Chapter 1

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

Geata na Déithe - Chapter One

A soft blue glow pulsed slowly in a surrounding of deep black. The glow waxed and waned as factors from elsewhere influenced it, sometimes glowing so bright as to be almost white and other times dim to the point of only being barely distinguishable from the background. Until one day a light from above joined the light of the little bulb of blue. A slender hand extended down from above and scooped up the bulb with one feminine finger. The little bulb glowed brightly as it was hoisted upwards and brought before a pair of massive emerald eyes. The fingers of the hand squeezed the bulb as gentle wisps of material drifted off and vanished into the ether. It shined almost proudly, before being wiped off on the behind of a pair of overalls.

“Bleh, stupid mana residue.” Mirai grumbled as she carefully replaced the thick cable whose connector the blue sludge had been collected from. A large brassy construct hummed back to life as the cable was firmly reattached, a blue glow building along its sides.

“Number three, mana cannon is back online!” The redhead shouted down to an operator at the base of the wall.

A gruff looking man pressed a few switches on the console and the blue glow along the sides of the cannon brightened before it spit out a lethal spell at the roiling mass of green bodies on the other side of the wall. “Got a return of about ninety five percent!”

Mirai waved her approval to the man below and walked to the edge of the wall as she looked down at the horde of orcs and goblins she frowned. The remains of the first battle of Dorast were hard to spot now, covered as they were in fresh corpses. However, she knew that below the ash and gore the ancient cadavers from the battle which first destroyed this fortress still remained, their warring bodies preserved eternally in stone by the desperate ritual which had brought the battle to an end.

Unfortunately it had been far too late for the majority of the ancient elvish empire. The fortress had been the only thing that preserved the tiny fraction of territory in the south that was now Eogan, and the sacrifice of its defenders had been the only thing capable of halting the greenskin advance. Not even the greenskins were bold, or stupid enough to pursue when - as far as the eye could see - all which lived had been turned to stone.

Mirai walked away from the edge and continued her work, her mood thoroughly soured. The constant reminder of the fall of her ancestor's great civilization was tough to bear, even as the wailing horde beyond the wall reminded her of the latest push to end her people.

As she walked she recalled the king and how he had assigned her to restore the crumbling ruin. Telling him that the crown princess had left to fight their ancient enemy beyond the mountains and safety of Eogan had not been easy. He had been even more upset that Mirai had left her there to face her trials alone. Seemingly abandoning her to whatever fate brought the princess. The only thing that saved her from a cell in a dungeon had been her great aunt, who had swung her sentence away from a cell and into leading the restoration of the ancient fortress. The king granted clemency begrudgingly, reluctant to upset her family, who themselves were high nobles and liable to cause quite a fuss if their heir was simply locked away.

Shaking her head Mirai turned her thoughts to happier times. Galavanting through the wastes with Assa, her pet tree, that creepy girl with the glowy eyes, and the knight they had found in a rock... It had always been so strange the way that Assa had known where to go and how to avoid dangers. The princess had never explained it but there had to be some mystery in life, right?

Her smile fell again as she recalled the reason she had left them there. Being too weak to fight, having to be protected. She was better off at home preparing Eogan for the orcs.

She turned a corner and climbed a set of freshly laid brick stairs to her next task.

“Ok number four,” she said gently to the next gun in line. “I know you aren't very happy. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?” She ran her fingers over various components before sighing and pulling out some tools and began disassembling. She had a feeling of where to look for the problem, as well she should, she designed and built the guns from the ground up. She laid the exterior plating aside and peered into the guts of the complicated piece of runecraft. A bit of burned metal near the control runes jumped out at her so she began the lengthy process to pull it out. As she worked her mind turned yet again to her sentencing. Her completed schematics for the guns and a few demonstrations had impressed King Crann greatly and convinced him of her qualifications. The entire art of runecraft had been long forgotten by the kingdom of Eogan and he was delighted to suddenly have access to a skilled practitioner after he had calmed down from his irritation with her.

The temperamental gun sparked and sputtered as she fiddled with this part or that until a sudden feedback to the control board caused the gun’s status light to read as ‘ready’. Figuring his boss wanted a test fire the man at the board flipped the switch.

Mirai knew something was wrong instantly, blue sparks flew from the area where she had pulled the faulty fragment as runes overloaded and began to breakdown. She turned to run but before she was able to take even a single step the weapon erupted with a flash and deafening boom. She briefly wondered why she felt no pain or even the sensation of heat from the blue fireball that consumed the wall around her before she too vanished in a flash of light.

Mirai opened her eyes to see a strange sitting room. “What?-” She began before she noticed a woman sitting calmly across from her. The woman was dressed in a glimmering green gown and seemed to radiate a sense of amusement to Mirai who was now slowly beginning to realize what was happening. The Traveler’s Star tattooed over the woman's heart and the way her red locks moved as though soft breezes always blew around her was all the evidence Mirai needed. “You're!-” Mirai started before the woman held up her hand to forestall her.

“Hello dear daughter.” The woman spoke with a soft smile. “I was hoping you would visit me under better circumstances but unfortunately a nice chat is not the reason I brought you here.”

Mirai suddenly grew pale, the memory of the cannon suddenly bulging before exploding crashing into her mind. “Am I dead!?”

The woman smirked and waved a hand opening a window showing the wall at Dorast. A blue tinged crater wafted smoke into the air right where the fourth gun once sat. A frenzy of panicked activity swarmed around the fort. People called her name and looked under rubble and wreckage for any sign of her.

The woman waved her hand and the window vanished.

“So I am dead.” Mirai grumbled as she slumped in her chair.

“Not quite.” The woman said with a the gentle smile still on her face. “They certainly believe you to be, but I pulled you away.”

Mirai thought about questioning why faking her death was necessary but raised an eyebrow at the woman instead. “So... what did you want?”

The woman stood and put both hands on her hips, adopting an expression not unlike the one Mirai’s mother had worn the last time she caught her roughhousing with her cousins. “Well first to see one of my own daughters in the flesh for once.” She said with anger in her voice. “I even left instructions! But you never call, never visit your poor 'Grandma.'”

Mirai fidgeted in her seat. It wasn't everyday one got to visit their Goddess and the first thing she did was get scolded by her. “Sorry... Your books are written in gibberish. ” She mumbled.

The woman smiled before pulling Mirai up into a hug. “Don't worry so much, besides you're here now.” The woman released her ‘granddaughter’ before leading her by the shoulder out of the room.

They passed through a hallway one wouldn't find out of place in any upper class manor. Mirai paid special attention to the paintings on the wall each showing a happy couple, her Goddess Melisim and her husband deity Aillil, Father of all Elves. Mirai huffed and grumbled at the pictures of the attractive blonde man.

“Oh don't tell me my daughters all still teach their children that my husband is a weak fool?” Melisim said as they turned the corner into a large library.

“Yes.” Mirai muttered as she was guided into a chair sitting across from a sofa.

“I know I told them that but at the time I was still so upset with him. Eight thousand years tends to let you forgive a lot.” Melisim pouted slightly as she conjured some tea and flatbread. “It was give up your blessings or death you see.” The goddess took a sip of tea while she contemplated her words. “He made mistakes, mistakes that resulted in the death of so many of his children.” She said, sadness creeping into her voice. “He hasn't been the same since.”

Mirai nodded, still dazed from her supposed death, meeting her goddess and being told the god who had always been a subject of mockery by her family was not a total moron like they taught her when she was small.

The sound of a door opening across the room drew both women's attention. The tall man who entered was the very picture of elvish masculinity but the slump in his shoulders and defeat in his eyes detracted from the effect somewhat. However Mirai still found her cheeks heating up, half from her natural reaction to a man of such quality and the other out of embarrassment for just having been thinking terrible thoughts about him. Aillil slumped into the open seat next to his wife and looked at her like he was expecting she would start throwing insults at the first opportunity.

“Hello dear!” Melisim said happily giving her husband a peck on the cheek. Aillil seemed to perk up a little but retained his general sad demeanor.

“H-hello.” Mirai stuttered with a little awkward wave at the creator of her entire species.

“Hello daughter.” Aillil muttered grabbing some tea and leaning back into the couch.

“Well now that we’re all present we should get to the reason you're here.” Melisim said clapping her hands together and giving her husband a nudge with her elbow.

Aillil cleared his throat and adopted a serious expression. “Mirai for a time you journeyed with Princess Assa to end the threat of the Horde.” His voice resonated with pure authority and Mirai felt herself nodding. “She will eventually succeed.” Mirai felt herself sigh with relief, above everything Assa was her friend and it was good to hear her friend would be alright. “If you hadn't left to reenforce the fortress at Dorast, the horde would have found a way past the ruins and she would have returned victorious to nothing but scorched earth.”

Mirai paled and glanced to Melisim who nodded gravely. “So we acted, pushing you toward the idea that you could do more good back home instead of continuing with the princess.”

Mirai frowned at the idea of being manipulated but held her tongue. If there was anyone with the rights to invasively influence her thoughts then it was the two people sitting in front of her now.

Aillil stood up and waved his hand, a window appearing in the air just as Melisim had done earlier to show her her ‘death’. It was a very similar scene showing the rebuilt fortress as blue streaks of light from the weapons she had designed dealt death to a roiling mass of green bodies. “With your assistance the fortress will hold for months. Assa will accomplish her mission and return. But it will not be quick enough. Eventually Dorast will be overwhelmed before she can complete her quest.” The window changed showing the same scene but with far larger green beasts pounding at the walls. Her guns having to focus fire at one target at a time to bring down the monsters before being smashed apart by a rock thrown by massive arms. A fate soon shared by the walls themselves as a truly titanic beast rent them apart with sheer strength.

“Can't you do anything?” Mirai pleaded as she watched a flood of green surge through the ruins. The thought of the fate of her friends and neighbors being at the nonexistent mercy of the beasts filled her heart with dread and sent a cold shiver down her spine.

“No.” Aillil said as he slumped back into his seat. “Even now the gods of the other races prevent me from acting directly. They mean for my children to be reduced to less than a whisper of their former selves.” He said as his expression shifted to anger and he glared down at the floor. “But that is why you're here.” He said looking up at Mirai.

“We have found a way to send you to a different world.” Melisim said, placing a comforting hand on her husband’s back. “But it will only work once and Aillil and I will be very weak for a long time afterward.”

Mirai’s eyes widened and she stood suddenly. The very idea of an entire other world sounded crazy. She paced back and forth for a time, the godly couple waiting patiently while she turned the ideas over in her mind. An entire new world. Already the allure and mystery of the place was getting her excited. She could be the very first elf to discover almost everything about the new world! All she had to do was journey there totally alone and find a way to bridge the gap. Her mind strayed to the thoughts of the possible dangers. The hostile creatures, diseases, possibly even people from strange kingdoms who would take offence to her mission. The idea was a frightening one and Mirai could feel the icy chill of her own fear beginning to creep up her spine at the sheer scale of the unknowns “Do you know anything about this place?” Mirai asked, turning back to Ailill and She hook her head to get rid of the unwelcome thoughts.
“Melisim shook her head slowly. “Only in one very small area. It appeared to be safe but not even we know what lies beyond our sight.”
Mirai resumed her pacing as her mind worked overtime to process what Melisim had said. Already plans, theories, and ideas began filling in the questions and allowed her to hash out a clear plan of action. She would be totally alone, no hope of rescue or support and tasked with finding a way to open and stabilize the way between the two worlds. That alone was daunting enough but not only would she need to do that, but she would also have to find a way for her people to survive afterward. Just getting them to the new world was only the first step, she would need food, water and shelter for thousands. She would have to learn-

Mirai’s thoughts were interrupted by a pair of arms encircling her shoulders and pulling her to a stop. “I knew we could count on you, such smart daughters I have!” Melisim said excitedly, practically skipping back over to the couch to pull Aillil to his feet. Aillil even smiled a little, it was a small little thing and didn’t help the fact that he still looked exhausted but Mirai thought it was probably the smile of someone who was hoping again after carrying such a heavy burden for so long.
The two of them placed their hands on her shoulders and Mirai could feel the tingle of building power.

“I can do this.” Mirai said, earning her proud nods, though she wasn't sure if she was talking to them or to herself.

“Goodbye my daughter, I have faith in you.” Aillil said as the building power suddenly increased immensely and with a sudden bright flash Mirai vanished.

The first thing Mirai became aware of was the sound of a breeze rustling a forest of leaves. Next was the smell of air so clean one had to journey far from civilization to find its equal. Finally she opened her eyes to see an empty road stretching out in front of her. Trees lined both sides of the road, tall, green, and fragrant. The road in itself was strange, an obvious worn path through the countryside, very different from the hidden ways elves favored.

An unexpected weight on her back made her rock slightly as she became more aware of herself, prompting her to feel around her back with a hand. Surprised Mirai hoisted the packed travel bag off of her back and sat it at her feet. This led her to noticing the very clothes she wore were different, being that of her familiar green tunic and leather cuirass. On further inspection it all appeared to be her gear that she had used during her adventure with Princess Assa which brought a smile to her face.

Her attention turned to the packed bag at her feet and she quickly set about taking inventory. Food, water and writing supplies were chief as well as a satchel filled with her old tools. Only a few bandages and potions were present but her own ability with Life magic would easily see to most wounds. Finally a rolled thick blanket perched atop the bag would be her sleeping arrangement for now.

Her belt pouches were next, four of them clustered around her sheathed silver dagger. In the first pouch she found a tightly coiled piece of parchment with copper ends. Mirai grinned at the magic storage device of her own make. The next two pouches contained the same but the last pouch contained a handful of seeds.

“Yes!” Mirai cheered as she gingerly picked a seed out. She held up a small acorn before placing her hands around it and channeling her mana into the seed. Minutes passed before twisting roots and reaching green sprigs burst from her hands. Dropping the rapidly growing plant Mirai watched as it grew to knee height within seconds. The tiny oak tree scratched at the ground before it’s roots found purchase on the worn path.

Out of breath from the exertion, Mirai grinned at the newly born treant. “Now at least I’ve got some company! Now what to call you...” her fingers found her chin as she tapped her foot. Thinking of names for treants was always so hard... Well the thing was meant for companionship and utility... “Got it, you are <Companionable Twig>! Well, just <Twig> for short.”

The tiny tree paused in its movement, Mirai got the feeling it was somewhat upset with her. “Oh, just live with it!” She groaned, nudging <Twig> with her foot.

Mirai looked around, the next step in her journey would be to find food water and shelter, maybe take a few notes on edible plants or something along the way. “Hmm, well the road means there's obviously some kind of civilization around. So we could follow that to whatever place it leads. What do you think <Twig>?” Mirai look down at the tiny tree only for it to stay totally motionless. She rolled her eyes and picked a direction down the road and started walking.

The walk was an easy one, the surface of the road was free of stones and mud puddles. Mirai took to scribbling on a blank book she had retrieved from her pack, various bits of trivia she could observe from the road quickly found their way into a neat font on one of the blank pages. <Companionable Twig> scrambled along behind her serving as lookout while Mirai’s head was buried in her work. So it was a sudden lash to the ankle that pulled Mirai out of her thoughts. “Ow! That hurt you little pile of compost!” Mirai shouted only to be drawn to the raised root pointed further down the road.

Mirai squinted and spotted some kind of small creature pulling a cart behind it. Mirai took a step to one side of the road as the creature neared. The little thing was some furry quadruped with huge eyes and a striking color scheme of blues. Its body was a pale shade of blue while the longer hair coming from the top of its head was darker. Such a creature would have never survived in Eogan, the surrounding country was filled with murderous creatures that would easily have devoured something so defenseless. Mirai quickly returned to scribbling notes in her book, the discovery of this creature boded well for the rest of the world, for if such a thing could survive then the land had to be noticeably less hostile than her home.

Slowly the sound of wagon wheels grew louder while Mirai wasn't paying attention before they slowed and finally stopped. Finally noticing this Mirai looked up to find the creature staring at her with wide eyes. Strangely the cart was piled with bricks but was bereft of a rider. Frowning, Mirai wondered if the creature was smart enough to make deliveries on its own, or if it had somehow gotten away from its owner loaded down with such a heavy load. Mirai took a moment to scribble a few more words before taking a few curious steps toward the cart.

The creature pulling it took a nervous step back and suddenly shouted something at her. Mirai halted and took a step back and waited to see if the creature would flee. When it didn't her mind turned to the sounds that came from the creature. They almost sounded like language...

“Hello.” Mirai said calmly as she took a slow step toward the strange animal.
She felt a little odd talking to a quadruped but she couldn't exactly make assumptions about an entirely new plane of existence now could she?

The creature responded to her words with a low muttering, Mirai had to wonder if the muttering was even meant for her as quiet as it was. The creature's eyes darted this way and that as it continued talking to itself and the elf took advantage of its distraction to creep a little closer and begin making a sketch of the strange animal and it's wagon. When the creature noticed her again it jumped back, startled by her closeness. Determined to try and sooth it Mirai held out her hand and spoke softly. "Hey no need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."

It looked at her for a long moment before snorting and turning back the way it had come. Mirai followed after it for a few steps until the creature noticed. It paused before gesturing towards itself with one of its forelimbs. Convinced this meant she could follow Mirai took up walking next to it as it backtracked to whatever it's origin was. It seemed to be more comfortable with her presence now but it's walking pace was rather quick. With a cheeky grin Mirai scooped up <Twig> and hopped onto the wagon. The creature looked back at her and said something that didn't sound too happy before continuing on its way seemingly not caring that the elf had hitched a ride.

Mirai was a happy elf. Not only had she made amiable first contact with a local race but she found a ride! She felt justified in proclaiming her first day a resounding success. A fact she was sure to note in her writings.

As they crested the next hill Mirai glanced up and froze, her book falling out of her hands to land on a rather irritated <Companionable Twig>. In the distance a collection of spires rose into the sky gleaming with glass and metal. Small colored dots flitted this way and that among the gigantic buildings. Large paved streets filled the gap and formed a few major thoroughfares out of the city and into the distance. It was all a bit much for the elf maiden whose only exposure to architecture of such scale was a single stone fortress that blocked a mountain pass.

Mirai was brought back to reality by a certain blue creature who was looking over his shoulder and laughing at her expression. She turned her head and pouted as a blush burned on her cheeks. Unfortunately this only made it laugh even harder.

It took another two hours to finally make it to the city and Mirai's notes were now filled with detailed descriptions, and even a few sketches of the wondrous city. She was surprised to see that the other creatures they passed were mostly shooting them curious glances. Those that weren't were ducking into buildings or finding hiding spots that Mirai often found hilarious. Like the creature who hid under a metal can with the rear half of it's body still exposed.

When they finally came to a stop it was in front of a highly decorated building made of white stone. Mirai hopped down from the cart and placed <Twig> on the ground.

All around them creatures who appeared to be wearing various bits of clothing stopped to gawk. Mirai didn't mind, in fact she was happy to return the favor as she noticed the odd dress that the creatures had adopted. A creature wearing nothing but a collar portion of a shirt was of particular interest.

The creature that had pulled her here on her cart cleared its throat and when it had her attention pointed to a large pair of glass doors. Mirai nodded and started following the creature in when the gathering crowd gasped. Turning to find out the issue all she saw was <Twig> scrabbling its way up the steps after her. Stifling a giggle she lowered her arm to allow the treant to climb up and onto her pack. The crowd murmured and she waved at them before heading inside.

Mayor Snow’s eye twitched as some kind of strange thing with a tree growing out of its back disassembled his light switch. He calmly placed his snow white hooves on his desk and shot a burning glare at the delivery stallion who dared to waltz in without an appointment and drop all of his problems in his lap. “Now, Mr. Venture I don't know why you felt the need to bring such an... exotic visitor to my office on my lunch hour... so why don't you tell me what you think should be done about this...”

“Uh..” Brisk mumbled glancing around nervously. “I don’t know, I just thought that you’d know, or at least know who would.”

“Hmm... I see.” Mayor Snow muttered as the light flickered. Both stallions turned to watch as the creature experimented with the wires. The red maned thing seemed quite fixated on what it was doing as an occasional burst of sparks flashed blue in the flickering light of the office.

“Well, I guess I could pass it onto my secretary...” Mayor Snow mumbled. “Excuse me, Amendment could you come in here for a moment please!?” He shouted while pressing a small button on his desk. A few moments passed before a brown, unicorn mare stepped into the office.

Amendment's face remained neutral as she trotted up next to the mayor, paying no mind to the office’s strange occupants. “Need I remind the mayor that he doesn't have to shout when he uses the intercom?”

Snow grumbled an apology. “Right... anyway, Amendment can you please see to the needs of these two. Shoot that thing with a translation spell and ask it why it’s wandering around.” He said waving a hoof at his guests.

“Yes mayor.” Amendment said, picking up the strange thing in her magic and carrying it out of the office, much to the fascination of the creature.

“So... do I just?” Brisk vaguely waved after the two.

“Don't know, follow them if you care to, but in either case get out of my office.” Snow said as he waved a hoof dismissively.

“Right.” Brisk mumbled as he quickly walked out of the office to go find the mare and creature.

Mirai was far too interested in the purple halo of magical energy surrounding her to protest being moved into a small room filled only with a short metal table and some cushions. Her hands waved through the cloud of magical energy, attempting to determine its properties. Already she could tell that it wasn't actually gaseous despite its appearance and that it seemed to be form fitted around her entire body as stretching limbs out as far as she could didn't result in the field dissipating. She felt no pressure on any part of her body nor any feelings of restriction or confinement, she floated along behind the latest quadruped like she was a mote of dust trapped in its wake.

Almost too soon the field vanished as she was settled onto a cushion. The brown creature across from her cleared it’s throat and summoned a stack of papers and writing material in a flash of light. Mirai stared, teleportation was a very rare skill, in fact the only time she had seen it done in person was when a pair of gods decided they needed her help. The creature’s horn flashed brightly again before, to Mirai’s great surprise she began speaking in clearly understandable language.

“Hello there.” The creature said.

Mirai stared for a moment more before scrambling to retrieve her own note taking materials.

“Hello!” She said as she almost slammed her book down on the table and began scribbling.

“Uh... Ok, My name is Article Amendment, what's yours?” Amendment asked seemingly thrown off by Mirai's show of scholarly enthusiasm.

“My name is Mirai Si’Maire of House Ancea. Maire is my mother’s name and Ancea would be my family name. The ‘Si’ prefix denotes that I am the daughter of my mother.” Mirai answered easily, already having anticipated a need to explain her naming conventions. “Is your name really meant to describe the altering of a written piece or is that a translation error?”

Amendment was momentarily thrown off by the flood of information but quickly remembered her notes and began writing. “Yes, It does in fact mean that. There is no problem with the translation that I can see.”

“Great.” Mirai said as she made a few more scribbles. “This spell, does it translate spoken words into a specific language or some kind of universal format?”

“Err, I’m not sure, I would have to ask the pony who invented it.” Amendment said, taken off guard by the sudden technical question.

“Interesting, an established school of magic not requiring absolute knowledge of a spell’s inner workings for any particular piece of magic to be used. Tell me, is there a magical institution of some kind or are spells passed down within hereditary lines?” Mirai paused to look up at the stunned Amendment. “I’m sorry, did I go too fast?”

Amendment shook herself free of her sudden mental freeze. “Uh, no, it's just that I wasn't expecting so many technical questions.”

Mirai nodded. “I’m sorry about that; I get over enthusiastic sometimes.”

“Oh no! It’s quite alright. I was just expecting a bit more of a basic discourse.” Amendment said with a nervous grin. “I’ve dealt with foreign visitors on occasion, but I’m still new at it. Um, if you don't mind, could we perhaps discuss your visit and why you decided to come to our city despite not knowing the local language?”

Mirai nodded and sighed. “Sorry to derail the conversation so quickly. Um...” She paused as she thought of the proper way to word things. “I’m from an elven kingdom named Eogan. I was sent by our leaders to learn more about your land before... Um, more intensive talks.”

Amendment’s eyes went wide. “An Ambassador! Oh, I’m so sorry about this mix up. Would you like me to send a letter to the princess? I’m sure they would love to speak with you.”

Mirai blinked, caught off guard at the leap of logic. The idea of allowing Amendment to make that assumption made her feel dishonest but… If she were to meet with this princess with the added clout of being Eogan’s ambassador she could no doubt learn a lot of things very useful for her mission. On the other hand it would entail a lot of official attention. Then again it's not like it wasn't true... She could even consider herself Aillil’s champion if she really wanted to but the idea of inflating her own importance that much left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Before she could answer the door opened and the blue pony from before poked his head into the room. “Uh, Excuse me am I interrupting anything?”

Mirai raised an eyebrow. “You're the pony...” She paused, shooting a look towards Amendment who nodded. “Who gave me a ride into town.” She finished with a smile.

“Yep, that's me.” He said with a laugh. “I’m Brisk Venture.”

“Mirai.” She replied. “Thank you for that by the way.”

“Oh it was no trouble. Glad to see you're getting sorted out.” Brisk replied with a widening smile as he fully entered the room.

“Mirai is an ambassador from a kingdom named Eogan.” Amendment interjected. “You’ve done us a big favor by finding... um, excuse me, you are female correct?” Mirai nodded with a giggle. “-Her before anything disastrous happened.”

Brisk laughed awkwardly for a moment before nodding “...No problem.”

Mirai waved for Brisk to take a seat before looking back toward Amendment. “I think I would be interested in speaking with your leader if you wouldn't mind Amendment.”

The brown unicorn nodded and quickly made her way out muttering something about the ‘good stationary’.

Mirai tapped on the metal table for a moment with her fingertips before her attention turned to Brisk. “So forgive me but you are a male right?”

Mirai stirred awake after an incredibly restful night. The gentle hum of the Airship’s engine melded delightfully with the lack of greenskins screaming in pain as they were vaporized and made for one of the best sleeps she'd had since leaving home. Of course a soft bed when one had expected sleeping on the cold ground was also a bonus.

Stretching her back by reaching up to touch the low rafters Mirai stumbled out of bed. The swaying of the floor beneath her gave away the fact she was still in transit, much to her delight. Walking over to the large set of windows that dominated the back wall of her cabin, she was met with a magnificent view of green countryside far below. Indeed the Equestrian airship the land’s ruler had sent to retrieve her had truly captured her imagination. An entire chapter of her book had been dedicated to notes, sketches and an occasional schematic about the rather large zeppelin.

<Companionable Twig> also rested in a nearby flowerpot, rooted in place and generally enjoying the sun the huge window provided. Mirai smirked, the ponies back in Vanhoover had shared a lot of extremely valuable information about their culture and species as well as treating her to a large variety of foods in the short two days she had spent there. But by far the most entertaining part of that stay had been spooking ponies with <Twig>’s seemingly frightening presence.

Mayor Snow, who had been very apologetic for some reason, had nearly jumped out of his skin when <Twig> had skittered off of her pack. As it was he was a shade or two brighter whenever the tiny treant was around, something she was not very sure was healthy for the poor ma-stallion.

Turning away from the window she saw to cleaning herself up. The airship’s facilities were limited in comparison to the ones she had briefly enjoyed in Vanhoover, but it was in her best interest to attempt to appear as fresh as possible for the Equestrian princess.

