is not here, as long they are bigger than a mouse.” The guard lowered the pan and let his gaze move around. There was no place big enough to even hide a filly. “So much for this room. In this case,” he turned around and gestured for the mare to follow, “whoever caused this mess must still be in the kitchen.”

“What if it was a ghost?” one of the stallions of the staff asked.

“There is no such thing as ghosts, Deep Ditch,” Flower Bouquet lectured him. “Especially not in our kitchen!” She closed one of the cabinets she had looked into a bit louder than necessary.

“Whoever it was, there are not so many spots to hide in here,” the guard said.

Indeed, it took them only a minute to look everywhere; where at least a filly was able to hide in or under. Into every cabinet, every chest and even under every tablecloth they looked, no sign of anypony.

“That can’t be! It must have been a ghost then!” Deep Ditch said.

“Stop that nonsense. There are no ghosts in here,” the chef rebuked him. “There must be another explanation.” But his words didn’t have the desired effect, not only was Deep Ditch still worried, the most of the other kitchen helpers threw worried looks around.

“That is indeed strange,” the guard confessed. “Flower Bouquet…”

“Yes?”

“Have you seen anypony else down here, except for the ones that should be here?”

“Uhmmm… “

The guard raised an eyebrow.

“If you have seen somepony, tell us now!” the kitchen chef demanded.

Flower Bouquet looked down and rubbed her leg. “The only one I saw who doesn't belong here is Fast Word. He came to the door and asked me for a bit of cake from dinner today, so I let him in.” She looked up again, “he carried this box for me,” she pointed at it. “He had been here, but, since we didn’t find him now, I guess he just placed it there and left for the cake.”

“What did I told you about letting other ponies into the kitchen?” the chef scolded her. “That will have consequences, Flower Bouquet!”

The mare shrunk under his words, but the guard raised his hoof and stopped the chef from speaking further. “Fast Word?” he asked. “The courier of the messenger service, that Fast Word?”

Flower Bouquet nodded, ashamed.

“You tell us, Fast Word, the earth pony courier, came through the outer door a few minutes ago and asked you for cake. Is that right?” the guard repeated.

Another nod.

“What is the problem with it?” the kitchen chef asked. “As an earth pony, Fast Word couldn’t have done this as you told us yourself . He isn’t a unicorn either, so he couldn’t have magically arranged all this. Also,” the chef rubbed his muzzle, “I confess you guys from the guard are maybe not the nicest, but always full of integrity. Hardly I would believe he would have done this, even if he could. No offense.”

“None taken,” said the guard. “The thing is, Fast Word was on his way to the Captain’s office when I saw him last time and this was maybe five minutes ago. Shorty before I entered the dining hall. No way he turned around, left the castle and re-entered through the storage room door with Flower Bouquet a few minutes ago.”

“I swear to Princess Celestia, I saw him, I even talked to him.” Flower Bouquet instantly assured them. “Just a few minutes ago, right there in the storage room at the end of the hall.” She pointed hectically to it.

Nopony said it, but a shiver ran down their spines.

***

Chaotic times

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Slowly and carefully, one of Burning Snowflake’s ears raised over the edge of her hiding spot, rhythmically moving a bit up and down. Several minutes had passed since she heard the other ponies. She turned her ear around, listening for any noise that could betray the presence of them nearby. When all she could hear was the crackling of the fire and the seething of the soup, she dared to raise her other ear too. Still, nopony else was to hear.

Increasing her attempts to stay on the surface, Snowy pushed herself a bit more upward, till she was able to see over the edge of the cooking pot.

As far as she could see, the kitchen was empty. Wiping some water from the steam and soup off her face, she took another look around. The kitchen was still a mess. All the chaos she had spread lay right before her and when her gaze moved to the other side of the room, there still stood this evil flower! Or at least what remained of it after she had taken a huge bite from it...

Suddenly a growl was to hear and Snowy wondered where it came from till she realised it was herself who made it. Once she noticed, she stopped it. She still was in danger of being discovered. Unsure how far away the kitchen staff and this one night guard were, probably in the adjoining rooms and hallways, it was not very clever to make loud noises.

However, she was confident that the cooking pot would be one of the last spots where they would look for her, if at all. The only problem was that she still had go to the guest quarters and on her way through the Castle she would have to avoid her seekers. Staying in the pot for much longer wasn’t an option.

On the upside, it should be mentioned that the comforting heat of the soup she was in had helped her to get rid of the last effects from that flower. At least that was what Snowy thought. With a far more clear head, it was surely easier to plan her next step.

She placed her hoof on the edge, ready to pull herself out of the pot when the, in her opinion, relatively loud noise of evaporating water made her hesitate. Soaked wet as she was, every attempt to climb out would make her presence hearable and, in the worst case scenario, some of the kitchen staff members would show up to check on the soup.

Snowy sunk back and pressed her hooves against the walls of the pot, staying in place, shortly above the surface of the boiling liquid. She took a deep breath and let the warmth comfort her again while she thought about her options. She could just climb out and hope for the best, that was an option after all, but given how much luck she used, she was sure she was already at its end.

For a moment, just a single moment, she began to lose faith. All the obstacles in her way came to her mind, draining her morale even further.

“I can’t even get into the Castle without getting in trouble!” she thought and kicked in frustration against the cooking pot. “How should I ever reach these vicious griffons and snatch the stolen item from them if I can’t even do that?”

Another kick, she didn’t even care for the sound it may cause.

“The griffons...” Anger welled up inside her, washing away her doubts. “I will not let these griffons win! Never!” With a heavy kick from her legs and also pulling with her hooves, Burning Snowflake jumped out of the pot and, with another two flaps of her wings, more or less landed as planned in front of it. Another loud fizzle was unavoidable when the water from her wings got splashed into the fire.

A quick look to both sides to ensure that nopony had noticed her and the orange mare focused on the blue flower again.

“Now to you… “

Without much hesitation, she reached out with her hooves and made the necessary gestures, calling on her magic. The flower was grabbed by it and Snowy forcefully flung it into the fire.

“Ha! How do you like that?” She watched the flower burn and snorted at her beaten ‘enemy’. With her attention drawn elsewhere, it took her awhile to notice the small puddle that formed under her and the steam that rose from her body.

“At least it is delicious,” she thought and started to lick the soup from her body, ending up in a full preening of her wings. Several minutes she just sat there and preened herself till she suddenly stopped, one feather still in her mouth.

“What in tarnation am I doing?” She spat out her feather and irritatedly shook her head. Recapitulating the last few minutes, Snowy very well noticed the strange behaviour she had shown.

She rubbed her forehead. “Seems I am far from being myself again.” She threw a side look to the fire. “Anyway, it can only get better from here.”

With another shake, starting at her head, running down her mane, spine and finally ending in her tailtip, she got rid of the unpleasant mix of emotions as well as the rest of the soup. “Time to get out of here, and, to dress up.”

After a short moment of thinking, Snowy decided for the shape of a mint green pegasus mare with small traces of grey in her otherwise blueish mane. She couldn’t remember her name, but her appearance should raise as little attention as possible. “Maybe I can fit in in this shape, I only need… “ her gaze wandered around, “that!”

She picked up the mop and leaned it over her shoulder. Together with the bucket in her mouth, she looked very well like a cleaning mare. “Just…”

“Hello?” In the door to the dining hall stood a brown earth pony stallion, dressed in the uniform of the Canterlot Castle administration. “Somepony there?” He walked in. “I… what the hay happened here?” He threw a disbelieving look around. “A bugbear attack? Discord? A bunny stampede?” His gaze landed on the mint-green mare. “You,” he pointed at the mess, “what happened here?”

“Uhm,” Snowy gulped, “a little accident with the… the… the dessert, yeah the dessert!”

The stallion opened his mouth and raised an eyebrow. “Uhm, excuse me, how should a dessert cause all this?” His gaze wandered around once more. “And where are the cooks and kitchen helpers?”

“They… are looking for a fitting substitute for dessert, yes that’s where they went.” Snowy walked nearer to him. “See, the sugar bombs surprisingly really earned their name, because they indeed exploded and now the chef is speaking with the deliverer. About his helpers, well I actually don’t know.” She faked a little laugh. “Who knows, maybe they just use his absence to take a break.”

“Shouldn’t you know?” He gave her a closer look. “Somepony must have told you about this mess and requested that you clean it up, or not?” He scratched his chin. “Also I never heard of exploding sugar bombs before.”

“They must be from the prank factory, that’s where the chef went to and yes, I had the luck to be nearby when one of the kitchen staff members passed by and long story short, I ended up here.”

“The prank factory? Exploding sugar bombs? What a nonsense is that?” He shook his head. “Only cleaning pony prattle, spare me this nonsense.”

“But…”

The administration pony rolled his eyes. “Just got this mess cleaned and keep your babbling for yourself.” He moved over to one of the shelves. “Shh, seems hard to find good help these days,” he mumbled while he grabbed a few fruits. After he had collected some, he turned to leave the kitchen.

“Phew, that was close,” Snowy thought in relief, but had celebrated to early. Before the stallion made it to the door, Flower Bouquet entered the kitchen, a freshly filled bucket in her mouth and a mop in her hoof.

Flower Bouquet spat out the bucket and asked, “What are you two doing here? The kitchen is for kitchen staff only!”

“Well,” the administration pony said, “if you did your job and kept an eye on the buffet in the dining hall, one wouldn’t have to come here and help himself.”

“Do… do my job? How dare you!” Flower Bouquet yelled angry. “I am doing my job!”

“If you did, why is there a huge mess then?” He pointed at it once more. “And why is the buffet not refilled?” He pointed behind him through the door. “You surely could use better time management down here if everything is just falling apart in your hooves.”

“Oh and you think you can do better by ordering one of the cleaning staff members here, huh? Let me tell you something, Dustfree, this is my area of responsibility and I can handle it very well on my own!”

That drew the attention back to Snowy, who had tried to inconspicuously step back from these two.

“We are very pugnacious today, aren’t we, random kitchen staff member I don’t know the name off?” the stallion replied. “Just to let you know, it wasn’t me who ordered this cleaning pony here.”

“Oh, don’t get snappy, Dustfree. Just because you are a member of the administration doesn’t mean you can talk down to me like that. And you,” now she addressed Snowy, “who are you and what are you doing in my kitchen?”

“Me?” Snowy said. “I am Splashy Soapbubbles, remember? We met before… and I just do the cleaning, obviously.”

“We met before?” Now the kitchen mare rubbed her nose while she tried to remember. “No, your name and face don't jog my memory”

“Oh come on,” Snowy waved with her mop a bit. “Splashy Soapbubbles, the fastest floor cleaner in… in the night shift? You can’t have forgotten already.”

“Uhm…” Now Flower Bouquets eyebrows furrowed. “The fastest floor cleaner from the night shift is Scraping Skids, he also has a plaque at the dinner hall. He is holding that record for nine months now.” She moved closer to Snowy. “Neither your name nor your position ring a bell. Do you mind telling me who hired you? And who your shift leader is?”

Thinking about how to talk her way out of this, Snowy hung in her thoughts for a moment.

“So? I am waiting.” Flower Bouquet demanded.

Slowly stepping back, the green pegasus tried to win some time. “Well, uhm, you see… “

“Dustfree?” Flower Bouquet turned her head to him.

“Yes?”

“You may not be able to connect my face to my name, but I am sure you know the name of everypony that is working in the castle, right?”

“Of course I am,” he replied with an arrogant look. “It is my job to know that.”

“Then tell me, is there a Splashy Soapbubbles enlisted in the Castle cleaning staff?”

The stallion rolled with his eyes. “As if there would be an intruder in your kitchen.” He returned his gaze to Flower Bouquet, who returned his gaze without a problem. “Arg, fine,” he said and sighed. His eyes gaze moved away, staring into nothing for a moment, before he turned his attention back to her.

“Actually, no,” he said, surprised and now turned his attention to Snowy too. “There is no Splashy Soapbubbles, neither in the cleaning staff nor at all among the castle staff.”

“Wait, I can explain…” Snowy started and lifted one hoof.

“You are an intruder! It was you who made this mess! And then you snuck away somehow!” Now she threateningly swung her mop in the other mare’s direction. “Confess!”

Pulling back her head, Snowy said, “It wasn’t on purpose! Really it was an… Ouch!”

Angry, Flower Bouquet had hit her with the mop. “How dare you!” she yelled, spewing insult after insult while she continued to beat Snowy with the mop. “Do you know what trouble you put me in!”

“I said, ouch, it was, ouch! stop it!” Now Snowy covered herself not only with her hooves, but also with her wings to prevent the other mare from hitting her. “It was an accident!” she yelled.

“I will call for the guards!” Dustfree announced and headed for the door.

“I can’t let that happen!” Snowy thought, more than a little bit distracted by the angry mare. “I understand you are angry and rightfully so, but stop hitting me!”

When the mop made it past her defences once more and hit her on the cheek, the pegasus finally had enough.

“Enough!” she screamed and released a lance of fire at the source of her annoyance, luckily for Flower Bouquet, it was the mop. It caught fire instantly and not only left the mare holding it speechless, but also stopped Dustfree from leaving too.

“I tried to be nice to you,” Snowy now said with her voice lowered, “but enough is enough!” And while she turned into Fast Word again, which she know would scare at least Flower Bouquet, she added, “Even a ghost like me can only tolerate so much presumptuousness!”

A loud and panicked scream by the two other ponies was the reward for her action and while Dustfree stood there paralyzed with wide eyes, Flower Bouquet dropped the mop, turned around and fled, screaming all along her way out of the kitchen, back into the adjoining hallways.

She had to be quick now, it won’t take long for the guards to show up. Letting some flames play around her snout, she picked up the mop and turned around to the still paralyzed stallion, moving towards him.

When she almost reached him, a smile curled up her lips and she asked, “What about you, mortal? You don’t want to flee too?” Giving him her best maniac smile, she slowly extinguished the flames at the tip of the mop with a hoof. “What?” she asked when she saw his eyes widened in fear and then lowered her voice even more. “The flames of Tartarus are far worse, you know?” When she had ended, she bursted into false laughter and that was finally too much for the stallion. Screaming like Flower Bouquet, he turned around and rushed towards the dinner-hall like all the monsters of Tartarus were after him.

Quick-witted, Snowy gave him a little slap before he escaped. Not doing much to his fear, but it opened a new opportunity for her.

Before she threw away the mop and galloped after him, she thought a second about pushing over one of the cooking-pots to increase the mess in the kitchen, but in time, she realized that it was the flower still playing tricks with her mind.. She gave herself a slap on the face and shook out these mean thoughts before rushing after Dustfree, screaming in fake horror too.