Almost as soon as she was done a loud thump and tremor shook the entire vessel. It was no surprise that they were going to be arriving so early but the last time she looked they were still quite high up. Confused, Mirai exited her cabin and walked out onto the deck. To her great astonishment the airship had moored to a massive city built into the side of a mountain. The tall spires, glittering white topped with gold were impressive but not as impressive as the multi-thousand foot drop she saw just by peering over the side.

She wasn't afraid of heights but that height would strain anyone's sanity.

Mirai quickly ducked back into her room to grab her pack and kick her roommate awake. “Rise and shine you lazy houseplant we're here.” <Twig> pulled himself from his pot with great reluctance and followed after her silently contemplating revenge.

Emerging back onto the deck she was met with a pumpkin colored pony she only knew as Cabotage. “G’mornin Lady Ambassador.” He said removing his fancy hat and bowing. Mirai had to wonder what factors had led to him having such a strange accent. Perhaps something intrinsically linked to flying a ship? It was possible since all the ponies aboard seemed to be afflicted with the same mannerisms.

“Good morning Cabotage. We’re there already?” Mirai asked shooting glances off to the side. She saw the gathering ponies moving supplies and other cargo on and off of the ship. Somewhere beyond them was what she thought looked like a fancy carriage.

“Aye, that we have. Best get a move on Lady Ambassador, don't want to keep the royals waitin.” He said plopping his fancy hat back on.

“Thanks, goodbye Captain.” Mirai said as she headed down the gangway, which was thankfully equipped with safety lines.

“Farewell Ambassador!” He called as Mirai finally stepped foot on solid masonry.

Looking around Mirai was met with a single pony in the most complete outfit she had seen walking towards her. He was dressed in very dark fabric with a white undershirt, he even had a little red ribbon tied in a bow on his neck... it was adorable!

“Lady Ambassador?” He asked in another strange accent.

Mirai took a moment to gather her wits and bite down on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from reaching out and scratching his head. “Yes that's me.” She said quickly, averting her eyes so she would no longer be tempted to embarrass herself.

“Very good, the carriage is right this way madam.” He said gesturing to a pearl colored carriage with quite a lot of gold here and there. “The princess is expecting you.”

Nodding Mirai went to pull her pack from her shoulders only to find it already missing. Suddenly panicked she looked around for it until she spotted it already being carried and loaded into the carriage by the pony with the black outfit. How he had managed to get it from her was an absolute mystery. Shrugging, she lifted <Twig> from the ground and climbed into her overly ostentatious ride.

The trip to the palace was interesting. As she rode through the streets in her carriage, which was strangely enough being pulled by even more ponies instead of pack animals, she was treated with the sight of buildings that if it were not for their overly clean and overly decorated appearance would be right at home in the capital. The various comings and goings of the inhabitants were also fairly interesting, especially their strange propensity to suddenly burst out into song... in large groups... with fitting music coming from somewhere.

When they finally arrived she was met with a pair of almost identical white guards in golden armor. The two of them stood very still as she was climbing out of her latest ride but somehow managed to make a quadruped walking with a spear look perfectly normal as they escorted her into the building.

Inside the palace was notably cooler than outside and the decor would make the palace in Eogan look like a house of paupers. Mirai noticed the sun symbolism on almost everything, the banners, rugs, and of course large doors she was about to be led through. Was the sun a personal or family symbol or was royalty in general represented by the sun? It was an interesting question, one that would have to wait till later.

The doors were pulled open by her pair of escorts who then motioned for her to enter. Inside the throne room was a long red carpet that led up to a huge white pony with a pastel rainbow mane that seemed to float in nonexistent breeze. The golden regalia and crown left little doubt that this was the princess of Equestria.

Mirai pondered on bowing before finally settling on a curtsy, even with the lack of a skirt she was still the heir of a highborn noble family and needed to comport herself as such. The pony princess smiled and gestured her closer.

“Hello and welcome Mirai Si’Maire of House Ancea, ambassador to the kingdom of Eogan.

Mirai returned the smile somewhat nervously before replying “Thank you Princess Celestia for allowing me this audience.”

“I have been looking forward to this meeting since I received the letter from Vanhoover. It's so rare I get to meet beings I haven't had any past experience with.” Celestia said, her grin widening slightly revealing her true enthusiasm for the event. “If you don't mind let us adjourn to a sitting room so we may discuss matters in comfort.”

Mirai blinked, slightly taken off guard by the princess’ request. “Oh, yes that would be great.” She finally said, her cheeks reddening slightly from making herself look like an idiot. The princess stood and Mirai was surprised by her sheer height. If she were to guess she would probably only come up to the princess’ chin. Of course this wasn't an entirely new experience for her, she was rather short for her age and many had often mistaken her for being younger than she was.

As Celestia descended the steps leading to her throne she seemed to be distracted by something. Pointing a hoof at the floor behind Mirai she asked “Who's this?”

Looking behind her Mirai realized she hadn't introduced <Twig>. “Oh, I'm sorry I forgot, this is <Companionable Twig>. He is a treant, a nature spirit.”

Celestia’s eyes widened then she bent down and peered closely at the tiny tree. “<Companionable Twig>?” She asked.

“Yes that's right: <Companionable Twig>.” Mirai replied. “I call him <Twig> for short.”

Celestia seemed confused for a moment, sitting back and placing her hoof under her chin. “Hmm <Companionable Twig>... did you name him?

Mirai nodded. “Oh yes I created him for company on the trip. I don't think he really likes the name <Companionable Twig> but I think it may be growing on him.”

The princess stared at <Companionable Twig> for another long moment before looking back to Mirai. “Why does his name keep coming out so strangely?”

Mirai shrugged “I dunno. Treants are weird like that.”

“Here we are!” Celestia said, gesturing to the comfy looking room with one of her enormous wings.

Mirai stepped inside of the poshly decorated room and glanced around at the various furnishings. “Its... um, very nice your Highness.”

The princess settled into a plush couch and gestured at a nearby chair. “Celestia while we are in private, or would you rather I constantly referred to you as Ambassador?”

“I see your point.” Mirai muttered as she slid into a chair that then promptly tried to eat her with its ridiculously soft cushion.

“Now, why don't you tell me about this mission of yours?” Celestia said as a maid entered the room. They seemed to have a very quiet conversation for a moment before Celestia asked if she would like some tea. Mirai politely refused and the maid bowed and left.

“Um...” Mirai pondered over what she was going to say for a moment. “As you were already informed in the letter before I was sent by my people to learn about your land and to prepare for... umm, further relations.” She finally said.

“Yes, I had read as much in the letter from Amendment. So tell me, how did you hear of my little kingdom?” Celestia asked with a tiny smirk.

“Oh, um... we didn't.” Mirai said uneasily. “We just knew there was something here so they decided to send me.”

“And why did they decide to send you specifically?” Celestia said with an expectant look.

“I was the best qualified out of the people who were available?” Mirai said nervously. “I was a companion to the crown princess for a while. We adventured together.”

“Ah, visiting dangerous ruins in search of ancient secrets and treasure. Fighting deadly enemies with your life on the line. Such fun we once had before taking up our crowns. ” The princess said with a wistful sigh. “It’s been many years since my sister and I did such things.”

“Sister?” Mirai asked, curious as to what the sister of an enormous, quadrupedal, pony princess might look like.
Celestia’s face fell a little. “A touchy subject I’m afraid. She has been away for many years now due to a… disagreement between us.”
“Oh…” Mirai said, glancing around awkwardly. “I didn’t mean to bring up something so sensitive.”
Celestia waved a wing to dismiss her apology. “That isn’t necessary, I was the one who mentioned Luna in the first place. I can hardly fault you for something you had no way of knowing.” The princess smiled though Mirai thought she could see worry buried somewhere in it. “Besides she may be returning soon.”
Mirai fidgeted a little, unsure of what to say.
“Now why don’t you tell me about the treasures you found while digging around those monster infested ruins?” Celestia asked with a playful smirk, dispelling the last of the awkward air.

Mirai couldn’t help but smile a little, the princess was quite good at steering conversation it would seem. “It was the secrets for me. Though the treasure never hurt and I’m sure if Fearghal was here he’d have some lecture about greed to bore us with.”

Celestia tittered, hiding her smile behind a hoof. “Was this Fearghal another companion of yours?”

Mirai nodded. “Yes, he was um... a knight.” Mirai suddenly hesitated at the thought of going into detail about the ghostly man.

Celestia narrowed her eyes, an urge to tease threatening to override propriety but the sound of a soft knock and the door opening drew both of their attentions. A purple mare stuck her head into the room. She was shaking so hard Mirai thought she could hear her hoofs vibrating against the marble floors. “Y-You called for me Princess?”

“Come in Twilight, I wanted to introduce you to someone.” Celestia said gesturing toward Mirai with a wing.

The little mare stepped fully into the room and walked toward the elf with a sudden look of fascination. Apparently whatever it was she feared hadn’t come to pass. Mirai used the opportunity to scrutinize Twilight just as closely as the pony was examining her. She was a light shade of purple with a darker hue making up most of her mane. The only portion that wasn't dark purple was a bright streak of pink running through it, giving the hair an appealing look. The pony propensity for odd hair color variation as well as the strange pictograms on their sides was a total mystery and a source of interesting speculation to Mirai. She had thought on how such creatures came to be so colorful but the cause had genuinely stumped her.

“Twilight this is Ambassador Mirai from a distant kingdom called Eogan.” Celestia said with a gentle smile. “Mirai this is my student Twilight sparkle. If there is anypony who could assist you with learning about Equestria then it would be Twilight.” Mirai watched in awe as a quill and parchment appeared in a flash of light and without interruption began taking notes. Mirai burned with jealousy, if there was only one thing she could learn from unicorn magic after her mission then it would have to be their amazing ability to take notes without even looking at the page. Both Twilight and Amendment knew those spells so at least they should be easy enough to find...

Twilight blushed and shrank back from her close examination, jarred out of her trance by Celestia’s compliment. “Oh, um YES! That’s right, a-and anything I don't know I can find for you in the archives!”

A dangerous looking glint entered the eyes of the elf and that in combination with a sudden frightening grin gave both ponies present pause. “Archives you said?” Mirai’s arm slowly wrapped itself around the suddenly apprehensive Twilight and pulled her closer. “I think you and I are going to get to know each other very well. Now, I'm very interested in seeing this archive.” Twilight stuttered, attempting futilely to protest as the elf dragged her out into the hallway.

Celestia watched after them until the door clicked closed with an air of finality. “Oh dear...” Celestia said, summoning a hot cup of tea and taking a calming sip. “I don't know if Canterlot can handle two of them.”

Chapter 2

View Online

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

Canterlot Dinner Party- Chapter 2

A humongous stack of books teetered precariously on a sagging table. Each book selected for it’s age and air of ancient knowledge.

Mirai had spent her first few hours in the archives gathering up the pile that now sat before her and ignoring the protests from Twilight who repeatedly insisted she “make a list” of the books she took. Unfortunately for Twilight there was knowledge to be had and Mirai had never really been one for organization. Mirai eyed the stack hungrily and selected a particularly old, venerable tome and cracked it open, the ancient binding complaining noisily. “You look like a good place to start,” she cooed. Her eyes flew over the words, drank in their glory before she shut the book with a snap. “I can't read...”

Mirai muttered in despair as she sank back into the voluminous cushion she was sitting on. Her eyes fell upon Twilight running here and there with a roll of parchment and a quill, rapidly cataloguing the places where she had taken books. Presumably so they could be returned without her learning a single solitary morsel of ancient unicorn magic. A solution to her problem suddenly came to her and she stood to follow the purple unicorn. Twilight never noticed a thing until Mirai snuck an arm around her and pulled her to a stop. Twilight froze and started to shake in fear. Mirai couldn't blame her, she had startled her pretty badly. “Twilight.” She said evenly from right next to her.

“Y-yes Ambassador?” Twilight squeaked.

“I've discovered something just terrible Twilight.” Mirai said with only partially fake sorrow in her voice. “I-I can't read pony.”

“GAAAH! What!?” Twilight gasped. “That's horrible! Everypony should know how to read!”

Mirai grasped Twilight’s head pulling her close, her cheeks reddened both from the embarrassment and from her cheeks being mashed. “Twilight, you have to teach me pony words!”

“Of course I will!” Twilight said, writing supplies appearing out of thin air once again. She really did have to learn that at some point. “I'll have you reading before I have to go oversee the Summer Sun Celebration!” Twilight practically bled determination. “I’ll write up a schedule right away!”

“Excellent.” Mirai said with a diabolical grin.

Early the following morning Princess Celestia trotted along the hallway that led to the archives in search of Ambassador Mirai. She had grown a little worried when she had received a message from her staff that she had never visited the room they had set aside for her last night. Certainly she hadn't stayed up the entire night... Though if she was with Twilight then that was not beyond the realm of possibility. Celestia had to hoof it to Mirai, she was the only one to date that appeared to match Twilight’s zeal for knowledge.

As she turned the corner she was met with Twilight’s companion and assistant Spike, the tiny treant <Companionable Twig> and a small gaggle of various maids and guards all watching something through the slightly open doors to the archives. Curious, she snuck up behind them and peered through the gap thanking her convenient height for not needing to disturb them.

Inside was a strange sight. Twilight flashing back and forth, teleporting basic reading materials here and there as needed. All the while giving a lecture to Mirai who was scribbling madly on a piece of parchment, one of many scattered around her seat. Both of them looked disheveled and seemed to move and speak at an almost frantic pace.

As Celestia watched the two she could feel a strange vigor seep into her bones. Her surroundings sharpened and she could feel her mind taking it all in. With her sudden boost she could see in far more detail the scene in front of her, not so much her vision improving but her mind taking in and processing more details. The tiny copper ended cylinders on the table next to Mirai stood out, two laid over on their side with another standing on end as if waiting to be used. As if on cue the elf snatched the waiting cylinder in her hand and without even pausing in her writing held it to her chest. Magic flowed out of the little object and into Mirai.

The situation clicked in Celestia’s mind and she suddenly felt concerned. Artificially boosting mental functions was very advanced and delicate magic and to hold it for any extensive length of time would rapidly result in mental fatigue.

Celestia nudged Spike with a hoof causing him to lethargically turn to look at her. “Spike, how long has this been going on?” She asked the dazed looking drake.

“Princess?” Spike mumbled, rubbing his eyes before looking at her again. The Princess frowned at his lack of coherent response. A little further prodding finally got her an answer of “all night.”

Celestia stepped through the doors with a hurried step, jostling the gathered staff. She felt the stirring of the crowd behind her as if they hadn't realized they had been stationary for so long. They moved around and muttered confusedly before splitting off to continue their work. The exception to this was young Spike and <Twig> who followed her into the room.

“Hello Ambassador, Twilight.” She said coming to a halt next to Mirai's table. The girls continued on without acknowledging her until she waved a wing in front of the elf. Mirai jerked back and looked around as if dazed before the feeling of unnatural vigor faded. Twilight kept on talking for a few seconds before coming to a slow, halting stop.

“Wait... what was I doing?” Twilight muttered.

Mirai glanced down at her notes. “You were explaining conjugation.”

“Oh right, so the proper use of the Imperial comma comes after the-” Twilight continued before a loud cough from Celestia drew her her attention.

“Oh, umm... hello Princess.” Twilight said quietly as she suddenly shrank down to cower on the floor.

“Hello Twilight.” Celestia said with a serious look on her face. “What are you two doing?”

“Oh... um... teaching the Ambassador how to read?” Twilight said uncertainty. “We just started to cover Ancient Imperial.”

Celestia's raised a brow at that. “Why were you teaching her a dead language?”

Twilight stuttered for a moment before managing to answer “W-Well I already taught her Equestrian a-and she wanted to know the oldest language n-next.”

Spike elbowed the small tree next to him. “Yeah that sounds like something Twilight would do.” The tree next to him remained silent and perfectly still. Spike watched it for any signs of a response before giving up and rolling his eyes. “Yeesh, tough crowd.”

Celestia's other brow joined the first. “You taught her two languages in one night?”

“One and a half.” Mirai muttered automatically.

“And that spell you were using?” Celestia turned her eye to Mira who was trying in vain to gather up the numerous rolls of parchment that held her notes.

Mirai waved a hand around as if trying to physically grasp errant thoughts. “It's my personal variation of the royal family’s ‘Revitalize’ spell, which I modified to focus the mind in addition to alleviating fatigue and curing minor wounds. It makes staying on task really easy and you get a lot more done, but when you’re inexperienced with the effects-” Mirai gestured to Twilight, “-it takes you some time to reorganize your thoughts whenever you have to change your subject of attention. I call it ‘Scholar’s Focus.’”

Celestia blinked. “How do you-”

“Teach me!” Twilight shouted, suddenly appearing in a flash of magic mere inches away from Mirai's face. The little mare shook her by her shoulders, “In the name of books you must tell me your secrets! Think of all the reading I could do! Think of all the time I've wasted!”

“I can't!” Mirai shouted as her head was whipped around. Finally Twilight was pulled away by a yellow glow.

Celestia, horn alight, placed a hoof on her temple to try and ease her building headache.

“Why not!?” The unicorn demanded as she hung upside down.

“Because you have to have an affinity for life magic!” Mirai said as she regained her bearings. “A strong life affinity to get any effect worthwhile. Forgive my assumptions but I don't even know if you have affinities like elves do.”

“But my affinity is magic!” Twilight said as she slowly spun in circles. “It's my special talent.” She pointed to the pictogram on her flank.

Celestia nodded.“While my student is being somewhat... over enthusiastic, it's true. Twilight possesses a great aptitude for any magic she puts her mind toward.”

Mirai frowned and shook her head. “That's not what I’m talking about.”

The two equestrians shared a glance before motioning for her to explain.

Mirai sighed and did something she hadn’t tried to do in a while. With a flick of her fingers a few pathetic sparks arced into the air and fizzled out uselessly on Twilight’s nose.

Twilight brushed her nose off with a hoof and looked up at Mirai questioningly.

“That...” Mirai said as she waved her singed fingers around to cool them off. “Was my best attempt at Fearghal’s Flame Lance spell.”

“While I’m concerned you attempted to use a fire spell in a library, not to mention on my student, what were you trying to show us?” Celestia said frowning.

Mirai rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I knew it wouldn't do anything. Mechanically, I can cast that spell just as well as Fearghal but if he were the one who had cast that just now it would have blown your head off.” The ponies both gasped. “All the magic I’ve got in my body is Life natured.” Mirai said standing up and walking around the table. “That means I can cast things like healing spells very well but any spell that falls outside the concept of ‘Life’ I will never be able to cast.”

Celestia's frown intensified. “I believe I understand. But what of young Spike and the castle staff that were compelled to stare at you for hours?”

Mirai looked over her shoulder but failing to find anyone, the staff having long left, turned back to the princess. “Sorry about that. The truth is this is actually the second spell I got out of modifying the Revitalize spell. The first was Nocturnal Vigilance, which lets you go without sleeping and also boosts your perception to draw your attention to anything that changes in your environment. I got Scholar’s Focus after that by pushing the spell farther. Unfortunately this means the effects of one spell sometimes bleed into the other when I'm not paying attention while casting it. So if you're not already focused on something when I make that mistake, or not used to the effects... well your mind finds you something to focus on.”

Celestia nodded. It sounded like a fairly easy mistake to make for what sounded like a will based spell. “Any other negative effects?” She felt somewhat rude for grilling the ambassador so thoroughly but the health of her subjects was worth a potential political faux pas.

To her great relief Mirai shook her head. “None. I've used these spells to stay awake for months before with no noticeable ills.”

Twilight nodded in satisfaction and the Princess imagined that within Twilight was rubbing her hooves together diabolically.

Celestia sighed before leaning down to nuzzle her student leaving Twilight an embarrassed wreck. “Very well. I'll request you exercise more caution the next time you decide to use wide area magic. It could have unforeseen effects.”

Mirai bowed her head in acquiescence, it would be extremely stupid to fail her mission because she found it inconvenient to use a little more vigilance. “I will. Thank you for your forgiveness.”

“Twilight I am about to raise the sun, would you, Spike or the Ambassador like to watch?” Celestia walked over and open the door to the gardens before looking back over her shoulder.

“Y-Yes I'd love to princess!” Twilight said, nearly hopping after her mentor.

“Alright!” Spike cheered. “I always love watching this! Come on lady you don't want to miss this!” He said, scampering after the two.

Mirai stared after them for a long few seconds before her mental processes restarted. “What!?” She chased after them, nearly tripping over her own haste in the process.When she made it outside she was nearly blinded by a bright light that filled the courtyard. Mirai averted her eyes from the glowing pony and instead looked toward the horizon. before her eyes the star studded, deep violet sky brightened from shades of purple to a faint pink. The light coming from Celestia lessened, allowing her to look in her direction without shielding her eyes. The princess stood perfectly still with her eyes closed and a serene expression on her face, the light coming from her horn flickering like a torch. The giant burning orb that was the sun climbed into the air taking the sky from pink to orange to finally the easily recognisable clear blue of day. Twilight and Spike were silent as they watched the event with familiar awe before cheering as the light faded from Celestia’s horn. Mirai suddenly felt she had made a grievous error.

“Woo! That was a great show, as usual Princess.” Spike said jovially. “I can't wait for the Summer Sun Celebration!”

The comment earned a smile from her as she leaned down to nuzzle him. “Thank you, young Spike. I think you have learned the art of flattery well. I'm sure your etiquette teacher will be happy to hear.”

“But Princess... you're our etiquette teacher.” Twilight said with a confused look.

Celestia’s small smile grew just the tiniest bit.

The ponies and Spike missed seeing the sudden terrified expression that overtook Mirai’s face as her own thoughts presented one frightening scenario after another. “Excuse me.” She said as she turned back around and walked quickly back into the archives leaving two confused ponies and a drake behind.

“Wonder what's eating her?” Spike muttered, earning a hushed “Spike!” from Twilight.

Celestia stared after the retreating elf with concern in her eyes. Had she scared the poor girl? Her eyes narrowed as she went over their few short interactions for anything specific that would explain the look of sudden terror that had come over the face of the Ambassador but... eventually came up with nothing. Perhaps she had simply been overwhelmed? Sometimes the realization that the sun was under the control of a single pony was a bit much for some beings. A distant memory of a similar occurrence the first time she had met with the zebra all of those centuries ago crossed her mind and she cursed herself for her forgetfulness. New races were bound to have sensitivities and it was amateurish of her to have forgotten that.

“Princess Celestia?” Came the concerned voice of Twilight. “Is the Ambassador alright? She seemed... upset.”

Celestia met Twilight’s gaze with a reassuring look. “I’m sure she will be fine Twilight. Sometimes the raising of the sun, while an everyday occurrence to ponies, is an overwhelming experience to beings who are unfamiliar with me.” She tucked Twilight and Spike under a wing to reassure them. “I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.”

A door in one of the diplomatic suites was very nearly implanted in the wall if not for being caught by a slender hand. Mirai Si’Maire entered the room, huffing to catch her breath. After nearly giving a maid a heart attack she had, politely, asked for the location of the room she had been given. After running most of the way the fear she had felt had lessened greatly but a smoldering anger had taken its place.

“You are such an idiot!” she hissed quietly to herself. “Celestia is a god, she controls the damn sun! ” She paced back and forth in the spacious suite, anger fueling her steps. “I should've known, should have been watching. I thought she was just a powerful ruler or her dynasty was conflated with the sun by her people.” She paused, a shiver of fear making its way down her spine. Gods, she hadn’t thought about that possibility and the prospect of becoming at odds with one made her mission far less pleasant. Maybe she should beg Celestia to share her lands with the elves?

The thought was discarded bare moments after entering her mind.

“Gods do not bargain.” She muttered to herself. “They seek only to secure their own. An elven life is a worthless coin, they want nothing more than to toss it away.” The words she learned from Kiera, the young demon hunter who had journeyed alongside her. She closed her eyes, mind tracing back to recall the girl’s striking eyes that glowed slightly in the dark, like a predator’s. “Demons deal, Gods do not bargain.” Mirai repeated it like a well worn mantra as she slowly lowered herself to sit on the bed.

Now here she was in a brand new world and already in the clutches of another god.

“Aillil, Melisim preserve me.” She whispered as the consequences of failure crept back into her mind, images of her friends and family dead - or worse - infected her thoughts like a disease. The Forgotten One’s horde preying on their flesh, scraping their hideous teeth with the splintered bones of innocents. All of them dying knowing that Aillil and Melisim were helpless to prevent any of it, restrained by the jealous and petty gods of other races. Mirai shivered and wrapped herself in her own arms in a vain attempt to ward off the disturbing images.

A quick glance around the room had her going to her pack that had been helpfully leaned against a nearby wall and pulling the thick blanket off of the top. More than anything the thought of being wrapped up in something from home eased her mind. She grabbed the edge and flicked the blanket to unroll it but a loud clatter distracted her from the waiting warmth and comfort. Against the far wall lay a long, intricately carved, tube of brassy metal with a wooden grip. Various delicate parts were welded to the exterior, all leading back to the chamber that held a fourth mana storage device.

Mirai recognized it immediately as the original inspiration for the huge cannons that now lined the walls of Dorast that she had used as a personal weapon for years before returning to Eogan. Reaching down and gently lifting it from the floor she closely inspected it for damage. After finding none her hands clenched tightly around it. “Thank you.” she whispered as she held her weapon like a talisman against her fears of failure.

Hours passed as Mirai plotted a way out from under Celestia. It was difficult but finally a clear course of action emerged.

First she would learn as much as she could from Twilight and the archive. These ponies seemed to have a firm understanding of teleportation and that was a much better place to begin than trying with nothing. Fortunately she had some time before the next phase of her plan, plenty of time to study and if she had to trade Twilight every spell she had to get any help she needed then it was just something she would have to do... An image popped into her mind of Twilight, mane wild and crazy eyed flinging around Famish sent a cold chill up her spine. “Ok, maybe not every spell.” Mirai muttered as she wrapped her blanket tighter around herself. She stared sightless at the other wall as the next piece of her plan took shape.

Then, she would ask to accompany Twilight on her business. This Summer Sun Celebration sounded like some kind of festival and Twilight said she had something to do with it soon. Once away with Twilight on her errand she would make her excuses to not return to Canterlot, something along the lines of ‘Needing to experience Equestria first hand.’ should do.

Lastly, find a way to do what she had to do. Do it. Save everyone.

Mirai swallowed a lump in her throat. “Ok I can do this...”

After a few extra hours of wallowing in the closest thing she could get to assurance and a nap Mirai was awakened by a knock on the door. Rubbing her eyes she answered it still wrapped in her blanket. A maid waited on the other side and looked up at her with a smile.

“I’m sorry to interrupt if you were sleeping ambassador but the princess asked me to invite you to dinner.” The maid said, the little brown mare fidgeting with her uniform.

Mirai paused, food sounded nice, she thought as a rather unladylike grumble echoed in the marble hallway.

“I'll tell them you accept!” The little mare said as she pranced away down the hall.

Mirai watched after her with a dumb expression on her face until the maid turned a corner. Shaking the sleep out of her mind Mirai retreated back into her room to wash up.

When she finally did feel elvish enough to attend dinner with a princess she left her room and walked out into the hallway. A few moments passed as she just stared at the opposite wall... Then turned left and looked down the marble corridor before doing the same to the right. “I don't actually know where the dining room is.” She muttered as frustration welled in her mind.