When Snowy entered the hall, she faced some very confused ponies. Had not only one screaming pony crossed the hall now but two, and there had been another one screaming in the kitchen just a few moments ago too. Before they overcome their surprise and could investigate, Snowy was already through the opposite door and in one of the main corridors. Knowing where Dustfree went by his scream that still echoed through the corridors, Snowy took the opposite way and in an unobserved moment, she turned into Dustfree.

“I hope that will do,” she thought while she swiftly vanished behind the next corner, “even if I don’t wear his uniform.”

***

On the upside, her new disguise worked, nopony seemed willing to interfere with ‘Dustfree’ so far. Snowy made it through the corridors without any incident, but she was lost in the castle after a few minutes. The first corridor she went in had looked promising initially, but it made a nice little curve near the end and guided her directly in the opposite direction of where she wanted to go. From there it only got worse.

By trying to go in the right direction again, she only got tangled deeper and deeper in the spider web that the castle architecture was. Whoever had designed this mess of corridors, stairs and a lot of forks, either was a genius, whose goal was to confuse every intruder, or, was a complete maniac. Not even the windows she passed by now and then were of great help. Sure, she was able to guess her relative position in the castle by her view out of them, but that didn’t mean that even if she knew in which direction she have to go, that she wouldn’t necessarily be able to find a way leading in that direction. The only thing she got from her looks outside, was the unpleasant knowledge how much time she already had lost.

The thought of going back and starting over came to her mind, but she didn’t want to go near the kitchen anytime soon. Who knew what the real Dustfree and Flower Bouquet had done in the meantime. Could be, that right now a horde of guards searched the area for some ghost able to imitate anypony. Snowy had no illusions about her chance to fool them again.

At the very moment however, she was relatively safe from being discovered. She stood alone in an, from what she could tell, rarely used and small sideway, which was just enough curved that one couldn’t see far forward. The only evidence that somepony used it at all was that the omnipresent red carpet seemed to be cleaned not so long ago. Whoever cleaned it however was either too busy or to lazy to complete the job. The sets of armours along the walls where all dusty and covered in cobwebs. The pictures of once great ponies preserved for the eternity were now forgotten and dusty too. When Snowy stopped for a moment and tried to read one of the names on one of the pedestals, a huge black spider hushed away when she came closer.

“Urg, disgusting,” Snowy thought when her gaze followed the little creature crawling into one of the armours, using the spear the armour held as ladder to get up.“That is surely not the right way to the guest quarters. If I am not totally wrong, I guess I must be already two levels to high and moving in the wrong direction… great.”

Nonetheless, she stepped forward, she needed to move on. While doing so, she noticed something strange, the further she went, the lesser light she got. In the main corridors, the guards had already ignited the torches or candles, lighting up the sideways to a degree as well. However, the way before her was only barely illuminated and went darker onwards.

She hesitated. “Should I really go further? It doesn’t seem like this dark and lonely passage is leading somewhere I want to be.” She looked back. “On the other hoof, I didn’t have any luck in that direction either.” Still in thought, a little blow of wind hit her from in front of her. “Huh? An open window?” All the other windows she had passed were well shut and locked, at least in the corridors and she hadn’t dared to enter one of the many doors randomly to who knows what kind of room behind to check the windows there.

“If there is an open window, maybe I can sneak outside again and move around the castle! Anything is better than trotting around here clueless.”

The anticipation of an exit dragged her forward now and she was happy about the movement too, for the little breeze not only brought fresh air, but also lowered the temperature of the corridor by a few degrees.

“Phew,” Snowy thought with a little shiver, “it is getting cold.” With a little surprise, she looked down and noticed the hair on her legs rising. “Either Dustfree is really sensible about temperature, or it got far colder outside than I assumed.”

Her gaze shot up again and her ears turned around quickly when she suddenly heard a whisper.

“Hello? Somepony there?” She looked back and forth, but nopony was to see.

“I could swear somepony had talked to me.” Moving her ears around once more, she still heard nothing. Snowy shrugged. “Must be my imagination,” she thought and went on.

Not much later she stopped again when a strange phenomenon appeared in the way before her. It wasn’t good to see in the dim light, but the wall of air before her seemed to shimmer. Tilting her head, Snowy took a seat on the ground and examined the phenomenon closer. She had seen something like that before.

“Who would place a magical field here and for what purpose?”

That Burning Snowflake wasn’t able to see magic not always was an advantage, it would probably be possible to guess what purpose this field served for one who could actually see it. It was possible that the normal eye would see a solid wall here or a mirror or something. For Snowy however, only a light shimmer of air was seen. Behind the field, there was a barely illuminated spiral staircase to see.

Now there was another problem, she could simply walk through the magic of course, but it would look really strange afterwards. The image of a solid stone wall with a pony shaped hole in it came to her mind. Of course, that would only happen if the rest of the magic wouldn’t collapse though. On the other hoof, it could be a simple spell to keep away insects and little critters too and then it was no big deal to move through it, if she made sure she passed it above the ground level so the animals couldn’t follow. Or at least mice and ground bound bugs couldn’t.

“I am already far behind my time schedule, I can’t waste any more just to keep some spider flies outside of the castle. They can restore the barrier, if this was one, later.”

She stood up again and moved right in front of the phenomenon, carefully lifting a hoof to pass through it. When her hoof made contact, the magic at that spot vanished. But it didn’t stop there. Unable to contain the rest of the magic any longer the phenomenon imploded with a loud bang. Snowy was dragged forward by the vacuum, only to get blown backwards by the following explosion. Her hooves scratched over the carpet but couldn’t get a grip. Unable to stop, she rolled backwards like a ball till something stopped her.

Snowy rubbed her head. “Urg, what was that?”

She lay backwards, half on the ground, half leaning against a stone pedestal.

“That was not supposed to happen.”

She was just starting to get up again when an unfamiliar noise caught her attention. Before she realised what it was, a great axe landed right between her legs, cutting into her tail.

“Woah!” She screamed and tried to jump up and over the axe but something hold her tail and she landed roughly on the ground. Quickly she rolled on her back, just in time to see a shadow jumping down on her.

Iron hooves tried to grab her. She raised her hooves to fend them off. The impact of her attacker pressed air out of her lungs. Snowy punched and kicked heavily. She hit her attacker but it didn’t seem to even notice. She aimed for its head and landed a good punch, only to start screaming in horror. The head flew off and straight into the dim corridor. That was finally too much for Snowy’s nerves and without thinking, she blindly continued to kick and punch while she tried to crawl backwards at the same time. She lost a few hairs of her tail when she ripped it free from the axe. After she made a little bit of distance, she jumped up and ran straight to the stairwell. Quicker and quicker her hooves pushed her upward. She always took two or three steps at once. Her only thought was to get away.

***

“I wonder where Snowflake is?” Potato threw another sorrowful look at the castle. “She should already have reached the griffons and got the artifact back.” Placing the wrench she had in her mouth back on the carriage roof, she let her gaze wander over the castle once more. “It is getting darker out here, we can’t hang around much longer without raising suspicion, come on Snowflake, either come out in success or just cause a little fire so we can come and get you.”

“Don’t worry, Potato,” Cool said, placing the lantern on the back of the carriage. He knew what Potato was worried about and added, “She will make it, she just needs more time.”

The mare just gave him a short glance before she returned her attention to the castle. “I hope you are right, but if she doesn’t get out of there soon we will have a hard time explaining why we are still here.”

“I know,” Cool said with a nod, “but let that be my problem when the time comes. Right now, it is time for you to change place with Chimney.”

“Yes, sergeant,” Potato answered, though there was aversion in her voice. She didn’t want to leave her lookout.

“Chimney!” Cool called, “up on the roof with you.” He pointed at it with his snout. “Let Potato give you her tools and then change the hinges once more, if they got stuck in action we need to be able to change them as quick as possible.”
“Yes, sir,” came Chimney’s response.

When Potato jumped down from her place on the roof, Cool assured her once more. “She is going to make it, just have faith.”

***

With her heart beating rapidly in her chest, Snowy leaned against the lower side of the dark blue wall. She panted heavily and tried to catch her breath again. Running upstairs three levels straight and then blindly into a dark hallway surely was strenuous.

Although she had come to the realisation that it had been not a stranger that tried to attack her, still the shock sat deep in her bones. She tried to exhale slowly, getting her pulse down again.

When she had at least recovered enough that she wasn’t panting anymore, she stood up and gave her surroundings a look. The area was dimly lit and the two small windows, placed shortly under the ceiling, were barred.

For a moment she wondered why they were barred, but she had more important things on her mind right now. Where was she exactly? And how can she get from here to the guest quarters?

When her gaze wandered on, from the window back to further down the hallway, she noticed a few, probably wooden, boards in her way. On the second look, it turned out that they were the edges of shelves, bookshelves to be exact. The hallway ended at an open double door leading to a, from what she could see, tall room filled with lots of bookshelves. When she moved a bit forward, she also saw some tables or something similar to sit and read at every now and then.

Obviously she had run into some sort of library, that also explained why there was a bug defending spell in the other corridor. Normally her interest in books was more or less average, there wasn’t so much books written and copied for the public to read so one was lucky to get some, but at the very moment it was simply not the time to sit down and read.

What caught her interest was, hopefully, another double door on the other side. Wherever it would lead, it only could bring her nearer to her destination. No matter how much misfortune she had, at one point she simply couldn’t turn in the wrong direction anymore since the Castle wasn’t endless. So she trotted on.

The raw smell of old paper and the lack of moisture in the air came to her nose once she entered the lines of bookshelves. The air was stale and she sucked at her tongue to get rid of the dry feeling in her mouth. Seldom, she had been in a library before, but she couldn’t remember some that had felt so… abandoned. Snowy moved a hoof over one of the shelves, looked at the thick layer of dust clinging to it when she lifted it again.

“It must have been ages since somepony had dusted this place.”

Her gaze wandered over the covers of the books, but she couldn’t read the titles. Now curiosity got the better of her and she reached out and pulled one book out. Turning it around in the moonlight, before she got rid of the dust with a heavy blow and then tried to read the title again.

‘Democracy’

How a Land Should Be Ruled’

“Democracy? What shall that be? Or is that the author? Mhh, never heard of them.”

She placed the book back and pulled out two others. ‘The true story of Nightmare Moon’ and ‘Dark magic, the basics’.

“Dark magic?” She raised an eyebrow. “This really shouldn’t be in a library, who knows who...” Her ear spun around when some strange but quiet sound appeared in the air all of the sudden. Snowy turned her head to the place she thought it came from, trying to pierce the half darkness with her eyes.

All stayed silent.

“It was probably nothing.”

She put the books back to where they belonged and went away from the bookshelf, continuing her way through the gloomy library. That the bookshelves were so high and blocking the already little light wasn’t really helping. She had to slow down and watch her step more carefully to not step on one of the bookstacks on the ground or walk against one of the stools.

Passing by all these old and dusty books, one thing she had to admit, trotting through a dark room with many obstacles and in the silence of an empty library was something that could scare one. More so when the thin light played with the shadows whenever a cloud happened to pass by the barred windows.

“Good thing I am not afraid of the dark, otherwise I wouldn’t dare to set one hoof in here.” Still, when she looked around, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She wasn’t able to put her hoof on it, but there was something strange with this place.

The realisation came to her when she reached what she guessed must be the middle of the library. On a larger round marble table was placed a harmless-looking thick book. Well, it’d look so, if it for the fact that there was an iron chain around it.

“Who would imprison a book?” was Snowy’s first thought, but then she saw the fine waft around its cover. “Okay… someone imprisoned a magical book, that may make more sense, if they doesn’t want others to read it, but why is it in a public library then?” She considered where she was and added, “or at least in an library for the normal Castle staff? Shouldn’t it be in a safe or something?” “Mhh”she made and her heart skipped a beat when the book reacted to the sound and jumped a little bit on the table.

“Woah!” she half shouted in surprise and jumped a step back herself, seeing the book in return on the table again, moving itself so that it was now pointing with the bottom of its spine towards her, ready to be opened and read.

“No way I am going to open that book!” She shook her head heavily to get rid of the unpleasant shiver that run down her own spine. “That is far too creepy, even for my standards!”

She turned away from the table, ready to continue her search for another exit, when her ears peaked up and spun around. She had heard something and it wasn’t the book. She cowered on the ground and listened. There, there it was again, a light wave of wind and a strange noise with it. “Was that…” She listened more carefully, yes it was some sort of insect wings.

A sigh of relief escaped her mouth. Some sort of insect had found its way into the library, nothing more. Maybe a dragonfly, or something a little bit bigger considering the level of noise it caused. Really nothing an adult pony had to worry about.

Snowy was already moving on when she heard the noise again, nearer this time , still it came from somewhere deeper in the library.

“That is a little bit too loud for a simple bug,” she wondered. “Its sounds more like…” Whatever she may have come up with was forgotten when she saw a shadow flying by through the space between the books on her left side. It was as tall as an pony!

Fearfully, Snowy crouched down again and crawled around so her face was always in the direction she assumed the shadow was now at.

“What in Tartarus whas that?” The unpleasant shiver was back again and twice as strong. “I eat a broom if that is a bug!”

Whatever it was, it hadn’t noticed her now. It continued to fly through the way next to hers and disappeared in the shadows. It must have misinterpret her little shout as noise from that magical book.

“I don’t want to find out what this is, I just need to get out of here as quick as possible.” Setting slowly one hoof backwards behind the other, Snowy started to crawl back faster and faster. When she reached the next fork between the shelves, she turned around and , away from that thing. Now moving forward again, she dared to get a little bit more upward and sneaked onward.

She had passed two shelves when she heard the noise of insect wings coming her way again. Swiftly she crouched behind one of the edge boards and made herself as small as possible, pulling her tail under herself. She had learned from the encounter with the griffon commander.

The sound came closer and closer.

She held her breath and pressed her back against the wood. “Please don’t see me! Please don’t see me!”

A few seconds later the shadow passed her and she quickly looked away. What she had seen before was already enough for her and she was sure she wouldn’t be able to stay silent if she saw it eye to eye.

Pressing her eyes shut, she waited for the creature to move further away, but unfortunately it came to a stop just a few steps ahead. For a moment Snowy thought it had noticed her and she starting to panic innerly, but the creature soon moved on and flew up and down along the shelf, probably seeking something.

“What could a giant bug be searching for in a bookshelf?” Snowy wondered, but pushed that thought away.

She slowly rose from her spot, inch by inch she pushed herself up, using the bookshelf behind her for support. When she had got up enough to move her rear hooves, she sidestepped and then crawled backwards between the parallel line of shelves.

Step by step she moved that way, throwing nervous glances at whatever it is, not noticing the stack of books behind her till it was to late. One of her hooves kicked right into them. She turned around with a suppressed gasp and grabbed the wavering stack just in time before it could flip over.

“That was close!” Snowy dared another short look in the creature’s direction, but luckily it seemed to not have noticed her actions.

“Phew.” Turning her head back to the stack, she nearly had let out a gasp. The book at the top slid of the stack right in the moment her gaze hit it.

Reflexively, Snowy shoved her rear hoof under it and stopped it mid-air. It landed on its spine, but like books have it, it sprung open and released a cloud of dust while slowly sliding off her hoof.

“Oh no!”

With more skill than she thought she had, she wiggled with her leg and tilted the book to the left side, against the stack and held it there.

“That really was close, far too close!”

It was not easy, balancing on one leg, but she extended her hoof and grabbed the book, placing it back, whirling up even more dust. It itched her in the nose, but she couldn’t sneeze with the creature so near. . Several times she inhaled, but managed to hold it.

“My luck had striked again, phew!”

Snowy just shot a quick gaze back and then continued her attempt to sneak away unnoticed.

She didn't notice the pair of green eyes that followed her movement from the top of one of the bookshelves.

In the soothing knowledge that she got further away from the creature, Snowy allowed herself to calm down a bit and let her thoughts drift free. "Mysterious evil flowers, giant insects with a liking for books and an interior that is built up like a maze, hosting spies and thieves from other countries from time to time. Who could have thought Canterlot Castle would be such an interesting place?" A little smile formed on her lips. “The princess really can't complain about boredom, I guess. I wonder if she knows about what is going on in her Castle or not. Maybe this bug creature is some sort of pet? Or a guardian for the library? Why else would it be interested in books?"

Still in her thoughts, Snowy passed by another little dusty corridor between the bookshelves and turned right, further away from the creature. She only made it a few steps when a barely noticeable sound from the left suddenly caught her attention. She stopped and peaked up her ears.

“Strange, there was something,” she looked in the direction the noise came from and also let her ears search for it, “but now it is gone.” A glance back ensured her that everything was alright. “My nerves played a trick on me again, I really had enough action for one night. And I still have to face the griffons…”

She exhaled deeply while she trotted past the next bookshelf, when the sound appeared again. Only louder. “Wasn’t that the cracking of wood?” Snowy rubbed her ear, listening. The sounds was gone. After a second of wondering she looked on the ground. The floor was made of polished stone and couldn’t make such a sound.

A shiver ran down her spine. She knew she was putting distance away from the creature, but the unpleasant feeling still lingered in the back of her head.

Slower than before, her hooves found their way forward. She carefully watched her step, piercing the darkness before her.,.

Now with her senses focused on any noise, she could even hear her own hooves slightly scratching on the stone below her with each step. She walked on, her hooves softly falling on the ground. Strangely enough, everything was silent, her movements the only source of any sound.

“Why is it all quiet now? Not even the buzzing is to be heard anymore…

Her heartbeat accelerated. Was it possible that the creature just landed and was checking on the bottom line of the shelf? Or maybe it had found what it was looking for and left? Snowy once more spun around her ears, even turning around one time completely, still... silence.

“That is not good! Really not good! Still no reason to panic, not at all, stay calm Flöckchen, just trot on and get out of here.”

She began to move, but stopped dead in her tracks when the sound of a wooden board arose again, closely, very closely to her left. Slowly, degree after degree, she turned her head around, piercing the darkness behind her.

“Isn’t something moving there?”

She narrowed her eyes. Following every little moving shadow. Nothing.

She inhaled deeply and hold her breath, listening. Still nothing, just the next empty aisle.

Her hoof found its way on her chest and she exhaled deeply. "Just old wooden furniture cooling down in the beginning of the night, nothing special."

She noticed dust falling down on her hoof and shook it off. Forcing a little smile, she added in her thoughts, "Just that and a little bit of dust filling the air and sinking down. Absolutely normal for a library." Then she hesitated. "Is it?" Her gaze wandered up the bookshelf till its top.

It was empty.

"I am going to lose my mind, I am already seeing and hearing ghosts like the kitchen stuff! I need to get out of this spooky library! I..."

"Can I help you, sir?" A soft female voice interrupted her thoughts and scared her nearly to death. With a half suppressed scream, Snowy jumped backwards and fell over one of the seats. It flipped over, Snowy crushing into a bookshelf, an avalanche of books streaming over her.

"Are you alright? the voice was to hear through the books. "Have you hurt yourself?" She stepped nearer. "Wait, I will help you out of this mess."

"Another pony!" Snowy's thoughts raced quickly. "What a relief! No, wait, maybe she is in danger now too, who knows if she is aware of that creature? The creature! It must have heard us!" With a mighty kick she burst out of the books. "Quick!" She turned to the other mare. "We must get out of here before.... " The rest of her sentence got stuck in her throat, replaced by an ongoing scream from the top of her lungs when her gaze met the other 'pony'.

Instead of a mare she saw something that must have been created in the deepest parts of Tartarus and the darkest corner of her nightmares. She couldn't stop screaming. Even Nightmare Moon couldn't have come up with something more scary than what stood right before Snowy at this very moment.

An ugly bunch of random insect parts was hovering in the air, held together by shimmering of magic and forming some sort of pony-shaped body. And this monster spoke!

Snowy didn't know how, it didn't have a mouth, but it still spoke! Though, the words didn't make it to her with her own screaming drowning any other sound, reaching unexpected heights when the monster moved closer.

Right before it reached her, Snowy shook the paralysing terror off, grabbed the nearest book and threw it forcefully in the monster’s ‘face’

It made a loud ‘hishh’ and stepped back.

Encouraged by her success, Snowy grabbed one book after another and threw them.

"Get away from me! Get away and back to Tartarus, you Discord spawn!" she yelled.

It took back another step. Hope raised in her chest, and was erased when the monster stepped forward again. It approached her with another louder ‘hishh’.

"Stop this!" it demanded. "Stop this at once!"

“In tarnation, no!” With a quick look at the darkness behind her, Snowy stepped back.

"I don't want to... " the creature dodged another book, "harm you! I only," it jumped out of the way of another book, "want to talk to you!"

"Stay back!" the false Dustfree yelled. And when the creature didn't stop, the mare grabbed one of the shelves and pulled with all her strength. Unfortunately, instead of causing the bookshelf to fall, only the board cracked and Snowy landed on her flank with a piece of wood in her hooves.

"Stay where you are!" she yelled, swinging the plank threateningly. "I will hurt you if you come any closer!" Her voice echoed through the library.

The creature seemed to look to both sides, Snowy wasn’t sure.

"Calm down! And shut up!"

"I shall shut up?" Snowy screamed. "Then get away from me!"

"Arg! Enough is enough!" the monster complained and with a shimmer, it turned into something between a pony and a giant bug.

"That must be what Cool had called a bugpony!"

The changeling hissed one more time, baring its fangs. Then he shot a few bolts of magic out of its tiny horn, blasting the plank, Snowy threw out of the air. "I really tried to play nice with you, little pony, but you leave me no choice. You will have more than enough time to explain why you obviously were able to see that I am not what I pretended to be, as soon as you are imprisoned in the hive." And without any other warning it shot a lance straight at Snowy, hitting her right in the chest.

Of course that didn't affect the mare in the slightest and the smile that had started to form on the changelings mouth froze.

"How can you... ?" the bugpony wondered. "How is that possible?" It shot once more, to the same effect. The pony didn't even try to dodge the attack, she only stepped further back and when it reached the next transition, she turned around and ran.

Instead of chasing the pony at once, the changeling stood there baffled, while the pony got a good headstart.

Without care for any secretiveness, Snowy galloped as fast as she could, hopefully in the direction of the exit. Bookshelf after bookshelf she passed, more or less randomly changing the direction at each transition. At her speed, it was difficult to take the turns. Her hooves slipped and she crushed into a bookshelf. The whole thing shook for a second, threatening to fall and bury her under it. Jumping up, Snowy prepared to kick it back in place, but it stopped wobbling by itself. Not spending another thought about it, she burst forward. Soon the exit came to sight. Increasing her speed one final time, she made it to the exit... almost.

In the moment she burst through the door, something forcefully crashed in her back. Snowy fell and rolled onwards, shaking off the thing. Both collided with the wall. While Snowy stayed mostly unharmed, the chair splintered.

“Good to be an earth pony sometimes.”

However, she wasn't out of danger. Before she could get up, the changeling already shot through the door, charging at her.

Its sharp fangs glittered in the moonlight, its hooves ready to strike. Snowy’s gaze fell on the broken chair. It almost reached her, triumph flaring in its eyes. Snowy grabbed a chair leg, swinging it like a bat. Right in its face. One of its fangs broke, its head shot back and its attack failed. Its hooves passed Snowy by only a few inches but the rest of its body crushed right into her pressing all air out of her lungs.

Now pain and anger filled its hissing. But it didn’t keep it from attacking her. Recovering faster than Snowy, it punched and kicked her. Still breathless, Snowy barely fended off its attacks. It was quick, its strikes strong. They both rolled over the ground entangled. Despite its skill, it wasn’t able to subdue the pony.

At the same moment they broke away from each other. Snowy swiftly got up, panting quickly. The changeling just growled angrily. It wasn’t panting nor sweating. He started to circle her. His head held low, both wings kept hold tight to the body. His blue eyes sought any weak spot in her defence.

Suddenly it burst forward, jumping up, turning into something else midair. This way, it crushed into her defence and screamed in pain when Snowy’s touch turned back some parts of its body.

Instinctively he turned back completely, as far as he could. Pain and shock still was on his mind and body, preventing him to realise what unfavorable position he had brought himself in. Right on Snowy's rear hooves. With a strong buck, she kicked him off and against the wall.

Rolling back on her belly, Snowy gave him a quick glance, hoping he had enough. But that Changeling was tough, he already stood up again!

"How much can he take? That kick was enough to knock out a buffalo!" She rose up. Her gaze shot between him and the stairwell. With his recovery rate and general swiftness it would be a close call but she was sure to make it. Without hesitation she headed for the exit. Instantly he chased her, but the impact against the wall must have hurt him worse than it seemed. She sped up a little bit more. Soon, the stairwell came into sight and she had to slow down to not crush right into the pillar behind the door. Before she could pass the door however, another horrible creature, mercifully covered in the shadow of the stairwell, appeared in it, blocking the way.

She was trapped!

“He can see through our disguise!" came the shout from her persecutor.

"But you can't see through mine," Snowy thought. Finally she remembered what Cool had said about this creature. With what she had experienced herself, she knew what this waving of air and strange, also horrible appearance she saw, meant. They use magic to copy a pony’s body, but unlike Snowy’s own shapeshifting, theirs needed magic to keep the new form up.

That explained what trouble he had to attack her the moment before. Still thinking how she could use that to her favour, the changeling behind her added, “And he can force you out of your shape!”

“Sneak!”

This way warned, the changeling in the door approached her carefully. His comrade also slowed down and coordinated his approach with him. Both creatures now came closer, slowly, not allowing the pony in their middle to escape.

Snowy stepped back till she stood with her flank to the wall. The changelings now lowered their heads, baring their fangs.

The mare gulped. "Time to make this fight a little more equal." Various shapes flowed through her mind, one deadlier than another, till…

"I can't do that!" Doubts flooded her mind.

The changeling came closer and closer. Only a few steps till they reached her.

"I… I can’t!"

Spreading their wings, the changelings were ready to pounce.

That settled it. For a second, Snowy was covered in green flames. When the fire vanished, she stood there in another shape. One far more capable in matters of self defense.

Her front hooves were now sharp claws. Her rear hooves had turned into paws. Around her neck was a thick layer of feathers. They covered her frontside down till her claws, protecting it from bites and scratches.

Before the changelings stood now the former commander of the griffons.

This threw them into confusion for a second, forcing them to step back, but they overcame it quickly.

"He must be from another tribe!" one said.

"I didn't know another hive was acting here?" said the other.

"I didn't know either, but there is no other explanation, ponies can't shapeshift like we can, no way!"

"We can discuss that later, first we should capture him and take him to the hive, our hive." the changeling on her left side spoke again.

"Agreed," his comrade answered and they approached the griffon.

In her attempt to threaten them, Snowy tried to scream like a griffon would. Loud and shrill, but all she managed to do was a halfway done caw. She had no clue how to use the beak of a griffon correctly.

“What was that?” the right changeling asked with a smirk. “Is your queen too weak to teach you how to use the bodies of different species correctly?”

“Really a shame,” the other changeling mocked. “But makes our day much easier.”

“I arn ou!” Snowy managed to say, still trying to find out how to speak in her new shape.

A little laughter was all she got for an answer, just before the changelings pounced in perfect synchrony at her.

Luckily, the speaking organs of a griffon may differ from that of a pony a lot, but the limbs work nearly the same. With a quick slide to the side, supported by her wings, Snowy evaded one of the changelings and striked at the other with her claw. He dodged and instead of a good hit to the face, her claw only scratched over its side, leaving only a small scratch.

“Their natural armour is thick!” Snowy thought, ducking under a counter punch of her opponent's rear hoof. Not the best choice. It used its momentum to place a good hit into her side with its other hoof, which she couldn’t avoid. She rolled over and before she could even get up again, the other changeling jumped on her belly, striking at her head.

She took a painful hit to the cheek, but now it paid off that she had chosen to be a griffon. Her claws were not only able to block the following punches, but also able to grab his hooves. When she increased the strength of her grip, her talons began to bore into its armour. It hissed and tried to break free, pulling her off the ground with strong flaps of its wings.. Snowy let go of him as soon as she stood on her own paws again and turned to its ally who was just about to ram her.

With a quíck flap of her own wings she faked to fly up. The changeling had expected that and jumped up itself to catch her midair, but Snowy turned around her wings and pushed herself down on the ground, letting the changeling fly over her, placing a heavy kick at its belly.

It crushed into one of the statues, going down with it in a loud clutter. She wasn’t able to celebrate her small victory, its comrade already going for another attack. This time it striked at her legs. Snowy stepped back, evading its attack. But when it touched the ground, it instantly sent another series of kicks at her, pushing her back further and further with each one. Then she failed at blocking one and was swept off her paws.

With a triumphant hiss, it jumped up and stomped it hoof at her face. Barely, Snowy rolled to the side in the last moment. But she couldn’t evade, only half block its next kick in her side,.The kick was enough to send her flying a few meters away,. She crashed hard on the ground.

Even in the shape of the griffon commander, with his well trained and muscular body, the pain was terrible. Only the thought of getting foalnapped and beeing abducted to some sort of bug hive let her come up on her paws again. Pressing one claw to her side, she faced the changeling.

It smiled.

“Just let it happen,” it said ina comforting male voice, “you will wake up in the hive, safe and sound, if, you surrender now.” He gave his comrade a look who started to struggle free from the rubble of the statue and its equipment. “See, you can’t win against us. Surrender, now!”