Deciding to follow the only clue she had she headed left after the maid who came to get her. She walked for a while, turning here or there as dead ends or came up or something looked particularly interesting caught her eye but ultimately ended up wandering aimlessly. After nearly ten minutes of exploration she heard the sound of hooves clicking against the marble.

Down one of the branches she saw a white pony dressed in the top half of a very ornate looking suit. As he neared Mirai waved a hand to get his attention. “Excuse me.” She said as he came to a stop to look at her. “Would you happen to know where the dining room is?”

“Certainly.” The pony responded in a haughty voice before continuing on his way. Figuring that he was leading her, Mirai followed after. A few long moments of silence stretched between them as they walked before the well dressed pony spoke up. “You must be the ambassador I've heard about.” He said without even turning his head.

“Yes I am, my name is Mirai Si’Maire of the house Ancea here from the kingdom of Eogan.” She replied formally.

The pony drew himself up taking a deep breath before speaking. “I am Prince Blueblood of Equestria.” He spoke with as much authority as he could muster. “Tell me, what purpose does Eogan have contacting us?”

Mirai shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, her mind working quickly to add more detail to the excuses she had already used. “At the moment we wish to learn about your monarchy and your surroundings Your Highness. If all goes well there may be trade talks in the future. I have seen a great amount of exotic foods and goods the merchants of my home would likely be quite interested in.” None of which was a lie... Though the circumstances would be wildly different then she let on.

The pony swelled up even more as he walked. “It is good to hear you know the proper way to address your betters ambassador.” He said with a smug lilt to his voice. “I would assume your kingdom had the sense to send a noble daughter as their representative?”

Mirai’s rolling eyes were thankfully unnoticed by the Prince. “Yes Your Highness. The house of Ancea is very well acquainted with the royal family. Once many centuries ago we were even offered the kingdom in the aftermath of a great calamity, though we declined.”

“What?!” Blueblood suddenly yelped, whipping his head around to look at her. “Why would you ever decline?!”

“Self Awareness.” Mirai said with a smirk. “My family is known for... Extreme personalities. It is likely we would have driven the kingdom into the ground before the decade had been out. But then a much better candidate showed up soon after that anyway so we were quite happy to dump the entire thing in their lap.”

“Humph” Blueblood turned back and continued down the hallway. At the far end of which were a pair of large double doors with stylized sun symbols etched in the surface.

“So...” Mirai began uneasily. “Are you really related to Celestia by blood or...?” She left the question hanging.

Blueblood sighed and picked up the pace slightly. “No.” He said, bitterness on full display. “I am a direct descendant of Princess Platinum. Ancient unicorn royalty from before the founding of Equestria. My title is mostly just ceremonial.” He hissed, face twisting into a countenance of fury.

Mirai glanced off to the side as she broke out in a sweat. “I didn't mean to upset you Your Highness.” She said as they neared the doors. The guards standing there saluted and went to pull them open.

“It's quite alright, tis a millennia old grievance.” Blueblood said as he checked his mane with a hoof. “It was nice to speak with someone who shows me the respect I deserve for once.”

Mirai caught the guards who stood next to the open door rolling their eyes.

“But dinner awaits, let us not keep Aunty waiting.” Blueblood said as he gestured to the table, a certain purple unicorn already seated alongside a certain Goddess.

Mirai grimaced as she nodded and followed him in.

Dishes clinked as everyone sitting at the table ate in silence, Mirai trying hard to ignore the looming presence of Celestia. She spooned a little more of the stange foods she liked onto her plate, the mushy round green things were avoided like the plague. The cheese and bread were by far her favorite things, and the least strange, but it would have been rude if she had hogged them all for herself. The utter lack of meat was something she head learned about and was used to from her short stay in Vanhoover so it was no surprise that the food was all some sort of fruit or vegitable.

“So...” Celestia began, everyone at the table freezing the moment she opened her mouth, either out of respect or in Mirai’s case, fear. “I see you have already met my nephew, ambassador.”

“We spoke after meeting in the hall.” Blueblood said, holding a spoonful of soup aloft in his magic.

“He helped me find the dining room.” Mirai said quietly, trying to keep her eyes away from the deity at the table.

Celestia smiled at Blueblood who stared at his plate as though important life truths were hidden among the broccoli and cheese.

The slightly awkward atmosphere continued as the meal progressed until the Princess cleared her throat. “*ahem* Ambassador, would you mind if I posed a question?”

Mirai glanced around the room, seemingly looking anywhere but at Celestia. “I wouldn't mind Your Highness.” She finally said, looking intently at the various artworks that hung here and there around the room.

“Demoted me back to ‘Your Highness’ have you?.” She said narrowing her eyes. Mirai broke out into a sweat as the look bored into her composure. Celestia held the glare for just another moment before brightening again. “I was wondering if you would be willing to tell us a little about your homeland? This Eogan must be an interesting place being so far from here.”

Mirai’s sweating intensified as she glanced around the room in a panic. What was she going to tell a deity that wouldn't be caught out in a lie? “Well...” She began, taking a moment to clear her throat. “*ahem* Eogan is the name of the country and the capital city, but I have only rarely visited. I lived in a village nearby named Aran.” The elf looked up to see all present looking at her with interest. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about who was listening and more on what she was going to tell them. “Unlike my army of cousins I was always a bookish girl.” Mirai let herself smile as she calmed and began to remember the carefree days of the past. “I stayed inside and read... Unless there was knowledge to be had at the end of whatever adventure my cousins proposed. We always got in a lot of trouble for those but me especially as the heir.”

“So you were being groomed for the responsibility.” Blueblood spoke up, nodding. “Your family knows how to raise their offspring.”

Mirai nodded with a smile. “Yes, my mother Maire was always very strict. She had to be as the Matriarch.”

“Your mother’s name was Bitterness?” Twilight said with a grimace. “She sounds kind of scary.”

Mirai boggled at the fact they already knew the meaning of her mother’s name before Celestia spoke up to clear the miscommunication. “It's the translation spell, please continue.”

“Right...” Mirai said, scolding herself for forgetting about that. “Anyway, apparently I was a handful but I was happy to get childhood out of the way. We have this marriage tradition where when the children of the family reached the proper age they would leave home and search for a spouse. I was particularly excited for it because it meant I got to leave Aran and see the rest of the kingdom.”

“You had to get MARRIED?” Twilight nearly shouted only to be hushed by Celestia.

“There are many cultures that practice ceremonies that seem strange to us.” Celestia whispered in Twilight’s ear.

“Well...” Mirai said with a nervous smile. “The very first thing I did when I got out of Aran was forget all about that and go visit an ancient dangerous ruin in search of arcane secrets.”

Blueblood huffed. “You acted irresponsibly.” He said drawing himself up. “It should have been your top priority to ensure your family’s line of succession.”

Mirai shot him a sour look. “That's probably what mother would have said but instead I met Princess Assa and saved her life... After being the reason she fell down some stairs in the first place.” Mirai glanced toward the corner, unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes. After a few moments, feminine laughter filled the room. Turning back towards the table Mirai was surprised to see the source was Celestia.

“You... You...” Celestia fought to get herself under control. “You really ended up adventuring together after you almost killed her with a fall down the stairs? That's how you met?”

Mirai nodded, shamefaced. “To be fair she was the one who over reacted and tripped herself.”

Celestia took a deep breath and get herself back under control. “Well, this was certainly an enjoyable dinner.” She said standing up from the table. “I haven't laughed like that in quite some time. Thank you for that Mirai.”

The elf grinned and waved it off, happy she was able to avoid anything sensitive.

“Now I feel we must be getting to bed. Twilight, you especially, you have a very big day tomorrow and you'll need your sleep.” Celestia hurried along a protesting Twilight who seemed to want to stay and ask more questions. The princess was having none of it though and quickly had her out in the hall.

“Indeed, it was certainly entertaining.” Blueblood said as he also stood and walked over to stand in front of Mirai as elf also vacated the table. “I think I see now what you meant earlier. Your kingdom would have certainly perished with a royal family like you.”

Mirai laughed and nodded. “The scary thing is, my relatives are worse.”

“Worse?” Blueblood looked at her incredulously.

“Worse.” Mirai said with a nod. “Grandmother Metrea set her own house on fire so the man she liked would come and sweep her off her feet... And put out the fire.”

Blueblood stared at her for several moments before turning and trotting out of the room before turning and shouting back at her. “Mad! Your family, all mad!”

Mirai giggled before walking off to find a spell book.

Chapter 3

View Online

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

Ponyville oh Ponyville- Chapter 3

An endless see of countryside fanned out beneath Mirai but unlike her trip on the airship her current circumstances were not fascinating, they were terrifying. So terrifying her fingers were beginning to come close to denting the rim of the chariot that was being pulled through the air by a pair of winged guards.

Her current predicament started when Twilight had left to perform her duties exactly as planned and Mirai had quickly made her excuses and tagged along. The thing she hadn't anticipated was Twilight’s epic freak out the day before, bursting into the archive and roaring through book after book in a frantic search for something. So here she was, staring down at the passing countryside in a death trap that was little more than a small wood and gold platform and all without having learned even the basics of unicorn magic. To put the cherry on top of the misery cake, Twilight and Spike had spent the entire trip arguing about some letter and giving the poor elf a headache to go along with her heart attack.

“My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony’s life than studying. So I’m sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year’s location Ponyville.” Spike read off of a scroll shooting a smug look at Twilight. “And I have an even more essential task for you to complete, make some friends.”

“Ugh,” Twilight moaned. “But we don't have time for this Spike. I feel bad about telling the Princess I couldn't oversee the Celebration but the fate of Equestria is at stake!”

Spike smirked and waved the scroll in front of her nose. “Sorry Twilight but orders are orders.”

Twilight grumbled before turning to the elf, a contemplative look on her face. “So Ambassador, you came to observe the day to day life of ponies in Equestria right?.”

Mirai moaned an affirmative as her stomach decided on that moment to start doing back flips.

Twilight’s face slowly went from contemplative to a smirk. “Then what better way then seeing for yourself how our festivals are put together. If, you’d like I can let you oversee the preparations today.”

Before Mirai could answer the chariot set down at their destination with a small thump, jostling the sick elf and prompting another moan of misery. Ponies turned to watch as Mirai and her tree flung themselves out of the chariot the moment it slowed to a stop.

“Great!” Twilight said as she hopped off the contraption. “Then I leave today's proceedings in your capable hooves.”

“I don't know Twilight.” Spike said with a skeptical look. “Didn't you have to actually be taught how to oversee the Celebration?”

Twilight frowned for a moment before perking up. “Yes I did, but you were there too Spike, so you're going with her.”

“What?!” Spike shouted. “Come on Twilight, you can't just push your job off on us.” Spike motioned to Mirai who was shakily getting herself under control.

Twilight sighed and averted her eyes. She really did feel guilty for this but there was no way she was going to just let the Nightmare Moon situation go. “Your right Spike. I would normally never do this, but this is the fate of Equestria we’re talking about!” She said stamping her hoof for emphasis. Lighting her horn Twilight levitated a scroll over to Spike. “This is the checklist I wrote up. Help the ambassador and I’ll go try to find anything on the Elements in the Library.”

Spike snatched the scroll with a grumble of malcontent and marched over to stand beside Mirai who was contemplating her need to hurl into someone's shrubbery.

Twilight nodded, “Alright, see you later Spike.” As she turned around she bumped right into a pink pony. “Oh excus-”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” The pony gasped and had some kind of midair spasm before zooming away.

Twilight, Spike and a recovered Mirai all shared a look between themselves. “Well that was weird...” Twilight mumbled before walking off to find the Library.

Mirai finally pulled herself up from where she had been getting her stomach under control and walked over to Spike, grabbing her pack out of the chariot as she passed. “So, I didn't really catch all of that. What happened?”

Spike snorted, a green burst of flame coming from his nostrils. “Twilight bailed and left us her job,” he whined.

“Wait, so we have to oversee your festival?” Mirai asked pointing between herself and Spike.

“Looks like it.” Spike mumbled while he kicked at the dirt in irritation.

Mirai turned a confused look to where the purple pony was walking away from them down the street. “Well, aside from it being kind of rude I don't mind.” She really didn't plan on getting anything really important done today anyway. She had to make her excuse look legitimate after all. So spending the day following Twilight around had been all that was on her agenda anyway. “Did she say why she had to leave?”

Spike snorted again before taking off walking and unrolling the scroll Twilight gave him. “She's been on this kick about an ancient prophecy. Something about an evil mare trapped in the moon escaping tomorrow.”

Mirai “hmm’d” in thought as she followed along behind him. “Well, if she really thinks there's something to that prophecy then it’d be worse if she didn't look into it. If something does happen tomorrow, you’d feel terrible knowing you stopped someone from investigating.”

“I guess.” Spike grumbled as he read the scroll. “Looks like our first stop is Sweet Apple Acres to check on the food.”

Mirai rubbed her stomach, still a little queasy from the ride. “Alright, just so long as I don't have to eat any of it, I’m still a little sick.”

The trip to Sweet Apple Acres was a thankfully pleasant one. Mirai still couldn't quite get over how safe this entire world felt. The ever present danger of the roads and lands she had traveled was completely absent here and she relished it.

Inhaling deeply Mirai closed her eyes as they walked, feeling out her surroundings with her other senses as she went. ‘This world is great!’ She thought to herself as a smile crept onto her face. She didn't have to constantly be on high alert, didn't have to keep herself awake for months on end to avoid being dragged away in the night to a fate worse than death. She shuddered slightly as the few close calls she had reared up in her memory. But the quiet near solitude of the road quickly soothed her worries and she was soon back to having a content smile on her face.

“Well someone is relaxed.” Spike muttered as he walked along, his foul mood having only gotten worse.

Mirai focused a lazy eye on him before sighing and coming to a stop. If the little dragon was just going to pout the whole way then she was going to do something about it before he ruined her day. “Come on.” She said gesturing towards herself with her hands.

“What?” Spike grumbled.

“You're used to being carried by Twilight right? I saw you two around the castle all the time.” She made the gesture again and the little dragon finally caught on.

He walked forward with a curious look on his face before being picked up. “Woah!” He cried in surprise as he was grabbed and lifted onto her shoulders.

“There.” Mirai said continuing on their way. “Now will you stop being so grumpy? The walk is too nice to let it be ruined by having to listen to a bad attitude.”

“Sorry.” Spike muttered doing his best not to scratch her forehead with his claws as he held on tight.

The rest of the walk was done in silence until they came to an arched gate with Sweet Apple Acres emblazoned across it alongside a carved apple motif.

“YeeeeHawww!” An orange mare in a strange hat called out as she violently kicked one of the plethora of trees that stood around in rows. Mirai winced and glanced down to <Companionable Twig>. The treant seemed to curl in on himself with sympathetic pain. The fruits that hung in the tree were shaken loose by the kick and all happened to fall perfectly into waiting baskets.

The mare smugly cocked one leg over the other and stared at her handiwork until she spotted them coming up the path to her home. She watched Mirai warily as she walked up and set Spike at her feet.

“*ahem* Hello.” Mirai called, waving at the mare. “I’m ambassador Mirai Si’Maire of the house Ancea. I’m in Equestria as the representative of the Kingdom of Eogan, but I’m here as a favor to a mare named Twilight Sparkle, who was supposed to be overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration. Something came up and she asked me to fill in for her.” Mirai smiled nervously down at the orange mare who kept up her scrutinizing gaze.

Suddenly the mare’s face brightened before she held out a hoof in greeting. Mirai looked at it for a moment before grasping it and giving it a shake. “Well that was mighty nice of ya ambassador! It's a pleasure making your acquaintance; I’m Applejack.” The mare said gesturing to herself. “We don't get you fancy schmancy, government types visitin tha farm very often. If there's anything ah can do to help just let me know.”

The elf’s smile lost its trepidation. “Actually I needed to check on the food for the festival tomorrow.” Mirai said waving a hand towards the rows of fruit trees.

“Ah, sure pumpkin...” Applejack said as her eyes followed Mirai’s hand with interest, the anatomy fascinating to the farmer. “If’n ya don't mind me askin, what are ye anyway?”

“Elf.” Mirai answered simply pointing to one of her prominent ears. Not that a pony would really understand that her ears were her most distinctive feature, at least out of the ones that were even visible. Sadly even among her own kind the slight droop to her ears was uncommon and was seen as a hit to her attractiveness.

AJ nodded before dashing off to ring some kind of metal triangle with a rod, generating a loud clanging. “Soups on everypony!” She called. A heartbeat passed before a herd of ponies seemed to come out of everywhere, running hard for the only table. If it wasn't for Mirai’s quick reflexes snatching Spike and leaping to the side, they would have both been flattened by the stampede.

“Whew.” Mirai exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from her brow. As she turned to follow the ponies she spotted a trampled tree lying in the path. “Oh no, <Twig>!” The treant sluggishly pulled itself from the path and weaved drunkenly as it tried to walk towards her. The ponies from before watched with nervous fascination as the tree seemed to snap itself out of its stupor and scrabble across the ground.

“Is that a walkin’ tree?” AJ asked as she nervously backed up a step. “Mighty unsettling, like somethin outa the Everfree.”

“He’s a treant.” Mirai said as she channeled a bit of magic into the abused plant. “He’s a nature spirit. We use them for protection back home.”

The ponies seemed to calm and a tiny voice exclaimed, “Wow, that's so cool!” before an equally tiny pony dashed forward out of the crowd and right up to <Companionable Twig>.

Mirai, as suddenly dumbstruck as she was by the sheer concentrated adorable that was the little pony with her yellowish coat and red hair bow, had the presence of mind to mutter, “Be nice!” To <Twig> before the temperamental treant could make an ass of himself. The little pony waved a hoof at the treant and, largely thanks to Mirai’s warning, it replied with waving a root in the air.

“Now don't pester tha poor thing Apple Bloom.” AJ said, pulling the little pony back by her tail. “It t’aint polite. Sides, foods gonna get cold.”

The ponies all seemed to settle down after the elf and Spike took their seats at a low table covered with a yellow plaid tablecloth. “Now why don't ah introduce ya’ll to tha Apple family!” AJ said with a wide sweeping hoof gesture. What followed was a series of ponies coming up to the table and having their name called out before depositing a dish on the table. The heap of food reached towering proportions as the list went on till it finally seemed to wind down. “Big Macintosh, ya’ll already met Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Up and at em Granny Smith, we got guests!”

Mirai was momentarily surprised when a grey, green, and shriveled pony walked up on creaky legs mumbling. “Soups up ah’ her- ah’ comin.” The truly ancient Granny Smith was the very first elderly pony she had seen and the elf could spot many of the same maladies that only the most ancient of humans had to deal with. Of course it was only thanks to Ailill that elves stayed young until their bodies gave out and Mirai wasn't sure why she had expected ponies to be similar.

“Ya’ll are welcome at Sweet Apple Acres any time Ambassador!” Applejack said with a smile. “Why, it's almost like you're already part of the family...” Applejack spared them another glance. "...well sorta.”

The elf couldn't help but smile at that. “Thank you AJ, this is certainly one of the warmest welcomes I’ve ever had.” Mirai snatched up a fritter and took a bite as the gathered Apple family let out cheers. The elf chewed once, twice as she gained a far away look in her eyes.

AJ shared concerned glances with her family as the fritter dropped out of Mirai’s hand as she stared off into space. “Uh, ya’ll alright there sugar cube?”

Spike waved a claw in front of her face to no effect. “Um, I think the food broke her Applejack.”

The Apple family murmured worriedly and tried fruitlessly to wake their guest.

“Foods all taken care of. Next is weather.” Spike said as he walked, his nose buried in the scroll.

Mirai followed close behind, still in a daze as she devoured the last piece of apple pie out of a pie pan. When it was gone she proceeded to lick any of the delicious filling she could get out of the bottom. She was fully aware of how she looked but her mind refused to let her think about it at this particular moment. Sugary treats were few and far between in Eogan. The plants that produced it were rare and after that most of the farmland had to be used for staple crops. Frivolities like the pie or any of the other deserts she had just inhaled were extremely rare and she was determined to enjoy every sweet sweet crumb.

Spike sighed as he watched her make herself look like an idiot before turning back to the scroll. “There's supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds...” He glanced up at the sky, noting the numerous puffs of cloud that still marred the sky. “Doesn't look like she's done it yet though.”

“What?” Mirai asked as her mind began to actually work now that her sweet treat was no more. She held out the pie pan and searched for any missed morsel with a sad look in her eyes. Spike was just turning around to tell her to cut it out with the pan when there was a loud ‘whoosh’ and a resonating ‘CLAAAAAAANNNNNG’.

Spike closed his eyes as he turned around, hoping that what he thought had happened was, in fact, his imagination but no such luck as when he opened his eyes he was greeted with an unhappy elf covered in mud from the puddle she had fallen into. Not to mention an unconscious rainbow maned pony, her face buried in a perfect impression of it in the pie pan.

“Ugh,” Mirai moaned as she tried to get the muck off of her clothes and out of her hair. She stood up out of the puddle and turned an angry glare at the unconscious prismatic pony. “Oh no, your not getting out of this that easy!” She pulled the mare’s head out of the dented pan and tossed her back to the ground, casting one of her more powerful healing spells.

The mare stirred with a groan, getting to her wobbly feet. “Oh my face!” She moaned, clutching at her bruises.

The elf ‘humphed’ angrily. “You’ll get a lot worse if you don't get off your backside and get those clouds cleared.”

The mare got a challenging glint in her eye as she lifted into the air to glare at Mirai. “Oh yeah? And who are you to tell me what to do you... you... thing!”

Mirai took a step forward, getting right up in the mare’s face before holding her hand out to Spike. Figuring she wanted the scroll in his claws he handed it over. The elf let the scroll unroll as she smirked at the pony. “Are you one ‘Rainbow Dash’?” The elf asked as she looked over the paper.

The mare snorted in anger and hovered up higher. “That’s me! Fastest flyer in Equestria!”

Mirai smirked as she turned the paper around so that the pegasus could see. “Well then ‘Rainbow Dash’ as of this morning and until the start of the Summer Sun Celebration I am your boss!”

“What?!” The mare paled and drifted down to get a better look at the scroll. “That's just... what?!”

“Now.” Mirai said rolling the scroll back up and handing it to Spike. “Get to it, I want to see you working immediately and no stopping until the sky is completely clear.”

“Aww come on, I was practicing for the Wonder Bolts!” Rainbow complained.

“Now~,” Mirai said with a suddenly sweet lilt to her voice. “Or I’ll see if I can beat this pan back into shape-” The elf lifted the pan so that Rainbow’s face imprint was clearly visible. “-the same way it got dented in the first place.”

Instead of replying Rainbow Dash made a quick exit and started clearing clouds.

Mirai planted her still mud covered hands on her hips and shot the fleeing mare a smirk.

“You’re scary, do you know that?” Spike deadpanned.

“Yes, and thank you for the compliment Spike.” Mirai said in that same creepily sweet tone. “Now, I think I saw a river somewhere, I need to wash off.”

Twilight entered the library with a huff of relief. Looking around in the dark she found a light switch and flicked it on. Rows and rows of shelves covered in books lined the wall. Twilight could only hope there was something here that could tell her how to find the Elements of Harmony.

“Elements, Elements.” Twilight muttered as she levitated various books to glance at their table of contents. Each one came back a negative. Twilight groaned with frustration as the books kept coming and each time, nothing. “I'll search this entire library if I have to!” She shouted to absolutely nopony. “Even if I have to hunt all night!”

“Wow really? Sounds important.” Came a voice from behind her.

“It is very important. The fate of Equestria could rest on me finding any information on the Elements.” Twilight said as she moved on to another shelf. “One of these books has to have something!”

“Oooooh, you mean like this book?” A book was passed under Twilight’s nose.

“Yes... That is a book, the information could be in any one of these!” Twilight said pushing aside the offered book.

“What about this one?” Another book found its way under her nose.

Twilight pushed this one aside too. “It's not in that one either.”

‘What about this one, oh! oh! or this one. This? Thisthisthisthisthisthisthisthisthisthisthisthisthis.”

Twilight was suddenly buried by a huge flood of tomes. It took her mind a moment to catch up to the situation and when it finally did she felt anger boiling up within. She shook off the books covering her head and looked around the library until she spotted the perpetrator; The pink pony from before. Twilight summoned the harshest glare a pony could manage, somewhere around mildly scalding, but before she could put it to use the pink pony held up a golden bound tome.

“The Elements of Harmony: A reference Guide.” The pony said reading off the cover.

Twilight froze looking at the book before leaping out of the pile of books she was buried in and lunging for the pony. “Give me that!”

The pink pony bounced away still holding onto the precious book. “Nope, not until you ask nicely~.”

“AHHH!” Twilight shouted a war cry before running at the pony again. “Give that to me you pink menace!”

The bouncing pink pony frowned before grinning and zooming out the door. “Nope, you have to catch me first!”

Twilight charged after her, leaving the library empty.

A loud splash echoed over the quietly babbling stream, a thrown rock having momentarily disturbed its serenity. Spike groaned and leaned back on a boulder, painfully bored. “Are you done yet?” He called to the dark area beneath the small footbridge that provided a way across the stream.

“NO!” Came an irate voice from the shadows under the bridge. “And you complaining isn't going to make this go any faster!”

Spike rolled his eyes and rolled over on the sun-warmed rock. He was beginning to doze by the time he heard footsteps making their way through the water. Spike perked up a little at hearing their unique rhythm, not many creatures had a similar gait to himself and it was a little interesting hearing the difference. Turning his head he was met with his eleven minder for the day... or mindie, he wasn't really sure on that detail, drying her hair on her blanket and wearing a set of small white garments. Her skin was a mostly uniform pale color with the only major variations being a pair of dark blue marks close to the center of her chest just above the upper white garment and a series of angular markings down the center of her back. He was momentarily confused when she began putting her damp green tunic on over the other clothes but he eventually just snorted and decided questioning it would take too much energy.

“What's next on the list?” She eventually asked as she slipped on the thick brown outer layer of her outfit. Spike grumbled and pulled out the scroll without rolling over. “Decorations.” he mumbled lazily.

“Well Let's hurry.” Mirai muttered, hoisting Spike onto her shoulders and taking off back towards town.

The walk was just as peaceful as she’d come to expect from this world and she was surprised when a few of the ponies around town actually waved to her as she passed. She was confused about the sudden friendliness of the town folk until she spotted a few ponies from the Apple family who had come into town to chat with the ponies here.

Their destination finally loomed into view at the end of the street. The town hall was covered in banners and ribbons giving it a festive air. “Well the outside seems good... I think. Spike, how's it look?” Mirai said, giving her shoulder a little shake to rouse the snoring dragon. Spike mumbled something and gave a drowsy thumbs up. Mirai grinned, restraining herself from laughing at the poor kid and walked in.

The interior of the Hall was even more ostentatious than the exterior. The place was decked with ribbons strung between every rafter in a geometric design that made the hall feel much more grand than it probably did otherwise. Mirai shook the sleeping dragon again to get his attention but he seemed content to sleep on. Frowning, Mirai picked him up off of her shoulder and set him on his feet. Spike immediately tipped over and smacked face first into the ground. “Wahzzat?” Spike shot to his feet and looked around in a daze before his eyes fixed on something on the other side of the room.

Mirai grinned and gestured around the room. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Now, how's the place look Spike?”

“Beautiful...” Spike muttered, swaying as if in a daze.

“I don't know about beautiful, it's not really my style.” Mirai said, slowly twisting a lock of her hair, searching for the right words. “I suppose it must be good though if you like it so much.”

“Not the decorations; Her!” Spike said pointing towards a white mare with a stylish purple mane.

Mirai swore she could see tiny hearts in his eyes as he stared. The elf smirked and painted a scowl over her face. “Spike!” She cried angrily. Spike looked up from his ogling and eyed her warily. “I can't believe you staring at a pony like that. Didn't Twilight ever teach you how to respect a lady?” Her scowl morphed back into a smirk. “Or that acting all lovesick is not how you're going to impress her.”

Spike looked at her like she had just grown another head, and that head just started contradicting everything the first one said. “What?”

“Well you want to impress her right?” Mirai whispered, pulling Spike into a conspiratorial huddle. The little dragon glanced from side to side, nervously searching for eavesdroppers before nodding vigorously.

“Well then you have to act the right way.” Mirai said, turning Spike around so he was facing the white unicorn. “You have to be confident.”

“Yeah, confident.” Spike said, drinking in everything the elf said with an excited look in his eyes.

“And you have to be smooth.”

“Smooth! Wait...” Spike tried in vain for a few moments to get his spines to lay flat but eventually just shrugged at Mirai helplessly.

Mirai just shook her head, trying hard not to laugh. “And last but most important you have to flatter her. Women love to be flattered.”

Spike looked excited. “I’m good at that one!” He whispered back at her.

Mirai grinned and, seeing as how the mare had spotted them and was on her way over She patted Spike on the back. “Then go get em!” She said with a thumbs up.

Spike curiously returned the gesture before looking back towards the pretty pony and walking forward in an exaggerated swagger.

“Why hello madam.” Spike said boisterously, dipping at the waist in a bow. “I just happened to notice how beautifully decorated the hall was. Did you do all this yourself?”

“Why yes.” The white unicorn said as she looked up and swelled with pride in her work. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Rarity, Ponyville’s resident fashion designer.” She said with the pony version of a curtsy. “How can I help you this afternoon?”

Spike looked side to side, thinking of something to say before glancing back to Mirai and perking up. “Well might I just say that you have done a fantastic job.” He said with an easy smile. “But we are here on business, I am Spike, royally appointed escort to the ambassador while she is visiting Ponyville.” Spike stepped aside and gestured to the elf.

Mirai shot him a surprised look before the smirk returned to her face. ‘Making yourself look better by associating yourself with someone important, clever dragon.’

Rarity gasped and took a half step back, her eyes shifting between Spike and the elf.

Figuring she’d play along Mirai returned Rarity’s curtsy with one of her own. “It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Rarity. I am ambassador Mirai Si’Maire of the house Ancea. Representing the kingdom of Eogan while in Equestria. But today I’m filling in for the overseer of the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Oh goodness! A real ambassador here!” Rarity straightened up so quickly all four of her hooves left the ground for a moment. “It's marvelous to meet you, oh to think of the exotic places you must have been! The glamour of meeting royalty all over the world! Why you must have seen so many different fashions!” At this Rarity’s eyes fell to examine the elf’s outfit, her face falling as she took in the, travel pack, the damp faded green tunic and finally the leather armor that covered the ambassadors barrel, and feet. “Oh my. Your current... Ensemble does not do your station justice.”

Mirai looked down at herself and frowned. “These are my traveling clothes. I did have to journey here alone.” She said, running a finger along the edge of her belt buckle. A silver plate glinted in the light, its surface expertly carved with the four pointed black star, a symbol of her family and her Goddess.

“Of course, of course.” Rarity said politely. The unicorn averted her gaze for a moment until the stitching in the leather caught her eye. Through the middle of the garment was an artistic depiction of a river with waves forming a ribbon of texture. Around the margins of the river were strange geometric shapes formed, not out of stitched thread but gouged out of the leather and then filled with a dark material. The garment in all was incredibly simple, consisting of two very wide and very thick pieces that wound over the shoulder and then over the side. The two pieces crossed in the middle giving the barrel a double layer of protection. “Such detail for traveling clothes... What do those shapes mean?” She asked, pointing a hoof to the strange characters along the edge.

Mirai looked down where Rarity was pointing and grinned. She passed a finger over the row, channeling a bit of magic into the one at the end. “These are my own addition.” She said as she pulled her silver dagger out of its sheath. Along the blade were a set of similar carvings that went unpowered. “Watch.” Mirai plunged the dagger towards her own chest with a sharp movement causing Rarity to gasp in horror. The point of the knife was stopped dead about an inch above the leather for a few seconds before the spell sputtered out. Mirai smirked at the look on the unicorn’s face before replacing her dagger. “Shield runes, though they only last for a short time.”

“Amazing!” Rarity said, an excited glint in her eye. “You said you added these yourself?”

Mirai nodded. “This is a very early design. My later works have much better capabilities.”

The unicorn tapped her hoof in thought, an idea brewing in her mind. “I have the most wonderful idea!” Rarity hopped on her hooves again. “Perhaps we could spark a bit of a partnership between you and I? I’m sure a great many ponies in dangerous occupations would scramble to have garments both fashionable and protective!”

Mirai “Hmm’d” at the idea. A great deal of money would surely help with her mission. Materials never came cheap and could sometimes be quite rare but the time she might have to put in to make so many pieces might be too demanding. The elf’s foot tapped as she thought before she finally held out a hand to the unicorn. “Ok Rarity, it's a deal.”

Rarity’s smile grew wider and she took Mirai’s hand and shook it enthusiastically. “Oh thank you, I know this will go over just beautifully!”

Mirai’s face remained serious as she held up a finger to stop the unicorn’s celebrations. “On one condition.” Rarity’s eyes narrowed slightly as she waited for the other horseshoe to drop. “They are single pieces by custom order only. My methods are intricate and time consuming, and I won't have the time to do large runs.

Rarity’s smile returned though tempered. “Of course, that is perfectly reasonable. Will you be staying in Ponyville? How would you like me to contact you when we have an order?”

Mirai nodded. “Oh I’ll be around, just come and find me when we have work.”

Mirai stepped outside to let the little dragon do his thing. Spike cleared his throat and bowed. “Farewell madam Rarity. I’ll look forward to seeing your work on display tomorrow.”

The unicorn smiled and brushed his spines back with a hoof. “Oh thank you, you're quite the little gentleman.”

Spike seemed to float out of the door with hearts in his eyes and the goofiest of all grins on his face. When he finally touched down next to Mirai the elf looked at him with a sad look in her eyes.

“What?” Spike asked, his euphoria wearing off and a look of concern coming over him.

Mirai just shook her head and turned to walk away. “Friendzoned...”

“What's that mean?” Spike asked, following after her.

Mirai just shook her head and sighed.

“Seriously... what's it mean?”

The elf continued to ignore him, walking away morosely.

“What’s it mean!?”

“Uuuuugh”

“Come on Spike it's not the end of the world.”

“Says you...”

Mirai frowned at the suddenly very depressed little dragon draping himself over her shoulders like some kind of shawl. The entire trip from Rarity’s to their next destination had been filled with complaining ever since Spike had figured out what ‘Friendzoned’ meant.

“I’m not going to keep carrying you if you're going to moan the whole time.”

“Fiiiine...” Spike groaned before sighing and pulling out the scroll to check on their next pony. “Next is music, should be just over there.” He pointed off towards the edge of town behind a hedge before curling up to take a nap.

Mirai nodded and set off searching for anything that sounded vaguely like a tune.

Only a few minutes passed before Mirai’s ears perked at the sound of a melody being chirped out by chorus of strangely coordinated birds. It was almost eerie how the creatures held time well enough to performed a musical piece. The behavior seemed to be thanks to a butter yellow Pegasus with a pink mane that, as Mirai watched, flew up and delivered the kindest critique imaginable to a bird that had been out of tune.

Mirai stepped forward, the bushes giving away her approach and causing the pony to... Mirai didn't have any other word for it... squeak in fear.

“Uh... Hi.” Mirai said, raising a hand in greeting.

“Oh, goodness you frightened me.” The mare said, turning around.

Mirai blinked. The little butter colored pony, as cute as all the ponies were, had to be the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

The mare looked up at her, at first with a timid expression but that was quickly overrode by curiosity. “Oh my, I’ve never seen anything like you before... can I ask what you are... that is... if you don't mind?”

The little pony hovered up into the air to give Mirai a looking over, putting her hooves this place and that. She seemed particularly interested in her hands, the way they bent and flexed. “I’m an elf.” Mirai finally answered, giving her the same scant information she had given Applejack earlier.

“Oh, I’ve never met an elf before.” The pony said, running Mirai’s messy hair over one of her hooves. Mirai shot the pony a questioning look at the somewhat intimate contact but the mare seemed ignore her trepidation to continue her examination.

The dragon picked this moment to uncurl himself from his napping spot around her shoulders and look the hovering pony in the eye. “Hey-” Spike began, about to tell the pony to cut it out when he noticed how her face lit up when she looked at him.

“Oh my gosh a baby dragon!” The pony said as she seemed to begin to buzz with excitement. “I’ve always wanted to see a baby dragon!” The mare snatched him from the elf’s shoulders and held him out to be inspected.

“Uh... Hi.” He said, unknowingly mimicking his temporary mode of transportation.

“Oh, he talks! I didn't know dragons could talk!” The mare drew him in closer making him blush at the sudden closeness. “I’m Fluttershy, what's your name?”

“Uh, Spike.” He answered lamely.

“Oh, that's such a cute name!” Fluttershy gushed reddening the dragon’s cheeks further.

Spike’s mental processes ground to a halt as they processed the ideas now running through his mind. The mare was beautiful and had an extremely appealing air of all encompassing kindness about her. But on the other hand he was still kind of hoping Rarity would change her mind and give him a chance.

Mirai shot the dragon a smirk, “Looks like someone found an admirer~.”

Spike shot the elf a warning glare when Fluttershy seemed to suddenly clam up. “Come on Mirai! Don't mess this up for me!” he hissed.

“Alright alright, I promise I’ll leave you to your business.” The elf waved him off before turning back toward the town. “Now that our job is done I’m going to go see Twilight about her prophecy thing. Come and find one of us when your done.”

“Alright.” Spike said a little hesitantly as he was hoisted a little higher in Fluttershy’s hooves.

Mirai walked a little ways waving over her shoulder before she turned around with a smirk on her face. “Oh, and Fluttershy was it?” She called back.

“Umm... yes?” The timid pegasus answered in an almost inaudible voice.

“Don't break the dragon, he's on loan.”

The mare eeped and nearly dropped Spike as Mirai turned away and resumed her walk back towards town giggling to herself.

“There you are!” Twilight shouted at a seemingly cornered pink pony. The unicorn advanced on the pink menace slowly, watching for any tricks or the strange illogical ability to seemingly vanish from anywhere only to reappear in the strangest places. But she was trapped in an alley now and there was no way Twilight was going to give her the chance to disappear again.

The pony mumbled around the book in her mouth waving at something behind Twilight. “Oh no, you’re not getting away that easy. Do you really expect me to fall for that one?”

The mare mumbled some more before bolting into a flying leap over the top of the unicorn. Twilight’s horn flared, there was no way she was letting her escape with that book!

Twilight vanished in a flash of light only to reappear directly in the path of the pink menace’s landing.

“HA!” Twilight shouted in triumph only to be bowled over by the very mare she was trying to catch.

The pink one scrambled to her hooves first,making a break for the alley entrance and blowing right by a surprised elf.

“Woah!” Mirai shouted hopping backwards to avoid the speeding pony. “Watch where you're going!”

Twilight drug herself to the entrance and flopped down onto the road totally out of breath. ‘What happened to you?” Mirai asked earning her a stink eye from the exhausted unicorn.

“I found the book.” Twilight wheezed. “But that pink mare stole it and has been leading me all over town. I’ve never run this much in my life!”

The elf turned to look around but couldn't see any sign of the book thief. “Well it looks like you lost her for now.”

Twilight ground her teeth in frustration. “Oh if I ever catch her I’ll... I’ll... say something rash!”

Mirai smirked at the pony before shrugging and putting her hands behind her head, relaxing as she looked around at the street full of ponies. “Well, we aren't likely to find her now.”

“There has to be a way to find her! I need that book!” Twilight got back to her hooves and started towards the library. “Maybe the library has got extras in the basement or something.”

Mirai followed behind Twilight as she muttered to herself about various “backup plans” that slowly increased in complexity and absurdity as they went. She was in the middle of something involving a trebuchet and sleep potion laced muffins when she paused and looked toward her eleven companion. “Hey where's Spike? Didn't I leave him with you?”

“Hmm?” Mirai hummed in response. “I left him to be babied by some pegasus who thought he was cute. Little guy spent nearly the whole day crushing on various ponies. Little lady killer that one.”

“What!?” Twilight shouted looking alarmed. “You just left him? He’s just a baby!”

Mirai shrugged. “He sure didn't act like a baby. Anyway, I told him to come and find us when he was ready.”

Twilight tumbled about irresponsible elves until they reached the library. The unicorn pushed open the door with a hoof only to be met with darkness beyond the narrow beam of light the open door allowed in. “That's strange.” Twilight said as she took a few steps in and fumbled for the light switch. “I’m sure I left the light on earlier.”

Mirai took a few steps into the room and just as she was opening her mouth to speak the light flicked on and a horde of ponies leapt out from behind various furniture. “Surprise!!!”

Twilight and Mirai both yelped in fear at the sudden loud noise and ended up tripping on their own appendages. Both mare and elf lay in a pile on the floor when the pink pony from before hopped up to them.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and welcome to your very own welcome to Ponyville welcome party!” She cried happily, throwing her front hooves up in the air.

Twilight plastered a nervous smile on her face as she got to her hooves. “Ah ha ha, that's great. You happen to have that book you took earlier? It's really important.” Her smile twitched in a concerning manner as Pinkie hopped up and down on her hooves.

“That's right!” Pinkie said, pointing a hoof over toward a gold bound book sitting sedately on a table. “Sorry I had to take it earlier but how else was I supposed to set up the party?”

Twilight’s smile twitched again at the idea that the pink pony had kept her on a chase through Ponyville all day while somehow simultaneously decorating the library for a party. She pushed the thought out of her mind and quickly made her way over to the book and levitated it upstairs.

Mirai watched after her with a concerned look before a certain blue and rainbow mare huffed from somewhere near the ceiling. “Humph, what was her problem?”

“Oh, just researching the only way to save us all in case an ancient evil mare who has been sealed in the moon for a thousand years happens to decide to crash the festival tomorrow.” Mirai answered casually.

“Oh...”

Chapter 4

View Online

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

Banality of Evil - Chapter 4

Huge bulbous eyes tracked prey crawling through the underbrush of the Everfree. This time the predator was not only hunting food, but one of its most dangerous rivals. It crept ever closer as its unaware victim scuttled further along its way.

It lunged from the cover it was concealing itself within, spiked limbs at the ready to scythe and pierce. Its rival reared up on its back legs, raising its body in a show of aggression with fangs dripping with venom towards the sudden attack.

A deadly scything blade plunged down into the rival. In spite of its readiness spines pierced the body of the many limbed beast instantly killing it.

The victorious mantis drew its prey close, chewing though the hide of the spider, intent on enjoying its hard won meal. Only for the sky to suddenly fall upon it.

Mirai hardly noticed the crunch of carapace beneath her leather soles as she marched onward.

“Twilight, are you sure this is the right way?” A certain white unicorn whined from the rear of the group. “This path is so soggy; I can practically feel myself sinking!”

“Yes Rarity, this is the straightest line to the castle.” Twilight answered, forging ahead mud or no mud.

The troop of eight was all that was left after Twilight had come down the stairs from her room and made the proclamation that the Elements of Harmony could be found in the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters deep within the Everfree forest. The rest of the party goers had vanished instantly in pony shaped clouds of dust, leaving the room vacant and a confused elf who had been in the middle of a conversation with a mint colored unicorn.

Spike sat nervously atop his ride, head swiveling around to look at the dark and dangerous forest around them. His claws held onto Twilight’s mane tightly, afraid to lose his grip. In fact the entire group looked plenty nervous. The only anomaly was the elf he had spent a large portion of the day with. Mirai was marching alongside the herd of ponies with an alert but unconcerned expression on her face.

Mirai called the group to a stop and listened closely to the forest around them... though for what Spike honestly didn't know. “That way.” The elf said, gesturing off to the left.

The group made the adjustment and carried on.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash swooped down beside Twilight, hovering in the air just beside her. “So you told us we had to do this to save Equestria, but you never told us who Nightmare Moon even was.”

Twilight looked off into space for a moment. “Did I not?” Five ponies shook their heads. “Oh... Well, Nightmare Moon is an evil pony who wanted to stop Celestia from raising the sun and for the world to exist in an eternal night.”

“Oh, that sounds just terrible.” Fluttershy said quietly. The rest of the ponies nodding in agreement.

“It’s a really tragic story.” Twilight went on. “Nightmare Moon was once Princess Luna, Princess Celestia’s sister who once controlled the moon. Her jealousy of the attention ponies paid to the daytime drove her mad and the princess was forced to seal her away in the moon for a thousand years.”

Mirai stopped walking.

“Why that low down, dirty...” AJ descended into colorful curses for a moment. “...turnin’ on her kin like that! And just outa jealousy!”

Twilight looked up at the moon, just barely visible through the leaves of the forest. The moon’s most distinctive feature, the ‘mare in the moon,’ was still where it had always been, much to her relief. “Looks like we still have some time.” She said to the others who nodded and continued down the path.

“Hang on!” Pinkie Pie shouted suddenly. The party mare zipped back behind them. The five mares wondered what was going on until Pinkie returned pulling an elf who was staring at nothing. “Nopony gets left behind!” she said, suddenly adopting a rough voice and a dire expression, not unlike a grizzled war veteran before dissolving into giggles.

The other ponies all crowded around Mirai, each with an expression of concern. “What ever is the matter darling?” Rarity asked, waving a hoof to get the woman some air.

“What was it you said Twilight?” Mirai finally mumbled after a solid minute of unresponsiveness.

“What? That Nightmare Moon wants to cause eternal night? Look I know it's bad but thats-” Twilight began before being interrupted.

“No, the other thing.” Mirai said, her voice beginning to grow in pitch. The other ponyvillians shared looks as the elf began to shiver violently.

“That Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna?”

Mirai nodded, her knees shaking. “I-If she was C-Celestia's-s-s sister...”

Understanding flashed through Twilight mind. “Oh...”

The rest of the gathered ponies shared another glance.

“Ok you lost me!” Rainbow Dash said, hovering over the group. “What's so bad about that?”

“It means she’s-” Twilight began.

“A G-Goddess.” Mirai finished.

The elf put her hands up to her face and let out a muffled scream into them. After several long moments of the ponies looking on awkwardly as Mirai had a miniature breakdown, she finally stopped.

“Ok...” Mirai said, more to herself than anypony. “We still have time to beat her to the Elements right?”

Twilight looked up at the sky, studying the moon before nodding. “Yes, we should hurry. If we can get to the Elements before her I’ll have time to discover how they work.”

Mirai nodded and steeled herself, silently praying to her own deities. She could still avert this, her mission wouldn't be for nothing!

The group continued through the Everfree. The news of Nightmare Moon being Celestia’s sister lit a new fire under Mirai as she pushed the group of ponies to move faster and faster. The group crashed through the foliage, scaring many native animals out of the way as the sound of hooves thundered by.

“Come on, move!” She shouted as she attempted to keep up her careful watch for danger. “Twilight you’re absolutely certain these things are going to be able to stop her?”

Twilight attempted to wheeze out an answer as she lagged to the back of the pack next to Rarity and Fluttershy. The more athletic ponies shot each other a look before beginning to slow to a stop.

Mirai continued on for a ways before realizing she had left them behind. She turned back with a scowl on her face. “Come on, we don't have time for a break!”

“Now hold on just a sec there sugar cube!” AJ interjected between the angry elf and the panting ponies. “Can’t ya see they need a breather? Ya been running em ragged!”

“No no,” Twilight said through her heavy breathing. “She’s right we... have to get... the Elements.” She took a deep gasp of air and seemed to get herself a little more under control. “I’m fine, just needed a second.” The dragon on her back shot her a skeptical look and shook his head. Twilight was a doughy library hound, no way she could keep up this pace.

“Even if you’re fine-” Rainbow interjected. “-Cant you see Rarity and Fluttershy need a rest?” The pegasus pointed with a hoof at the pair whom still had not yet recovered.

Mirai tsked and turned away, silently allowing the rest. She wanted desperately just to cast a rejuvenation aura and keep going but if she was going to have to fight a goddess she was going to need every drop of magic she could muster. Her eyes trailed down to her belt pouches and the mana batteries within... maybe she could stand to use one...

‘No!’ She scolded herself. She was going to need everything.

She regretted leaving her pack behind as one of her potions probably could have made up the difference. Begrudgingly, Mirai took a seat at the base of one of the trees and let the ponies rest. As Mirai sat she silently let loose another prayer that actually fighting wouldn't be necessary and tried her best to ignore the ponies. Instead she kept an ear open for anything that might use the opportunity to try to get an easy meal.

As she calmed Mirai took another look around. The twisted and gnarled trees drooped with the weight of dry moss and the sounds of animals in the distance were clearly audible. ‘Twilight did say that the forest was dangerous... wild animals, dangerous plants, unforgiving terrain.’ Mirai couldn't help but mentally compare the Everfree to her home. It reminded her most of the forests to the east of Eogan, the ones that bordered the human port city. She struggled for a moment to remember the place’s name but eventually gave up. ‘I wonder whats going to happen to them when we leave?’ The port was counted as a vassal to Eogan and had been for hundreds of years. Could they even fend for themselves against the greenskins? Or would they be washed away in the green tide?

Mirai shook the thoughts from her head and turned to look at her ragtag party of companions. In a strange coincidence each of the ponies were actually the ones who were handling the Summer Sun Celebration. There was Applejack, probably Mirai’s favorite considering how welcoming she had been... Then again this entire kingdom so far had been very hospitable to a degree that boggled the elf’s mind.

There was Rarity, her new business partner. Mirai couldn't help but giggle to herself as she thought about the mess Spike was getting himself into between her and the quiet Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie who was currently speaking to Rainbow Dash about something involving sweets. Honestly the mare gave her a headache in any dose larger than a few minutes... Then again the way she behaved struck a chord with her and she couldn't help but wonder if Princess Assa had also gotten headaches because of the way she had acted herself. Back when running around in the tunnels under Dorast was nothing but a treasure hunt to her... back when everything was a game.

Mirai turned her head to look elsewhere, unwilling to allow herself to get too nostalgic for those old times. When she did she found Twilight Sparkle sitting alone some distance from the others her nose buried in the book about the Elements. The purple pony reminded Mirai of herself in a lot of ways, always looking for new pieces of knowledge to add to her mental repertoire. Though there was a major difference. She always sought knowledge for a reason and always had an end goal in mind when she went digging for facts. Twilight seemed to love knowledge for the sake of knowledge. No rhyme or reason to the search, just an insatiable need to know everything. At least that's the impression she got from her few short hours of studying alongside her.

Just as the group was getting their hooves back underneath them a bush on the other side of the path rustled. The ponies ignored or didn't hear it but Mirai’s eyes snapped up to watch the location carefully. The tension seeped back into her bones as she watched the bush, fully expecting some sort of nasty to jump out.

The gathered ponies, finally rested, stood and trotted over behind her. “Alright, we've had our break, we may journey on now.” Rarity said, holding out a hoof as if to invite them to continue.

Mirai’s eyes remained glued to the bush as it chose that moment to rustle again. The ponies took a apprehensive step back and shared a nervous look. The elf eased her hand back onto her mana cannon, ready to draw the lethal device at a moment's notice.

The tension continued to build until the head of a small bird popped out of the leaves and stared at them with oddly glowing red eyes. Mirai had begun to relax, standing up straighter and turning to get moving again before she heard the ponyvillians gasp and saw them suddenly avert their gaze. The bird emerged from the bush dragging a long reptilian tail and continued to stare intently at her. Its beady red eyes boring into her own like it was expecting her to drop dead from its look alone.

“Cockatrice!” Somepony shouted.

Alerted by the cries to the ‘danger’ that this thing represented, Mirai scoffed and - ignoring the cold feeling in her toes - cast her favorite combat opener. The little bird staggered and squawked in sudden pain as its body noticeably thinned. The ponies were horrified by what they saw. The creature’s bones suddenly stood out like it hadn't had a meal in weeks! A few feathers began to drop to the forest floor, falling out of palled and drooping skin as the reptile bird swayed on its feet before tipping forward and falling flat on its face. Without an ounce of mercy Mirai took one decisive step forward before bringing the heel of her sandal down on the back of the cockatrice's neck. The unnoticed stone that was beginning to creep up her feet suddenly receded as the beast’s neck shattered and it breathed its last.

“No!” Fluttershy shouted from the back of the group, pushing her way through and galloping up to the dead cockatrice. “You killed him!” The little pony wailed as she gently nudged the creature hoping for any kind of response.

“We don’t have time for this!” Mirai growled at her.

Fluttershy turned a heated glare on Mirai that had those native to the area gasping in disbelief. Fluttershy had never used ‘the stare’ on anypony before but that's exactly what was happening now. They were even more shocked when Mirai returned the look with a cold one of her own.

The other ponies took a step back hesitant to get involved in the growing altercation. All except for Rainbow who huffed and glared at the elf.

Fluttershy gazed into Mirai’s eyes expecting her to shy away in remorse for what she had done but the elves eyes only reflected a frosty indifference.

“Are you done?” Mirai asked, enough ice in her voice that it matched her gaze perfectly.

Fluttershy’s glare faltered and she flinched back, breaking the spell that had held the rest of the ponies.

A flash of blue and Mirai’s field of view was once again filled with angry pegasus. “Hey! You can't talk to Fluttershy that way!” Rainbow Dash shouted, poking Mirai in the chest with a hoof.

The elf batted the appendage away from her before turning the same look on a new target. “Have you forgotten what's on the line here?!” She shouted at Rainbow. “We have an extremely limited time to save your world from an evil Goddess and here you are worried about some stupid animal who attacked us!” Mirai turned the look towards the rest of them. “Get your priorities straight!”

The ponies flinched at her shouting but opted to keep moving instead, hurrying on their way instead of facing her.

Rainbow Dash lingered a moment longer, glaring steadily at the elf before turning and following the others.

Mirai paused for a moment before she followed and looked up at the moon. The cratered face was missing the figure that had only moments ago adorned it surface. A spike of fear shot through her and she turned to sprint after the others, even at their best speed it could already be too late.

Lagging at the back of the group Rainbow Dash huffed in annoyance. “Who does she think she is? Huh!?” The pegasus angrily muttered to herself.

Catching sight of Fluttershy, also at the back of the pack, Rainbow sped up slightly to pull alongside her. “Hey Flutters got a sec?”

“Um, yes?” Fluttershy replied trying to hide the sorrow in her voice.

Rainbow winced and looked off to the side. “Hey, I’m sorry about the cockatrice.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before turning to look at her long time friend. “Its ok... She was right I... Dealing with him kindly would have taken too long. I just wish there had been another way.”