“I will not!” Snowy replied. “Better you turn around and run before I hurt you!” She underlined her demand with a growl.

“You must be kidding,” the changeling said, “but if you don’t want to listen, you have to learn it the hard way. I will not ask again nicely.”

Steadying herself, Burning Snowflake removed the claw from her side and rose up to her full height spreading her paws and raised her claws, ready to strike at her attackers.

Without intention, her lips curled up into a smile. ”Then come and get me!”

Exchanging a confused look, both changelings lowered their heads, growling. Ignoring her threatening talons, they came closer, baring their fangs.

With each step, the growl raised in volume, reaching its peak just before they were ready to strike and spread their wings.

In the very moment they were ready to pounce, one of them yelled in shock and pain.

A pony-long spear stuck in his flank all of the sudden.

The Royal Guard had finally showed up.

Past sins

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“At least they have an explanation for the incident in the kitchen now,” Snowy thought as she let her gaze wander over the armored Night Guards escorting her. “A shame that those changelings got away. Still, with them here, they may distract the guards enough so I won’t have to worry so much about the castle staff looking into why I’m here at the moment. They’ll be blamed for playing the ghost and scaring the kitchen personal too. If I am lucky, they may give me the time to get out before they investigate my case here.”

As soon as the guards had arrived and managed to spear one of them, both changelings wasted no time in fleeing. To Snowy’s surprise, the injured one had just pulled out the weapon from himself, turned around, and fled back into the library, while his comrate deflected the volley of spears the guards threw at them.

Snowy’s gaze stopped at the fluffy ears of the stallion to her right. “These guys may look cute, but they take their jobs seriously. They didn’t even need to talk about what to do. Half of them chased after the changelings while the other half surrounded me.”

It wasn’t the best feeling to see half a dozen spears pointing at her, but the discipline these stallions showed deserved respect.

When it was clear that she wasn't a threat, two of them had lowered their spears. One, to turn around and inform somepony higher in rank, the other to inspect her closer. Diplomatically, he told her he was going to check her for any injuries, but Snowy was sure he was mainly just searching her for weapons. Why else would he have brushed through her feathers with a hoof? Though, with her having trouble speaking correctly in this form, both possibilities could have been correct to a degree.

Be it as it may, it didn’t take long till somepony higher in rank arrived, and it was a lieutenant. Wasting no time, he demanded he be informed on what was going on. The guards quickly told him about the changelings, which was the official name for those creatures, and, that Snowy had been discovered in a forbidden library.
Quickly, she began to think up an excuse as to why she was there and why she had been engaged in a fight with some changelings. Fortunately for her though, such an excuse wasn’t necessary. In the short and effective way of the Night Guard, the lieutenant had sent her back to the guest quarters along with a small escort so she didn’t get ‘lost’ on her way there.

“Clearly he mistook me for a diplomat or somegriffon from their staff. Probably somegriffon too high in rank for his pay grade. Either way, I’m glad he didn’t start questioning me, I’m not too sure I would have been able to talk my way out of that. Still, I’m sure he will inform his captain immediately, and then his captain will inform Princess Celestia.” She groaned. “I am sooo running out of time!”

“Keep quiet!” one of the guards said.

Snowy gave him a quick look before falling silent again. She might be taller than them at the moment, but the respect ponies showed to the bat ponies of the Night Guard was still ingrained into her subconscious.

It wasn’t as though she feared them, she respected them because she had no idea what they were like. That did not count for many ponies though, most feared them, even if only a bit, since only a very few worked with them during the nights and it is easier to fear what you don’t know. And, given how distant the bat ponies are in general, they didn’t encourage to know them better either.

Snowy had to wonder a bit if this was because all of them were stallions though, with mares in the Night Guard, surely some stallions would approach them and there would be more social interaction which would ease things over time. Well, that only was, if they are not as distant as their stallions are.

“Maybe I should visit Hollow Shades one day and find out for myself?” Her gaze landed on the fluffy ears again. “I really should visit that village one day.” She rubbed over her beak. “Mhh, I wonder if they sleep upside down?” She shook her head and sighed. “I should stop thinking about that, it is a nice distraction, but there are far more important things going on.”

When her thoughts turned back to the griffons, her heartbeat quickly sped up. She was well aware that she had no clue how she was supposed to act. She tried to remember how the griffon she was impersonating had acted, but all that served to do was make her more nervous.

Taking a deep breath, she focused back on her surroundings. Though, whatever she saw, did not help her calm down, neither the carpets with their unsettling dark shades of crimson nor the cold stone walls eased her nerves. If at all, the hallways they passed through felt like decor from a dungeon.The castle almost seemed to be taunting her as she made her way to fool some griffons.

Even the few ponies they passed weren’t really a distraction. They gave the group a look before moving out of the way, only to return to what they were doing when the group had passed.

Neither a griffon nor the Night Guard was worth much consideration these days.

The only one who seemed the least bit interested was the courtier who had been following them for a while now. Though, based on how he was moving, Snowy guessed that he was more in trying to get past them than in figuring out what was going on. And based on the way he was positioning himself, he seemed to be expecting them to move to the side and allow him to be on his way. He kept his distance though, not willing to interfere with her guards, and as far as she could tell, he seemed to be heading in the same direction as they were.

“The court and its fashion… I wonder who comes up with this stuff? His green mask is kind of artistic I’ll admit, but his red cape totally clashes with the carpet. He looks like a walking tomato, complete with the stalk.” She tried to snort, but only managed to chirp.

“Silence,” her escort repeated.

***

Three quick and heavy knocks, that was all the guardpony had to do. For Snowy, however, it felt like a giant bell had been rung throughout the corridor.

They had reached the guest quarters without any further incident and now stood before the wooden door of one of the rooms. For it was quite late now, she had a brief grace period before anygriffon would open the door. Unfortunately, she could already hear sounds coming from behind it.

Snowy felt the need to wipe the sweat that had started to form on her forehead. She looked at her wet claw irritated. Sweating… that wasn’t something she experienced every day.

When pawsteps neared the door, Snowy hectically dried her claw against her feathers.

“Okay, okay, just stay calm.” She straightened up and stroked her feathers to put them in place. “You are a commander of the griffons at the moment, Flöckchen, act like one.”

The steps were now at the door.

“Can’t anyone stay in peace for just once here?” a grumpy male voice ranted. “Stupid ponies with your stupid issues!”

“Right, just be a mean brute and everypony… uhm, creature will buy it.”

“Royal Guard! Open the door!” the pony who had knocked demanded.

“Urg, what it is this time, huh?” The key was turned and the door opened. “Have you ever heard of a night’s rest? Don’t ponies need sleep too?”

The elderly griffon holding a burning candle opened the door and raised the itto inspect the unwelcome visitors. When the light fell on Snowy, or more accurately, the griffon she was impersonating, the candle slipped out of his claw and hit the floor. Wax spread over the ground as it rolled away, till one of the guards stopped it with a hoof and picked it up.

“You should be more careful, sir,” the guard said and offered the candle back to the griffon. The griffon, however, didn’t notice. His gaze hung on Snowy.

“Sir, your candle,” the guardspony tried again.

“You, you are alive?” the griffon whispered, ignoring the guard and stepping out of the door. Slowly, he lifted up his claw as if he wanted to touch Snowy’s face, but just before he made contact, he hesitated.
Unintentionally, Snowy pulled her head back, just an inch, but enough to break the griffon’s focus. He lowered his claw and shook his head, turning his attention back to the guards. Giving them a short look, he fell back into his rude, unfriendly behaviour and grabbed the candle out of the guard’s hoof.

“Ponies!” he spat out and nodded towards the door. “Get in, Glee, I’ll take care of whatever,” he looked down over the guards till his eyes stopped at the one who was in charge, “the issue is this time.”

It normally would have slipped Snowy’s attention, but the fact that this griffon was able to identify the guard in charge with just a quick look combined with her knowledge that some of them weren’t diplomats… she knew what he was.

“Your subordinate was found in a restricted area of the castle,” the guard in charge said. “I’ll have you know, even if you are guests at Canterlot Castle, this…”

“Yeah, yeah,” the griffon interrupted him with a wave of his claw. “I am sure getting lost while trying to find the restroom in this maze of a castle is a major crime.”

“Excuse me,” the guard said in an accusatory tone, “we both know he didn’t get lost on his way to the restroom.”

The griffon laid one claw on Snowy’s shoulder and pushed her towards the door to their quarters. “I don’t like what you’re implying there, soldier. You better not exceed your competencies.”

“Don’t worry, sir,” the pony said disdainfully, “Princess Celestia will investigate this incident herself. You don’t have to worry about my opinion.”

“Good,” the griffon nodded, though, as anyone watching him close enough could tell, the statement somewhat worried him. But before it became too obvious, he managed to cover up those emotions behind a straight face. “If you would excuse us now.” Without waiting for a further explanation, he turned around and pushed Snowy through the door. “I am sure this minor problem can wait till tomorrow.”

“Wait!” Stepping forward and blocking the griffon’s path with a hoof, the guard added, “You better prepare for an audience with Her Highness. I am sure she will send for you soon.”

“If you say so.” Now the griffon’s gaze lowered menacingly towards the guard’s hoof.

Reluctantly, Resistant Iron lowered it.

Without another word, the griffon entered the quarters and closed the door forcefully behind him.

Once the door was closed behind him, the griffon pressed his head against it, listening.

“Well… “ Snowy started, but he just raised his claw, gesturing for her to be silent.

“Wait till they are gone.”

Snowy had no choice but to do as he said. But now that she was no longer the center of attention, she could feel her tension lowering a bit.

She wasn’t able to hear the guards herself and instead used the time to take a look around. From what she could see in the dim light of some candles, the quarters assigned to the griffons were pretty large and comfortable. A lot of small padded chairs were placed around the soft, light blue carpet covering the floor. Somepony had also gone to the trouble of placing some fresh flowers around the main room. Luckily none of the blue ones from the kitchen.

While her gaze drifted around, the griffon stepped back from the door.

“It should be safe now,” he said as he turned around and quickly came closer. Just a few steps before he reached her, he suddenly opened his wings and jumped at her. Taken by surprise, Snowy wasn’t able to raise her claws quick enough to fend him off and got embraced by his wings.

Fortunately, it wasn’t an attack.

It took her a second to notice it was a hug though as she struggled to get out of it at first.

“Let an old griffon have his will for once, Glee.” A tear rolled down the griffon’s face. “I know you hate hugs, but, chick, we… I thought you were dead.”

Realising what was happening, Snowy gave up trying to resist.

“He must have been friends with the commander, or was it his commander? No, not his commander, he had a name, Glee.” A little bit of regret mixed into her thoughts, though she was aware that she didn’t have much of a choice that day.

“I… I am not so easy to kill,” she said in an attempt to calm his feelings down. She patted his back. “Thanks for worrying about me though.”

“That is what a father does when his chick is missing, Glee. No matter how old you get, or how skilled you are, I always worry about you when you are on a mission.”

Snowy froze when he said ‘father’. Guilt tied her throat. Was she really being hugged by the father of the griffon she killed?”

“Oh boy,” the griffon continued, “I already wrote Galigaria that you were missing, Glee, it will be a relief when she hears you are back!” He stepped back and released Snowy from his embrace. “I am sure she’s as worried as I was, it…” Now he noticed the tear that had formed in Snowy’s eye. “Heh, can’t remember seeing you drop a tear since you were a little chick.” He tilted his head and caught her gaze. “Was a really close one this time, wasn’t it?”

Unable to hold his gaze, Snowy just looked at the ground, gulping and nodding softly.

For a moment there was silence, till the older griffon sighed compassionately. “Hmm, I can remember the first time I almost died on mission. It can really be shattering, can’t it?” He placed his claw on Snowy’s shoulder. “You will get over it, don’t worry. Just don’t make the same mistake I did afterwards.”

Now Snowy looked up into his eyes questioningly.

“Well,” he removed his claw from her shoulder and rubbed his neck, “I told your mom about it.”

The confusion on Snowy’s face told him he needed to explain a little bit more.

“See, after I told her, she went nuts. She made me choose, either I stay in the secret service or stay with her.” He waved his claw. “I was able to convince her that it would be enough if I quit the dangerous missions, though, it was the end of my adventurous life as a first line agent. Don’t make the same mistake I did, just tell Galigaria some weird story and spare her the parts that would make her heart heavy from sorrow, it will be for the best.”

“Sure…” Snowy replied and returned her gaze to the floor.

“First time is always the hardest, I heard at least.” Now he smiled. “But enough of this sentimental talk, come.” He spread a wing and pointed deeper into their quarters. “Let us celebrate your return with a good glass of golden cider, and then you can tell me what happened.”

He stepped a bit forward, passed Snowy, and entered the hallway behind her.

“Heh, I am sure the others will be most curious were you have been too. Was really some chaos when Gobbo and Gurdo came back after that firefighter must have ignited the explosives.” His gaze went back to his ‘son’. “Well, that's what they assumed must have happened, since what the newspaper wrote was nonsense through and through. I don’t think it was you who blew up the explosives on accident, right?”

Slowly, Snowy followed him, keeping some distance. “No,” she gulped, “not accidentally.”

“What do you mean, not accidentally?” He raised an eyebrow. “You did blow them up on purpose?”

“Yes… I mean no!” She came to a stop next to him. “It was the fire… the pony, the firefighting pony.” She wiped away a tear. “She freed herself somehow and tried to flee. I had to stop her… I… I...” she trailed off and started to sob.

“Now, now, Glee,” the older griffon started and extended his wing to embrace her once more, but Snowy quickly raised her own wing to hold him back. She wasn’t able to endure another hug from the dead griffon’s father.

“It is alright, Glee.” He lowered his wing and took a seat on the ground, giving Snowy time to recover a bit before he spoke again. “I know, we never talked about it, but was she your first? I mean, she is dead, isn’t she?”

***

Dragonbite Castle, present

“Urg, not this old story again!” Licorice complained. Unnoticed by Twilight and Climber, the nurse had entered the infirmary again. She rolled her eyes and snorted. “So much grief and guilt just because Glee had tried to kill her and she killed him instead in self-defence.”

“Licorice!” The baron turned his head to her. “This is quite a rude and unwelcome interruption, where are your manners?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “Also my kids are sleeping, calm your voice.”

“I am not in the mood for your delicate manners today, Climber.” Licorice rubbed her temples. “I have a really bad headache, haven’t slept right for days, and,” she moved towards them, “now a stupid alicorn had to try and hurt herself when I finally had the chance to get some rest.”

“Hey!” Twilight protested, slightly louder than usual. “Obviously that was an accident. And I’m not some ‘stupid alicorn’ either!”

Meanwhile Climber was still trying to recover from the shock of what he had just heard. When he realized Licorice had really called the princess stupid, he leapt from his chair.