Rainbow Dash nodded morosely and hovered for a while in silence. She had seen Fluttershy like this plenty of times. Every so often even her talent with animals wouldn't be enough to save some poor critter who crawled out of the forest. All she needed was a little time and to probably stay away from that cold blooded killer Mirai.

Speaking of the elf... “Hey, what happened with your stare? I haven’t ever seen anypony just shrug it off like that.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly her eyes falling slightly as they ran. “She’s seen scarier things.”

“What?” Rainbow asked. “What do you mean?”

“It happens sometimes... with problem animals.” Fluttershy said quietly. “Usually they’ve been through something so bad out here in the forest that nothing scares them anymore.”

“Woah...” Rainbow grimaced and looked up towards the front where Mirai was just behind Twilight. “I wonder if-”

“-Don’t ask about it! ...um please?” Fluttershy hesitantly interrupted. “If she's gotten over whatever it was, bringing it up again will only make her worse.”

“I-” Rainbow Dash began before a shout from ahead caught her attention.

“Hey Rainbow, there’s ah bridge that fell.” came the voice of AJ. “Git yer tail up here’n grab the end so we can fix it!”

Rainbow shared a look with Fluttershy who nodded back. Confident her friend would be fine the pegasus took off to repair the fallen bridge.

Meanwhile in Canterlot Princess Celestia stared down at the twisted reflection of her little sister. Her eyes were flashing with anger and surprise that easily masked the sorrow of seeing Luna this way again and the anticipation of a millennia worth of planning coming to fruition.

“Good evening sister.” The dark reflection hissed.

With only a carefully choreographed moment of hesitation Celestia leapt from her throne, horn alight and ready to battle the Nightmare that had invaded Luna.

“Nightmare Moon.” Celestia said cooly. “I should have expected you would find a way out of your prison eventually.” The alicorn of the sun slowly circled the mare of the night, her gilded shoes clicking against the marble floors.

“That’s right,” Nightmare cooed. “You were always underestimating me! Now I have you exactly where I want you dear sister.” Nightmare’s horn lit and a spell was flung at Celestia who sidestepped. Knowing she at least had to give a good performance she fired off a few spells of her own. The Goddess’ power clashed more directly on a plane just the slightest bit removed from the reality most ponies lived in. Monstrous divine abilities were tossed back and forth with such power and ferocity that the citizens of Canterlot could feel every hair on their bodies stand up while chills raced back and forth along their spines.

“You have grown soft in these thousand years!” Nightmare boasted as another volley of destructive magic was flung at Celestia’s feet, blowing large craters out of the decor. “Where are you vaunted Elements of Harmony now?!”

The white alicorn rolled her eyes at Nightmare’s carrying on, the mare did like her villain monologues. Distracted, Celestia almost forgot to dodge one of Nightmare’s spells and teleported a short distance directly into a trap. Her sister’s magic coiled around her, restraining her vast power. It took everything Celestia had to restrain her elation. A few attack spells were flung at her while she was trapped but they were easily deflected once they were within her magic’s restricted range. “You’ll never be able to find the Elements before my subjects find a way to defeat you!” Celestia called to her twisted sister.

Nightmare Moon stalked closer and grinned a grin full of razor sharp teeth. “You always fell for that trick didn't you Tia?”

Celestia glared back not needing to fake anger at being called her childhood nickname by the monster that was holding Luna hostage. “I will get out of this and I will defeat you.” She said flexing her might and pushing the spell binding her to its limits. Having successfully played her part Celestia had to restrain herself from smirking as Nightmare’s eyes narrowed and her horn lit up again, pouring more magic into keeping her restrained. She could see the fatigue beginning to weigh on her as most of Nightmare’s divine power went into reinforcing the spell.

“Now,” Nightmare said, drawing herself up and doing her best to mask the strain she was under. “I believe I have an appointment to keep with your precious subjects.” The mare of the night threw back her head and laughed as she took flight from the ruined throne room... exactly as planned.

“This looks like the place!” Twilight called to the others as she ran into one of the upper rooms in the crumbling excuse for a castle. The interior thus far had been dusty, crumbling to the point of being open to the outside and filled with ancient traps that had slowed them down until they had the idea to send Rainbow Dash ahead to scout for them.

On the far side of the room five stone spheres rested within a strange statue. The purple mare quickly levitated the objects over to her as the room filled with ponies, a young dragon, and a wary elf.

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash shouted in triumph. “We got em now let's go kick some flank!” The pegasus made to speed out of an open window, only to be stopped by AJ who had held her back by chomping down on her tail.

“Hnnd non!” AJ shouted through her mouthful of pegasus hair. After a few seconds of frantic wing beats Rainbow finally noticed her lack of progress, stopped her flapping and dropped to the floor.

“Hey what gives!?”

“Twilight still has to figure out how the Elements work!” Spike said pointing towards the purple unicorn. When they looked over Twilight was rapidly flipping through the pages of her book with Mirai leaning over her shoulder. The two were mumbling technical details to each other and generally sounding like they were speaking in another language.

“Well, have you made any progress Twilight dear?” Rarity said walking up and taking a seat in front of the pair.

“Yeah! You got any macguffins for us?” Pinkie Pie bounced over and sat next to Rarity. “Preferably magic macguffins, magical macguffins of magnificence! Magnanimous magical macguffins of magnifying magnificence!”

The others quickly followed suit and took a spot in the lineup, all asking questions or making random suggestions about what the Elements could be. Finally Twilight had had enough. “Quiet!” The tiny unicorn shouted at the top of her lungs. “All we know so far is that the Elements each represent a character trait. Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, and Laughter... Though that last one doesn't really fit the pattern. It says that once you have those five a spark will activate the sixth.”

Mirai stood back and let the ponies talk. The short talk with Twilight had convinced her that the Elements were likely made for ponies and probably wouldn't respond to herself directly. She took up a position next to Spike by one of the walls and looked over the gathered group as they began bickering again.

“Hey Mirai.” Spike tugged on the end of her tunic.

“Hmm?”

The dragon waved a hand at the ponies and the grey stones they were squabbling over. “Shouldn't we take the Elements someplace Nightmare Moon won't be able to find them?”

Mirai shook her head. “No, Nightmare is a goddess.” She said as if it explained everything.

A long moment passed before Spike looked up at her. “So?”

“So if we tried to hide them she’d still be able to find us instantly.” Mirai waved her hand around dismissively. “Omniscence and all that.” A silent shiver went up her spine as she did her best to play off the weight of the fear now pressing down on her. Nightmare Moon would certainly arrive soon and when she did... the Elements would have to work or everyone would die.

Spike turned away looking somewhat sheepish. “Oh.”

“Well I think Applejack deserves Honesty! Everypony knows you can’t find a more honest mare in ponyville!” Rainbow Dash said loud enough to be heard over everypony else.

“And certainly my darling friend Fluttershy deserves Kindness.” Rarity chimed in. Fluttershy responded by whispering something about Rarity and Generosity before being drowned out.

“We don't even know if that's how they work!” Twilight shouted at the others who had begun discussing which one of them best fit the character traits represented by the remaining Elements.

“Well, that's mighty kind of ya to say Rainbow. I think ya deserve Loyalty myself.” AJ replied, ignoring Twilight completely.

“This pattern doesn't even completely fit!” Twilight almost whined. “Laughter is not a character trait! Who can possibly represent a bodily function!?”

The gathered ponyvillians all shared a look, “Pinkie Pie” they all said in unison.

Twilight grit her teeth and stomped her hooves, generally looking like she was about to have a breakdown until Rarity gathered her up and turned her head to look at the pink mare. Said pink mare was rolling around the room on a giant beach ball with a bright red nose strapped to her face. There was a long silence only broken by the squeaking of the rubber nose. “Yeah I guess that makes sense.” Twilight finally agreed.

Mayor Mare stomped back and forth behind the stage. “Where are they?” She muttered darkly. Fluttershy and Rarity had both failed to show up. Fluttershy she could understand, the poor mare had stage fright something fierce but Rarity? That mare wouldn't give up the chance to help announce Princess Celestia if you threatened her with tax evasion allegations. “Are the emergency backups ready!?” She shouted.

“Don't worry bout anything Mayor! Ah got this!” A voice shouted from behind her. Startled she turned to see Vinyl Scratch wheeling in a huge pile of sound equipment.

Instantly a headache began clawing its way around the Mayor’s cranium as one of her eyes twitched. She stopped one of her aides and pointed toward the DJ. “Is this really the best we could do?”

The aide nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry mayor I know her... style isn't really to your taste.”

“Two minutes everypony!”

“My taste? What about Celestia’s taste!?”

“No time!” The aide said, pushing the mayor towards the stage. “It's about to start!”

“Right.” Mayor mare grumbled before stepping out onto the stage, a much brighter expression pasted over her own. The Mayor glanced over towards the DJ who gave her a salute before starting the music. The introduction began sounding appropriately regal before the base dropped into a techno beat and various lasers flashed out from Pon-3’s sound equipment.

The mayor’s extremely forced grin began to crack as the music wound down for her speech. “*Ahem* Fillies and gentlecolts!” she began, trying her best to forget her annoyance. “As mayor of Ponyville it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”

The gathered ponies cheered and stomped their hooves in applause.

The mayor basked in the attention her irritation abating somewhat. “In just a few moments our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now it is my great honor to introduce the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and moon each and every day. The good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria! Princess Celestia!” More techno music burst from the speakers thoroughly ruining her recovering mood. The curtains were pulled to reveal... an empty stage!

Looking around wildly Mayor Mare tugged at her collar and laughed nervously. “Now now, I’m sure there's nothing to worry about.” She said attempting to soothe the crowd.

One of the mayor’s aides peaked behind the curtain before uncomfortably announcing “She's not in there!”

Gasps rang out as the mayor surreptitiously grit her teeth in frustration.

A few tense moments passed before the crowd gasped again, this time in fear as a sparkling blue aura filled the stage. The aura convulsed, contracting down before rapidly expanding again to reveal a black alicorn on the stage.

The collected ponied glanced at one another in confusion.

“Ah, my beloved subjects.” The black alicorn began as she imperiously glanced around the room. “It's been so long since I’ve seen your precious little su-”

“Who even are you!?” A mint colored unicorn shouted from the back of the room.

The black alicorn paused to glare in that general direction. When no further heckling came she continued. “-sun loving faces.”

“Boo! Get off the stage! Where’s princess Celestia?” The same unicorn shouted.

Nightmare’s eyes narrowed and resumed glaring as an earth pony with candies on her flank stomped on the unicorn’s tail. “Shut up Lyra!” She hissed through gritted teeth.

Nightmare held her unamused expression for a moment before bursting out in sinister laughter. “Ha ha ha! Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?”

“Umm, your Princess Celestia’s long lost evil sister?” Lyra said over the dead silence of the rest of the crowd. The entire room turned to stare at her, the closest ponies taking a few steps away. Even Bon Bon abandoned ship as Nightmare Moon stepped off the stage and walked toward the isolated Lyra.

The black alicorn leaned down close to the mint unicorn as she drew near. “Very perceptive.”

“Wow I was actually right!?” Lyra said in astonishment. “I was really just guessing!”

Nightmare Moon’s expression fell at the mare’s answer. “Does my crown count for nothing now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs!?”

Lyra glanced around in confusion, an action mirrored by many of the gathered ponies.

“You’re joking?” Nightmare Moon sat back as her frown grew.

“Wait!” Lyra suddenly shouted. Nightmare looked down at her curiously as the mare hopped up and down. “I remember now! That crazy mare from canterlot said there was supposed to be an evil mare escaping out of the moon tonight!”

Her interest piqued Nightmare Moon gestured toward the pony “Go on...”

Lyra put her hoof to her chin, thinking hard. “Right!” She perked up and pointed a hoof at the black alicorn. “You’re Nightmare Moon!”

Nightmare looked down at the little unicorn at her feet, somewhat impressed. “Well well well, somepony who reme-”

“And you can only be defeated by the Elements of Harmony!” Lyra interrupted, hopping up and down as she remembered more of Twilight’s spiel.

Nightmare’s eyes narrowed and she bared her teeth at the mint unicorn. “And how do you know this?”

Lyra took a deep breath to explain the rest when the reality of the situation dawned on her. That mare from Canterlot, along with five of her fellow ponyvillians had left for the Everfree forest hours ago specifically to hunt down the Elements to use against Nightmare Moon. Lyra glanced around at the rest of the town cowering in fear... “Oh...” She said as her face fell. “I messed up, didn't I?”

“What a shame that you seem to have gained some modicum of self awareness.” Nightmare Moon smiled wickedly, teeth shining in the light as her mane began to coil around the mint unicorn. “If you refuse to divulge the rest of what you know then I’m afraid you're of no more use to me.”

“Bon Bon!” Lyra shouted in panic as she was hoisted up into the air. The black alicorn’s horn flashed as a mindwalking spell told Nightmare all she needed to know. With a growl of irritation and a flick of her mane the mint unicorn was launched out of one of the upper story windows. Shattered glass rained down over the panicking ponies as Nightmare Moon vanished in a flash of blue.

Mirai tapped her foot against the stone floor of the Element’s chamber. The sound being one of the only things audible other than the faint tinkling of Twilight’s magic as she tried various things to activate the artifacts. The other ponies in the group rested around her in a circle, the various unidentifiable Elements sitting inert in front of them.

“I don’t think this is working.” Spike muttered as he sat on the cold stone floor.

Twilight let go of her spell with a deep gasp of breath. She panted for a second as the other ponies stood up and stretched their limbs.

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!” Twilight shouted, stomping a hoof in frustration.

“Hey, just relax a sec shugar.” Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight’s back to calm her. “You’ll figure it out. A fancy Canterlot pony like yourself can’t possibly stay stumped forever.”

“Thanks Applejack.” Twilight muttered as she sat down to stare at the grey spheres.

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced in place. “You have got to be one of the smartest ponies I’ve ever met and I’ve met a lot of ponies!”

Twilight grimaced but nodded as her horn lit up again. “I’m not going to let some rocks beat me!”

“Spoken like... me!” Rainbow Dash said as she did a little loop in place. “You got this!”

A flash lit up the far side of the room, interrupting anything the rest of the group was about to say. The party of ponies gasped as Twilight's horn fizzled out, The unicorn staring at the gaseous blue swirl in fear as a black hoof stepped out.

“Well...” The black alicorn said as she fully emerged from her own mane. “It seems that I was not fully forgotten after all. Your pursuit of the Elements of Harmony is pointless, they can never work without the sixth!”

The six mares from ponyville took a step backwards and leveled glares at Nightmare Moon. “You’ll never get away with this Nightmare Moon!” Twilight said, lighting her horn and lifting the inert spheres of stone into the air. “I will make sure that eternal night will never happen!”

Mirai had snapped to attention the moment the goddess had made her appearance. Her hand held the grip of her weapon tightly, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. The elf was under no illusion that she would be able to actually kill or harm the being across the room, at best she might be able to cause a distraction long enough for Twilight to finish her work. Her traitorous mind took the opportunity of Nightmare and Twilight’s posturing to remind her that if she were to die here than her entire species would be effectively doomed.

“Oh, I’m not worried little pony.” Nightmare said as she took a few menacing steps forward. “The elements lost their power a thousand years ago when one bearer betrayed another! You think that simple magic will reawaken them when they have been drained by such a travesty?” Nightmare lit her horn and pointed it at the defiant group of ponies. “Now I grow tired-!” The black alicorn was forced to alter the attack spell she was about to use into a simple shield as a bright blue beam of magic flew towards her out of the corner of the room. The beam struck her shield with a hammer blow, deflecting off of the barrier and blasting part of the ceiling to dust and debris.

Her family killed or taken by greenskins, Eogan in flames.

“What's this?” Nightmare said curiously as Mirai stepped toward the group of ponies, her cannon aim trembling only slightly as it remained fixed on the goddess. The alicorn’s eyes narrowed as she spied the smoking barrel of the weapon that had vaporized a small portion of the ceiling. “What manner of creature are you who dares to strike at me!?”

Assa, Fearghal, all of her friends, dead.

“Ambassador Mirai!” Twilight cried as the elf imposed herself between the ponies and the angry goddess. “Don’t! We can handle it!”

“Get to work Twilight.” Mirai said as she faced off against a physically present deity. The unicorn stared at her back for another moment before lighting her horn and returning to her attempts at activating the Elements.

The survivors reduced to huddling in the dark waiting for the end to find them.

Even as she stood resolutely in the path of Nightmare Moon, Mirai was panicking in her mind. She refused to show any obvious outward signs of her fear, as long years of adventuring had instilled a control in her that was being exploited to the limit as the seconds ticked by.

“Ah, I see. You are an acquaintance of my dear sister.” Nightmare said as a tooth filled grin stretched across her face. “What pathetic country do you hail from that I might send your broken remains back to them once I have taken the throne?”

The elf grit her teeth and tried to seem as threatening as possible. Her role wasn't to attack; it was to buy time for Twilight.

Her entire world in tatters.

“Answer me pathetic creature!” Nightmare Moon lit her horn and cast a simple attack spell that barely missed as Mirai vacated her previous position with a leap and roll. The elf came up firing another blast from her cannon, only for the shot to reflect off of the alicorn’s shield and into a wall. Nightmare narrowed her eyes and began casting attack spells as quickly as possible. The attacks chased Mirai around the room as she just barely managed to keep ahead of them, each exchange of fire blasting new holes in the already crumbling structure.

The ponies shrank away from the attacks, trying to hold their ground as deadly magic flew around them. Twilight’s horn flashed with this spell or that as she desperately tried to get the stone orbs to do anything. Spike huddled against one of the walls, wanting to run to his adoptive sister, but too afraid to traverse the space between them, filled as it was with missed spells and beams of deadly energy.

Mirai rolled to her feet as yet another mana battery was emptied and discarded. She wracked her mind for anything that could help her. One spell came to mind immediately, but would it even have any effect on a goddess? She lacked the time to ponder, however, and went with her instincts. Dodging Nightmare’s latest attack, she threw a hand forward and cast the same spell that had so effectively incapacitated the Cockatrice. Her invisible magic struck Nightmare Moon and the room suddenly went quiet as the rampaging alicorn stopped to stare at her.

Slowly a vicious grin filled with jagged teeth spread across Nightmare’s face as she looked down at her opponent.

“Oh how delightfully vicious of you.” The black alicorn said as she took a leisurely step forward. “It’s so nice to see the creatures my subjects associate themselves with at least have some backbone.” Nightmare Moon neared Mirai who shuffled back until she felt cold stone at her back. “You have-” Nightmare never finished what she was saying as the moment she neared the cornered elf Mirai lunged at the alicorn, stabbing her dagger into the malign goddess’ neck.

For a moment, the blade sizzled and glowed with power as spirit-slaying silver met with spirit-possessed deity, and Nightmare Moon shrieked, flinging the elf away and removing the dagger. It fell to the floor with a clatter as Nightmare Moon stalked forward, “You insignificant insect,” She hissed, wrapping her magic wrathfully about the elf and lifting her into the air. She squeezed, prompting Mirai to let out a yelp of pain.

“I have to give you some credit.” Nightmare crooned, voice dripping with false sweetness. “That last bit actually hurt.”

And then Mirai felt a sudden sensation of speed before she went flying through a hole in the castle wall, her body clipping the edge on her way out and spinning off course. She hit several more objects until an immense pain bloomed in her chest as she finally came to a stop. Her vision was rapidly failing, either from the blows to the head or the blood in her eyes but for a moment she could see something sticking out of her chest.

Spike watched in horror as Mirai was tossed out of the castle and into the trees on the other side of the ravine. The sound of her body crashing through leaves and breaking limbs finally came to a stop not too far into the forest. He crept closer to the hole she was ejected out of, hoping to get a better idea of where she landed. The alicorn who had thrown her had turned her attention back to the five Ponyville mares and his adopted sister so he should be able to get a look without drawing her attention.

“Well, now that’s over lets return to our business shall we?” Nightmare said, pulling the Elements away from Twilight and into an orbit around her head. The ponies, still in shock from witnessing their companion tossed out of the castle like yesterday’s garbage stood very still as they gaped at the casual brutality.

“Not cool!”

“My heavens!”

“Oh dear...”

The ponies finally shook themselves out of their stupor and fought the urge to try and help Mirai. If they lost against Nightmare Moon now, then Equestria was doomed anyway. That didn't stop them from being distraught at the probable death of one of their number, a fact the lavender mare among them was proving as she stared out of the hole with wide eyes. “You killed her...” Twilight said quietly as she focused on the blood splatter where Mirai had struck the stone, a few strands of her mane beginning to poke out of place.

“Oh did I?” Nightmare Moon said with a mocking tone. “Clumsy me.”

“She was my friend and you killed her!” Twilight shouted as her horn lit up again and the stone spheres orbiting around Nightmare pulled away back toward Twilight.

Nightmare narrowed her eyes and intensified the hold she had over the Elements. “Oh I think not.” The stone spheres halted their movement and vibrated in place, subjects of a magical tug of war.

Twilight pushed more magic into pulling but for every ounce of strength she could muster Nightmare Moon would equal it. The rest of the ponies watched while they silently rooted for Twilight, all except for Rarity. The white unicorn glared at the black alicorn from the back of the cluster of ponies before lighting her own horn and wrapping her own aura around the Elements. With her power added to Twilight’s they slowly but surely dragged them away from Nightmare.

Nightmare moon grit her teeth as she dug in her hooves. The ponies struggled for control, the Nightmare slowly losing ground. A smirk came to her face as a nasty idea wormed its way into her mind. Her horn flashed with magic the moment she released the Elements from her telekinesis, shattering the spheres into tiny jagged shards that were launched toward the ponies by the pull of their own power.

Twilight ducked her head and threw up a shield as fast as she was able, little bits of stone bouncing off of it as the group of ponies hid behind the protective field.

“It would seem you have indeed wasted your time.” Nightmare said with a smug grin as the ponies emerged from behind Twilight. “With the Elements destroyed you have no hope of stopping me!”

Twilight looked down at the shattered artifacts, her mouth falling open at their destroyed state. The other five ponies had similar reactions as they realized what had happened.

Twilight looked back and forth between the debris and the smug alicorn. “Fine,” She said as she squared her shoulders and pawed at the ground. “Then we’ll just have to beat you without the elements!”

“You? Defeat me in a contest of strength!?” Nightmare Moon tossed her head back and laughed like Twilight had just uttered the funniest joke she had ever heard.

Twilight lit her horn and levitated Mirai’s discarded dagger into the air. It had seemed to burn Nightmare when she was stabbed with it earlier, and without the Elements it was likely their last chance. She awkwardly stabbed the blade at Nightmare who cried out in pain as the unseen dagger scored a hit on her flank.

“Ow! You insolent little foal!” Nightmare hissed as she barely dodged another clumsy swing.

Twilight roared as much as a teenaged mare can and charged forward, swinging the blade in wild arcs in an attempt to vanquish the evil alicorn.

The other five ponies all shared a look.

“Come on everypony let's clobber us ah nasty alicorn!” Applejack shouted and sped off to assist Twilight.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew up into the air. “I’ll show her why nopony messes with Rainbow Dash’s friends!” The pegasus shouted as she joined the fray.

Pinkie turned back toward a still reluctant Fluttershy and Rarity. “Come on you equines, you wanna live forever!?” a pair of whipped cream pies appeared in the party pony’s hooves as she chased after the others.

Rarity shared a glance with her dear friend Fluttershy. “Well, she has aided us a great deal...”

Fluttershy nodded. “She’s our friend.” The two long time friends nodded and crept into battle.

When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.

Twilight Slashed at Nightmare as the alicorn backpedaled away from the stinging weapon. The purple mare occasionally having to cast a shield to deflect the attack spells being tossed her way but so far had kept her opponent on the retreat. Nightmare reared back and lit her horn brightly as rage flashed in her eyes. Twilight could tell her short lived streak of success was about to run out and she braced for something big. The light coming from Nightmare intensified before it was suddenly snuffed out by a rope looping around her horn and pulling taught just in time for a prismatic pegasus to deliver a brutal, high speed buck to the side of Nightmare’s face.

The alicorn staggered back, pulling Applejack along as the farm mare refused to release her rope. “You will pay for that!” Nightmare hissed as she prepared to cast another spell only for it to fizzle under a cascade of whipped cream.

Nightmare pushed the pie tin from her face with a hoof and made a decent attempt to glare at anything and everything through blinding confectionary.

Twilight spotted Rarity holding a needle and thread in her magic and contemplating what exactly she was going to do with it when their target froze them all in her magic.

“Enough!” Nightmare roared loud enough to shake the stones the castle. She opened her mouth to deliver some final words before snapping her foes in half when they all unexpectedly dropped to the floor.

“What now!?” Twilight cried in panic as she was levitated back into the air, glowing rock fragments rising along with her.

Nightmare Moon stared in horror as each of the mares she was about to break had a golden piece of jewelry appear on their person.

Spike clambered down the crumbling castle wall. He could hear shouting and see the occasional flash of a spell behind him and he wanted desperately to turn around and go back to defend Twilight. However his short legs carried him onward over the rope bridge to the forest as he began searching for any trace of Mirai. The battle behind him was no place for him, as much as he heated to admit it. He would only distract Twilight and any distraction could be the difference between victory and defeat.

The foliage looked undisturbed along most of the treeline but a hole punched in the canopy gave him a hint as to where she ended up. His eyes scoured the ground looking for the shape of the fallen elf. The deep shadows the forest was already filled with didn't exactly help him as he searched and prevented him from seeing anything out of the ordinary as the trail of disturbed foliage gradually came to an end in the dark. Suddenly a bright light and a loud boom shook the ground he was standing on, throwing him off of his feet and face first into some leaves. He stood and spun around, looking back towards the castle where a rainbow light glowed brightly out of the gaps in the structure.

“What was that?” he wondered aloud as he stood up, a few leaves stubbornly stuck to his cheek. Worried for Twilight and the Ponyville ponies Spike turned and started back towards the ruin. Absentmindedly he reached up to pull the leaves from his face when he felt the sticky fluid they were covered in. He pulled them away and looked at them, noticing the dark smear on the leaves and on the ground where he fell. Fearing the worst, he looked up. A pair of dangling feet was the only thing he could make out in the dark but he was sure he had found what he was searching for. “Mirai!” He shouted up at her.

After a minute of no response he gripped the trunk of the nearby tree and used his sharp claws to quickly shimmy up the trunk. The elf was dangling by a huge tree limb that had she had been skewered upon at the end of her flight. “Oh no.” Spike whispered to himself as he climbed out towards Mirai, carefully placing himself on the limb so not to risk a fall. He looked down a forest floor to ponder what he should do next. The forest floor wasn't far below and if he had to he cou- A faint blue light shimmering against the tree trunk caught his eye, warily he looked around for the source only to find it coming from beneath Mirai’s tunic. Concerned, Spike lifted what little of her tunic he could to find the angular markings along her spine that he had spotted while she was bathing yesterday glowing brightly. “What?” Spike mumbled as he edged further out onto the branch to get a better look. His weight shifted and the branch that was now holding himself as well as Mirai creaked loudly. “Uh oh...” The branch snapped sending the two of them plummeting.

Spike hit the ground with a thud but other than slight disorientation and some scuffed scales he was left unharmed. He stood with a groan and looked around. Mirai lay beside him, the huge hole in her chest now free of the tree limb that dangled above them. He rushed towards the elf and looked her over; the horrible hole was only the most obvious of her injuries. She was scratched and cut and bruised all over but at the very least she still let out shallow, gurgling breaths.

Afraid she might drown in her own blood, Spike turned her head to the side and was relieved to hear the gurgling diminish as a small pool ran from her mouth. “Oh man, what do I do?” Spike began to panic as the initial crisis ended. He had no idea how to help someone hurt this badly and Twilight was still busy. Did they even win?

Almost as soon as he finished the thought the sun peaked over the horizon, filling the forest with a dim purple glow. “Well I guess that answers that question.”

A loud coughing behind him jolted him out of his thoughts as the elf rolled onto her side. She hacked and sputtered, spitting out globs of blood. After a few minutes she held up a hand over the hole in her chest and to Spike’s amazement it closed over with fresh pink skin. “Mirai? Are you ok?” Spike asked as he inched closer, nervously holding out a claw as if afraid to touch her.

“Yeah.” Mirai said with a rough voice. “I’ll be fine.” The elf rolled onto her back and stared up at the canopy as the leaves were steadily lit more and more by the rising sun.

She looked content to lay there but Spike was too curious just to let her lie. “What happened? I thought you were a gonner!”

Mirai smirked and patted herself on the chest. “Life mage, remember?” She said, smiling through blood stained teeth. “It takes a little more than an impalement to kill me. Though the loss of consciousness made this a closer call than usual.” Spike nodded and sat down next to the blood covered elf, he was already covered in the stuff anyway so he didn't let the sticky feeling as her chest steadily rose and fell bother him.

“So I guess we won?” She asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Looks like it.” Spike said as he looked over toward the now silent castle.

Mirai took a deep breath and exhaled, “Good.”

“Hey Mirai?” Spike said after another few minutes of silence.

“Yeah?”

“Where was <Twig> this whole time? Did he even come with us?”

Mirai stared up at the leaves as the sun brightened steadily. “...Mulch... I swear that useless little pile of compost is going to be mulch.”

A few miles away at Sweet Apple Acres Big Macintosh greeted the rising sun with a huge amount of relief. Figuring it was best not to let the farm work get too far behind the great red pony headed out to see to the saplings.

He hefted the watering can, moving from little apple tree to little apple tree, depositing the perfect amount of water for each one. A few hours passed as row upon row of trees were seen to and the work day was going smoothly, until he came across what was obviously an oak tree sitting in the middle of a row.

“...”

Big Mac leaned forward and grasped the little tree in his teeth. How did an oak tree get mistaken for an apple tree anyway? The idea that he and his younger sister never once spotted the little imposter was just plain preposterous. He began pulling, the little tree giving a fair amount of resistance as it clung to the soil.

Suddenly a root lashed across his nose causing the great red pony to let go in shock and pain. Big Mac stared at the little oak sapling as it waved a root at him like an angry fist before settling back into place.

It was too early to deal with this.

“Enope...”

Interlude 1

View Online

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

Interlude 1 (Unedited)

Princess Assa Si’Crann of the Royal house of Beatha sat numbly on a log and stared out into the darkness. The rune engraved shield at her back warming her and the sound of hushed conversation from her comrades in her ears. No one was asleep. Nobody slept out here if they didn't have to. Her spear sat across her lap, its coppery, rune-engraved head gleaming with faint warmth. She dared not touch it, though - even if the flameless heat that kept the camp warm were to run out of power. The runes were designed to leech power from the target on contact and use it to spew gouts of flame, ideally to ravage the interior of her unlucky foe’s body.

It had been a gift from someone who was absent now.

“Thou appeareth troubl’d, my lady.” Said a familiar voice as he moved to stand behind her. She didn't answer him, however, as she knew that he already possessed an insight into her feelings through the link they shared.

The topaz embedded in the back of her hand gleamed in the starlight as if to affirm her thoughts.

Fearghal’s armor clinked as he shifted despite its spectral nature, and not for the first time she was struck with the oddity of being bound so closely to what was essentially a ghost. But, Fearghal was a stalwart and valuable companion, even with his quirks.

“I am flattered.”

A smile edged its way into her stern expression, just barely pulling the corners of her mouth up.

Mind reaffixing to her quest, Assa’s eyes once again focused on the darkness. She knew that waiting out there, unseen, was the beginnings of a forest. It's mighty trees - really treants, thousands of years in age - crowded the ruins of the old empire’s capital, as if mother nature had deigned to lay a pall of emerald greenery upon the desolate city.

At the center was her goal. Looming over the forest like a watchful mother, or perhaps a sullen king, was a truly massive tree, comparable in size to a castle on its own. In the daylight, its long, drooping branches seemed to reach over the entirety of the forest and hold it within their embrace. Its bark was a dull gray, and seemed almost lifeless, in spite of its majesty. Wisdom indicated this was simply the distance, but intuition told her that it would only appear more decrepit the closer they approached.

What it was she was meant to do with the living monument, however, she did not know.

“I imagine it will be a challenge to reach the center.” Fearghal said from behind her. “Fear not, with thou at the lead I doubt there will be anything that cannot be overcome.”

Her smile broadened, “Your faith is reassuring, but I am here to guide us away from obstacles. Challenging and beating them into submission is your job.”

“Thou wounds me, my lady.” The not-quite spectral knight returned, holding his hand over his heart with false grief.

Her response came swiftly, without embellishment, “You give me such credit; I couldn’t even if I tried.”

“And you give yourself too little,” He smiled, “I have many decades of experience, and thou have only just begun to walk about the world. I am thy better now, but thou are living, while I have died. This mission is all I have left, but thy future extends beyond it.”

“But does it really?” The wayward princess mused.

“Gloom does not suit thee, my lady,” Fearghal said seriously, “Place such sullen thoughts aside. We will succeed.”

The knight’s words were comforting, as always, and steadied her resolve. But as they lapsed into silence and she gazed into the darkness, envisioning the overgrown city with its crumbled stone and rampant plant life, she could not quite remove such doubts from her mind.

Had none who defended it said those very words?

Chapter 5

View Online

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

(Unedited) - Chapter 5

Mirai shoveled another spoonful of tasty mush into her mouth as she sat on the floor, eyes locked with the steady gaze of Princess Luna. The Equestrian Princess was sitting across the hospital room by the door and stubbornly refusing to let her leave. It had already been a whole day since the ponies she escorted into the forest outside of town awakened some ancient artifacts and defeated an evil goddess... or the evil part of a goddess… or a demon… or something. Whatever they had done, the ‘results’ of that were now insisting that they personally oversee the recovery of those they had harmed before their ‘return’.

Mirai scraped the last bit of mush, something the ponies called oatmeal, out of her tray and sat it on the knee high stack of trays next to her. The mint colored unicorn sitting in the bed closer to Luna’s side of the room looked at her incredulously. What? You try regenerating a fist sized hole through your torso and not being hungry afterwards.

“Stupid Spike and his stupid… stupidness.” Mirai fumed as she ate the last spoon of oatmeal. If only his blabbering hadn’t got her stuck here for an entire day. Just thinking of how many hours she had lost to pony hysteria because he had caved the instant Twilight had looked at him funny made her feel a little sick inside.

Granted she was telling them she was fine with her clothes drenched with blood... but it was still his fault.

“Are you done?” Luna asked pointing a wing at her stack of trays.

Mirai kept her eyes exactly where they were, she refused to be distracted by simple gestures. “Yes,” she replied. Mirai had probably spent the last twelve hours fending off attempts at conversation from Luna, or the other pony in the room, and was far beyond ready to get away and get on with her mission.

Luna’s horn lit up and the trays vanished into thin air. Mirai flinched a little at the bright flash but managed to keep her eyes on Luna.

“You still fear me,” Luna said with a sorrowful lilt to her voice. “We have apologized many times and only wish to ensure your wellbeing. We understand you are uncomfortable but surely treating us like we will attack you at any moment is excessively cautious?”

Mirai shook her head with only the smallest of motions. There was no way she was letting her guard down, she had run into far too many enemies cunning enough to play dead until they could escape or stab her in the back… Then again Celestia seemed to be fine with Luna… more than fine really. You’d think a goddess wouldn't tolerate an obvious threat to their power. Unless they were focusing on longer term goals, like trying to get Luna to reveal she was still evil so she could be disposed of without fuss from the populace.

“Psst.”

Luna seemed ok on the surface but trusting Celestia meant trusting a foreign deity and Mirai was just not comfortable with risking everything on the word of a god.

“Pssssssssssst.”

Mirai carefully adjusted her eyes until she could look at the mint unicorn while also keeping Luna firmly in sight. “What?” she hissed at Lyra. Now this was the pony that had made her stay in the hospital unbearable. She could deal with being watched by Luna like a crippled animal being toyed with by a playful predator but having to deal with Lyra’s insanity in addition was totally out of the question. She didn’t even know why Lyra was still here, she had healed the scratches and the broken bones herself. Why didn’t the doctors kick her out if she was healed? Was this ‘Princess Luna’ keeping her captive as well?

“How do you even understand her?” Lyra asked in a loud whisper. Mirai didn’t know why she bothered, it was obvious Luna could hear her by the way she crossed her hooves and looked annoyed.

“Translation spell,” Mirai said before quickly readjusting her sight to fully rest on Luna. Could the ponies not understand their own goddess?

“Truly?” Luna asked looking surprised. “You must be from very faraway if you do not speak Equestrian at all.”

Mirai nodded slightly, flinching back as a frown came to Luna’s face. “Just talk to us!” Luna said, her volume rising. “We no longer mean you any harm so there is no need to fear.” It seemed her refusal to speak in more than clipped phrases was becoming irritating to Princess Luna.

“This is not about any harm you’ve done me,” Mirai said evenly. She would really really rather be anywhere else besides sitting in front of a deity who was displeased with her and she cursed those ponies who had forced her here.

Mirai could see the faint glimmers of frustrated tears gathering in Luna’s eyes and that fact scared her deeply. “Then what is your grievance with me? Allow me the chance to dispel it!” Luna pleaded, doing a good job at controlling the emotion in her voice. She had actually gotten a goddess to cry? Was Luna just acting to trick her or was she really only moments away from death by smiting?

A faint mint flash came from the edge of the room as the second pony in the room cast something. “Sorry!” Lyra whispered. “But I didn’t want to miss out on what you are saying.”

Mirai tried hard not to crack, she really did, but the weight of recent events finally pushed her over the edge and she sighed a mighty sigh before leaning back against the wall. “Fine,” Mirai said. “How do I know you’re really not evil anymore? Everything I know about gods says they are not easy beings to harm and the notion that some outside entity somehow possessed you just sounds dumb. So how do I trust you? You aren’t my goddess, so why would you tell the truth? Why would you even be concerned about my wellbeing?”

Luna looked at her and an understanding seemed to dawn on her face. “Please forgive me,” Luna said, running a hoof over her eyes to dry her tears. “I have gravely misunderstood the situation.”

“You have?” Lyra chimed in. “She just sounds like she’s being mean to me. Celestia already said you were back to yourself and not evil anymore.”

Luna held up a hoof silencing Lyra. “That may be so, but what cause does she have for trusting me? She had not met a pony before a few days ago let alone heard of the beings who moved the heavens.”

Mirai was more than a little apprehensive that Luna had already been told about her… or knew about her ‘because goddess’ either one was bad news.

Luna nodded to herself. “Fine, then we must win your forgiveness in the proper manner! We have grown too used to being recognized and have forgotten what it is like to need to win a heart.” Well, she seemed to be happier at least. “You wish to leave yes?” Luna said gesturing with a hoof to the door next to her. Mirai perked up, that was exactly what she wanted. “Then go with our blessing. We are satisfied that you no longer ail so there remains no reason to keep you here.”

Luna stepped to the side away from the door prompting a grin to spread across Mirai’s face. She very nearly hopped to her feet and dashed out the door if it wasn’t for one little, tiny, infinitesimally small detail she had forgotten.

The ponies had confiscated her clothes.

Mirai let out a squeal and fell back to the floor returning to her curled up stance.

“What’s the matter?” Luna asked, her expression turning to one of concern. “Are you still hurt? You shouldn’t leave if you are still in pain.”

Mirai tried not to glare at Luna she really did. “No! No, just… cultural differences,” Mirai muttered as she grabbed the corner of the sheet from the nearby unused hospital bed. She tugged at it till it came free and fell onto the floor along with the pillow. With a few deft motions and some embarrassing shimmying she finally managed to wrap the sheet around her as a makeshift garment. “There!” Mirai said as she jumped to her feet and started towards the door. Lyra and Luna both glanced at each other in confusion but that was beyond Mirai’s concern at the moment as she fought the urge to cheer as she made it out into the hall.

The interior of the hospital was unlike anything Mirai had ever seen. It was clean and sleek, the floors were made of some kind of perfectly polished stone and the walls were perfectly flat plaster. Magical lights were recessed into the ceiling lighting her path as she walked, it was all very impressive. The hallways seemed mostly deserted except for an occasional pony either injured or caring for the injured and she took extra care to keep out of sight as she walked. After ducking into an empty room for a moment to avoid a pony in a white coat she pushed open a pair of double doors and saw the light of day shining from the strange glass auto-doors that led outside.

Mirai glanced around the room looking for any chance to pass by unnoticed, but the room was filled with ponies sitting on benches or chairs. Seeing no realistic way to sneak by Mirai walked out into the room bold as brass. Maybe if she acted like she knew exactly what she was doing nobody would care about her leaving?

The ponies in the room all stopped what they were doing to stare at her as she hurried along and an angry nurse rounded on her before she even got halfway through the lobby.

“What do you think you're doing?” the pale mare said as she stomped out from behind her desk. “You haven’t been released yet!”

The assembled ponies turned to watch as the nurse blocked her path. Murmurs and snickering could be heard as Mirai tried to walk around only to be blocked by the nurse again and again. “Luna said I could go!” Mirai said as a quick feint tricked the nurse and she made a mad dash for the door.

The nurse galloped after her but was far too late. Mirai slipped out the door and quickly vanished among the vegetation that lined the road outside. “And where do you think you’re going with that sheet? Thats hospital property!” she shouted to nobody but the wind.

“I’ll pay you back!” the wind whispered in return.

Back inside the hospital room Lyra turned to look at Princess Luna who had watched the nurse shouting at nothing. “Sooo, are you going to follow her?” She asked, clopping her front hooves together in excitement.

Luna stepped down from the window and turned a harsh look on Lyra. “One must give trust in order to be trusted in turn.”

“Soooo... is that a yes?”

“Well... I am curious...”

Mirai slipped into an alley near the town center and paused to ensure she wasn’t being followed. Once she was satisfied she stepped deeper into the gap and looked around. The alley was home to some piles of refuse but otherwise empty, perfect for a short rest. She sat down on the cobbled floor and began to hash out a plan.

Ok first things first, I need more help. Mirai thought These ponies are masters at delay and distraction and if they manage to waylay me again it could be... bad... Mirai muttered dirty words under her breath as the thought of <Companionable Twig> I need something more dependable! Mirai stood and cast another look around the alley. There were a few metal cans that seemed to hold some of the more... fragrant... mess but she wanted to avoid stealing those, cleaning them would be too much hassle. A quick dig through the piles of refuse revealed some more useful things: six small U shaped iron objects and a handful of nails. All of them were badly rusted, but she was going to melt them down anyway. She wrapped the precious raw material in a fold of the sheet she was wearing and turned her attention to the next problem. Now I just have to get my tools back.

Mirai peaked her head out of the alley and watched the town’s population pass by, going about their daily business. As she stepped out into the flow of traffic some of the ponies goggled at her, a few waved, and even fewer hid in whatever places were available. She barely had time to turn in the direction of the library where she remembered her pack was waiting when shouting from just behind stopped her.

“Hey! You're supposed to be in the hospital!” Rainbow Dash said as she hovered just over her head.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash,” Mirai said flatly. “Luna finally let me leave.” With another quick glance around Mirai started walking towards the tree that housed the library and left Dash in the dust.

“Hey, where are you going!” Rainbow Dash called from where Mirai had left her. “I was talking to you!”

Mirai shook her head and sighed in frustration when she heard the sound of wingbeats over her shoulder. “I’m going to the library, Twilight has my stuff,” she said, hoping the pegasus would leave her alone if she told her what was going on.

“Oh,” Rainbow said as she hovered along behind her. “Rarity has your... other stuff.”

“You mean my clothes?” Mirai asked, turning an annoyed look on Rainbow and gathering up the sheet that was starting to drag on the ground to wrap it more firmly around her body. “I guess I’ll go there after getting my pack from Twilight.”

“Hey, listen...” Rainbow Dash muttered hesitantly as she drifted around in front of her. “I wanted to say thanks... you know, for helping us.”

Mirai raised an eyebrow at Rainbow and her nervous smile. “Don't worry about it.” Mirai waved a hand dismissively.

“But didn't you almost die?” Rainbow asked with wide eyes.

Mirai slowed to a stop as she looked askance at Rainbow. “Well yeah but that's kind of typical. We even stopped an evil goddess, honestly I’m surprised everyone made it out alive. Especially considering I was the only one who wasn’t a rookie.”

One of a pair of unnoticed, ownerless, shadows twitched.

“Hey Rainbow Dash is not a rookie,” she said doing a flip in place.

Mirai’s face was the very picture of deadpan. “Oh really, then you are no stranger to delving into dangerous ruins and killing evil monsters?”

Rainbows eyes glanced around nervously. “Oh yeah... sure... do that every week end.”

It didn't take much effort on Mirai’s part to see the lie for what it was. “Mmhmm.” Mirai crossed her arms and focused her best unimpressed look on Rainbow.

“Ok that was a lie,” Rainbow admitted landing on the ground and pointing at Mirai. “But who says I believe you either? If you have so much ‘experience’ you’d have stories to back it up right?”

Mirai raised an eyebrow before stepping around Rainbow and continuing on her way. When the mare lifted off to follow her Mirai shook her head in exasperation. “Sure I have stories,” Mirai said with a sigh.

“Then lay it on me!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, swooping around Mirai in tight circles that made her hair and sheet flutter in the wind.

The shadows also leaned in a bit closer as they followed closely behind.

“Fine,” Mirai muttered. “There was the one time we went looking for this enclave of elves that had carved a bunch of messages for help in rocks we came across in the wastes...”

Twilight was relaxing on the couch in the corner of her new home. The book she was avidly devouring sat on her forehooves and her horn would occasionally light up as she flipped a page. The sound of the bell on the front door jinggling caught her attention and she turned to see Mirai and Rainbow Dash stepping into the room.

“And when the troll broke through the wall with me and Princess Assa in either hand, Fearghal was waiting for it and set its face on fire!”

“Woah, that’s awesome!”

Rainbow did a flip in place with all the enthusiasm of a filly. Mirai was grinning and enjoying her storytelling before her face evened out as she looked around the room.

Twilight pulled herself up from the couch and shot a glare at Mirai. “What are you doing out of the hospital?” she asked as she pointed an accusing hoof at Mirai. “The doctor said you were going to be days before you were better!”

Mirai’s face fell into a frown as she muttered under her breath before stepping forward to stand in front of Twilight. “I’m I life mage, remember?” she said, pointing to herself. “I recover from almost anything with a bit of magic. Besides, Luna said I could go.”

Twilight looked conflicted, raising a hoof in uncertainty. “Well... If Luna said it was ok then I guess it’s fine. I’ll have to tell Pinkie you’re out early though, she wanted to see you.”

“Great!” Mirai said grin returning to her face as she pointedly ignored the idea of needing to talk to Pinkie. “Now do you have my stuff?”

Twilight nodded and pointed up toward the ceiling. “Yes I put it upstairs after I got back. I’ll go get it.”

It only took a moment for Twilight to trot up the stairs and return with Mirai's pack held in a purple glow. “Here you go,” said Twilight as she set the bag at Mirai's feet.

Mirai bent and rifled through it for a moment before pulling out another smaller bag. “Ah Ha!” Mirai cried as she opened the bag to check its contents.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight both craned their necks to get a look, curious of what Mirai could be so excited about. Before either pony got a decent peek however Mirai turned and bolted out of the door leaving the rest of her pack behind.

Dash and Twilight shared a glance before scrambling out of the door to follow. When they got outside they looked around for a minute hoping to see Mirai but it was the sound of metal scraping against rock that alerted them to her location. When they found her she was hunched over the large rock that was half buried behind Twilight’s tree with some strange metal objects in her hands. The pair watched her as they slowly crept up and was surprised to see the careful carvings that were scratched from the stone.

“Is that some kinda weird star?” Rainbow muttered as she took flight to get a better look.

“Looks more like some kind of animal, like a crab or a spider.” Twilight said as she sat down next to Mirai. Mirai shot the two a look but stayed silent as she started carving patterns of tightly woven characters around the spider like center. She was apparently very skilled at what she was doing because she stood up and announced that she was done after only a few minutes.

“Finished!” Mirai said with a grin.

“Great... Finished with what exactly?” Dash muttered as she drifted overhead.

“This...” Twilight muttered as she looked over the odd patterns, “I haven't got any idea what this is.”

“Runes” Mirai said as she pulled out the rusted iron objects from her sheet and placed them in the inverted bowl like structure in the middle. Both the ponies jerked in surprise when Mirai ran her hand over the carved symbols and the crab shaped indention lit up with a sudden burst of intense heat. The horseshoes on top of the indention began to glow red and then almost white as they heated and liquefied.

“But...” Twilight muttered as she shielded her eyes from the light being put off from the glowing metal. “How? The melting temperature of stone is four hundred degrees lower than that of iron!”

Mirai just grinned and waited for the magic to run out of the runes. After a few minutes the heat began to wane and the white glow faded. When the metal was finally cool Mirai used the tip of one of her tools to pry the strange lump of iron out of the rock. She waited a few minutes for it to become comfortable to hold before cleaning it with the end of her sheet. The pair of ponies watched as she finally set the finished product onto the stone next to the indent where it was forged.

It was a bowl, as big around as a hoof with eight spindly leg-like spikes sticking straight out from the body.

The tool Mirai had used to carve the stone came out again and she used it to began filling the exterior space with more tightly knit symbols and shapes. This part took a lot longer than the previous and by the time Mirai announced her work’s completion Rainbow Dash had retreated to a nearby tree branch where she snoozed the time away. Twilight had stayed very close and taken so many notes she could have probably written a book. It would have been a shame if she had ruined them when she toppled her ink pot in surprise when the Crab-Bowl suddenly jerked to life in Mirai’s hands. “There we are,” Mirai said, placing the thing on the ground.

Rainbow Dash glanced over from her resting place as the suddenly animate object scuttled around and bumped into things. “Why's it so... stupid?” She asked, turning over to watch the thing fumble around blindly.

“You made a golem?” Twilight asked curiously, her quill scratching on the paper floating behind her. “Couldn't you have just used a ‘come-to-life’ spell after you were done making the physical form?”

Mirai shrugged. “I haven’t heard of that spell yet but unless it's self-perpetuating then I can safely say that my method is better.” She pointed to some of the various bits of symbols. “This can drain ambient magic to power itself and by carving the spell into the object It can persist until something destroys the inscriptions.” Twilight leaned in to look, riveted by the new information.

“Yeah but, why’s it stupid?” Rainbow Dash asked again as the golem flipped itself onto its back and waved its legs in the air. She glanced around for a moment to check if anypony was watching before batting at it with a hoof, flipping it back over.

“It’s not stupid,” Mirai grumbled as she pulled out her carving tool and made a few more marks in the random rock turned forge. “I just haven't finished setting it up yet.” When she was done with that Mirai held her hand to the new symbols on the rock, lighting them up in a faint blue glow. The wandering golem immediately stopped in its tracks and began making a beeline into some taller grass at the edge of town. “I just had to give it it’s objective.”

Rainbow Dash held a hoof up to her eyes to watch the tall grass part and sway as the golem moved through it. “Well, whatever you told it to do, its gone now.”

“And what objective did you give it?” Twilight asked, floating pen poised over floating paper.

“Mining,” Mirai said, packing up her tools. “It’s going to try and find some easy metal deposits it can bring back to this rock here.” She tapped the rock with her knuckles. “Then maybe I can build some ‘real’ assistants.”

Twilight frowned as she scribbled in her notes. “Assistants for what?” Twilight asked after a moment. “What could you possibly need golem assistants for?”

Mirai froze, caught off guard by the question. “Umm... Ya’know... surveys... and stuff.”

“Well this got boring...” Rainbow Dash muttered before pushing herself back into the air. “I’m going to go see what Pinkie is up to.”

Mirai waved as Dash vanished in a burst of speed, thankful for the distraction. “Well I’m hungry, so how about some lunch?” Mirai said nervously as she walked quickly into Twilight's new house.

Nearby one of the ownerless shadows fell over.

A few minutes later once she was certain that they could not be seen Luna dispelled the spell hiding herself and Lyra.

“Can you believe that!?” Lyra said as the shadow that hid her finally dissipated. “How much does she eat!?”

“I am more concerned about the tale she told to Loyalty.” Luna muttered with a contemplative frown. “Surely my sister has not allowed such tragedies to befall an entire kingdom in my absence.”

Lyra leaned back with a sad look on her face. “You mean that story was supposed to be real? I thought she was just telling Rainbow Dash an adventure story.”

“Neigh.” Luna said with a wave of a hoof. “Did you not hear their conversation? It was meant to be a tale of Mirai’s prowess.”

Lyra began to fidget and glance around for unseen dangers. “But she said that she found a whole village killed by those troll things.”

“That is why I worry.” Luna nodded and peaked around the bushes they were hiding behind to try and see into Twilight’s home though the other side of the window displayed no activity. “The outbreak of creatures she described would be devastating and not only to Mirai’s people but also to any place they managed to spread. The Celestia I knew would not have allowed their existence and surely would have banished them to Tartarus.”

“But it still could have just been a story... right?” Lyra asked uncertainly. The idea of monsters just showing up and murdering everypony she knew was not a pleasant one.

Luna nodded. “It's true, it still could just be a tale spun for entertainment but even so I believe I have much scrying to do come nightfall.” Luna turned to leave but an errant thought caused her to stop and look back towards Lyra. “As for her creations, I would prefer if they didn't go unwatched.”

Lyra looked at her with a vacant expression before the words clicked in her mind. “Oh, yes princess!” She said with a slightly goofy salute. “I’ll keep a close eye on them.”

Luna nodded in thanks as she spread her wings and took to the air.

“Honestly, who keeps only grass and flowers to eat.” Mirai muttered darkly as she stalked around Ponyville’s market square. “She lives with a dragon! Don't tell me Spike enjoys grass with those pointy teeth.” Twilight, while successfully diverted from pressing for too much information hadn’t had anything worth eating in her house. The food from the hospital had been fine but it was hardly the kind of thing she really needed to properly bounce back from that much physical trauma. So here she was stalking the market without any gold to her name and still hungry.

An empty cart caught her attention. It apparently had been abandoned in a rush because not only was the cart left behind but it was still filled with those delicious fruits that Applejack’s family grew. In fact the cart appeared to belong to the Apple family as the carved apple motif and the words ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ was present here and there. As she neared the sweet scent of the fruits sent her stomach grumbling and a small paper sign that said “Out for family emergency- Honor System” that was perched on the top came into view. Mirai glanced around to make sure to check if she was being watched before swiping a few apples and stuffing them in her pack. Surely a prosperous family like the Apples appeared to be could feed one starving elf?