“How dare you!” he shouted, ignoring his own demand to stay quiet. “Princess Twilight is a guest at my house, I forbid you to speak to her in that tone!”

Woken by his shout, Distant Shine and Cave Light raised their heads, looking for the source of the commotion.

“I said, I am not in the mood for your civility tonight, Climber. Just be a good colt, sit down, and keep your mouth shut while I check on our stupid alicorn.”

Licorice made an attempt to trot to the side of Twilight’s bed, only to be blocked by the baron.

“I demand a reason for your behaviour at once!” he yelled at her.

With a little wince of pain, Licorice pressed a hoof to her temple again. “Just get out of the way, Climber! We don’t have time for that, neither am I interested in apologizing.”

The nurse tried to push Climber out of the way, but he grabbed her hoof instead, holding her in place… before instantly letting go when Licorice presented her fangs only inches in front of his face, hissing loudly.

“Not, in, the, mood!” she spat as Climber stumbled backwards. “Sit there,” she pointed at the free chair, “and stay silent! Why do you have to make things complicated all the time?” she added and pressed a hoof to her forehead.

“You!” Climber nearly swallowed his tongue as he stumbled backward. “You… here… “ He stopped, unsure what to say next.

His children knew exactly what to do. When they saw the fangs, they immediately realised who was standing there in front of them.

“Grandmother!” Distant Shine yelled. “Grandmother, you are finally here!” He struggled free from Twilight’s wing and jumped out of the bed, rushing over to ‘Licorice’, his sister right on his hooves.

Ignoring the scolding his father had gotten, Distant Shine placed his hooves on the mare’s chest and looked up to her.

“Grandmother!” he repeated and hugged her.

Despite growling at the colt’s father just seconds ago, the mare was now purring.

Cave Light on the other hoof had stopped only a step away from her and was hesitating. She was about to curtsey when her grandmother just slightly shook her head and extended her hoof. Cave Light blushed and joined the hug.

The purring became louder.

With a little shake of her body, Burning Snowflake let harmless green flames roll over her body before she returned to her normal shape. Including her soft wings, which she used to embrace the little ones closer.

“Grandma?” Distant Shine asked.

“Mhh?”

“Dad was just about to tell us how you outsmarted those mean griffons again.” He stopped to rub his head against Snowy and looked up to her. “Can you tell us the story instead please? Please? You were there yourself!”

“Distant… “ Snowy began, but her great-grandson, surely with a few more greats before it, interrupted her before she could finish.

“Please!” He quickly stomped his rear hooves. “Please, please, please!”

While she couldn’t suppress another deep purr at this cute behaviour, Snowy had to decline. “Another time, Distant Shine.” She nuzzled him. “For now, I must care for the stupidest alicorn in all of Equestria.” Her gaze landed on Twilight, who started to feel very uncomfortable.

“She isn’t that bad,” Cave Light interjected. “Princess Twilight’s been nice and friendly since she’s gotten here.” She stepped back and took a quick look at Twilight and then turned back to Snowy. “Why are you angry at her, grandma?”

“Because,” Snowy’s voice softened again, “Twilight Sparkle not only tried her best to hurt herself and ruin my rest. No. She also,” and now her voice dripped with anger, “threw Charming Gaze around! The little one had done nothing to earn such harsh treatment!” At the last words Snowy’s gaze hung on Twilight again, piercing her with it.

“Who is Charming Gaze?” Distant Shine asked while pulling at Snowy’s wingtip.

“My cockatrice,” Snowy explained, softly freeing her wing from his grasp. “He’s still shaken from what she did! He lost some feathers too!”

Now Twilight visibly shrunk under Snowy’s gaze. “I am sorry, really,” she said.

Switching his gaze between his grandmother and the princess several times, Distant Shine was first baffled, then indignant.

“How can you throw grandmother’s cockatrice around, Twilight!” he scolded. “That is sooo mean!” He rushed to the bed and grabbed Sev, getting him out of Twilight’s reach.

“I knew it was a bad idea,” Twilight said, “I was panicking a little bit, I am sorry, truly.”

“That is no excuse!” Snowy walked to the side of the bed. “But we will talk about that later, we need to deal with your magic system first.”

“Burning Snowflake,” Climber started, but Snowy raised a hoof.

“Later, Climber,” she said and gestured towards his chair.

It was clear to see how hard it was for the baron to not only stay silent, but to also do as he was told. He suppressed his urge and took a seat as ordered.

With him out of the way, Burning Snowflake focused back on Twilight.

“Since I was told you were stupid enough to approach the source of my antimagic field, ignoring the fact that you are a magical creature, do tell, how is your head feeling? Any problems with casting magic, more than usual around here?”

Twilight gave her an unsure look. “A magical creature?” she repeated. “That would count for any unicorn to a degree. I wonder, what has that to do with it?”

Snowy simply rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples once more. “Yes, and that is why unicorns shouldn’t go near it. Alicorns however, really shouldn’t go near it, at all. Your whole body is flooded with magic, your body is depending on it.”

“Technically…” Twilight started, but was silenced by a growl.

“I know how it works, filly!” Snowy spat out. “Urg, my head is aching enough even without you trying to be smart here. Just listen, filly, your body depends on the magic you have, and by trotting blindly into my antimagic field, you nearly killed yourself.”

Now the surrounding members of the Snowflake family hung on Snowy’s every word, the fact that the princess had almost killed herself wasn’t something they had expected.

“You’re surely exaggerating, aren’t you, grandma?” Cave Light asked. “The princess wasn’t really in danger, or?” She moved to Snowy’s side and looked up at her. “If so, you would have prevented her from finding the source, wouldn’t you?”

Snowy shook her head, slightly. “I can’t keep watch over everything in our home, I have other things to do than play foalsitter for some alicorn.”

“But she could have been killed! You said that yourself,” Cave Light inquired.

“Stupidity kills ponies, I can’t prevent that,” Snowy said and ruffled Cave Light’s mane. “I tried that for centuries, it doesn’t work all the time.” Now her gaze became softer. “And I really have other things to do than keep my eyes on what's going on in the castle all day. I have others to do that for me.”

“But, but what if somepony else’s search for it was successful?” Cave Light asked, worried. “Grandma, that is just irresponsible!”

“A little more trust would be nice, Cave Light,” Snowy said patiently. “No unicorn would be in danger, except for maybe a mighty headache. Only alicorns, and very stupid ones at that, are in danger. I would have thought that Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic, would have been a bit more clever.”

Now Snowy sighed deeply. “And of course, some ponies have found the source before, it is not like I actively try to hinder them.” She snorted. “Be it as it may, we must fix the damage before it becomes irreversible.”

“Irreversible?” Twilight asked. “I am feeling just a bit exhausted, that's all. No need to make a fuss about it.”

“You were screaming in agony on the floor, if I was told right, then fell unconscious and had to be carried to the exit of the tunnels, right?” Without waiting for an answer, Snowy continued, “And now, nearly a day later, you are too weak to leave the infirmary or even stand up, correct?”

“Uhm, I am just a bit exhausted, like I said though, I thought you carried me out of the tunnels?” Twilight asked.

“No, I kept your stay here in mind, but honestly, it wasn’t in my interests to watch over you. There are others that do that.”

“Others?” Twilight asked.

“You have your own spies here, grandmother?” Distant Shine added.

“Not spies, Distant Shine, friends.” She gave him a warm smile. “Helping me watch after my family.” Snowy shook her head slightly and closed her eyes for a moment when the headache struck again. “Though, there are more stakeholders involved than just me and my friends. The international struggle is still going on.”

“Who?” Now it was Climber’s turn to ask as he rose from his chair. He gave his ancestor an apologetic look. “My apologies, I know you are in a hurry, but this seems very important. Is there anything I should know about what's going on here? Who is acting on our family’s home?”

Now Snowy chuckled despite her headache and soon began to really laugh. “Oh if you knew, oh if you only knew.”

“Uhm,” Climber hesitated while he re-considered how to address his ancestor correctly. “Snowy…” he started slowly, looking for any sign of disapproval, and when he received none, continued, “I really should know about such things, I am responsible for the family, I am leading the Snowflakes.” His voice was a mixture of pride and care for his family.

“Aww,” Snowy cooed, “look at my big grandson.” She moved over to him and gave him a motherly embrace. “As if I’d let any bad guy roam around our home freely. Don’t worry, Climber, just a few groups with various interests. Nothing to worry about,” she said before whispering in his ear. “Whoever dares to come to harm our family will deeply regret it.”

A little bit surprised and unsure, Climber looked Snowy in the eyes, thinking about what she had just implied. Then he looked over to his children and nodded; family came first, after all.

“I see you understand.” She smiled. “Now, let me care for Twilight Sparkle,” she said aloud again, “before a certain white alicorn thinks we harmed her on purpose.”

At the mentioning of Celestia, Twilight remembered what Fang, the baron’s treasurer, had told her about Burning Snowflake and her mentor.

“You and Celestia, right!” Twilight shouted, and with a spark of anger, she turned to Snowy, “I heard you attacked her!”

A long stare was all she received as a reply, though, Twilight wouldn’t let it go so easily staring daggers at Snowy all the while..

“Did you seriously tell the truth?” she asked again.

It was clear for all to see that this question was deeply uncomfortable for the baron. He was torn between his loyalty to the Princess, and giving her his full support, and his loyalty to Burning Snowflake.. He wished that he was anywhere else at this moment, preferably somewhere were nocreature asked uncomfortable questions..

His ancestor, however, was not so torn. Silently, she let her gaze hang on Twilight, fighting their staring match to the end.

One moment passed, then another. Neither of the two mares were willing to give in. Finally, it was Cave Light who broke the silence.

“Grandma,” she brought the attention to herself, “dad says he doesn’t know what happened between you and Princess Celestia for sure. Did you really wound Her Highness?”

“What happened between me and Celestia only concerns me and her,” Snowy answered, still keeping her gaze on Twilight. “You may ask her, if you want to know what happened, I am curious myself what she will have to say.”

“That isn’t an answer,”Twilight said.

“I have said what I wanted, filly. Ask your friend, if you want to know her version of events,” Snowy replied.

“Surely Celestia is to blame!” Distant Shine commented, holding Sev tightly. “Has she thrown Charming Gaze too?” he asked.

“Distant Shine!” his father scolded him. “Don’t speak of things you know nothing about!”

“Shhh.” Snowy redirected her attention to both Climber and Distant Shine. When she was sure they would stay silent, she walked back to the bed and faced Twilight eye to eye.

“I’ve known your friend a few centuries longer than you’ve been alive, filly, what I and her had to deal with in the past is our concern, not yours. Still, we have to care for something more important right now.”

“I don’t want the help from an enemy of Celestia, thank you!” Twilight declined rudely, her wings had opened just a bit.
“And I won’t let her prized pupil leave my family's castle magically crippled,” Snowy stated.

“Magically crippled?” Now a spark of fear mixed into Twilight’s voice.

“Your magic system has been damaged, that was what caused you so much pain and knocked you out, Twilight Sparkle,” Snowy said. “And your body is trying to repair the damage at this very moment, leaving you exhausted. The problem is that you are still in the area of the effect and your body can’t gather enough magic to do the repairs properly, this will lead to it switching to survival mode.”

“What does that mean?” Twilight asked, unwilling to trust Snowy just yet, but driven by her growing concern.

“It will heal, but like any broken bone that’s crooked, it won’t fix itself properly. Your magic won’t work as good as before if that happens.”

A shiver ran down Twilight’s spine.

“Normally I would let you have your way and allow you to face the consequences, but since you are at my home, your stupidity would fall back on my family in Celestia's eyes. And I will not let that happen,” Snowy made clear.

“Wait,” Twilight’s head shot up “I was already under such a field in the past and it did nothing to harm my magic.”

“You’re referring to the changeling hive I assume?” Burning Snowflake asked.

“Yes.”

“From what I have heard, their field absorbed every actively summoned magic in the air and not actively drained your personal one. Their field is different from mine, like my shapeshifting is from theirs.”

“And how exactl…” Twilight started but Snowy cut her short.

“You can make a study about it later, filly, for now we need to fix the problem, not discuss magic theory.”

After a moment of hesitation, Twilight gave in. She didn’t want to get the Snowflakes blamed or to have her magical system permanently damaged. Though, she was sure she could fix the problem herself and find the differences once she had a good night rest at her own castle anyway.

“Alright, we can settle the other problem later,” Twilight admitted. “What do we have to do now?”

“We have to get you out of the area of the effect for a while,” Snowy said. “Not long, only a few minutes should be enough, but it will not be pleasant when all your magic comes back forcefully and repairs your system in one heavy blow.”

At the word ‘pleasant’ Climber’s ears peaked up. “Snowy?” he started.

“Mhh?” The orange mare spun her head towards him.

“You weren’t Licorice, I mean it wasn’t you who left with my wife, or?”

“No, Climber, I haven’t seen Smelly in the last few hours,” Snowy said after a brief pause. Her mind was still half stuck arguing with Twilight.

The baron raised an eyebrow, but didn’t investigated further.

“I see.”

Resuming her conversation with Twilight, Snowy went on, “It will hurt, but it will only last for a short while, it may feel like if your hoof slept in.”

Twilight gulped. “I am not very keen about it, but I’m assuming the other way is far more unpleasant.” She moved to the edge of the mattress. “Better get it over with as soon as possible.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Your Highness?” Climber said. “Last time you tried to stand up, you instantly felt on the floor.”

“Mhh, right.” Twilight hesitated at the edge of the mattress. “If you could lend me a hoof, baron, just to be sure?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Snowy said. “I was expecting I’d have to carry you out anyway.”

With a little shake, she changed her coat colour to a pale gray and made her wings a bit longer and less fluffy.

“This should do,” Snowy said and flew up into the air and over to Twilight.

“I can walk, really,” the princess said and made an attempt to jump out of the bed.

“Yes, yes,” Snowy ignored her protest and lifted her up.

“Hey!” Twilight protested, her complaints falling on deaf ears.

“Cave Light, be so good and open the window, please,” Snowy requested.

“Why can’t we just take the stairs?” Twilight asked, still a bit struggling.

“My presence in the castle is still a secret, despite your best attempts to make it known to every creature, filly,” Snowy explained. “Walking through the floors with you on my back is too risky at the moment, even in disguise.”

“Then I can walk with the baron, far less suspicious, just let me down,” Twilight demanded.

“Climber and the kids will stay here, at least for the moment.” Snowy turned to them. “Revealing my presence to you forced me to set a few things in motion that I had planned for a later point in time. I need to make sure everything works out, therefore, you three stay here and keep it a secret for tonight.”

“But grandma,” Distant Shine protested, “we can’t stay here all night, mom will miss us and come looking for us if we’re not in our beds when she goes to bed herself.”