With her ill gotten gains secured Mirai made sure to look casual as she walked away from the cart and turned down a nearby alley. When she was reasonably certain none of the ponies could see her she retrieved an apple from her pack and took a bite. It was as sweet and wonderful as she remembered from the first time she had tasted one and the taste combined with her hunger ensured that the apple wasn't long for this world. Eogan didn't have many fruits that were safe to eat and neither did they have any easy way to get sugar. So the seemingly plentiful sweet food was a little overwhelming and more than a little tempting. With the apple done for Mirai spat out a few little brown seeds, one of which she picked up to examine. Wonder what a fruit treant would be like? Mirai thought. An experiment for later. She tucked the few seeds into a fold of the sheet she was wearing and exited the other side of the alley.

With her stomach satiated for the moment Mirai looked up and down the street. Various pony homes lined the well manicured road. Each with thatched roofs and brightly colored exteriors. If it wasn't for the sheer cleanliness of the scene it might have looked a little like Aran. One building stood out from the others, it’s gaudy decorations making it stand out just as much as the road which made a complete circle around it. The windows revealed strange pony garments on displays and it was that detail that clicked in Mirai’s mind. Rarity was a tailor and this was obviously a clothing shop. I can swing by and get my stuff as long as this is the right place. Mirai hurried up to the door and gently rapped on the wooden frame. A familiar voice called “Come in!”

Mirai opened the door and stepped inside. The interior of the shop was even more gaudy than the outside but Mirai only had eyes for the unicorn that was setting out some of her inventory.

Rarity turned to greet her customer only to find Mirai waiting just inside the door. “Oh hello Mirai darling!” Rarity said as she sat her work aside. “I was under the impression you would be in the hospital for a few days, what changed?”

Mirai rolled her eyes at having to explain this for a third time. “I can heal myself with magic and Luna let me out.”

“That's Princess Luna darling.” Rarity corrected her. “Someone as prestigious as an ambassador must maintain proper decorum.”

If Mirai rolled her eyes any harder she was concerned they might pop out and roll across the floor. “Sorry, but I’ve had to explain that to everyone I've met today.”

“My apologies but it’s just so unexpected.” Rarity said, tucking her hair over her shoulder with a hoof.

Mirai shrugged. “In any case Rainbow Dash mentioned you had my clothes?”

“Ah, of course I do, forgive me for making you stand there in that... that... Is that a sheet!?” Rarity shouted as she started to look unsteady on her hooves. “A... dirty... sheet...” Her voice had fallen to a quiet squeak that had the hair on the back of Mirai’s neck standing up. “No! Nonono, absolutely not! I refuse to allow you to keep wearing that dirty thing!” With a yank of her magic the sheet that covered Mirai unraveled and spilled the items she had tucked away, the nails she hadn’t used and the apple seeds. It also left Mirai bare to the world.

“Rarity!” Mirai shouted angrily and did her best to cover herself.

“Just a moment darling and I have something in the works far more appropriate for an ambassador!” Rarity said as she pranced away to a back room.

“Rarity? Is someone out there?” A voice floated out of the kitchen. Mirai froze in horror, she knew that voice. Small footsteps confirmed her fears and in desperation Mirai lunged behind a mannequin.

Spike entered the room and looked around, confused before spotting her hiding behind the strange pony shaped display. “Mirai!” Spike said excitedly as he took off running toward her.

Mirai ‘eeped’ in fear before holding out her hands. “STOP!” She shouted just as Spike neared the display.

To her infinite relief Spike came to a stop just on the other side of the mannequin. “I thought you were still in the hospital Mirai!” Spike said happily.

“Magic healing, Luna let me go.” Mirai muttered as her teeth clenched and her heart hammered in her chest.

“What are you hiding behind there for?” Spike asked, head cocking to the side in curiosity.

“Because I haven't got any clothes.” Mirai said through her clamped jaw. “Rarity took mine.”

Spike’s claw found his chin as he pondered the situation finally after a few minutes of getting nowhere he just shrugged. “So? I haven't got any clothes either, neither do most ponies.”

Mirai stared at him, a long cold glare that made his bones feel an unnatural chill. “Uh, on second thought I think Rarity may have some of your old clothes around here somewhere.” Spike scampered off and vanished into the same back room that Rarity had gone to.

Mirai sighed and tried to think happy thoughts... No not the ones about strangling a certain unicorn, the other more normal happy thoughts.

“Here you go Mirai!” Came Spike’s boyish voice as he returned with her blood stained tunic and pants in hand. The bundle of cloth was tossed over the top of her hiding place and quickly donned by a very relieved Mirai.

“Thanks Spike.” Mirai said, finally stepping out from her hiding place. With a grace born of years of adventuring she bent down and snatched up the little dragon, smothering him in a warm hug.

Spike blushed in embarrassment and cleared his throat. “*ahem* Your welcome, now can you put me down before anypony sees?”

A mischievous grin that stretched across Mirai’s face. “Hmm, I don’t know... It was your fault I ended up trapped in a hospital with a goddess for a whole day and I’m still mad at you for that.”

Sweat broke out on Spike’s face as she held him. “Oh come on, that wasn’t my fault!” He whined. He had been a first hand witness to Mirai’s casual brutality and he was in no way eager to become a target. “I’m sorry ok? I didn't know they were going to freak out!”

Mirai frowned at him thoughtfully before letting him down. “Well ok, but next time I tell you to keep something to yourself I expect you to do it.”

Spike replied with a thumbs up and a nervous grin.

“Now,” Mirai said, straightening her patched tunic. “I believe I have some stuff to retrieve.” Mirai made to storm into the back room when Spike jumped in front of her.

“Woah, hang on a minute!” Spike shouted. “You really don't want to interrupt Rarity when she's back there.”

Mirai raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

Spike glanced nervously behind him. “She gets scary when she’s interrupted. I just hope she doesn't notice I took those clothes back. I think she might have been using them for something.”

“Spike?” The voice of a certain unicorn called from the back room. The sound of hooves soon followed as Rarity emerged from her ‘cave’. “Have you seen my patterns I want to check them one last-” Rarity froze when she spotted Spike and Mirai standing in her showroom though her eyes immediately locked onto Mirai wearing her old stained clothes. “No! No! No! You cannot be seen wearing those old, dirty things I will not allow it!” As Rarity’s horn lit up a loud ‘thunk’ echoed through the room, a slight glance downward revealed a sharp tool embedded in the floor only bare inches away from her hooves.

If Rarity hadn’t been snow white she might’ve paled.

Mirai took a menacing step forward with a furious expression on her face. “If you ever undress me without permission again you might lose more than just a business partner.” That had almost been the third time being undressed against her will in the past two days, once a day was more than enough.

Spike’s eyes were wide open in shock and he babbled slightly as he glanced between the two of them.

Rarity swallowed and laughed nervously. “Oh forgive me, I, um, didn't know it was such a hang up for you darling.”

Mirai took another step forward and pulled the tool out of the floor. She nodded and returned it to a pouch on her pack. “It’s fine, just don't do it again.”

Rarity nodded vigorously before looking over her shoulder nervously. “I hope you don't mind but I made you a few articles to replace the ones you damaged helping us with that dreadful business in the Everfree.” Her horn lit up again and several new pieces of fabric floated out from the back room and deposited themselves in Mirai’s hands.

Mirai held up the new tunic and pants with curiosity. They were much like her old ones but strangely shiny and with an odd texture that felt almost watery between her fingers.

Rarity pointed to a corner of the room that was blocked off with a curtain. “If you’d like to try them on there's a changing room over there.”

The curiosity was irresistible to Mirai. Even after years of gorey fighting and digging around in the guts of her various machines the idea of new clothes brought a smile to Mirai’s face as she hurried into the changing room. After all even with all of that she was still just a silly girl from Aran.

Mirai shivered as she stepped out of the changing room, the new clothes while cut exactly like her old tunic felt so strange. They were cool to the touch and gave her goosebumps in the places where they contacted her skin. “What is this?” She asked while rubbing one of the sleeves.

Rarity smiled, “Oh, just some silk darling, I thought you might appreciate the texture more than most ponies. It is just so difficult to make things that just feel good to wear when you have a marvelous coat of fur.”

Mirai nodded. “Well, I can definitely see this being very popular back home,” she said with a grin.

“Wonderful!” It's just such an under appreciated fabric, it will be good to see it be properly utilized.” Rarity’s horn lit up again and her belt, boots and armor floated up from her back room. “Here are the rest of your items darling.”

Mirai rolled her eyes at the gold in Rarity’s before quickly donning the rest of her things. The armor sadly still having a hole punched through it. In her belt she found some of her mana batteries still intact but more than a few squashed or damaged. Her dagger was also missing but her cannon was in its holster with a few new dings and scratches.

Mirai turned towards the door after stuffing her old clothes in her pack. “Thanks for the new clothes Rarity and sorry about earlier.”

Rarity laughed nervously at the reminder. “Oh it’s no problem I should have been a bit more sensitive.”

Mirai nodded and stepped out into the afternoon sun, still holding the door open with one hand and waving with the other. “Goodbye Rarity, goodbye Spike.”

They both waved in return with Spike shouting “Bye!”

Mirai let the door close and headed back out into the town. With that little errand done she could focus on the next thing, she wasn't entirely sure what that next thing was but she could always figure it out.

A long stretch of road with an old wooden fence marked the borders of Mirai’s next destination. With the only other objective she could think of being hitting the books and trying to develop the inter-realm travel spell she would eventually need she thought it would probably be best if she got all of her current resourced organized and in one location... well except for her dagger, that was probably lost somewhere at that old ruin from the day before and she would have to make a special trip to get it. Unfortunately that meant the next thing she had to do was
track down <Companionable Twig> and try to get the little bastard under control.

Thankfully she could sense the direction he was in if she bothered to pay enough attention to the miniscule drain on her mana pool. So finding him was as easy as using the drain like a compass that always pointed toward her target.

As the little twinge that denoted <Twig’s> location drifted off to the side of the road she knew she was close and hopped over the fence that surrounded Sweet Apple Acres. The immediate area on the other side looked exactly the same as the previous miles and miles of apple trees she had walked past so it was fairly straightforward to head deeper into to the property.

When Mirai finally came upon her wayward familiar she couldn't decide if she was furious or about to burst out laughing. The entirety of the local Apple family was attempting to pull a much larger <Companionable Twig> out of the ground with a rope that was lashed around the treant’s trunk. The large red pony Big Macintosh was harnessed to the rope via a yoke around his neck, next came the smaller Applejack who had her brother’s short tail in her teeth trying to help him pull. Finally the youngest Apple Applebloom had AJ’s tail in a similar situation, trying in vain to help. Old Granny Smith was also there shouting instructions or encouragement from the sidelines, also to no effect.

When she had properly absorbed this image and made sure she was too angry to crack up the moment she started talking Mirai stepped forward. “<Companionable Twig>!” She shouted angrily. “You leave those poor ponies alone!” Unfortunately her sudden appearance surprised Big Mac who slipped and lost his yoke sending the entire apple family careening into a heap.

Granny Smith tried to hobble away but a flying Applebloom caught her in the back sending both ponies down to the ground. “Mah hip!”

A snort managed to sneak past her guard before she could crack down on it and earned her a glare from the pile of ponies.

AJ untangled herself and stomped up to Mirai who schooled her face as well as she was able. “Good, yer here!” She said poking Mirai in the chest. “This varment of yours has been giving us ah heck of ah lot of trouble since yesterday.”

“Sorry.” Mirai squeaked, trying her best to stay angry. “I’ll get him out of your hair.”

“Yeah ya better!” AJ huffed.

Mirai stepped up to <Companionable Twig> who was now nearly as tall as she was. She wondered where the jerk had found enough mana to grow so quickly, he sure hadn’t gotten it from her. “Come on, let’s go.”

<Twig> wiggled his leaves at her.

Mirai frowned and crossed her arms. “Get your butt out of the ground before I turn you into firewood!”

<Companionable Twig> wiggled some more.

Mirai had only just grabbed the handle of her cannon when he nearly leapt out of the ground.

“That’s what I thought.” Mirai said jamming her weapon back into the holster.

<Companionable Twig> seemed to sulk as his limbs drooped and he followed Mirai over to the Apples.

“I’m sorry about this.” Mirai said as she walked up to the Apples who had pulled themselves together and dusted themselves off.

AJ patted a last bit of dust out of Appleblooms mane before nodding with a somewhat sour expression. “It’s fine, all's well that ends well.”

Mirai winced as a violent shove from Big Mac popped Granny’s hip back into place. “Let me help you with that.” She said waving a hand. An invisible spell had the entire family perk up as a healing aura washed over them.

Granny wiggled a bit before trotting a few steps. A huge grin broke out on her face as she hopped up on her back legs and grabbed Mirai. “Ahm cured! Bless mah stars, yah dun cured mah bad hip!”

“Uh... Your welcome?” Mirai said with an uneasy smile.

When the ecstatic elder finally let her go Mirai was more than ready to head back and start studying.

“Well, that was a mighty kindness ya did us.” AJ said, following along as Mirai headed back towards the edge of the property, her expression now far more welcoming. “More an makes up fer yer pet tree bein a pain.”

Mirai shrugged. “That was a pretty basic spell. If you ever need some healing magic just find me around and I can probably cure just about anything.”

“Ah’ll be sure ta do that.” Applejack said, tipping her hat in thanks.

Mirai had just about thrown a leg over the fence when she froze. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed something missing from the scene. “Just a second.” She said and dashed back into the fields of trees, emerging a few minutes later dragging <Companionable Twig> by a root. “Well, I’ll see you later Applejack.” Mirai said, roughly tossing <Twig> over the fence.

“Ah’ll seeya around.” AJ called waving her hat as Mirai vanished back down the road.

Mirai huffed as she finally opened the door to Twilight’s library, <Twig> safely planted in the yard and cut off from her mana to prevent him from moving. The day had been pretty tiring and the prospect of some nice relaxing reading really sounded good. She trudged in and started checking the shelves opposite of Twilight who had a sizable stack of read books next to her.

“Hello Mirai.” Twilight said as she turned a page. “You look like you had a busy day.”

“Hmm.” Mirai hummed tiredly as she browsed the shelves, checking over the various titles and looking for a good place to start. She finally found a book for beginners that looked like it might contain what she needed so she pulled it from the shelves and sat down.

Her hand was just starting to open the cover when the door burst open to reveal the living headache that was Pinkie Pie. “HI!” Pinkie shouted, somehow appearing from below the book in her hands, leaving it balanced in her poofy hair like some kind of strange hat.

Mirai reeled back but Pinkie kept her pace, remaining almost nose to nose with the elf as she frantically scooted backwards. “Icametotellyousomethingsupersuperimportantbecauseyounevercametoseemetodayandwhenyoudidn’tcometoseemeIthoughtIwouldcomeseeyousoIcouldtellyoutheveryveryimportantthingIwantedtotellyou!”

“W-what?” Mirai stuttered, a nervous almost fearful expression on her face. Pinkie took a deep breath to answer but before she could begin a lavender glow surrounded her and floated her over to Twilight’s side of the room.

“Give her a little space Pinkie, you were making her nervous.” Twilight said as Pinkie floated upside down in her magical grip.

“Woops silly me!” Pinkie replied as Twilight’s magic faded and she was returned to the ground.

Mirai calmed her breathing and motioned for Pinkie to continue. Pinkie bounced on her hooves and her huge grin somehow grew wider. “I came to invite you to a PARTY!!!”

Mirai blinked vacantly and glanced to Twilight who shrugged. “What kind of party?” Mirai asked hesitantly. The idea of wasting even more of her precious time already making her nauseous.

Pinkie’s bouncing increased in tempo. “Ialreadythrewyouawelcomepartybutthisisa THANK YOU PARTY! I came to invite you and your friend <Twiggy>!”

Mirai frowned, why would anyone invite a treant to a party?

Pinkie giggled, “Oh my gosh, saying his name is so much fun! <Twiggy> <Twigmeister> <Twigamundo> <TwigaligadingdongTwigaroonieTwigtaCular> <TwigthE<stick>!”

Mirai took a few steps back in fear until she felt the bookshelves stop her. Twilight also looked nervous as Pinkie’s voice began to freak out.

“Le>af<SM@gee< Twigrollo>!”

“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted before diving behind her couch, the fear of Pinkie spontaneously exploding getting the better of her. A moment later Mirai joined her, skirting around the edge of Pinkie’s spasm and crawling behind the sheltering cushions.

“<Caf asfni<on>>bLe >*##T#w$>>%IG <”

The two of them peaked out as Pinkie seemed to have some kind of seizure, her voice coming out all kinds of disturbing and unnatural. Some of it was so beyond the realm of mortal understanding Mirai could feel her eardrums threaten to start bleeding. The pair hiding behind the couch ducked down waiting for the inevitable detonation.

A sudden and eerie silence fell over the library as the horrible voice stopped. Mirai shot Twilight a look and together they peeked out from behind the couch, expecting the worst. Pinkie Pie awaited them, standing perfectly still and staring back. Her forehoof twitched before rising upward sending Twilight and Mirai ducking back behind the couch for safety but the only thing that happened was a dainty “*ahem*”.

“Aaaanyway... Partytomorrowatsugarcubecorner!”

Pinkie darted out of the library, slamming the door after her. The two embattled survivors crawled out from behind the couch, Mirai collapsing tiredly on the floor.

“Raincheck?”

Chapter 6

View Online

I own nothing, if you sue all you'll get is this cellphone.

Mysteries - Chapter 6

Luna, her face set in a grim line glided gracefully to a stop on one of the many balconies on ‘her side’ of the castle. She was greeted by a sloppy nocturne soldier who only barely suppressed his yawn while he held his hoof up in salute. A thousand years ago he might have been reprimanded for his slovenly appearance but right now Luna was more surprised to see any of her Night Guard on duty. Apparently they had already been able to respond to her summons, several days ahead of schedule. Luna nodded at the stallion and quickly brushed past him toward her sister’s half of the castle. After several twists and turns she marched into Celestia’s study and stood before the desk. “Sister, I hast some important-”

Princess Celestia jerked her head up from her work when Luna burst into the room, the sudden movement sending her reading glasses askew.

“Luna!” Celestia said with a smile, her appearance suddenly and mysteriously immaculate. “How was your stay at the hospital?”

Luna frowned up at her sister, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “That’s what I did want-”

“And how were the mare and ambassador that were injured? Are they feeling better?”

Luna’s face fell to an emotionless mask a deadpan so flat it made the vast salt plains to the south look positively mountainous. “I knoweth what thou art doing...”

Celestia held her slightly airheaded look for a moment before her face settled into a far more natural gentle expression. “I could never fool you, could I?”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Nay, thee were at each moment terrible at falsing. mine own longeth absence wilt hast addled thy mind if it be true thee hath believed thee couldst pulleth one over on me unnoticed.”

Celestia stood and moved around the table to nuzzle her still weakened sister. “I did miss you Luna but you shouldn't rush back into things. You have so much to learn and much to absorb.”

Luna grimaced at the thought but reigned in her fear of future studies. “Beest as it may, I has't overheard something yond hast concerned me greatly.”

“Oh?” Celestia asked.

“Forsooth. The young ambassador wast overheard telling a story to Loyalty. The tale wast in a truthful context and it spake of monsters and suffering in her homeland. Doth thee knoweth of this? if it be true, wherefore has't thee did allow such evil creatures to gain a foothold? We wouldst has't bethought thee wouldst banish the creatures to tartarus if 't be true her tale wast.”

Celestia look dumbfounded. “Luna, there is nowhere on Equis where such suffering occurs. You said it was the ambassador I told you about and whom you injured who was telling the tale?”

Luna nodded, her face still set in a grim expression.

“That would explain it then.” Celestia said nodding to herself. “The ambassador is from beyond our realm. She thought she could hide that fact... then talks to herself outloud where the maids can hear.”

Luna reeled at the words like Celestia had reached out and slapped her. “I wast did prepare to heareth thee did neglect thy scrying, but this is unacceptable!”

Celestia wrapped her younger sister in her wings before she could rush off to do something rash. After a moment Luna stopped struggling and remained still, tucked into her sister’s barrel. “Does the simple fact she is an outworlder completely invalidate your concern for her people?”

Luna turned her head, an ashamed expression on her face. “No... but-”

Celestia sighed and guided them to sit on the floor. When they were comfortable she placed her head on her forehooves and looked up at Luna who still looked worried. “I can't persecute a creature who has done nothing wrong Luna. Aside from that the sheer amount of fear she regards us with concerns me.”

Luna looked down at her sister with an incredulous expression. “Aye, we art acknown of her feareth. The lady hath spent mine own entire visiteth to the hospital clinging to the wall on the opposite side of the room and never taking her eyes off of me, liketh I wast some monster who wouldst englut her if the lady so much as blinked.”

Celestia nodded sadly. “It is likely that is exactly what she thought. Even some of our own subjects once feared your own legend in such a way. But...” Celestia paused, looking unsure. “It was me who frightened her first. She saw me raise the sun and fled to spend several hours hiding in her room.”

Luna winced at that and her gaze fell to her own hooves. The thoughts tumbled around in her mind, new concerns mixing with her enormous guilt before an answer seemed to rise out of the mire like the moon rising above a blanket of clouds. “The lady fears our divinity?”

“That would appear to be the case.” Celestia said with a nod. “Gods do not bargain.” Celestia began, Luna perking up with interest. “They seek only to secure their own. An elven life is a worthless coin, they want nothing more than to toss it away. Those were her own words.”

Luna frowned at that. “I. . . doth not liketh the fact the lady is an outworlder but yond words speaketh of much berattle. What doth thee intendeth?”

“Nothing.” Celestia answered simply. “For now.”

Luna looked at her with an incredulous expression.

“She seems to be treating this ‘mission’ of hers with great importance-” Celestia began. “I believe she intends to do something to help her people in some way. What kind of goddesses would we be if we do not allow her to do so?”

“What of the possible costs to Equestria?” Luna countered. “Her actions may has't unforeseen consequences.”

Celestia nodded and dipped her head pensively. After a moment she turned to look at luna brimming with confidence. “Then we will deal with whatever comes when it happens. With the elements reawakened there are few dangers that cannot be dealt with.”

Luna raised an eyebrow but shook her head. “If it be true thee has't such confidence in the new beareth'rs then I shall leaveth this in thy hooves sister.” With that Luna rose and trotted from the room leaving her sister to her work.

“Rest well Luna.” Celestia said softly as she got back to her own hooves. “Now... where did I leave my glasses again?”

Mirai glanced over the top of her chosen text to find her opponent starting to droop dangerously. It would only be a matter of time now until Twilight Sparkle drifted off to sleep and she could declare herself the more... dedicated... scholar...

Mirai jerked herself back into an upright position as she caught herself trying to fall asleep. Unfortunately the jerk also ensured her opponent was also reinvigorated by the sudden movement. Sure enough Twilight glared back over the top of her own text, energized by her near loss.

Nearby a clock on the wall read 4:28 and the deep darkness outside had long since mulled the world to sleep. Inside however many candles had perished since Mirai had declared that she had to study and the contest had grown out of the hours spent doing so next to the only being Mirai could honestly call a rival in the art of the bookworm.

“Well I think I’ve had it for tonight,” Twilight said, closing her book with a snap. “Please put your books back when you decide to get some rest.”

Mirai grinned smugly at Twilight over the top of her tome. “Decided to finally give up Sparkle?”

Twilight turned up her nose and started up the stairs. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.”

“Mmhmm.” Mirai hummed as she turned back to her book, casting a much needed spell to reinvigorate her tired mind.

The sweet thrill of victory soon wore thin however as the solitude of the room began to wear on Mirai’s nerves. The only sounds that prevented the onset of ear-ringing silence was the quiet ticking of the clock and the occasional sound of wind rustling the leaves of the tree she currently resided in.

Mirai checked over her notes, shuffling the papers about perhaps a bit longer than was necessary. On the pages, between the vast blocks of text were diagrams and definitions and indexes of each. All in all it was a decent start to figuring out the exact nature of unicorn magic and from there the various spells she had seen. Of course the entire thing was only a baby step on the road to finding someway to tear a hole between the worlds. That was probably still weeks away at the earliest and even then only if the ponies even had magic that could do exactly what she needed. If that didn't work then she would have to develop the spells on her own and that was something that sent a spike of dread ricocheting around her insides. There was nothing in her runes that could even come close to this sort of magic and with her understanding of pony magic as rudimentary as it was it could be months or even years before she could create what she needed.

The room soon descended back into maddening silence as she tried to concentrate on her book. It was only now she truly realized just how much she missed the others and the lively nights around invisible campfires. Fighters and mages, healers and soldiers, heroes all, gathered and softly whiling away the sleepless nights living in the wastelands necessitated. She missed Assa, in particular, and the occasional intellectual bouts the princess always seemed to win.

The sound of metallic legs clicking against the ground drew her attention, audible only for the silence. She listened as they grew closer before sitting down her book and stepping out into the yard. Her spider-like golem dumped another cup of material at the base of Twilight’s rock and scurried off to continue its mission. Mirai stepped further out into the yard thinking to inspect the material it was retrieving for her when the hairs rising on the back of her neck froze her in place.

She nervously glanced around for dangers as her bones seemed to freeze over, but there was nothing to be seen. A glance toward the sky had her fear spiking as the light of the full moon came into view, looming over her like a disapproving titan.

Mirai grabbed for a missing blade, wincing at its absence before shaking her head free of her mounting nerves and heading over to the stone. The creeping feeling of being watched didn't dissipate as she began the long process of refining metals out of the ore.

Twilight Sparkle awoke the next morning to the sound of skittering legs. Dismissing the noise as her imagination she pulled herself out of her bed and set about her carefully scheduled routine. Bathing, brushing, combing, and tidying were all accomplished promptly and soon she found herself sitting at the breakfast table as Spike cooked some hay-bacon on the stove.

“Good morning Twilight.” Spike greeted, saluting with his spatula.

Twilight smiled and summoned some parchment to make up her day’s schedule. “Good morning Spike, hay bacon for breakfast?”

Spike sat a steaming plate in front of her and puffed out his chest with pride. “Thats right!”

“Great, I’m starving!”

Twilight munched on a strip of processed and fried grass as she wrote down her various obligations. “Hmm... Do you think Mirai has got a little time to answer some questions about her home before lunch today?”

Spike frowned, idly chewing on a crispy strip. “I don't know Twilight, she seems awfully busy. She was already awake when I got up this morning.”

“What?” Twilight asked. “How could she already be up? We both stayed up late last night.”

Spike waved a bacon strip around while he searched for the proper words. “Doesn't she have spells to keep her awake?”

“Oh yeah...” Twilight mumbled jealously. “Still... that can’t be very healthy.”

“Well if you ask me Mirai is the last po-person who will ever have to worry about her health. You didn't see her heal a hole straight through her in a few seconds.” Spike said with a grin. He had to hand it to the elf, that had been the coolest thing he had seen in awhile. He might even go so far as to say it was like something straight out of one of his comics.

Twilight winced and shivered at the memory of coming across both Mirai and Spike covered in blood. “I guess...”

A knock on the door drew Twilight's attention. “Who could that be?” She muttered as she got up.

When the door was opened a grinning Applejack greeted her with a wave. “Howdy Twilight!”

Twilight took a step back to let the farm pony into the library. “Good morning!” She said with a wide smile. “You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Ya bet yer ears I’m in’a good mood! Speakin ah bets, mah big brother went and made me ah bet that I could’na get tadays harvest inta tha barn by lunchtime.” AJ chuckled and rubbed her hooves together diabolically. “So can ya help me get one over on em?”

Twilight brought a hoof up to her chin in thought, before pulling out her schedule. “Well I wanted to ask Mirai some questions this morning but sure, I can ask her some other time.”

“Great!” Applejack said, leading the way outside. We gotta get back ta the farm quick if we wana make it in time.”

“Wait for me!” Spike shouted from inside, running out and jumping on Twilight’s back. “You might need my help!”

Twilight shot Spike a doubting look but let it slide as they headed out into the morning sun.

Before they could get very far they were stopped by a soot blackened Mirai who came bounding around the side of the tree where she had been working. “Twilight!” She called, running to catch up to them.

“Good mornin!” Applejack called as Mirai caught up. “Ya look like yah’ve been a bit busy.”

“Morning AJ.” Mirai mumbled in return before turning towards Twilight. “Hey did you happen to see what happened to my knife? I can't remember what happened to it and I need to get it back.”

Twilight took a step back, ears drooping as she recalled what exactly had happened during the fight with Nightmare. “Y-yeah.” Twilight muttered. “I stabbed Nightmare with it during the fight and I think I left it at the castle. With all the excitement I didn't give it much thought, sorry.”

“Aww, don't worry about it.” Mirai smiled and patted Twilight on the head earning herself an irritated look from Twilight as she tried to clean the soot out of her mane. “I’ll just have to go get it at some point today.”

“What!?” The two ponies and a baby dragon all shouted at once as they leaned back in shock. So far back in fact that Spike rolled from Twilight’s back onto the ground.

“What?” Mirai asked, a confused expression on her face.

Applejack’s face hardened and she stepped forward to poke Mirai in the stomach with a hoof. “Yah can’t go intah the Everfree by yourself! There's all sorts ah nasty critters in there.”

Mirai’s face fell to a frown as she looked between the sheepish but nodding faces of Twilight and Spike. Huffing and crossing her arms she shot AJ an irritated look. “I can handle myself Applejack, did you forget about the first time we went through the forest?”

AJ’s face fell to an uncomfortable grimace. She glanced over to Twilight and Spike but found them also looking a little green. “Yeah... we remember... But there’s all kindsa stuff thats ah lot worse than ah Cockatrice in there, tell her Twi!”

Twilight shook her head to clear out the unwanted mental images before stepping forward. “Applejack’s right Mirai. There are much worse things living in there. Like Hydra Learnaia, the Great Equestrian Swamp Hydra. Its primary habitat range is actually in the Froggy Bottom Bog but its hunting grounds include much of the southern Everfree. Then there is Canis Quercus Alba or ‘White Oak Dog’ that inhabits the entire forest and often encroaches on nearby pony settlements.”

Applejack scratched her head, a bewildered look on her face. “Ya mean Timber Wolves?”

Twilight paused and looked over at AJ with an equally confused expression. “Isn't that what I said?”

“Uh... maybe?” Applejack muttered before turning and fixing a stern expression on Mirai. “Point is there’s bigger monsters in there.”

Mirai rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, overall looking thoroughly unimpressed. “Look If it will make you happy I’ll take <Twig> with me. He’s due for some proper exercise anyway.”

The skeptical expression on AJ’s face told Mirai what she thought of that before she even opened her mouth. “Don't take this the wrong way or nuthin but that tree ah yers seems ah touch...” Applejack waved her hoof in circles as she searched for the world. “...unreliable.”

Nearby, what the townsponies believed to be a newly planted decorative tree made what may have been a rude gesture with it’s branches.

Mirai sighed and shook her head. “He’s not that bad. Nothing a little combat training won't fix anyway.” Mirai said loudly, causing the same tree to wilt. “Besides the only reason that cockatrice even caught us was because we had stopped. No offense but you ponies seem to be pretty bad woodsmen... at least compared to elves anyway.”

Applejack’s face reddened but she finally relented with a sigh. “Alright, I guess ya know what yer doin.”

“Wait!” Twilight shouted suddenly. Mirai and AJ turned towards her as she trotted up with a bewildered Spike in her magical grip. “It’s still too dangerous to go alone, take him.” Mirai’s face matched Spikes as he was levitated into her hands. “If you get in trouble he can send letters with his dragon fire.”

Mirai looked down at Spike with a mischievous grin. “Oh, nobody ever told me you doubled as a mailbox.” Spike shot her a dirty look before crossing his arms with a huff.

“Well, we gotta git if we still wana beat my brother.” AJ said with a beckoning head toss towards Twilight. “Ya’ll be careful now!” She called as she trotted away down the road.

Twilight paused awkwardly for a moment before turning and running after her friend. “Have a good time!” She called back as she disappeared around a corner.

“Well...” Mirai said to the slightly fuming dragon in her hands. “Lets get my stuff and dig up <Companionable Twig> ,if we hurry we can probably make it back a little after lunch.

“Whatever, at least it’s better than chores.” Spike muttered.

Mirai walked down the road towards the edge of Ponyville with a dragon on her pack and a tree following close behind. She took a moment to breath in the fresh air and feel the sun warming the skin on her cheeks. She stretched and took a moment to appreciate the feeling of freedom that was offered by such a safe land, exactly as she had done the previous day. She normally wasn't one to marvel at the same thing day after day. But after living in Eogan could anyone really blame her for it?

She turned her head slightly to check on her companions. <Twig> was scuttling along exactly where she expected him to be and for once didn't seem too resentful for being there. She had yet to really give much thought to his sudden growth spurt but the walk gave her the time she needed to think. His sudden growth was welcome, that she was sure of. His increased stature put him nearly as tall as Assa’s familiar <Valiant Shrub> ,though the difference in experience was still immense. Mirai held no illusions of what the result of a contest would be.

That only left the question of how he had grown so quickly. Certainly she could force him to grow by feeding him very large amounts of magic over a long period of time, but was the Apple’s land so suffused with life magic that in just one afternoon he doubled in size? Whatever the case it bore investigation.

Spike, on the other hand, didn't have any grand mysteries attached to him, and was perched on top of her pack with his snout sullenly buried in the pages of some kind of colorful pamphlet.

“Hey Spike” Mirai began. “What are you reading?”

Ok maybe he did have a few mysteries.

“Power Ponies, issue #6.” Spike muttered.

Mirai raised an eyebrow. “Whats Power Ponies?”

A strange gleam entered his eyes as he handed her the pamphlet. “Only the best comic book ever!”

With a slightly skeptical glance at Spike Mirai cracked open the book to the first page.

“Ooooh!”

“Are we lost?”

“We’re not lost, I know exactly where we’re going.”

“You’re lost aren't you?”

“I said we’re not lost!”

The small group came to a halt in small clearing. Around them the trees, even the ones they had just emerged from, seemed to shift into new patterns before their eyes. Even <Companionable Twig> was a little confused by this and he was a tree himself.

“Ugh, this has got to be some kind of magic!” Mirai angrily muttered as she stomped around the clearing staring holes into various clumps of trees as if daring them to move. “It wasn't this difficult the first time. The trees are changing and throwing me off.”

“Oh yeah, that makes me feel so much better.” Spike snarked as he climbed up onto a rock to sit and take a rest. “It’s not like you were too busy hogging my comic to watch where we were going or anything.”

“Hey, it’s your fault for being so distracting.” Mirai grumbled, kicking at a random stick on the forest floor. Those ‘comics’ as Spike had called them really had been a little too entertaining. She had barely even noticed the entrance to the forest in the first place, and now they had perhaps gotten a little turned around.

“I know what to do!” Mirai said, turning towards the trees. “I’ll just climb one of these and get our bearings.”

Spike rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as Mirai shimmied up the branches of a particularly tall tree. The limbs shook and leaves drifted to the ground as she knocked them loose but eventually the tree finally calmed down, Mirai apparently having reached her destination far above the point where the foliage blocked his sight of her.

A few seconds passed of nothing but the background noise from the forest.

“Mirai?” Sike shouted up at the canopy. “Do you see anything?”

Only silence.

“Uh, ok...” Spike muttered as shivers began to run up his spine. “Relax Spike, the trees did not just eat Mirai.” He climbed to his feet and peered upwards, trying to catch a glimpse of the elf through the leaves.

The sudden sound of a loud thump behind him sent his train of thought derailing into a deep ravine to explode in fiery chunks. “WAAAGH!” Spike shouted as he scrambled forward and tumbled from the rock. He hit the ground and lay there for a moment looking up at the dark forest canopy above. A mane of unkempt red hair soon loomed into his vision attached to the most smug face he had ever seen.

“I hate you.” Spike muttered under his breath. Mirai just giggled at his reaction to her little prank before reaching down to help him up. Spike groaned as he was pulled into an upright position and dusted himself off before turning to glare at the still grinning Mirai. “Please tell me you at least found the right way?”

“Of course I did.” Mirai said, stifling more giggles. “You should have seen your face by the way, it was hilarious.” At Spike’s unamused expression Mirai finally let her grin fade. “Oh come on Spike don’t be such a spoil sport.”

Spike sighed and glanced around the clearing. “I just don’t want to be stuck in the Everfree for the whole day.”

Mirai waved his concern away with a gesture and plucked him from the ground to sit on her pack again. “I said I found the way, there’s no reason to worry so much.”

*Snap*

Mirai froze at the noise while Spike used a claw to ease his sudden headache. “You just had to say that didn't you?”

Out of the underbrush crawled several strange magical constructs made of sticks and plant matter that quickly surrounded them. An odor of rotten meat quickly overwhelmed Mirai’s sense of smell and it was clear the things were at least clever enough to approach from downwind.

Six creatures stalked forward on four legs, snapping their fang filled mouths. “Timber Wolves.” Spike whispered, digging his claws into the fabric of Mirai’s pack so he wouldn’t be flung off in the coming fight. Mirai took a step back and then another before realizing that they were trying to push her into the ones waiting behind. She stopped and dropped her stance, waiting for them to make their move. She had fought plenty of pack hunters in Eogan and the surrounding wastes, their tactics probably weren't much different than Duille Diabhal... except without the whole flying out of random high up vegetation thing... or the venom... come to think of it Timber Wolves weren't like Duille Diabhal at all.

As the wooden monstrosities closed in a sudden yelp of pain drew Mirai’s attention. The wolf that had been approaching her from behind was wrapped in the roots of <Companionable Twig> who’s powerful grip caused the timber wolf‘s limbs to crack and groan as it was crushed. The rest of the pack quickly moved to cover the small tree they hadn’t realized was a threat but was momentarily scattered when said tree launched their mangled ex-pack mate at them. Mirai took advantage of the confusion to draw her canon from its holster and blast a second creature into flaming chunks. “Ha!” She cried in triumph. “I don’t know why Applejack and Twilight were so worried. These things are easy.”

Now the stalemate was broken the wolves surged towards the small group snapping and lunging at Mirai or <Companionable Twig> . However they quickly learned going after the treant was a foolish action. <Twig’s> grasping roots claiming another of their number, pulling it to its doom after a failed attack. The remaining three Timber Wolves attempted to flee after that but they had only just turned to run when a magic blast from Mirai’s canon mulched a second victim, leaving only two to escape the clearing.

“Well.’ Mirai said as she holstered her weapon. “We showed them.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Whatever, let's go before they bring friends.”

“Wait...” Mirai froze and looked in the direction the wolves had vanished in. “They won't actually get more of them, will they?”

“Timber Wolves are vindictive, they also reform after you smash them so we better get out of here before they jump us when we aren't watching.” Spike pointed off in the entirely wrong direction but Mirai got the point. She quickly turned in the direction of the old castle and hurried through the vegetation.

The rest of the trip to the castle of the sisters was quiet, almost eerily quiet as the random forest creatures now knew they were dangerous. On the upside <Twig> didn't seem as angry as usual so perhaps smashing the strange constructs was catharsis enough for the day.

When they made it to the castle Mirai hurried across the rope bridge while <Twig> stayed to guard it. That is to say, he couldn't fit on the bridge well enough to cross it without being carried. Finally at the entrance Mirai let Spike climb down to the ground before levering open the giant portal.

“OK!” Mirai said with a sigh of relief as the huge doors swung open. “We made it, now we gotta find my knife.”

Spike scurried inside, occasionally stopping to gawk at how different the ruin looked during the day. “Couldn't you have just gotten a new one?” Spike asked as he kicked aside a small chunk of fallen ceiling.

Mirai paused and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “No? It’s mine... besides it has sentimental value on top of being silver.” She walked around the edge of the foyer they had found themselves in and eyed the various paths to different parts of the castle. “Do you remember how to get up to the tower?”

Spike placed a claw under his chin in the classic ‘thinking pose’. “Take the stairs?” He said after a moment's pondering.

Mirai eyed him flatly. “Really? ‘take the stairs’ I would never have guessed.”

“Well you asked.” Spike crossed his arms and fumed.

Shaking her head Mirai picked the path straight across from the door. If they had been in such a hurry that night then they probably hadn’t even noticed the other paths and just barged straight in. The dust was beginning to hover around Mirai’s ankles by the time she had passed all the way through the short hallway and out into the next room. The little motes drifted up into the shafts of light from the holes in the ceiling lending a whimsical air to what she recognized as the throne room.

“Wow...” Spike whispered as he exited the short hallway into the main room. “This place looks awesome!”

Mirai shrugged and looked out one of the broken windows to spot the tower attached to another part of the castle. The tower itself was easily recognizable from its siblings by the holes punched through the walls and ceiling making the thing look more like badly abused hunk of cheese than a building. “That's where we’re headed.” She said, tracing the general path around the crumbling architecture.

Mirai turned to find Spike and tilted her head at him as he smirked down from one of the thrones on the end of the room. “Comfy?” She asked, grin breaking out on her face. “Spike, king of castle rubble pile.”

Spike puffed up his chest and did his best to put on the most snobby accent he could manage. “Could use a cushion or five peasant, be a dear and fetch some. Chop chop!”

Mirai giggled and waved him over. “Come on, before the castle is besieged by angry theater critics.”

“Hey!” Spike said as he hopped from the throne and scurried over. “I’m not that bad, I could totally be in showbiz!” The pair set off down one of the dark hallways, more dust kicking up into the air at their passage.

“Suuuure.” Mirai responded with a smile as she lifted Spike back onto her pack. “Just keep telling yourself that Spike, I believe in you.” Spike grumbled at the sarcasm but conceded after a few seconds. Being an actor was probably boring anyway. Why would he want to pretend to be a hero when he could explore dungeons like this one and be a real hero!

THUNK

Well, the lethal traps were one reason he supposed.

Spike was nearly thrown from Mirai’s pack as she suddenly bent forward, throwing her body backward as far as she was able. They arrow launched from a hidden trap in the wall barely ruffling the fabric on her belly before impaling a suit of pony sized decorative armor on the other side of the hallway. The suit remained motionless for a moment before some hidden mechanism tripped and swung the blade in its hooves out at them. At the last second Mirai lept forward into a roll that again nearly threw him from his perch. She landed in a crouch that would be impossible for a pony and even looked fairly uncomfortable for him but at least they were both still unharmed.

Both of them were left panting in either fear or exertion as they stared back at the paired traps that had nearly killed them. “Okay, the traps are noted.” Mirai said as she stood back up to her full height. “I’m surprised things like arrow traps are still working after, what was it, a thousand years of abandonment?”

Spike nodded numbly, keeping his eyes locked on the impaled suit of armor.

“Well let’s go, we’ll just have to be a lot more careful if we don’t want to trip anything else.” Mirai shrugged and continued down the hallway, this time at a much slower pace.

After a few more seconds of confronting the concept of his own mortality Spike shook his head and glanced warily at the walls around them. “How do you brush that off so casually?” Spike asked as his claws dug deeply into the material of the pack he was riding on. “We nearly died!”

Mirai waved off his concern with a hand gesture as she flipped the corner of a rug to reveal a shallow pit filled with a badly rusted bed of nails. “I’ve run into this kind of stuff before. These kinds of traps are classic, pretty easy to avoid if you know what to look for. For example,” She waved down at the rug. “Never trust rugs, if they aren't hiding a trap then they could be hiding a trigger or alarm, best to just avoid them if you're anywhere you're not supposed to be.” Spike swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

They carefully picked their way through the rest of the ruin with only the occasional surprise. A huge bladed pendulum, a hammer swinging down from the ceiling and even a few magical traps that Mirai had to demolish by carving some odd shapes into some rocks before throwing them at the trap spells. The rocks would seemingly land harmlessly in the middle of the enchantments before exploding violently and ruining whatever magic had been laid there.

At some points along their route, the darkness grew so deep that Spike had to use a small stream of flame to light the way. The walls were devoid of any torches they might have used until right before their destination where one lone torch hung in a bracket as if taunting them.

“Well, at least we’ll have one going back.” Mirai muttered irritably as they passed the lone torch and stepped out into the familiar room where the battle against Nightmare Moon had taken place.

“Do we have to?” Spike said nervously. “I’m pretty sure there’s a pile of rubble we can get down from around the edge somewhere.”

Mirai shook her head as she glanced around the room, searching for any glint of silver that would give away the location of her knife. “I would rather not.” Mirai said evenly. “Most of those traps weren't any big deal and I want to look for anything else useful while we’re already here.”

Spike huffed in discontent but didn't reply as they began looking around. Soon enough there was a loud “AH HA!” from Mirai. The knife had been carelessly set on the edge of a windowsill and it was quickly snatched up and sheathed in its proper spot on Mirai’s belt.

“Mission complete!” Mirai said with a hop and a twirl that left Spike feeling a little disoriented. “Now-” She said, grin still bright as ever. “-we can give this place a proper once over and see if there’s any good treasure to find!”

Spike perked up at the idea of treasure as Mirai returned to the lonely torch they passed on their way in. The image of himself sitting on a small heap of gold and jewels swam into his head. Now that would make the whole day worth it.

Mirai grabbed the torch and gave it a tug, only to find it stuck. She frowned at the stubborn thing and pulled a little harder only for the torch to suddenly pitch forward. Mirai thought she had broken the mount before the stone floor of the hallway dropped out from underneath her. The sensation of falling had Spike’s claws punching holes in the bag he was perched on as they both screamed.

“WAHH!”

A desperate grab at the air was rewarded with the solid handle of the torch stopping their fall. Mirai hung over a yawning pit for while they both gasped for air. “Spike, can you see anything?” Mirai asked when they had finally caught their breath.

Spike slowly turned himself around and tried to peer into the dark hole but the pit was too dark and the surrounding light from the room made the contrast too extreme. “It’s just black.” He said as shivers of fear wracked his body.

“Okay,” Mirai muttered as she dangled over the pitfall. “I’m going to have to throw you across ok?” Spike nodded, forgetting for a moment that Mirai couldn't see him, perched behind her head like he was. “Okay,” Mirai said more to herself than to him. With a grunt of effort one of her arms let go of the torch and grabbed him by the tail. Spike took one last glance down at the abyss below him before he was suddenly swung out over the pit and launched up and over to the edge.

Spike hit the stone beyond the edge with a thud and quickly got up and scrambled back over, one claw bracing himself against the wall. “I made it!”

Mirai nodded and pulled her other hand back onto the hanging torch. “I’m going to try and swing across.” Spike returned her nod and backed away from the edge, she would need plenty of room if she was going to make it. Mirai contemplated trying to throw her pack across first but it was a lot heavier than Spike and contained all of her research and findings, if she lost it she would be back to square one. Shaking her head Mirai decided against such a foolish attempt and instead started rocking her legs back and forth. She slowly picked up speed but she would need quite a bit to completely clear the edge so she pushed herself faster. The disguised lever started to creak and slowly start to work itself out of its mount causing Mirai’s heart to drop into her stomach every time she felt it give. “I don’t understand this stupid trap.” Mirai muttered angrily as she continued to swing. “It couldn't have been defensive, anyone triggering it just gets caught in it themselves!” The lever worked itself loose more and more until she was finally ready to let fly with her jump. She took a deep breath and readied herself. The handle of the torch carried her through the bottom of her swing but gave way just as she drew even with the edge. She flew feet first into the wall with a loud thud and tumbled backwards, back into the abyss.

Spike watched in horror as one of his newest group of friends screamed as she fell until hitting what sounded like water. “Mirai!” Spike shouted as he carefully crawled close enough to the edge to peer down and try to spot her. He couldn’t see a thing but very faint reflections off the surface of the water far below. “Don’t panic I’ll get help!” Spike stood and took a step toward the rubble pile he climbed down before when a sudden urge overtook him. One fiery belch later he was left holding a letter for Twilight and a pair of golden Grand Galloping Gala tickets.

“Uh, guess this works.”

Celestia was enjoying lunch alone in her office when a scroll coalesced out of a wisp of smoke and dropped into her salad. She rolled her eyes and lifted it out of her food with an irritated sigh. Her eyes glanced around the room, checking for any overbearing servants who would insist on replacing her meal. When none were found she snatched up another dressing covered leaf and devoured it. “A little dirt never hurt anyone,” she muttered through her mouthful of lunch.

With her food in no danger of being snatched away she unrolled the scroll, only to find the same letter she had sent Twilight only minutes ago, sans Gala tickets. “That's strange, did she already figure out my little test?” Contemplating the oddity she idly flipped the letter over to see if perhaps Twilight had written on the back, only to be met with a hastily scrawled note in what looked like charcoal.

‘Everfree castle send help.’

A spike of fear shot through her as she suddenly stood, sending her seat tumbling.

“SHINING ARMOR!!!”

The Royal Canterlot Voice shook windows and rattled foundations, sending the castle staff stumbling all except for the captain of the guard who appeared in a flash of magic. The stallion barely had time to salute before a scroll of orders was thrust into his hooves. “Twilight has gotten herself into trouble in the Everfree ruins Captain.” Celestia said, stepping around her desk.

Shining Armor could feel his bones chill at the thought of his baby sister in trouble and with an extra measure of haste unrolled the scroll and checked over the orders within. After a long moment of silence he put the scroll away and saluted once more. “Understood Princess, we will depart immediately.”

Mirai broke the surface of the water flailing her arms and gasping for air. “Why do they even have that lever?!” She muttered angrily between bouts of coughing. When her lungs were finally convinced she no longer was in any danger of drowning she took a moment to look around. The space around her was almost pitch black, the only evidence of light being faint reflections off the moss covered stones. Above her the pitfall where she had fallen had been replaced by a low flagstone ceiling.

“Ok, that's not good.”

She could feel a gentle current pulling her along what seemed to be an underground river, though not a natural one if the stone tunnel was any indicator. That at least meant that there was probably a way out somewhere, living designers were often merciful where nature was not. With a few kicks she guided herself to one of the walls and felt the stone with her hands. The moss covering them was slippery but not so much as to prevent her using the gaps to crawl along. Now the most pressing question was whether to try to climb back up stream or to follow the current? She turned her head upstream but her eyes couldn't pierce the inky black veil that seemed to swallow the tunnel. Downstream on the other hand seemed to lighten as it went until a pale light illuminated a clearly defined section of the wall. The decision was fairly easy, even if the light was not a way out then perhaps it was a light source she could salvage to light her journey back up the tunnel.

Her mind made up Mirai let go of the wall and swam towards the light. It took a few minutes before she made it but when she finally did she was greeted with a small artificial lagoon. It was a near circular section carved out of the bedrock with a flat platform that ran around the rim just above the water level and a glowing crystal set into the ceiling above a set of stairs. It even had what once had been a boat, now rotted and half-sunk, the only thing keeping it above the water being the ropes that once moored it to the platform. With a sigh of relief Mirai swam to the platform and levered herself out of the water. She shivered slightly as the cool air of the artificial cavern met her wet skin. A quick glance down at herself to check for any abnormalities left her feeling glad nobody else was around. The silk tunic and pants Rarity had provided clung closely to her skin and left little to the imagination. She took a little time to unpack her bag out on the ground to drain while her cannon did the same propped up against the wall. Her boots and clothes were also set aside to dry, leaving Mirai to check the rest of the room with her knife and small clothes.

She crept towards the stone stairs, peering cautiously up only to find a wooden door at the top blocking her sight. She took a few steps up before pausing and looking up at the crystal embedded in the ceiling. For a pony it was probably too high but for Mirai it was well within reach. With a bit of prying from her knife the glowing stone fell into her waiting hand. “Nice!” Mirai whispered excitedly. With Spike nowhere to be found and once again lacking a torch, the little glowing crystal would help a great deal in finding her way out.

With the stone casting a small pool of light forward Mirai made her way up the stairs pausing only to lever the wooden door out of the way. On the other side she found a short hallway and quickly picked a direction. She followed the left path for a short distance only to find a dead end with a thousand year old latrine. She had to stop to offer thanks to her gods that the ‘material’ within was far too old to still be fragrant.

The other direction was much more promising as the hallway opened up into a room filled with shelves and desks. The light from the crystal swept over the walls revealing a few knick knacks here and there as well as some rotting books in shelves or on the tables but no further doorways or halls.

“Is there really no way out of here?” Mirai asked herself, checking one more time for another path without any luck. “Back up the tunnel it is then,” she grumbled. “Dried my clothes for nothing.” She turned back towards the hallway but before she could leave one of the reading desks caught her attention. Most of the shelves and tables in the room were covered in a thick layer of mold fed by the paper or wood and damp air but this one was almost pristine. Curious, Mirai approached the desk and examined it. The mold ate away at the bottom third of the table but the surface and the lone parchment sitting on it were both clean and showed little evidence of their age.

Mirai waved her hand towards the paper expecting a trap or something to lash out at her. The air current from her hand blew some of the thick dust on the table into the air but other then that there was no change in the state of the desk. “Strange.” Feeling emboldened she reached out and grasped corner of the the parchment. When no trap was sprung she lifted the paper from the desk and wiped off the dust to make it legible.

The parchment consisted of a large graph of old mathematical symbols dominating the top of the page with equations place alongside a graphed line. Below that was a short paragraph that ended with an ornate signature. “Usura lapidi cancellos principium est... cum magna accurate sociantem in ordine ad aliud mare magicis. Hoc permittit lectio of destination... per cancellos peruersio lapidi. Aequationes supra in hoc tempore et spatio usura magica posse inflexionis. Si praeterea requiritur con... contactus mihi liquido applicata investigationis centrum imperio magicae. -Starswirl.” Mirai read aloud to herself as she struggled to translate what she recognized as the language of the old pony empire. She could get some of the words right away, the language had more than a few words that resembled their modern counterparts but many others eluded her completely. The strangest thing was that the words also reminded her of the language the humans who traded in her village used...

“Using the principle of the lattice in a stone, in the order of its deliberations, accurate to something else, the sea, with a great magic. This allows selection of the destination through the lattice warping stone. Magic possibility of inflection, using the equations given above, at this time and space. In addition, if the liquid applied to the research center of their command of magic is required to contact me. -Starswirl.” Mirai scratched her head in confusion, This paper sounded like it could be about very advanced magic but with her limited understanding of ancient pony it could also be the recipe for the perfect fruit smoothie... She would have to ask someo- no... somepony and she knew just the mare.