“He is right,” Climber said. “Pleasant Smell will be worried if our kids aren’t in their beds tonight, not to say that she will miss me too if I don’t go to bed in the following hours.” He stepped a little closer to Snowy. “And she didn’t feel so well, so I want to check on her too.”

Now Snowy raised an eyebrow. “She didn’t feel to well? What happened?” She placed Twilight back on the bed and landed next to Climber. “Do tell.”

“Mom didn’t say she was feeling bad, dad,” Cave Light said. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“It wasn’t anything serious, don’t worry,” Climber said. “It was just a moment of weakness, nothing more. I am sure she is already fine again.” He turned back to Snowy. “I still would like to look after her though.”

“I have to speak with Pleasant Smell anyway, I will make sure she is alright,” Snowy decided.

This caused Climber to raise an eyebrow. “You have to speak with her anyway? What do you have to discuss with my wife?”

“Well, besides the obvious,” Snowy pointed at Cave Light and Distant Shine, “there are a few things I noticed in the past years that must be discussed, you know, mare to mare.”

Now Climber was confused. “The obvious?” He threw a look at his children and then back to Snowy. “What is so obvious? I doubt that them staying here is what you are referring to, right?”

“Of course not,” Snowy answered. “But I have to have a serious word with her about your children.”

“What?” Distant Shine and Cave Light asked together. Climber also looked baffled.

“Our children are perfect as they are!” he said with a father’s pride. “I really wonder what you have to say about them.” He moved between them and Snowy.

“Of course they are perfect,” the pale gray mare agreed. “The problem is there are only two of them. I expected at least half a dozen, preferably more!” She looked at them and purred. “In not too long Cave Light will have her own foals, you should hurry, Climber, and make me some more grandfoals so there are a few years between her children and her future brothers and sisters.”

Now it was hard to tell who was blushing more, Cave Light or Climber.

“I am far from having my own foals,” Cave Light whispered to the ground, her ears as red as a fresh tomato.

Coughing into his hoof, Climber tried to overplay his embarrassment. “Maybe you can let my wife and me decide on that?”

“Nonsense.” Snowy flicked her tail, disapproving. “You two are the first couple in charge of the family with less than four foals, something must be done about it.”

“Could we…” Climber started, but was cut off by the raised hoof of Snowy.

“I will talk with Pleasant Smell about it, I am sure I can give her some tips to improve your… “

“Whoa! Stop! Stop. Please stop,” Climber interrupted while rushing over to Snowy and putting a hoof on her snout. “Snowy, please, my children are listening.”

His ancestor tilted her head and rolled her eyes, but then nodded. She pushed his hoof slowly off and said, “Alright, suddenly you are prudish when in public, I get it.” She sighed and touched her temple when another stroke of pain hit her.

“I am not suddenly prudish, Snowy, I am just not as, uhh… you know, like you in that matter.” Climber defended himself.

“Urg, you know there are secret passages all around the castle, right?” Snowy said, looking up to him with a hoof on her forehead. “I heard a fair number of things when you two were younger that would suggest otherwise.”

Shrinking back and blushing, Climber soon lowered his head even more under her gaze, wishing that the ground would open up and swallow him, while Distant Shine and Cave Light made disgusted faces.

“Don’t try to mess with your grandmother, Climber, and don’t lie to me either.” She looked at his ashamed face and he nodded. “I hope you’ve learned that lesson.” Now her face became softer. “I care for the survival of our family as much as you do,” she placed her hoof on his cheek, “I am just not letting any social standards or norms get in my way while doing so, and you should know that.”

“It is not like our family is close to extinction, you know?” Climber mumbled.

In response, Snowy snorted. “Papperlapapp! You can never be too careful, also, I enjoy playing with the foals in our family very much, there simply can’t be enough of them.” She lowered her hoof and stretched her wings. “And of course, there is more, but that can wait. For now you will stay here and wait for Twilight’s return while I take care of… things.”

Making a mental note to ask Burning Snowflake about the word ‘Papperlapapp’, Climber pushed away his shame and asked the most urgent question first. “And what about you? Will you be returning after tonight, I mean sooner than in a few years or so? There are so many things I am curious about and the family would be happy to see you face to face again since it has been such a long time.

Before Snowy could answer, a little grey shadow tackled her, grabbing her chestfluff with his hooves. “You wouldn’t leave right away, right grandmother?” Distant Shine asked, worried. “You just showed up, you have to come back and tell us stories!”

“Distant Shine.” Snowy lowered her head to nuzzle him and started to purr again.

“Please!” he insisted, rubbing his head against his grandmother.

Now Snowy took a seat and lifted her grandson up, nestling him into her soft chestfluff and wrapping her wings around him.

“Don’t worry, Distant Shine, I will come back in the near future if everything goes as planned,” she said.

“And if not? Why don’t you come back after you’re done with whatever you have to do and tell us a story then? I can stay up till then!” Distant Shine proclaimed and hugged Snowy tighter. “I don’t want you to go away and stay hidden for years again!”

For a moment, all Snowy was able to do was purr deeply and place her head on her grandson’s.

When she finally tried to speak again, a loud bang outside the window interrupted her. When she and the other ponies looked outside, a bright green light lingered in the air, caused by a hundred little sparks.

“What is this?” Climber asked, stepping nearer to the window, followed by Cave Light.

“A firework in the shape of a huge green snowflake,” Snowy explained.

“Are you responsible for this?” Climber asked.

“In a way, I suppose.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, it is there because of me, but I didn’t order it,” Snowy explained further.

Returning his gaze outside, Climber asked, “And what does it mean?”

“That things just got complicated and also more interesting,” Snowy said and placed Distant Shine back on the ground, ruffling his mane. “Seems like I have to change my plans again, though, I still have to place Twilight outside of the castle quickly.”

Future plans

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The cold night air wafted past Twilight’s legs as she was carried through the growing darkness. She was being carried away by Burning Snowflake, the infirmary having long since passed out of sight.

Twilight wasn’t able to see much through the cracks of her eyelids on their way through the castle, but she was sure they were heading away from the center of the antimagic field.At least that is what she assumed from the sudden drop in temperature, the turns they were making, and the lights of guard fires.
“Where are we going?” she asked, attempting to be heard over the howl of the wind. But, when she didn’t get an answer, she repeated her question, this time louder.

“I’m just looking for a good spot to drop you.”

As the gray mare spoke, Twilight noticed that Burning Snowflake seemed to be having trouble carrying her. Her wings were flapping far faster than what she would expect, nearly twice as quick as wings of a normal pegasus would.

“Are you alright? Really, I can walk. Just place me back on the ground.”

“No, I am fine. We are almost there anyway.”

Indeed, after only half a minute, they began to descend. Instinctively, Twilight extended her legs in preparation for landing. Burning Snowflake still warned her though before placing her on the ground and landing a few hoofsteps away herself.

“Come on, filly, we don’t have time to waste.”

“Stop calling me ‘filly’, I am a mare,” Twilight corrected. Though her complaint lost a little bit of its weight when she found that she was having an issue with placing one hoof before the other without falling to the ground.

“You can claim that once you’re no longer in the double digits.”

“Urg, you really could stand to be a little more kind, you know?”

“Says the mare who tried to find me when I made it painfully obvious that I didn’t want to be found.”

Before Twilight could reply, Burning Snowflake cut her off with a raised hoof.

“I really don’t have time for that now, just move forward a little bit and you’ll be out of the range of my field.”

Swallowing an annoyed reply, Twilight did as she was told, slowly moving forward a few steps, only for nothing to happen.

Twilight turned her head back towards Burning Snowflake. “Are you sure we are at the edge of the field? I don’t feel any difference.”

“You are right on the edge, just two steps and you are out.”

“If you say so… “ Twilight breathed in and braced herself for the pain that had been promised as she stepped forward.

One step.

Nothing happened.

Two.

Again, nothing.

Step three…

Still nothing.

“So much to your, eeeeek!” A heavy shock ran through Twilight’s head. Like the sparks of a firework, her magic came flooding back, leaving points of searing pain all throughout the channels that made up the magical circuitry of her body.

“Ouch! Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Twilight yelled as she tried to step back.

“No filly, you aren’t backing out now,” Burning Snowflake said as she hastily walked to Twilight’s side, pushing her forward with her shoulder. “I told you it would hurt.”

Twilight whimpered, “You didn’t say it would be this bad.” She groaned and then her left foreleg gave in.

“Back on your hooves, filly. If you stop now, you have to go through it all over again, you need to be out of the field completely.”

“I am trying!”

Burning Snowflake quickly placed a hoof under Twilight’s belly and lifted her up. “Keep trotting.”

Slowly, Twilight limped forward. “You could have just dropped me outside and it would be over already.”

“I could have done that, but that could have put you into shock. I simply thought it would be better for your magic to flow through your body slowly instead of in one heavy blow.” She looked at Twilight's back. “But don’t expect me to explain everything that I do in the future.”

Twilight was about to reply, but was cut off by a heavy shiver when her body completely left the field. Sweat formed on her forehead as an intense heat began to course through her, starting from her horn before it streamed down her head, spine, and finally through her limbs.

“I think… I see what you mean,” Twilight said through gritted teeth.

“It will only last a few seconds.”

“How do you know?”

“You are not the first creature who’s experienced this.” Snowy removed her hoof from Twilight’s belly and stepped aside, causing the princess to sink to the ground. “I’ve seen the light version of what you’re going through a few times already.”

Out of breath, Twilight did her best to reply, still her words came out slow and delayed. “Didn’t you say… that only alicorns get this problem?”

“We only spoke about ponies, not creatures in general.” Snowy shook her head. “And no, we won’t be discussing this further.” She looked at Twilight as she heavily panted. “The next thing should be a feeling of great cold, leading to total exhaustion.”

“I am looking forward to it…” Twilight’s words dripped with irony.

“You will be fine, don’t worry,” Snowy said, lying down into a comfortable position, letting her gaze hang on Twilight.

After a minute or two had passed, Twilight spoke again.

“Didn’t you say you were in a hurry? There is no need to keep watching me go through… this.”

“I still have a few minutes, it will take them at least half an hour to get here.”

Twilight’s ear perked up. “Who?”

“Them.”

“Who are they?”

“You will see soon.”

“Why not tell me now? As you said, there’s more than enough time.” The alicorn stretched out her wings a bit and fanned some air to herself.

A little smile formed on Snowy lips. “The impatience of the youth.”

“Could you stop talking as if I was a little foal? Please?”

“You are nearly seven hundred years younger than me, how else should I refer to you? Besides, no one complains when Celestia refers to ponies that way.”

“That's different!”

“How so?”

“Celestia rules Equestria, she is a princess,” Twilight said. “And ponies adore her.”

“Well, I am not an alicorn,” Snowy said, stretching her wings out in a way that made her feathers clear to see in the moonlight. “Growing a horn, however, isn’t a big deal for me. I can make one if I wish.” Closing her wings again, Burning Snowflake continued, “Being adored, mhh, as you know, nopony is adored by everyone, but that being said, there are some ponies who adore me.”

“We both know that is something different.”

“Oh is it?”

Both mares exchanged a look.

“Anyway,” Snowy continued, “the main point is that she is ruling Equestria, while I prefer to stay out of the spotlight.”

“The main point is that you shall stop calling me filly.” Twilight brushed away a drop of sweat.

“I…” Snowy hesitated for a moment. “I shall consider it in the future.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That was a very sudden change of mind. What are you up to?”

“We don’t have the time for arguing.” Snowy looked into the distance. “I have some serious questions before I leave and I need honest answers from you.” She blinked. “We can argue later.”

“Questions?” Twilight repeated before looking in the same direction as Snowy. In the distance, the silhouette of Neighagra Falls could be seen, besides that, there wasn’t anything that Twilight thought was worth of the other mare’s interest . After a second look, she returned her gaze to Burning Snowflake. “What questions?”

“First I need your promise that you will answer honestly.”

“Why would I lie in the first place?”

“So you promise?”

Something in Snowy’s body language had changed. Twilight couldn’t place a hoof on it due to the lack of light, but something was different than a second before.

“Not so fast,” Twilight said. “You have questions, and so do I.” Twilight wiped her forehead to remove the sweat that had built up. The heat was finally gone, replaced by a refreshing coldness. “This way, we both can get what we want.”

Snowy’s facial expression suddenly went from interested to unfavorable.

Twilight pushed herself up so that she was now sitting on the grass. “That way everything would be fair.”

“I already know what you want to know, filly. You want the same thing all the others want to know.” Snowy snorted. “Knowledge of the past. You want to know about things that are none of your business. There are reasons that information isn’t public.”

“I…”

“Spare me your excuses,” Snowy interrupted. “Only Snowflakes seek me out to say hello or find out more about the family.” She rose and turned around. “I can count the number of ponies who found me and didn’t ask about attaining immortality or power over the last two hundred years on my primaries,” she said before stretching out a wing, revealing five long feathers.

“Well,” Twilight retorted, “I wasn’t looking for you to say hello, that may be true, but I wasn’t seeking you to find your way to immortality either.” The feeling of coldness had grown more intense, causing her to shiver. “And while I may be tempted to ask you about some of your wisdom, right now, I am more interested in knowing about you and what you’ve been doing, specifically, from your perspective on what your family’s told me.”

“And why should I tell you any of that, filly?” Snowy said contemptuously over her shoulder. “You already made it quite clear what you think about what I do.”

“Reasons, and the truth,” Twilight replied at once, she had expected that question to come. “The stories your family told me about you left a lot of things unclear, while other things put you in quite a bad light.” She let her gaze stay on the back of Snowy’s head. “If you want answers from me, I want some from you in return.”

Snowy let out a low ‘hmm’ and raised an eyebrow. And for the first time, something like a hint of respect mixed into her gaze, but Twilight wasn’t too sure if that was what she really saw. “Fine,Twilight, I’ll tell you about what I’ve done.” She turned back to her and lifted a hoof. “As long as it doesn’t require me to reveal secrets that don’t belong to me, or pertain to not only me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’ve witnessed a few things that are not for everyone to know, and a few secrets I know about are still relevant today. They could cause some ponies trouble if they got into the wrong hooves. So this is my offer; if your question only affects me, I will answer honestly, if it affects somepony else too, I will only reveal what I should.”

“Fair enough.” Twilight nodded.

“Then it is settled,” Snowy said. “I will start, since I am older.” She settled into a more comfortable sitting position. “First question…”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you straight?”

“Uhm,” Twilight looked confused, “what do you mean?”

“Mare or stallion, what is it for you?”

Twilight spun her head back and her jaw dropped for a second. “Beg your pardon?”

“Are you into mares or stallions, not that hard of a question,” Snowy said.

“Uhm… uhm, well,” Twilight’s cheeks reddened, “that's quite a direct question.”

“So? Honest answer?”

“Yeah, um, right.” Twilight blinked. “You just caught me a bit off guard, it’s a rather indiscreet question.”

“You don’t say.”

“Okay, okay, alright, straight, stallions for me.” She crooked her head. “But why do you wanna know that?”

“Is that your first question for me?” Snowy raised an eyebrow.

“What? No! Of course not, I was just curious as to why you want to know.”

“Then go ahead and ask your first question, we don’t have all day.”

Still, it took Twilight a moment to decide what she should ask first. There was simply so many possible questions, but in the end, she made the decision.

“Climber mentioned you may have murdered somecreature.” Twilight’s voice got serious. “Have you?”

“Yes.”

“So you did kill some creature...” Twilight repeated upset. “That, that is horrible!”

“You asked if I murdered somecreature, that is different from killing somecreature, you know.”

“What?”

“Killing can be in self-defence, by happenstance, or by an accident. Murder, on the other hoof,” Snowy swiftly sliced through the grass with her hoof, “murdering is on purpose, an action you are focused on, it is your goal to kill the victim.”

Twilight was stunned by this revelation. She had known that the answer could be yes, but the emotional coldness of the other mare shocked her even more. “So that is the reason your family doesn’t know for sure if you murdered somecreature or not, because you are indeed a murderer and don’t want them to know.”

“No,” Snowy shook her head, “my family just don’t know everything about the story to the full extent, seven hundred years of life can’t be told over a fire and a warm tea. Compassion was the only one who knew my full story, he decided what got passed along to the next generation and what didn’t. I only made sure some facts didn’t get messed up over the centuries.”

“And made sure no one found out the truth about your crimes,” Twilight added.

Snowy just shook her head. “You call them crimes, I call it necessary.”

“Murdering is never necessary! There is always a better option, and, there is no reason that justifies murdering somecreature!”

“And you are absolutely sure about that?”

“One hundred percent!”

“So if you could save everyone you love, all the ponies close to you, your friends or your family, by taking one life, the life of a thief, an evil genius, a murderer himself, you would not take it?”

“I would not! You can’t weigh lives against each other! That is wrong!”

“It is the right thing to do.” Snowy snorted. “I’m not talking about killing someone innocent, it was either him or her. I had to make the decision and I did.”

“Who did you know that was so important that you would allow yourself to make that decision?”

“Sherlay,” Snowy looked away for a moment and took a deep breath, “it was Sherlay who I saved.” Her gaze wandered back to Twilight. “And to answer your next question, it was the pony you know as Mory Arty who I murdered.”

“That’s not true,” Twilight interjected in confusion, “Mory Arty died at…” She paused, remembering what Climber had told her. “So you’re telling me that not only did Sherlay survive, but he did too?”

“Sadly, yes,” Snowy answered. “If he hadn’t, I would not have been forced to murder him myself.” She gave Twilight a longer look before her gaze wandered to the horizon above the Neighagara falls. “I see, you need me to explain this.” She sighed. “Well then, the short version, he and Sherlay were rivals as you know from the books, but it didn’t stop there. First, he tried to seduce her so that they could have brilliant foals, and when that failed, he tried to scare her away so she wouldn’t interfere with his plans anymore.” Snowy shook her head with a little smile. “As if that would ever work on her. Anyway, they fought each other for years, his wits against hers, it was… I don’t know how to describe it, but it was something worth witnessing for sure. But with the years passing by, like you read in Oatsen’s books, the situation got more serious, so serious in fact that at one point he tried to kill my love.”

Snowy stood up and turned around.

“It’s like your read in Oatsen’s books, they fought above that platform and both fell into the depths. They both survived. Still, his attempt to kill her that day was real, and from that moment on, it was clear that it was going to be him or her. It wouldn’t be enough to place him in prison, he was clever enough to kill her anyway. If not by his hooves, then one of his henchponies would do it for him. As long as he was alive, somepony would have found a way to free him, if he hadn’t already escaped. His intelligence was on the same level as Sherlay’s.” Snowy’s voice got just a bit quieter. “So I took it into my own hooves. I found him, and made sure an incident like the one at the waterfall would never happen again. I was not willing to risk that someday Mory Arty succeeded.”

“I… I don’t know what I should say,” Twilight said, “I… I find it wrong what you did, though…”

“Don’t bother, we don’t have the time for this anyway. You wanted an answer and you got one, so my turn again.” She turned back to Twilight. “Second question, are you up for an arranged marriage, not now, but in the future?”

“W… wha…” Twilight stuttered. “Where did this question come from? One moment we’re talking about the murder of a pony, the next you ask me if I am available for an arranged marriage.”

“Yes.”

“No,” Twilight shook her head, “no, I am not. A marriage is a serious thing between two ponies in love, we’re not in the old days anymore. If I marry somepony, it will be my choice, and mine alone.”

“That makes things a bit more complicated.” Snowy nodded, thinking. “Though, maybe it just depends on the offer.”

“No! I am not going to be bribed!”

“We will see about that.” Snowy shrugged. “I will come up with something if needed.” She inhaled deeply. “Not my first time making two ponies fall in love. Anyway, your turn.”

“I am not so sure if I really want to hear more answers.” Twilight jawned. “And I am a bit concerned that you are so interested in my love life.”

“If you want to pass…”

“No! No… just… fine, okay.” Twilight straightened up. “Why?”

“Hmm?”

“What is the reason for whatever it is that you are doing? Why do you do what you do? Hiding here, still, even hundreds of years after you last took part in Equestrian history. What changed?” She made a gesture including all of the castle and its surroundings. “According to your own story, for nearly three hundred years, you were hiding here, buried in the annals of history, forgotten by the rest of the world. And yet you made sure ponies knew about you if they only looked up the history of the Snowflakes. What is your reason?”

“A good question, a really good question,” Snowy replied. “You remember what I said to Climber? About the groups with different interests acting against our castle?”

Twilight brought the discussion between him and Snowy before her inner eye. “Yes,” she said after a moment. “Yes, I do.” A small yawn escaped her lips.

“Good, that is your answer. My existence is not a secret, at least not in certain circles. The wrong individuals know about me, individuals who are mighty, with influence, and the same will to do what is necessary that I have. I learned very late about them, but they barely noticed me at first. But over the centuries, the conflict got out of hoof. Imagine it like a game of cards, you can’t let the opponent know what you have.”

“Wait a moment,” another, longer yawn interrupted Twilight’s question, “didn’t you say these groups were harmless, otherwise you wouldn’t let them roam around in your castle at all?”

“Harmless for my family, or for anypony alone, but in the greater picture, they are quite a threat to Equestria and my personal plans. So you know, there are secrets that they must not know of, and hiding here, where they don’t know if I am actually here, or on their very close doorstep already, that gives me the advantage I need.”

“So you’re telling me this is all just a game of cat and mouse?”

“Kind of, but with far higher stakes. You must know, some of these groups want to harm Equestria in general, not individuals, but the country itself. While I and my associates try to let it prosper. Of course these groups would tell a different story about it, but that is only natural.”

“You’re telling me there are groups dedicated to harming Equestria on purpose? Not with the intention to take over like Discord or Chrysalis?” She blinked.

“Yes, that is what I am talking about. You very well may encounter them yourself one day if you start to take over the role of a princess more and more. I am sure Cel…” Snowy’s head spun around, once more in the direction of the mountains. “Ah, well, looks like our time is already up. Unfortunate, I had a few more questions, but they must wait it seems.”

“Huh?” Twilight looked in the same direction. “What are you talking about? I see nothing. And I have a lot more questions too.”

“If everything goes as planned, we will meet again. But for now, I must hurry.” Snowy spread her wings and hovered up into the air, staying there for a moment. “I’ll send someone to collect you, that way when you wake up, you will be back in the castle.”

“When I wake up? What do you mean by that?” She yawned once more and suddenly her eyelids felt like they weighed several tons. “I am... not tired. And where… “she yawned,” are you going?”

“It is always like this, once your magic is back you fall like a stone and sleep for the next few hours, trust me on that. Anyway, I have work to do.” And with those words, Snowy took off into the air.

“You can’t… urg.” Twilight shook her head, but Snowy was already gone. “That was some encounter, that’s for sure.” She watched the other mare for a moment before her gaze wandered back to the mountains, and to her surprise, there was now a tiny spot in the air, but it was quickly increasing in size.

Before Twilight gave in and fell into a deep slumber, she identified the object to be an airship. A huge one, she tried to read the name written on the hull, but it was too far away to make out.

“That must be them,” Twilight thought, already sinking to the ground.

One Hoof In

View Online

The tiny hint of a whisper was the first thing Twilight noticed when she awoke. There were a few ponies talking nearby; though, not near enough for her to understand what they were talking about. Slowly, she opened her eyes and raised her head, giving her surroundings a look.

She was lying in a soft bed, placed in a small room that was, besides a few items of furniture and a round, red carpet, quite empty. On second look, though, it came to her attention that the room was not quite straight, and the walls were not bricks or wood; but instead, the room was slightly curved, and made from raw stone.

She rose a bit more. “Where am I?”

The talking she overheard stopped, and a moment later, a white unicorn mare peaked into her room.

“Oh, you are finally awake,” the mare said in a cheerful tone. “And here you had me thinking that you wanted to sleep for a whole week.” She trotted in and moved over to the bed. “Alicorns seem to be, indeed, fundamentally connected to their magic.” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s forehead. “But after all that, you seem to be in good shape again.”

“Where am I, and who are you?” Twilight asked in between what the mares were doing.

“You are...” the mare said while her hooves wandered over Twilight’s head, checking on her horn and throat, “in Headquarters. Snowguard Headquarters.” A stethoscope appeared out of the mare’s saddlebag, and found its place on Twilight’s chest. “And I am Healing Stitch, doctor Healing Stitch.”

“Snowguard Headquarters?” Twilight repeated, still shaking off the rest of her slumber, “What are you talking about, what is this Snowguard? And where in Equestria are we?”

“I am sure Snowy or the general will tell you about it in a moment,” she placed a hoof on Twilight’s chest and pushed her back when she tried to stand up, “just a moment, Princess. You still have to take it easy for the moment, you slept two days straight, and we don’t want your circulation to collapse, right?”

“Two days?” Twilight started but was interrupted by a lollipop being placed firmly in her mouth.

“Just a moment,” the doctor insisted, “I have completed my check up on you, and since you seem to be fine for the time being, I’ll send for them in a second.” She placed her stethoscope back into her saddlebag, and gave Twilight a smile. “Just stay in bed for a few more minutes and take your time when you stand up, understood?”

“Fine…” Twilight half-grumbled when she had removed the lollipop from her mouth, holding it in her magic.”

“Awesome, your magic works as normal too. A very good sign,” Healing Stitch proclaimed, then turned around and took her leave.

Twilight heard her talking with somepony outside, and after a minute, a familiar mare entered the room.

“Pleasant Smell?” Twilight asked, bewildered. “What are you doing here? Or are we in Dragonbite Castle? And what is with the uniform?”

Pleasant Smell wore a grey uniform with a purple collar and five silver snowflakes attached to it.

“Hello, Twilight,” Pleasant Smell answered with a smile, “good to see that you’re alright again.” She took a seat at the edge of the bed. “To answer your question, no we are not, we are indeed in Headquarters. And to answer your question about my outfit, I work here. I am part of the Snowguard, and therefore, this,” she pointed at the garment, “is my uniform.”

“You work here? Wait, that means you are part of this Snowguard?” She shook her head, confused. “First things first, what exactly is this Snowguard, then? And how did you get involved in it?”

“As I know, Snowy has told you already about the different groups that work behind the curtain in favor of, or against, Equestria? Well...” she extended her hooves to clue the whole place in, “the Snowguard is one of them, in favor of Equestria, of course.”

“Wait, why do you know what Burning Snowflake has told me, you weren't there.”

“Because I talked with her about it.”

“Oh, right, she said she would have to talk with you.”

Pleasant Smell laughed. “Yes,” she giggled a bit more before she had herself under control again. “Yes, about the children, well, that was not what I was referring to, but she did that too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I think Climber will have a very unpleasant talk with Snowy about the children. It was his decision to stop at two, not mine.” She giggled once more. “My poor husband, he met her in person for the first time he knows of, and then she will return just to give him a lecture on Snowflake Family behavior.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And you are okay with this? I confess I saw her reaction to her family first hoof, and she is a bit softer to them, but still.” Then, a thought crossed her mind. “And you seem to be taking it very well that an ancient pony, who isn’t an alicorn, appeared suddenly in your castle and talked to you about your children.”

“That is not as strange as you think, I had to promise her that I’d have at least four children with Climber in return for her permission to marry him.” She shrugged. “With this deal in mind, it was absolutely reasonable for her to trot up to me and demand answers.”

“Wait, what?” Twilight set herself straight up. “You had a deal with her? That means you knew her already, how?”

The baroness gave her a smile, along with a look that a teacher might have if a student didn’t get an obvious answer.

“There is a reason it is called the ‘Snow’ guard, Twilight. You don’t need to guess three times to get who the founder may be.”

“Uhm, right, now that you mention it, it is kind of obvious. Sorry, it is just a bit much to know you are familiar with a several-hundred-year-old-mare from some comic books, and, part of some sort of, whatever this is.” She pointed at the door.

“It is alright, Twilight, and to answer another one of your questions, I got involved when I was far younger. The Snowguard recruits skilled and useful ponies from all over Equestria, and I was just in the right position at the right time to get offered to be a part of it.”

“And—”

Pleasant Smell raised a hoof. “I am not done yet, Twilight. And it happened that one of my, let’s call it “missions,” brought me to Snowflake Castle, and in contact with Climber. To keep it short, there was a spark between us. But as you can assume, Snowy is very, very, sensible in matters of the family. So I thought it would be best to ask her for her permission before it got too serious.”

“And then you had to promise her to have four foals?” Twilight inquired in a disapproving tone. “It seems this mare always places her snout in things that are not her business.”

“Let us see how you act when, or if, you have a long line of progeny yourself.”

“I would not interfere with their choice of partners, nor how many foals they should have.”

“Yes, probably not that much, but we may see about that. Just don’t judge Snowy so harshly over it. She had some bad experiences with her family, as you know, and it made her careful, to the point of being overprotective at times, but she means well.”

“She did not seem to be overly friendly to those outside the family,” Twilight pointed out. “And she told me she ended a life or two here and there in the past.” Now Twilight’s voice had become not only disapproving, but disgusted.

“Hmm,” Pleasant Smell nodded, closing her eyes in thought. “That is true, still, given the reasons she had, I understand her at least.”

“You are okay with her killing creatures?” Twilight stared at her. “When you told me she had killed somepony, I assumed it was only one or two, but she made it sound like there was far more.”

“If you are asking if I uphold my opinion that she could win a fair process, then yes, I stand with it. She never killed unnecessarily, as I understand.” She raised a hoof. “And I am aware she told you about Mory Arty. That is a special and serious case, but it is up to everypony themselves if it was a crime or not.”

“Of course it was; she killed him because of a threat!”

“At which end, the survival of her beloved, Sherlay Hays, stood.”

“Still it…”

“Twilight, we can agree to disagree about it, but we will make no progress on this topic here and now. I completely understand your point, and it is a good and sound point.” She sighed. “But there is also the fact that the world is not only sunshine and rainbows either. In my time in the Snowguard, I saw first hoof that there are situations where it is you or the opponent who makes it. You do not always have a choice.”

“You mean…” Twilight moved away from Pleasant Smell, “that you…?”

For a second Pleasant Smell seemed to be confused, then the realization of how her words could be taken hit her. “Oh, no, nonono, I never killed somecreature! No Twilight, by “first hoof,” I meant I heard the mission reports first hoof, not that I was there or did something like that myself. I just mean that I prefer if one of us comes home safe and sound, instead of becoming another golden snowflake on the wall of memories.”

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Pleasant Smell spoke up again.

“Look, Twilight, I know you are not fond of this concept, but, well, it happens. Escape or non-violent actions are preferred, but when it comes to close hoof to hoof combat, there is not always an option. Not all of us are as good at it as Snowy is.” She sighed. “But I guess we can’t settle this with a few words in a few minutes. So, better focus on something else for the moment.” She pointed at Twilight's body. “You feeling good enough to get up?”

“I guess so,” Twilight replied slowly.

“Then come on,” The baroness stood up, “I show you around and tell you a bit more about the Snowguard.”

Twilight did follow the offer and stood up, but hesitated once she was out of bed. “If all this is some kind of secret service, and you are not publicly known as a member of it, why are you telling me all this?”

“Well,” Pleasant Smell trotted to the door, “circumstances, and keeping one eye on the future,I would say.” The other mare blinked. “As I know, Snowy has quite the plans for you, and a lot has happened in the two days you have slept.”

“Two days?” Twilight shook her head, still a bit in disbelief. “Still hard to believe I was out so long, it felt like just a few hours.” She paused, and her voice got suspicious. “And what are these plans for me? She was asking me some strange questions when we met.”

“She better tell you that herself,” the baroness made an inviting gesture, “for now, though, if you would just follow me?”

“I assume that Climber doesn’t know about your, uhm, membership in the Snowguard?” Twilight inquired.

“You are correct about that,” Pleasant Smell nodded. “Born Snowflakes, the ones who were supposed to rule the house someday or close to that position, are never part of this organization. It is too risky for them, and if I had married Climber before I joined, I never would have gotten the chance to do so.” She waved her head a bit. “I am sure some of the Snowflakes had a clue or at least hunch about it, but as far as I know, they never took part directly.”

“With Burning Snowflakes strange family mindset, I can understand that,” Twilight said. “I am just surprised that she allows you to stay, you know, with your ‘duty’ to make her some more grandfoals.”

“I proved myself useful. Also, how do you figure that?” She looked at Twilight. “It is not like Snowy can erase memories. I already know about all this.” She once more made a gesture to include the whole area. “There was no point in kicking me out with all the things I know. Keeping me also gave her an opportunity to speak with me more regularly and let me help her sneak into the castle now and then. You know, hiring her as a teacher for the kids and such. She really enjoyed playing with them and made sure they get a good education. Not to forget helping them get born.”

“Huh?”

Pleasant Smell delayed her answer to take a notepad from a dark blue stallion that crossed their path. “She was my nurse during their births. She was really good at it, actually,” she said while she browsed through the pad, “a few hundred years of practice, I assume. And it is obvious that it was far easier to get the position at something so important if the soon-to-be mother is clued in and willing to help.”

“So when I said I got the feeling she is involved in everything in your family, I was right by happenstance.” Twilight shook her head. “Well, being present at the birth of my grandfoals is something I would try to do as well, I think.”

“As I said, she cares. She has some bad habits and a tendency to overreact on occasion, but, she cares.” Pleasant Smell stopped in front of a wooden door. “Anyway, welcome to the heart of Snowguard Headquarters.” And with these words, she pushed the door open, allowing Twilight to go first into the room behind.

Though, it wasn’t a simple room, it was a huge hall, or more aptly put, a hanger, given the airship that was docked in it. As far as Twilight could tell, it was the same one she saw earlier, and now she was able to read the name on it. Seabird. It was not in good shape though, the larboard—or was it starboard—had some burned spots, and the sails at its sides were holey if not completely shredded. Two dozen ponies were nearby, busy repairing it; some pegasi, a few unicorns, and a lot of earth ponies.

“Quite impressive,” Twilight said as she looked around; the huge closed hangar doors, the several levels of galleries around the walls, and all the tools needed to maintain an airship along with transferring large amounts of cargo took her interest for a moment. Finally, she turned around to Pleasant Smell and pointed on the damaged parts of the ship. “What happened? This is the same ship that I saw, right?”

“Yes, it is. As for what happened, well, a ship may get some damage if it takes part in combat. The Seabird may not look like one, but she is a battleship.”

“A battleship?” Twilight gave the ship another look. Now that she was much closer to it, in the bright light of the hanger, it didn’t look that big anymore, and it was not like there was any armor on it or heavy weaponry.

“Don’t let yourself be fooled by her look,” Pleasant Smell said, following Twilight’s gaze. “She is built for speed, rather than long-range artillery support, think of her as a frigate.”

“Wait, if she was damaged in combat…” Twilight’s voice became alarmed, “ Was Caste Dragonbite under attack?”

“Not quite, don’t you worry. There was a fight, but it was not the Castle or my family they were after,” the baroness explained in a mysterious tone. “And they didn’t expect us to be there, or Snowy.”

“They?”

“Later; for now, let me tell you that everypony at the castle is fine. We also let Celestia know you are fine, also.”

“Celestia knows about you? I mean ‘you,’ as in, the Snowguard?”

“Of course she does, all great groups know each other, in her case that includes her secret service. It makes things a lot easier if you are considered a friend when you are spotted, rather than a foe. Same goes for her spies, she gets them back with a bowtie, and we get our ponies back with a piece of cake.”

“That is a bit different from what Climber told me.”

“He spoke about spies in castle Dragonbite, right?”

Twilight nodded.

“Hmm, I thought so. With spies in the castle, it is a bit different, you know? They mostly don’t run into our ponies, but into Snowy.” She bit her lip. “Celestia still gets them back, mostly unharmed, but sometimes Snowy is a bit more annoyed about them, especially when they are found in important areas.” She shrugged. “While this organization was created by Snowy, and she has a great influence on it, we don’t have the same influence on her. Especially when it comes to her own home.”

“Technically, it is your home by now.”

Pleasant Smell half-smiled, half-sighed. “Well, then we have a three-hundred-year-old rental agreement with her, which gives her a lot of benefits.”

“Hey, Pleasant Smell!” A new voice, distant while sounding like an upper-class pony, interrupted their talk. “I see the princess is awake now!”

When Twilight looked for the source of the voice, she spotted a grey earth pony mare in an also grey uniform with a yellow collar, her mane was mostly black with some grey lines through it, standing on one of the galleries to their left, two levels above them.

“And here we go,” Pleasant Smell said.

“Who is that?” Twilight asked.

“This is C, our most skilled—but also most curious—technician. Also inventor, scientist, genius, and...” Pleasant Smell smiled, “sometimes a little pest.”

“You promised me I could talk with her when she woke up!” The mare called C shouted down to them before she turned around, and, after she spotted a pegasus nearby, hopped on his back and ordered him to fly her down.

While they watched the mare approach, Twilight wondered aloud if that was normal behavior here.

“Normally, we ask before we hop on, but on the other hoof, we learn during the training to think less of personal space. Carrying other ponies around in field missions is totally normal for our pegasi. You can imagine how much of a problem it would be whenever a non-flier would need a ride if they had to ask or discuss with the pegasi in question first. To make it short, they accept being hoped on at first, but if it turns out you had no good reason for it, they kick your flank after the mission.”

It seemed Pleasant Smell wanted to add something more, but the other mare had reached them by now.

“Thanks, Icy Wings,” she said, hopping off his back. “Hello, Princess Twilight,” she rushed over to shake hooves. “It is good you finally woke up!”

“Hello, C, nic—” Twilight started, but the other mare bubbled on.

“Oh, I have so many questions, we rarely have the chance to do some research on an Alicorn! And I—”

“C, calm down,” Pleasant Smell ordered. “She is our guest, show better manners.”

“Okay, okay I will, still,” she turned her attention back to Twilight, “you simply must allow me to run some tests with you. Alicorn magic is so fascinating; also, the connection between your physical fitness and your magic, giving how much the field affected you, must be—”

Now the baroness pulled C’s ear and made some distance between her and Twilight. “What did I say?”

“It is alright Pleasant Smell,” Twilight threw in, “I know how curiosity can be. I got carried away by it myself once or twice.”

“You see,” C happily said, shaking her ear free and moving over to Twilight again, “she understands! Just think of all the things we can build if we are able to figure out how to bottle up some of this magic!” She softly stroked above Twilight horn, “Oh, and did you know Princess Twilight is the author of ’Instant Levitation, The secrets of teleportation’? Having her here will bring our projects forward by years!”

“Yes, C, it is wonderful, but could you—”

“Speaking of which,” C interrupted and without drawing her attention away from Twilight’s horn, pulled out a notepad from her mane, “could you please sign my resource requirement formula? I really could use some more of these floating stones from the bugbear territory. Maybe if we get enough I can build a suit out of it, or increase the speed of the Seabird, the possible uses for these stones are endless!”

“Floating stones?” Twilight wondered.

“Stones that, by whatever reason, levitate at a certain height above the ground by themselves,” Pleasant Smell hastily said. “And I told you C, we don’t have the personnel for that at the moment, it is too risky.”

“And we will have even less personal if someone gets wounded because I was not able to make them better armor. You really should pay more attention to my projects sometime.”

Pleasant Smell sighed. “Still, no. If you really think it is so important, though, you can always go to her and ask her directly.” Pleasant Smell smiled. “I know how much she loves to hear your ideas.”

C frowned, and pulled a pout. “I would rather not.”

“I thought so.” The baroness gave her the formula back. “If you’ll excuse us now, I want to show Twilight around a bit more.”

“Can you at least show up to research and development later, Princess?” C asked with a pleading tone. “It would help us so much, even if we only run a few simple tests.”

“Uhm,” Twilight looked at Pleasant Smell, and after said mare shrugged, she nodded. “I do so if I can.”

“Wonderful! I will prepare everything!” She galloped down the gallery. “See you later, then!”

The Princess and the baroness looked after her. “Like I said,” Pleasant Smell mentioned, “a genius; and a pest too.”

“But she brought up two good questions,” Twilight said while they started moving again.

“And these are?”

“First, since I assume you are referring to Snowy with ‘her’, are you implying that she has some kind of backstory with her?”

“I would not call it backstory, it is more a family thing. You see, C’s family always brings forth a genius every now and then, and they all got recruited by the Snowguard. So Snowy had to deal with a lot of C’s over the years, she is quite direct with them, and can be very clear when she is not interested in an idea they got.” She flickered her ear. “And also, there are the rumors.”

“Rumors?”

“Well, something happened between the first C and Snowy, I don’t know what, but it is an open secret they got their differences over time. Since then, they keep a bit of distance between them, the C’s and Snowy.”

“Why do you call her ‘C’, does she not have a full name? And don’t give me that they all use secret names, you are very well known under your real name here.”

“No, it is a habit from old times. When the first C joined, they thought it would be better to have cover names. We no longer need them, or come up with more realistic names, but since C is not only a name here that’s also a position, it stuck.”

“Mhh, that makes sense.”

“Was that your second question?”

“No, but I got curious. Actually, I was wondering more why ponies come to you for approval of their formulas. You must have a high position if you are responsible for this kind of management?”

Pleasant Smell giggled. “You could say so.”

“What exactly is your job here, then?”

“I am in the management, you could say.”

“Hmm, C is your head of research and development, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“She only had three silver snowflakes on her collar, while you have five.”

“Very observant of you, Twilight,” Pleasant Smell nodded with a smile. “I am a bit higher in rank than her, obviously.”

“If she is the head of a main part of the Snowguard, if it is comparable to Celestia's secret service, then you are… four?” she asked, unsure.

“Yes, four.”

“Four levels higher than her, you can’t be simple management.”

“I would not call it simple, of course,” Pleasant Smell agreed and stopped at another door. She pushed it open and trotted in. “Actually, it is quite complicated.“

Had the hanger already been impressive, this new room was quite a step further. Though it was a lot smaller, maybe as big as the room the friendship table was in. And the comparison was more fitting, given that it had a map of Equestria and the connected lands on a table in the center of it. Also, the walls were covered with more detailed maps of some areas, from what Twilight could see, Canterlot Castle, Manehatten, and, if she was correct, the Crystal Palace were among them. Several ponies were present around the room, doing whatever their duty was, moving paws on some maps, or reading through a stack of scrolls and giving or receiving orders according to them. In the center, however, around the map of Equestria, stood a pair of ponies she knew. Burning Snowflake was there, and, much to Twilight’s surprise, Colourful Wings.

The little one was the first to notice them, and half trotted, half flew right at them, stopping in front of Pleasant Smell and stretching his hooves out to get a lift.

“Seems I am still worthy,” Pleasant Smell smiled widely and picked him up. “Yes, niece Pleasant is the best, right?”

“Niece?” Twilight asked, a bit confused. “Climber didn’t mention you and Pencake are related, shouldn’t you be his aunt then?”

Pleasant Smell rubbed her snout against the little one and allowed him to snap for her ears in the process. “No, niece is correct in this case. Giving who his mother is.”

“Who is his mother?” Twilight asked, throwing a look over to Burning Snowflake, who was approaching them. “You mean…”

“He is my son,” Burning Snowflake explained when she reached them. “Brother of Compassion, and therefore, uncle of Climber and Pleasant Smell.”

The Phantom of Canterlot

by Azure Drache

Prologue

Dragonbite Castle

A Tale or The Truth

700 years in the past

First Try

Gravity of Fire

First clue

History is fiction

A dance with the Snowflake

Conflict of interest

From mare to mare

A fateful encounter

Excavated truths

Family effects

Unexpected help

Watch your eyes

A whiff of the past

Domino effect

A question of perspective

Still a team?

Curiosity, the incentive for everything

Hope, trust and harsh revelations

Welcome to the castle

Chaotic times

Past sins

Future plans

One Hoof In